Wednesday 22 June 2011

Dotty About...Vintage Buttons

This weekend's bride had the most gorgeous handmade hair decoration with vintage buttons sewn in. It was so pretty, I decided to look for some more inspiring button decorations for weddings. Of course, if you are button-phobic, please look away.

A beautiful wedding which I was event coordinator for last year. Incidentally, the couple have just had their first baby so I am also sending them lots of congratulations. The Bride had inherited a whole box of vintage buttons from her grandma so she incorporated them into her beautiful handmade Table Plan and Place Names.









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And, of course, last but not least... Edible button favours!



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And instructions on how to make them here: bakeitpretty.com

Friday 17 June 2011

Dotty About...Cakes

Today I made a cake for my neighbour's mum's 90th birthday. With a fruit cake base and a chocolate cake top tier, it's actually the first time I have had to ice a chocolate sponge cake - normally I just smother them in chocolate butter cream!

It was difficult not to get chocolate butter cream (which I used on the outside of the chocolate cake) everywhere, but I was quite pleased with the results.



Wednesday 15 June 2011

Dotty About...Cake Pops

One of my best friends is getting married next year, and I am very very excited to be doing not only her wedding cake, but also making other items for her cake table.

I have seen some amazing cake tables on other blogs over time:









(Images from Inspired Bride & Style Me Pretty)

SO I am really looking forward to doing some very special things for this one. One of the things we have chatted about in particular is cake pops.

If you have had your head under a rock and have missed the cake pop phase, time to remove your had from the rock! lol.

The wedding is next year, so I thought I had better get some practice in over the next few months to make sure that they turn out the way we want them. She has a specific flower which she wants to try to emulate called Billy Balls!!



Here is my first attempt today. I got a bit carried away with sprinkles, and I think we have a way to go, but I am quite pleased with the result :)



Monday 13 June 2011

Dotty About...My Niece

Well folks, we have just spent a wonderful weekend back home with my family to celebrate the Christening of my gorgeous niece Beth for whom it was a great privilege to be asked to make the Christening cake.

Beth was christened in the gown Mum made for my Sister on her Christening day. With that, our wedding bunting and all the home made delicacies my Mum had put together, it made for a rather nice garden party...well it would have if the weather hadn't been so awful, but nonetheless, we were undeterred!









Dotty About...Bunting

Around the time of the Royal Wedding, my husband asked me what I thought about the Royal Family and all the wedding shinanagins. I don't really have much of an opinion on that other than if they weren't in situ, I am sure that through the media we would hear more about some other poor sods emulating royalty, far better to appreciate the real thing!

However, it has occurred to me of late that I rather like them for one thing in particular...the sense of British-ness they install in us around any special occasion. It's not like life grinds to a halt per say, it is just that we Brits suddenly seem to appreciate good values - enjoying being part of the community that is Britain.

One of my favourite things that made this sense of community much stronger for me was the amount of bunting that suddenly appeared! I am actually DOTTY ABOUT BUNTING! I love it. I think seeing those little triangles flapping about in a breeze is just heart swelling. It conjures up and symbolises so many things... celebrating, having fun, drinking pimms, chatting and laughter.

God bless the royals for bringing back bunting! And with next year being the Jubilee I am very hopeful to see even more, and may even bring out my own range of Dotty About...Bunting. Watch this (web) space!



1945 Victory celebrations
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1953 Coronation celebration
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Street Party in Leeds celebrating the Royal Wedding (2011)
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Even the PM get's out the bunting in honour of the Royal Wedding of William & Kate!
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Of course, bunting is a cheap but colourful way of jazzing up any occasion, and is an easy DIY project for any bride (or your mum ;-) ) All you need to do is create a triangle template, cut out lots of triangular (or rectangular) flags from your choice of fabrics, then sew the tops of them to some bias binding tape.

If you are looking for bunting and can't possibly think about making you own or wait to see my Dotty About designs, there are specialist bunting companies you can visit:

Country Bunting
The Cotton Bunting Company
Bunting Queen, a personal favourite as they are very active on marketing and you may also hire bunting from them as well as buy it.

Monday 6 June 2011

Dotty About...Peonies

Today at work, I had a lovely young couple come in for their final meeting before their wedding in a few weeks time. As we were chatting, they were laughing and squabbling about the groom not knowing what the bride's favourite flower was, and refusing to tell him because he couldn't guess right.

I took one look at her and one thought popped into my head...Peony!

Indeed, I was right. Peonies are her favourite flower, and I have to admit, they are also a particular favourite of mine. They are so perfect for weddings. My sister had white ones as her main flower and the florist scattered the petals on her tables to give off the gorgeous scent throughout the venue.

Not only do they smell gorgeous, they look gorgeous and they photograph beautifully. Here are just a few beautiful pictures of these amazing blooms.



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A couple of years ago, I bought a peony for my garden. I bought the one called "Shirley Temple" and oh my goodness. This year it is sporting three beautiful blooms. :)

Wednesday 1 June 2011

Dotty About...Weddings Abroad

CONGRATULATIONS to my friend Hollie and her new husband who just tied the knot in Bali. The wedding looked so amazing, Hols has very kindly let me share some of her piccies with you: