Before I made cakes......

I played with paper! Making cards, scrapbooking, and generally anything papery!!  I loved it!! Still do.  I have boxes of pretty paper cluttering up my cupboards!!

So as I had a quiet week on the cake front, and there are only so many cakes you can bake and eat yourself, I decided to go back to my first love and play with some paper!!! This is the result!

Paper flowers! They were fiddly and took hours, but I'm hooked!!! They are currently sitting on the shelf above my desk looking very pretty and I have 2 dozen petals cut awaiting folding as we speak!! It's very therapeutic to take a large sheet of paper and turn it into a dozen little flowers, and it can all be done in the armchair whilst catching with 'Enders!!! So unlike my cakey days where I'm stuck in the kitchen away from everyone, these can be made on my lap whilst being with the rest of the family!

Hope you don't mind the slight deviation from cakes today!!

Trends - Do you take note or fly your own flag??

There are always people telling us what is going to be the next big thing! According to Surrey Weddings birdcages and butterflies are going to feature heavily in 2013, Panetone has come up with Emerald Green as the colour of the year, but I have to say, in all the wedding quotes I've prepared for 2013 and 14, I haven't had anyone mention any of the above!! So does that mean you all choose your own way, and aren't too bothered about these so called Trends? Is it only wedding suppliers that worry about being on trend?

From what I've seen so far, vintage and lace are still going to be big this year and next, and so are fairly traditional styles!

But just so you know, I can keep up with the trends, and be ahead of them (!!) here are 2 cakes I made for a wedding show in September 2011!!!

 

Valentines Day

Our Valentines Day collection have gone on the site and Facebook today!! Pop over and have a nosey here!!

2013 is already flying!!

I can't believe Christmas is already 4 weeks gone!! It some ways it feels like forever, but in others I feel like I blinked and I missed it!!

Anyway, we don't go big on fruit cake in my house, and most of the fruit cake eaters didn't come to us over Christmas, so my hastily put together Christmas cake remains uncut!!! Upon finding it today, I thought I'd have a sneaky piece with an afternoon cuppa, then realised, I hadn't even given it it's moment of fame by taking it's piccy!!

So, here for it's quite delayed 5 minutes of fame is The Angel Cakes Christmas Cake 2012!!

Mixed Bag!

This weekend was a mixed bag for me business wise! Had the pleasure of making a fab cake and dealing with a really lovely customer, and on the flip side had the disappointment of another customer not turning up to collect their order.

In 5 years of business, I've been fortunate to create cakes etc for some really lovely people, however, in the last month I've been let down twice.  Now I always take deposits on orders, however as these two clients were repeat customers, I felt safe taking the orders without deposits.Talk about live and learn, which makes me really sad that people would take advantage, especially as they have had goodies from me in the past and know how much love and effort goes into my work.

But as I said you live and learn, so from now on, my procedures have changed, and I will no longer accept cash on collection as payment.  All orders will HAVE to be secured with a deposit, and full payment 7 days before collection on celebration cakes, and 3 weeks prior for wedding cakes.

I'm aware that some people may not like the idea of paying up front for their cake, and believe me I don't like imposing this either, but I am no longer willing to take the risk of spending hours creating something, that is not going to be collected!

Rant over!!! Time to share a piccie!!!!  I loved this little guy, and was quite sorry to see him go! Hopefully the birthday boy loved him too!!

1st cake of 2013!!

 1st Cake of 2013, and my first attempt at a double barrel cake!!! I was dreading covering a cake of this height, but you know what, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and this one doesn't have any marzipan knickers, so if it had, the finish would have been much smoother!!!

Really pleased with the overall outcome of design, and it looks pretty much as I imagined it would!!

A bit of a tidy up!

I've spent a good few hours at the PC in the last couple of days making some changes to the website! I've felt for a while that the site could do with some more generic information, ie a  guide to the number of portions you get from our cakes, and clearer details regarding the flavours we offer.  So I've added a few new pages, and buttons that should help you with those all important decisions when you are trying to decide on your cake!!!

So now along the bottom of our Contact Us page, and our Wedding Cake and Celebration pages, you will find the links to the newly added information!

Thanks for reading!

Happy Birthday to us!!!

Somehow, and I have no idea how, it's our 5th birthday this week! 5 YEARS!! I really don't know where the time has gone. And to think, at the beginning I really didn't know if this is what I wanted to do, or whether I'd be able to turn my little, all consuming, hobby into a business. But I did!!!!

I've had the great pleasure in making some gorgeous (even if I do say so myself!) cakes for some really lovely clients in those years, and a lot of those clients, have returned again, and again for more!! So I must be doing something right!!!

I haven't decided quite how to celebrate yet, it may be to offer a discount on bookings placed this month, it may to receive a little something extra with your order, but there will be something by the end of the month so keep your eyes peeled!!!

Thought I'd leave you with a picture of the very 1st wedding cake I ever made!! It was a joint effort with a friend who did all the covering and piping, which I didn't feel confident doing way back when, but I made all the flowers!

We're in Print!!!!!

Should I admit to being ridiculously excited to see one of my cakes in print for the first time? And the fact it's one of my all time fav designs doesn't hurt either!!!

Vintage Village Hall Wedding

Back in September I had the pleasure of making this Giant Cupcake with hand painted bunting for the lovely Laura and Dan's wedding!

It was definitely my kind of wedding, with lots of handmade elements, and a big emphasis on getting everyone involved in their big day! Their reception was held in a village hall that they had decorated themselves, with bunting, and flowers and lots of really personal touches including a photo board timeline of their relationship!!! You can read all about it and have a nosey at the wonderful pictures they have from their day here on Whimsical Wonderland Weddings.