Christmas Chocolate Bonbons

We got some excellent chocolate on a grand discount-- 2 kilos for about 8 dollars. So I decided to try me ol' hand at making chocolate bonbons. 

Flatly refused to look up the tricks on Google; much better to figure it

out all by myself and make my own mistakes.

 My bain-marie arrangement. Two unrelated pots that just happened to fit more or less snugly into each other.

 I'll be honest. I originally started out with the intention of making chocolate leaves, not bonbons. Made about 30 leaves, but it was exceedingly tedious work. That's when I noticed the empty ice-cube tray...

 Smart me. Dig my rum-raisin-and-almond ice-cube bonbons.

 The finished batch. First of many.

 I tried coating nuts and raisins by dipping them in the chocolate, but the result was less than satisfactory all around. Visually, I mean, because they actually tasted smashing.
But dipping too many rum-soaked raisins caused the chocolate to "seize" (which means that it gets tough and grainy), so I tossed in the rest of the raisins in one go, added plenty of shredded coconut, and when the mixture was slightly cooled, rolled it into cookie-sized balls, which I then smashed flat, and wrapped in silver foil. They looked pretty vile, but tasted divine.

A few of my best leaves. My poor husband was completely baffled as to how I got chocolate to look just like a wrinkled leaf. He actually couldn't figure it out until I showed him how, har har.
 (Score for Praise)

Speaking of which, it's extremely simple to make chocolate leaves. Gather a variety of tough, well-veined leaves, always ensuring that they are not of a poisonous variety. Wash them with cold water and allow to dry thoroughly.

 Melt your chocolate over a double-boiler, and with an artist's paintbrush, gently brush the vein-side of a leaf with a layer of chocolate. Refrigerate, or lay aside until completely cool. Repeat, until desired thickness is achieved. The secret is to do the second/third layer quickly, so that the hot chocolate does not melt the cooled layer beneath. 

When the last layer is completely cooled, gently remove the leaf. Preferably, keep leaves refrigerated. Makes awesome decoration on cakes, cream muffins, etc. 

More pictures of my latest batch, including attempts at creamy-nut-butter filling, mint filling and stuffed cherry-rum fillings, to follow.

Dragon Blanket

My latest biggish piece, 1.20 by 1.05 m. A baby blanket for a darling little newborn Chinese girl. Took me about five weeks to complete. Exclusive blanket design created by French Tailor Designs, adapted from 'Dragon', a blackwork piece by Laura Martin. Flowers designed by Gini Lykins. 

 Close-up of Dragon

Flower details. Pink alternating with pale yellow every third flower.

Operation Drumkit

Read this and weep, oh ye pocketbooks, and while you're at it, notice the label to the right. Easy easy easy!

Operation Drumkit Begins--Spread the Know

Around the Christmas season, a worthy lad let his friends and acquaintances know that he is in want of a new drum set. The old set he has played on since he was a stripling of 9 years is no more fit for use than the pots in his mother's kitchen, and we can sympathize with his neighbours there, as this lad takes his practice times seriously.
Right ho, that's where we come in. We need 40 people to pledge 10 dollars towards this end, and one of those people ought to be you, for the simple reason that at least once in your past life, somebody gave you something that you always wanted. And if you've ever had to ask for help towards something you really want, you know how hard it can be.
The lad's name is Kevin, and we made a deal on this one. My part is to extract the dollars from my friends' and associates' pocketbooks, collect them in a safe deposit which one of his dear friends consented to place at his disposal, and when the amount was raised, or near enough, release the lot on him.
He, in turn, is going to continue rousing his neighbours with his practicing, and when the new drumkit is purchased and settled in, (dig this) he's agreed to send me a video of himself and the new instrument, which I will then post in an accessible spot, and inform all patrons and participants, so we can all empathize with the neighbours and rejoice in their new good fortune.
What say ye, people?
The paypal account at the disposal of operation drumkit answers to this address: sunlitmountainpeak@gmail.com
Be generous, folks; this is your chance to do something awesome for somebody even awesomer with a lot of talent, potential, and a great future ahead of him.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS
The pointers of this engagement are as follows:
- If you prefer to be an anonymous patron, your wish will be respected, just don't forget to say so; if you want to be publicly (or personally) recognized and thanked, don't forget your name.
- The goal is to have the lot raised before the 10th of February. The account will cease to be at the disposal of Operation Drumkit on February 25th, so do the deed before then, if possible. If your payday is after that, I suppose you can drop a line to the same address and let the person know. I think I can safely say they'll be cool about it.
- Share the know, y'all! Don't keep your friends and family away from this project. We're not trying to raise millions here, only a minimum of 400 dollars.
- In the event that the above-mentioned amount is exceeded, I'll notify the lad's parents (who are fulltime nonprofit volunteers with a missionary association in Southeast Asia, I neglected to mention) that the balance may be put towards the continuation of Kevin's musical studies.
Right well, cheerio!

Steampunk Holmes: Legacy of the Nautilus trailer

Steampunk Holmes trailer from live2contage on Vimeo.

Dresses for my girls

I like dressmaking. Not professional, I'm afraid, but I've managed to whip up a few dresses. Actually, it's become a bit of a tradition to create garments for my little girls, myself, and my favourite people. This is the dress I made for Floppy for her third birthday, last year, while we were in Mar del Plata. I've made a commitment to personally make a gala dress for my girls each year; in different styles and stuff. I didn't make one for bebe this year because she can't quite walk yet, but I'm making her a pink furry winter cape and hat, in anticipation of the chilly winter just around the corner.

Rosette in the front

Ribbon tied in a bow behind her back

Romans 8:28 Glasses

YOURS TRULY, the awesome designer


Floppy, her willing progeny. I almost had to bribe her to pose for the pic...

Grandma Gloria, laughing uproariously

Raff

Fe didn't escape...
Neither did her progeny: Liam (1 1/2)
Sapphira (3)
I even swindled dear ol' uncle Simon, visiting for the afternoon, into wearing the magical marvellous glasses...

For all you craft-happy people, simply take a couple of plastic bottles, cut out the bottoms, sand around the edges till smooth, make a two little holes on each side of the pieces, tie the middles together, and thread an elastic through the remaining holes, so that it fits around a head. Voila!
Yes, yes, I know--I ought to sell my idea to Gianni Versace... I might get awful rich over these shades...

Caped Crusader

I'm in a sewing phase right now--by hand, unfortunately since I don't have a machine--and here is my second most recent invention: a cape for Tebby's birthday. Tebby's turning six, and I thought a Robin Hood-style cape would suit him, but alas I think he was disappointed that it wasn't a super-hero one, and so the gift failed to reach its mark. But I had a great time working on it. Shown here, modeled by Floppy. I've also made her a fancy evening gown for her birthday, recycled from a scarlet skirt I'd been saving for just such an exigency, but she'll christen it this weekend, hopefully, and I'll put some pictures of it then. Also in the works are a party dress for Sapphira, age 3, and a dress for yours truly, out of that orange polka-dot material stuff that JM gallantly gave me for Christmas, bless him. I just finished working the bodice, and I have to take it apart because of a few marginal mistakes, which essentially disallow me from actually being able to put it on over my head. So much for creativity; but I'll fix it, and hopefully I'll have it ready for Saturday. See y'all around then!

Earrings and Fun

Kids are awesome. I mean, God bless those who spend their lives devising new and expensive toys and gadgets, but while those are lovely to have, life is entirely possible without them. And inventing toys and games certainly contributes to creativity in the children, and compels me to use my brain occasionally.
Here's our latest fit of foolishness. Floppy was rather grumpy last night, and so to cheer her up as she went to sleep I put on a new pair of "earrings" I found leftover in my clean-laundry basket and did a mime. She fell asleep in a fit of giggles.
Today we were all four (the baby, Floppy, Raff and I) feeling a bit under the gloomy weather, so I put the earrings back on and the merriment resumed.
I also found Danny's big pink monkey puppet, put a hat on the creature and chased the kids around with it.
A word about the monkey: Danny originally made him to be the villain in our puppet shows for children's schools; anyway, we left him behind with the rest of the puppets when we moved here. Danny sent for it when he realized he would need a 'partner' in his up-coming video spots for the Art Contest.
At present the monkey usually sits in a big paper bag in the garage. Occasionally I pull him out to liven up a dreary afternoon with the kids; due to his rather wicked countenance he is naturally the "good example of what not to do", and the kids have great fun correcting him for his bad manners. It's so cute to hear them instruct the monkey in all the fine points of good manners, heh.

Embroidery

I love to embroider. It's considered rather old-fashioned in some circles, but that doesn't bother me much, heh. When I was 13, my eldest sister (also an avid needleworker) brought me some embroidery kits from Norway and taught me the basics of the art. For needlework lovers, I recommend her website, www.roland-designs.com
Here's a shot of my latest work, adapted from Editions Marie Claire: Point de Croix. The brown chicken is yours truly, the egg and chick are my girls, and the goggle-wearing caped crusader is my husband. (...) At the time, he was filming a spot for the Art Contest on the Amazing Cat; "how to be an amazing hero". I emulated his fantastical costume to the best of my ability. Anyway, the shirt was my b-day gift to Luchi.

The busy bees

It doesn't take big bucks, expensive or even much equipment to have a blast with a pair of restless 3-year-olds. It does take a wee bit of imagination, though... I'll admit my imagination is more geared towards 9 - 13-year-olds; before and past that age takes a bit more concentration. But PTL, these kids are great.

Here's a close-up of our castle (we used red cardstock "bricks" to cover the printing on the box) and forest (painted pine cones, ha!), and a shot of our 'workshop' (my bedroom floor).

Details

Here are my brave knights! I think the blacks were supposed to be bad guys, but they're so cute...

Castle and Knights

Here's a picture of a project I've been working on with Raff and Floppy in the afternoons. We had a little shampoo samples cardboard box, and those never-ending empty toilet-tissue rolls--a bit of tape, glue, a snip here and there, and a dab of paint--and voila!