High Tea for Wedding Anniversary

In celebration of a 59th Wedding Anniversary, I hosted an gathering for my family. And in true British tradition, we had an English Afternoon tea, complete with English biscuits, scones, cakes and finger sandwiches.

every setting had Union Jack plates, treat box and custom printed menus with the delights of the day!

special ordered desserts from a local bakery, each one chosen for specific family members.

photo display of wedding pictures and current photos of the happy couple. accented with some sunflowers and tidbits of Englishness.

About to Pop Baby Shower

ABOUT TO POP BABY SHOWER!

Color theme that was chosen was Chartreuse, Pool, Silver and White, with hints of Mint. Everything had a POP theme including the food and the drinks. The shower was a total success and the parents-to-be were thrilled with how I transformed their home into a whimsical party for all to enjoy.

Hydrangea Cake

this is a cake i made for my mom's birthday. i made three chocolate sponge cakes and a lot of butter cream frosting. i used a special dual-icing bags to make the hydrangea's easier to pip onto the cake. i also added a real hydrangea plant next to the cake for presentation. 

Fairy Tale Cookies

i had been searching high and low for this very specific recipe. i eventually found it with a friend...it is her great grandmother's recipes, c. 1870s. it was so easy to make! i made valentine's themed cookies. they are lovely, soft, sweet and a bit salty. with a mini heart and pink sparkles, they truly looked like a fairy tale. they are also known as grandma hattie's merry cookies.

Making it Your Own

as a gift, i received the most wonderful gift....an embosser. it was the extra finishing touch i needed to top off my baking projects. i like to give my baking experiments to my friends and family to see how well they go over...if they go over well, i tend to make more and give them away to whom ever would like them. last time it was a mass mailing of homemade caramels. 

Painted Polka Dots

for this gift, i found gift wrap that was watercolour painted polka dot paper. I think found a bright green ribbon and hand-painted a card to match for the birthday girl. i always like the gift wrap to dictate what the ribbon will be and the gift tag. in the case of this wrap, i couldn't find a tag to match, so dug down deep to my inner artist...broke out the paint and brushes and went to town.

A Little Bit of London

as a little treat to my one of my friends studying at college, i found a few english goodies for her at an art show i attended in january. so keeping with the london theme, i used kraft paper and handmade london 'theme' tags for the gifts.  i then found a cute card at one of my favorite shops in geneva to write a little note to her. 

Creamy and Colorful Caramels

i made another batch of caramels and used a new recipe. they were just as delicious as my original recipe, except they took one hour to make instead of three. this batch was also smaller, i cut about 60 pieces. my original recipe cuts around 145 pieces. this time, instead of gifts, i sent them to friends who had emailed requests and shared them with my lovely co-workers. i put them in pink chevron paper bags, sealed with my personalized seal in gold.

Treat Your Mistletoes

as part of some christmas gifts, i included a pedicure kit in a muslin bag (which i made) and attached homemade label using some clever holiday lingo and a pretty jingle bell.

Creamy Caramels with a bit of Sparkle

every christmas season, i make my famous caramels. i always try to come up with a clever way of packaging them. this year i chose mason jars. i topped each gift off with silver tinsel, and a pin of a pink poinsettia and fun mini ornaments. the caramels stay fresh for up to 3 weeks, however, as in most cases they get eaten within a few days, they are that good.