Lolita Level Up Revisited!

Recently while browsing my blog list I saw that Miuko over at Puppenschloss had completed the Lolita Level Up meme! I remember when everyone used to post about this, and I actually managed to find it saved on my hard drive, dated 21st June 2010! I had only just started to wear the fashion then (or whatever I seemed to think the fashion was haha!) and my level was "Resplendent Rufflebutt"! Let's see how far I've come since then! All the things that apply to me are in bold.

LOLITA LEVEL START!

You've been to egl.

You've posted on egl, without an onslaught of 'USE THE MEMORIES' and likewise.
You've bought a lolita mook.
You've picked a favorite brand.
You've ordered your first item.
You've worn a full outfit.
You've worn a full outfit out in public.
You've worn a full outfit and posted photos of it on the Internet.
You know what JSK, OP, and cutsew all mean.
You've bought your first brand piece.
You know your measurements.
You know your shoe size - in American, European, and Japanese.
You know who Mr. Yan is.
You know who Mana is. (+1 points if you know his band. +2 points if you know his brand. +3 points if you know why he's featured in every GLB. +4 if you have a shrine to him in your closet.)
You know who Maki and Asuka are. (+2 if you've met Maki and Asuka)
You've watched Kamikaze Girls. (+1 if you know the real name of this movie. +2 if you know who wrote the book this was based on. +3 if you've also read the manga or novel. +4 if you love the author despite his criminal record).
You own a wig. (+1 if you own more than 2.)
You own a pair of falls. 
You can identify lace on the spot.
You can identify an item's brand on the spot.
You can identify the year a dress was made by a specific brand on the spot.
You can name several different dresses or prints.
You answer stock photo requests.
You mod a lolita community.
You decorate your nails. (+1 if you wear fake nails. +2 if you make fake nails.)
You own a pair of a rocking horse shoes. (+1 if you know their abbreviation.)
You've made your own rose corsage.
You've made anything out of your brand dress's waist ties.
You've made anything out of a matching eco tote. (+3 if you were the first one to do it, you think).
You know how to apply false eyelashes.
You know how to pronounce shirring.
You know how to pronounce Moi-meme-moitie, or Metamorphose tempes de fille.
You know a reliable shopping service.
You bid on Yahoo!Japan or Mbok.
You've been to a meetup.
You've planned a meetup.
You've planned a meetup with catering or more than 20 attendees.
You've met up with lolitas while on vacation to foreign or faraway locales.
You've seen a lolita fashion show.
You've seen a brand fashion show.
You've modelled in a lolita fashion show.
You've modelled in a brand lolita fashion show.
You wear bloomers.
You know how to make bloomers.
You tell other people to wear bloomers.
You draw lolita art, write a lolita blog, or provide the community with some sort of creative services.
You've taken purikura in lolita.
You've decorated your room/house/apartment in lolita style.
You've listened to lolita music.
You've learned kana.
You've learned enough Japanese to read a magazine.
You wear or own circle lenses.
You've been called a princess by a young child.
You've dressed up a friend.
You've convert a friend.
You've been in media (television, newspaper, magazine). (+2 points if it's Japanese media.)
You've learned a handicraft, like jewellery making, embroidery, or sewing.
You've become a lolita mentor.
You've attended lolita events at an anime or multi-genre convention.
You’ve organized or presented lolita events at a convention.
You've visited a brand shop.
You've taken a trip to Japan!
You've dressed up and gone out alone.
You're prepared for inclement or colder weather in lolita (coat, parasol, boots, gloves, other climate-specific items.)
You've learned face contouring.
You've made a lolita valentine.
You've got a lolita pen pal or online lolita friends.
You have local lolita friends.
You know how to modify clothes that don't fit you.
You know how to dress for your body type.
You've been in a street snap.
You've been to multiple world locations of the same brand store (BABY Paris, BABY Tokyo, BABY San Francisco, etc.)
You've created a makeup/hair/sewing tutorial.
You've sold hand-created lolita goods.
You have your own lolita fashion line.
You've gotten a lolita haircut, style, or color.
You've mixed other street fashions with lolita.
You've thrown a lolita party/had a lolita wedding.
You've dressed your child/small children in lolita or kodona style.
You've successfully cross-dressed in lolita style at least once (boystyle for girls and girls' clothing for guys).
You've lolified or made sure all the contents of your purse are cute (wallet, lipgloss, keyring, etc.)
You have a lolita pet (small dogs, cats, rabbits, exotic birds, fancy fish) or have dressed/accessorized your pet (bows or pet clothes).
You've dressed your significant other or dated someone who dresses in J-fashion/alternative fashion.
You've read Alice in Wonderland. (+1 if you've seen the animated movie or other variations, +2 if you've seen more than one variation, +3 if you own more than one variation)
You've dressed as Alice or another Wonderland character in lolita style, or own Alice themed items.
You've made something from a Japanese pattern.
You've found, bought, or made lolita underwear (bras and panties).
You wear lolita daily, or have gone 7 days straight wearing only lolita.
You have lolita calling cards or business cards.
You play a lolita instrument (i.e., piano, violin, harp, French horn... well any instrument really.)
You can translate yen to your country's currency in your head. (+1 if you can convert other currencies you shop with as well. +2 if you read the news to know how the yen is doing.)
You've sold lolita clothing online (secondhand, egl_comm_sales).
Your article or entry has been put into the egl memories.
You take photos of your outfits/daily outfit photos.
You’ve posted to daily_lolita.
You own a petticoat. (+1 if you own more than one. +2 if you wear three or more at a time).
You’ve bought a lucky pack.
You keep a style diary or look-book.
You can put together an outfit made entirely from offbrand.
You’ve bought offbrand or non-Japanese brand.

RESULTS

Adorable Admirer (lvls 1 - 20) You've started studying or liking lolita but haven't taken that leap of faith yet. Good luck!
Resplendant Rufflebutt (lvls 21 - 40) At home within the land of the rufflebutts and spilling frills from every edge.
Victorian Maiden (lvls 41 - 60) A classy lolita of taste and experience, who knows her way around the lolita social set.
Starry Celebrity (lvls 61 - 80) On page six of the lolita world, you've risen to the ring of the upper crust.
Pretty Princess (lvls 81 - 100) Lolita royalty, truly versed in the ways of the lacey ones, the lolita princesses have achieved a special level of enlightenment.
Ultimate Lolita (Boss Fight!) (lvls 100+) Wow, you've gotten over 100 levels? You're the ultimate lolita with unlimited hitpoints. That's actually a little scary...

Well, if I've counted correctly, I have 82 points, making me a "Pretty Princess"! My aim now is to become the "Ultimate Lolita" and finally be able to say I made it to the boss fight!

I hope you enjoyed this silly little post! Does anyone else remember taking this quiz? I'd love to know your results if you decide to do it as well! Thanks for looking, and see you next time ❤

Fondant Ballerina Cake Topper

I hope that I'll get to do a ballerina-themed party for my daughter sometime, but we've discussed her parties until she's 8 (she's 4 now) and apparently it's not on the agenda for the near future!
But that doesn't stop me from collecting inspiration just in case - like this photo frame I took a phone-pic of a few months ago.

When I saw it, my first thought was not  "That would look sweet in Sabrina's room." (although it would!). Uh-uh. What I thought was "What an adorable figure that would be to sculpt!" Cake brain! 

Anyway,  I finally got the opportunity to make her this week. (Thank goodness there are other little girls out there who want ballerina parties!) 

I'm a little rusty with my figure-modeling, because I've done so little of it this year. 

And like anything in sugar craft, getting it right takes a lot of practice.

It also helps to have some idea of where to start. 

There are dozens of videos on YouTube. Some good, some... um... not so good. 

And after you've watch a few, you'll see that that there are a number of different approaches, and everyone seems to have their favourite tools. But they give you some ideas, and you'll probably soon develop your own style and techniques as you go. 

Here are some videos on fondant face sculpting: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO1UtpsQSjs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPDkAfhN2k0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFJuP25RRX4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS3PmrG1eWA

Sunday night viewing ;o)

Have a sweet week!

xxM

"Light" Gingerbread Cookie Dough Recipe

This is what happens when you've made the same batch of cookie dough over a hundred times in one year: you automatically start making it for the next batch of cookies, then realise fiddlesticks, it's for Christmas cookies - they're supposed to be gingerbread.
So, you take the same-old-same-old (which was still at the butter and sugar stage, thankfully) and hastily add some ginger, mixed spice and golden syrup, (and commit to using brown sugar for the next batch) and voila ... "Light" gingerbread cookie dough.

I've made another 12 batches of it since then, so now it's official...
;o)

Light Gingerbread Cookie Recipe 
Recipe by Tea, Cake and Create

250g butter, at room temp. 
300g light brown sugar 
1-2 tsp ground ginger (depending on how "light" gingery you like it!)
1 tsp mixed spice
2 tbs golden syrup
2 XL eggs 
620g flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract 

Cream together the butter, sugar, spices and golden syrup. 
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
 Add the vanilla. 
Sift in the flour and salt. Mix until just clumping, then form into a ball by hand. Place in cling-wrap, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. 

Roll-out and cut out cookies on a surface dusted with cornflour. (See here for some tips).

Bake at 180'C for 8-10 minutes until the edges are just starting to turn golden. 

Decorate when completely cool. 

And yes, you can start baking your Christmas cookies now - they freeze well. 
If it's humid when you're thawing them, just pop them into a warm oven with the fan on to dry them out a bit. 

Happy baking!

xxM 

Christmas 2014

[original teacake post here, but updated version coming soon]

I don't think there is any way for me to seamlessly link from Halloween to Christmas - time has not been on my side since October, so I'm jumping straight in and collating advent posts should you be making your own within the next few days - seems that felt stocking advent calendar post waits another year.

Clay Advent Stars

These are pretty, simple, classic and can be used on their own or to decorate.........

Paper Cup Advent

Easy, quick, simple and cheap -they also hold a generous number of sweets.  Winner.

Last Minute Stocking Advent
...and if December 1st is coming at you with alarming speed, there's always this download version.

P.S - Christmas versions of some of my favourite DIYS: honeycomb, confetti tags, pin&thread, pom poms are more as well as some new DIYs, gift ideas and a bit of food thrown in too.  How are we nearly at the end of 2014? see you soon x

10 000+ Blog Views, 34 Followers, and a Few Life Updates!

Hey everyone! Just a quick little post this time.

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who checks out my blog because it has now surpassed 10 000 views! I also have 34 followers... it's not a lot but honestly, it makes me so happy that anyone at all is enjoying this blog! I appreciate every single comment, and I'm so grateful to have you guys follow me!

Updates wise... I have had very little time for blogging as I'm at the crucial stage of being a mere two weeks away from finishing my degree. It honestly can't come soon enough! I'm a bit sick of mentioning it now, and I'll be glad when it's nothing more than a distant memory. It has eaten up the majority of my free time, caused me immense stress, and been ultimately unrewarding. Still, I figured out what I actually want to do with my life instead, so I guess I gained that from it. 

I can't wait to be able to have time to create more blog posts, but more importantly work on my indie brand. It's in its baby stage still, but I remain hopeful I can really make something out of it if I work hard enough. 

My most recent achievement is getting a domain name and web host, and creating a little website for Sugar Trampoline! It's not super amazing and flashy, but considering I was using trial and error alone (let's face it-- I'm no web designer!) I am pleased with how it turned out. 

I find November to be a very challenging month. It's constantly dark, it gets super cold, and there's the added stress of figuring out what to get family members for Christmas. I can't help but get depressed every time this month comes around. This time, I've been doing my best to fight the blues by thinking ahead to more positive things on the horizon. Soon I'll be deciding how to approach the next stage of my life. It's both scary and exciting at the same time. I have been in education since I was four years old. What is on the other side?! Well, it's time to find out!

A recent casual uni coord featuring a Sugar Trampoline hair bow and collar! The skirt was a handmade find from the TPC event, Frock On. 

Thanks again to my lovely little group of followers, and I hope you will continue to stick around! ❤

Flour-less (Gluten-free) Chocolate Torte

This is a very simple, single layer, easy to make torte (no separating of eggs, or folding in meringue) that I put together for a lunch party we were having with friends who need to avoid gluten.

 The almond flour gives it a dense, fudgy texture, which is beautifully complemented by the light  whipped cream and fresh strawberries topping.

But warning! Gluten free does not = carbohydrate free. (Sadly!)
Apologies to all the Banting and Paleo followers: thus cake contains S-U-G-A-R!
(Could it be made with Xylitol? P-R-O-B-A-B-L-Y.... But I'm no xylitol expert. So if you do try that out, let me know in the comments below!)
I'm sure it is relatively low GI, though. So if that's the eating plan that you follow (and for the rest of us that just wing it!) ... Guilt-free desert ahead  ;o)

Flour-less Chocolate Torte with Strawberries and Cream
Recipe by Tea, Cake and Create

Preheat the oven to 180'C
Grease and line a 20cm cake pan.

Ingredients:
100g butter
200g caster sugar
2 eggs
120g melted dark chocolate
200g almond flour
50g cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract


Cream together the sugar and butter.
Add the eggs, 1 at a time. Beat well between additions. Scrape the mixing bowl down, if necessary.

Pour in the melted chocolate.  Add the vanilla. Mix well.

Sift in the almond flour and cocoa powder. Beat briefly on low speed.

Pour into the prepared cake pan.
Bake for approx 45 min, or until a cake tester comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.

Cool in the cake pan before turning out onto a cooling rack.

Top with whipped cream and fresh strawberries and a dusting of icing sugar.

Whipped Cream

250 ml whipping cream
2 TBS sifted icing sugar 

Place both ingredients into a mixing bowl that has been chilled in the freezer for 15 minutes. 
Whip on high speed until stiff.  

 

Enjoy!

xxM 

Lalaloopsy Doll

This post should be  subtitled - "An Ode to Vodka".
No, it's not what you're thinking! I actually don't drink the stuff. And by saying "the stuff" you might think I sound a little judgmental of those that do. No, not at all (unless of course you're walking around swigging it from the bottle in a brown paper bag and you haven't washed your hair in two weeks and the cat has moved next door to be fed.... Then I might be just a teeny bit judgmental....sorry!)
What I'm talking about is it's miraculous powers to clear up little mishaps....

This is how I make a Lalaloopsy: I start with the head. Put on the eyes. (A little fiddly, those button eyes!) Then the cheeks. Then I leave it for oh, a decade or so. Because I'm so convinced that I'm going to mess it up when it comes to painting on the mouth.
And I did mess it up this time. But that's when the bottle of vodka gets pulled out.
Soak a little cotton wool in vodka and erase the damage. That's it. Very un-dramatic, but that's the point: no drama! No tears, no throwing a tantrum (or a Lalaloopsy head across the room). Just a little vodka on some cotton wool - replace with clean cotton wool once it's soaked up some of the paint. Ta-daaa!

Happy decorating!

xxM

Character Cupcakes - Dusty the Plane

Well, it wasn't the first time this year that I sat down to decorate the demo cupcakes for a class and thought what was I thinking?! This time, though, it wasn't because I needed inspiration, but because there were just too many choices.
Where to start, but more tricky - where to stop with Character Cupcakes?!

I had in mind doing only the characters that could be covered by a predominantly red, black and white colour scheme. And maybe some yellow. Well, a lot of yellow and some blue. Um, perhaps a bit more blue that that...

And then, I put it out there and said that the class attendees should suggest any that they'd like to do...

So, it was quite a collection of characters in the end. But I thoroughly enjoyed making them!


Anyway, here are a few tips on making Dusty, the plane cupcake:

He is a pretty simple construction of a few basic shapes and strips of fondant.

(All paste used is a mixture of coloured fondant and modelling chocolate).

After creating a buttercream dome on the cupcake, cover with white fondant. Use a dresden tool and flatten out symmetrical areas on the sides of the cupcake in anticipation of placing the wings.
                                                     

Make the wings first, as they need time to harden.
Start with a square of paste; cut it into 2 at a slight angle.

 Flip one of the pieces over so that they are a mirror image of each other.

Stick on the orange strips.
Paint on the 7. The circle is stamped on with a small circle cutter dipped into the edible paint (black gel colour mixed with clear alcohol).

Allow to dry before attaching to the cupcake.

For the propeller - cut out a circle of paste.
Impress a smaller circle into the centre to act as a guide - to limit your cuts.

Cut out the wedges.

Then allow to dry.

Stick onto the front of the cupcake, and place another button of paste onto the centre.

 Shape the cockpit by hand.
Tap it on your work surface to flatten the sides.

Use a small palette knife to demarcate the windscreen.

Construct a tail out of a small rectangle and a wedge of paste.

Add the central strip of orange and blue paste and start putting it all together.

The eyes are small squares, cut at a slight angle on the top, layered with a small blue circle and black pupil.

You may need to add support underneath the wings - dry spaghetti or toothpicks.
If you use toothpicks, they must be removed before the cupcakes are served.

Happy decorating!

xxM

A Beautiful Autumn Day

Hey everyone! I thought I'd do a small update about a nice day I had recently.

So, Friday 31st October was Samhain/Halloween. I didn't have any specific plans for that day (the Halloween-themed lolita meet wouldn't be until Saturday) and I didn't even get round to decorating my house. This didn't matter so much, however, and I ended up having a truly magical day anyway.

My partner, who I'm in a long distance relationship with, was spending the weekend with me so when we got up on Friday morning and found that the weather was warm and sunny, we knew we had to make the most of the day! I had just received a lunchbox I ordered from Amazon so it only seemed sensible for us to go on a picnic!

We didn't pack anything too interesting... just ham wraps, yoghurt, cookies and pains au chocolat... but it was fun preparing it anyway!

We went to a local park, and admired the autumnal scenery and watched a mother pushing their child on the swings. Only a few people were around and it was very peaceful.

After we were done eating, I decided I wanted to get an outfit picture while the weather was so nice. It was actually my partner who spotted the perfect backdrop, in front of a tree whose leaves were an array of vivid colours which somehow matched my outfit very well!

Gorgeous photography, don't you think? I could never have done this with my usual self timer!
I wore a modified Miss Selfridge dress over a black top and Peacockalorum wristcuffs. The boots are by Red Herring. 

I think I enjoyed using that lunchbox a bit too much but I haven't had one since I was in primary school and they are infinitely useful! I really want to put stickers on it and everything!

After that, we decided to have a look around some local shops. I absolutely love exploring the small businesses because they always stock interesting items.

This shop in particular had such a dreamy atmosphere! There was a ground floor level, and then this large loft space of homewares. I was tempted by a patchwork quilt but it was old and fraying so I decided to put it back just in case I find something better elsewhere. I loved all the cute tins, pretty plates, and various ornaments.

By the end of our shopping trip I had somehow amassed a couple of unexpected finds.

A deluxe edition of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and a Time Turner! Very spooky that I was able to stumble across both in such a sleepy town. The book was found at Oxfam and the necklace was in a vintage/used homewares type of place. What a result!

That evening, we decided to watch a bit of Harry Potter, and had the yummiest fish cakes for dinner.

It was one of the best days of my life and I'm glad I got to spend it with my favourite person :3

What did you get up to on Halloween? I'd love to hear about your weekends in the comments! Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time ❤

Walnut and Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Brown Sugar Mascarpone

  I meant to post this yesterday as a gourdish (rather than ghoulish) halloween offering. My plan was to write it up while the kids were out trick-or-treating with my husband. But he got called to theatre, and so I huffed and puffed, donned my scary outfit* and went out prowling the neighbourhood.
I landed up fretfully dragging my 4-year old around while I tried to keep up with my 6-year old and the older children. I didn't want to loose track of a black-clad child in the descending darkness. Frightful!

*a poncho raincoat. But by the end of it, thanks to the persistent drizzle, bedraggled hair and smeared mascara, no-one would have guessed that it wasn't a genuine dress-up costume ; )

Walnut and Pumpkin Cupcakes with Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Mascarpone Icing

Walnut and Pumpkin Cupcakes
Recipe by Tea, Cake and Create

Preheat the oven to 180'C
Line 2 x12-hole muffin trays with cupcake cases.

500ml (2cups) pumpkin purée**
275g brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
375g flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp salt
100g roasted walnuts, roughly chopped.

**roast the pumpkin with a little butter and brown sugar; puree once cooked. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the oil, sugar and pumpkin purée
Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well between additions.

Sift the dry ingredients together, and add to the pumpkin mixture.
 Mix until just incorporated.
Fold in the chopped roasted walnuts.

Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake cases and bake at 180'C for approx 20min, or until a cake-tester comes out clean.

Remove from the cupcake trays to cool.

Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Mascarpone Icing

250g mascarpone
250ml (1 cup) whipping cream
100g (1/2 cup) brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Chill the mixing bowl and whipping attachment for 30 minutes before proceeding.

Place all the ingredients into the chilled mixing bowl and beat until a stiff, piping consistency is reached.


 Pipe onto the cooled cupcakes.

Happy...um...November!

xxM