Friday Stuff ★

so i've been quiet this week i guess! back to college on Wednesday = uneventful day

ill on Thursday = also uneventful

then today i had a niiiiiice day :)

i met two of my best friends for lunch, Becky who i've known since i was twelve and Courtney who i've known since i was thirteen. it was great to see them especially since Becky will be dashing off back to University this weekend and i rarely get to see Courtney because she's always so busy at work

so we had a nice catch up in the Alpine (of course!!!)

and it was raining sooooo much outside that i decided to stick around a little while longer after lunch so treated myself to a cheeky cupcake to pass the time!

before the girls left they also helped me organize the stickers on my macbook...

i got a few of my own designs mainly because i was curious to see how they'd print out. as it happens they all printed out fab but my camera takes such godawful photos you can't really tell...

i'd quite like to see my CMYK cupcake and Matryoshka stickers though so who knows, i might be tempted to get them next...

to see the full range of stickers available, click here - red bubble

anyway after that i ended up in Waterstones book shop (just like always) and couldn't resist getting a few new Picture Books

i've built up quite a picture book collection over the years but i'm always looking to expand it and i knew i just HAD to have these books!

there's 'Little One's Bedtime' illustrated by Rosie Reeve and written by Suzi Moore

a very cute book full of adorable illustrations!

then we have 'A Bit Lost' by Chris Haughton

a really fantastic book, wonderfully simple yet effective illustrations + an amusing story. amazing colour scheme for this book!

then we have 'You Can't Scare a Princess' illustrated by the fabulous Sarah McIntyre (who was very helpful to me, giving advice during my own FMP picture book project) and written by Gillian Rogerson

Gillian's stories are always so cleverly written and Sarah's illustrations are always divine so i knew i had to get this one!!!

it didn't disappoint! i love love LOVED it!

and then last but not leaste we have 'Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble' illustrated by Joe Berger and written by Tracey Corderoy

it's another fantastic picture book! bursting with colour and wonderfully drafted characters

really super duper stuff!!!

* * *

after that i ended up at Tesco helping with the weekly shop, cue me getting ridiculously excited when i  spotted a pack of Hershey's cookies n' creme kisses in one of the aisles!!!

i know, i'm sad but i LOVE Hershey's chocolate! i've mentioned my eternal love of American sweets before so there was no way i wasn't going to get these!

anyway that was my day, not the most thrilling of days but i enjoyed it nonetheless!!!

* * *

ok so i've spent the past few days working on a couple of new candy characters + a special spooky pinup girl, hopefully i'll get these finished this weekend so i can share them with you either tomorrow or Sunday

so until then, that's all folks... ◕‿◕ ★ xX

Cute Cupcakes ★

so. . . i failed to mention this yesterday or earlier because i had other stuff to post about but on Friday afternoon i came home to find a belated Birthday present waiting for me by the gates!!!

it was off my best friend Courtney and inside the pink tissue paper wrapped bundle i found a cupcake maker!

yes you read that right, she got me my very own mini cupcake maker!!!

a cupcake maker that allows you to make cute mini cupcakes in minutes!

i'm not gonna lie, i fully squealed when i realised what the present was! i'm not the world's best baker and to be honest i often struggle just to make decent cupcakes so this is a real god-send!

it's kind of like a little toastie or waffle maker except you pour cupcake mix in instead

according to the instructions, it's not necessary to use cupcake cases but i'd seen a few blogs and sites online showing people using cases with their makers, and luckily my cousin Mandy bought me a lovely little cupcake making kit for my birthday that i have been dying to try out!

the cases fit perfectly, so now all i needed were the ingredients!

like i said. . . not the best baker! i didn't trust myself with completely raw ingredients (measuring wise i really suck) so my dear mama got me some simple 'just add eggs/water' kits instead.

the maker itself is actually really awesome, once i'd mixed the batter and heated up the little maker it cooked the cupcakes up in no time!

+ it was an absolute doddle to clean (as you can see i spilt some of the batter) and super easy to use!

i actually cooked up 15 mini cakes altogether and then of course, came the fun part. . . decorating them!

i mixed up a bowl of buttercream icing with a dash of strawberry milkshake powder. ok so i failed to buy any proper vanilla essence or flavourings but the milkshake powder actually worked really well! it made the icing a sort of blushed peachy pink and it piped out really easily onto the cakes

even if my piping skills aren't quite as good!!! i threw on some sprinkles for good measure though

before promptly running out of buttercream icing!!! luckily my star of a mother whipped up a batch of chocolate icing for me to use

so i ended up with some strange sort of marbled iced cakes as well

but at the end of the day the proof is in the taste and these taste delicious! even if i do say so myself . . . and i do!

a mini cupcake success i think!!!

thanks to Courtney for the amazing gift, thank you deary xX

* * *

in other news, i've spent the afternoon writing and editing my digital logbook ahead of assessment next week, 

planning on watching a movie or something now but to be honest i've been at a bit of a loose end since i finished my re-watch marathon of 'Supernatural' which means i now have nothing to watch!!!

any suggestions for a show i could maybe get into and watch/re-watch would be greatly appreciated!

i was thinking maybe 'True Blood' or 'Misfits' but i'd quite like a new show to watch

anyway, enough rambling! enjoy the rest of your Sunday

that's all folks . . . ★ ◕‿◕ xX

Cute Cakes and Pretty Princesses ♥

sorry for having vanished over the past few days, i intended to write a post yesterday about my new illustrations but i didn't get them finished in time!

you see, i spent all of Sunday afternoon drawing and sketching away in my room trying to come up with more candy themed designs but they took me so long to edit i forgot to write a blog post!

however . . .

they're finished today!

so sit back and enjoy a sugary little treat, after all, these sweet little designs are 100% calorie free!

what's on the menu for today then?

well, why not start with a tasty little macaroon, colourful, pretty and oh so delicious . . .

then maybe a yummy cupcake, with pink icing (of course) and a cherry on top

maybe you'd prefer something a little sweeter? try one of these little peppermint sticks or a strawberry swirl lollipop

fancy something with a bit more 'crunch'? then try one of these little lovelies! here we have cookies crammed with chocolate chunks, delicately iced biscuits and jam filled ones too

still hungry? then maybe you'd like to try a slice of this black forest gateaux, chocolate and cherry heaven in every bite

time to cool off, maybe you should have a yummy ice cream, take your pick from vanilla or strawberry whippy, with a chocolate flake on top 

craving something a little creamier? try one of these delectable red velvet cupcakes, guaranteed to satisfy your sweet tooth

don't worry if you can't finish it all, i'll pop it in a bag for you and tie it up with a pretty bow

come on now . . . don't pretend you're not hungry!

they were so much fun to draw though! you all know how much i adore anything candy or cake related so you'll know i'm serious about how fun it was to edit so many sugary sweet things

* * *

so what else i hear you cry?!

well remember the little Cupcake Princess??? remember her big sister?

well now i'd like you to meet their mother, the Cupcake Queen . . .

(don't worry, the hair colour will all make sense eventually!) i've been meaning to draw her for a while now, still struggling to draw the Cupcake King but the Queen appeared quite easily for some inexplicable reason

since i was drawing dresses i decided to draw in the rest of the big sisters dress as well because when i drew out this little 'let them eat cake' illustration (available as a postcard print here - etsy) i left the dress unfinished, just cut her off at the hips, with no pretty gown or anything!

so i decided to have a little go at finishing her dress as well

i know it's kind of similar to the Queen's (+ they really look alike i know) but i wanted it to be that way, i want you to be able to tell that they're related but not entirely the same 

+ i wanted the Queen's dress to be more decadent and detailed than her daughters

+ you can see where the patterns on the little Princess' dress come from, 

don't they make a sweet family though, Sprinkles the dog is there as well! (just click on the image for a slightly bigger view)

* * *

not much else to tell today, as you may have gathered, i haven't left the house in quite a few days although hopefully i'll be meeting a friend tomorrow and actually get to see the outside world for once!

hope you've enjoyed this candy coloured post

that's all folks . . .

◕‿◕ ★ xX

Little Cupcakes ★

so today after spilling water on my new copy of Elle magazine + running around playing hide and seek, little miss Sienna helped me bake some cupcakes

we cheated by using some cupcake mixes but it was still fun to crack some eggs and stir up the ingredients

it was also the first time we'd both gotten to test out or new funky aprons, here's Sienna modeling her cute little cupcake one

because she doesn't like icing on cakes, Sienna decorated her 12 using chocolate sauce and tiny little chocolate mini eggs

she did a smashing job dripping the sauce everywhere + used up all of the little eggs to create her chocolaty easter cakes

they looked very pretty when they were all done

then of course it was my turn to do some decorating

my cakes were made using a Disney Princess kit (we bought it for Sienna but of course... she doesn't like icing)

Sienna left me to it and practiced playing skittles over the other side of the kitchen...

while i shakily and messily coated the cakes in gloopy icing and the cute little fondant decorations

they're not perfect (far from it in fact...) but it doesn't matter what they look like... 

it's what they taste like that's important!

Sienna ate most of her chocolatey creations and boxed up the rest to take home

she let 'Fumbo' (aka Dumbo) try one first though...

* * *

in other news...

i got a nice message on twitter last night off someone asking if it was ok to do a mini feature of my work on their blog

my answer was... OF COURSE!!!

it's always nice when someone likes your work enough to want to mention it on their blog so i was more than happy to let Danielle post 2 of my pieces on her gorgeous blog 'Dusty Rocket'

her own artwork is amazing so i think i'm going to ask her if she'll let me do a little feature on her work one day as well

check out the original blog post/feature about my work here - Dusty Rocket

and check out Danielle's awesome website here - Danielle Parker Portfolio

* * *

not much else to report, i'm still working on the little kawaii purse i've been sewing since last Thursday

i WILL finish it... eventually!

i'll post pictures when it's done i promise!

ok i'm heading off to play some 'Pikmin' now on my new Gamecube

that's all folks...

★ ◕‿◕ xX