How to ~ Making Your Own Chocolate Lovelies

I know that Valentine’s Day has long gone, but I wanted to show you the present I made for my husband.  I felt that it could be it useful as a gift idea for the man in your life {is it just me or are boys notoriously difficult to purchase presents for?} or anyone else special to you that you want to show love to.

Chocolate usually goes down as a great present for the young and old ~ but half the problem with buying chocolates is that it just seems so impersonal.   That’s why I decided to ‘make’ my own for the hubby.

He happens to adore liquorice all sorts, actually any type of liquorice, so I thought that I would start from there and see how I went!

Supplies:

~  Chocolate to melt down

~  Candy to dip in the chocolate {I used liquorice}

~  Bowl & Saucepan to melt chocolate in

~  Piping bag or substitute

~  Non-stick baking paper

~  Tray/plates

~  Space in your fridge

~  Wrapping paper/cellophane/sticky tape/scissors 

Step 1:  Lay out all of your supplies ~ things are going to get messy!

 

 

 

 

Step 2:  Melt your chocolate in a bowl.   The method is really simple; just fill a saucepan with water, put the bowl on top and set to boil.

You can melt the chocolate in a microwave, but I find it easier not to burn it using the pot method.

Note:  Be careful not to let any of the boiling water get into the chocolate because this will ruin it as it causes the chocolate to separate.

 

Step 3:  Lay out your candy on non-stick baking paper so it’s ready to cover with melted chocolate.   You can do this while the chocolate is melting, but do not forget to keep an eye on the pot so all the water does not boil away. 

 

 

 

Step 4:   Piping time!   If you do not have a piping bag, it isn’t a problem.  Just spoon a decent amount of chocolate into a sandwich bag, and cut one corner. 

Cut a small hole because you can always make it bigger, but you can not make it smaller!   Then pipe away to your heart’s content.

 

 

Step 5:  Cover your candy with chocolate.  I dipped half of the liquorice all sorts in the chocolate bowl for more ‘coverage’ and piped squiggles of chocolate on the other half.

 

 

 

Step 6:  Make some truffle chocolates.  Okay, so I have to confess ~ I was not planning to do these, they came around because I made a mistake.

I wanted to see if I could improve the chocolate flavour with a bit of milk and butter.  The only problem is that the milk acted like water and separated the chocolate.  I do not know if it is because of the temperature  {I put the cold milk in} or because it was a liquid.  

Either way the chocolate was pretty much ruined for piping/dipping so I squeezed the mixture into little squares and popped some coloured choc chip decorations on top.  My suggestion for making proper truffles instead of mistake ones is to try this recipe, or this one, or any other you might like to taste!

 

Step 7:  Pipe a chocolate valentine for your sweetheart.  ^ u ^    I just did a heart shaped outline and then filled it in.   I wrote “I ♥ U” in chocolate chips for a special message. 

 

 

 

*Sorry ~ I forgot to take a photo!*         Step 8:  Put your chocolates in the fridge until they have set.

 

Step 9:  Wrap your chocolates up.   I wrapped my ‘valentine’ separately with a lid underneath it so it didn’t snap or break.

I put all of the liquorice in an banana split bowl I bought from Woolworths, but you could use a heart shaped box if you want, or an ordinary bowl; it really depends on what you think up.

 

    

Step 10:  Give your yummy handmade chocolates as a gift and watch them disappear!   Or, alternatively you could keep them for yourself and watch them disappear……  > U <  

xox,

bonita

Outfit Twenty Six ~ Floral Fancies

Out and about Perth today ~ whew!  It was so hot.  Seriously, air-conditioned buses and shops for the win.   > __ <

My experiments with vintage ‘red lip’ makeup.  I like how it looks, but today my outfit was not really  following any particular 40s or 50s pattern, so my makeup didn’t really complete the outfit as vintage~y.   I think I got more of a sweet doll style with a grown up twist instead!

The lipstick actually lasted pretty well and didn’t dry my lips out, which is great.  It did die when we had something to eat, but that is ok because the stain left was quite wearable with some strawberry chapstick over the top.    {Incidentally, in my mind, strawberry is the only flavour to get.  No, really.  >  <  }

Accessories  ~  Hair Bow {Diva}   Earrings  {Equip}   Necklace  {Valentine’s Day Present from my husband!!  ♥ ♥ ♥ }   Belt  {Valley Girl}

Top  {Tempt}  Skirt  {Tempt}   Shoes  {Big W}

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby Bump {or Bean Sprout as we nicknamed him!} is now at 7 months.   Golly, time does fly!

 

I promise I have a good reason for getting this post up so late!  > o <   And it just might have something to do with this photo…

      More to come later on this week!

xox,

bonita

Quick Share ~ My Milk Toof

So I thought I’d take a break from all the serious “improve your blog” post sharing because I have to tell you all about this absolutely adorable blog I found!  Created by the incredibly talented Inhae Renee Lee, this blog showcases great photography and imagination.

It has nothing to do with vintage or fashion, but it is a whole lot of cuteness that is hard to resist….   I must admit there was a bit of squee~ing going on when I discovered it.  But I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

My Milk Toof ~  The art of Lardee

"Lardee, that's not how you paint a fish."

"You have to observe,"

"be precise,"

"...and execute."

"Like this, see? Now you try."

"Observe,"

"be precise,"

"and execute."

"Good!"

"It's okay Lardee, nevermind."

xox,

bonita

How to ~ Beginner’s Decoden Resources & Tutorials

You might remember that I posted about wanting to try my hand at Decoden {here}?   Well, over the last few months I have been slowly collecting up some supplies so I can actually give it a go.

Being the perfectionist that I am, however, I did not want to just sit down with a bottle of glue and start sticking on jewels willy~nilly….  Especially as the iPhone case I am decoing cost me $15.00 {which I thought was outrageous as it is just a piece of plastic}.  But anyway, to be fair, some deco results look exactly like that throwing everything on was the method of application!!

I am too fussy to be happy with that I must confess, so my second port of call {after gathering up my supplies} was the internet to see exactly how I should go about starting my iPhone deco project.

The only problem is that it is really hard to find anything that is useful for showing me what to do!  So I thought I would put together my own deco resources post, for myself and any other decoden beginners who would like to know where and how to start.

Anything that I have found particularly helpful, or heard of a lot in my internet research I will highlight in pink, so if you want to skip parts of this post, just look out for the pink to find the best bits. 

Decoden Suppliers:

Artbeads.com  ~ go here for Swarovski crystals*

Fullmoon07xxx  ~  a wide range of cheap deco supplies; this seller is highly recommended

Strapya World

The Sticker Monster

Ebay

*highly recommended by every experienced decoden crafter I have read.  They don't scratch, tarnish or wear like plastic rhinestones so your deco will last a lot longer with these.

Decoden Resources:

LiveJournal Decoden community ~ I am a part of this community; it has some really great tips you can pick up. 

All about Deco ~ this blog is only just starting out, but has some great tutorials and information posts up already. 

Decoden Tutorials ~ this is a forum topic that posts about decoden tutorials.  It might take a while to wade through the posts to find anything specific, but it’s still a great place to check out new ideas. 

KawaiiFrenzy.com  ~  a blog with a lot of decoden tutorials available and lots of other cute stuff!

Decoden Tutorials:

Decoden Headphones Tutorial

Hairbrush & Travel Mug Deco

Making Sweets Deco Supplies

Deco Technique ~ Paving Headphones Tutorial

*Coming soon: My own beginner’s deco tutorial {or simply: how I did it!}

Youtube Tutorials:

How to deco iPod Hime Gyaru style ~

Created be kawaiinails

How to cover your items with protective film before decoing ~

Created by 01b0o

Not a tutorial, but useful if you want to see someone else’s deco process ~

Created by 01b0o

Decoden Tutorials in Japanese!

Okay, so I can not understand Japanese, but I still have a good idea of what they are doing just by watching the videos.  I hope you find these useful too. ^ w ^

Also, I have to say that the first two videos on the list I found  really helpful as they are the only videos I have seen that do a step by step of the decoing process. I really recommend watching these to understand the deco process, even if they are in Japanese. 

Decoden tutorial ~

Created by Chiara

 

Created by Chiara

Sweets Decoden Tutorial ~

Created by decorateharajuku

Decoing a shape/creating a picture with coloured stones ~

Created by decorateharajuku

Links to a three part Sweets Deco Tutorial that is very detailed ~ I recommend watching these if you want to try Sweet Deco:

~  Part One

~  Part Two

~  Part Three 

~ * ♥ * ~ * ♥ * ~ * ♥ * ~

So after a couple of hours trawling the internet, I think managed to gather together enough helpful links so I can start decoing my phone, and I hope after reading this post you are confident in starting out your own deco project.  

I promise I will post photos of my decoing adventure ~ and if you wish to share any of your decoden projects I would love to see them!  Post a link through in the comments, or email me a picture ~ bonita{at}bdotdepictions.com.   Happy decoing!  ^ u ^

xox,

bonita

Vintage Goodies! ~ Vlog 1

 

Vintage goodies galore…..

As I said in the video, this is my first vlog post.  I did put up a video a while ago, but it was just a short clip of the plum blossoms outside my window.  This is first real face time recording!  Pretty scary stuff… 

I tell you what, that black, unblinking eye {camera lens} can be darn intimidating.   And unfortunately, my video editing software is less than great, so I did not get the best editing jobs done.   But I think the end product turned out ok anyway; at least I hope so!

Do let me know what you think ~ should I create more video posts?  They are fun, but kind of hard to do.  Actually, I am glad for my Toastmasters and Journalism training, because I would have found that a lot harder if I had not practised public impromptu speaking and broadcast anchoring.

Yay for university!    >  <    Yay for trying something new!  Oh, and did you like Ichi~Chan, my strawberry takochou?  He was thrilled to be in the video, and wants me to do more things that he can be in, so keep your eye out for him!  I am not sure where he will pop up next, but I am certain he will be around.  ^ __ ^

xox,

bonita

P.S.  ~  I totally need a better name for this clip too ~ my lack of imagination is rather appalling…

Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

Hi everyone! 

~ * ♥ * ~   Happy belated Valentine’s Day!   ~ * ♥ * ~ 

I hope you all had a lovely day and enjoyed the abundance of chocolate and other yummy things.

   ^  U  ^  ~  ♥

xox,

bonita

My Hue Hating Tragedy

Yes, sadly I have a tragic past with some hues on the colour wheel….   The first one that comes to mind is the colour pink. 

When I was younger; probably around ten or an age close to ten, I decided I hated the colour pink because it was too girly.  Never mind that I am actually a girl, it was just too much.   Somewhere between ten and twelve I pretty much stopped wearing skirts and disassociated myself from anything feminine. 

Interestingly enough, I think this boyish streak came from the fact that a lot of my friends were boys before and around that time and I remember a particular group of boys that would be friends with me when it suited them, but ditch me when the other guys came along.

I can remember thinking that the boys get to do all the fun things ~ so why couldn’t I?   Anyway, this may seem like a side track, but it is perfectly related, I promise.    In a nutshell, because of this distain for girly things/being a girl I wore jeans/pants until I was about 20something ~ then somewhere along the line switched to skirts, then progressing to dresses.  I have not looked back ever since then.

One thing that has taken a lot longer to change is my distaste for the colour pink.  Yes, I know.  To some people it is a travesty to even mention the word ‘hate’ in the same sentence as ‘pink’ ~ to others, they are all “Huzzah!!  Burn all pink things!” and really, it may not seem like such a big deal.  

I wanted to write a post about it though, because this recent, strange {to me} attraction to the colour is, well, strange!   I used to stringently avoid the colour at all costs ~ red, black and white where the colours of choice {although blue was in for a long time before that} and even when I was buying random things like, say, tissue boxes, I would pick any other colour except pink.

And look at my tissue box now! 

But it is not just the tissue box, it is like a pink plague…..   

There is this:

And this:

Which, incidentally, I chose partly because it is pink and partly because it is shorter than other cans of hairspray which means it is easier to pack…  But mostly because it is pink!

And I want to buy this:

And something like this:

And I have to find something like this for my collection ~  Bows!!! On. A. TEApot!!!!!!!!    *dies*   X _ X

I am seriously itching to wear this if I can ever get my hands on it!: 

And to be perfectly honest, I would not mind wearing this either:

O__o

I do not know what has come over me, but I do declare:  I like the colour pink.  I am no longer ashamed to admit it.  I want pink things around me in my house.  And yes, if I find clothing that is my style in a baby pink or a pastel shade I will wear it.   But not hot pink.  I do not think the pink reformation has gotten that far yet…. 

So I have made friends with pink and I like it.  

I have to say it though ~ orange and I will never be friends.   Now there is a colour I really dislike.   ……..  Except on fast cars……    

xox,

bonita

P.S.  ~  I could not find the original shop sources for the mixer and teapot image; if anyone knows where they come from please let me know! 

Then I might be able to buy the tea set….     >   <

Quick Share ~ Growing Your Blogs Traffic

Another fantastic guide to better blogging from Fuyume.net ~ I particularly loved the first tip that suggests submitting your URL to search engines.  I think that this is a great tip because it is a really easy and quick thing to do but may generate quite a bit of traffic for your blog/website.

I also like the tip of joining the Independent Fashion Blogger’s community ~ this blogging community is a fantastic way to connect with other bloggers, and it is very worthwhile to sign up and check it out.

A Fashion Bloggers Guide to Growing Your Blogs Traffic

So I've been blogging for roughly 7 months now and I'm no expert but I have managed to grow my blog to 60,000+ page views a month so this is a little guide to what I've discovered about growing traffic in that time and what has worked for me.  This post was a labour of love so I hope you guys find it useful….

xox,

bonita