Candy Kit Review – Pizza

Now that that obligatory Doctor Who clip is out of the way, we’re making candy kit pizza.

 

Poppin’ Cookin’ Pizza

Brand: Kracie

Price: $8.00 from a booth at Anime North 2015

Yes, this is the mystery kit I bought for Shoonie, from Anime North. At $8.00, it’s also the most expensive kit.

Holy moly, I found the English instructions.

Click for RRCherryPie’s tutorial

This is yet another kit with a lot of things inside. You get the following packages, identified by colour:

1. Pizza dough
2. Cheese
3. Tomato sauce
4. Pepperoni (sausage?)
5. French fries
6. Grape soda
7. Toppings

You also get a cup for the drink, and Shoonie’s favourite….

SHOOOOOON!

Oh dear… this was yet another kit that required the use of a microwave. And we all know what that means…

So let’s begin, shall we?

Once again, the bag contains a cute box to cut out. We didn’t make this box because we were more interested in torturing ourselves with the you-know-what. You do need to use the circle guide in the center, in order to form the pizza crusts.

First, we made the emoji fries. Our kit came with (^_^), ( >o< ), :D, and jack-o-lantern faces. Surprisingly, after nuking them in the microwave, they didn’t smell like *eeeeee.* They shrank and became very dry in texture. Can you still see their faces?

The pizzas were another story. Everything went fairly well, until we got to the sausage. It looked and smelled kinda gross. The closest thing I can think of is… beef stock? Dog food?

“Sausage”

Kitty would have terrible deja vu if he saw how we made the sausage toppings. Once you mix the powder, you need to seal the bag and cut a corner to squeeze out the sausage. It looks really gross. ;w;

The cheese became a Play-doh that we had to shred. It smelled like mild Parmesan cheese.

Did you know that it’s a thing, to put peas and corn on pizza? It doesn’t sound gross at all. I’m currently a mushroom head, myself.

Before microwaving

By the time we finished assembling the pizzas, they looked pretty appetizing! Someone with a lot of time and patience could make actual mini pizzas like these.

After microwaving

It’s too bad the cheese melted all over, ruining Shoonie’s decorating efforts. I’m not sure if our microwave was too strong, or we put too much cheese. This happens a lot with actual microwave pizzas, as well.

This kit came with grape soda drink mix. It fizzes up as soon as you add water, although the head doesn’t last very long. If beer and alcohol wasn’t so taboo, I bet this kit would be cute as an apple juice flavoured champagne kit. Maybe it could work as an adult-themed kit. Why not, it seems the majority of people who test these kits out on YouTube are teenagers, and people in their 20’s. Kracie, you can have that idea. Dou-itashimashite.

 

Overall Verdict

Difficulty: 3/10

Once again, we had yet another easy kit. Really, it’s pizza. You can’t go wrong with it.

Taste: 3.5/10

Yeah… no. These pizzas tasted strange; they were savoury, yet sweet. The fries were dry and crumbly, though they did taste like actual fries. This kit gets a 3.5 solely because of its best part: the grape soda. “Japanese” style grape flavour is tasty, unlike the grape flavoured candies we get in Canada, which are too sweet.

Overall verdict: 4/10 would barely recommend. Fun to make, not so much to eat.

It’s a shame… I do love pizza. What really put me off had to be the pizza crust. It’s as though it can’t decide if it wants to taste realistic, or like a candy. But at least it didn’t smell like farts. ;w;

Kits like these make me consider looking up recipes for DIY kits. At least it’s fun to watch each other reacting to it. I think we’re getting better at this candy kit business. ^_^

Have you tried this kit? What do you like on your pizza? Comment below!

Pika, so happy~

Boot Cuffs – DIY #5

Happy New Year 2016! You may have read the blog posted on December 30, 2015. I posted a reply to that blog on Sunday, which you can read here.

It’s time to start the new year off right: with some much anticipated craft posts. Whatever your reason for lack of motivation, completing quick ‘n easy projects get the creative juices flowing again. Now that we finally have snow and winter chill, why not try making these boot cuffs?

50% of girls on social media have a picture like this. 100% of those girls think it’s artsy. That being said, I call this one, “Waiting for You.”

Here is the tutorial I followed:

For this project, I used the now-discontinued Bernat BlackLites yarn in Cherry Chill. I also possess a ball of Cowboy, which I would like to use for longer cuffs.

Bernat BlackLites in Cherry Chill, left, and Cowboy.

If you already know how to knit, this project should be a breeze. Your fingers are the knitting needles!

The girl in the video cast onto her dominant hand, but I started by casting onto my non-dominant hand. I found this easier, because I could count the rows as if they were on regular knitting needles. The first row is the “right side,” while the second row is the “wrong side” in stocking stitch.

Regardless of the size of your calves, 20 rows should be enough to wrap around. Thanks to the wide stitch, you don’t need to make buttonholes! I made the buttons using a smaller crochet hook than the yarn’s recommended size. They measured about 3/4″ (2 cm) in diameter.

Final Verdict: My boots have never looked so stylish! And my calves are nice and warm, without having to wear baggy pants. I want to make more cuffs, using actual knitting needles next time.* I wonder if they could be worn long, like the ones on the right?

Humph. The yarn became frayed. No wonder it was discontinued. Still, I like the colour design of black mixed with red, white, and pink. Here’s to hoping the blue ones will look great, too!

I finished my first pair, the night before seeing Kitty and Bear. That almost rhymed.

The next few months will be quite a challenge. Not only will I be returning to school, but I will return to school AND work a part time job at the same time. It may not be so bad, though it means M and I will have less time to chat and hang out. But at least we will have time in between classes for lunch. This week, we went skating and ate chilli. For all the bad luck I’ve had so far this year, it’s reassuring to have a positive M at my side. M says I worry too much.

Staying warm, on and off the ice!

Finger knitting, 8 sts CO vs. Size 11 needle, 16 sts CO.

*After a bit of experimenting, I discovered that swapping to knitting needles may not be such a good idea. Finger knitting creates wide, open stitches, while size 11 needles (the size recommended on the yarn label) create tighter stitches. My fingers ended up creating stitches twice as wide as the needles!

You can design a needle-based pattern for long cuffs using this pattern. Simply multiply the rows you worked in finger knitting by 2. For example, the video tutorial showed 20 rows. 20 x 2 = 40 stitches cast on. From there, work until the cuffs are as long as you like. Make button holes as you see fit.

The adjustable stitches mean that the excess will stick out. Try adding a third button, beside the top button, to keep things in place.

And so ends the first official craft post of 2016! What other crafts and DIY would you like to see here? Have you tried making winter accessories for friends, or family, or yourself? What projects would you like to complete this year? Comment below!

Pika, so happy~

 

In Response to the 2014 Time Capsule

Happy New Year! How’s your 2016 so far?

Before the start of 2015, I wrote and scheduled a blog containing some small tidbits about the past year, and my goals for the future year. 2015 has come and gone, so let’s see how we did, shall we?

I’ve decided to make a mini time capsule for this coming year. These are questions for myself, a year from now.

Hey, hi, hello, how are ya?

Today is December 30, 2014. This is the year you started blogging and opened your Etsy shop. As a result, you made about $200. That’s twice as much as you would’ve made just selling in person!

For the year 2015, here are our goals:

1. Earn $1000 in total sales.

2. Be at least halfway finished the personal game project.

3. Be ready to graduate in 2016.

2015 is now over. Did we reach our goals?

Unfortunately, I lost track of sales somewhere around the $300 mark. So yeah, I made over $300 in total sales that I know of!

As for the game project… it has been on hold. You took a semester off school, which halted actual production. Prior to that, however, I made a rough cutscene of a scene I envisioned.

 

—More Questions—

Are you even still updating this blog? What have you made this year? PICS NAO PLZ

Yes, although the past two months have been a silent mix of distraction, laziness, or both.

You did pass everything this year, right? If not, well… FML

Again, you took a semester off school. So… no. HOWEVER, all is not lost! Read on to find out more!

Do you have an actual job now? Besides plushies, of course.

Yes! It has really helped make up for the lack of plushie dollars. It’s a minimum wage position located in a pretty crummy area, but it makes for some interesting stories.

How’s your personal project coming along? Please tell me you’ve actually started… I want all the details!

I just realized, this is the same question as goal #2.

Are you still writing stories? If not, KEEP WRITING FOO!

Yes, of course! I’m always writing in my phone’s Notepad App, and this year I attempted my first NaNoWriMo. My goal for 2016 is to actually complete NaNoWriMo.

When was the last time you saw/spoke to East? Tay? Ginger? Aburr? Any of your UOIT buddies who have gone before you? If you didn’t have contact within the past 4 months, GET IN TOUCH WITH THEM NOW!

I actually wished all four of the aforementioned gents Happy New Year. 😛 As for everyone else, well they come and go. I became closer with Tay over the summer, and I still love talking to Ginger whenever we get the chance.

Did you ever talk to Squirt again? How about Tommy? If both answers are no, oh well.

Oh well, indeed.

How’s Kitty? Do they have a set date for his wedding to Bear? Don’t tell me they’re already married… ( – w – )

Kitty’s the same old King Kedede. In fact, as of writing this, I’ve met Bear in person! She’s cute. :3 Their wedding is scheduled for October of this year.

Do you have a guy?  If so, DETAILS!!! If not, don’t freak out. You don’t look your hottest until 25, right?

I’ll let the last couple posts speak for themselves. :3

And that’s all I can think of right now. What other things have happened this year? Comment in your next time capsule!

This isn’t the capsule, but 2015 year was a year of firsts. I attended my first Anime North, performed onstage for a public audience for the first time, learned to cook new dishes from scratch, watched a boatload of new and old shows, and even had steak for the first time. It was also the first time I put my foot down when I was no longer happy, instead of toughing it out because I was afraid to say no. And for the first time in years, I met someone who gives me butterflies whenever we see each other.

Hopefully, 2016 will be another year of happy memories and learning experiences. And hopefully, the butterfly-giver will still be around in time for 2017!

As of posting this blog, I will be preparing and scheduling the time capsule for December 30, 2016. What are your plans and resolutions for 2016? Have you achieved your goals from 2015? Comment below!

Pika, happy new year~