Gummy Fun

Not too long ago I picked up the book Gummy Fun at Kinokuniya in San Jose. I've always wanted to try making my own gummy candy and this book looked like it had some good and unique recipes to help me get started.   I also liked the cute pictures in the book (I'm a sucker for cute pictures).  Below are a few photos of the inside of Gummy Fun.

Demonstrates how to make depression molds.

Cute illustrations I was talking about.

Coffee and milk tea gummies.  Yes, please.

Here's a photo of one of the recipes I  tested out.  I made my gummy candy with canned peaches.

For the gummies, I used a silicone heart mold I found at Daiso for $1.50.  One batch ended up filling up the heart molds perfectly.  I should also point out the recipes make tiny batches.  The gummy hearts don't taste like the gummies you would find in the candy aisle.  They're less sweet and the texture is more like thick jello. 

Overall I like the book.  My only complaints are that it never states how long it takes to make the gummies.  The directions only say to "set up at room temperature". The gummy hearts I made took an hour to set up.  There's also no mention of how long the gummy treats will stay fresh or if they need to be refrigerated.  But knowing my family, that's not really a problem.  I'll be lucky if the gummy hearts last an hour in our house.

Have you ever made your own gummy treats?  Have any good recipes to share?

Washi Tape Label Maker

Have you seen this washi tape label maker?! I just discovered it and I love everything most things about it.  First the obvious, it can print on washi tape.  Two, it looks just like a little vintage suitcase. Cute. However, I don't care for the price ($100 on Etsy).  Also, you can only use the Coharu brand washi tape with it.  What do you think about it?  Would you buy one?  What would you use it for?

Examples of fonts and images it prints on the tape.

Origami Totoro Finger Puppets

Have you seen the animated film My Neighbor Totoro?  The film is about two sisters (Satsuki and Mei) who move to the countryside.  There they discover their new neighbor is a forest spirit called Totoro who can only be seen by children.  The film is directed my the famous director,animator and manga artist, Hayao Miyazaki (who just recently announced his retirement, BTW) . The film has been around for awhile, 1988 to be exact.

Promotional poster for the movie My Neighbor Totoro

During the summer my children watched this movie for the first time and they absolutely loved it.  That inspired me to see if there were any directions to make an origami Totoro.  I actually found quite a few but I chose this one to share because it's very easy to make and it's a puppet.  It's very similar to folding an origami cup. 

 

For the grey Totoro I used 6-by-6 in/15-by-15 cm paper.  For the little blue guy I used 3-by-3 in/7.5-by-7.5 cm paper.

Kracie DIY Mini Cake Kit

Do you remember the easy bake oven? Kracie kits are kind of like that only you don't have to wait an hour for your food to cook under a light bulb.  Instead all you need is a microwave and a little water.  It's basically a little cake kit that any child could make with a little supervision. I discovered the kit at the Japanese market and decided to test it out.  Below I'm going to share how my daughter and I made the cake.  The directions were written in Japanese but I had my Grandmother translate them for me. 

This is what the box looks like.  Kracie has a variety of different kits you can get from mini doughnuts to candy hamburgers.  I purchased my kit at Mitsuwa in San Jose, CA for $4.99.  You can also purchase them at Amazon, here. 

1.  Large Cake Mix
2.  Vanilla Frosting
3.  Cooking Tray - The tray is cut into three pieces: strawberry jelly mold, circle cake molds, and triangle    measuring cup.
4.  Small Cake Mix
5.  Strawberry jelly mix
6.  Frosting piping bag
7.  Strawberry frosting
8.  Candy for decorating
9.  Mixing spoon

1.  The large cake mix (yellow) is placed in the large circle. Using the triangle measuring cup, use three scoops of water.

2.  Add the small cake mix (orange) to the small circle.  Using the triangle measuring cup, use two scoops of water.

3.  Pound tray to get out any air bubbles.  Microwave for sixty seconds.  Let cool for two minutes.  Carefully take out cakes.

Here's what the cakes look like after they're cooked in the microwave. I think we forgot to get out the air bubbles, oops.

4.  When the cakes are cooling make the strawberry jellies.  Mix the red packet with one triangle of water.  Pour mix into strawberry mold.  Let set up at room temperature.  By the time we finished frosting the cake, they had set up.

5.  Mix vanilla frosting packet (blue) with two triangle scoops of water.  Frost large cake first.  Stack small cake on top of large cake and frost that cake as well.

6.  Mix strawberry frosting packet (pink) with one triangle scoop of water.  Place strawberry frosting in piping bag.  Cut the corner of the bag and decorate the cake.

7. Last decorate the cake with the strawberry jellies and the candy.

So you're probably wondering what the cake tasted like? It pretty much tastes like a box mix cake.  The frosting tasted more like pudding to me.  As for the those little candy balls, the brown ones tasted like coffee and the yellow ones tasted like banana.

The cake took us about a half hour to make, granted I was taking pictures too.  I let my daughter do most of the work.  I could see this used for a special play date or a tea party.  I'm actually planning an American Girl Doll themed birthday party and think this might make a cute birthday cake for the dolls.

Curious, have any of you tried these Kracie sets?  How about an Easy-Bake oven?  Show of hands, who had one as a child?  I had one but I only go to use it about three times (not by choice).

Book Review: How to Sew Japanese Sewing Patterns

As far as I'm concerned, the only problem with Japanese sewing books is that they're in Japanese.  And unless you have a Japanese friend (who sews) to interpret them for you, they become just a book of pretty pictures.  Luckily Rin Gomura-Elkan has a solution to this dilemma, her new E-Book How To Sew Japanese Sewing Patterns. This book was created to help you tackle all those Japanese sewing patterns you've been coveting.  If Rin's name sounds familiar to you, it's because she's also the author of the blog Sew In Love. 

In How to Sew Japanese Sewing Patterns the chapters include: Japanese Sewing Patterns Overview, Sizing, Sewing Equipment, The Sewing Process, Patterns to Try, More Resources and Appendix.  Through out the chapters, you will find conversion tables for Japanese translations.  She also shares practical tips that will help you read patterns quicker.  For example, one thing she reccomends is memmorizing "right side" and "wrong side" in kanji (Japanese characters). One thing I like about the book is the format.  All chapters are broken down in chrological order of the sewing process and the chapters themselves are very straight forward making the book easy to navigate.

Along with the book, Rin has created two unique sewing patterns that can be purchased with the book as a set.   The first pattern is this high waist skirt with ribbon. 

The second pattern is a dress with a pleated neckline.  Both patterns come in sizes small, medium, large, and extra large.  The patterns also come with full tutorials in English.

If you're interested in learning more about the book How to Sew Japanese Sewing Patterns, please visit the official site, click here.

Rin is offering a special discount to Zakka Life readers.

Receive 10% off with the code  ZAKKASEWING913 

code expires 9/13/2013

I have not been compensated in anyway for this review.  I do not receive commissions for any books purchased.