Dawn's wedding cake

I promised to update you on how the blueberry cupcakes went....Well they didn't exactly go to plan. Let this be a lesson to you not to pull a random recipe of the internet (which regrettably I did). Despite vigorously sticking to the recipe they were more like rocks than cakes. Each cake weighed a ton and were incredibly dense, I could almost feel the fat piling on my hips with every bite. Anyway after taking these poor excuses for cupcakes down to Dawn she wisely decided that it might be better for me to make a traditional wedding cake. As I've made two big fancy cakes before and I feel more confident taking this on. The cake pictured is exactly the sort of thing she wants. The only minor problem is that I don't know how to make the roses!
I'm desperately hoping that I can get myself on a 'How to make roses out of icing' course in September, if not I may have to rely on this very useful, but very long You Tube video It shows you exactly how to do it....Wish me luck x

A cross stitch bitch!

After being introduced to this hilarious book called Subversive Cross Stitch I have developed a love of the age old art of cross stitching. The book features patterns for phrases like 'Go Fuck yourself' and 'Bite me" and combines them with very cute, country cottage style boarders. It's this mix of quaint design and modern phrasing which amuses me. I decided to make this pattern for some friends who have just moved in together. The book also contains an alphabet at the back so you can write any personal message you like. These designs look best when displayed in a really chunky gold ornate frame like this.

How to make this bear....

I recently sent my little niece Layla some money for her birthday but sadly it never arrived as some utter thieving bastard at the post office stole it! Being on a meager writers wage I couldn't afford to resend said money so thought I'd make her something instead. I found a pattern for this cute little bear and whipped it up in about an hour! You can choose any kind of pretty patterned fabric, ribbon and buttons. I've made this bear a few times now and sadly he always looks like he's got a bit of camel toe going on down below. Maybe I just stuff him too much....
If you want to make your own then just design your bear shape, draw it onto your chosen fabric and cut 2 sides out. Place the two wrong sides together and sew together inside a 5mm seam, leave a gap of a few inches for stuffing. Clip the curved edges. Turn your bear inside out and stuff. Then sew up the gap. Sew on his eyes and nose with little black beads and decorate him however you like.

Easter farmyard cake

After just a four week sugar craft course I managed to make this lovely cake! Everything is made completely out of icing- even the cute little duck on the top. It was so much fun to make and was surprising easy. I decided to donate it as a prize for our charity bake sale at work but to my surprise I won it! It did look like a bit of a fix but it wasn't...honest! Luckily I got to take it to my nephews who demolished it in seconds leaving me to look on tearfully as I thought about how many hours it had taken to make.

Mint chocolate chip cupcakes

Inspired by a trip to Greenwich market, where I saw a stall full of gorgeous cupcakes I decided to make these mint choc chip cakes. I followed Nigella's recipe, which you can find here but unlike Nigella I decided to decorate mine with a sprig of fresh mint and some chocolate chips.
Update on Dawn's wedding cakes: I'm going to try make some blueberry and lemon ones and take them down to her next weekend. I'll post her review once she's inspected them.......