Unqique jewelry is an icing on your cupcake...I mean outfit! Interview with Dandelyne's designer

I love cupcakes (everyone knows about it), and I also love shopping (well, I am just an ordinary girl).  I always try to find pieces that fit my personal style, my body type and my personality and somehow original.  I don't usually shop online, except for shopping for jewelries though.  I am addicted to Etsy and have been using Etsy a lot for unique pieces to match my personality and style=)

Months ago, I found this amazing jewelry shop from Australia on Etsy - Dandelyne is a very unique place to get unique and original, and personalized jewelries for yourself, your family, and friends.  I am so honored to have a chance to have an interview time with the maker and the creator behind all things Dandelyne, Sonia Lyne (I like to call her Son) and spread out her amazing works to share with my readers.

Son has been addicted to embroidery since she was young. Her designs can be described as colourful, whimsical and sweet. Each piece truly celebrates many facets of life; family, friends, colour, simplicity and fun. Combining a love for embroidery and all things mini, the goal is always to always deliver on quality, love and originality.

Her signature design and best seller is the miniature embroidery hoops . They are designed by Son and laser cut in Melbourne (Son's home). Son and her hubby spend many nights sanding, drilling and constructing each hoop. The unique miniature hoops are used to frame her designs and are made into necklaces, brooches and key rings. There come with two sizes:  4cm and 5.5cm. They are also now available in DIY kits. Personalized designs and portraits are also highly valued and requested. She loves the challenge of working out how to best  illuminate each person and pet in a way that is truly unique. I ordered mine for my wedding anniversary; it's a TALK OF THE TOWN necklace!  I got so many compliments on it. 

Enough introduction, let's get to know Son more:

Mrs. G (aka Me): When did you find out you love sewing?
Son:  I remember when my love for embroidery, fabric and sewing began. I attended a small rural school of approx. 70 children. I was in year 2, and on a Friday afternoon the boys would head to the oval for“boy stuff” and the girls would head to the library for embroidery classes with Mrs Mulrooney. This makes me giggle now, but I do have the fondest memories of this time. I remember piercing the fabric with my needle and creating my very first running stitch. I was instantly taken by it. It was from this point that I began my love affair with all things stitchy and crafty. There was no stopping me from this point.

Me:  How did you make the jump from hobby to a business?
Son:  I knew when I starting embroidering I wanted to turn it into something that I could sustain forever. It began as a hobby but I knew in my heart, and I was determined, to make it into a business.  It has been a year and a half and now feel like I am running a business.

Me:  Do you still enjoy sewing as your hobby, or is it more like business, another word, work, to you now?
Son:  I sure do! I have had a few career changes in my time and after having my third boy I made a conscious decision to pursue a path that would make me smile all over. I enjoy sewing, and making, in a variety of mediums but many, such as making clothes, are areas I only want to dabble in from time to time. The difference with embroidery is that I want to do it 24/7. If I didn't have to eat and sleep I can only imagine how much I could get done :-D.

Me: Where do you get your inspiration from for your works?
Son:  My inspiration comes from anything that is colourful, whimsical and sweet. I really like to stitch about the moments ,and areas, in my life that truly make me happy. I feel that the possibilities are endless and Dandelyne could go off on so many tangents. My goal is to embroider the world.

Me: Could you share with us what is your favorite piece of work you have done so far?
Son: My favourite piece so far would have to be the first piece I did, which was our family portrait. We have it placed near our front door and it always reminds of how Dandelyne began. Most recently I stitched a custom portrait for a customer that I absolutely loved doing. It was a full embroidered design of her beautiful Whippet. It is very different to my normal style but, a style in which I hope to play with a lot more in the future.

Me:  How do you manage your 5 "marbles" or I should say 5 boys, your mutilpe hobbies and your business at the same time? (Son is a Melbourne based girl , with 5 beautiful boys in her life … one big (hubby), 3 small and 1 furry.)
Son: Managing working from home, family life and play is definitely tricky. I find being organised is essential. There are times when things clash and I need to evaluate what is important in that moment. Generally I am super organised and I utilise the time I have when my youngest is sleeping , during the day, to really delve into Dandelyne. Many nights are spent sewing too. Mornings, afternoons and most weekends are out of bounds for Dandelyne. This is family time. Stitching does tend to sneak into weekends when the boys are having some quiet time.

Me: This question is definitely for my own curiousity, do you take cupcakes over cake?
Son: Cupcakes win hands down. It's like your eating little pieces of artwork and the best part … you can never stop at one ^_^.

Check out Son's etsy shop today:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/dandelyne
Her jewelries will definitely brighten up your outfit!!! and shop for some unqie gifts for your family and friends, it will make them smile=)

Little Bird Cupcakes

Couple months ago, I made these cute mini cupcakes for my customer.  I made some pink and purple birds and flowers to match the invitation of the baby shower.  They were the cuttest thing to eat, and everyone loved them (according to my customer).

Valentine's Day is coming to town...

You have about a month to prepare to surprise the one you love!  Instead of giving your loved one flowers, how about some customized cupcakes?!  This is such a unique way to surprise the person, who means the world you.  By saying the person, that could be your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, mother, father, brother, sister, friends and co-workers...anyone you think they are important in your love and you would love to appreciate their cares and loves.

Contact us for ideas, quotes and availability!!!

Mini Cupcake in a Jar

Happy 2013!  We just got our first order in 2013; I am  beyond excited to make some more decorative cupcakes for my customers. 

Over the Christmas, I made some mini cupcake in a jar as a gift for my family and friends.  They are so cute!  On top of their cutenesses, they are easy to transport, so convenient to eat and also make a great gift or party favor (*hint*).  I am  taking orders for making cupcake in a jar, so let me know what flavors you want and what theme colors/theme of your party, I will design them  to match your party.

Under the Sea Baby Shower's Cupcakes

First of all, I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween.  Also praying for those who have been suffering from  Hurriance Sandy in the east coast. 

It's been too long since I last updated my "creations".  I got couple orders for parties this weekend.  The themes for both parites are very cute and unique.  I will share pictures of the second party with everyone later this week.

Here are some mini cupcakes I made for the first party.  It's a baby shower for a baby girl, the theme is "Under the Sea".  Since the mini cupcakes are so tiny, I needed to keep all the decorations simple and catchy.   The flavors of the cupcakes are carrot cupcakes with cream  cheese frosting, red velvet cupcakes with white chocolate rose water frosting and the last but not the least is Japanese honey cupcakes with vanilla buttercream  frosting...

A mini whale fondant topper

A colorful tropical fish dusted with edibile sprinking paint

Pink jelly fish dust with silver paint

A mini star fish

Done with 6 dozens mini cupcakes

Cupcake Nuggets

I saw this very innovative creation on the Cupcake Activist's blog.  It didn't only make me craving for cupcakes, but chicken nuggets too.  They looked so real and so cute!  I need to make this one of these days=) Perfect sweet treats for kid's birthday party or bridal/baby showers=)

The recipe is originally from a blog, called the Cupcake Project.  According to the creator, "Cupcake nuggets are cupcake pieces breaded with cupcakes and then deep fried.  Cupcake nuggets look enough like fast food chicken nuggets to fool all but the nugget connoisseur, but taste like doughnuts with crispy, sweet exteriors."

For recipe and more interest cupcake projects, click here.

A Cup Cake

I did not miss spell one of my favorite vocabulary on the title.  I found this beautiful Cup Cake's picture on the internet and would love to share with you today.

DON'T NUT, DONUTS!

My friend made some donuts and cinnamon rolls for her little nieces' birthday couple months ago.  When she told me she is going to make cinnamon rolls, I told her to add bacon in your cinnamon rolls.  She and everyone else thought I was nut at first, but she still "bought" my idea.  And suprisingly, they turned out great and unique and everyone loved them.  Her recipes of making the cinnamon-bacon rolls and donuts are super easy -

Cinnamon-Bacon Rolls -

1 roll of ready to bake cinnamon rolls
1 round cake pan
1 pack of bacons

1. Open the ready to bake cinnamon rolls and put one slice of bacon and roll the rolls.
2. Place the rolls in a round cake pan (I suggest using round cake pan because it is the perfect way to keep the round shape of the cinnamon rolls).
3. Bake as directed and then done!

Donuts -

1 pack of store bought biscuits
Vegetable oil for frying
A big and a small round cookie cutters

1. Open the store bought biscuits and use your round cookies cutters to cut them in a donut shape.
2. Heat the vegetable oil, once it's heated.  Put your donut dought in the oil until golden brown on both sides.
3. Decorate your donut with powder sugar or with an easy donut glaze (click here).

And find these cuper cute donuts on the website.  They are from a bakery in Japan.  How cute!

Mr. G and I went to a tattoo, car and music event, Ink and Iron at the historical and beautiful Queen Mary in Long Beach during the weekend.  We go to this event every year and every year we had so much fun of checking out different tattoo booths, antique rides, beautiful pimp up girls, wonderful concerts and just enjoying our time on the historical Queen Mary and the ocean view.  I highly recommend this event to everyone if you have not been to one in the past.  It's good to check it out at least once in your life time=)

Beside all the fun stuffs I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of different booths selling vintage dresses, swimwears, hair accessories, shoes, and cute accessories.  I spotted a cupcake mini wallet at one of the booths, and of course wanted to take it home.  My husband spoiled me by paying it for me when he saw how much I love the wallet =)  The wallet is so cute and it's the perfect size to put in my mini purse.

The mini wallet is made by an American company, called Fluff.  If you are interested in buying one, you might be able to find it from Tilly's.  I just checked out their website, they also have another cupcake mini wallet (an old school tattoo style).  Besides these two styles, they also have one with a pimp up girl holding a cupcake compact makeup mirror and a coin purse.  Check out the pictures below.

PS.  Talking about the old school tattoo.  I would like to share my works I did last year for a tattoo artist in Orange, CA.  Click here to see more pictures.

A Sweet Treat - Parisian Macaron Purse

She is pretty, cheerful and sweet; she is the princess among all desserts.  However, she is beyond challenge to master.  Who this "she" I am talking about?!  No others, but the prettiest dessert on earth - Parisian Macarons she is!

A macaron (French pronunciation: [makaˈʁɔ̃]) is a sweet meringue-based confectionery made with egg whites, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder or ground almond, and food coloring. The macaron is commonly filled with ganache, buttercream or jam filling sandwiched between two cookies. Its name is derived from the Italian word maccarone or maccherone. The confectionery is characterised by its smooth, domed top, ruffled circumference (referred to as the "foot"), and flat base. It is mildly moist and easily melts in the mouth.

Macarons can be found in a wide variety of flavors that range from the traditional (raspberry, chocolate) to the new (marmite, green matcha tea). The fillings can range from jams to ganache to butter. Since the English word macaroon can also refer to the coconut macaroon, many have adopted the French spelling of macaron to distinguish the two items in the English language. However, this has caused confusion over the correct spelling. Some recipes exclude the use of macaroon to refer to this French confection while others think that they are synonymous.
(Picture and information from Google Image and Wikipedia)

 I tried to make this pretty lady couple times.  First time, I got few good looking one out of two batches.  Decided to try again after a few weeks and was wishing to get this time right.  FAILED!  Based on two failure attempts, I concluded measurements and reliable recipe are extremely important to make this pretty dessert. I am not ready to have my third attempt yet until I got fully recovered from my failtures (if you have a great recipe, please DO share with me=)). 

Even though I am not yet successfully to master this desert, but I could easily "own" one.  I found these very cute macaron coin purse from Site NYC.  They come with different colors in a decorative cigaratte lavendar colored container or you could choose your favorite color(s) and purchase them individually.  According to their website, they will make a "the perfect gift for your friend who stood an hour in line at Ladurée."  (AGREE!) 

If you want to try your crafty hands to make some macaron coin purse for yourself and someone you love, Joannie L from Craft Passion was nice enough to share a turtoraial post (with step by step pictures), click here to find out more.

DIY Picture Flower Pot

We had a great Mother's Day celebration with my husband's family the past weekend.  Besides my own mother and my grand mother (too bad these two very important women are not with me in the States this year), another very special woman I appreciate the most is my husband's mother.  My husband and I concluded - the best mother and mother-in-law we could ever ask for!  And how funny is that my husband was telling me when he was looking for a serious relationship; he always wanted to look for someone just like his mom.  And not for long he found me and my personality is just like his mom.

I always love to hand make something speical for the people I love and treasure the most for their special day.  Sure, we could always spent some money to buy a nice gift and a beautiful bouquet from the mall or at the store.  But in my stubborn mind, I truely want these people to know how important and special they are and how much I love them by making them something they won't see it at the store; and hopefully, they will remember the gift forever.

Last year, my mother-in-law left an old picture album on their dining table.  I causally flipped through it and found a lot of great and valuable pictures of my husband.  I snapped some pictures by using my iPhone and I knew that right away one of these days, these lovely pictures will become handy for me to make some great art works or crafts.  When Mother's Day was approaching, I was thinking to make my mother-in-law something nice to appreciate her love, care and support to my husband and I the entire time; what better than something she could eat, something she could laugh about and something she could add to her office desk?  So here the idea was arised - a pot full of memories and "Cupcake in a Tube"!

I editted the pictures to make them looked brigher and sharper before printing them out from a color printer.  Then I stick the paper on a thicker paper and cut them out.  Next, if you have some left over gift tags from Christmas, you could add them behind the pictures to make a little talking bubbles.  If not, you could always buy a paper puncher from any craft store and make your own talking bubbles.  If you don't like the talking bubbles idea, just simply leave the picture alone.  I added the bubbles because I wanted to add some humors (my husband and I are both very goofy and funny persons, and that is totally our style *laugh*).  Now they are ready to put on a lollipop stick (could be purchased from your local craft store).

Then, I went to the craft store to get a flower pot and some ribbons for decorating.  As soon as I saw this turquoise colored pot; I knew that I didn't need to look any further=p.  The turquoise color reminded me of my husband and my wedding ceremony (deep brown and turquoise were our themed colors).  I wanted to make my pot chic and still girly.  So I picked up a roll of skinny black with white polka dot ribbon and a turquoise colored ribbon to make my pot modern and chic=)  I also designed the "We L<3ve You" label by using a design program; and cut it with my cutting machine.  Now,  everything is ready, and I could use my glue gun to glue everything on the pot. 

There are multi different ways to put in the pot for securing your "photo" flowers.  I have a great and inexpensive way to put your "photo" flowers/cake pops/cake in a tube, pretty much anything on a stick format - go to your local 99 cent store to get a pack of elbow macaroni and filled in the pot (cheap and easy!).  Of course, you could always buy a styrofoam and cut it to fit in the pot; however, I found my way to be faster, cheaper and easier=)

The day before heading to my in-laws' house, I made our new product - cake in a tube to put in the pot (cake is pound cake with strawberry and whipped cream in between)!  I decorated the plastic container with the ribbons I bought from the store to tight the pot and everything else together.  And I wanted to give my mother-in-law a little surprise when she eats the cake. I cut the strawberry into a heart shape and put on top of each "cake tube"<3.  This gift idea is not only good for mother's day.  You could use it for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, or any other special occassions you could think of.

Baklava Cups Recipe

Couple months ago, I tried to make my very first Baklava (recipe here).  This is one of the most additive desserts I ever ate.  After my first successful attempt, I wanted to make this little treat again for our Easter's dinner; however, I want to make it a little bits different than the one I made the last time.  So I went online and find a pretty interesting recipe from Food Network.com.  The one appears on Food Network.com looks different than the traditional one I made the last time.  The ingridents are also a little bits different too.  I used walnuts and almonds as the recipe called for.  Also added bread crumbs and dried apricots too.  Don't under estimate the bread crumbs, they actually make a BIG different in the texture of the filling.  And the dried apricots make the baklava cups lighter than the traditional one.  

A traditional Baklava I made couple months ago.

The one I made the last time was closer to the one I had in Greece.  The one I made for Easter's dinner had a little Italian twist on it since Giada De Laurentiis is an Italian.  The one I made the last time was a little bits sweeter than the one I made for Easter.  They were different, but I loved them both!  Try both receipes and let me know what you think=)

This recipe was adopted from Giada De Laurentiis's recipe, you could also click here for her demo video:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• Pinch of salt
• 1 stick butter, melted, divided
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 12 sheets phyllo dough
• Special equipment: 2 mini-muffin tins

Time:  60 mins

Make: 6 sheets phyllo dough make a dozen, 12 sheets make 2 dozens

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place the almonds, walnuts, apricots, bread crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, ground cloves, and salt in a food processor. Run the machine until the mixture is very finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the melted butter and the honey and stir to combine
3. On a dry work surface place 1 sheet of phyllo. Using a pastry brush and the remaining melted butter, lightly cover the entire sheet of phyllo with melted butter. Cover the first sheet with a second sheet of phyllo and brush with melted butter. Continue until there is a stack of 6 sheets of phyllo.
4. Cut the stacked phyllo rectangle into 12 equal pieces (Cut lengthwise into 4 pieces and widthwise into 3 pieces.)
5. Gently press each cut piece of phyllo into the mini-muffin tin cups. Press 1 tablespoon of the nut mixture into each of the phyllo cups. Gather the ends of each of the phyllo squares and twist to make a sachet shape. Continue shaping the remaining sachets in the other mini-muffin tin.
6. Bake until the edges of the phyllo are golden, about 20 to 25 minutes.
7. When cool enough to handle, remove the baklava sachets and transfer to a serving plate.

Getting Ready for Cinco de Mayo!

Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner, are you ready to party?  I came across this very cute piñata cookies' recipe on a website called, She knows Food and Recipes.  The recipe is great with step by step pictures and clear instruction.  If you want something different for your kids on this Cinco de Mayo, this will definitely surprise them with a pinata cookies filled with mini M&M inside=)

The cookies just like a real pinata (filled with candies)!

Cinco de Mayo is not just for kids, how about some taquila shoot for the grown-ups?

Need party ideas?  Taquila shoot and mini taco for the adults.
(photo from Pinterest)

Precious First Birthday

Few weeks ago, I attended my friend's baby first birthday party at a park; it was a sunny, nice and warm day in April at the park.  First birthday is the most previous for the family and the baby.  I knew my friend and her sisters put a lot of efforts to make her baby's first birthday as perfect as possible=)  I could not believe baby Vai has turned one.  I still remember attending my friend's baby shower last year; it feels like just days ago.  It's so crazy that time has flied so fast that now the baby starts learning how to walk and words. 

Made the paper cupcake toppers for baby Vai's cupcakes

My friend's favorite color, purple!  I put a little bow under the "1" cupcake picker
becauese Vai always has a little bow on her hairs.

I helped my friend of making some paper cupcake picks.  Due to their tight budget, they ordered the cupcakes from a local gocery store and my job was SIMPLE - just dress the store bought cupcakes up nicely.  I also made baby Vai a "I am 1!" sign for pictures (see picture below).  All the settings, decorations, food and cupcakes came out so cute together!  I truely had fun playing all the old school games and enjoyed all the food at the party. 

Here is a little poem I found for my friend's baby Vai Vai:


Posing with the "I am 1!" sign I made her=)

I learned to laugh and squeal,
Then sit and stand,
And I can walk now if you hold my hand.
But the fun has only just begun,
Lookout world, I'm turning one!

My friend included pictures of her dad on the cake table
(her dad just passed away in March).  What a great way to celebrate
baby Vai's first birthday with her Kui (grandpa)

Vai vai likes her tranditional outfit.

Old school games at the park