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. 

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

its that time of year, when i start researching and looking through all the cookie recipes i've found and loved over the years. this recipe i found about three years ago. they are called 'chocolate peppermint' cookies. they taste just like girl scout thin mints....they are amazing. this recipe requires the cookie be dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with crushed peppermint candies. i made this batch for a cookie exchange, so to make sure they fit every one's taste, i made white chocolate and dark chocolate cookies. 

presentation is everything!!!!! so of course i made sure to bring my cookies in treat boxes that matched the theme of the cookies i made. i always try them before packaging them up, these of course were delicious!

From Me to 'U'- Fabric Monogram Letters

as a house warming gift for a dear friend of mine, i decided to make them fabric letters, using the monogram of their first names. i chose colors that suited their tastes and color scheme of their new home.

i was deeply honored and humbled to receive a picture from my friends, showing my gift hanging up in their kitchen. it was such a fun project to create and love that it has a special place in their wonderful new home. 

Weddings and Woodgrain

this was a wedding gift for a friend who was having a fall-themed wedding. i was unfortunately not able to attend but i sent along a gift with wrap to match the theme. the wedding invitation had a birch wood pattern on it with the couple's initials 'engraved' into the pattern. so for their wedding gift, i bought woodgrain wrapping paper and hand painted their initials and wedding date on the gift. finishing it off with a tulle bow. 

Orange and Brown Mesh Well!

for autumn, i decided to make my first mesh wreath for the front door. i used a mixture of gold, copper, orange and brown. with a few leaves, pumpkins and a large bow, this wreath ended up being very eye catching. 

Hello Pink Hydrangea Cupcakes

for a ladies get together, i made pink hydrangea buttercream and chocolate cupcakes. there are many shades of pink when it comes to hydrangeas, so i did a few different shades. i also added hints of green for buds.  the cupcakes matched the green and pink hydrangea plates and napkins that were being used for this event. they were arranged on a tiered cupcake holder. 

Victoria Secret Pink Cake

to go with the victoria secret pink theme of the party, i made a cake to match. i made three layers of chocolate english sponge cake with vanilla buttercream frosting. i then made the neon fondant polka dots to cover the cake, added the zebra pattern ribbon around the bottom to finish it off. not covering the cake in fondant made it a bit easier for those, who don't like it, to remove it and just have the cake and frosting. 

Victoria Secret Pink Party

this party was for a 14 year old girl who loves victoria secret PINK collection, particularly the colours. so after a very productive trip to the shop, i took some notes and began to plan. this was the final product. i had a wide range of colors to work with particularly bright pink, orange, teal, bright yellow and lime green with hints of zebra print. i had some treats available. the birthday girl had braces, so i made sure not to get any candy she couldn't eat.  and instead of hanging a happy birthday sign, i made a cute panty line instead. 

Hello Hydrangea Cupcake Bouquet!

for this gift, i decided to make a cupcake bouquet. the bouquet holds 8-9 cupcakes per flower pot.  for this project, i decided to make chocolate cupcakes in aluminum cupcake holder. 

i chose vanilla buttercream frosting and chose blue and violet hydrangeas. there are other colors for hydrangeas such as apple green and bright bubble gum pink. 

....and volia! my hands ended up a bit blue and purple and i had frosting in my hair...but this was the final product. for this project, i filled in the open spaces with fakes leaves, i can also use colored tissue or paper shreds. i topped it off with a dark blue and light purple bow, safely tucked around the pot. the birthday girl loved it and at first, thought they were real flowers! i would definitely do this again, it got such a great reaction and they tasted delicious! 

Perfectly Plum

as part of birthday gifts, i like to make my own cards. in this case, i came across some pretty floral and shimmer plum/aubergine coloured paper. when i make my own cards, i use a lot of double-sided permanent tape! with this particular card, i used two sheets of 12 x 12 paper and two sheets of 8.5x11 paper. i found some pretty glitter ribbon , that wasn't too messy to work with and the double-sided tape stuck well to it. i always like to line my envelopes. i invested in a envelope liner kit from paper source and it has been the best 13 dollars i have ever spent. i use the templates all the time for card making and designing my own invitations. i try to make my cards fit the personality of the person receiving it. in this case, the birthday girl loves periwinkles and purples...so i picked a very modern floral print, remembering last year i stayed very classic and clean with my design...so this year, i decided to be BOLD!

Time for the Olympics in London

just made basic chocolate cupcakes...had to make sure i had my special union jack spatula in honor of the summer olympics being held in london, england.

used vanilla buttercream frosting and some fun patriotic sprinkles for the top. i was given a cupcake kit of olympic cupcake papers and picks in honor of the events taking in place in london, home of my family. 

even bought some union jack napkins to serve these delicious treats to my family and friends.