A Springtime Meetup

On Saturday I hosted a meetup for the Berkshire lolitas! The last time I hosted a meet was in 2011 so I was really anxious about getting everything to run smoothly. This meet really couldn't have come quickly enough. After a disastrous term at uni, I needed a break and to hang out with my friends again.

The weather was mainly bright and sunny, though it was quite chilly whenever the wind blew! This didn't stop everyone from taking group and outfit pictures in the park, though. There were even ducks!

Everything was in bloom, which made for really gorgeous scenery.

Here's all of us! For some reason most of us ended up wearing darker colours even though it was such a lovely springtime day!

After spending a little while taking pictures, explaining the fashion to passers by, and even some girls requesting we do the YMCA for them (I didn't get this either), we headed off to Wagamamas for a hearty meal! There was a slight blip in with our reservation, though (read: they didn't properly reserve space for us) so for a while our group was split into two, while we waited for people at the other end of our table to finish their meal. Still, we were reunited in time to order our food. While we waited, I passed around a lolita quiz I'd made for everyone to complete! Then, the food came out pretty quickly.

I ordered the yaki udon. It was ok. I was pleased with the generous portion size but seeing as it was a chicken and prawn dish, it would have been nice to get more than ONE prawn in the entire thing!

I went into teacher mode and started pretending to be angry about people cheating on the quiz! Surely three people sat together couldn't all recite Btssb's longest name print completely accurately?!

I gradually corrected everyone's quizzes and added up the scores. Miles ahead of everyone else with 7½ out of 10 was Luna, who won the quiz and a little bow!

After our meal, some of us bought McFlurries from McDonald's (so rori) and then we went into the shopping centre to check out Claire's Accessories and have a general browse. Lots of people came up to talk to us and ask about our clothes that day, but the general response was very positive and polite-- the polar opposite of Oxford! 

We eventually made our way to Mr Chips, which as well as being a regular chippy, also sells bubble tea!

We all crowded into the tiny chip shop and a lot of us bought tea. I didn't this time, but I did sample other people's! I had to try the taro tea, which looked like blended up lavender! I thought it was ghastly, but a sip of someone else's strawberry tea soon solved that issue. Also, it turns out you can have juice balls instead of tapioca pearls? I wish I'd known this sooner! It's the tapioca that always ruined it for me, but the juice balls are much nicer and super refreshing.

Here's my coordinate for the day:

I decided to go for my Bodyline polka dot dress, which I only recently realised matched the Cloudberry Lady hair comb I won at Frock On last summer. I was pretty happy with this outfit.

I hope you enjoyed this post! I had a really lovely day and I can't wait to have more meetups with my local comm! It feels so awesome to finally have a proper local comm that's literally right in my home town!

Thanks for looking, and feel free to comment! See you next time ❤

How to Make White Chocolate Cake Bites

 It's been a while since I posted my latest sugar-ful sweets [2 days.  2. Days], so today, I put that right with these pretty cake bites (perfect for little food gift bags btw! - hint, hint for Sunday?!)

What I Used:
12 cupcakes
100g icing sugar, 75g butter
100g Wiltons White Chocolate Drops
Sprinkles / Icing Pens / Decorations

The method and ingredients for these bites are the same as posts I have previously shared

 on cake pops, however; I had exact measurements for this and nothing went to waste [except I 

may have had enough to eat what was left on the whisks at the end].

Start by breaking up your 12 cupcakes in a large bowl to crumb form:

Mix up 75g of softened butter with 100g of icing sugar in to a smooth and spreadable buttercream [add more of either if you feel the consistency isn’t to your taste]:

Gently mix the buttercream into the cupcake crumbs and form a dough-like mixture that holds together:

Taking small sections at a time [the size of your cake bites will depend on your generosity ;)], around £2 coin size, begin moulding and rolling the mixture between your hands into a round, placing on a lined tray.  When you have completed  your mixture, pop in the fridge for around 10-15 minutes for a time out to cool down and harden a little for the next stage:

Chocolate time!  Melt your chocolate over a simmering pan:

...until a runny consistency.  You'll need to work fairly quickly with the chocolate, but to keep it at a melted consistency, turn the heat on your burner/stove top at it's lowest and ensure you stir the chocolate at regular intervals.  Get your decoration ready:

....and resting a cake bite on a fork, dip in to the chocolate and set back on the lined paper tray.  One coating of chocolate was enough for me, but if you would like a second coating, dip in the chocolate again.  Before the chocolate sets, quickly sprinkle with any decoration.  Leave to set completely:

I went for simple sugar confetti butterflies and stars and then added a little more decoration

 and colour with icing pens in yellow and white:

Simple, bite-sized treats that can be decorated for any occasion.  You know these are going to pop up again in December, don't you?  [I did make a version on a stick already].  Much easier to carry and display - I'm going to be making a whole tupperware container full to display in the form of '60' when we go away for my Dad's birthday later this year in place of a cake.

see you next time x

Rainbow jelly

We've just wrapped up Sabrina's birthday party. All those days and hours of planning and preparation and it's all over in a couple of hours. But that's parties, I guess.

One of the things that took a few days to make were these rainbow jellies:

If you think you have an idea of how to make them, but wonder if there may be a short cut - no, there's no shortcut!
Make the first layer, allow to set in the fridge for 4-6hours, then pour the next colour on top. Repeat.
Very easy - you just need budget enough time for it!

I could stare at those colours for hours - quite mesmerising. Or maybe that's just the post-party fatigue hitting?
I'd better go and  have a nap  clean the kitchen…

xxM

How to Make Floral Pins

It felt like, to me, this Season would never come, but Happy Spring!!

Todays post is quick and cheerful - pretty pastel Spring-themed pins.  I still love and use these animal head pins I made last year, but for a bit of a change [and bit of a contrast] I saw these pretty resin flat flowers in HC and immediately wanted to turn them in to pin heads.  Luckily enough, this is an easy project and you can transform them within the hour.

This is all you need:

Resin Flowers

Pins

Craft Glue

I really feel writing any sort of instruction is more than needed - so say these in a Gordon Ramsey-style voice in your head please: Back of flowers, Glue, Add pin head, Leave to dry.  Floral Pins, Done.

Happy Friday All, see you next time x

How to Make Meringue Roses

Tomorrow, the 20th March, is the first day of Spring, so I used this as the perfect excuse to make
 some meringue roses.  I've told you before, any excuse. Any.

For this, you need the basic meringue mixture, a 'star' piping nozzle [i used a Wilton 2D] and disposable piping bag:

What I Used:

50g caster sugar / 1 egg white

Let's whip.  Start by whisking the egg whites until they form a thick white consistency.  Now begin adding the sugar, in small measurements, as you continue to whisk until all is fully combined and the mixture is glossy and forms peaks.  If you want any visuals [I wont make you scroll through them again] there are some examples and other meringue posts here, here, here, here, here, here, here and finally, here.

This is also the stage at which you should add any food colouring.   I opted for a Dr Okter gel colouring in red and green.  I divided my mixture into three, keeping one white, adding 3 drops of red to the other and 3 drops of green to the final mixture.  Whisk the mixtures with colouring added and then transfer the first mixture into a piping bag with the star nozzle.

Line your baking tray with baking/parchment paper and then to create the rose, start at what will be the centre of the flower, piping vertically, then continuing to pipe, use the centre to guide the piping nozzle around in a circle.  With each loop, the nozzle causes the direction of the meringue to overlap, creating the petal effect.  Holding the bag vertically helps keep the overlap and pattern of the meringue consistent.  If you create the rose holding the piping bag at an angle, it creates a more 'open' petal effect.  This looks really pretty, but can be a little harder to keep consistent, but give it a go.

Continue creating your roses with the other mixtures before popping in the oven at
100 degrees C for at least 40 minutes.

You'll know they're ready when they can be easily removed from the baking paper:

These will keep in an airtight container for around 2 weeks, but they won't last that long.

For a dessert idea, sandwich two roses with whipped berry cream - perfect.

see you next time x

.....but not before some meringue roses bouquet silliness:

Foam Broadway Star Experiment

I have a vision for my hallway that includes big ‘Broadway Lights’ style arrows, stars and words that turn it in to something that rivals the Vegas strip – but the reality of my rental tenancy, access to electricity, loathing of wires and budget means that this is not going to be realised anytime so [or any time ever, if I’m being realistic].  So, I have been looking at the alternatives and have decided to go the whole hog and look at the alternatives that I can make and personalise to my space and budget.

One of the first alterations I’ve had to make is that I won’t really be able to have any lights/fairy lights incorporated in to the design, which leaves a pretty huge design element out, so I’ll have to work on what I can do instead to create more of an illusion.  I also don’t have the skills to create any shapes or words from wood or metal [another fairly key design element].  So, the alternative I have started to look at is my new best friend, foam.  It’s fairly flexible, but strong and rigid enough to hold a shape and the colours available should help me create the illusion of metal/wood.

What I Used:

2 x A4 light brown foam sheets

Cardboard / ruler / pencil / scissors

Glue Gun [but any strong glue will do]

I decided to have a trial using the foam before starting any larger scale project, so settled on a simple(ish) 3D star.  The template was fairly easy to create – on the back of a cardboard box, I sketched the basic shape and size of the star to fit an A4 sheet of foam and then using the more precise lines and measurements of a ruler, began to outline a more defined shape:

It was important to align the middle of each star point to the centre, as these lines will inform the shapes required to create a 3D star shape. 

 Next, I cut out the template and used this to create a base for the star.  As this would be hung or rest against a wall, the base needed to be flat, with the 3D points build around it:

Using the template, I then cut the 10 separate star points from my second sheet of foam:

To form the 3D effect, each of the two pieces that create a point need to be joined in the centre at around 45 degree angles.  Use the template as the base to guide the angle at which the centre meets:

Then, get gluing!  I wanted to use something that would be strong and work quickly, so that the join would instantly be fixed.  This meant only one thing for me, an excuse to get out the glue gun!  It requires you to work quickly, but would mean I wasn’t spending hours holding the foam pieces until the glue dried.  To ensure the glue did not dry before I was able to put the glue gun down and fix the pieces together, I joined the two parts of the point at either end to hold in place and then could run a generous line of the glue down the centre:

Repeat for the 5 points of the star:

You can use the template as a guide for how they will all fit together and check your alignments.  Then you can attach each point together to complete the star [I used the same method, fixing in place at each end and then running a generous line of the glue down the centre]:

Once all fixed together, there were some pretty noticeable gaps between the joins:

…but scissors soon sorted them out and tidied up the shape:

Lastly, the star had to be glued to the base [done in stages again – this is where the flexibility of the foam comes in handy!]....

…and trim away the excess to neaten the glue and any overlap:

As experiments go, I am pretty pleased with the outcome of this one.  
I definitely need to be aware of how quickly I need to work with the glue and fixing the foam together, 
but I think I’m ready to take on the bigger sizes that I have in mind.

see you next time [I promise it's not an experiment!] x