Double Dragons Lure Earrings

Now available as a pair of earrings, the ever popular Alchemy Gothic The Dragon's Lure Wrap Around Cuff Earring.   Originally designed to be worn on one ear, until recently Alchemy have only supplied this earring for the right hand side, but for a limited period, Alchemy are producing some left sided pieces.  At Little Bo's you can get the pair!  Don't worry if you already have the earring for the right ear side. We now also have the earring for the left side sold as a single earring too.

The Dragon's Lure -Like a whispering shoulder devil or a witch’s familiar, this dragon, piercing through the ear lobe, tempts the wearer into acts of shameful depravity. Designed and Hand Made in England by Alchemy Carta.
Alchemy Gothic earrings are cast and hand-made in fine English pewter, many with additional high quality components, and all come complete with surgical-steel posts. The metal used in the manufacture of all Alchemy's pewter products is to BS5140 British Standard and are lead and nickel free.

New Release from Alchemy - Kraken Wrap Earring

We are pleased to announce the availability of the latest design from Alchemy Gothic at Little Bo's. 

 
Enveloped by overwhelmingly powerful and limber tentacles from the deep,  the Kraken Tentacle Wrap Earring is the stunning detailed new addition to Alchemy's range of cuff wrap earrings.  Designed and Handmade in England by Alchemy Carta.  All Alchemy earrings are cast and handmade in fine English Pewter, many with additional high quality components.  The English Pewter used by Alchemy is to British Standard BS5140.

Cuff wrap earrings are a bold fashion statement for those looking for something a little bit different and daring.   

Spooky Halloween

As the end of October draws near, we know that Halloween is approaching. At Little Bo's Boutique, we have arranged a selection of spooky themed pieces, perfect for adding a touch of glamour to your Halloween Party Outfit - if you decide not to go in fancy dress. Here is our spooky selection available at Little Bo's Boutique

Its All About The Bees

Recently I was asked to contribute to an article about bees and art and it made me think about just how many bee related jewellery items we have at Little Bo's Boutique and looking though our current catalogue of products, we appear to have quite a few, with a few more arriving in the pipeline in the near future. Here is just a selection of the current and up and coming items available.

Starting clockwise, Bee and Flower Ring, Metal and Enamel Bee Brooch, Yellow and Black Honey Bee Brooch, Yellow and Black Honey Bee Charm Necklace, Bee Brooch with Movable Wings and in the centre, Yellow and Black Bee Cocktail Ring.

How to Convert a Brooch into a Pendant

Have you got that special brooch that you would like to convert into a necklace without having to do any permanent modifications? What you need is a brooch converter (also known as a pin converter). To make the pendant, thread the pin of the brooch though the tube of the converter and in a matter of seconds, you have a pendant. No soldering or glue required. And the best thing is that the converter can be used again and again. Converters come in horizontal and vertical versions.

A Cupcake Recipe

Red Velvet Cupcakes

We love cupcakes at Little Bo's and so we have a range of the cupcake related jewellery. We also tried making Red Velvet Cupcakes and this is the recipe. This makes about 12 -16 large cupcakes or 18 - 24 small cupcakes

Cake Ingredients
150g of butter
200g of sugar
300g of plain flour
25g of corn flour
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
3 large eggs
250ml buttermilk (or 240ml milk plus 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and leave for 5 minutes before using if you can't obtain buttermilk)
1 tablespoon of red food colouring (this gives the cake a deep red colour - but you can use less if you prefer)
Pinch of salt

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C /350F (Gas Mark 4) and prepare the cupcake pans with paper cases
Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until pale and fluffy.
Add the eggs one by one and beat vigorously and then add the vanilla extract.
Mix the the buttermilk and red food colouring together.
Sieve the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into another bowl.
Add a third of the flour into the butter - sugar mixture with a third of the buttermilk mixture and mix together. Go easy on the mixer if you are using an electric mixer as a high speed will result in a very messy kitchen!
Repeat this with the remaining flour and the buttermilk until all the ingredients have combined. Take care not to over mix or the cakes will be too glutenous
Working quickly, spoon the the mixture into the cupcake pans, filling the pans two thirds full.
Bake the cakes for between 15-20 minutes (depending on the size of the cupcakes you are making).
The cakes are cooked when a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Allow the cakes to cool on a wire baking rack before making the icing.

Cream Cheese Icing Ingredients
200g cream cheese
100g butter
500g icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method
Beat the cream cheese and butter together.
Sift the icing sugar into the mixture, add the vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
Spread the mixture over the cupcakes and decorate to your heart's content. A personal favourite is to decorate with a sprinkle of chocolate vermicelli or hundreds and thousands!

Add Some Sparkles To Your Sandals This Summer

The photos left show the stages of how these sandals can easily be customised with brooches to make the lovely sandals look fabulous.

For this pair of shoes, two matching brooches were used but you can also use a pair of large flat backed clip on earrings and clip through the knot. In all cases, it is advisable to add a couple of stitches around the rollover clasp or use glue instead to secure the accessory firmly in place.