PIctures to share. ^_^ Culinary attempts and Cosplay

A while back I said I was going to attempt making Sakuramochi. Well, I did. It wasn't a complete failure, but it was darn close. The beans didn't work out. I was using precooked kidney beans, but I may not have drained them enough because they were a touch on the watery side, not capable of being rolled into balls. Other than that the beans tasted okay. So in the end, I ditched the beans.

As far as the rice itself, I did okay, but it definately could have been steamed longer. Next time I plan on steaming each batch for the full time, maybe even 10-15 minutes longer. So the rice didn't smash completely.

A bowl of pink rice. This part at least was easy. ::grins::
Rice balls prior to final steaming. As you can probably see in the picture, I couldn't smash them enough to make them doughy.
Rice balls in the steamer. Final steaming.

They still tasted pretty good. I think this calls for a reread of the instructions and another attempt. ::grin::


And now onto the cosplay pics.

I started working on the drafts of Sakka-chan's sword and I'm glad to find that the experience in drafting my own sword made this one go in half the time.

Rough area for Morgif's head and hilt.
Point of the blade. Hard to see, but this blade is wider than the other sword.
Mostly complete hilt. The pattern was a *bitch* to replicate.
Partial crosspiece. I'm too lazy to draw both sides and all four claw things.
Morgif's face. I love the curvy part of the bottom of the blade. It just draws my eye everytime I look at it.

I just ordered the specialty blade for carving the wood, and hopefully next weekend I can go out and start buying the wood I need.