Friends

I'm on the mend!

Take it slow, kid. Don't overdo it.

...so-much-to-do

... also known as French Onion Soup.

I've been making this for years, but kind of according to my own recipe, which was good. But tonight I took a look at Julia Child's, and I have to say she totally kicked my ass. I'm really not surprised though - the woman did write a few cookbooks, after all.


I used to use red wine to fill out the broth. Julia's uses vermouth and brandy - a distinct improvement. However, it did mean that I was stuck with some "superfluous" red wine. On a Wednesday, no less! :)

( Recipe! )

See more at The Cast-Iron Darling!

Okay, most years I join in on an online hand-made holiday gift exchange hosted by friends (or I host one myself)...this year, since I'm on the road without my "travelling studio" (and don't want to re-buy a bunch of supplies I already have at home) I've had to pass on the ones that I've been invited to participate in, however tempting they may be.

But does that mean I can't host an exchange of a different sort? Hell no.

So here's what I'm thinking/plotting...

Folks who are interested in participating would put together a list of 3-5 of their favorite Etsy sellers, and send them to me...in return, you would get someone else's list of Favorites. From that list, you would purchase an item for your partner, in the price range of $15.00 to $30.00 (excluding shipping costs...or, obviously, multiple smaller items that add up to the same range.

If you'd care to add anything else to the package of your own making, or go above that amount, that would be entirely up to you...you would just do so knowing that it is by your own choosing, and not necessarily to expect the same in return. Because, you know, that's how gifting works!

Because the Big Day(s) are rapidly approaching, and we need to allow for shipping time, I would need to know who was interested in participating by Nov 20th....partners will be randomly selected by Charlie, and emailed out that week. While this is NOT necessarily a Christmakwanzakkuh exchange, I would like for everyone to have received their goodies by late Dec/early Jan.

I figure this not only means you'll get some surprise goodness from some of your favorite artisans, but it ALSO benefits the sellers as well!

Please, please, please...only sign up for this if you intend on following through. I'll be keeping a list and checking it twice! If your name shows up on the "naughty" side, you can expect to hear about it!

Also...dish out the $ching$ for tracking on your packages!! Seriously...do it. I'll even go so far as to say it's one of the "rules," with the exception of international participants.

Some of you have my email, but most of you don't, here it is... cynjon_noah at yahoo dot com
If you email me, and don't hear back, leave a comment here (doesn't have to be on this post) to let me know...my spam filters can get a bit trigger-happy sometimes.


***International participants are welcome, simply create a favorites list of Sellers from your country! No need for the shipping to cost more than the gift!************

New clothes and things in the shop

Been posting a lot lately but couldn't pass up on letting you guys know about this sale, Put our two most popular underbust styles on sale on ebay.

Short Satin Underbusts Custom Sized bidding starts at only $75.00!! BIN price of $125.00 (normally $150)

and our

Hourglass Underbust Brocade Corsets custom sized bidding starts at only $125 with a BIN of $200 (Normally $225).

Since there are a few auctions for each one I am just linking to the general corset section of our ebay store you will see the items listed toward the top:

http://stores.ebay.com/The-Twilight-Parlour_Corsets_W0QQ_fsubZ11162966QQ_sidZ3156155QQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em322

I drove my boyfriend to another city this past weekend so he could take his math subject GRE. I wanted to make it a special trip, so I hunted around for a simple, elegant, no-fuss cake to pack up and bring along. My friend sent me this recipe from Orangette's blog: Gâteau aux Noix, or French Walnut Cake.

This cake has a subtle flavor of white wine, and the toasted walnuts are absolutely delicious. If you're looking for a simple, quick cake to grab a hunk of after dinner, this is the perfect choice.



( recipe and photos )


To read more of my thoughts about this cake, view more yummy photos, or just to listen to me brood about my holiday schedule, please head over to my baking blog, Willow Bird Baking!

x posted to food_porn, cooking, and bakebakebake

Hey everyone - just a quick question!

Instead of flossing by hand, is it just as good (practically, not aesthetically, obviously) to stitch across the boning channel very close to the ends of the bone? Basically I'm making a corset for underwear for a lady who likes things very plain. Also she is only paying for materials as we are doing a time-based trade. I want to floss in some way, but as she is really not bothered about the appearance and I am snowed under with other work, I was hoping this would be ok.

Many thanks,
Hannah x

( More Photos Here )

Hello cake decorating geniuses!

I have a rather peculiar question regarding Vegetable Shortening. Due to allergies that I have to work with I cannot use any vegetable shortenings that include palm oil. Unfortunately Crisco just recently added hydrogenated palm oil to their products.

Do any of you wonderful people know of a vegetable shortening that does not contain palm oil? Or any good frosting recipes that are not overly sweet, do not contain butter (I can replace milk with soy) or shortening? Working with lard in frosting is very frustrating because it makes it very sweet.

Thanks for your help!!!

2 corsets for sale, includes;

. angels carrying savage weapons corset 28"
. polka dot corset 28"

im in uk


pics under cut( Read more... )

Okay, I'm ready to make up a muslin - yikes! Two questions:

Do I cut out the lining from the same fabric? That seems like the easiest way to do it.

Do I put in grommets? I've looked for grommet tape but can't find it locally. One of the posts in memories described adding 2" to the pieces and sewing them together, but that seems like it would be less accurate.

Thanks.

I have a Flickr now!! Yay! Please feel free to add me on there! I would be honored. http://www.flickr.com/photos/studionameless/

Also here is some of my recent work. I even tried my hand at some icons. Feel free to use any of them, just please credit me, thanks!

( Mooooore )

A few weeks ago, many of you gave me terrific ideas for making 'ho ho like icing' for my friends baby shower. The cake came out ok. Everyone seemed to love it but I am to hard on myself and say only the imperfections. That's what happens when you give yourself 6 hours for baking, cooling, icing, going out to buy more ingredients, baking, cooling, icing, covering with fondant and decorating..... all in one night when you are sick. :)

Any tips or techniques would be appreciated.

This is the candy wrapper the cake was designed around



( Actual cake, under the cut )

Well, after four mock-ups, I think I've finally got my wedding dress corset pattern drafted and good-to-go. And now... the terrifying step of cutting into the fashion fabric! O.O

But before I do that, I'd like some advice about layers, if you please. Most of these are nagging questions that I should've answered long before this, but I've always faked it well enough that I haven't bothered. But I figure that this is a good time to ask for your collective wisdom! ( This got a bit long, so I'm going to put it behind a cut so as not to clutter your friends pages! )

Hello all you marvelous cake decoraters! I've been an avid reader/lurker of the community for the longest time and am constantly in awe of the amazing cakes that you all create.

I am looking to learn/self teach cake decorating and my partner is willing to buy me some tools/supplies to help me get started. I've looked on various websites and I see that Wilton tools/accessories are a common theme. Are they worth the money?

Basically, what do you think are the most necessary items to get started? What are the tools you can't live without?

I live in Perth, Australia and haven't seen many shops so I think I would be ordering online.

Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!