DIY

Quick Carrot Cake Recipe

Posted on by maya

 

hi-guys

I’ve never been one to sleep in, mainly because my lack of social life ensures an early night. However, I’ve always enjoyed an extra hour or so in bed on Sundays, especially when on holidays. So it was a surprise when this morning I woke up unusually early to the sounds of what my sleep-deprived mind imagined to be a battle going on outside my bedroom. As it turns out, it was simply my younger siblings on an enthusiastic Easter egg hunt around my house, their chocolate-fueled excitement apparently making any kind of discretion at 7a.m. impossible.

Luckily, one giant, mint-flavoured, gold foil-wrapped chocolate egg later, my abrupt awakening was forgotten and I officially switched over to Easter-celebration mode. I wanted to share this delicious carrot cake recipe with you guys today, because it’s such an Easter classic! The bright, colourful carrots combined with crunchy pecan nuts, flaky coconut and warm spices, make a perfect, aromatic batter. The moist cake is topped with a fluffy mascarpone icing that just brings it to the next level. I just barely managed to snap a few photographs of it, before my family promptly devoured it in seconds.

Make sure to let me know in the comments below what other posts you guys want to see this spring. Happy Easter! signature

 

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Ingredients

cake
75g self-raising flour
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 carrots, grated
50g pecans, chopped (plus a few to decorate)
30g desicated coconut
75g light brown sugar
2 eggs
3 tbsp fresh orange juice
75g butter, melted
Icing
250g mascarpone
3 tbsp icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
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Method
  1. Preheat the oven to 190’C (375’F). Grease and line a baking tin with baking parchment.
  2. Sift flour, spices and baking powder into a large bowl.
  3. Add pecans, coconut, sugar and carrots. Mix well.
  4. Add eggs, orange juice and butter. Stir until well combined.
  5. Pour mixture into baking tin. Bake for 20-30 minutes.
  6. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
  7. For the icing, beat together mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla extract until smooth.
  8. Spread the icing over the top of the cake and decorate with a few pecan nuts.
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3 Easy DIY Earrings for Spring

Posted on by maya

hi-guys

So I’m not one to brag, but I guess you could say that I’m something of an earring connoisseur. My obsession began about four years ago when my mother innocently suggested I get my ears pierced one day, unwittingly laying the foundations for what has developed into a full-fledged jewelry addiction.

With Easter break coming up, I figured it’s the perfect time to get crafting and conveniently find an excuse to expand my forever growing earring collection. All these DIYs are perfect for spring time and can easily be personalized to suit everyone’s individual style!

bead_earrings_cover

While these beaded earrings are a little time consuming to make, I was so happy with the end result! I went for a simple green design, but you could definitely get creative and mix up colours and patterns.

All you need to make these are some beads, strong thread and earring hooks. Cut a few lengths of thread (I used two per earring) and thread them through the earring hooks. Tie a knot so that the hooks are secured midway up the length of thread. Then, just start beading (a little tedious, but it’s worth it) and tie a couple of knots at the bottom of each string to make sure the beads don’t fall off. Snip of the any end bits of dangling thread at the ends and your done!

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I’m all for unique, quirky fashion statements, so I’m in love with these artsy collage earrings! They’re also a great way for recycling old earrings that you don’t wear anymore, which is always a plus.

To make them, you need an old magazine, PVA glue, a paintbrush and flat, circular earrings. Just tear up the magazine into little shreds, until you’ve got a range of colourful paper scraps. Then, glue the paper onto each earring to form a nice collage – making sure to finish it all off with a final coat of glue to seal it all in.

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Aren’t these tassel earrings chic? They only took a few minutes to make and would add a splash of colourful glamour to any outfit!

To make them, you’ll need some black and yellow thread and earring hooks. Wrap the black thread around your two fingers about 30 times, then attach the top part of the loop to the earring hook. Cut the bottom part of the loop so that the thread is dangling freely. Now, wrap the yellow thread around the black thread and secure it with a knot to form the tassel.

. . .

That’s all I have for you guys today. Make sure to comment below letting me know which earring was your favourite and what other DIYs you’d like to see over the Easter break!

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White Chocolate Coconut Cookies Recipe

Posted on by maya

hi-guys

I hope you’ve all been having a lovely week 🙂 . I’m in the middle of my mock exams at the moment in preparation for the Leaving Cert (ie. the final exams to get into college here in Ireland), which means I really should be dedicating all my spare time to studying. So naturally, I decided to do some baking instead. Because really, no study session is truly complete without an excessive amount of snack breaks, procrastination and regret.

Anyways, I thought with the weekend coming up it was the perfect time to share this super simple recipe with you guys. These soft, chewy cookies were deliciously addictive – it took all my self control to wait and take a few photos before eating them. I’ve always had a slight white chocolate obsession and, paired with coconut, the two truly make a perfect match! I also love that this recipe doesn’t involve chilling the dough, because really who has time for that sort of thing.

Of course, you can enjoy the cookies as they are or, if you want to put a little extra effort into presentation, drizzle some melted white chocolate over them and top with some more coconut.

Let me know in the comments below if you guys try them out and what your go-to study snack is!

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Ingredients
1 large Egg
2 cups Plain (all-purpose) flour
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1 cup Caster (Granulated) sugar
1/8 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 cup White chocolate chips/ chopped White chocolate
1 cup Desiccated Coconut
1/2 cup Butter

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Step 1 In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.

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Step 2 Add egg and vanilla essence to the mixture. Beat until light and fluffy.

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Step 3 Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Combine well until mixture forms a crumbly dough.

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Step 4 Roughly chop chocolate. Or alternatively buy chocolate chips, which is no doubt easier – I just didn’t have any on hand.

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Step 5 Add chopped chocolate and coconut. Mix until well combined.

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Step 6 Roll the dough into small balls and place them onto a lined baking tray.

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Step 7 Lightly press down on each ball with a fork.

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Step 8 Bake cookies at 180’C/350’C for 10-15 minutes, or until they’re a pale golden brown.

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Step 9 Leave to cool on a wire rack.

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Step 10 Enjoy!

 

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How to Make Snowball Cookies

Posted on by maya

hi-guys

So I’m not going to lie, I’ve been wanting to share this recipe with you guys for months but have been patiently waiting for it to be socially acceptable to post Christmas recipes (which according to my mother would be the 1st of August)! Anyways, now that I’ve heard every single Christmas song ever written being played about a hundred times over in the last week, I figured it’s a perfectly acceptable time for making snowball cookies.

Personally, there’s nothing I love more on a cold winter’s day (or any day, really – weather’s pretty irrelevant) than to snuggle up in bed, briefly consider the possibility of being productive and ultimately end up just eating cookies for a couple of hours. And what with Christmas break coming up, I thought I’d spread some Christmas cheer and encourage you all to do the same 🙂 – because I’m such a great influence. And trust me, these little icing-covered, melt-in-your-mouth balls of deliciousness make the perfect snack to share with your family (or enjoy by yourself – I don’t judge) over the holidays!

I hope you get a chance to try them out over the weekend – if you do, make sure to let me know in the comments below!

ingredients

snowball-mexican-cookies-12

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup icing / powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
plus additional icing sugar for rolling

method

Preheat the oven to 250°C/400°F. Combine butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl.

Add the flour and salt. Mix well until a crumbly dough forms.

Shape the dough into balls. Place the dough balls on a cookie sheet and bake for about 9 minutes until set (don’t let them brown 🙂 ).

Leave the cookies to cool slightly, then roll them in icing sugar while they’re still warm. Enjoy!

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DIY Halloween Eyeball Necklace

Posted on by maya

It’s almost October 31st and so in celebration of All Hallow’s Eve, I thought I’d share this fun necklace tutorial with you guys. Because nothing screams “Halloween” like an eyeball hanging off your neck, am I right?

The other day I was trying to think of something Halloween-related that I could post (I’m a pretty big Halloween fan – like the annoying type who plans their costumes a year in advance), when suddenly the idea of making eyeball jewelry just popped in to my head. I know what you’re thinking, these are the kind of innovative ideas our generation needs. What can I say, I’m just destined for greatness.

So once I got this idea (or should I say eye-dea 😉 ) in my head, I searched my house for any bits and pieces lying around that might be useful. I ended up with an old keyring, a chain from one of my many broken necklaces, a few nail polishes, a marble that I stole from my brother and, of course, my faithful glue gun. (Oh and on a side note, I really think I should give my glue gun a name…leave any suggestions in the comments below!)

Anyway, several glue gun burns and nail polish spills later (I don’t know why I choose to do so much crafting when clearly my coordination skills were not meant for DIYs), I managed to come up with a pendant that was relatively eyeball-resemblant if I do say so myself.

And I don’t want you guys to feel like you have to limit yourself to wearing this necklace only on Halloween by the way. A class presentation, a wedding, a job interview…I mean I’m pretty confident that eyeballs are appropriate for any situation. So, without further ado, I’ll get on with this tutorial. Make sure to like, share and comment below letting me know what plans you guys have for Halloween! Are you the kind of person who goes to a bunch of wild costume parties, or are you the type that stays home and eats the trick-or-treater’s candy? (I think we all know which category I fall into 😉 ) I hope you all have a great weekend and get a chance to try out this DIY!signature

 

 

What you need

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a keyring, with a jump ring attached to it

a large white marble (that’s slightly bigger than your keyring)

blue, red and black nail polish

a glue gun

a chain

Method

  1. Carefully glue the marble onto the rim of the keyring, making sure that the jump ring is sticking out at the top.
  2. Next, use red nail polish to paint little squiggly lines around the marble to look like veins. To make sure the lines were really precise, I dipped a needle into the nail polish and used that to make the designs.
  3. On the top of marble, paint a blue circle for the iris and a smaller black circle for the pupil.
  4. Once the polish has dried, slip your chain through the jump ring on the eyeball pendant and you’re done!

 

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Sticky Syrup Bun Recipe

Posted on by maya

Heyhey

 

I hope you’ve all had a lovely week :). So based on the fact that my family have started arguing over whether or not we should turn the heating on, I think it’s safe to say that Autumn is officially here. And this could just be me,  but in my head Autumn has always been labelled the ‘lazy’ season. Like, if Autumn were a person I feel as if it would just stay home and watch Netflix while Summer, Winter and Spring were off at the gym, you know? Basically, Autumn is a seasonal representation of myself.

Naturally, this means that the next few weeks for me will just be a series of consecutive lazy days – (much like the majority of my life, but we can ignore that part).

Of course if you’re a true Master of the Art of Laziness like myself, you’ll know that a lazy day is incomplete without a deliciously autumnal snack to go with it (because there’s no use trying to master the lazy lifestyle if you’re not committing to an unhealthy diet as well 😉 ). These simple syrup cakes make a perfect, cosy sweet treat on a rainy day and only take a couple of minutes to make!

Let me know in the comments below what other fall recipes you guys want to see this month and make sure to like and share this post if you enjoyed it :). Also in case you guys missed my previous posts,  my 1 year blogiversary is coming up on the 26th of October and I’m trying to reach 3000 followers! If each of you could help me out and get one other person to subscribe to Artsy Teen I’d achieve my goal in no time!

Now without further ado, let’s get into this recipe…

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Ingredients  (Makes 20 Buns)

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250g butter, softened

200g caster/granulated sugar

3 eggs

500g

300ml golden syrup, plus a few tbsp for drizzling on top of buns

50ml milk

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180’C (350’F) and line  a muffin tray with 20 paper cases.
  2. Cream butter and sugar together, then beat in eggs.
  3. Warm the golden syrup in a microwave (or in a pan over a low heat) until it’s runny. Add to the mixture and beat well.
  4. Add the flour and milk. Mix until well combined.
  5. Spoon the mixture into paper cases and bake in the oven for  15-20 minutes (or until the cakes are golden and springy to the touch).
  6. Remove the buns from the oven and drizzle a teaspoonful of syrup onto each bun while they’re still hot.

 

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DIY Modern Geometric Wall Art

Posted on by maya

hey

How are you guys doing? I know, I know…I haven’t posted in two weeks. I’m a mess. An embarrassment to bloggers around the world. But honestly, I actually have a valid(ish) excuse this time! See, on top of schoolwork, piano practice and not going to the gym, I’ve been spending most of my free time working on putting together a portfolio to go to design college next year. I’ve also been spending a lot of time watching  cookery videos on Youtube, but we can just ignore that part. Seriously though, on a side note, if any of you guys are putting together an art porfolio or have done so in the past  please comment below and let me know if you have any tips/advice to share!

Anyways, now that I’ve wasted one paragraph defending my inability to stick to a blogging schedule, let’s get back to the DIY, shall we? A few weeks back I made this cool geometric wall art but never got around to editing the photos and writing down the tutorial. It’s just been hanging on my bedroom wall staring at me accusingly ever since, so today I finally got around to finishing the post and sharing it with you guys! It’s such an easy and inexpensive way to add a modern, trendy touch to your room. Plus, you guys can personalise it by experimenting with different coloured crepe paper and triangle sizes to suit your own style! I’m so happy with how this one turned out – I think the the colour scheme is perfect for autumn and the combination of PVA glue and crepe paper creates a really interesting texture and visual effect on top of the card.

Oh and by the way, if you guys enjoy my DIYs and want to see more of them make sure to check out my Instructables account  where I have a bunch of other tutorials that haven’t been posted on my blog! And now, without furder ado, let’s make some Triangle Wall Art!

What you need

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PVA Glue

A3 sheet of thick Card paper

Crepe paper in 3 different colours

Scissors

Gold Paint *optional

Steps

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  1. Cut out three large triangles from the crepe paper (one in each colour).
  2. Arrange paper triangles onto the card in an overlapping vertical pattern.
  3. Carefully glue down the triangles with the PVA glue.
  4. Leave to dry and you’re done! I also painted on a few gold designs  to make the wall art a little more exciting.

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Make sure to like and share this post if you enjoyed it, and subscribe to Arsty Teen to be notified every time I upload a new post!
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DIY Trendy School Supplies

Posted on by maya

hey

I’m not one to brag, but I think over the past two months I’ve done a pretty good job of erasing any evidence of ‘school’ from my life. My backpack is hidden in some corner of my room out of sight, my school uniform is crushed underneath a pile of clothes in my cupboard and every time someone mentions “studying”, I throw something at them. Clearly, summer’s having a great effect on me.

So you can imagine the shock – the betrayal, really- I felt when the other day I went grocery shopping with my mum and find a whole display of school supplies. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s just disrespectful.  I mean who gave that supermarket the authority to crush my dreams? It’s not even like there’s one small school supply section. Oh no, they’re EVERWHERE. How am I supposed to forget about school when I walk into the cereal aisle ready to buy some cheerios and end up surrounded by shelves of set squares and colouring pencils? (On a side note; I’m not even sure where that joke came from, I don’t even eat cereal).

Anyways, all this to tell you guys that I have finally faced reality and accepted that I’m going back to school soon. So much so, in fact, that I decided to do a couple of back-to-school DIYs. I have to say, I’m really happy with how these ones turned out! I went for a black and gold/yellow theme with geometric designs, and I think they ended up lookin’ pretty stylish ;). Plus, they’re all super simple to make. All you need is some tape, some basic materials that you’ll have at home, and some creativity!

  1. The Tape Art Notebook

 

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This was a bit of a spontaneous DIY, which are always my favourite! I just happened to have an old notebook lying around, and I thought I’d have a bit of fun re-vamping it with whatever art materials I could find. I had some paint and this tape on hand (and yes, I am the type of person who buys tape with sheep patterns on it), and in an hour I basically had a brand new notebook.

 

What you need

  • a plain, hardback notebook
  • some tape
  • acrylic paint

Steps

  1. Use your tape to create a triangle pattern on the cover of your notebook.  Don’t worry about trying to make it perfect – trust me, it’ll look good either way.
  2. Next, paint the entire cover of your notebook and leave it to dry. I used two coats of paint to make the design stand out even more, but it’s totally up to you.
  3. Finally, carefully peal back the tape and you’re done!

2. The Washi Tape Pencil

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I’m going to be honest with you guys, this may well be the most complex DIY I’ve ever posted on my blog. Now I know what you’re thinking, “Maya, this is way too complicated”, and yes, it does takes years to acquire the necessary skill to complete this tutorial. But, I think with time, you’ll eventually figure this out.

What you need

  • washi tape
  • a pencil

Steps

  1. Wrap the tape around your pencil.
  2. Give yourself a pat on the back and go take a coffee break. You’ve earned it.

 

3.The Stripy Folder

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A part from being artsy and enjoying the art of creating and all that, one of the reasons I like to DIY things is because it’s way cheaper than just buying them at a shop. Instead of buying an expensive folder with a cool design on it, you can get a cheap, plain one and make a cool design yourself!

What you need

  • a permanent black marker
  • some tape
  • a plain folder

Steps

  1. Outline a triangle shape on your folder with some tape. It can be whatever size you want, but if you ask me, the bigger the better!
  2. Take your black marker and draw horizontal and vertical lines inside of the triangle. Draw as many as you can, and don’t worry if it looks messy.
  3. Carefully peel back the tape, and you’re left with unique & trendy design on your folder.

. . .

I hope you guys enjoyed these DIYs and get a chance to try them out! Make sure to share & like this post if you’re going back to school too, or if you just feel like being a nice person. That’s cool too. Oh, and don’t forget to comment below letting me know which DIY was your favourite and if you’re looking forward to the new school year!

 

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How to Make Simple DIY Bracelets

Posted on by maya

I hope you guys all had a good week! For once, mine was relatively eventful. I got my first part time job which I think basically qualifies me as a mature, responsible adult. Also, not to contradict the last point, but I went to see ‘Finding Dory’ at the cinema and had a terrifying dental appointment (obviously not simultaneously). Honestly, I can’t believe I actually payed someone to stab my teeth for half and hour with sharp metal objects that tasted faintly of washing up liquid.

Anyways, I’ll stop rambling and get into this DIY. As usual, it’s really simple as my artistic skill set is pretty limited despite the fact that I brag about my ‘artsy-ness’ in my  blog title. Really that was me being presumptions, I just like gluing random stuff together -which is basically what this entire tutorial is about. That being said, I was surprisingly pleased with the end result. These bracelets are actually really pretty! The whole wrapping-the-thread-around-the-bangle process is a bit time consuming, but I managed to make three of them and I have the patience of a 5 year old, so apparently it’s not that bad.

What I love about making your own jewelry is that you can really personalise it. Let me know in the comments below what pendants and colours you’d use for your bracelets, and why. And don’t forget to like and share this post if you enjoyed reading it!

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What you need

bangles 1

Tutorial

 

Step 1: Using the glue gun, place a small amount of glue onto the rim of your bangle and quickly wrap the thread around it.

 

Step 2 Continue to do this until the entire bangle is covered in thread. Make sure to only use small amounts of glue at a time, or the glue will dry before you have a chance to  wrap all the thread around it.

Step 3 Attach the pendant to the clasp, and then attach the clasp to the bangle.

bangles cover 2

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DIY Painted Celtic Stones

Posted on by maya

hey

I hope you’re all having a lovely week and enjoying your summer :). When you’re reading this I’ll actually be away on holiday in Slovenia, but in an attempt to be a dedicated blogger I’ve tried to write I a few posts in advance.

You’re probably wondering what purpose a painted rock serves. Honestly, none. But really who doesn’t like a bit of useless Celtic-inspired room decor lying around the house? It adds to the atmosphere ;). Plus I’ve seen decorated stones all over Pinterest so apparently there’s something likable about them.

But why ‘Celtic’ you ask? Well, I study Art History at school this year and seeing as I live in Ireland there’s a huge focus on Celtic Art. Now, while I didn’t particularly enjoy having to describe ancient Celtic artifacts in excruciating detail, it did give me the idea to decorate these stones with Celtic designs like spirals, triskeles and interlocking patterns. The really intricate Celtic artwork I studied was often made of gold, which is why I chose metallic golden paint for this DIY. Top Tip: If you don’t have any paint, just use nail polish. Works every time.

What you need

stone 1

  • Paintbrush
  • Stone (make sure it’s got quite a smooth surface)
  • Gold Acrylic Paint

Simple Celtic Designs*

 

Method

stone 2

  1. First, you want to wash and dry the stone to make sure it’s completely clean.
  2. Next, paint a celtic design* onto your rock.
  3. Leave to dry and you’re done!stone 3

 

Well that’s all for today. Let me know in the comments below if you guys have gone to any fun places over the summer and make sure to like this post if you like stones, or the Celts, or pointless room decor!

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