Brothers birthday + creative stitches show

Hello,

I mentioned a few posts ago that my Brothers birthday was coming up- it was this Tuesday (He loved his Domo pinata so I was pleased. It took a while to brake into so I didn't do too badly at making it! :) As usual my dad pulled an amazing cake(s!) out of the hat, this time I got to help though as I was at home and my dad said he couldn't achieve it all in the time without me :0) It was sooo fun and here are the results....

... A whole pizza dinner with drinks, sides and desserts- all made from cake!!!!

here is the mushroom (chopped dried banana  pieces) and olive (black royal icing) pizza:

The spaghetti (royal icing) and meatball (cake, chocolate and biscuit balls- I made these :P) cake:

Margherita pizza. We made the cheese look cooked by pinching the icing circles and putting little blobs of brown caramel biscuit spread on it to look liked the browned bubbles of cheese:

Onion rings (dried apple rings dipped in chocolate and biscuit crumbs), garlic bread (brioche with white chocolate on it sprinkled with grated dessicated coconut dyed green for herbs :P) and dough balls (brioche again!):

Garlic pizza bread cake:

the coke glasses were done by melting chocolate to coat the inside of the glass then filling with crumbled cake before topping with chocolate spread and inserting a stripy straw:

 

Chocolate cake chocolate gateau 1:

Chocolate cake chocolate gateau 2 (I made this one :-):

Safe to say we are still eating it all now, despite giving lots away to people! It is sooo tasty though and so cool to help make- we spent a long time thinking if what sweet items we could use to create the most realistic savoury look :P

Hahaha, In between cake eating I did manage to get to the Creative stitches and Hobbycrafts show at the Excel centre London on Thursday. It was really good and I got onto 4 workshops! (Tomorrow is the last day so get yourself down there if you can :0)

This was one of the workshops I did, ruffled ribbon petunias, so pretty :):

I got to practise my french knots for the centre which was good as now I can do them perfectly, I also learnt the little tufty  (turkey work) in the second flower which was cool as I had never done that before. Lorna Bateman was the lady who ran the workshop and she has an esty/folksy shop where she sells the kits if you like what you see above :P

This was the second workshop- making a creative textiles book cover from this material called spunbound made by Vilene. It was so cool- you put on this 3D paint through a stencil then heated it all with a heat gun and the £D paint bubbled a grew while the unpainted spunbound shrivelled and disappeared leaving holes. Then you paint it to make it look all colourful:

Then finally, I also did two embroidery workshops run by the Royal School of needlework, they were only £5 each which I think was pretty good value even though the other workshops were free (which is even more amazing value :P).

Here is my first finished piece from the Jacobean Crewelwork workshop:

Again, I learnt some new stitches and got to practice my french knots so that was all good. I will show you my silk shading sampler I started in the other workshop when I have finished it :)

Haha, after all that learning I got round to doing some shopping, well quite a bit of shopping actually.

I got these two Paddington Bear cross stitch kits, only £2.00 each! 

I am going to make something for my dad with them as he loves football, Paddington bear and he teaches maths so I thought they were perfect :P

Then I got all this:

All of the items cost me £1 or less each- what bargains :D

I better go now, got to get to bed to get my beauty sleep before my cake filled breakfast :P

See you all soon- when I may have another giveaway up my sleeve for you all.... so keep your eyes peeled :0)

Bye XxXxXxX

Happy holiday happenings

Hello,

 

I hope you are all having fun in the summery sun, well, when it is not hidden by the clouds :oP

 

I am having a great time in the Isle Of Wight (as usual :) and thought I would bring you an update of what I have been up too.

 

First up- the tale of the giant cucumber! Me and my family went to 'Farmer Jacks' farm shop to get some stuff for tea and in the vegetable baskets we found some HUGE cucumbers so we picked up one (the biggest one :-)

 

Here it is, it is absolutely massive!!!:

 

 

It tasted nice too, the lady in the shop said they aren't usually so big but what with all the sun and then the downpours of rain they had thrived. (the small slice in the picture is a slice from a normal sized cucumber!- not a tiny one or anything)

 

Hahaha, from giant cucumbers to cool one-man band music machines it is all here in the IOW, yes one man band music machines..... you did not read wrong :P

 

At Quay Arts- the mini art gallery and shop on the island, there latest exhibit was of this music machine :) Just turn the handle and the wheel rotates and plays a happy little tune on the piano, the drum bangs and the umbrella attached at the

 side spins too!:

 

Quay Arts is always fun to visit as you never know what will be there but it is always something that makes you smile or makes you think :0)

 

Here is just a cool picture of the hovercraft coming into the dock/beach that my dad took when we were watching them today:

 

We did get a lot of sand in our faces though when one of them turned to go on its way and its propellers blew a gust of it straight at us! ahh well it was still fun watching them :)

 

In the evenings I have been working on this little craft kit my mum got me before we went away- I have sewn the body and arms and ears so far, pictures will of course come when my little bunny is finished ^o^:

 

And here is a picture of the great bag my dad generously treated me to in a fair-trade shop:

 

I loved it at first sight-All the little details and pretty colours. It was handmade in India and due to different pieces of scrap fabric being used to make it each one is completely individual. I am saving it to use a little rucksack for when I go to Uni  (:

 

We are almost at the end of my update now but I have got to mention the Vintage antiques fair we stopped off at this morning. I wasn't sure how much I would find when I walked in but on one table there was a whole stack of old sewing, craft and cross stitch books- all at only £1 each! I looked through all of them and found 6 I really couldn't put down. I can't wait to read all of them cover to cover, I have just got to finish off the two books (about sewing too :) I am reading at the moment first.

 

Hehehe, sorry, you can all go and give your eyes a rest now, I am done!

 

See you soon with more updates (if you can all face anymore :P),

 

Byee xxxxxxxx