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...!

Prêt a Portea at The Berkeley

Recently for a belated birthday treat that I have wanted to do for aaaages my friends and my mum and I all went out for Afternoon Tea at The Berkely, a gorgeous hotel in Wilton Place, London. Their afternoon tea features couture cakes inspired by the latest season on the catwalks, and you can read more about it here.

When you first enter the hotel, the foyer is gorgeous, not huge but filled with a gorgeous flower display and friendly stage waiting to help you. The Caramel Room where they serve the tea is off to your right and is full of lovely tables with sofas and chairs. To start with the crockery is beautiful (which you can purchase if you want) and your name will be printed on a fuchsia pink shoe to show you to your table.

Some of the delicious varieties of tea on offer

Each menu comes with a special booklet to tell you all about the fashion collections that have inspired each of the individual sweet items. This changes by season so will never be the same twice depending on how often you go!

The selection of tea is huge, and you can try as many as you want, which is a fantastic change to other hotels where you have to choose one and stick with it. I tried the peppermint flavour and also the apple, which instantly reminded me of Christmas and was not particuarly welcome, seeing as it was 30 degrees outside in the city!

The first course is the savoury section, and we had some delicious sandwiches, but alongside these sat a selection of savoury amuse bouche which I have never encountered before. These included a beetroot gazpacho, tuna on a slice of pickled radish and duck with goats cheese. There was only a mouthful of each, but all were completely different and made the savoury course even more interesting.

And then came the cake...!

Our waitress explained what each of the different items represented with regards to the fashion collections of Spring / Summer 2015. These included an Anya Hindmarch handbag with googly eyes, the Phillip Treacy for Alexander McQueen butterfly hat and a Lisa Marie Fernandez bikini. All of the items were delicious and it was hard to pick a favourite, but I did very much enjoy the handbag made with a blueberry sponge and covered in blue chocolate. 

This tea was a fantastic experience and set in gorgeous surroundings, and was definitely one of my favourite afternoon teas. Others I have tried have all had a time limit and the waiters will bring you the bill the moment your time is up, however with The Berkeley they were quite happy to let you sit and chat (and people watch) which in my opinion is what afternoon tea is all about. 

Gin and Tonic Cupcakes

I was recently asked to make some Gin and Tonic cupcakes for a birthday party, and as I had never tried an alcoholic cupcake recipe before, I was keen to give it a go! Plus Gin and Tonic is one of my favourite tipples, so to be allowed to combine it with cake, what could be better!

I started by making the candied lime peel for the decoration. Using a vegetable peeler I stripped off the top layer of the lime and sliced the zest into thin strips.

I then boiled sugar and water to create a syrup, and soaked the zest strands in it until soft before transferring them to a bowl of sugar. 

The end result looked lovely with their sugary crystal coating, and they passed the 'drop' test by making a tinkling sound when dropped onto a plate.

The cupcake batter was a basic lemon sponge, and then soaked with a lemon juice, tonic water and gin syrup, at this point it's best to think of it as a lemon drizzle cupcake! I used Bombay Sapphire gin for my cupcakes, and was worried that the slightly subtle taste would get lost. Unfortunately I couldn't taste the gin flavour when I tried a sample, but on a couple of taste tests, it was decided that the quantity of gin was enough to give an alcoholic twang. I would have maybe used slightly less lemon juice as it's such a strong flavour and can overwhelm more delicate ingredients. 

The butter icing also contained the gin syrup, which gave a lovely smooth and glossy appearance to the icing when piped.

The silver '70' decorations were cut from fondant and then painted using an edible silver paint. I loved the contrast between the pale icing, silver numbers and sharp green of the zest, and in silver foil cupcake cases and with a sprinkle of silver glitter on top, I think they looked perfect for a birthday celebration.

Furnishing The Nest

A couple of weekends ago I popped into two of my favourite interiors shops, The Nest at No.9 and My Little Vintage, both in Olney. I find it so hard to walk past both of these shops as they always have something beautiful and inviting in the window that would make it rude not to go in for a browse! I treated myself to a few lovely bits for The Nest, including a beautiful 'paper' cut leaf, some gorgeous hand painted ceramic and metal hooks and a lovely stone heart with a lace print.

The creamy yellow card backing of the picture fits in perfectly with the deeper yellow of our walls and I loved the unusual hexagonal gilt frame

Little tactile and textural elements will all add to your scheme and I loved the old fashioned delicate lace doily pattern on the heavy stone underneath

I am still working on the interiors and decoration in The Nest, and I love gathering little bits and pieces to add to the decor. The poor person that has to put up / hang / drill holes in my walls probably doesn't appreciate it too much but it's nothing a piece of cake can't fix! 

As soon as I'm happy with a room I'll share some photos of my handmade bits and bobs, up cycled furniture and decor so you can see what I've been up to over the last year. I would definitely advocate living with a space before you rush in and decorate as that way you'll know what will work best for the space. Along with this, just buy what you love. That way you will create something that is unique and personal to you and the scheme will evolve over time. 

Chocolate, port and cherry cake

As it was such a success last year, I decided to make the chocolate, cheery and port cake from my Mich Turner recipe book. The cake is so wonderfully rich and chocolatey with a hint of alcohol in the cherries, what could be better!

I remained true to her design and kept it simple with piped ganache and whole cherries to decorate, however as it was quite warm when I took these photos, the ganache does look super shiny! That is the peril of making ganache in the middle of summer (However as I listen to the rain pound against the widows today I am wondering if that was our summer!)

I had some brilliant cards for my birthday as well, and these set off the setting for my cake perfectly, especially the cute grumpy cat with the bow which was from my boyfriend, I'm not sure exactly what he was trying to tell me there...!