DIY Tutorial: Bunting Cake Topper

It's been approximately a millions years since I've written a tutorial post, and the reason for this is that its been approximately a million years since I've actually made anything. 

This is a super easy one but I think it will also be really useful as it can be really easily adapted for any occasion, plus a nice topper can make a simple cake feel much more celebratory! 

I actually made this for my friend Grace and her daughter Evelyn who's first birthday isn't until the weekend. I therefore don't have any photos of it in situ atop a cake, but hopefully you'll get the idea. Also (apparently I'm trying to squeeze in as many apologies as I can in the first few paragraphs of the post) the light while I was taking these photos kept changing, and then my camera battery ran out so just pretend the photos are amazing okay? 

So, you will need:

- Paper to use as a template

- A plain coloured paper (I used the pearlised pink)

- Patterned paper 

- Twine

- Straws to tie your finished bunting to

- Scissors, a ruler, glue and a pencil! 

- Letter stickers. Of course you could cut out letters from paper and stick them on, but the stickers are really easy and I love the Meri-Meri All Wrapped Up glitter stickers. I bought about 5 packets in TKMaxx a while back and I use them a lot, so much so that if I ever see them I'll buy another packet because I'm a bit scared of running out! 

First things first, you'll need to make yourself a template in the shape shown. Mine was 4.5cm wide by 14cm long, and I just eyeballed it based on the size of the stickers. Cut out the required number of flags from your patterned paper, or whichever paper you're going to have as the base of your flag. I did three! 

Once you've done that, cut about 4-5mm off your template all the way around to make a template for the smaller part of each flag. You can use a ruler and measure it, or just guess with the scissors.

(See what I mean about the light changing? Nightmare.) 

 

I feel like the rest of this is very self explanatory! Glue the layers together, then fold each flag in half. You might beed to have a little trim up if the front and back don't quite match up.  

Pop your letter stickers on to each flag. I chose to put a sticker on the back of each flag too so that the topper works from either side. If you want to do the backs too, make sure you get them the right way round so your chosen word doesn't end up backwards!    

Stick each flag onto a length of twine, and you're done! 

When it comes to popping it onto your cake, tie each end of the twine onto the top of each straw. If your cake is really soft you can probably just push the straws into the cake, but it may be easier to cut some barbecue skewers down to just shorter than the length of the straws, then pop those into the cake at an angle and slide the straws over the top.   

DIY Tutorial: Super Speedy Sparkly Banners

I've written in the past about how I suddenly get inspired to make something at 9.30, when it's already dark and I should really be thinking about going to bed, but hard as I try to write a list and do it the day after, invariably the same thing happens the following night! 

This was the case with these sparkly banners I made to instil a bit of Autumn cheer so the photos aren't the best I'm afraid! They're basically a smaller version of the 'Best Day Ever' banner I made for our wedding and thanks to the power that is glitter they're really simple but end up looking quite effective. 

First, print out the letters you need at the site you'd like your finished banner to be. The font is up to you but it does need to be chunky enough to cut out without being too flimsy.

Cut out all your letters. I realised after that I didn't actually need two letter Us and could have just reused one twice - it was late. 

Next, locate some glittery paper. I had a pad of this one from Hobbycraft left over from the wedding, and I imagine the with Christmas looming it should still be available. I lost quite a few minutes deliberating over which colour to use - I've got a bit of a copper thing going on at the moment so was tempted by the coppery glitter, theres also a lovely champagney one, but I think that might be more suited to Christmas.

In the end I chose the most yellow gold. Flip it over, and arrange your paper letters face down on the back. Remember they need to be backwards so that when you turn them over to the glitter side they're the right way round (the words grandmother and eggs are coming to mind here - I'm sure you all know how to do this!)

Now using tiny pieces of tape, (or glue dots/hot glue) attach your letters to some ribbon, twine or other means of hanging. I went for red and white bakers twine. 

So there you have it! Really really simple and you can make them say whatever you fancy! I'm definitely planning to make more of these for other occasions too - I think a halloween one might be in order very soon!

DIY Tutorial: Origami Stars

If you follow me over on Instagram, you will have noticed Pastry and I have been working together on a collaborative DIY project...it's true! The cat is ever so useful when it come to paper folding...

Well, it's not entirely true. He came to observe what I was doing and seemed to think the table was exactly the place to make him self comfy for the rest of the afternoon, so I worked round him. 

A few days ago, it suddenly dawned on me while I was eating my lunch (as very important things often do!) that back when I was at middle school (so we're probably talking 17/18 years ago) I used to know how to make these folded paper stars an I immediately needed to know if I still could! 

After a few attempts, muscle memory kicked in and remembered what I was doing. I've since made loads and strung them up all over the house. They're really really quick to make so I thought I'd write a tutorial so you can make some of your very own! 

Making Christmas {Cracker Hats}

I've just realised it's been an entire week since I last posted here! I'm not sure where the last week ran away to, but I haven't had a gap that long for a few months now. A combination of being off work with an injured back, which is still unfortunately ongoing (even after getting an acupuncture needle stuck in one of the muscles in my bum, and passing out during a blood test!) trying to get some of my sewing projects finished and going to the Macarons and More Cookery School (which was one of the best day I've ever had, but more on that later this week!) has meant I have a whole weeks worth of unwritten posts to catch up on!

So, I've officially started making Christmas! I'm not cooking Christmas dinner this year which feels a bit odd. By this point I'd usually have a fair few lists on the go, and would probably be beginning to flap a bit about whether to dish up, or put everything in serving dishes on the table, about gravy boats and giblets and goodness knows what else. This is totally ridiculous of course; I cook a roast dinner without a flap all the time, but for some reason at Christmas, as much as I say I'm not going to, I can't help but decend into a chaotic and twirly mess (to quote Friends - that bit of Monica in me coming out again!)

This year though, we're off to my sisters, and as her boyfriend is a chef it's pretty safe to say I won't be cooking...so I've elected to flap about crackers instead! Starting with kraft paper hats (obviously!)

Pastry (as usual) was rather interested in what was going on....

I started off measuring round my head with a piece of string, and then cutting a strip of paper slightly longer than this length (I have a really big head, so they will probably end up too big for everyone else, but they can see how annoying an ill fitting cracker hat is for a change!) I guessed the height, but I was going for more of a crown than a tiara, and stuck the ends together with double sided tape. 

Then (this is oh so technical) I flattened the circle out, making sure I folded them along the existing 'seam' so they looked a bit neater, then folded the whole thing in half, and in half again.

Then you just chop one corner off at and angle. I measured mine so they were all the same, but freestyle hats, or giving everyone on the table a different shape would be fun! 

That's my very best no-makeup-messy-hair-cracker-hat-model pose! 

Then I used the eraser bits on the end of the pencils as make shift stamps, and added some sparkly gold dots to half the hats...

I used a craft knife to cut one of the erasers into a little triangle to stamp the other three hats. They turned out really pretty, but everyone had been informed they're not allowed to actually touch them because the ink rubs off if you so much as breath on it! 

Ready to go in the crackers! I'm in the process of collecting little cracker gifts for everyone, and will probably put in some chocolates, or a scratch card, and D is thinking of suitably bad jokes to put in them too. 

I haven't decided what the actual crackers are going to look like exactly, but I have lots of gold crepe paper left from the wedding, and it's nice and stretchy so I should be able to tie up the ends without it tearing fairly easily. 

Our plan to get Christmas sorted by December is coming together quite nicely! I haven't done anything about Christmas cakes as yet (I think I've missed Stir Up Sunday now too!) but most of the shopping is done, we've already watched Love Actually, I've bought all the wrapping paper and I've started on the peppermint hot chocolates! Later tonight I'm planning to order all the bits I need to make the gifts for the little people I usually buy for - although I'm sort of thinking I might have to have a back up plan in case I run out of time...we'll see! 

I have a love hate relationship with this time of year - I love it everything about the build up to Christmas, I love buying presents for people, decorating, cinnamon on everything,  mulled cider, Christmas markets and planning to catch up with everyone, but I also hate that every single year  I manage to become an anxious ball of stress about it all - which is daft I know, but I always think in October 'Ohh I've got months left to make all those things' then suddenly it's a month to the day, and I haven't even ordered the fabric and I'm flapping about hats! 

Time to put Harry Potter on and calm myself down I think!