THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO!

Well it's been a very busy couple of weeks with lots of orders, so i thought you may like to see what I've been up to.
First there was a last minute order of cookies for a little girls party, so plenty of pretty colours and glitter.

They were the same as these cookies I'd done previously.

The first of four cakes was a lovely simple cake for a little boys first birthday, they asked for cars and hearts in reds and blues.  I really enjoyed doing this cake.

I had a barbie cake for a little girl. I have only done one of these before as they are not really my thing but I know it's what nearly every little girl loves.  My own kidlets nearly fainted when they saw it!

Remember this?

So my teasers were a Duplo cake for a little boy who actually really loves garbage trucks!

And some packaged cookies to go with them, I love the green and orange colour combo.

Well done deer baby, you were right it was Yojojo. I did a Waybuloo cake for a very dear friend whose third baby was one this weekend.

Finally a batch of butterscotch cupcakes, you can find the recipe here.

Hope you enjoyed my work I have a nice quiet week next week so I shall be doing some work on my website, blogging and tidying up!

WHAT AM I UP TO?

I'm sorry I haven't been doing much blogging lately but I have loads of work on at the moment.  So I thought I would give you a little teaser of what I am working on......and also something that
has been worked on in more ways than one!

LITTLE BLOG AWARDS

Hi all I have been nominated for a blog award if you click here you can vote for me and I'll win an egg cup!  No pressure though!

KNOCK KNOCKING GIVEAWAY

Agnes from Knock Knocking is having an amazing giveaway.  This fabulous wreath and gorgeous brooch.
As you know I am a big fan and would love to win.
To be in for a chance yourself have a look at her blog here.
Good luck!

HELLO KITTY PARTY

My oldest kidlet requested about this time last year that she would like a Hello Kitty party for her birthday.
So here are some photos of what we did, it has been a year in the planning and was over in the blink of an eye!
When we embrace a theme, we embrace a theme!  It was nice to have a red colourway rather than the normal ubiqitous pink.  And Hello Kitty is such an iconic character that it's great to use her image.

We had a desert table which I was very excited about..... Mr Lemon Drizzle used the word bonkers but he doesn't really appreciate the beauty of cake!

My kidlets get nearly as excited about planning parties as I do and insist on being involved which I have to admit sometimes I find hard as I have high expectations so after ten minutes of sticking crepe paper onto a pinata they were bored and wanted something else to do, so I cut out some stickers and they drew Hello Kitty on them for the banner.  And They did a great job!

I have done a Hello Kitty cake in the past for my little tiddler so I wanted to do something different.  What could be different than a Hello Kitty cake?  Two Hello Kitty cakes!.....Well technically one Hello Kitty and one bunny friend! We used one for the party and are saving one for the actual birthday.

I also had a go at cookie pops for the first time as well and was pleased with the results.

We played hunt the Kitty (we have a massive collection of small plastic Hello Kittys). Pin the bow on the Kitty.  I made a pinata which I was very pleased with and gave the party guests the most fun of the day.

It was easy to make if a little time comsuming.  Some of the kidlets were a bit light with the stick but others wacked it with quite a force, even Mr LD got involved but I had to take the stick of him in the end so the kidlets could play!
However it was quite well constucted so we had to put it on the floor and they jumped on it to get the sweets out!

For the party bags we had Hello Kitty cookies, rings, stickers, sweets and a felt broach from Heartfelt Handmade.

All in all a fantastic party which couldn't have happened without my kidlets creative input and Mr LDs skill at making up great games to fill in the last 15 minutes after my games had run out!

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I have a friend who teaches ante-natal classe for the NCT.  At the end of every course she like to give the couple a little present.  In the past I have made fortune cookies with parenting tips inside.
However this time she had a new idea, two cupcakes per couple, to indicate a girl and a boy.  she then put a candle in them and each person had to blow out their candle and wish for one of their partners characteristics for their baby to inherit.
I would definately wish for Mr Lemon Drizzles humour.

WHAT'S YOUR COLOUR?

I found this fun quiz through Jessica's blog How About Orange.
Go to Colour Made Simple answer a few questions (I love questions about myself) and it will tell you what colour you are.
Here is a clue as to my colour.

This is what it says about me;

You boast incredible willpower and are capable of overcoming  obstacles that would normally leave others shaking in their boots.  You have a penchant for colorful environments and often impress others with your energetic bursts of energy. Your interests in many areas of life often leave you scattered, but when you focus  you can accomplish anything you put your mind to.  Mmm I have to say fairly acurate but please feel free to disagre. Let me know what colour you are!

SWEET HEART COOKIES

Are you stuck for a Valentine present for that special someone?  Look no further!  Here is an easy way to make a sweet treat for your valentine.

Inspired of course by my kidlets favourites, Love Hearts.

Ingredients

This recipe is taken from Pretty Party Cakes by Peggy Porschen
Mix together the butter and sugar until creamed.  Add the egg and then the flour. Mix and then knead slightly to make a firm dough.
  You can also add a teaspoon of vanilla essence if you wish or swap 50g of flour for cocoa powder to make chocolate cookies.

Then roll out the dough to about 1/4" thick and cut out your circles.

 

Chill again for 30 mins.

Then cook in a pre-heated oven 180 for 10-12 mins

Colour your fondant, I use SugarFlair paste colours.  Use a tooth pick and put a small prick of colour on your fondant, it is better to have to use more than put too much at the begining.

Cut out the fondant into circles and glue it to the cookie with brushed on boiled water or mix some gum trag with water.

 Mix some  pink lustre dust with water and brush it onto a heart cookie cutter.  I used the wrong side of the cutter (if you know what I mean) as it is thicker. Then press it into the fondant, if the line isn't quite strong enough you can always touch it up with a paint brush.

I then used a small clean stamping kit to stamp the words on.

 

Apparantly this year 'Love Hearts' have added a new phrase.  

Can you guess which one it is? (answer at the bottom) 

You could deliver your Valentine goodies wrapped in cellophane with a suitable label.

 

I downloaded these two free fonts, wm valentine and  love letters  to make mine.  I cannot tell you enough how much I love free fonts, I bored friends and family for weeks when I discovered them.  You can then personalise your own label or click here and you can download my version. Thanks to Heartfelt Handmade for the technical advice and the felt heart.

 

Have a very sweet Valentines day!

MORE VALENTINES

I know it's hard but somebody has got to do it!  So I have dedicated myself to discovering all things fabulous for Valentines.  Hope you enjoy!

This is the most gorgeous paper cut, don't ya think!  Made by Julene.

And I love this print from alicebgardens .

Finally always at the top of my list for beautiful inspiration, anything from KnockKnocking