New additions to the baking library

Recently I treated myself to three gorgeous sugar craft books. Not only do they have gorgeous and tasty things in them, but they also look beautiful on my shelf as well!

The first is Chic and Unique Wedding Cakes by Zoe Clark, and although I'm not making one in the near future, it's great to look through and get some ideas! I have my Nan's birthday coming up and I have a fab idea for what she may like, all from perusing the lovely cakes. The step-by-step instructions are so clear and she has given some lovely alternatives for mini cakes, cupcakes and cookies.

This Flora wedding cake design was inspired by a beautiful Caroline Castigliano wedding dress

My second purchase was Cakes in Bloom by Peggy Porschen, who is my absolute favourite cake decorator. This book takes you in picture steps though how to make a range of stunning sugar flowers to adorn cakes. This book focuses purely on the flowers as decoration rather than the cake itself, but as usual there is the very helpful section at the back that gives gorgeous recipes and tips on filling, covering a dowelling cakes. It was really hard to choose my favourite designs in this book, they all look almost too real to eat! 

My third was another Peggy Porschen book, Cake Chic. It does exactly as the cover promises, includes a stunning collection of chic baked goods. From cookies to cupcakes, fondant fancies to tiered cakes, everything is gorgeous to just look at, let alone eat! I'm really looking forward to making  something from this book, as there are lots of projects to practice piping techniques, and this is something that I really want to improve on. I haven't had a lot of practice and I think this would be a brilliant place to start.

I love Tiffany and Wedgewood Blue and would love to have a go at making this cake with all it's piping. It looks so simple but I have a feeling that getting all of those dots perfect will be a challenge!

I bought a cameo mould at last years Cake and Bake show and I have yet to use it. This would be the perfect project for its first use.

So simple yet so stylish! Love these cameo biscuits.

The Nest - Wardrobes completed!

I am very happy to announce that I have finally got completed gorgeous wardrobes! We finished them this weekend and I am so happy with the way they have turned out. They finish off the room perfectly and look so clean and fresh, yet have a gorgeous country print that fits in with the location and style that I had planned.

All of the credit for the making has to go to my mum and she did a fantastic job. Originally I wanted to go for completely flat curtains as this would show off the fabric perfectly, however to make sure that the fabric filled the space properly, we added a gentle gather at either end to ensure that the edges were hidden. The curtains also have weights sewn into the bottom so that they will hang flat once they have settled. 

I also have some fabric left over, so I shall be looking for my next project to use it up...!

Paint Charts - Inspiration and Ideas

Whenever i'm in B&Q, it doesn't matter what I need or why I'm there, I can't resist looking at paint! During my last visit I picked up two fab brochures, one showcasing a new range of paints from Dulux that I hadn't seen before and issue five in the 'Make it yours' magazine from Rust-Oleum. 

The Dulux brochure contains some beautiful shades that make me want to run out and recolour my entire house! They also have gorgeous names like Scent Bottle, Love Note, Pressed Thistle and Sophisticated Sage. I have no idea how you get a job naming paints but I want one! They are all have a gorgeous dusky tone that make you think of wonderful antique shops and country cottages, exactly what I want my house to look like. 

The 'Make it Yours' brochure is full of fantastic ideas on how to upcycle old furniture or items that you may have grown a bit tired of into beautiful, unusual and glamorous pieces that you would be honoured to give house room. Their range of products means that anything is possible when it comes to updating furniture and walls, from wicker chairs to re sprayed bikes, children's toys to vintage cabinets. They also have a great website where you can find more ideas of things to create, update and make. 

http://www.rustoleumspraypaint.com

The Nest - Wardrobes and Projects

As of the August bank holiday we have been in The Nest for a year (where has the time gone!) From the minute I moved in I knew that I wanted to have built in wardrobes for the master bedroom as it is the best way of utilising the space with the slanted roof. So finally the day arrived when we could start building! The plans had been drawn up and measurements taken and checked, and finally we have our beautiful new space for storing our clothes!

I can take some credit for the design but none for the building, and I am so pleased with the outcome! It has given us the perfect area for clothes storage and although I was worried about the fact that it might take over the room, it looks like we have more space than ever!

Before - We bought two square storage boxes from IKEA originally to store clothes in and incorporated these into the design as they were the perfect size for the items that we had

After...but not quite finished! - The wardrobe was divided into four to give us maximum space and a show section was installed at the end to neatly tidy away all of my shoes! There are still some under the bed but we won't mention those...!) 

To finish off the wardrobes we discussed doors but this was going to be too much work, so instead we have decided that curtain will be the best solution. I love fabric shopping and from the Phonebox Magazine that gets delivered to our door every month, I found out about a fantastic fabric shop in Northampton called The Millshop Online. They have an amazing range of fabric from craft fat quarters to Next upholstery fabric, gorgeous Harris Tweed to Liberty cotton, and all at fantastic prices. I was like a kid in a sweetshop when we went to visit and found it hard not to get samples of every piece of fabric they had! The minute I saw these gorgeous little birds I knew they would be perfect and I can't wait to see them in all their glory on my wardrobes. We found a couple of other samples but in the end nothing came close!

This combination was my second choose, however when I held the samples up, it did look a little bit like something you would find in a corporate hotel, and the cute little birds have so much more personality!

We have been busy doing a couple of other bits too and The Nest is slowly taking shape. I love the fact it's never feels done, and I'm already sketching out plans for the next project, watch this space...!

The shelf is now up in the spare room so I can have my glass ribbon jars displayed, along with my lovely Poppy Treffry embroidered sewing machine picture.

I have had this Parlane tea towel for ages, and I'm so glad it's now framed and in pride of place at the top of the stairs before you go into the kitchen.

The picture wall up the stairs is slowly taking shape with the latest addition of an illustrated The Sound of Music movie poster.

Not just a weekend but a week of baking...! - Drum Kit Cake

This cake has had to be one of my biggest challenges, with many obstacles thrown in along the way. I am pleased with the final result, but it's a long way from where the design first started! Unfortunately I have only taken pictures of the finished cake and not the stages along the way to show how the design has evolved (read changed beyond all recognition!) This has probably been the most stressful cake I have ever had to produce, so now I am just praying that it tastes amazing to make up for it.

The original brief was for a drum kit cake, complete with base drum, snare drum, high-hat and cymbals and all of the other elements that come with a drum kit. I created detailed lists and notes for the bake, and was fairly confident that it would all go to plan. The other element that had to be taken into account was the fact that the cake would have to travel and be assembled at the venue and some pieces would have to be suspended on dowels in mid air, everyone loves gravity-defying cake!

I started with the decorative elements such as the cymbals and made sure that they would stand up and be substantial enough for decoration, but it was when I got to the cake part that everything went decidedly pear shaped.

The base drum was supposed to be red velvet cake, however when I removed the greaseproof paper from around it, the reaction between the bicarb and the vinegar had been particularly fierce and had created huge pockets of air, so the cake collapsed. 

To make the individual drums I had made miniature chocolate cakes and cut them to the correct sizes. However, when I started to fill and cover them with a mint buttercream, they crumbled and disintegrated as soon as I touched them, and soon I had nothing but some very sticky lopsided towers (it's not a good look!)

So, surveying the carnage that covered my kitchen, I decided to start again, this time on a single base drum with decoration. I made two chocolate sandwich cakes and filled them with mint buttercream. I covered the cake in white fondant and then cut out a black circle for the top. It needed to be a Pearl drum kit, so I found a logo and hand painted it on to the circle, adding a 50 and the name in fondant letters. Whist I left it to dry I added the drum decoration in grey fondant, then once dry I painted it all silver. I attached the circle to the top and then added the back to the black base board, attached the letters and stuck on the ribbon.

I have to admit it has knocked my confidence slightly in that despite planning it still didn't work, but these things are definitely sent to try us. I'm looking forward to the next challenge to show myself that I can do it! Just please let it be something flowery...!