Kung Hei Fat Choy!
Wishing everyone a happy and prosperous new year!
A long silence
I know I’ve been totally slack with this blog and facebook. Lately (well for a while now), I just haven’t really felt like sharing much or putting myself out there. It just doesn’t feel like I have anything important to say.
I have started my Blythe customs for 2012 and even that seems unusually hard for me. This is one of Mandy’s 4 girls.
Harry also started daycare this week, which was a bit scary … for me too.
And we’ve booked our first family holiday, which is very exciting!
So maybe one of this year’s goals really should be “try harder” … We shall see.
Big models & little models
It’s strange where life takes us …
If you had told me just 18 months ago, that I would be going from making up models to making up dolls, I might have laughed at you.
For many years, I wondered why I studied makeup when I had no intention of going into makeup full-time over graphic design. I loved the subject, but I didn’t love the industry. When I went to IMATS a few years ago and Rae Morris told a room full of teenage hopefuls to lie their way into jobs, in many ways I found that was the last straw.
Comparitively, I have found the Blythe community to be generally welcoming and supportive. And I love my little subjects so much. Blythe has been such a big part in my journey of recovering from post-natal depression.
This time 12 months ago, my first Blythe had not even arrived yet. And now I’ve done 26 customs. Yep, life is funny.
Happy Happy Birthday!
Indy & the Ninja is turning 2!!! It’s hard to believe but it’s almost 2 years since I started this little venture. I opened my Etsy store on Novemeber 9, 2009 – although it took just about a month for a real sale (ie to someone I didn’t know at all). It’s definitely been a fun ride, although not without it’s tough times. Look out for a special promotion at Kawaii Kids soon to celebrate this milestone!
Also this weekend, my little ninja turns 1! Now that year has gone fast! He is such a happy, bubbly boy and I am so thankful he is part of our lives now.
I guess it might be a little early to start reminiscing about the year that’s gone by since it’s not quite the end of 2011 yet! So perhaps I’ll leave the rest of my ramblings for a bit later.
Chocolate Tiramisu for Father’s Day
Yum!
I’m not really a huge coffee fan, so I changed up the recipe for Tirami su a little to make it more chocolatey instead. I used to make a very different recipe, but have opted for this to try a version without raw egg. I don’t think this version is even close to authentic- but sometimes you just know your eggs aren’t as fresh as they could be, and since I’m messing with the coffee, I may as well …
Chocolate Tiramisu
Makes 6 glasses.
So you will need:
Chocolate Syrup
100g caster sugar
50g dark chocolate
1 tsp cocoa
1 tsp instant coffee
100mls water
4 tblsp Baileys or liquer (optional)
250g packet sponge fingers
300ml thickened cream
400g marscapone or smooth ricotta
400g vanilla custard
1. Make the syrup by combining all the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan and heat until smooth and combined. Cool slightly.
2. Whip the cream.
3. Mix together the custard and ricotta, then fold in the whipped cream.
4. Dip the sponge fingers in chocolate syrup and arrange in 6 serving glasses. I find it easier to put a dollop of the cream mixture on the bottom of the glass so that the sponge fingers stay in place. I ended up putting 4 halves around the sides, adding more cream mix and then 2 halves in the middle, topped by more cream mix.
5. Drizzle remaining chocolate syrup over the top of the glasses.
6. Refridgerate overnight before serving.
My Blythe customs
#1 Kitten
#2 Pastel
#3 Fox
#4 Helo
#5 Feather
#6 Neopolitan Sundae
#7 Meredith
#8 Ultraviolet
A personal update
It’s been months since my last post I realise and my FB has been lacking updates as well. It may seem I am busy with some various Blythe activities … that’s part of it. But the main reason is probably post-natal depression. I did complain of the lack of motivation before and those of you with similar experiences may have recognised the signs. But I am receiving counselling and hopefully on the way to recovery! I will try to be online a bit more and back to doing the regular updates.
Neopolitan Sundae, a custom Blythe by me
Boots, but not shoes
As Indy’s 2nd birthday approached, I tossed and turned between buying this year’s cake and making it. Having spent all of the beginning of the year dairy-free, it was a bit daunting to jump right back into baking. But I decided if I was only going to make one thing for the party, the cake would be it. We did consider an Indiana Jones theme … but let’s face it, that would have been for us and not for her. Then I thought Spot. Though as April drew nearer, the cake theme became obvious: Indy is obsessed with Dora. The only way I can get her out of Dora pyjamas is to put her into a Dora top. So this year’s cake was Boots.
The cake itself is quite simple … a 9 x 13″ slab of Devil’s Food Cake (or any recipe you like, doubled) covered in tinted Vanilla Buttercream. A smarter person would have learnt to pipe icing by now, but I just did it all manually. The eyes are chocolate melts and the black lines are licorice. Then the hair is made using shaped musk sticks dipped into the icing. I’m pretty happy with the result! If you wish to try it yourself, below is the template I made.
A return to baking
Chocolate, Peanut butter & Cinnamon Cookies
I’ve had a long hiatus from baking due to a non-dairy diet whilst breastfeeding. At first, I ate a lot of digestives because I just needed a biscuit fix (and they have no dairy in them). But since starting to eat dairy again last month, I have baked surprisingly little.
Perhaps I was a little over-confident due to the success of my “Boots” [from Dora the Explorer] cake that I made for Indy’s 2nd birthday (I’ll post pics and info later), but my first attempt at cookies post non-dairy diet, Chocolate-Banana-Walnut cookies, was a bit of a disaster. I only used half the necessary flour, so sadly they did not hold together at all.
So today I made these Chocolate, Peanut and Cinnamon Cookies and am quite pleased that I can still bake! I won’t include the recipe here but it’s from Martha Stewart Cookies – a must-have in your collection if you love cookies. It has the BEST index ever!
There and back again
I seem to be stuck in a timeloop – and it doesn’t go anywhere – much like that episode of Stargate I watched on TV last week (or Groundhog Day for that matter), only unlike the heroes of those pieces, I don’t seem to be learning any thing new. And that part is my fault because I’m not really applying myself either.
I hope this creative dry spell doesn’t spill over into my work, but I know that it does in many ways (for example, I know I have been terrible at updating this blog or FB). On the upside, I did complete the new designs for Rosette Headbands before this rough spot, so they should be as cute as can be. I’ll be taking preorders for these now.
Rosette Headbands are RRP$14.95 and come in 8 designs. The colour of the elastic varies to match the button and fabric.
Violet Rosette Headband
Just this weekend, the Ninja family too a trip to the Hunter Valley for the CWC Music Festival. It was a learning experience and a half … neither kid slept and hence, neither much did we. And that made the drive home rather too exciting. I think Cassidy probably had a good time though – but she spent most of the trip in my hand bag accompanied by a pack of chocolate hazelnuts.
Cassidy @ Crowne Plaza
Does the Blythe obsession ever stop? Well, not just yet. My number #1 wishlist girl is Gentle River. I have the Gina Garan postcard of her below. But a quick search places her at roughly US$500-600 new, so maybe in time I will find one second hand (even though that would mean without her gorgeous stock clothing). I wish Takara would make more Blythes with vivid stock makeup – the more I collect, the more I have come to love the uncustomised face.
Gentle River