Cake and a catch up number 2...

Time for another little cake and a catch up...

After a little over a week of unpacking, I'm about ready to start all over again... with the packing that is *sigh*

The little craft room is becoming a travelling workshop of tiny suitcases and a sewing box, both in need of a very strict edit. It's so hard to chose my favouritest of all my favourite fabrics and buttons and what nots and lace! And all the stitched little samples and softies... I'm hoping to hold a quick little going away giveaway next week to find some of these things a lovely new home. Fingers crossed for a productive weekend!

Another thing to be packed away is the little shops as I become a travelling sales bunny. On Monday I will close the little doors for a month as I make my big move, so this will be the last weekend if you did wish to treat yourself to a little something and I will be adding little extra thank you gifts to all orders :-)

I'll be seeing you next week for another catch up and hopefully that giveaway!

Eat Cupcakes Day!

Today is the last day of National Cupcake week and to celebrate I'm planning on making some lemon cupcakes from my new cookbook bake! after sharing a couple of cakie friends with you.

I've been playing around with some new cake ideas and though these are not quite there yet, they are quite cute...

This is Clown Cakie.

He is more of a muffin than the cakes I've stitched before as I liked how he could have a fun patterned wrapper. He became clown as it was his life long dream to make people smile... oh and the fabric made me think of the circus, but mainly the dream thing. His tiny clown hat is a blob of lacy cream and a blue felt cherry :)

This little cakie is called Fairy Cake.

For the simple reason that she is a fairy cake. Fairy cakes are my second favourite tiny cake though I rarely get to eat them as my cakes never rise tall enough to sprout those adorable little wings.

I'm so pleased with her wings but I think she needs a more fairy-like wrapper. Pastel or flowers perhaps? The circus isn't for everyone...

Happy Cupcake eating!

xo

and if anyone was wondering my favourite of all the tiny cakes were Roald Dahl Matilda's tea time cakes but they don't make them anymore :(

Rainbow Babies

While looking around for some pink and blue dummy (pacifier) beads to stitch up some Babycakes, I stumbled across a tiny packet of multi coloured one and a rainbow of little cakes was born.

I just love seeing all the colours together like that!

Its taken me quite a while to put this batch together, more Babycakes have been on my to-do list for a while. But I think the wait was a good thing, it has given me the chance of a little re-design. Getting cuter is always a good thing...

The first one in the little shop is this little pure white one.

Pink and Blue will follow soon, and the other colours will be available through those listings as a "note to seller" kinda thing (is that a good way to do it? I'm never sure they'll be found?)

Also a little shopling thing to mention is my Xmas Sale items are about to expire and I won't be relisting them. Christmas in March anyone? :)

xo

Hello Baby!

Congratulations to my lovely friend who had a gorgeous baby girl last Friday!

As well as stitching up a special babycake (I changed a couple of things on the old cakey pattern), I found myself drawn to Baby Gap (where the cute little hippo onesie came from),where I oooh-ed and awww-ed until I was completely gooey and a little jealous I couldn't fit into any of the cute clothes :)

Have happy weekends 

and lots of love to Mum and Baby

xo

100!

Welcome to my 100th post!

I'm so glad you came.

After thinking long and hard about what it meant to me to reach 100, I realised its all about being able to share what I do. So to celebrate, I'm going to be sharing some real life pieces in a little giveaway!

Polly is always has her favourite red spotty party hat perched upon her head, ready for any celebration, and she is always the first to arrive. This is a very good thing as she will be the host of this celebratory giveaway, and will deliver all the goodies as a roomy little mini tote.

 When I realised 100 was nearing, I rushed to tell Polly we had to do something special!

"100 post! That can't be right, you've never managed a week with a diary!"

It's true I have started many diaries and never kept one going long, but somehow I have blogged 100 times! 

"Well! that really is something to celebrate! 

And we must do so with tea and cake..."

So I hurried off to make felty tea and cake treats. 

I came upon some cherry bakewells along my way, please feel free to nibble!

Polly then asked 'how did I think I'd manage to blog after finding diaries so hard?'

"hmmmm..."

I only had time to think that one hmm and I realise its you guys that make it so much fun to blog! Its lovely to know that someone is reading and hopefully enjoying what I'm sharing. I started this blog a little shy, but your visits and kind words have given me so much support and confidence. That you stop by for a few moments has given me so much and really does mean the world to me

To Polly and I at that point is became clear that you had given me so much and I had to give you something special in return...

After a while at the sewing machine, out danced "Teeny", a tiny ten to go with my big 100.

She is not as tall as the other bunnies, around half their height. But she more than makes up for what she lacks in height in sweetness. I adore this tiny bunny and giving her to one of you would make me so happy.

 

Polly also suggested I added a few 'Thank You' cards, as that is what I'm trying to say in my soppy way. (I am feeling a little emotional right now! but all good emotions I promise)

There is also a couple of sheets of Moo stickers in with the cards. They came out so lovely!

 Jotwo and Blueberry Joe, who were sitting near by, happened to over here Polly and I making plans and wanted to joining in the fun...

 "People have said lovely thing about us too, we want to give a gift"

And so they gave me a handful of buttons from the bag Blueberry Joe gave to Jotwo during the 'great nose debate'. Those two little bears maybe good at drama, but they aren't too keen on sewing. Apparently, they tried in once and somehow sewed themselves together. So they asked me to sew the buttons to a thank you card to keep them neat and then mentioned,

"You really should give some fabric away with buttons..." 

We rummaged around in my fabric stash and found some lovely checks, spots, hearts and flowers. To try to stick to a loose theme, there is also some tea-themed fabric on top and bunny-themed fabric on the bottom.

The bunny fabric is a favourite of mine. Its a really soft cotton print and feels amazing to touch. The design has these 4" circles filled with bunnies, bugs, birds, flowers and fruit surrounded with leafy branches. The selvedge strip says the design was originally owned by the American Folk Art Museum and I will have to show you the piece I have in full sometime. I haven't found the right project for mine, but I have cut piece with 4 of the circles for this giveaway so maybe you can inspire me. :)

So the fabric was tied into a bundle with a couple of piece of ribbon and lace, added to the rest and  now we have all these goodie ready to give away;

 

Thank you so much for stopping by and giving me the chance to say "Thank you!" with goodies.

I don't really know how many people do stop by, but whether its 1 or 100 and this is the first time or the hundredth, I am so glad you do!

And I love it when you comment! I have found some brilliant blogs and lovely 'friends' (may I call you friends?) through comments and so I will encourage you to do so, if only to have Polly and the other goodies arrive on your doorstep!

So to be part of my 100th post and giveaway, just leave a comment.

 It could be about tea, cake, bunnies, bears, blogs, how many bakewells you managed to nibble your way through (Two for me!) or anything you would like to say really.

I'll will pick a name in a random fashion on Thursday 7th next week.

And because I can't wait to give out goodies, I have one for everyone now!

(Click for full size printable pattern)

A Sir Oliver Woofington Embroidery Pattern from my Ollie scribble.

Patty of Pipstitch suggested this and I think its a wonderful idea. I made this how I make all my embroidery patterns - just outlines, no instructions or suggestions. If you click the picture, Ollie will be around 18cm tall and you can print him from that window. I'll be stitching mine soon and I'd love to see how you get along if you give it ago!

Have fun, (leave a comment) and another BIG thank you! for stopping by.

Hugs and Cake

Jenny

xo

Colour Me Happy

I've been quietly working away on some new mini totes.

  

The results are a set of birthday gift bags.

Four hand drawn 'Happys' with colour for the first time.

I'm really pleased with how the colours look. I've always been a little wary of using colour on my bag drawings and it's mainly because of the colours available to me. I use textile inks in pen form and find it really difficult to find the softer colour I prefer. I seem to come across a lot that are bright, neon or very dark. I have picked up so many over the past year and maybe have 4 colours which I love. I will, as ever, continue to experiment and look for new brands and colours of pens, but am also starting to look at bottled inks and brushes. I haven't used textile paints for years, as the pens were suited my casual use better, being less hassle and mess for making a bag every now and again, but I may revisit them soon. 

  

I have also adjusted the pattern slightly so the mini totes now have flat bottoms and are all the cuter for it. 

There are pictures of each bag in full over on my Flickr, and they are all for sale at Archie and Mabel's now.

(Some will be made for my etsy shop soon)

***

And that was post 99.

I do hope you'll join me in the next couple of days for my 100th!

I can't tell you what it will entail, as I'm not entirely sure, but I would love to share it with you.

Any suggestion for how to mark a 100 will be gladly received 

(and possibly followed!)

xo

I saw on the news after posting that there was an earthquake in California, and I know a couple of you who stop by here and my flickr are from there. I hope you and your loved ones are all ok.

*Hugs*

Pick a Cake!

I've been trying out some new eyes for my cakey friends. I'm still not quite decided on which I prefer, (although the white eyes are out as they look too South Park-y for me)

I do know that once I do decide, there will be more like this made up.

These six are all brooch back badges and will appear here and there soon. 

I even overheard one of those guys boasting about how he would be helping Polly celebrate my 100th post (just 6 away!!) 

xo

Cake Day!

It's been busy, busy, busy around here and that's has made my little blog feel quite neglected after all the post-a-day fun.

The busy, busy for me has all been crafty, so I have new things to share.

Three more "Happy the Birthday Cake" Softies!!

These little fellows are very excited about the thought of travelling the big, wide world out there. Their journey begin last night as they took their places on the floaty shelves* of my little shop as I did a Cake-themed shop update.

As well as the 3 softies, there are these little Happy felt badges (you may them remember from this post) and a Happy Mini Tote too.

 

The next shop fill be a Girl-themed and I hope to do that in a few days.

The shop is really taking shape now its got a fuller front page. A few people have stopped by and I had my first sale, which is the truly loveliest feeling and is making me very happy indeed! 

Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!

I'm off to be busy again...

xo

*I say 'floaty shelves' as I imagine if you stood inside an Etsy shop for real, all the items would be floating around you in a magical kind of way.

Everyday Cake

You probably guessed already that I think cake is the best way to celebrate the big things, but I also believe it to be the perfect treat to mark the little things too. 

(Any excuse for cake is good for me!)

I have found a great way to have a cakey treat around all the time...

A Cheery Cherry Cardholding Cake!

Felty stitches just the right size for keeping my business cards looking cute.

This is not the first outing of a cheery cherry cake. 

Back in January, there was a couple of badges with their happy faces on and when my other cardholder vanished a couple of weeks ago, she sprang to mind as the perfect cardholding companion. She is my everyday-cakey-friend :)

 ***

In other Cakey news, I took 3 of these little 'Happy' Badges up to the shop this week

And the other 3?

Well, I'm keeping them myself to pop in a shop of my own.

I'll keep you posted on that little development, I don't know as yet when it will happen but I'm so excited at the thought of my own little shop!!

And a huge thank you for all the sweet comments I have received about the birthday cake stitches. 

Y  They really made my day Y 

Hope you all have a cake-filled weekend!

xo

To the happy couple,

A cake I have been waiting and waiting to share.

The Wedding Cake Softie

Made from felt, lace and lots of stitches. 

It is three tiers (and 13cms) high, trimmed with gorgeous beaded lace, ribbon flowers and embroidered with happy face and names/date stitched on the side.

This is my most exciting project yet. 

When my friend asked me to make a wedding version of my birthday cake softie, I just jumped at the chance. I was very busy with this cake for quite awhile, and at times I was bursting to share little glimpses. Making this cake was so much fun, shopping for lace and embroidering those eyes were my favourite parts. 

I have to thank my friend, Claire, who asked me to make this cake and of course a mention to; 

Robyn and Dean, who married on the 19th of April 2008

Hope you have a long, happy life together

xo

New Baked Babies

"Baby cakes"

Soft, little felt cakes with a bow and a tiny dummy bead on top.

Two blue boy cakes and a pink girl one.

That is if you want to be traditional, pink for boys and blue for girls works wonderfully too. 

    

You may remember the first Baby cake, posted here. She was made to say 'hello' a little baby girl called Evie. 

     

These little cuties went up to the shop today, and will be available for £4.95 soon.

As well as the Baby Cakes, the Chocolate Nun Mini Totes, these 'Happy' the Birthday Cake Softies and badges from previous posts are at the shop, along with a couple of other bigger bags and a bunny I haven't posted yet. Pictures of those will appear here over the next couple of days.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend

xo

It's Time to Share the Cake...

This week has just been going so quickly, I feel I've almost missed it.

I think my forever growing to-do list is to blame, it's one of those weeks where there is not enough time for all to be done.

 One thing I have manage is, to get some lovely pictures of the new cakes.

These are the Happys that shared my birthday with me, which makes them quite exciting. (Although everything I make is special and exciting to me.)

My little Birthday cakes are all called "Happy"

Completely hand stitched, they are made of felt, stuffed with toy fill and birthday cheer and are around 10cms tall.

 

I really enjoy making these cakes. 

My favourite part of the whole process is stitching the smile. 

: )

The very first Happy the Birthday Cake was made last year for one of my friends. She jokingly ask me to make her a real cake for her Birthday. I am a terrible cake baker, they all come out very flat and stodgy, so it HAD to be a joke.

But, as I had just made myself a cupcake pincushion, I thought I could possible stitch up a little cake. And the result is Happy.

The Happys will be for sale soon. 

They are very excited about getting out in the world to spread birthday cheer.

Until then, they are pleased to be making friends here and over on my Flickr, where there are many more photos of them and previous happys too.

Seems only one way to finish this post,

A very merry Happy Birthday/UnBirthday

(which ever you're having today)

 xo

A Piece of Birthday Cake

Thank you for the Birthday wishes!!

So sweet of you all.

These are the little cakes from the previous post.

'Happy' the Birthday Cake Badges.

Smaller than the 'Cheery' Cherry Cake badges at 8cms tall and 4cms wide, but just as cute! 

They are made from felt with stitch detail and brooch pin backs.

Photos of the cake softies will come soon, as well as some special items I have been stitching.

I'm planning a little Easter post, but incase I'm not around,

 

Have a Wonderful Weekend

xo

Happy Birthday to me....

It's my birthday tomorrow and a new batch of cakes is ready just in time for it.

The photos are terrible, as I need to take them in daylight, but I was so happy to have my own little batches of 'Happy's to share my Birthday with, I needed to post them now.

 Better photos and some more info will follow soon, I promise.

Have a fantastic March 20th!!

***Virtual Birthday Cake for all***

xo

Friend of a Friend

'Happy' the Birthday Cake has a new younger friend.

'Baby Cake'

She is the same size as Happy and is decorated with a ribbon and small pink dummy.

She's one of the secret projects I was working, I made her for a friend who had a gorgeous little baby girl a few months ago. I am considering making a couple more to go in the shop after Easter.

***

And remember JoTwo the Sock Bear? Here is his inspired friend.

"Flossy" Bunny Softie

She is made from  fluffy angora knits that have shrunk to make lovely soft, felted material. She is 27cm tall, with a fabric dress and ribbon and embroidered eyes and cutie freckles. (Click description for more pictures.) She began life as the 'Hello' Rabbit from my first post and then re-worked to find a way to turn her in the softie she now is.

Flossy Bunny's picture

Flossy will be staying with me, but some of her bunny friends will be for sale this Easter.

Have a lovely weekend, 

I'll be stitching more Easter treats to share next week.

jenny

xo

Available to buy

I am very pleased to say that the pieces from the previous post will be availiable to buy from Archie and Mabel's this week.

And...

I have been busy stitching away the past week, and there will be a couple of extra pieces. 

There will be two more 'Cheery Cherry Cake' Badges £1.95

Here are close ups of brown and beige cake.

And 'Happy the Birthday Cake' has a three new friends too.

Here are more pictures of the individual cakes, Blue Happy, Pink Happy and White Happy.

They are the same proportions as the original 'Happy' and will be in the shop at £4.95.

jenny

xo

 

I'd love to know what you think of any of my work, please feel free to leave a comment