Sunday 29 July 2012

Cupcake Creations

There's nothing I love more in my spare time than to make a batch of cupcakes, they're just so pretty and yummy and you can really go to town on making the unique and different.

Here's some pictures of some cupcakes I have made over the past two months, let me know which are your favs? :)

Pink & Whites

Red Velvet

Red Velvet

Rose Swirl Cupcakes

Rose Swirl Cupcakes

Bumble Bee Cupcakes (these were a present)

Bumble Bee Cupcakes (these were a present)

Finally my favourite, raspberry cupcakes!

Finally my favourite, raspberry cupcakes complete with raspberry filling, calorific terrific!




This last picture is of a giant cupcake cake, these make 10-12 portions as an idea of how big they are lol!





New Hair - Embracing the fringe!

So Tulisa has recently just gone brunette to blonde what do we think?!
I definitely prefer her as a brunette I think it suits her alot better than the blonde.

 

I know how she feels though hair is a great way to express yourself and the easiest thing to change when you fancy a new look.

During my 25 years of follicle growth my hair has been through the colour spectrum but I recently opted for a fringe because they look so girly and bo ho.
My hairdresser shaped it around my face which I haven't had before and added some layers and I love it so much, if you can see in the picture my fringe shapes around my eyes which is brilliant for a softer look and not make it such a harsh fringe....


Have you had any (funny now but not at the time) hair disasters, or alternatively is there a hair style you would love to try but haven't quite found the minerals to try out?





The last couple of months has bought about a range of new collections I have had in the pipeline for a while now, so exciting to see them all come together.

Here are some of my favourite goodies for you to feast your eyes on, would love to here feedback on them.

Flower powers bands, Lilly Belle Posh Tots - beautiful girly vintage style prints make up these range of headbands adorned with matching flowers, comes in sizes newborn to adult.


Click here to view them at my shop.





Personalised girls necklace and necklace sets, too cute! 






Bohemian body beads are multifunctional as they connect using clever magnets and can be worn as a headband, bracelet, necklace, belly chain, anklet the possibilities are endless ♥




Boho chic hair crowns perfect for the festival season




Holiday - Fuerteventura

This year we decided to go to Fuerteventura for our much needed dosage of real sun! 

Fuerteventura for those of you who might not know is one of a few Spanish canary islands. It is an island which is very big on tourism, lots of hotels and modern looking complexes dotted in amongst local town houses. 
Think palm trees galore, and for a visual image this was the view from our balcony..... very beautiful!


 We had a great time one thing I didn't know is that Fuertenventura is quite windy but this was heaven when your sunbathing and you get a gust of wind to cool you down...... take me back!





Chocolate Ganache Cake - Know How!

As you might know if you are familiar wiht my blog posts I love cake! CAKE caaaaaaaaaaaaaakkkkkkkkeeee! I made my first ever ganache chocolate cake not so long ago and here's the result. Feel free to rate my cake.com I was so pleased with how it turned out!







 With a cup of tea?!......












............Don't mind if i do?!






I can do that - show me how!

Perfect for birthday cakes - You will need:

2 standard size chocolate sponge cakes

400ML Double Cream
400g Dark Chocolate

Firstly chocolate ganache is an icing made from cream and chocolate, you'll probably be familiar with it on cakes like chocolate fudge cakes as it's richer than your regular chocolate buttercream.

  • Pour double cream into small saucepan and place on medium heat. Make sure pan is completely dry and don't cover it as moisture droplets will ruin the ganache.
  • Break the chocolate into small chunks and add to the warm cream.
  • Keep stirring until chocolate has almost completely melted but don't let it boil.
  • Take the pan off the heat and whisk gently until the mixture is smooth and glossy. 
  • Put the ganache into a bowl and allow to cool at room temp for a couple of hours so it firms to a thick spreading consistency and voila! 

Time to cover your cake!
I would use chocolate buttercream for the layer of the two sponges and then ganache to cover the cake.

  • If your ganache hardens in the fridge you can soften on a low heat in the microwave for 10 - 30 seconds and stir well.
  • To cover your cake scoop generous amount onto palette knife and smooth over top of cake using wide sweeping movements. At this stage you are consentrating on covering the cake not getting the perfect finish!
  • Do the same with sides and spread with long sweeps of the palette knife.
 Now your cake is fully covered with ganache time to work on the finish...

  • When cake is covered you can make the ganache smooth by smoothing over it again with a warmed palette knife (dipped in hot water and dried off) and your done! Feel free to decorate it however you choose, you can even buy chocolate writing tubes to write happy birthday messages etc :)



Manic Last Two Months Update!

Arggghhhhhh where to begin, are you as suprised as me to see this blog post?! I have missed my blog so much but have been so busy lately I can't believe the last blog post I made was two months ago feels like only yesterday, GASP!
Having some quiet relaxing time today and was itching to get typing, I have so much to tell you about.

Firstly the Jubilee celebrations which I know feels like a lifetime away now, hope you all had a lovely itme and enjoyed the extra time off work, BONUS! 
We had a low key celebration and spent it with family and of course the queen herself...


We also went on the severn valley railway which is a traditional style steam train. One of those local tourism spots we all have around us where you always mean to go to and never get round to it, but was great fun!