As promised, here are the picture of my birthday monkey cake. The recipe was from Martha Stewart, I had first seen it in the much missed Martha StewartKids magazine. Bradley used a different recipe for the interior, but it's still banana cake, of course.
I wasn't there, but these pictures were taken by Bradley so I could see that he had some help...
Although Francis doesn't seem to be helping much at this point..
But he does seem to be helping himself to some icing sugar..
Yum! Francis is transfixed by the delicious icing.
And finally, the beautiful finished monkey cake. The cake dome has a lip around the bottom, so Bradley put the ears on a bit higher which makes the cake look a bit like a bear. Bradley used chocolate buttons for the eyes, cut ones for the nose and a twizzler for the mouth.
And just so you can see how it's made, here's the inside! The gist is that you use a circular pan for the bottom layer, and a bowl for the top layer. Bradley cooked the ears in ramekins. So clever.
And the cake was delicious! Next up, I've been obsessed lately with sewing dresses.. lots and lots of them..
Read more...
My birthday was on Saturday and was a perfect day for it, so warm and sunny we had my birthday breakfast (including cupcake!) on the deck. The "tablecloth" was a big piece of Cath Kidston fabric which I later turned into an actual tablecloth and also this tote: While I feel I should write some thoughtful reflections on the past year, or the year to come, I'm not really up for that, so I'm just going to mention some of my favourite presents that are also recommendations.
1. Box set of the wonderful British comedy show Black Books. I'd only seen a glimpse of it before, but it's so funny and has that perfect kind of humour that makes you realize you've been taking everything too seriously. Featuring the brilliant and oddly lovable Dylan Moran (seen recently in Run Fatboy Run, also wonderful) and this episode has a small bit with Martin Freeman (you know, Tim from The Office and Arthur Dent).
2. A few lovely things from Cath Kidston such as this adorable clothespin bag:3. "once" cd. When they won their Oscars Marketa Irglova was cut off, but after the commercials they fixed their mistake and she had her acceptance speech. I loved that. The music is so good and perfect to listen to while you sew your new Cath Kidston tote on a sunny birthday day. 4. The book Lotta Prints: How to Print Anything, from Potatoes to Linoleum I think I'm not the only on who loves anything Lotta, so enough said. I'm also recently spied the new Amy Butler book Midwest Modern which I'm planning to get next. (I'm not allowed to buy things right before my birthday which is when I saw it.)
In blossoming branches news, the Forsythia bloomed in time for my birthday (and has even more blooms now) and is very pretty: The cherry branches are taking a little longer, they looked like this on Saturday: But now of course they look like the picture at the top of this post. It's been fascinating watching the buds grow day by day.
So this year was altogether a lovely birthday. It was one of those days when you feel so content and you realize what a happy home you have and don't want to change a thing. p.s. in case you're wondering, yes I did paint my china (fabric) cabinet and I'm glad I did, so I'll post about that next.
I think the first step for sewing for a man is the colour scheme, choosing colours they like that aren't too girly.
I wanted to make an apron for Bradley - now that we have a barbecue. I found the perfect piece in my stash, a sturdy white cotton with blue stripes and a striped ribbon for the neck strap. This was a sample piece of fabric and already serged, so it saved some extra steps. I made it up as I went along but it worked quite well, so here's another tutorial.
Step 1: The rectangle was 26" inches wide and 34" long. I pinned the neck strap in place (20" + hem allowance), and folded over two corners at the top. At this point you can try it on to see if it's roughly the right size. I had to try it on myself then imagine myself a little bit taller.
Step 2: Once the right amount of fabric at the top corners was folded over I cut off the excess and folded the edges and pinned in place. Then iron and sew! (You could also hem the top and sides next if you wish)
Step 3: The waist straps were just twill tape stitched in place. I recommend making them long enough so you can wrap around the back and bring them around to the front again to tie.
Step 4: Love is in the details. I hemmed the ends of the straps (by hand) so that they wouldn't fray.
Step 5: I added a 9" x 17" pocket. The serged edges were just folded once then sewn in place, with a 1" hem at the top. Pin it in place before you sew then try on the apron to see if you like the position. I sewed a couple of extra seams to make divisions in the pocket. That way there's a skinny one to hold tongs. Finally, I embroidered Bradley's name to personalize it. I should have done the embroidery first, then hemmed the top of the pocket to hide the back of the embroidery but I didn't think of it. The easiest way to do it neatly is just pencil in the lines before you stitch.
Done! Bradley loved his new apron... Gosh he's handsome. And such a good sport letting me take pictures.
Sewing books with apron patterns I recommend (hover on the links to see more info):
In a nutshell, I'm a freelance illustrator and inveterate crafter. Click on the picture above to see my full profile. You can email me at needlebook [at] clairelouisemilne.com. Thank you for your comments and for linking to me! -:- Claire -:-
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