Fail for today

hehehe....an Australian fail!!! :)


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I'm now a Deviant Art-ist :)

I've always been fascinated with the artists on deviantART, especially the ones who do photomanipulations... there's some amazing work out there!!

Well, I always thought I wouldn't be good enough to give it a go...then the other day I thought...what the hey, why don't I give it a go?!?

So I joined dA, and I've done my very first photomanipulation...it's nothing too fancy, but it's alright.

I'm not posting it on here...coz I'd love someone to go & have a look at it on dA! :) I've had hardly any page hits...mainly because I've only just joined...but most of my page hits are from me! LOL

Anyway...you can go to my deviantART page by clicking back there <--- 

I'd love to know what you all think...especially the 'real' artists! :)
Thank you!! :)

FAIL of the Day...

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I baked Cupcakes!!! (sorta)

I baked myself some cupcakes a couple of weeks back...didn't really want to show anyone the results, but, hey - I've got nothing else to post at the moment!! :)
I adapted the recipe from here.

Basically, our household doesn't use butter, so I used oil instead...anyway, here's the recipe I used (with my alterations):

½ cup oil
100g good-quality white cooking chocolate, chopped
½ cup milk
A little vanilla essence (or imitation vanilla...which is what we had in the pantry!)
1 egg, lightly whisked
¾ cup plain flour
½ cup self-raising flour

Preheat oven to 160°C. Line twelve muffin pans with paper cases.

Melt white chocolate. Combine the oil, melted chocolate, sugar, milk and vanilla in medium heatproof bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly.

Gently whisk in the egg. Sift the combined flours over the chocolate mixture and gently whisk until just combined. Pour mixture evenly among prepared muffin pans. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. Turn onto a wire rack and set aside for 1 hour to cool completely.

For the icing, I wanted to make a cream cheese ‘frosting’...but then I found out that my mum ate the last of the cream cheese...so, I went with:

200g white chocolate
enough icing (powdered) sugar to make it look and feel right :)  (Great recipe, huh?!?)

Melt the chocolate, add the powdered sugar. Spread on cupcakes and let it set (yep, it goes hard!!)

Now, this recipe said it would make 12 cupcakes – well, I guess my muffin pan was smaller than what they used...I got 12 ‘normal-sized’ and 20 mini cupcakes!!

Also, my cupcakes weren’t really cake-y...the consistency was half-way between a cake and a biscuit (cookie for you North Americans).

My dad liked them, my sister didn’t want to taste them, my mum said they were too sweet, and me...well, I couldn’t figure out whether I liked them or not.

I think it might’ve been my baking skills (or lack-thereof) that let me down. I really can’t bake, or cook, to save myself! I really need to learn!!

I have come to the conclusion that I need lessons from CakeSpy, Bakerella, Rosa from Rosa's Yummy Yums or the Daring Bakers!

FAIL for today - April 14th

I'm going to start posting one of these every now & then....like the quizzes (which I haven't done lately...oh well...I'll put one up soon, I guess! LOL)

Here's the FAIL for today...

Got bored...drew a picture...

I am NOT an artist in the drawing/painting/scultping etc sense!! Not at all!! :)

BUT...I got bored while I was waiting for my internet to connect...and this is what I came up with.
Sorta looks like he borrowed his hair from an anime character...not sure why I drew him - but that's what appeared when I put pen to paper! :)

I name him...Cheeky Big-Haired Boy!!! :P
Nice, huh?? Yep...pretty good!! :)

I apologise for not posting anything the past few days. Haven't really had anything to post about! Does anyone have any ideas on what I can post about?!? If so, leave a comment! :)

Anyway, I'm off to bed...it's 11pm here, and I'm exhausted for some reason...I haven't really done anything much today!! :)

Til next time...
--Liv--

The Best Concert.Ever.

Oh man...I went to the BEST concert last night!! And I'm still on cloud 9!!!

I saw....MADNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't look at me like that...yes, I know, I'm 23...and they were at their height before I was born! LOL 

My aunt & I went together, and had such a fantastic time...we didn't stop dancing for their whole set (which went for approx. 1 hour 40 min)!!!

They performed all their big hits (except for "Driving In My Car"...but I got over my disappointment quite quickly!!) - they started with "One Step Beyond", which got everyone jumping - except the guy in front of me, who stood there watching me & my aunt...very creepy!! They also did "House of Fun", "It Must Be Love", "Our House", "Shut Up", "The Prince", plus heaps more, including a new song or two....and for their encore, they came on and did "Madness" (yes, it's a song..I'm not just repeating their name!! LOL) and "Night Boat to Cairo"!!!! Oh man...it was soooooooooooooo much fun!!

It was funny to see that when everyone was walking out, you looked around and everybody was dripping with sweat from dancing so much!!! :)

I LOVE Suggs!! He's so cool...yeah, the rest of the lads are great too...but Suggs is...well...Suggs!! :) You can't really describe him any better!! :)

I didn't take any photos (didn't want to risk getting my phone taken off me!!), so the two in this post are from the web...so thank you to whoever photographed these!! :)

To give you an idea of what they were like last night, here's a live video of them performing - yes, it's on TV..but it's live - and exactly like they did it last night!!

And I'll also give you the video for "Night Boat to Cairo"!! :)

Enjoy!! :)

--Liv--

My Own Chateau...sort of! :)

My final prize arrived yesterday... all I can say is... Wow!

For OWOH, Morgane Antoine offered 2 people a custom ACEO-sized painting.

ACEO stands for 'Art Cards, Editions and Originals'. They're basically mini artworks that measure 2.5 x 3.5 inches.

I just happened to be one of the two people picked at random to receive one!!

Morgane asked me to pick whatever I wanted as the subject for my artwork. I looked at the gallery on her site - her work is amazing... horses, wildlife, fantasy pieces (unicorns, fairies, Pegasus), and landscapes are what she has in her gallery at the moment. 

When I saw her pieces entitled "Basilique Verte" and "De Vert et d'Eau" (both can be found in the 'Other' section of the gallery), I knew exactly what I wanted... a chateau on the water!!

Last Tuesday, Morgane emailed me, with a scan of the piece, and let me know it was on its way! The scan looked amazing - I couldn't wait for it to get here!!!

Well, it arrived... I can't believe how much detail is on such a small piece!!! It's stunning!!! I can't believe how gorgeous it is!!!

Without further ado...

It depicts the Chateau de Chenonceau, which is located in the Loire Valley in France.

Isn't it cool?!?!? I never thought I would ever get my own custom artwork...but I was so lucky to be chosen!

Thank you Morgane for such a beautiful work of art! I will definitely be recommending you to my friends...and anybody who reads this blog!!! :)

For visitors to my blog, please go and visit Morgane's website! Lots of beautiful artworks to look at, as well as step-by-step progress on some of her artworks. Plus, you can commission your own custom painting!!

Until next time...
--Liv--

The Tale of Two Prizes - a pendant & a painted softball

Before I begin, I hope the two artists don't mind me using their photos of the pieces I received - my camera has decided not to function properly!! Naughty thing...anyway...

The One World One Heart event really spoilt me! LOL Not only did I make some new friends, but I won 5 prizes, two of which I've already showcased on here.

I love jewellery, so when I found out that I had won a pendant from DragonflyCreations Jewellery, I was stoked!! :) Not only is Vicki a fellow Australian, but her jewellery is gorgeous!!! So, without any further ado...

click the photo to go to the DragonflyCreations blog

Isn't it stunning?? It's a piece of Picasso Jasper, wire wrapped, and can be worn two ways. This is the 'front'.  I can't wait to wear it!!

If you have the time, please check out Vicki's blog!! She has some beautiful pieces that she's made!! [One of the pieces I like was made for a 'Transylvania'-themed beading challenge, called The Blood Countess! It's dark, but very pretty...and took a long time to finish!!]

The 4th prize I received was from Julie at Oakleaf Hollow. It's a handpainted softball!!

click either photo to go to the Oakleaf Hollow blog

Isn't it the cutest?!? I had never heard of anyone painting softballs, until I came across Julie's blog! It's such a great idea, isn't it? And didn't she do a fantastic job?? Along with the pretty softball, Julie included one of her handpainted tags, featuring a cute lil bunny on it! :)  I tried to scan the tag, but it turned out fuzzy, so I decided not to post it!! LOL

Anyway, please check out Oakleaf Hollow...and Julie's Etsy store, which has another painted softball for sale, as well as other beautiful works of art! :)

There's only one more OWOH prize left...and it's on its way...I have seen what it looks like, but I won't post about it until it arrives! :)

Until next time...

--Liv--

My very first ATC - from Lorri @ Artivity

For anyone who doesn't know what an ATC is...don't worry, I was clueless about it until I found out about them on my journey through the many blogs involved in OWOH (One World, One Heart).

ATC stands for Artist Trading Card...basically, an artist (whether they be a painter, mixed media artist, cartoonist, scrapper...the possibilities are endless...) decorates a card using their favourite method, and they can be traded with other artists!

I was fortunate enough to win an ATC from Lorri from Artivity - who is a fellow Aussie!! :) She gave away 5 ATCs for OWOH, and my name was picked to receive this one, entitled "A rose is a rose is a rose".


You know, I was secretly hoping to get this one...because the phrase used reminds me of my favourite scene from one of my favourite movies of all time, Singin In The Rain.

At about 1:32 is what I'm talking about...but please, watch the whole video if you have time!! I love it to bits!! :)

Aaaaaaaanyway....please check out Lorri's blog - there are heaps of things to look at!! Plus, you can go to the Artivity Etsy store as well, where she has a few items for sale!! :)

Thank you so much for this cool piece of art, Lorri! I'm going to be buying a frame for it very soon, so I can show it off in my office! :)

Til next time...
--Liv--

Quiz: Which Friends Character are You?

I started doing this on my other blog, Liv Luvs Scraps...but there are so many quizzes out there! So, I decided I would do this on here as well :)

I'll be posting about two new friends I've made (and their art) very soon...but first...

Which Friends Character Are You?
	You are Ross. You're intelligent and adored by your parents. However, your lack of social skills causes you to talk too much and try too hard. While your friends pick on you for your nerdiness, they better watch out for your rage.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

My new Fairy friend - from Kim's Art By the Sea

Recently, an International event was held on the net, specifically for bloggers, called One World, One Heart. It was an opportunity for artists from all over the world to come together, show their art, and make friends with other bloggers from many different countries!

There was also another exciting element to it - each participating blog held a giveaway! :) I was fortunate enough to win 5 prizes!!


Well, one of them arrived yesterday - she is adorable. She's a Fairy folk art doll, and she was created by Kim @ Kim's Art By the Sea! You can read Kim's posts about her here, and here (which is the One World, One Heart giveaway post).


This little fairy is very cute, and has taken up residency on the shelf next to my computer - she will be helping me blog, as well as look after all the perfume samples and photo frames I have on the shelving! Isn't she sweet?

Please, go and visit Kim's blog - she handcrafts the dolls herself, and has even had some of her work published in art doll magazines!! Not only does she make dolls, but she also paints, stitches/embroiders (is that a word? LOL), does mixed media and collage artworks...plus lots more!! She is very talented...I wouldn't even know how to do any of them!! LOL

Thank you so much, Kim for giving away this cute companion! I am so honoured to be giving her a new home on the other side of the world! :) [She's told me to tell you that you are more than welcome to visit her!]

Until next time...
--Liv--

Welcome!! :)

Hello!
Welcome to Liv Luvs Variety!
My name's Liv - I also have 2 other blogs: Livia's Junk, for my autograph collection, and Liv Luvs Scraps, dedicated to my digital scrapbooking designs.

This blog will be dedicated to everything else I have an interest in - whether it be music, art (not mine...I can't paint/sculpt,draw... to save myself!! LOL), cooking....anything that I decided to post about!! :) I'm not sure what direction this blog will take, but I do know that I will be featuring art from the new friends I've made from the One World, One Heart event, and I may also find some 'favourite things' on Etsy or other places online and post about them! :)

Please bear with me while I get started on this new venture! :)

Until next time...
--Liv--