Fabric and Paper Covered Mats

Mother's Day is this Sunday so I thought I would share a fairly simple and easy project that would make a fantastic gift. I must admit I don't like pictures of myself but now that I have become a Mom there is nothing I love more than pictures of my children. I wish I had more wall space just to display my photos of them. I love this project because for not too much time or expense you can make a gift that is functional and stylish. These are so easy to make you may even want to make some for yourself with seasonal prints that you can change out for different holidays! You can use paper or fabric so the possibilities are endless to make a mat that works for anyone's decor. Have fun and have a Happy Mother's Day!

      MATERIALS:

• A picture mat- whatever size you want and a piece of fabric or paper that is at least 1-2  inches wider than the outside dimensions of the mat, ie. if your mat is 8x10 then the paper or fabric needs to be at least 10x12
• Spray glue 
• A pair of scissors 
• Mod-podge- I used satin finish but glossy or matte will work fine too
• Small foam brush

Trace your mat onto the wrong side of your paper/fabric.  

Once you've traced your mat onto you material you will want to draw an X shape in the middle section of your mat tracing and then draw a square leaving 1" on each side for folding over to the back of your mat. 

 Cut out the middle square leaving 1" all around and also cut along the diagonal lines that you drew.

Spray the front of your mat with the adhesive spray and using the tracing as a guide place the mat glue side down onto the back of your paper/fabric. Once your mat is secured into place cut off the corners of your paper/fabric. 

Now start folding your paper onto the back of the mat using the mod podge to glue it into place.

Repeat process for the inside of the mat.

The finished product should look something like this.

And finally if your mat has beveled edges along the inside you can use a ruler to bring out the bevel. Just slide your ruler along the edge at an angle and it should flatten the paper along the bevel as shown above.

One final note, if you've never used Mod Podge it's awesome stuff! It dries totally clear and it's a glue and sealer all in one. If you don't have it and don't want to buy it then tape or hot glue will work too but you will get the most permanent and best looking results with the Mod Podge. 

  

Tres Leches Cake

Cinco de Mayo was yesterday and here in Texas we eat Mexican food on a regular basis, I usually cook a Mexican style meal once a week. We had a few friends over to celebrate, eat fajitas and drink a few Coronitas, those are cute mini bottles of Corona just so you know. Anyways, I thought I would take the opportunity to make a tres leches cake because seriously I will use any excuse to make a tres leches cake.

I had never even tried tres leches cake until a few years ago and once I did I wondered how I had gone so long without tasting the sweet milky goodness. If you've never had this cake do yourself a favor and make it. It's a light cake that is drenched in a mixture of three milks and you might think a wet cake would be gross but I promise you it isn't. It's the best soggy, sweet thing you've ever tasted! This recipe is adapted from the tres leches cake recipe I found on Cannella Vita, it has a cream cheese frosting which is not typical of tres leches cake so I compromised and made mine with less cream cheese and threw in some whipping cream to make it lighter. Most tres leches have a sweetened whipped cream topping but I was intrigued by the idea of the tart flavor of cream cheese with the super sweetness of the milk and everyone loved it and said it was the best tres leches they had ever had! If you're not a fan of cream cheese then just stick with whipped cream. I also omitted the toasted coconut because my husband doesn't love coconut.  This cake is often served with fresh fruit so feel free to throw some strawberries on top or whatever else floats your boat.

This is what your butter and sugar should look like after you've beaten it for a few minutes, nice and fluffy and pale yellow in color.

Once you've mixed your batter and poured it into the pan stick it in the oven until it's done.

After your cake has cooled for about five minutes you can start poking! I used the end of a wooden spoon but you can use a fork if you prefer.

Now start poking!

Once you've poked lots of random holes all over your cake pour the milk mixture slowly over the top until it's absorbed into the cake. This will take a few minutes and you may have to wait for the milk to absorb before pouring on more otherwise it will overflow from the pan.

It will look like this for a little bit but give it some time...

And it should look like this! Now pop that baby in the fridge to finish cooling completely. While it's cooling you can make the frosting and after it's cooled for at least an hour you can frost it and stick it back in the fridge until you're ready to serve it. 

Cake:

2 sticks of butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups buttermilk

Sauce: 

1 can condensed milk 

1 can evaporated milk

1 cup half and half

Frosting:

1- 8oz. package of cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F and grease a 9x13 pan well.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer until they're nice and fluffy, this will take a few minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl a couple of times to get everything incorporated. Once you've incorporated the eggs add the vanilla. In a separate bowl whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix just until it's combined. Add the buttermilk and be sure to mix it on the lowest speed or you will have a big mess on your hands. Finally add in the rest of your flour mixture and mix just until combined. I like to give the bowl another good scrape at this point to make sure everything gets mixed in together. Pour into your prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes.

While your cake is baking you can start on the milk mixture. Whisk together the condensed and evaporated milks along with the half and half. When the cake is done remove it from the oven, let it cool for about five minutes and then poke holes in the top using either a fork or the end of a wooden spoon. Once the milk has absorbed into the cake stick it in the fridge to finish cooling for at least an hour.

To make the frosting beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar together in a stand mixer until smooth. Then add in your whipping cream and vanilla and beat for another 3-5 minutes. Once the cake has cooled completely you can frost it.

Enjoy!