NOT CLAY. But still mini, Chocolate filled DONUTS!

YUMMMM!!!! My cousin and I baked some chocolate filled mini-donuts yesterday! This is the first time we've ever tried working with yeast, and it was really, very easy! I wanted to write a little about it, but couldn't decide where to document it, and since alot of personal stuff winds up on this blog anyway, here it is! KEK

Cousin is quite a fan of the ones at IKEA, and since I'd never been to her new place, we decided to try out baking (or in this case, frying) donuts on my first visit!

A quick search on Google turned up this recipe:

http://bakerbettie.com/chocolate-filled-mini-donuts/

I had always wanted to try making my own breads, but was afraid of messing up as I had read horror stories about how yeast was quite a beast to control. Buried in the back of my mind was a reminder to try and procure more current stocks of yeast, and to avoid less popular stores to ensure this. Made a trip down to Phoon Huat at Hougang Central to pick up baking soda (in case we had time to make cookies, we didn't :( ), yeast and cinnamon. The rest of the ingredients were obtained at a Giant supermarket.

The above photo was taken about an hour after mixing everything together.

We were supposed to put the mix in the fridge to rest 2 hrs after mixing, but thought to just stick it in after 1.5 hrs as it had risen quite a fair bit. This was the result after returning from our swim + dinner....approx 3.5 hrs after mixing!

Time to roll out the dough! It flattened a little after we removed the glad wrap. It was a warm, humid day, and perhaps that helped the yeast along....Initially I had thought the dough too soft, and that perhaps I had skimped on the flour (or perhaps the humidity made everything alittle more wet), but with enough practice we managed to roll out quite a number of mini donuts :) No photos of that as by then our hands were sticky and messy......Cousin did the nutella centred ones, and I stuck to the easier-to-roll semi-sweet chocolate chip ones :P

The instructions indicated to rest for approx 20 mins after rolling, and the donuts continued to puff up a little. WAY TO GO, YEAST! :D We managed to get about 3 batches of the above number of wee little donutsu~!

Furai~ Furai~ Furai~ Canola oil was used (it's a high smoking point oil?) and OOOOH LOVE THE INDUCTION STOVETOP so easy to clean, and a cinch to use! By the time we were done it was really late, and as usual when we have fun, forgot to take photos of the finished -____-" in fact, by the time I got a lift to the station, it was close to 11.30pm and thank goodness I didn't miss the last train wahaha. Did forget to take with me my swimming costume though =3="""""

We made a date to try out perhaps muffins next week. Or cinnamon rolls! OR DARE WE, BREADS?!??!? nyahahahaha. And of course, swim, while we wait for the yeast to do its work :)

Cooking aside, I also worked on a custom request, you can view the blog entry over on my doll blog here:

http://clover-tea.blogspot.sg/2013/11/13-vs-16-new-vs-old-rose-cupcakes.html

This week has been an up-and-down-and-up one. BF surprised (shocked?!) me with some pretty good news, that's brewing and will take a long time to mature, so....haha. just wanted to note it down :) All-in-all, a fantastic week!


Weekend is here! Hope you have a great weekend!!

Miniature Patisserie Items in PINK!

 *GULP* I was really nervous trying to put this together. Pink is a recent ....shall we say, acquired taste? Maybe it's age, and I've blogged about it before, but pink is slowly inching into my wardrobe and accessories :O Maybe it's due to over-exposure, pink being a very popular colour with my customers, hence learning to embrace it was what felt to be - at first - a very necessary evil.

But, pairing it with other colours makes me less nervy, like a hint of silver, a flash of gold, tempered by lots and lots of white XD I already find this quite an overload of pink!

 Ta-dah! Now available on my Etsy: snowfern.etsy.com :)

Made pretty much everything, from the pastries, to designing and printing the boxes, the pastry cases for the St Honore, cake boards for the eclairs, plate stands, doily...even the clear pink tray.......

Everything is affixed to the base, except for the macaron tray, and snowfern clover logo, which are loose for added versatility. Measurements are in my Etsy link :) And if you've not already guessed, there're a few more ideas churning in my brain along these lines....to be updated over the next few weeks. ;)

Also...... 

this isn't exactly 1:12 but I made it for a customer who specified the length of the corndog to be 1-inch long. I have re-opened commissions for Nov-Dec and you are interested in anything I have made in larger sizes in 1:12, do contact me (details are in the Custom Request page) and we'll see what can be done.

I'm looking towards putting a number of items as stock clearance, these are my older items and will be going for a special price, not sure if I should list it here or on my FB page, but I will definitely update via FB, so if you haven't already, please 'Like' it! :D

http://www.facebook.com/SnowfernClover

(oh and remember to add my page to your interest links to be updated, it's via the gear icon next to the message button, yada yada yada....)

OR, follow my twitter 

https://twitter.com/snowfern

(I apologize for the spam recently, twitter acct got hacked but I've changed the password and all seems to be well now!)

OR......instagram, where I update more frequently than blog! 

http://instagram.com/snowfern

okay. enough of the social media harping (another necessary evil that is harder and harder to like grrrr)....:P back to work!

Event Report: SGDC 2013

Cross-posted at clover-tea.blogspot.com

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 The event was a success! First of all, big big thanks to Arion and Adit for organizing the first Singapore Doll Carnival 2013 (SGDC2013)! Asuka was so much calmer than I was...somehow even with my brother Rayner's help, my hands were shaking all the while setting up the booth and sales display o.O Crystarlia even brought her crew down as helpers (I imagine them to be mini barkers XD) and phwoaar, she's one mean salesperson XD XD XD

So as you can see, the above is what Asuka and I had been working on, our first proper collaboration ^.^ she did all of the original illustrations and turned the characters into SUPER ADORABLE 'iced cookies' I executed the ferris wheel framework and other odds and ends to 'complete' the booth. she's so talented, i'm always enthralled by her artwork!

 Our dolls, Ayame and clover even have little matchy matchy aprons XD not that you can see it in this sea of green HAHAHA reedip.

 that's Crystarlia's crew ;) look at those little 'uns beckoning people to the Clover Rock Candy Carnival XD

hwa hwa hwa an acquaintance wore a 1:1 t-shirt version of the 'hamburger' hoodie/sweatshirt XD pity i couldn't catch her to take a pic together with the doll XD

chilling out at the ticket counter XD

so like, i was going to take pics of our booth but before I got round to Asuka's setup I got distracted (OMG ATTENTION SPAN OF A GNAT) and didn't even manage to take a pic of my full setup!!! this was taken I think either midway or towards the end (prob midway, judging from the number of hot drinks remaining...)

as per my previous booth experiences, here's a blow-by-blow account of what my mind has chosen to retain huhuhu.

- woken up by Asuka at 7.23am to meet for breakfast.
- arrived just shy of 9am at *scape
- felt the first flutter of nerves while queueing for food. Ray quipped "it's just hunger" and I was immediately calmed XD GOOD TACTIC
- it had rained pretty heavily earlier in the morning and was still drizzling as we made our way to the event hall. poor vendors on the ground floor :(
- arrived at the hall at 9.30-ish to discover Adit pacing around a little frazzled by the empty hall. tables and chairs were due to arrive at 9.30, but there was some miscommunication between the management and tables/chairs co. (huh) so we plonked down on the floor at our designated area, and got DOWN TO BIZNESS
- had a fun time bantering with some friends who coincidentally (or not?) had a booth next to ours, though separated by a pillar. we jested that it would have been alright to sell on the floor, flea-market style XD XD
- furniture arrived around 10! yay! Event opening delayed till 12. unyay :( but it didn't matter, cos as per previous event experiences, most of the sales would be within at timespan of 2 hrs anyway XD
 - BLUR BLUR BLUR BLUR BLUR BLUR BLUR
- 2+3ish? hungry. lunchtime! Ray helped us get macD ebi burger meals (YUM!) but I'd forgotten to ask if food was allowed in the hall XD we took turns to eat on the ground outside the hall HHEHEH
- traffic wound down a little after lunch, but i was still in a daze for most of the down-time, and shoulder started acting up again, so Asuka gave me massages woooooo KEKEKKEKE caught up with friends and....overall still general blur.

- took a brisk walk around the hall with Crystarlia but didn't manage to take pics of all the beautiful booths, save one, Jo and Joey's who WON the best booth display prize!!! GRATZ!!!!! SO HAPPY (cos they are people I actually know hahhahhahah :X ) WELL-DESERVED WIN OMG look at those dolls T-T GAWJUS
- bf came down to help lug stuff home...all 4 us of went to Arirang at Liang Seah street to celebrate!!!!


teething problems and initial panic aside, I think the event went pretty smoothly! kudos to the organizers and hope we see SGDC2014!! :D :D :D


the rest of the week will be spent recuperating and cleaning up my room, listing 'leftovers' on my Etsy, and getting ready to move on to newer projects. As for commission slots, I had promised that I would re-open them to selected projects, but apologize beforehand that there might be a long wait, and hope for your kind understanding and patience as I sort out stuff. Meanwhile there are a number of emails and convos to reply to, will do so ASAP :)

the painkillers are finally kicking in. kek. CHEERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SGDC2013 Next Sunday!

Cross-posted over at clover-tea.blogspot.com :D

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 The countdown has begun! Next Sunday, Nov 10th 2013 will be the day of SGDC 2013 (which i've posted twice previously) and there's lots more to do yet!

Here are items in 1:3 scale miniature, fun fair foods for BJDs :D They are made out of air dry clay, acrylic paints and epoxy resin. I have sealed all of them to make them splashproof (but not waterproof!)

1:3 scale miniature hot dog with mustard and tomato sauce

There is also a selection of drinks, but are not pictured here. These are just 'sneak previews' of the funfair or carnival theme, which is the theme which Asuka and I have worked together on :D She has done all the illustrations for this collaboration and you can find previews of what she has on offer over on her blog!

 1:3 scale miniature nachos and cheese dip

 1:3 scale miniature french fries and tomato sauce

 1:3 scale miniature crinkle cut fries cone and tomato sauce 

1:3 scale miniature potato chips (or crisps?)

I have a few more items to work on, but wanted to remind you to keep next Sunday free! :D will try and squeeze in another update this week before the event itself, so you can see the full range of what to expect there!

http://www.sgdc2013.com/

Date: 10 November 2013 (Sunday)
Time: 11 am - 7 pm
Ticket Price: $15 (earlybird till 30th September), $18 (at the door)
Location: Scape, Singapore (nearest train station: Somerset MRT)
2 Orchard Link, Singapore 237978

1:3 scale Miniature Pizza

Not 1:12 and smaller, sorry, cross-posted from my other doll blog, http://clover-tea.blogspot.sg/, cos i think there are more Singaporean readers here than over there!

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1:3 miniature Pizza slices, air dry clay

can you spot the different types of pizzas? am going to make 2 more different toppings later today. these took a particularly long time to make, mostly due to the numerous toppings and figuring out how I wanted to present them.

most of the pizzas I order look NOTHING like it is presented on the flyers/menu, of course. everything is usually smothered with cheese, and after putting that much work into detailing every single ingredient, it seemed quite a shame to drown it all in a sea of yellow. personal preference runs into the golden brown toasted-crisp stray cheese around the edge of the pizza crust, therefore my artificial versions would have that!

Pepperoni vs a vegetarian option, which has tomatoes, olives, capsicum slices in various colours, and mushrooms. I considered making it a no-cheese pizza, but .....NO CHEESE?!?! NO WAY! it's impossible that dolls suffer from lactose intolerance anyway. :PPPPPP

and for those wondering about the other stuff lurking in the background, TA-DA~

these will be packaged in a fun-fair/carnival theme because they're made for SGDC2013! See you there on November 10th 2013!

http://www.sgdc2013.com/

Date: 10 November 2013 (Sunday)
Time: 11 am - 7 pm
Ticket Price: $15 (earlybird till 30th September), $18 (at the door)
Location: Scape, Singapore (nearest train station: Somerset MRT)
2 Orchard Link, Singapore 237978

Miniature Eclairs in 1:12 scale

 made these over the weekend (and then some). 1:12 miniature eclairs in different 'flavours'! (air dry clay)

i think the colours or purdee~~~~ heavily inspired by Fauchon's eclairs, was going to try and be adventurous and do a whole colourful set...but colours aren't something i'm so good at so i'm going with the basics first.

 listed these 7 on my Etsy - https://www.etsy.com/shop/snowfern :) was going to list the other 7 individually, but after editing these photos, i decided to keep them for a different project ^ ^

Miniature Croquembouche in 1:12

For those who have been following my Instagram, here's what the little choux buns were destined for....

croquembouches! I've always wanted to make 'em but it just seemed a little like too much repetitive work. i was tempted to, but resisted counting the number of cream puffs that went into each tower. You know how when things just seem too daunting in the mind and never materialize due to that? No? Just me then? UNPOSSIBLE.

*snort*

aaaaanyways.

while thinking about how to decorate them, i had to first settle on a colour scheme. Much as I hate to admit it, I have finally fallen into pink this stage of my life. Having never been a 'girly-girl' (grandma has audibly noted several times the funereal theme of my wardrobe), this comes as quite a surprise to me. heck, even my new spectacle frames are a pale/translucent pink. the colour makes me look pale and sickly, which is a pretty accurate description of my physical state. of which i'll update later.

I also wanted to do a more classic version, at least, what i think is classic. Probably would prefer this one too, given my love for all things caramel. mmm my teeth ache just thinking about it. here's a medium version (will make smaller stacks once i sort out the hundred little itty bitty other things i have on my workspace)

AAAANDDDDDDDDDD a tall version. the only cream puffs i've really enjoyed are from Beard Papa, and really can't imagine it with a crunchy caramel coat. nmmmmmm. These miniature towers are pretty small, you can view more photos of them, and measurements, over on my Etsy store:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/snowfern

have also re-listed the charlotte cakes. please go have a look! Apologies for all the watermarking, i hate doing it, but lately a number of my photos have been used without my permission :( I'm super happy when people share my work but please please do credit me for them. a lot of work went into my creations, and usually this stuff doesn't quite bother me, but recently i was made to feel as if i were in the wrong to ask to be credited for my photo. which is absurd, doncha think? ah well.

PERSONAL CRAPPY STUFF HERE:

healthwise, i have finally gotten a diagnosis on why my monthlies have been increasingly painful, to the point the 'regular' painkillers don't work, leaving me in a sobbing heap for at least a week each month. Not just that, at least a week before the mess starts, i'm all moody and crabby, which to some might seem my regular temperament (hurhur) but it's just a pain to deal with. and then the week -after- the mess, i'm all unstable maybe due to painkiller withdrawals or fatigue from the debilitating pains. which leaves me just a week each month to catch up on minis and feeling 'regular'. and that's been going for the past year or so! PMS = perpetual monster syndrome it seems. so what is this that has been messing me up? Adenomyosis. given i'm still of childbearing age, late as it might seem, the gynae said if not for just that fact, he would suggest i go for a hysterectomy. oh and guess what, i'm one of the 10% of women who have endometriosis too. i always knew i was shpeshul. *smirk*

*heavy sighs*

well i've come to terms with all that. i know it's pretty personal stuff, and although i feel odd sharing it, i feel almost as if i had to explain myself, why i've turned down interviews, tv appearances, commissions etc...and the personal health stuff is just the least of what's going on at home. it's all scary, and anxiety levels are at an all-time high, but with the help of my bf and close friends, i'm actually coping quite well, all-things-considered. i hope the painkillers work, gonna start on a chinese medicine regime (bai feng wan?) and hope it doesn't clash with my heart meds. if else, would have to consider other options, and will delay the inevitable(?) for as long as possible. in some ways, there's also a sense of loss, for all the time and opportunities wasted due to this ailment, but there's also a sense of relief, where this is not just all in my mind. among other complex and unnecessary feelings and thoughts i have. grargh.

that was cathartic. thanks for reading. off to rest now, the wonky hip is aching badly from sitting here all day squinting at tiny buns LOL