adventure: cuba libre cupcakes

ingredients: all the usuals but there is coca cola in the cake mixture, which makes it really gooey and caramely and rum in the butter icing which is yum! Topped with lime fruit pastels.

inspiration: the recipe is from Cupcakes Galore

adventure: my birthday tea party

ingredients: chocolate cream cake, mini cream cheese and salmon bagels, cucumber sandwiches on milk loaf, mini plain and sultana scones with jam and cream, darjeeling tea, chums

inspiration: the cake was based on a black forest gateau recipe in The Prawn Cocktail Years, i just put raspberry jam in instead of cherry goop. The milk loaf was from the Guardian Book of Baking and took hours to make but was definitely worth it. Mini things…just taste better than unmini things. I was extremely stuffed after this, and everyone took home a party bag with the leftovers! Ooh and I finally got to use my plastic flower placemats that I got in the pound shop, and my yellow melamine tea set. Hurrah for birthdays!

adventure: nature buttons

ingredients: vintage self cover buttons, embroidery threads, accidentally felted jumper

inspiration: moss & lichen

adventure: button and lace embellished tees

ingredients: cheapo primark t shirts, buttons, lace trimmings

inspiration: i just wanted to show off a gift of lovely purple buttons which resulted in the black t shirt. Then the cream t shirt which I had never worn looked so folorn I decided it should get the same treatment!

adventure: from top – raspberry yoghurt cupcakes, wholemeal fruit muffins, strawberry and peach jam filled cupcakes and flapjacks

ingredients: sugary, buttery, eggy, jammy goodness!

inspiration: cupcake recipes are from Cupcakes Galore, muffins are from The Big Book of Bread and flapjacks are based on this recipe although I just mixed the date goop into the oaty bits. I am not going back to flapjacks without flour!

adventure: bento lunch from last week

ingredients:

left hand container: red lentil and vegetable korma

right hand container: red panda egg with tomato ears and smile and olive eyes on a bed of lettuce with a tomato and olive kebab.

inspiration: red pandas like these

adventure: bento for wednesday lunchtime

ingredients:

left hand container – vegetable chilli and couscous

right hand container – cherry tomatoes and sundried tomato (in cup), chunk of cheese, baby spinach, boiled egg with peppercorn eyes

inspiration: this is what got me really excited about bento www.lunchinabox.net they always look so tasty! Here’s a close-up of the egg man, just for fun…

adventure(s): cupcake mountain, mini bunting card, nautical apron and nautical wrapping!

ingredients: too many!

inspiration: little sister’s 21st birthday tea! The cupcake mountain was the second cake i made, as the first was a disaster. It is made from 12 cupcakes, stuck together with chocolate icing and covered with more of the same, with the leftover chocolate stuck in wherever there was a space. When we sang happy birthday the flag burnt down – very dramatic! The bunting on the card is really tiny, only about 1.5cm across. The tape stuck accross the bottom is from accessorize – i am addicted to mini tape. The apron i bought from a charity shop for 70p and i embellished it with an anchor with a baby blue rick rack chain, navy blue polka dot ribbon and gold nautical buttons, also from the charity shop. I wrapped it up in the instructions from a vintage pattern, more of the ribbon and another nautical button. Phew!

adventure: snow bunny

ingredients: linen napkin, white felt, embroidery thread, silver ribbon, bronze beads, silver card

inspiration: another one from ‘Softies’ this lovely but slightly scary bunny was a design by Tamar Mogendorff. It was a 25th wedding anniversary present for my parents. Making it resulted in a terrifying nightmare about a killer bunny! My favourite part is the embroidered face, the lines around the eyes really bring it to life.

adventure: lavender bags for ladies

ingredients: felt, rick rack, embroidery thread, gingham, stuffing, lavender

inspiration: i made these for a friend who loves everything black and white. The dress and the little dog are from the book Softies and the handbag i made up myself.