Learn how to make a miniature tarte

Hello Littlest Sweet Shoppers!

As promised, we now have a new menu called 'Recipes' that will reveal how we make some of our miniature food. Our first new recipe will teach you how to make a cute Valentine's Day tarte. This new tutorial series is in co-operation with a Parisian craft store La petite épicerie. They have everything you need to make kawaii food miniatures and other awesome crafts. They also ship worldwide so you don't have to live in Paris to purchase their wonderful stock.

Learn how to make Valentine's Day tarte now in the new Recipes menu

The new Recipes menu also has a comment section so do ask any questions that you may have regarding the tutorial and we will answer within a day!

Make sure you have all of the ingredients that is needed before you start. We only use quality materials from Japan, Europe and America.

Making miniature food, especially when you don't have much experience can be tricky. I would recommend that you practise a few times if you are not happy with your work. All I can say is that I am also a self-taught miniaturist and it took hundreds of hours of practise just to get where I am. Don't feel discouraged if something doesn't turn out the way you want it. Planning ahead helps so make sure you have everything laid out so you will have less stress and more time to concentrate.

In the Valentine's Day tarte tutorial, I'm using a silicone based whipped cream. This is actually not an easy material to use as it is very stringy and sticky. However I would recommend that you always do some practise piping before you start piping it on the final piece. This will help you get used to it and know how long and how much pressure for each piping. If you are a complete beginner, you can use a matte (fake) whipped cream instead. It has the same consistency and texture as real whipped cream. The only difference is that the silicone whipped cream retains the shine and doesn't shrink too much.

Also note that I usually use alcohol inks instead of acrylic paints to paint fruits and pastry. The reason is because when the alcohol ink dries, it forms a semi-gloss surface and you can apply a very thin layer at a time. This means you do not have to apply additional gloss to seal in the pastels. The ink also dries up quickly so it is less messy.

Naru carefully removing a freshly baked meringue tart

There are many short videos on our Instagram that will also show you all the different techniques that I have used to make miniature food. Make sure you follow us so you won't miss out on even more tips!

Since I am now the ambassador for La petite épicerie, you will also be able to find this tutorial in French and German languages!
German: http://la-petite-epicerie.fr/de/tuto/387-herzformiger-miniaturkuchen
French: http://la-petite-epicerie.fr/fr/tuto/385-la-tarte-coeur

I hope you will try the tutorial and have fun at it! Remember to just ask if you are stuck and we will try our best to help you become a miniature Pâtissier. 

Good Luck!

Commission update - 1/3 Scale Strawberry Shortcake and 1/6 scale sweets and treats

Greetings Littlest Sweet Shoppers! 

A quick update on some recent commissions. A Littlest Sweet Shopper in Sweden has requested a 1:3 scale Strawberry Shortcake (Japanese) for her new Dolfie Dream doll. The frosting looks really real and each strawberry slice have been hand-painted in detail. The sponge cake looks light and fluffy. She also ordered a box for the cake.

1/3 Scale Strawberry Shortcake (Japanese)

The next order came from a Littlest Sweet Shopper in America who is also a returning customer! She ordered some cakes and sweets. Our chocolate dipped strawberries are now a best-seller!

1:6 scale commission. Chocolate candy pretzels, churros, chocolate dipped strawberries, whoopie pies, strawberry chewing-gum, lemon drizzle Bundt cake, candy buttons

Some close-up shots:

Chocolate dipped strawberries

Strawberry chewing-gum

Chocolate candy pretzels and chocolate dipped churros

Lemon drizzle bundt cake

That's all for today. Join me again next week when we reveal our first tutorial on the website. If you wanted to learn how we make cute miniature food, this is your chance!

Bye!

New arrivals for February - Gourmet popcorn, Fruit lollipops, Latte Art, and new Littlest Groceries!!

Happy Valentine's Day Littlest Sweet Shoppers

Hope you had a great Valentine's Day yesterday. We had a great time selling chocolates and candy so today we have new stock that just came in! There will also be a new range of items from our own Littlest Groceries with original artwork by Inksalad Illustrations.  

This cute Japanese Strawberry Shortcake slices comes in white and pink. Each cake is frosted with a layer of cool and fresh cream - YUMMY!

There are 3 layers of sponge cake with white frosting in between. The strawberry slices in the cream look so real! Each piece have been painted individuallyy to give the strawberries more 'depth'.

Made with realistic looking fresh cream frosting

Fresh strawberry slices and cream. Soft sponge cake layers.

Also new to our Beverage menu is Latte Art. You can choose to have a cocoa powder stencil or chocolate drawing on the foam. Comes in white mugs that have been up cycled.

Latte Art. Heart cocoa powder stencil and Hello Kitty chocolate drawing

New Chocolate and Candy from Littlest Sweet Shop

There are tons of new chocolate and candy which is now available in store. The chocolate will be a great new addition to the chocolate range in the Sweets Boutique.

This is an updated version of our Chocolate Bar. The new version is smaller and with more small details. This also comes in 1:12 scale which is also a nice size as a mini chocolate bar in 1:6 scale.

Available in Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate and Strawberry Milk

1:12 scale chocolate bar. Also suitable as mini chocolates in 1:6 scale

Chocolate Buttons is the latest selection in the Chocolate Pick'n Mix. Each piece is tiny and comes in Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, and Strawberry Milk flavours. It is also the candy we use when we are building the roof of a Gingerbread House.

 Chocolate Buttons

Another new addition to the Chocolate Pick'n Mix are these creamy looking Moulded Chocolate Swirls. Made from the highest quality chocolate and available in dark or milk chocolate flavours. It even comes in 1:12 scale.

Moulded Chocolate Swirls in dark and milk chocolate. Also available in 1:12 scale

Another new item in our Sweets Boutique is Gourmet Popcorn. This popcorn is a larger size because it was air-popped and coated in generous molten candy.
Gourmet popcorn is currently available in Berry Rainbow, Chocolate and Caramel.

Caramel Popcorn Medium serving (for 2 dolls)

XXL Portion of Gourmet Popcorn to fill a big glass bowl. Perfect for parties or home movies.

The Fruit Lollipops have been updated to be slightly thinner and a new recipe was used for additional hard candy clarity. They come in Cherry, Pineapple, Lime, Watermelon, and Grape flavours. 

Akiko approves the new grape lollipop

L-R: Cherry, Pineapple, Lime, Watermelon and Grape lollipops. You can also order the rainbow lollipop stand from us.

Liège Waffles is a soft sugar dough recipe from Belgium. Our version is small, crunchy on the outside and deliciously sweet! This is our 3rd update on this type of waffle so we have definitely come a long way to make them look tasty and real. The best part is that it also comes in 1:12 scale. Comes in plain or you can have it coated on one side with chocolate or white chocolate.

Liège Waffles from Littlest Sweet Shop.

Liège Waffles available in chocolate, plain and white chocolate.

Time to debut our new range of Littlest Groceries! I have been so excited about this since I was working on the designs since last summer and it is finally here! The artwork for the boxes and packaging is an original design by Inksalad Illustrations.

I also plan to make the contents of each item in detail so you can also purchase them separately or together. It does take a long time to model the contents especially tiny items like cornflakes (which has to be modelled individually) but it will be listed in the shop very soon. We will also be stocking up fruits and vegetables into this range so please be patient for that as well.

The boxes and packaging are hand-assembled and printed in hi-resolution to give it a professional finish.

Akiko shopping at Littlest Groceries

Our cereals come in 3 different variants and the labels are in Japanese on one side and English on the other side.

Japanese labels side

English label side

Biscuit Snack from Littlest Sweet Shop in Banana, Chocolate and Strawberry.

Littlest Sweet Shop's version of 'Pocky'

You can also buy packets of crisps in 3 different variants. FYI Super Ring is a cheese hoop snack. We are still developing the loose contents for each product so please stay tuned.

This box of Fancy gems comes in 1:12 scale. Perfect for the dollhouse collector.

English label on one side

Japanese label on the other side

You can now buy these grocery items from Littlest Sweet Shop

Thank you for visiting Littlest Sweet Shop today and we hope you like our new arrivals. There will be some commission update news next week and I will also be busy setting up shop at a doll's house exhibition called 'Small Stories'. If you are in Norwich, please do come and say hello! We will be selling some miniatures and Littlest Sweet Shop accessories.  

I am also working on a tutorial for this Valentine's Day tart in co-operation with a Parisian craft store - La Petite Épicerie. The tutorial will be permanently available on our website so if you were ever interested in our recipes in making miniatures, make sure to visit us again end of this month.

Valentine's Day tart. Tutorial available end of February at LittlestSweetShop.com

Happy Belated Valentine's Day and Good-Bye!