Book Review- Tiny Food Party

I'm going to be completely honest before I start gushing about the cute. I love tiny things, adore tiny foods, and love good food well made. It just delights me, well-made tiny foods are a joy to look at it and to eat.

Tiny Food Party! -Bite Sized Recipes for Miniature Meals by Teri Lyn Fish and Jenny Park is full of tiny, appetizer 1 and 2 bite versions of regular food. While the focus is on making things small, there is also a strong focus on making them well so they are as delicious as they are cute to make for truly impressive appetizers. A lot of the recipes could also be used in bento style lunches, tea party foods, or even a full meal for a dinner party which allows guests to try several different things.

The photographs are wonderful, the colors are bright and cheerful and the instructions are clearly written with American style volume measurements. A few of the recipes use common convenience ingredients, but most of them are made from scratch. The recipes have a nice gourmet/foodie flair with details and flavors like mini churros made with candied bacon in the batter and suggestions for 3 different dipping sauces.

Here's where I start squealing and clapping. Because those recipes? Are fantastic, clever and incredibly tasty. Shallots in a light, perfect batter to make tiny onion rings, perfect mashed potatoes piped in rosettes on tiny Shepard's Pies, miniature eclairs! If you look at the cover, you can see the little Caprese skewers with a Balsamic vinegar glaze. Under that are miniature toaster pastries. That recipe comes with a few suggestions for filling so you could make them to suit almost anyone's tastes.


One of my husband's favorite recipes, except for size (he feels like a giant when he eats tiny food) is the Country-style Eggs Benedict, I love that recipe too because instead of a Hollandaise sauce it uses a cheesy/garlic sauce that's a lot easier to make and that tastes fantastic.

There are also cocktail recipes for the adults. Little tiny mixed drinks served in shot glasses with gourmet twists and details to make them special and not just a miniature version of a grown up drink. Like the Bloody Marys use a Korean rice wine instead of vodka, and the glass is rimmed with bacon bits. It's a flavorful, spicy, gorgeously garnished mini drink. Adults with a sweet tooth will enjoy the Orange Creamsicles drinks with the honey and sugar garnish.

The authors worked small in very clever ways, and this is one of my favorite cookbooks this year. There are menu suggestions for various party themes, and lots of dessert recipes to go with all the main course and side dish recipes. The end of the book includes equivalencies for people using metric, and a good index to find things quickly.

Published by Quirk Books, you can find recipes and templates HERE.

I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Tiny crocheted gym bag charm pattern

It's a tiny gym bag! I stuffed this one with lavender, and sewed it shut, but it could be left open just as a miniature. It's also super quick to stitch, using just chains, single crochets and slip stitches.

To make it you'll need:

• 2 colors of size 10 thread- small amounts! I used some of my thrifted thread
• size 7 (1.65mm) steel crochet hook
• scissors
• tapestry needle
• small amount of stuffing if you're going to sew it shut
• pins

Abbreviations: (American terminology used throughout)

• ch= chain
• sc= single crochet stitch 
• sl st= slip stitch
• st or sts= stitch or stitches

In the diagrams the Os are chains, the X are single crochets, and the dots are slip stitches.

With the first color
Disk pattern- Make 2
Ch 2
Round 1: 6 sc in first ch, sl st to first sc to join
Round 2: ch 1 (does not count as first stitch) 2 sc in each st around, sl st to first sc in round to join (12 sts)
Break off thread leaving a 6 inch tail for sewing

Strap-
Ch 50, sl st to join without twisting, sl st through all chains

With second color
Ch 12
Row 1:  ch 1 (does not count as first stitch) sc in each stitch across (12 stitches)
Row 2-8: Repeat Row 1

Now to sew it all together! Start with putting the strap on the body of the bag. The bag stitches to the sides along the long chain 12 edges. So the strap goes on that way stitching between the second and third row of stitches. Fold the strap in half and the body in half to find the center of both, and pin them together. You don't sew the entire length. Skip the first 2 columns on the top and bottom so you're only sewing 3/4s of the length. The arrows show where to start and end the stitching. Sew with a running stitch, and knot off and weave the end on the wrong side of the fabric (the side without the strap)

Now with the long tails on the disks, sew them to the body of the bag, working around the circles.

If you're going to stuff it, stuff it now, then sew the top shut. Weave in all ends.

It stitches up fast, and it's so very tiny. It might be a good purse for a Barbie doll, or like mine, a charm on a key fob. 

If you like tiny things, I really recommend the book Microcrafts. (Amazon.com affiliate link)- it's full of adorable tiny projects. 

Book Review- Microcrafts

Microcrafts: Tiny Treasures to Make and Share is a compilation of tiny handmade crafts that can be used as jewelry, gifts and little decorations and whimsy on shelves.

I'm absolutely charmed by tiny things and as you all know, I love crafts, all sorts of crafts. So this collection was a winner from the start with it's cover of a tiny stitched cat next to a spool of thread.

Tiny projects that are stitched, cut, felted, knotted, knit, crocheted, sculpted and in the best crafting tradition, make use of even the tiniest scraps.

One of my favorite things about this book is that the diminutive crafts aren't used in dollhouses, they are wearable, or perfect for gift giving, or an unexpected artsy craftsy touch.

There are a lot of little stuffed animals and monsters in this book. A little patchwork dog, those sweet tiny kitties from the cover, baby monsters and little owls. There is also miniature book binding to make a pendant, a little walnut shell boat and my personal favorite, the tiny plants in little thread macrame hangers.

For the paper artists out there, you aren't left out. A miniature bunting, some wonderful decorations and the most wonderful little fairy tale paper pieced cards you've ever seen.

Okay, the little plants aren't my only favorite. I also love the miniature polyclay taxidermy in it's stylish white and brown, tiny teddy bears with their little blankets and matchbox bed and the felt flower pocket necklace.

Crafts for many levels of crafter made tiny. These aren't pieces that will take forever to put together, and they are so whimsical and charming. They would make wonderful gifts, and it's a book that you could share with a young person who is interested in miniatures. They would be wonderful in a room box or to make a very special shadow box.

At the end of the book is a techniques section which also includes tips for making jewelry, displaying and ways to use these miniature crafts. It also has well diagrammed tips for miniature sewing.

Being so close to Christmas right now, I'm thinking of starting now so next year I can have a pile of handmade tiny gifts all wrapped under a miniature tree to give out to friends. As a beader, I can see uses for a lot of these miniatures in beaded pieces as well.

You can find out more about this book from Quirk Books My reviews are always my personal and honest opinion. You can read more about my review policy here.