Cake Pops

For those who don't know, a cake pop is basically a cake on a stick. My description though, I have to say does not do them justice as they can look very pretty and taste pretty good too.

For mine I used a recipe from 'Pop Bakery' by Claire O'Connell available from Amazon for around £5, but there are lots of other books too.

First things first...I rounded up my willing helpers :)

All cake pops start life as a bog standard cake (I made mine chocolate)

You then crumb the cake and mix it with cream cheese and icing sugar, before moulding into spheres or any shape you choose.

 Toadstalls!!

And next it's time to decorate! All cake pops need a candy melt shell but then you can experiment with all sorts of toppings and decorations.

This was my first attempt at cake pops and there is definately room for improvement :p

So here they are-well the ones that were half decent!

Sorry, I forgot to take the photos before putting the celephane wraps on!

 

The mountain of mess to clear up...

They didn't go perfectly but were really yummy! I will post again when I make them again (hopefully more successfully!)

 

Happy Valentine's

Just a quick peek at what I am sewing at the moment as it seemed appropriate given the date. 

'Hearts-a-flutter' by Cinnamon Patch pattern.
Still work in progress,

<3

x 

1950s

For my last college project I was looking at 'Fashion eras' and decided to focus on the nineteen fifties.

Moodboard

I started by doing some research on events, themes, artists and designers from the era and inspired by the fifties.

 

One thing I found particularly intersting was the fact that the structure of DNA was discovered in the fifties along with other advances in science. This inspired me to create some prints taken from the structure of different cells.

Mono printing

Another key theme in fifties print was abstract florals, I had a go at creating some of my own...

I also experimented with other printing and textile techniques.

 

I wont bore you with my entire sketchbook! Here are a few pictures of my final piece.

It's difficult to see in this picture but the dress below comes with a detatchable transparent PVC overskirt! And the blouse has a PVC collar.

 Also there is a dandelion print on the hemline of the capri pants and dress.

Thanks for reading,

M

x

Mothering Sunday gift ideas

Here are my top 5 Mother's day gift ideas, allready?! (which actually could work for valentines gifts as well but they are not really orientated towards men?? well...maybe some men). But they are not really in any sort of order so maybe we'll call it 5 Favourites :)

As lovely as flowers, chocolates and bath smellies are, I have tried to find things that are a bit different and all £10 or under!

These Cath Kidston brooches are adorable and at £8 not a bad price for a gift.

(Please excuse the glare in the photograph!)

Cute <3  ?
http://www.cathkidston.co.uk/

Oooh pretty ribbon!

Am I the only one who gets excited by a nice ribbon??

This 3m spool of ribbon is a great little gift and available for around £5 and comes in lots of lovely designs.

http://www.dotcomgiftshop.com/search/site/ribbon?page=1

Pretty useful. Mums love useful AND pretty things, don't they? Or maybe it's just my Mum who has an obsession with boxes and tins.

You get three cases in alternating sizes and I belive it was £10 for the three from the British Heart Foundation shop.

And if you are feeling particularly generous you could even buy a case and fill it with lovely little gifts?

Tea for one.

I wish I could buy this for my mother only she tells me she doesn't like tea. Sad times.

I think I will have to start drinking tea so that I can collect teapots, it is my ambition in life to become an old lady who collects teapots and garden gnomes. They are the best kind of old ladies.

http://www.dotcomgiftshop.com/tea-for-one-spotty?ctid=5104&pos=0

At £9.95 that's another gift for under £10

And finally...

what about a set of fabric badges for £3, or maybe you could make your own??

http://www.folksy.com/items/2836874-Four-Toadstool-Fabric-Badges

I hope this has been sufficiently inspirational.

Happy Shopping and Thank you for reading,

x

Valentines and Mother's day cards

I have been busy making stock of cards ready for Valentines and Mother's day. Over a month early!!

So here is what I came up with...

Lots of these designs use hearts as a base for flowers, butterflies and wreaths.

I think lots of these would be suitable for both occasions or even general birthday/greeting cards and as allways they are available from the gift shop 'for you' in Felpham village. Also, I am currently looking into opening a Folksy or Etsy account to start selling online. It would be good to know if anyone would be interested and what sort of items would be desired so please leave a comment or e-mail me at milliebutler-hiorns@hotmail.co.uk

x

Cartography and beautiful places

For my next project, I will be looking at maps and places around the world and how they can affect design. In preperation I have started to collect loads of maps for inspiration and maybe even drape them as garments!?

Some maps collected from charity shops and kindly donated by fellow students :)

Some examples of maps used in fashion...

These pieces are by Elizabeth LeCourt who folds maps to suggest garments.

The attention to detail here makes such a difference to the piece, with the collars, cuffs and even little buttons!<3

I think her work is lovely and so effective as art...but I do wonder if it's possible to make actual wearable clothes out of maps?? But I'm sure I will find that out!

The following pieces are by Clare Tough

Clare Tough is an edgy knitwear designer who combines constructed knitting with streamlined silhouettes. Here she has used skylines in a contemporary yet urban way.

 Wow! How much do you want this backpack!?

Oh, the possibilities...

I will be posting at a later date to show you what I come up with!

:)