bohemian hair wreath

June 30, 2014, 11:18 pm

≫ Next: cheerio photo shoots, a retrospective

Veto brought Saucy ten bundles of roses for their anniversary last week. They've lasted well but as they arrive on their last legs, the only thing they might have yet to do is be props in photo shoots. Tonight Loopy agreed to model a quick headband made of snipped blossoms.

Ten dozen assorted roses, clearly ours is a love affair made for Costco

Loopy literally threw the flowers on her head, fastened them at the back with a clip, and bolted out the door for photos. The sun wasn't out and it was awfully chilly for the last evening in June. It was rainy and rain was threatening. She threw a scarf by Johnny Was over her shirt and jeans. This was not an elaborate wardrobe adventure in photo shoots.

"Don't worry about it, it's all about the flowers in your hair!" Saucy shrieked as they jumped in the car and rolled down to the park at the end of the street. It's extremely handy to have a park at each end of the street.

Loopy surely has the whole hippie, bohemian thing going on lately. She looks beautiful in this happy mix of pastels and brights.

If you know Loopy at all, you know she makes this face all the time. This "outtake" from the shoot had to be included because, well, if you know Loopy then you know the look.

And if you know Saucy, there will be a flurry of photo shoots this week featuring ten dozen Costco bunches that will not go to waste before they turn into a beautiful, mulched memory.

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cheerio photo shoots, a retrospective

July 3, 2014, 1:21 am

≫ Next: this old skirt again

≪ Previous: bohemian hair wreath

The Cheerio photo shoots are getting into high gear again. Exams are over, there's free time and ample light in the summer to tackle the closet that is bursting forth with an assortment of gowns and accessories and props... all waiting to be styled on the lovely Cheerios on the blog.

You may remember the start of the Loopy photo shoots. That was about seven years ago now. Then, it just seemed natural to include the Cheerios in on the action. The first one to join Loopy in a shoot was JWOWW:

These are just two favourites from that fun evening. The rest can be seen here.

After that session, the Cheerio Photo Shoot was born. Saucy realized she had a group of built-in, willing and eager models. And so it went. The next session featured Beegie and The Devine Miss S, styled by Loopy in a Marie Antoinette shoot:

This was Beegie's first photo shoot with Saucy. It was also the first session where we included props, wardrobe changes and extensive post-production editing.

The Devine Miss S doesn't sport pink fluffy hair in real life.

Nor does she have a cupcake tattoo on her forearm. Saucy added that post-production.

If you would like to see the many, many shots from this session, you can have a peek here.

Before our Koala Captain returned to Australia from her exchange, Saucy captured her in a Dior perfume-inspired shoot. A famous advert for the fragrance served as the inspiration.

When it was Roxy's turn to try her hand at modelling, she broke out a dress she bought on a shopping spree in NYC at Juicy Couture and a theme was born. This set Saucy to thinking about a fairly major styled shoot for a small group, based on some Juicy advertising that was running at the time.

Have a look at Roxy's first photo shoot here.

This "set" was the most ambitious collection of props and setup to date. It was also Snookie's first time in front of Saucy's camera... and she did great.

The entire "Juicy Four" event was blogged here.

Fly Girl's fifteenth birthday happened that fall so she and Saucy ventured out to the country with a velvet wing chair to capture some casual, age-appropriate shots to commemorate her milestone. Saucy posted shots of Fly Girl and Loopy here.

It was around that time that Saucy found the most hideous wedding gown at Value Village. It was actually missing the entire backside of the skirt (who knows what happened there?) and after doing some pretty poses with Loopy in it, JWOWW was excited to try a full-on "trash the dress" shoot. Good thing she's an adventurer at heart who relished the idea of rolling about in the mud and completely trashing that gown, once and for all.

Mayhem came along for the fun, so Saucy snapped some sweet shots of her on the beach.

Mayem and JWOWW's adventure was documented here.

Now, wedding gowns were on everyone's mind and the girls and Saucy were finding gowns for free, at tag sales, garage sales and Goodwill. This gown was actually donated by a blog reader and Toes was elected to model the daring re-styling of the vintage gown as Saucy cut off the sleeves and pared down the bodice, adding straps of olive ribbon.

You can meet Toes here.

Now we were on to something... gussying up old wedding gowns and recycling them to look more modern. Generous readers and Facebook followers started dropping of (and even shipping) old gowns to the "project."

Captain Quinn modelled the most altered gown to date - a complete rework, only the lining underneath remained as Saucy and The Fly Girl brainstormed how they might restyle the gown to look like a Vera Wang design.

DJ Jazzy Anna came along for the shoot to be a "bridesmaid." Have a look at more photos from this session here.

Then, Saucy teamed up with The Foodie (whom the Cheerios nicknamed "Chickadee") for a two-photographer shoot of Snookie in a wedding dress remodelled "country/tomboy style." The bodice of the gown was tucked underneath so Snookie could comfortably wear the flannel shirt... the dress remained intact for another wear.

Of course, Loopy and Beegie who were along for moral support, jumped in for a shot. You can see all the photos, plus some outtakes, here.

Fred, a friend of the Cheerios, took a turn modelling a re-worked gown from the 1970's that lost its sleeves, a cape and a peplum, which was all replaced by a black ribbon sash.

You can see how Fred was styled and photographed here.

After a bad day, Roxy wanted a quick photo shoot to update her Facebook profile pics and Saucy obliged. Sometimes the shoots that you put the least amount of effort on yield the best results!

Roxy's impromptu session is here.

The girls started senior year... and now blog readers finally met Lefty (so named because the cheer shoes she ordered arrived in two left feet). Lefty is due for a properly styled, glamour shoot.

Fly Girl (team dancer and choreographer) appeared again two years after her sweet sixteen. Look how much she grew up in that short amount of time.

You can see the entire senior girl's shoot here.

Saucy hasn't had a chance to shoot Daisy Duke yet... it's tricky when her mama is already a pretty amazing photographer herself. Someday soon Saucy will sneak Daisy away and they'll work on a project to surprise mama... Daisy is on the lookout for something to trash, maybe while driving a tractor or ATV. Maybe she could pose with her dogs or her hunting gear?

Soon enough, the girls were graduating high school and it was time to capture them in their prom gowns and for senior photos. Trooper posed in a bed of rose petals with her dramatic formal gown... then more casually in front of a deserted storefront downtown.

Troooper's graduation photo sessions can be seen here and here.

Saucy captured Snookie in her elegant gown one night near the riverbank.

Snookie's grad dress shoot can be seen here.

Then, bad weather and busy schedules prevented too many Cheerio Photo Shoots. McSteph modelled this vintage dress a couple of weeks ago and now the fire is lit - Cheerios are coming out of the woodwork to help get Saucy caught up on her upcycled dress project! You can see McSteph's entire shoot here.

Tianna modelled the wonky Vera Wang knock-off dress recently. You can see the whole shoot here.

That should bring you pretty much up to date... there are two more shoots in the hopper, they just have to be edited. Monty in her prom dress, and Trooper modelling another recycled wedding gown.

Also... to tempt you... Loopy and Roxy are working on some guest posts. They've been meaning to do them for quite some time. They'd like to share some simple tips for you on doing makeup, styling and posing. Maybe you might like to try this project for yourself after that! Watch for it... it will be starting in the next few weeks and feature (what else) Roxy and Loopy photo-shoots.

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this old skirt again

July 7, 2014, 1:04 am

≫ Next: cheerleading flip flops

≪ Previous: cheerio photo shoots, a retrospective

Trooper agreed to model a skirt taken from an old dress we used for a Cheerio wedding dress makeover a couple of summers ago. You may recognize it from the dress Toes wore. With the bodice removed, it becomes a really lovely skirt on its own.

Saucy zip-tied together some of the roses from Veto's anniversary bunches for a prop. It's still fun to look kind of wedding-y when you're posing with old, funky dresses (or pieces of them).

Also, a little headpiece was fashioned from the leftover roses, along with the last of the clippings from the lilac tree.

There was a really nice contrast between the vintage lace of the skirt and the pointe denim (from Old Navy). It was paired with a Tory Burch leather belt and a vintage-style locket.

Trooper packed along a few pairs of boots - she had a nice selection. Good thing, we hit the dirty, dusty road on the night of Canada Day.

The sun got a little low and glowed pink, it was absolutely yummy.

Into a canola field Trooper hopped - that's part of the reason her nickname is Trooper. She tries anything to get the job done. She doesn't moan or complain... she's a trooper. No complaints about bugs, dirt or tall tickling grasses.

Saucy pulled out the vintage sewing table she found for free on Kijiji last summer. She knew it would come in handy for something like this one day. This was the day.

By this time, Trooper switched to her formal shoes from prom last year. It looked super-cute.

For the last set, the whole thing really clicked. The sewing table, the pose, the shoes. It's almost to adorable to bear and Saucy had a very hard time picking only her very favourites to share with you here. There were tons more. This whole project was so fun and easy... it was, as they say, serendipity.

Another successful Cheerio Wedding Dress Upcycle photo shoot under our belts... and more to come. Saucy is thinking of dying a dress in a bathtub filled with tea bags for Lashes to model. Then, putting Lil' Sarge in a flowing gown in a fabulous setting like a lake or a fountain. But first, you get to see Monty's graduation pictures this week and a few crafts that Saucy has actually finished.

Saucy just has to gather up a few loose ends to do a photo shoot with Velcro and a special look for Snookie. Can you guess what those might possibly be?

Things are happening. They're really happening now.

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cheerleading flip flops

July 8, 2014, 11:24 pm

≫ Next: copycat starbucks lemon raspberry loaf

≪ Previous: this old skirt again

Saucy made the cutest little flip-flops for Sweetheart. She's going into her senior year and it will be her last year as a school Cheerio. Saucy misses coaching her but they stay in touch pretty regularly (in fact, they're cooking up a photo shoot for the blog this summer so you will meet her here).

You can make these for a cheerleader, dancer or team fan in your life. Now is the time of year - flip-flops are on sale everywhere!

You will need:

one pair of flip-flops in desired colour
miscellaneous bits of ribbon in team colours
needle and thread
a super adhesive (Saucy swears by Elmer's ProBond Advanced)
Fray-Check for the ends of the cut ribbon
two cute button pins
clamps for secure glueing
sharp scissors

* Saucy ordered the button pins for this project from Etsy seller Thefaerywatcher - she was fabulous and sent the exact colours needed to make this pair of flip flops and a pair in another colour combo... because Sweetheart is also an All-Star cheerleader at the best club in town.

First things first, flip over those flops and use some dabs of glue to ensure the bottoms don't pop out... that's just so irritating (and a little unsafe). You might be inclined to use hot glue for this, but don't. It's just melted plastic and it won't adhere the plastic to the foam sole for the long haul. You'll be much better off to use a heavy duty adhesive. Let them thoroughly dry.

Then flop those flips over the other way and you can do a bit of random bow-tying on the thong part of the shoe. Don't tie too close to the toe bit, you don't want anything too irritating right there. Fasten your ties with glue again and let dry before moving onto the next step.

These sandals took several days to embellish. Mostly because Saucy worked away at them between letting the glue dry thoroughly after each step.

In the meantime, if you want to use korker bows (aka corkscrew bows but for some reason cheerleaders say "korker") you can wrap narrow grosgrain ribbon around wooden dowels and bake in a low-heat oven (around 175 degrees F) for about twenty minutes. Let cool completely before removing from the dowel, and voila!

It's easy to cut up some nice corkscrew curls to fasten to the shoe, with glue of course.

After the curly ribbon was totally adhered, Saucy added a few more random pieces of ribbon. Don't worry if they don't perfectly "match," it's probably a cuter look to have varying shades of your team colours.

At some point, you'll have to make a bigger bow for the showpiece of this project - it will feature the ribbon mum you will fashion using the pin-backed button. Saucy had bits of these team colour ribbons leftover from hair bows, so this is what she came up with. They were securely tied with plastic ties and dabbed with glue, too.

Before making the mum, secure the pin with more adhesive. Saucy centred the pin vertically with the design on the front, this made things a little easier when she attached it to the bow.

To embellish the back of the pin, Saucy decided to use organza ribbon. It's nice and fluffy, and really forgiving to work with. She simply tied a bow on the back of the straight pin.

Then, with a second piece of ribbon, a second bow underneath.

Using a needle and thread, tuck the ends up and into the back to make more loops behind the pin. Secure them with a few stitches and then just for good measure, some glue. Of course.

The finished mum can be fluffed up a bit and you can place your stitches to make sure the loops stay in place all around the pin. Trim the excess long pieces of ribbon if you have any and dab the exposed ends with Fray-Check, if there are any.

Saucy had lots of little pieces of green polka dot ribbon on hand, so she placed them behind the big bow she made in a starburst pattern. The clamp came in handy to keep the pieces from slipping around while the glue dried.

Finally - it's super fun to attach the mum pin to the fancy embellished bow because now you can see what the whole thing is shaping up to look like! Some stitch work between that pin back and onto the big bow is the first step. Then, shoot some glue under the pin mum and clamp all of it until the glue cures completely.

If you've worked patiently and used a good adhesive, you should be fine to simply glue the entire contraption to the very centre/top of the flip flop. Don't be stingy with the glue, but don't let it drip. If you can work the clamp to hold it in place, you're set. Let it dry thoroughly.

The last step before wearing these cute flip flops or giving them away to your favourite super fan is to use sharp, precise scissors to trim all the ribbon ends nicely and dab them with Fray-Check. These are shoes, after all. They'll do some serious walking.

And if a cheerleader like Sweetheart is wearing them, they'll be worn to do favours for people, to be a team leader and do good deeds, take part in every pep rally, have the most team spirit and do random act of kindness and charity work. They have quite a little lady to keep planted on the ground.

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copycat starbucks lemon raspberry loaf

July 10, 2014, 8:00 pm

≫ Next: snookie as frida kahlo

≪ Previous: cheerleading flip flops

Saucy has made lemon loaf for years (it's one of Veto's very favourites, he has a thing for lemon almost as much as he has a thing for Saucy) but sometimes she likes to copy the Starbucks experience and put a ribbon of raspberry inside and top it with a sticky, gooey lemon frosting. Behold... the copycat recipe she came up with. Gather the ingredients and get busy.

Starbucks Copycat Lemon Raspberry Loaf

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 and 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

finely grated rind of one lemon

1/2 cup raspberry preserves

cooking spray

For the glaze: reserve the squeezed juice of the lemon, 1/4 cup sugar

Instructions:

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each to add volume and fluffiness. Lightly beat in the buttermilk. If you don't have buttermilk on hand, you can add a half teaspoon of vinegar to regular milk from the carton, it'll do the trick.

Sift together the dry ingredients along with the lemon rind and add to the butter, milk and egg mixture.

Spray your loaf pan with cooking spray. Add about half the batter to the pan and spread it evenly. Spoon the raspberry preserves randomly over the batter, avoiding the edges of the pan. Don't swirl it into the batter, just use a small spatula or the back of a spoon to distribute it. If you would like to add a few extra blobs here and there, do so - but don't go crazy it will just sink to the bottom of the pan and you will have problems getting it out nicely after baking.

Lastly, pour the remaining batter evenly over the raspberry layer and give the pan a very light tap to even it out.

Bake at 350 degrees F for forty minutes and check for doneness. It should be golden around the edges and not cracked on top. It should bounce back when touched but remember, there's jam inside so it likely won't pass the test of sticking a cake tester inside... it will come out sticky!

Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for ten minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack. Flip it so it is right side up.

While the loaf is cooling in the pan, you can prepare the glaze. Simply melt the 1/4 cup sugar into the lemon juice over medium heat until there are no sugar crystals (it must appear clear and it can thicken a little bit). After you've removed the loaf from the pan, use a pastry brush to liberally distribute the glaze over the warm cake. If the cake is still warm, the glaze will really absorb into the loaf and it will be super moist and a little sticky and gooey. Yum.

For the finishing touch, you can add some lemon zest (or lemon extract) to some buttercream frosting if you have some on hand (for some reason Saucy always has some on hand). Depending on the texture of your buttercream, you can add a little milk or cream to it to make it that Starbucks texture. It's not quite the same frosting as on a cupcake, it's like a cross between a glaze and frosting. But it's so, so yummy.

And so is this lemon loaf. So yummy, Saucy is making another one this weekend. It must be done. Have you ever baked something so damned delicious that you baked it again, right away? Sure you have. What was it?

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snookie as frida kahlo

July 13, 2014, 7:00 pm

≫ Next: the adorables

≪ Previous: copycat starbucks lemon raspberry loaf

Today is the sixtieth anniversary of the death of Frida Kahlo. For quite some time, Saucy and Snookie have thought of doing a Frida-inspired photo shoot. It came together around the anniversary of Kahlo's birthday on July 6.

It so happens that for quite some time, Saucy has seen many a resemblance to Kahlo - not just physically but in the ways that count - to Snookie. Kahlo suffered much trouble in her life. Pain from an accident at a young age and personal problems plagued her. She was however, an accomplished artist and a strong and venerable woman. Saucy sees these traits in Snookie daily. For all of the troubles she has faced at a young age, she has the spirit of Frida Kahlo inside - and the wisdom.

These photos of Snookie channeling Kahlo and the accompanying quotes by the famous Mexican artist are appropriate for the challenges Snookie is facing.

"At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can."

"I think that little by little I will be able to solve my problems and survive."

"I tried to drown my sorrows, but the bastards learned to swim."

"I don't paint dreams or nightmares, I paint my own reality."

"Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?"

"Tragedy is the most ridiculous thing."

"Nothing is worth more than laughter. It is strength, to laugh and abandon oneself."

Reader, Snookie (like Frida Kahlo) is a survivor. She can face the obstacles life has thrown in her way and you can bet she will be successful at whatever she does. Kahlo examined her demons and faced her struggles through the medium of the self-portrait. Saucy might just put a paintbrush in Snook's hand and set her up at an easel in the studio... you just never know. And remember:

This is the adorable bracelet Snookie found in Arizona when we were at the Junk In the Trunk Vintage Market. If you get a chance to visit it, you really should go. It was chock-full of amazing vintage and collectible artisan pieces. Aside from these bracelets made out of vintage license plates, Snookie and Saucy scored vintage teddy bears, handmade head wraps, awesome crafting scraps and paper ephemera for artwork, and more. Definitely worth the trip. Thanks to an awesome reader for the tip... it's on the to-do list again, definitely.

Oh, and Saucy really does think some of The Cheerios resemble famous women from history. She's working on a little photo series. Tune in soon to see McSteph as Audrey Hepburn. Are there any famous, inspiring women that The Cheerios could portray? Leave your ideas here!

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the adorables

July 15, 2014, 3:00 pm

≫ Next: lego cupcakes

≪ Previous: snookie as frida kahlo

On a beautiful summer evening, JL brought her daughters, The Adorables (nickname coined by Loopy... we do enjoy our nicknames around here) over for Saucy to style them as modern-day, elegant gypsy children.

Not the gypsies you see on reality television getting married. These are delicate gypsies, posing in sublime backdrops of dazzling rivers and green space.

JL and Saucy managed to make that little vintage doily clothesline/garland in a few minutes. The mosquitos were out, there was a need to work fast and get to shootin'.

As The Adorables are want to do, they were amazingly co-operative and the entire shoot only took about fifteen or twenty minutes.

Sisterly love!

This was an experimental photo shoot... Saucy and her friend The Foodie (who The Cheerios call Chickadee) are planning another joint photo shoot this summer, in August. Information will come soon. They have to do one more pre-shoot together (probably of Loopy, Snookie and Beegie) and then they'll have the whole concept mastered and you'll be able to join in the fun. If you're interested in a styled photo session shot by two friendly local photographers, leave a comment below. It's the first followup to the wildly successful Bedtime Stories shoot from the summer of 2012. There have been lots of requests for another event, and this one is going to be even more delicious than the last... pinky swear! Details soon.

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lego cupcakes

July 16, 2014, 7:00 pm

≫ Next: monty's graduation, a true story

≪ Previous: the adorables

A reader asked Saucy if she could make Lego-themed cupcakes for her son. Yes, Saucy could. Thanks to some silicone moulds she found at the Lego store a very, very long time ago.

You can still find moulds like this here and here. The Lego brick ice cube tray can be found here (it was discontinued and a little more difficult to find these days).

If you try making these yourself, you will need white melting chocolate or some Wilton Candy Melts (you can save yourself time and get it in colours like red, yellow and blue). You can also use food colouring gel to tint melted white candy, but it's finicky. Gel paste is water-based and melted candy does not like water (it gets all grainy and impossible to work with).

Dreaming of sprinkles!

Use a disposable pastry bag to pipe the chocolate into the moulds. Start with the yellow hands, then the heads. Fill in the bodies with red and blue shirts and pants.

No need to chill the candy - it will harden nicely at room temperature. Give it at least an hour to make sure they're solid before attempting to pop them out of the mould.

They pop out nicely, and it's quite exciting. Unfortunately, your men may lose their heads during their entrance into your world.

How sad, indeed.

If you have access to food-safe markers, you can draw little Lego-man faces on the yellow heads. Don't forget the classic freckle-face, like Saucy did.

Tip: if you don't have food-safe markers, you may use a Sharpie if you want. Did you know they're non-toxic and considered food safe in small amounts? Many professional cake decorators use them to add details on gum paste flowers.

The cracked necks, Saucy can deal with. The thing she would do differently next time would be to use a toothpick to make sure all of the chocolate went into the square corners of the feet and shirt. Tapping the mould on the counter after filling it was a good start, but didn't get all the bubbles out.

Okay... cute, right? Fiddly but cute. Totally worth it. Do you think?

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monty's graduation, a true story

July 17, 2014, 7:00 pm

≫ Next: jackson pollock cupcakes

≪ Previous: lego cupcakes

The younger Cheerios are now graduating high school. This June, Monty, Lashes, Boots, Porcelain, Hard-Sell, Jose, Brooks, Zen, McSteph, Lindsay the Text Shooter and girls from the other team all left the halls of good old ABCI.

Monty was the first to book Saucy for graduation photos so they're the first ones to get posted on the blog. We set this up months ago.

Monty showed up rocking these amazingly fun bubblegum, neon platforms. How very Monty, indeed.

Monty is the young lady who once found a funky old gold lame leotard in the lost-and-found at the school and wore it to practice. True story. Gross. Saucy is glad she lost that accessory long before graduation day.

And Monty was one of the team captains. A leader. 'Nuf said.

Aww, she cleans up so nicely! No more lost-and-found duds for Monty. High school days are beyond her.

Must get the requisite full-length pose with the grad escort!

Poses like this make Saucy happy because this is how she remembers Monty the most, sitting on the cheer mats, looking around at her teammates, scanning the room to see what everyone was thinking. Monty didn't say much, but when she did, it was priceless. She has a fairly dry sense of humour. The kind of gal who can wear a gold lame leotard with a straight face kind of humour.

Is it still quite amazing to you, (as it is to Saucy) that all these girls are so grown up? They've always been smart and beautiful but now they're just perfection.

And most importantly, they're happy. That's the most important thing. Do you remember how happy you were when you finished high school and the world was wide open for you to explore? Think about it for a minute. Look at Monty's expression of pure joy. Try to capture that today for yourself if you can. The world is wide open for all of us.

True story.

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jackson pollock cupcakes

July 21, 2014, 12:00 pm

≫ Next: another wedding gown refashion

≪ Previous: monty's graduation, a true story

One of The Adorables that you met on a previous post went to art camp this summer. On the last day of camp, Saucy made Jackson Pollock-inspired cupcakes for her to share with her fellow budding artist-campers.

These cupcakes came together quickly and easily. Saucy baked a batch of her favourite Funfetti cupcakes and started with a simple batch of vanilla buttercream.

Use a giant round tip to achieve a big, fluffy blob of buttercream on your cupcake. Start with the first tier of frosting, add the paint-tinted frosting "splats" and repeat with another tier of buttercream and more frosting dribbles.

The "paint" is super-easy. Use a tub of prepared icing from the grocery store (Saucy isn't sure why, but when it melts it has a nice, runny consistency and after a while it solidifies and won't drip anymore). It also accepts food colouring nicely.

Just place a few spoonfuls of the store-bought frosting into a microwave-safe bowl and tint it to the desired colour using good quality gel food paste or a professional tint. Stir it up and pop it in the microwave for about ten or twelve seconds. It will be nice and runny. Give it a stir and splatter it over the piped mounds of buttercream (you can just drop if off a spoon or palate knife, not unlike Pollock himself).

Saucy chose a bright palate of colours - this was an art camp for kids after all. But can you imagine a dark buttercream with light splatters? That would be very Jackson Pollock, indeed. The possibilities are endless.

Now, we can all discuss whether or not this is true cupcake art or not. The question dogged Pollock his entire career. True art - or simply random blobs of frosting landing where they might?

Discuss.

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another wedding gown refashion

July 23, 2014, 1:06 am

≫ Next: cereal milk

≪ Previous: jackson pollock cupcakes

This wedding gown refashion challenge comes by way of an awesome blog reader and now Facebook friend Lisa who sent Saucy her mother-in-law's wedding gown from 1946. Yes, people... dresses are arriving from super-cool people who send them this way just to see what will happen with them. How will Saucy refashion it? Which of The Cheerios will model it? These are the questions that most certainly have been hanging over Lisa for the past eighteen months or more since she so kindly shipped such a precious garment northward.

Truth: Saucy felt like this one had to be super-amazing. Sure, she has lopped sleeves off vintage gowns, seen halters and strapless tops where there were once poufy shoulder pads, cut dresses into skirts, added sashes and ribbons... but never on a gown with such a lineage. Let's do the math... almost sixty years old! Lisa assured Saucy that she was more than ready to see it transformed, but Saucy felt like it had to come to life in a pretty substantial way.

Vintage + family owned + reader donation = plenty of thinking and overthinking on the part of a very undereducated seamstress.

Have a look at the original dress in the wedding photo above and then take a gander upon it before Saucy took to it with scissors. Let us make note of a few points:

1. It may have been altered and adjusted over the years for several family members to wear. There were some seriously funky seams to deal with.

2. It had been moth-bitten, which could be seen as a negative, or a super-cool artsy positive. Let's just assume positive for a minute.

And, 3. Those things hanging from the waist right there. What are they?

Lisa. What will we do? How will we refashion this garment in a cute, modern way while keeping its integrity as a piece of vintage bridal fashion? Who will model it? It appears Lisa, that your mother-in-law was a tiny woman with formidable fashion sense in the forties.

First, we will go to the fabric store and buy some cute, inexpensive trim lace and some ribbon. Then, we will get busy with the scissors. Very busy.

Saucy cut right down the middle of this dress. She did not see it as a dress anymore. She needed to answer the questions. Lisa had waited long enough.

The first answer was: Saucy did not see it as a wedding gown anymore. She saw it as a super-cute beachy topcoat, one worthy of being worn at a hip music festival like Coachella. Something like that. And there was only one Cheerio who could pull this off: this little Guardian Angel of Cheerleading.

Why is she a Guardian Angel? You may not recognize her as one of the regular "Cheerios" seen on the blog, but she was pivotal to the success of the team in its last year. She was on the other team in the program and after Velcro's devastating knee injury near the end of competition season, Angel swept in and became a cross-athlete. Meaning, she competed for the school on both teams, at different skill levels.

That's not even the most amazing part. She jumped in - literally jumped - during the last week of the season. She learned an entire two minute and thirty second routine in two practices. Let's put that in perspective: she learned the dances, formations, counts and places in stunts just a tiny fraction of the time the rest of the team learned their parts. They had the entire season, three practices a week. This Angel had about three hours. Then she pulled on a uniform and performed her part seamlessly... all to ensure that The Cheerios (the "other team in the school") could participate in year-end competitions. It truly was an act of well, Grace.

She was the perfect choice to model this dress. She lives across the street from Saucy and when she popped over to try the dress on before it was refashioned and it fit perfectly, Saucy took it as a sign. This, Dear Reader, was meant to be. This Angel was meant to wear the special heirloom garment that meant so much to Lisa and her family.

After cutting it open, Saucy cut strips from the bottom to shorten it and fashioned the moth-eaten scraps into lace trim for the neckline and cuffs. It was pretty delicate to work with but has a fabulous draping quality.

Those mystery things from the front of the bodice were cut open and swirled into rosettes on each side of the open coat. They were finished with a vintage rhinestone button and some trailing ribbon.

Our model/Angel arrived wearing jean shorts, a bikini top and a light, lacy tank. It's a perfect rock festival look. It's very Stevie Nicks, do you agree?

Now let's "jack this look up" as they say on the bridal shows on TLC. Let's add a Coachella-inspired floral crown and see where that takes it.

Are you loving this as much as Saucy is? It might be her favourite wedding gown refashion yet, because it's now a wearable piece of vintage clothing that can come out for other occasions.

Does it make you want to hang out near Palm Springs in April listening to indie-rock bands while looking fabulous? This is the coat to have. Imagine it thrown over a halter top and faded, torn blue jeans. With boots. Yes, with boots.

It's just now entirely young and fun and perfect. Like the model who is wearing it.

Just a couple of final thoughts: All of the regular team members cannot thank this little Angel enough for saving the day which allowed both teams in the school to become champions in their respective competitions and levels. It was a classy move, to be sure.

Also, Lashes has been recruited to model reader Sarah's fabulous Vegas wedding getaway dress. Little Sarge will be showing off the rework of reader Sue's flowing Grecian gown. Saucy is staining a tulle confection in a tubful of hibiscus tea for ShyGirl to show you. There's also a downright basic satin hideous beaded gown from the late eighties that Saucy hasn't even begun to wrap her head around but it might involve black dye in a kiddie splash pool in the back yard. Any Cheerios up to model that? Show of hands?

A recap of previous gown refashions:

The first: Loopy wearing a shredded gown with a sash fashioned of old taffeta as camo for the tears

JWOWW dons same gown for a trash the dress shoot wearing her funky old cowboy boots

Toes bravely allows Saucy to carve the entire bodice away and into a halter top while it is on her body

Later, Trooper wears just the skirt with a denim shirt for a country look

Capt'n Quinn's dress had layers and layers of outdated lace removed and replaced with billowing tulle, Vera Wang-style

Removing the sleeves of Fred's seventies gown revealed a sassy halter

The gown donated for Snookie's shoot lost its satin bodice and became a skirt for an upscale tomboy look

Snookie later models a Vera Wang knockoff that needed repairs and a new sash and accessories

The dress McSteph wore needed no major refashion, but it will surely appear again with less lace around the neck and possibly a cap sleeve and as a tea length.

If you have a dress you'd like to challenge Saucy to recreate, by all means pass it along if you are so inclined. There are still plenty of Cheerios looking for modelling gigs on the blog.

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cereal milk

July 24, 2014, 9:23 pm

≫ Next: new charm bracelets are ready!

≪ Previous: another wedding gown refashion

You may think this post is an April Fool's joke, but it's not. Cereal Milk is a thing. You can get it at one of the five Momofuku Milk Bar locations in New York (and now a location in Toronto). Cereal Milk is basically akin to the leftover milk at the bottom of your cereal bowl... you may find it intriguing or disgusting.

The recipes are on the Milk Bar website and also the official Momofuku cookbook. This is a quick overview of making cereal milk at home.

Measure 3 and 3/4 cups cold milk into a cup or jug. The recipe called for 2 tablespoons light brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to be added at the end but Saucy added it to the milk at the start.

Not for any particular reason, she just wasn't reading too carefully. It probably didn't matter.

In an oven preheated to 300 degrees, toast 2 and 3/4 cups cornflakes for fifteen minutes. Toasting the cereal supposedly deepens the flavour of the milk.

After cooling, place the toasted cereal in a large jug and pour the sweetened milk over the flakes. Stir vigorously.

Let the mixture stand on counter at room temperature for twenty minutes.

Strain the milk through a fine sieve - you may wish to do this twice. The mixture will be thickened (because after all, the flakes are basically corn starch waiting to happen).

You can push the excess liquid through the strainer using the back of a spoon.

Serve the cereal milk cold. It will keep covered in your fridge for a few days. You can sweeten the milk or flavour it with just about anything. At Momofuku, they sell small bottles of flavoured cereal milk as "milk shakes."

The best thing about cereal milk is that it makes a super rich alternate baking ingredient to regular milk. Saucy added it to her blueberry muffin recipe yesterday, it gave the finished product a nice, nutty flavour.

Otherwise, how do you feel about the idea of "cereal milk", in general? Yay or yuck?

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new charm bracelets are ready!

July 28, 2014, 12:26 am

≫ Next: blueberry french toast

≪ Previous: cereal milk

Finally! Just to prove that she's not simply been lounging around all summer, playing Kim Kardashian's Hollywood Game (another story altogether) Saucy has begun restocking the Etsy shop with the super-popular vintage charm bracelets!

It takes such a long time to gather the goodies to make an entire bracelet. The last time Saucy listed a bunch of them was 2010 and since then she's been like a little squirrel at flea markets, tag sales and vintage stores and on eBay. Eventually, they start to come together. Here are just a few!

Sew Adorable

This bracelet includes a pair of earrings - Saucy didn't make them but they were on a card that she found with the little scissor charms so she's throwing them in. She's never wasteful.

Lemon Blossoms

Don't be a Jurk!

Just the thought of a soda named "Jurk" is funny, don't you think? Don't you also think The Little Green Sprout and Spongebob Squarepants are funny?

Quirky

Old Colony

One Thing - SOLD

Don't fret if you missed out on this bracelet, it sold within minutes of posting. There are a few similar ones on the way. Not exactly the same, because no two charm bracelets are the same.

Tooth Fairy

This is a once-in-a-lifetime assemblage. Aren't the colours fabulous? It's a Tooth Fairy theme! It's covered with little fairies, dental supplies and even a tiny silver tooth. Saucy will never, ever find the goodies to make a bracelet like this again. Get it while it's hot.

Strawberry Soda - ON HOLD

Orange You Mysterious? SOLD

Bitter Orange

Sweet Tooth

Saucy decided to get busy and list the Halloween charm bracelets early this year, they were so popular last time. She wants to get them shipped out so everyone can enjoy them during October.

It's a terrible thing to think about in July... but Christmas bracelets are in the works, lots of them! A second batch of bracelets should be arriving in the next week or two. It's very hard to say goodbye to these creations. They're in the works for so very long. Saucy is glad they're going to good homes.

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blueberry french toast

July 29, 2014, 9:55 pm

≫ Next: an amazing group of grads

≪ Previous: new charm bracelets are ready!

One of the best summer treats, hands-down, is French toast with blueberry compote. Blueberries are plentiful right now (at Costco but Saucy has it on reliable sources they can be found IN WILDERNESS) and it is the easiest way to "jack up" your weekend brunch.

1 cup fresh blueberries, plus more for garnish
1/3 cup sugar
juice of half lemon
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch whisked into 2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon butter

Wash and mash the cup of blueberries. You don't have to worry about drying them off, a little bit of water in the pan is fine. Place them in a small saucepan with the sugar and the lemon juice and cook over medium heat until the mixture bubbles around the edges. You have to bring the compote to a boil in order to cook the cornstarch and thicken the sauce.

Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Let cool before serving warm over warm French toast with added blueberries on top.

You could take this one step further and gather the berries yourself from the wilderness but frankly, there are no bears in the cooler at Costco. Enjoy!

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an amazing group of grads

July 30, 2014, 7:00 pm

≫ Next: senior photo shoots

≪ Previous: blueberry french toast

Back in June, about a week before graduation, Saucy had a cupcake sale. After putting the deets on Facebook, she was happy to see former Cheerios waiting for her at the venue when she arrived with the goods. The girls - who were probably just there for some cupcakes and a little visit - pitched in and helped Saucy set up. Then, they proceeded to stay for almost the entire event, helping box cupcakes for eager customers. They visited and chatted away about upcoming grad plans and all sorts of things and Saucy realized how much she missed them.

So, it was decided before the last of the cupcakes were gone (Saucy sent some home with the girls to get them through their scary movie marathon that night) that a graduation photo shoot was in order. Saucy was beholden to the girls not only for coming out to visit, but to stay and help? Those are some good girls right there.

Saucy was looking forward to capturing these grad cuties in their prom dresses. She knew they'd be fun to work with and they'd try lots of fun things. Like standing in the middle of the street downtown and then sitting in an alley, in front of giant disposal units. It kind of works, though.

This is Hard-Sell and Porcelain. Hard-Sell got her nickname at her first cupcake sale. She was a little on the shy side and wasn't really a cupcake pusher. We teased her and called her "Hard-Sell" that night. By the cupcake sale this June, she really was a Hard-Sell, and Saucy was grateful for it. They really do grow up, you know? Porcelain... she also answered to "Lady" as she was the team's true and absolute lady, through and through. Unflappable. She was the Jacklyn Kennedy Onassis of cheerleading. As a matter of fact, Saucy should talk her into posing as the famous FLOTUS sometime, don't you think?

Here she is with K-Pain (say it kinda like 2 Chainz) - the class valedictorian. K-Pain tried out for The Cheerios but decided it wasn't for her, she does a lot of other sports. To say Saucy was disappointed is an understatement. She really, really wanted her on the team. It was Snookie who put the bug in Saucy's ear and said "she's awesome and she makes me happy when we are at dance class together" so this was a ringing endorsement. Snookie doesn't like most people, but she adores K-Pain.

A trip to Claire's after grad season was over netted Saucy some super-cute props for the shoot. They even matched the gowns perfectly.

Mortar boards on headbands, mini mortar boards, pink mortar boards. Super cute!

Do you see what I mean here? This girl was a born Cheerio if there ever was one and would have fit in with the crew perfectly.

Sadly, Legs never came out for cheerleading either. She was probably busy with all sorts of other awesome things in high school but if Saucy could go back in her Doritos-powered time machine, she would hunt this girl down and talk her into it. Active recruitment, that's the way to do it. Tall girls with a ton of confidence make excellent cheerleaders. They're the back spots that are the mini-captains of every stunt group. Legs probably had mad, untapped skills for that job.

There isn't much of a better subject for Saucy to photograph than young girls becoming confident young women. It's kind of her passion. She loved doing this shoot so much, tomorrow she will be announcing a special package for girls entering senior year - a chance to get senior photos taken in small groups and individually at a very reasonable price. Check in here if you know any new high school seniors in the Saskatoon area who might like to do something like this! Shoots will be held during the last week of August and the first week of September.

And for these beauties? They're off to China in a week or so to tour Asia. What an adventure awaits.

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senior photo shoots

July 31, 2014, 7:30 pm

≫ Next: experience gypset with us

≪ Previous: an amazing group of grads

It's kind of a big deal here for senior high school students to order matching "senior jerseys" to wear to school events all through twelfth grade. A couple of years ago Saucy did some photo shoots with small groups of girls wearing their jerseys at the start of the school year, when anticipation for the excitement ahead was at an all-time high.

She got some great results and the premise was simple: gather a small group (no more than five or six grads per session) and meet on a sunny evening right at the school. Saucy brought props and posed the students in groups and individually to capture the moment before senior year began.

This year, she's decided to do it again. It was that much fun.

In and around the school makes sense - it's their world. It doesn't have to be a glamorous location. It needs to tell their story. This is where their memories are made.

Plenty of time to take nice individual shots of each senior - they want Facebook profile pictures, you know.

Special friends can pose together

Detail shots can't be overlooked

This was a bigger group, but Saucy had a second shooter!

If you have a bigger group, contact Saucy. She can bring in a second shooter (one of the former Cheerios is an accomplished photographer now) and we can probably work something out to accommodate you.

Any school within city limits as well as Martensville, Warman, Dalmeny and Clavet can take part in this offer.

Here's the deal: a one-hour session with up to five grads will cost $100.00. That breaks down to the reasonable price of twenty dollars per graduate and gives everyone ample time in front of the camera in the large group, small combos and individual shots. Fully edited images of the entire shoot will be saved to a USB (that you provide - so if each grad wants their own, just bring them to the shoot). No wardrobe changes, just senior jerseys or casual wear (whatever the group agrees on). You can bring your own props and Saucy will bring some as well. Shoots can be scheduled starting August 24 and continue to the end of September. All shoots will take place during evening hours. There will be a small mileage charge for out-of-town schools.

If you or your senior student is interested, contact Saucy at the email below or on Facebook, if you're Facebook friends.

sasha {dot} libby {at} shaw {dot} ca

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experience gypset with us

August 9, 2014, 1:20 am

≫ Next: the perfect collision of desserts

≪ Previous: senior photo shoots

Saucy and her friend Chickadee (Carlene from BS in the Kitchen) are embarking on another shared, styled photo shoot. The Bedtime Stories event was so successful we are at it again - with a new set, new props and an amazing theme!

Are you a gypsetter? Girls ages 6 to 60 (okay, we'll include just about anyone truth be told) will be the most interested in this styled mini photo shoot.

Here's how it works: Saucy and Chickadee will set up a beautiful, bohemian backdrop in the meadow at Chickadee's family home. On a beautiful Sunday in August, gypsetters of all ages can pose for two cameras at the same time, with Saucy and Chickadee capturing every glamorous moment of a thirty minute time slot (trust us, that is a LOT of photos).

Are you unsure about gypsetting? It's a laid-back yet extravagant lifestyle. It's being part gypsy, but also a jet-setter. Imagine travelling the world in a luxurious and stylish way while being a little bohemian and eclectic? That's gypset. It's the perfect style for a photo session like this. The set will evoke a "glamping" lifestyle where furniture mixes under tents and luscious carpet sits under your feet in the meadow.

Who is a gypset model? Anyone! We're super user-friendly. Half hour sessions will start on Sunday, August 17th at 2:00 PM. Each slot can comfortably accommodate up to three glammed-up nomads. If you want the whole session to yourself, you can do that. You can share the session with some like-minded friends and share the cost. The ideal number to pose with is three - but we will allow up to five gypsetters to share a time slot. But remember, if you share a session there's less time for individual shots. The fewer the gypsies, the more opportunities to pose, play and get intimate with the camera.

You will have the most beautiful profile pictures on the Internet.

If you aren't sure what to wear, have a look here, here, and here. You can follow real-life gypsetters on Instagram like @thegypsettersnet and @gypsetgirl. You can check out the anthropologie or Johnny Was websites for inspiration. You can read more about the gypset lifestyle here - or have a look at the official website of Gypset Style!

Still not sure you can pull it off? You totally can. Wear your most comfortable, flattering jeans with a tank or your favourite sundress and show up well before your scheduled time - we will have an array of wardrobe and accessory choices for you to choose from so you can add to your basic look.

A great place to start is your own closet. Nothing has to be perfect or fancy to pull this look off. Lots of layering is key. Play around with flowing pieces and add scarves and tons of jewelry. Famous purveyors of gypset style are Stevie Nicks, Nicole Ritchie, and Julia Chaplin (who coined the term).

Thrift store shopping is encouraged, accepted and celebrated by gypsetters. They care about the fabulous factor of a garment rather than where it came from. Stores like Value Village will net you some fabulous pieces... and who knows? You might just put the look into your regular rotation. How very Jerry Hall of you.

The colour palate you choose can be youthful pastels or bold brights. Stay away from darks and blacks - this look is bright and happy. The stage will be set in layered shades of pink, blue, green and yellow set against the majesty of a prairie sky.

Heck, you can even go barefoot.

Wear your hair au natural - no fussy updos or overly "done" looks. Braids are very, very good for this imagery.

Your makeup (as for any professional photos) should be relatively neutral and natural. Avoid metallics and shimmer, add some pretty nude lipstick and some gloss. Gypsetters are too busy seeing the sights and meeting up with other fabulous people to fuss with their faces!

Great accessories include: layered necklaces (multiples, feathers, turquoise, bangles, ethnic-inspired) patterned silk or cotton scarves, floppy hats, fur coats (we will have some on hand).

Even bon vivants as young as six years old can flaunt the gypset look. Delicate patterns, light fabrics, floral headbands and bare feet look delicious on most everyone.

You can take a look at some of our experiments with Gypset style here, here and here.

If this sounds like a photo session for you, shoot Saucy an email and don't delay! The Bedtime Stories mini shoots filled up quickly. You don't want to miss out. Your spot can be secured with online banking e-transfers.

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the perfect collision of desserts

June 8, 2014, 9:09 pm

≫ Next: bubble baby

≪ Previous: experience gypset with us

At the end of a long day of baking cupcakes, when there's only one more batch to put together, sometimes the brain can do funny things. On Friday, Saucy was prepping for the annual community association Family Fun Day. She'd been in the kitchen for many hours. She was getting a little punchy. She realized that she'd not allotted room on the menu for neither Oreo nor S'mores cupcakes... and they're both big sellers. Fan favourites, you might say. Expected at every sale.

What else is a girl to do? The only right thing, of course. Saucy had to dig deep and will two of her most popular cupcakes to come together in one, magnificent batch.

Then this happened. This is a S'moreo. They're the key to all of this happiness.

If you want to whip up double the fun in a single batch of cupcakes, this is the post for you.

You'll need the following ingredients:

one batch of your favourite chocolate cupcake batter
mini Oreo cookies or broken regular sized Oreos
graham cracker crumbs
24 Double Stuf Oreo cookies at room temperature
one package jumbo marshmallows
one batch of your favourite vanilla buttercream
one small recipe of dark chocolate ganache (recipe below)

Make the S'moreos that will top your cupcakes first and set them aside. Use the Double Stuf Oreos if you can find them - you have to break them in half (like for licking and dunking) and if there's excess buttercream on each side of the sandwich, that's best. Saucy roasts marshmallows over the gas burner of her stove, holding them with a barbecue fork. Once the marshmallow is suitably browned and warm, pop it between the cookie layers and squeeze gently (Oreos break easily). Saucy didn't pull the fork out of the marshmallow until the sandwich was pressed together nicely.

The Double Stuf frosting sort of melts when pressed into the warm marshmallow. It's now the glue that will keep the S'moreo from falling apart.

Bake up your cupcakes, but jazz them up first. For Saucy this meant placing an entire mini Oreo and about a teaspoon of graham crumbs onto the batter before baking. They popped out of the oven nicely - you could see the Oreos peeking through the crumbs on a few but mostly they just slipped down into the middle of the cake, waiting to be discovered later.

Use a large round piping tip to deposit a generous mound of buttercream to the top of each cooled cupcake. For this cupcake, you don't have to worry about being too neat or precise... it can look a little rakish and sloppy, that's part of the charm. Plus, it's nice to see that crumb-topped part.

Make the ganache for drizzling over the buttercream. It will also act as superglue to attach your S'moreo to the top of the cupcake. Ganache is super-easy to make, don't let anyone tell you differently. Here's the trick: use equal parts heavy cream and semisweet chocolate chips. That's it. For a small batch of ganache like this, Saucy heats 3/4 cup of heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat and watches it carefully. Warm the cream until bubbles form around the edges... you don't want it to burn. It just has to be very warm, no particular temperature. When it's hot to the touch, pour it over 3/4 cup of chocolate chips in a medium-sized bowl. Let the hot cream soften the chips for a minute or so before stirring. Stir and stir with a spatula or whisk... after about ninety seconds of stirring you'll see your ganache magically come together! The milky, gloopy mess of chocolate and cream will turn into smooth, shiny dark chocolate ganache. Now, let it cool (stirring occasionally) before pouring a generous amount over each buttercream-topped cupcake.

You can even add more graham crumbs before you do this:

Get that bad boy up there. That's it. Give it a little wiggle-wiggle-wiggle to make sure its set up to stay. The wiggle-wiggle motion will push the cookie and ganache into the buttercream and spread everything out just a bit.

There! That sure was easy, wasn't it? Now you have a super-duper conversation starter. Who wouldn't want to discuss the collision of cupcakes, Oreo cookies and S'mores?

You know, if you were really a wicked person (and you probably are) you could probably also shoot a little buttercream centre into that cupcake before decorating it. Or caramel. Or chocolate frosting. Or ganache. Or marshmallow filling.

Or, you could just do it like this. This is pretty amazing the way it is already. Now wiggle-wiggle-wiggle to your kitchen and whip up a batch!

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bubble baby

August 20, 2014, 10:01 pm

≫ Next: momofuku birthday layer cake

≪ Previous: the perfect collision of desserts

This little bundle of fun was in front of my camera last month, but being under the weather caused a delay in my editing - here are some of the shots, finally.

Her crafty mama brought out the collection of Disney Princess dresses and the toy launderette. We rigged up a clothesline. Even though she had the latest issue of Oprah to read, the Bubble Baby wasn't overly eager to "do laundry". Can you blame her?

I don't like doing laundry on sultry summer nights, either.

She knew mama had a bubble gun packed along too! That's what she really wanted to play with. Again, can you blame her?

I love the way the camera caught the light of the bubbles as they burst

Someone was revved up for that bubble gun!

I had some lipstick packed along. After the bubble excitement died down, she had a little fun jazzing up her pout.

I really have been under the weather this summer. I'm sad because it's usually my "productive time" when I'm taking the most photos and doing the most projects. I've spent too much time upstairs sleeping away the afternoons.

Let's all hope for a long, lazy autumn so I can get caught up on all the cool things I want to try before the snow flies.

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momofuku birthday layer cake

August 26, 2014, 12:35 am

≫ Next: sk8r girl sweetheart

≪ Previous: bubble baby

For Veto's birthday, Saucy wanted to recreate a cake that she, Loopy and Trooper ordered up while visiting the Momofuku Milk Bar earlier in the month. It was petite and decadent... perfect for a small group to enjoy but also deceptively able to serve plenty of people. It is a six-inch cake, but the height and the layers make even the smallest slices into a very nice serving.

The problem with this cake - it is a lot of work. It requires much prep before actually baking the sheet cake and assembling it, and you also need some special equipment:

a 6" cake ring (like this one at Sur la Table) - thanks to JL and The Adorables at Girls Glitter 'n Giggles who were kind enough to track one down on their recent Disney vacation

a deep jelly roll pan or professional sheet cake pan

acetate strips to line the ring and ensure the cake keeps its form (Trooper actually found these for Saucy to try the cake)

special ingredients such as citric acid, glucose, kosher salt, clear artificial vanilla

Saucy isn't going to post the recipe here, it was incredibly labour intensive and it would be more labour to retype it in its entirety. You can find it on the Momofuku website or you can purchase the beautiful cookbook that includes photographs and step by step instructions. This is just a brief overview.

Days before making the cake, Saucy made a recipe of Birthday Cake Crumb (for the layer filling and the topping), as well as two recipes of the cream cheese frosting.

The frosting is absolutely delicious. It's very smooth and not too sweet. It has a lovely consistency for an application like this and chills beautifully. Following the advice of another blogger who attempted this cake (and there are many), Saucy made two recipes of the frosting because it was advised that one recipe was scant for this cake.

On birthday cake day, Saucy made the sheet cake in the jelly roll pan lined with parchment paper. After thoroughly cooling it, she cut the first layer of cake, using the cake ring as a template (cut around the inside).

The stacking and assembly was quite quick, after measuring the acetate strips inside the ring and using tape to fasten them together. Each layer of cake gets brushed with a recipe of Cake Soak, this ensures a moist cake but also helps the entire structure deepen and sink into the mould during chilling - making it structurally sound and easier to cut.

After getting brushed with cake soak, each layer gets a generous dollop (in this case, three) of the frosting and a sprinkling of the Cake Crumb recipe:

For the middle layer, you might have to piece together bits of cake to make it work. It's not that difficult, just tamp them into place after you cut them to fit.

Keep building, soaking each cake layer and tamping it down lightly as you add layers of frosting and crumb. You will need to add a second strip of acetate as you build above the ring.

After the cake is constructed within the cake ring, keep it in the ring and place in the refrigerator overnight - but at least four to six hours before serving. Then it can quite easily be popped onto a serving platter and the ring lifted off, revealing something like this:

Before the cake warms up to room temperature, gently peel back the acetate strips to reveal your "naked cake".

The finished cake is a showstopper. Saucy and Loopy served it to Veto on the eve of his birthday with just one lone white candle in it and it was really smart-looking.

If you decide to attempt this cake, here are some tips from Saucy's kitchen to yours:

Locate all of the unusual ingredients and do your very best to find them. For instance, citric acid is called for in the frosting and that adds a very nice "bite" and cuts the sicky-sweet flavour of typical cream cheese frostings against the overpowering sweet flavour of the cake. For local peeps, Saucy found citric acid at Bulk Barn. She substituted glucose with a simple syrup recipe (close enough).

Make the frosting recipes early as well as the Cake Crumb. You can set them aside up to a day or two before actually making the cake, cutting your work on cake day drastically.

Use clear vanilla as instructed in this recipe. Artificial is totally fine. Chef Tosi who developed the recipe says it made her very nostalgic for the boxed-cakes she was served as a child and she tried to replicate that flavour.

Make two recipes of frosting as mentioned above - you will have extra, but it will come in handy and keeps well in the fridge for a while.

Add extra sprinkles between your layers, and also sprinkle them liberally before you bake the sheet cake. Sprinkles make the entire creation more festive!

As you add Cake Crumb between the layers use the smaller bits, reserving the larger chunkier bits for the topping. They're showstoppers and having the smaller pieces will make cutting easier.

Don't let the cake warm to room temperature all the way before slicing it. It slices very nicely if it's still just a little bit cool.

Save the scraps after cutting the circle layers from your baked sheet cake. There is a recipe on the website to make Birthday Cake Truffles and they are amazing!

Take plenty of photos to document your success... this cake is labour intensive as mentioned before and you really need to plan ahead but it is foolproof in its assembly, and you will be the hero of the party for it.

More Momofuku recipes coming soon... Saucy has tried the Chocolate Chip Marshmallow cookies and a few others. Thumbs-up, all the way around.

If you try this recipe, let Saucy know. She'd love to find out if these tips helped you. Good luck!

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