Then several coats of glitter paint.

Then it was just a matter of piling on a lot of cute paper clay food I’d made several years ago.

I did so by layering it all and hot gluing as I went.

You can never have too much whipped cream on a project like this.

Gaps filled with beads, pearls, diamantes and cabochons.

DONE!

A good way to get out the pink glitter that’s been building up in my brain and make a gift for someone I know will love it, now I just need to get the rest of her package together :D

Arrange them together how you’d like, I prefer to have one main piece of interest, a couple of  smaller things and then ribbon and lace dangling down.

So this is going to be the main part…

And then dangling ribbons and lace behind it…

Glue the pieces together one by one.

Then the ribbons on the back.

Add a little metal link to the back so you can attach it to a strap later and cover all of the back with a piece of felt.

And that’s all there is to it!

Pretty phone/bag/whatever strap for a girl who likes pretty things and it look all of around 10 minutes to make.

This is a fantastic way to use up old things from your craft stash too so it’s win/win!

• Lace
• Thin ribbon
• Thin wire

First thing’s first, decide how long you want the usamimi to be and cut the lace to that length.

Lay it flat on a table and place the ribbon over the top in the center like this. If you prefer you can pin it in place.

Stitch down either side of the ribbon so it forms a tube with the lace. You want to get as close to the edge of the ribbon as possible so it looks neat and tidy. Sew one of the ends shut too but leave the other open as we’ll need to shove the wire in it.

You should have something like this…

Now cut a length of wire which is a few inches longer than the lace.

Fold the end of it over and twist so it forms a loop like the photo below. This loop will stop it poking out of the ends between the stitches.

Poke it into the tube between the lace and ribbon.

Thread it through all the way until you reach the other end of the lace.

Twist the other end of the wire into a loop as well.

Poke the wire in so it’s completely inside the tube and stitch it shut with some thread.

Taadaa! you have a very pretty and versatile usamimi which you can use in the traditional way or in so many other ways because it’s basically a bendable piece of lace.

I’m very tempted to make a bunch of these in different colours because they’re a really good way to top off an outfit :D

It should form a thin side and a thicker rounded edge which will end up being the round part of the petal.

Repeat with all of the petals so they are ready to work with. If you want you can dip your finger in water and smooth down any cracks in the edges but I prefer to leave them or even exaggerate them as it creates a really interesting effect.

To for the rose, start with a small petal and roll it between your fingers like this:

Roll the bottom of the petal together a little harder so it forms a stem:

Now add a slightly bigger petal and roll it around the other side so it encases the edge of the first petal.

Add another petal so it’s edge is in the middle of the second petal. As you go, roll the petals with a little bit more force at the bottom so the clay squishes together between your fingers to form a stem. Be careful not to disturb the petals when you do it though.

Continue adding petals this way going around the flower in a circular pattern starting the edge of each petal 1/3rd of the way across the previous petal.

Just keep going until you think you’ve got a good size and let it all dry!

If you want you can clean up the stem and roll it a bit more evenly, I generally cut it of so the flower sits flat in whatever craft I’m doing.

Do you guys have something you automatically make? I seem to just make these on auto pilot whenever I get clay in my hands XD

• 2 Timtams
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Thickened cream (heavy cream/whatever the type of cream you generally eat with cake is called in your country, something with at least 35%+ fat)
• Sprinkles
• Fruitcake (not really needed but I had some spare to use up)

Now I see a lot of people making these fancy looking desserts in fancy looking wine glasses etc. I love how pretty they look but I also hate eating out of them because it’s hard to get the last bits out and the ones we have are small compared to regular glasses so I say screw prettiness, go with the biggest cup you have >:D

Left: Very pretty. Right: Realistic of how much I want to eat chocolate.

So this is the simplest concept ever: layering!

Stick a spoon full of fruitcake in the glass and pour a spoon of cream on it. If you’re not using fruitcake you can substitute with regular sponge cake or more chocolate biscuits.

Add some blueberries and chopped strawberries.

Roughly chop the Timtams and add some.

More cream!

Continue layering deliciousness until you get to the top.

Lastly add the sprinkles and enjoy!

eat while watching crappy movies or playing video games.

Took around 5 min to make and as the cream melts into the Timtams it forms the most delicious mush in the universe. *craving again*

Food Friday is as healthy as ever ;) Next week I’m going to share my budget recipes, money is tight here at the moment so we’ve been cooking frugally. Sometimes the best comfort food recipes are the cheapest! ^_^