21 December 2016

Birthday Celebrations and Christmas Preparations






Last Saturday, Poppy turned 9.... how did that happen, I wonder!  We had a lovely day, pottery painting, followed by a Birthday lunch....Italian meats, olives, french stick ...very Continental....Poppy's choice!

One of Poppy's favourite past times is watching cake tutorials on You Tube, so together we had grand plans for  a semi naked drip cake...can I just say be warned..... to a group of 9 year old girls, the thought of having a 'naked' cake, does cause quite a bit of sniggering and hilarity!  We started the prep a couple of weekends ago and we had a lovely morning making sugar paste flowers and meringue kisses.   This meant that in theory, all that was left to do was to bake the cake and decorate it, which after an incredibly busy lead  up to Christmas seemed a sensible plan.  The cake did of course HAVE to be chocolate and for the sponge, I used the Brooklyn Blackout cake recipe from The Humingbird Bakery cookbook, but substituted the 'chocolate custard' filling for their cream cheese frosting...yum!!

All was going well, cake baked and frosted on Friday night (tick), so all that was left to do, was to add the chocolate drip and decorate it on Saturday morning.  I made a chocolate ganache, which I have done a zillion times and horror of horrors it split.  Thankfully 'google' came to the rescue and I was instructed to give it a whizz in my food processor with a little warm cream, which thankfully bought it back to a glossy creamy sauce...yay.  Unfortunately, because I had used double cream, it also thicken it, hence my rather thick splodges rather than delicate drips.  Not quite what I had in mind, it was handmade after all, great fun to make and oh my goodness, it tasted divine!

You'll remember from previous years, that I started making Poppy a Birthday Rosette.  This years, was a speedy Liberty of London affair, made using precious scraps from my stash.  I have a bag full of pretty scraps that I Bondaweb in readiness for such occasions or little applique projects.  If you fancy making one you can find the 'a little happy tutorial' for it HERE.

We had a brilliant weekend with lots of visitors, lots of goodies eaten and lots of happy memories made!

Now the Birthday celebrations are over, we are all looking forward to Christmas and the countdown is on .... 
The tree is up and is full of decorations..... each one has a special memory attached to it.  I love the moment when you unwrap them and think about when you made them, where you purchased them or who gave them to us......
Each year we add a new decoration or two......
...and of course I love adding all the decorations that I've made over the years...I really love this years Christmas Stocking Garland...... find out how to make it HERE...  
my 'Let is Snow' embroidery, made using the FREE pattern which you can find HERE.....
and snuggling under the Simples Squares Quilt I made HERE.
I'm also busy behind the scenes working on my 'a little happy Christmas' quilt which will be our brand new Block of the Month starting in February.  
Before I sign off for some family time this Christmas, here's a little shop update for you, the Ruskington shop is now closed until the New Year, it opens again on Wednesday 4th January at 9:30.  The website will be open throughout Christmas and New Year and we'll be popping in and out to get your parcels full of loveliness on their way, but please do allow a little extra time during the festive period.

It has been an amazing, exciting, super busy year for Pretty Fabrics and Trims, so I just wanted to say on behalf on mum (Penny) and I, THANK YOU SO MUCH for all your support, we really do appreciate each and every order that you place with us and it really does make our day when share your projects that you've made with your goodies with us.  Thank you...thank you...thank you!!

So all that is left to say is have a very Merry Christmas and I'll see you in the New Year!
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4 comments

  1. Happy Christmas! Jo x

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  2. Happy Christmas. Anne x

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  3. The birthday cake looks lovely! Have a very happy new year! Xx

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  4. So pretty. I have just discovered your blog and am now a happy follower. x

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Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment, it really does make my day! If you have a question, please do ask away and I will do my very best to answer. Sarah xo

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