The making of..

Now that L & P are happily married, it's getting harder and harder to remember all the work and preparation that went with making their wedding day so perfect. Obviously the lion's share was done by the lovely couple themselves, but we tried to help out where we could too.

As a rather belated wedding present I therefore decided to collect all the photos I had taken during the course of the 'wedding build-up' and collate them in an album. It was rather fun to sit and reminisce about that marathon wedding experience which was The Wedding Show, recall the creation of the sparkly bouquet and relive the hen night extravaganza - one afro at a time!

In order to personalise the album, I decided that who better to adorn the front of it than L & P themselves. But no cheesy couply photo here. No it should be Victorian silhouette style, I had decided.
Thankfully I took so many pictures at the wedding that I found a good profile of each of them fairly quickly... and set to work.


I used bits of metallic-coloured leather from Spitalfields market which worked out well in the end thankfully.


May they carry on living happily ever after, with their wonderfully unconventional way!

What's in Secret Santa's sack?

It's a Yeti made of yak!
This is Mr Abominable. He has existential issues - hence the sad face. I fell in love with him nonetheless, so felt a small twinge of sadness when I had to let him go the other day, during our Wednesday Night Knitting (WNK) group secret santa Christmas party. But it quickly passed when I realised that he would have a good home with P. Despite the anatomically suggestive arms. He is made from super soft Shokay Orient Collection - 75% yak/25% bamboo.

I got some very pretty silicone cupcake cases as well as a piping bag with a whole myriad of nozzels. Will I be taking up the tip we learned at our cupcake decorating class and practice piping with instant mash? I think not.

Man hat

After suffering frost-nipped ears last year, I promised M that I would make him a suitably 'manly' hat to keep him toasty. This seemed the obvious choice to me, recommended strongly by P who I believe made a rather cute purple version last year.

Have started the creation early this year, it was bumped by various other projects until recently when I rediscovered the sad little project bag at the back of the cupboard. Thankfully it knitted up pretty quickly (mainly because it was a bit dull) and M seems pleased, although initially a bit hesitant about the 'relaxed' fit. We will see what happens when it starts to get really cold...

Here is M, looking ready to rob a bank. Perhaps online.

Creative cupcakes

Anyone who knows me will be aware of my affinity for the dear old cupcake. Oreo cupcakes, buttercream-topped cupcakes, cupcakes with iced cacti and chili peppers - I have done it all. Not exactly with a professional hand, but with just enough enthusiasm to make up for any fudging.

So when offered a chance to learn some more advanced decorating skills, well it was a no-brainer really. We met with the lovely Arianna of Bittersweet Bakers at her cosy flat and were promptly given a small bowl (to call it a 'cup' would be an insult) of tea and cheesecake brownies to get us in the mood - it was hard to imagine a more promising start.

After a quick intro, we sat down at the table and tried not to ogle the array of decorating paraphernalia which was spread before us. Edible glitter! In over 10 different shades! Sprinkles in the shape of red lips, hearts, gingerbread men, butterflies and flowers danced before our dazzled eyes. There were even edible *pearls*! Ok ladies, breathe..

We managed to contain our excitement and concentrated on piping royal icing, which we created in eye-popping colours. We were never much for subtlety.


This was followed by tips of how to colour and spread buttercream icing - the vanilla scent of it was most enticing. We also resisted to urge to stick our fingers into the soft, shiny chocolate ganache.

Finally it was time to try some piping. Piping was good. In fact it was hard to stop. But then I remembered the edible glitter. Here are some of my decoration-encrusted creations.


I have a feeling that we will be back for more very soon. Thanks to Arianna for a gorgeous afternoon!

Sew pretty

It was another very relaxing weekend, spent with my parents in the country, but this time there was a crafting bonus. My dear granny has recently moved out of her old house in Sweden and into a nearby care home. She seems to have settled in well, and only occasionally moans about being made to go for walks with 'oldies' and being served new fangled food like lasagna.

In any case, my granny was known for creating an old crochet bathrobe or two in her youth (my sisters were the lucky recipients) and hence had a trove of crafty bits and bobs in her basement. My mother very kindly gathered some of them together for me and brought them back to the UK. Apparently there was also a considerable fabric stash, so it was probably lucky that I was not there for the clean-out or I might have ended up exploding the already burgeoning sideboard in my flat.

More pretty-coloured threads to add to my sewing box, as well as some interesting woolen tapestry (?) thread:


Even more thread!


Some rather cool trimming which I'm scheming what to do with..


Lots of BUTTONS! I have now managed to fill my recycled gherkin jar to the top!


These tiny frames originally hung on a little tree made of similar material and showed pictures of my sisters, brother, cousin and myself. Maybe I can think of something Victoriana to make with them..


As a bit of a thank-you I have sent her a pair of cabled cashmere wristwarmers which I finished over the weekend (and of course forgot to photograph).
From one crafty soul to another.

In-vestment

For M's sister's new arrival I thought it nice to create something a bit different. Seeing as I'd never cabled before, this appeared to be a good place to start.

Rowan Purelife Cotton was the obvious choice for this very environment-conscious mother, and it was surprisingly soft and pleasant to work with. Cabling was also thankfully easy one I got my head around it, and have now developed a rather unorthodox cabling-without-cable-needle technique after having left a certain key item at home when visiting my parents one weekend..
Hm, picking up stitches to do the edging is certainly not my forte, but I managed to fudge through and it looks acceptable.


Pearly buttons from the growing button stash:


And for comic effect:


Anyhow, it has now been sent off with M who is in Germany this weekend. Much more reliable than the current postal service I think.

Fascinating

I've wanted an excuse to make a fascinator for some time. The fact that I had no previous experience or skills to speak of was certainly secondary - I mean have I ever let that get in the way of previous craft projects? Certainly not.

L's wedding seemed the perfect opportunity to create something pretty, although the pressure was certainly on to make something wearable and suitable for such a sumptuous occasion on my first go.

So I sat down and surrounded myself with feathers, beads and glue to see what would evolve. After much ado, this happened:


I was keen to involve the birdy in some way, and in the end it obliged by hiding a glue splodge for me. Definitely need more co-ordination and care when it comes to attaching feathers in the future..


In the end I did wear my creation, and it managed to last through the day AND even survived the bouncy castle!