Amelie's House

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:51:00 +0000

I recently made some cookies and cupcake toppers for a giveaway winner. She wanted to give them to a friend who was turning fifty and who loves flowers and butterflies.

xxx

Chuppi giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Mon, 21 May 2012 18:37:00 +0000

Congratulations to Soap0151 who has won their very own Chuppi! If you email me I will get it sent out to you.

nevie-pie@hotmail.co.uk

xxx

The Cake and Bake Show

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:36:00 +0000

I am very excited to let you know that I shall be demonstrating my fondant painting techniques at The Cake and Bake Show.

It is going to be a really fabulous show with a new modern fun approach to caking and baking!

If you are coming to the show you will be able to pre-book a place at my demonstration. More details to come.

I hope to see you there!

London Aquarium

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:21:00 +0000

I took loads of pictures, but most of them were out of focus! Thank goodness for digital photography or I would have been really annoyed!

Warning!!!! The last photo is the underside of a ray and totally freaked us out!

xxx

Argghh! I'm coming to get you!!!!!

Random photographs

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:34:00 +0000

On our way into London, I gave smallest kidlet my camera. There is a group of photographers who take random photos, they don't look at the screen or through a view finder (I can't remember what they are called). I encouraged my little one to feel the force and snap away, it made for a very enjoyable and whine-free journey. Although I was showing a lot of trust by giving up my precious camera in to such small, fumbling fingers!

Don't forget to enter the Chuppi giveaway here.

Painted penguins

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Sun, 13 May 2012 21:03:00 +0000

We were lucky to be given some tickets for the London Aquarium recently. I have more pictures, but I love how these snaps of the penguin pool have come out. Apart from cropping and adding a little brightness, I haven't photoshopped these in any way. They look like paintings don't they?

xxx

A day in London

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:52:00 +0000

We spent a lovely day in London recently, for oldest kidlet's birthday. We pottered around China Town finding some lovely looking food and then walked round the corner to M&M world. Of course most of the pictures I took were sweets and cake! Although I'm not sure if I fancy the mushroom cookies!

Mimosa blossom tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:32:00 +0000

Or how to paint on cakes!

As I was painting the mimosa cake, I thought it would make a good tutorial, as it is a really easy design to recreate. It is really just blobs and lines (but done in a sensitive, artistic fashion!). So even the most nervous of beginners can have a go.

Good luck!

I use Proarte series 101 brushes. I use mostly a size 8, but here it is a size 4. Don't buy expensive sable brushes as they don't last very long, it's not worth it.

Prepare your fondant using corn flour, no Trex or shortening and leave it to dry over night.

I mix my colours in an artists palette with boiled water.

I have used Sugarflair paste colours, here it's egg yellow. Paint splodges for the mimosa blossom. You don't want perfectly round circles, so make sure they are all slightly different shapes, blobby is good.

When you paint the blossom blobs keep them uneven, so a few in a line at the top then maybe two on one side and one on the opposite side, or a bunch of three together.

Add a little dab of tangerine/orange to give the blossoms some shadow. Don't worry if it bleeds a little, this adds to effect. But if you find the colours actually running, your brush is too wet. Dab off a little moisture on some kitchen roll before you put the brush on the fondant, you may also find it helpful to use alcohol instead of water as it will dry quicker.

I am using a size 0 brush here with dark brown to add some stalks. Try and keep the brush stokes as light as possible, you don't want heavy marks with no movement in. Don't worry if there are breaks in the stems as this adds to the lightness.

Make sure that all your stems are different heights and angles, but don't inadvertently create a repeating pattern, ie; one tall, one short, one bending right, one bending left. Have two tall stems next to a short stem and then a couple of medium ones etc.

The same principle applies to the bottom of the design. Note the different angles and how some blossom reach the end of the stem while others stop further up. All these little elements add up to create a more realistic looking design.

If I am painting a small cake I sometimes prop it up so I can get a better angle, sometimes I grip the wrist of my painting hand with the other hand to keep it stable.

It's very easy to rectify a mark you are not happy with, or any mistakes. Just brush the area with clean water, making sure not to press too hard or to scrap into the fondant. Wipe it carefully away with some clean kitchen roll, leave it to dry and repaint.

I hope this all makes sense. Happy painting and remember...enjoy it!

xxx

The Owl And The Pussy Cat

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Mon, 07 May 2012 07:18:00 +0000

Cherry blossom wedding cake.

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Sun, 06 May 2012 20:35:00 +0000

Here is this weekend wedding cake. The grooms surname is Morello, hence the cherry blossom and the brides name is Woodcock, so we made a nest of cherry blossom for a little woodcock to hide in.

xxx

Chuppi giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Sat, 05 May 2012 12:22:00 +0000

The lovely Miss Cakehead has been working with Mathmos on their new Chuppi light. This is a cute rechargeable night light for children, that has been created with the help of funky designers TADO.

Anyway she kindly sent one over for the kidlets to play with (really I needed two!). The joy of the Chuppi is that it's stickers are reusable, so now every night our Chuppi is sporting a new look! (I had a go too, the one above sticking his tongue out)

The pack comes with suggestions for looks, but, being my children, the kidlets prefer to make up their own, one of my favourites being vampire pig!

Lucky for you, I do have a Chuppi to giveaway.

To win your own, leave me a comment letting me know what you would call your Chuppi. You can also have extra entry into the draw if you are a follower of my blog/Twitter/Facebook or if you link to this giveaway on your own blog/Twitter/Facebook . But please tell me via the comments below or I won't know. The competition is open to everyone.

I will draw the lucky name out of a hat on Monday 21st May 12pm BST.

I'm really sorry but this giveaway is only open to residents of the UK and European countries.

Good luck!

This isn't a sponsored post, but I did receive my own Chuppi...that bypassed me and went straight into the hands of the kidlets!

Vintage wedding fair

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:22:00 +0000

Yes, I know, shockingly late. This fair was almost two months ago! But, I have finally got round to editing my photos.

This, is my table, you've seen most of the cakes before but here they are in their full glory.

The fair was organised by the fabulous Mrs Scoops, who owns the delightful Betty, a vintage ice cream van. If I was having an event I would so want Betty there.

There were the most gorgeous dresses from the amazing Johanna Hehir.

My stand was next to Vicky Trainer. It was great chatting to her as we have very similar backgrounds as textile designers but have taken a different path post children. Vicky creates delicious stationery.

There was also Ella May, the vintage caravan that you can hire for your event. she was so sweet and the Tunnocks were the perfect touch for me!

Gorgeous dresses from the fabulously talented Poppy Children.

There were many others there that are worth checking out. Unfortunately it was such a busy day that I didn't manage to get shoots of every stand.

(photo by Knots and Kisses)

If you would like to see more, the wonderful Knots and Kisses (who also create delightful stationery) have a fairly definitive blog post here.

xxx

Painted peony wedding cake

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Tue, 01 May 2012 11:29:00 +0000

This is the cake I made last week. It was based on the wedding flowers, peonies, roses, lisianthus, freesia and gypsophila.

I love painting these romantic cakes!

The couple also ordered named cookies as their guest favours.

The wedding was at West Park Lodge, Hertfordshire a really beautiful venue.

The gorgeous flowers were by Emma Sousa Flowers and were sooo romantic, I think the cake really complimented them!

xxx

Goodbye my babies.

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 20:43:00 +0000

Last week a very nice man came and painted over my nursery. We had won his services in an auction of promises at the kidlet's school, as I knew we would never get round to doing it ourselves.

The kidlets have been sharing a room for some time and I initially turned their nursery into a play room...which they never used! So it quickly became a storage room for all my boxes and cake equipment. But the time had come to paint over my memories.

I can still remember the week I decorated the room, heavily pregnant, dreaming about the little babies that were to come, blissfully unaware of how exhausting the next four years would be!

I've always wanted a yellow room and this was the perfect opportunity. A lovely colour for a new-born, bright and cheery to take it's mind of it's Mother's tears. I added some painted penguins for a bit of fun and made some appliqued penguins for a picture frame.

The curtains and chair cover were blankets from IKEA. I made the chair cushions with some fabric I had designed in my previous life as a textile designer.

I had many happy moments in this room, mostly watching them sleep, the only time they were quiet and still, but we won't be needing a nursery again so it is painted white to make way for a guest bedroom.

I did shed a little tear because it's the end of an era, but my two little people are getting bigger and they are getting more interesting and gorgeous by the day.
xxx

Bath

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 08:21:00 +0000

Here are some more pictures I want to share with you from my friend's hen party weekend in Bath.

If you have never visited Bath you really should. It is a fairly small city ,so easily walkable and there is the most beautiful architecture and history.

But of course, the day started with cake and hot chocolate, as all good days should.

Then once we had our sugar fill we wandered around the fabulous shops.

I visited the Makery (on the left) with a couple of friends, one of which was Marie from Heartfelt Handmade. We went a little doolally in the shop with all their beautiful trims and sewing paraphernalia. I purchased a fairly large amount of ribbon. Some of which is to use on my friend's wedding cake and some for a cake Marie has ordered, which I though was very appropriate.

For a special hen party treat, we were taken to a different Makery building. Led up a twisty staircase, to a fairly small intimate room and given a life drawing session! It was great fun, I really enjoyed the life drawing exercises, they took me back to my college years and made me want to take it up again!

xxx

Tilt shifting

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 23:04:00 +0000

Two weekend ago I visited Bath on a hen party. I shall share some pictures soon. But first...I took some photographs specifically with tilt shifting in mind and am very pleased how they turned out!

You can make your own tilt shift picture here.

xxx

Fabulous cake toppers

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 19:08:00 +0000

I just love Miss Cake's cake toppers.

'Such fun!'

I'm trying to think what I would want on my cake. If I was getting married again (not likely) I would have 'It's such a perfect day, I'm glad I spent it with you'. Or for an everyday cake, the James Taylor lyrics slightly changed;

'Shower the people you love with..cake'.

You can purchase the topper from Miss Cakes Etsy shop here.

What would you have?

(Photos copyright Miss cake)

xxx

Painted baby shower cake

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:27:00 +0000

This cake was ordered by a friend for her sister's baby shower, as she is a good friend and trusts me, she left me to my own devices to come up with a design. Yeah!

Their refreshments at the party were mimosa cocktails, so I decide to paint a mimosa border. This is a great flower that lends itself to a more structured design. (I have taken some step-by-step photos as I went along and should have a tutorial out soon.)

When I was starting out I made a baby shower cake for a friend (see above) with a bird on a nest. I love this image for a baby shower cake, but for this new design I wanted a painted image, and more vintage.

It was gooseberry and elderflower flavoured cake which apparently went really well with the cocktails.

I loved this cake and it made me happy all weekend. I hope your weekend was just as sweet!

xxx

Book club cake of the month...April

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:10:00 +0000

This month we read 'War Of The Worlds' by H G Wells.

It is a science-fiction book, probably one of the very first, describing an invasion by Martians.

I really enjoyed the book, (I love an end-of-the-world story). I had never read it before, but I have listened to Jeff Wayne's version many times, so it was very difficult to read the novel without hearing Richard Burton's voice!

I have also seen the Tom Cruise film ,which while relating to the book has non of the subtleties or themes, plus has Tom Cruise.

Wells trained as a science teacher, and uses this to great effect, the narrator describes the events in a detached scientific way, which I really appreciated.

At one point in the story the narrator describes the brutal slaying of men at 'the common' by the Martian's ray gun. He runs home in anguish, but then, after his tea and a lie down feels much better, and wonders if maybe the Martians were just scared and that's why they killed the men. Such British stiff upper lip, no unnecessary emotion! For the first part of the book there is no panic or mayhem just everyone carrying on with their lives. This would never happen now, not with Twitter!

There was a mixed response to the book. The sci-fi nerds amongst us (me included) really enjoyed it. Others found it quite hard going and didn't like the sexism and class values in the book. However when they realised it was written in 1898 the reviewed their opinions and though it quite a visionary book. We gave it an average of 8.

As the Martians invade they bring a red weed that covers the earth. So I decided to embrace the red, and made some red velvet cakes. Which were very well received from everyone.

xxx

Previous book club cake of the month
February
January

Pottering about

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:50:00 +0000

Some more pictures from my trip last week. My Dad is a potter and he took charge of the five grandchildren for a few mornings. They love to be in his studio with a lump of clay, making and playing. He taught them to make some clay sheep. The light was lovely when the sun shone for a brief few minutes and I took some pictures of his tools.

xxx

All is lovely in the garden

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:18:00 +0000

I spent a lovely few days at my parents house last week. They have an amazing garden that was literally a rubbish dump when they moved in. It has been transformed through a lot of hard work. My Mum tends the flowers and my Dad grows the veg!

If you are lucky enough to be booked on my August class (see here) you will get to see it yourself.

xxx

Cake for favours!

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:27:00 +0000

No!..before you phone the newspapers, this is not another scandal about politicians.

It is just me, handing out cake for favours.

I have a very good friend who is a beautician. We have come to a great arrangement where by she treats me to a full body wax every few weeks (ouch!) and in return I make her family birthday cakes.

It was one of her young sons birthday recently and he requested a Star wars Lego cake. I don't normally make character cakes but as I wasn't being paid I did, and naturally being obsessed by metallics at the moment I got out my spray can.

My friend and her husband were also celebrating their tenth anniversary, with a few nights away. She didn't want a cake, so I suggested his and hers cookies to lay on the pillows. I went for a vintage/distressed Marie Antoinette look.

xxx

You're a winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 09:28:00 +0000

I was sorting through my photos and found these hidden away. They were for ITV Daybreak and Lorraine ( TV programmes in the UK.) They wanted cupcakes to advertise their competition. They were filming in a lovely house and asked that the cakes look homemade, so I decided to breakout my piping skills.

Unfortunately I kept forgetting to watch the programmes when they were on, so I decided to watch on catch up TV, to see my cakes in all their glory. However, as it was a repeated programme, the competition lines were closed and to let the viewer know this they had placed a big sign over the screen, completely obscuring my cakes. The top of my cake stand looked lovely though! Fortunately some of my friends had seen it live and reassured me that the cakes looked great!

xxx

Easter Wreath Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 22:45:00 +0000

I wanted a quick craft project to make with the kidlets that would fill up five minutes or so. You may remember the Christmas wreath tutorial which was very successful (if I say so myself.) So I decide we would do an Easter version.

With this project the best way to proceed is to throw as much glue gun glue as you possibly can at it. Although don't let the kids go near the hot glue as I constantly suffer third degree burns when I get mine out! I took the kidlets to a craft shop and let them go mad with fluffy chick purchase. They chose some fabric and made strips to wrap around the polystyrene wreaths. This was really simple and quick, even for the little one. They then placed on the chicks - oh soooo fluffy - and I glued them down. I then went on to make a couple of my own. Do not under any circumstances get the kids to make the yarn wreaths, it takes forever!

I really enjoyed our crafty afternoon, although I still bear the scars, and am considering changing my career from cakes to wreaths!

xxx

Beautiful blossom

noreply@blogger.com (Natasha) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:00:00 +0000

I love this time of year when the blossom is blossoming and you find tiny buds budding everywhere. I always grab my camera for the school walk and snap away...we're frequently late for school, but I really don't mind.

I did consider posting these as a Silent Sunday but I find it very hard not to add my thoughts! that said I will leave my babbling there and just let you enjoy.

xxx