The website is up!

I have finally finished the website for Baby Jives Murals. You can visit us at www.babyjives.com to see more mural work and find out how you can get a custom mural painted in your little ones' room.

Accidentally Vegan Banana Muffins

So this morning I went to make a batch of banana oat bran muffins and I usually tweak any recipe a little bit but this morning distracted by Gavril crawling over to try and open up the dishwasher, I left out the eggs. I didn't notice this until later when I was eating the first of some very yummy banana muffins filled with nice little chunks of banana and missing a lot of sugar and thought they were denser than usual-- more like a dense gooey cake than a muffin. And then I thought, hmmm did I add the eggs? A quick check of my trash can confirmed what my infant addled brain could not - there were no egg shells. I had made accidentally successful and quite delicious vegan banana chunky monkey muffins - as I later dubbed them. They were dense, moist and delicious and with all that banana my husband commented that they almost tasted a bit like eating the batter but without the raw factor. Yummy!

So if you'd like to try them here's my recipe...enjoy and be warned they are pretty addictive. Also check back because they were so sweet that I am thinking I may make a batch without the sugar (even though it was minimal) and just use bananas and applesauce to sweeten them so Gavril can devour them as a healthy no-sugar treat.

Chunky Monkey Bran Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat bran
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) earth's best buttery stick
3/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
2 medium bananas - 1 really brown to mash and 1 spotty brown to slice
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
optional -- add 1/4 cup of chocolate chips, raisins, or coconut if you want

**consider using organic ingredients where you can - it's good for you and the earth**

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line or grease 12 muffin cups.

Combine the whole wheat flour, oat bran, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl. Melt the buttery stick in a small saucepan or in the microwave on high for 30 seconds. In a large bowl mash the really ripe banana and then combine with the melted buttery stick, applesauce, and brown sugar. Then slice the other banana into the bowl - slice into quarters lengthwise then 1/2 inch chunks. Mix this in with a rubber spatula. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir until just blended.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups filling about 3/4 full. Bake for 18 minutes or until lightly golden brown and set - don't over bake and don't worry if it's still a bit moist in the center there are no eggs so you don't have to worry. Cool the muffins in pan for about 10 minutes and then transfer to wire rack.

Gavril's Nursery

Gavril's Room is featured on my favorite blog - OhdeeDoh. You can see the post about his nursery here .

Drawings of Little Ones

This past year I have been making drawings for friends and family of their little ones as they turn one. It's been lots of fun and a great way to commemorate that oh so photographed first year. Using a photograph as a source I create the drawing to focus on the face of the baby and then let the rest of the details fade away. Here are a few of my favorites...





Since I am now staying at home with my son Gavril who was born last January I have been doing the artist thing full time (when I'm not being a mom). So this year I am branching out and offering portraits for everyone. So if you have a photograph of your little one (or ones) that you would love to have made into a one of a kind drawing send me an email.

Your photograph will be done in the same style you see here and you can choose either 11 x 14 inches ($100) or 16 x 20 inches ($200) paper size (please note the image will be smaller since the white space is part of the work). If you would like a larger custom size let me know and we can work out the pricing. I can also make high quality prints of the final piece so you have copies for Grandma and Grandpa: 8 x 10 inches ($25) or 11 x 14 inches ($40).





I would love to immortalize your little one for you so email me and let's get started.