Craftnight with Borough Belles WI

Beaming Belles

Last night I joined the Borough Belles WI for an evening of crafting, cake and chitchat - one of the loveliest evenings I've had in ages. Although I'm generally a very confident person I get a bit nervous before meeting new people, but was assured from their website that you should not worry about turning up on your own, and sure enough they were right. I've never felt so at ease so quickly before, it was like being in a room of friends; always a good place to be.

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The theme of the meeting is different each month, next month it's guerilla gardening and last month they did a Zumba class but craft I was told by many members usually has the biggest turn out.

Crafty Chicas

This evenings guest was crafty lass extraordinaire Perri Lewis. Perri amongst other things is a member of a secret guerilla knitting group and writes crafty articles for The Guardian. She started off by telling us some amusing and informative anecdotes about what she's learnt about crafts over the years from the fact it's expensive, through to her tracking of crafty celebrities. Perri's book Material World is out this Autumn and with material in mind, she brought along some fabric so members could have a go at making some fabric jewellery.

Want one? Make one!

Perri's sample beaded bib necklace was exquisite and reminded me of the type of accessory tribal warriors would wear, only with more bling. Clearly such finery takes hours to perfect so as a simpler introduction she showed us how to make a felt cuff by layering two rectangles of felt together and stitching ribbon at either end so it could be tied up and worn around your wrist.

Sequin sourcing

Each table was given a mound of sequins, felt and ribbon.

Cutting edges

 No one on my table wanted to cut the felt up so I was nominated for the task, though I'm not convinced I cut out pieces that were particularly straight!

Spongey bliss

Of course it wouldn't be a WI meeting without the obligatory tea and cake. There was a tower of choices, I opted for this one, which was pretty good but I thought it would be more suitable for elevensees, rather than an after dinner dessert.

The perfect purse

This lady owned the most spectacular purse made of measuring tapes...

Bling!!

and produced the most blingtastic creation...totally my style, I would buy and wear this!

Yeah! I made it myself!

This girl who was sitting opposite me, was so chuffed with her creation...reactions like her giant smile are definately one of the reasons I am such a craft advocate: her grin is proof that craft does make a person happy.

Star attraction

Another fab design...

Happy homework

And here are some of the efforts from the lovely ladies who were sitting on my table.

Wonder Woman

My She-Ra inspired cuff, which I managed to complete despite spending over half the night chatting away. It goes to show, craft does not need to take a long time, put in as much or as little in as you like.

Amelia's amazing bee top

Finally I couldn't stop by and not speak with this lovely girl who was sporting the most incredible sweater...it looks good in the photo but in real life, the bees were even more beautiful. Unbelievably she purchased it from Monsoon AND it came with a free packet of seeds so that you can plant them to attract more bees. Now if that's not ethical shopping, I don't know what is...infact it's a good excuse to go out and buy this very jumper!

Nights like this make me feel really lucky - to have the chance to go out, not have to spend much money, but come back brimming with ideas and stories from new people, in an environment that's so much more welcoming than a bar blaring with loud music. If you've ever had any desires no matter how small to find out what a WI meeting is like then all I can say is go to one! You don't need to be a member. Most, if not all, will let you in as a guest and you certainly don't need to be crafty minded. I met so many women who said they can't craft and yet there they were, having a go. Inspirational! 

I look forward to returning again soon : )

The Borough Belles meet monthly on a Wednesday night at the Welsh Borough Chapel, 90 Southwark Bridge Road, SE1 0EX, a short walk from London Bridge & Southwark tube stations. If you're not a member you can still attend meetings for just £3. Or visit the WI website to find your local branch. 

Thank you to everyone who starred in my photos, sorry they are all a bit yellow looking!

Mad Hatter's Tea

Tea for two

4pm is my favourite time of the day. Without fail I drop what I'm doing, make myself a cup of tea and take a few minutes out. The break normally involves something sweet and yummy too, often a biscuit (ok make that two biscuits), cake, flapjack, shortbread, chocolate...hmmm anything I can get my mitts on! It's not a habit I started because it's now trendy. The last few years has seen a huge resurgence in taking afternoon tea but I'm proud that I grew up with it. I've always been a four meals a day kind of girl, breakfast, lunch, teatime and dinner (and I admit, there's normally a treat at elevensees too...so maybe that's five meals a day?)  After school my dad would always have something ready from Greggs for my sisters and I; an iced ring doughnut, apple turnover and sometimes a coconut cheesecake. These days the teatime ritual isn't as fun, I normally enjoy it on my own unless it's the weekend. And one such weekend passed a couple of weeks ago. Whilst researching places to take tea in London I heard about The Mad Hatter's Tea at the Sanderson Hotel. Promising a tea time experience like none you've witnessed before, the entire menu is inspired by Alice in Wonderland ...it sounded like the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon with my best friend as she celebrated her 30th birthday. We've known eachother since we were 16 and everything about the concept of this tea summed us up then and now; we both love daydreaming and fantasies and are suckers for fairytales.

Rainbow sarnies

So what was in this extraordinary tea? After the tea was ordered (I chose Freshmint and she opted for English Breakfast) which was served in gorgeous iron teapots, the type you often get in spas, we were presented with rainbow finger sandwiches made from yellow saffron and green spinach bread. There's not much you can say about a sandwich and infact one finger was too soggy to eat, it just makes you feel like you've at least had something savoury to balance out the forthcoming sugar rush.

Looks yummy....

And of course we had  to start with this Queen of Hearts 'Heart'. Obviously in that appealing shade of pink it looked fabulous but when things look this pretty they don't always live up to expectation. Thankfully it exceeded every single fantasy....

Tastes like the best thing ever!

We both agreed it was one of the tastiest 'dessert' items we've ever eaten and it didn't even contain a sprinkling of chocolate. Inside was a smooth, creamy, fluffy, melt in the mouth strawberry mouse on a light sponge base. It was divine and memorable and without a doubt the best afternoon tea item I've ever eaten!

Excitement mounts....

And in true Alice style there was a concoction on the table baring a label with 'Drink Me' on it. Promising to taste like Apple Pie, Lemon Curd and English Toffee, you're supposed to experience each flavour as you sip through the straw. Nice concept but in truth it looked and tasted like Pepto Bismol but don't let that put you off...

Where's the rabbit, we have his watch!

The chocolate and coffee sponge watch was missing its chain but luckily it didn't need one. Like a gateaux it was rich, sweet and felt a bit naughty.

Lollies to lick

To let you reminisce about childhood memories there are also yummy lollies - the hazelnut praline pop which you have to put in your mouth in one go - do not attempt to bite it, and a blueberry lollipop.

 One thing I'm abit confused about is that when I booked last month the price of the tea was £25 which I thought was an absolute bargain for such an amazing spread but when I checked today it had risen to £35....a very steep rise. Luckily I found this special offer so you can experience a Mad Hatter's Tea for £26.25 if you go before September 30th though sadly it is only valid Monday-Thursday.
So it's actually very much a luxury treat, best reserved for very especial occasions. Infact there's no reason why you can't make a whole daytrip out of your visit. Staying at the hotel is impossible unless you're a lottery winner (rooms start at over £500 for the night with the penthouse costing a staggering £3k per night.) But alas you can still live the highlife inside this incredible boutique hotel for free by enjoying its stunning reception area. On entering you are greeted by a Dali inspired lips sofa...it is my ultimate dream to own this sofa, it is pure design magnificence.

One day I will own this sofa...

But it is not the only piece of beautiful furniture...The Sanderson is chair heaven.

...and this chair!

This swing chair had a soft fluffy cushion as a seat and venturing inside it was like a mini adventure in itself.

Sci-fi seat

This chair was the most unique, it's a kind of capsule which you can lie back in and be closed up. It was solid and hard but even so, surprisingly comfortable.

Top model

I'm not going to share all the chairs (some should be kept a secret that you'll only discover if you visit the hotel) but this one above was inside a kind of games room. I love this photo. Rukia is sooooooo photogenic she looks amazing in all her photos but this one is just pure class.

What a wall!

Every aspect of the hotel is mind boggling...mainly because from the outside it's the most non-descript looking concreate block, but as soon as you step inside you're transformed to another world. From the loos to the bar chairs to the space themed lifts that make you go 'wow', it's such an exciting place to visit. Pop in next time if you are ever near Oxford Street, it's just a short walk and is worth every footstep getting there.

Mad Hatter's tea is now also available as a takeaway picnic (£30) from The Sanderson and it's sister hotel St Martin's Lane and comes with maps and bicycle hire so you can discover your own wonderland in Londinium.

Winter Wonderland Cake

Cake is a very important part of my life, not a single week goes by without me eating cake and on days I'm not eating it, I'm thinking about it.



 I've been pondering how to describe my wedding in my blog and have finally decided that rather than going into all the details of the year long planning process, just to feature some of the highlights; starting with the cake!

Is it 4'o'clock yet?

Choosing my wedding cake was therefore a very special thing. I'm going to refer to it as 'my wedding cake' because I don't think Matt would have noticed if there had been a wedding cake or not. Some men just do not appreciate cake, it's wasted on them and as such, he didn't get involved in it. And so back to my cake......rather than looking at recipes I googled cake images, that's when you really discover the possibilities (as well as watching various cake reality shows that crop up on my cable channels...and there's at least three set in US bakehouses where they create huge themed masterpieces like zombie graveyards and a stage of male strippers modelled from sugarpaste...just one of the many episodes I witnessed!)
My sister Jolekha, the domestic goddess of the family who bakes all our cakes said early on I should buy one, making one wasn't worth the risk. 

Move over Nigella, my sister means business!

I disagreed, the last thing I wanted was a tier of three sponges from Waitrose, and quite frankly I couldn't stomach the idea of wasting so much money on something that's on show just for a few photos and hardly gets eaten by going to a wedding cake maker.
Talking to a couple of cake loving friends (one who likes pimping sponge mixes and one who's more of a visual decorator) I fell in love with the concept of having a snowscene cake that looked like a winter wonderland. Neither of us had any idea how it would work or look but once the vision was in my head that was that!
The starting point was a trip to Party Party, an amazing store in Hackney, East London. the downstairs floor is made up of party essentials and fancy dress costumes while upstairs it's a baker's paradise with tins, trays, boards and cake cakes in every shape and size imaginable, edible glitter, sprinkles, toppers, flowers, paints, pens...basically everything you need to make and decorate an amazing cake. I even picked up evergreen trees and plastic holly springs.
These were transported back to Janine's house where we spent a Sunday afternoon experimenting. The sponge was chosen by Laura - Angel Food cake, an amazing, light fat free cake you can only buy in the US! (Luckily she was jetting off there a few weeks before the Big Day where she filled her suitcase with packet mixes and huge edible confetti which when placed inside, gives it a speckled rainbow effect. For our testing day she managed to buy a pack online from an American food store.)
We tested different types of icing for coverage (it needed to be thick and white, but not royal icing.) Sponges were baked in different sizes and cut up to create a bumpy mountain setting.

I also purchased a set of snowflake shaped icing cutters and we tested making snowflakes from blue icing, which were detailed with irridescent glitter and edible marker pens. We over did it a bit with the blue sprinkles:

Overall, it kind of worked, but with so much else for me to get organising I left in in their hands.
On the morning of the wedding as I was getting glammed up, Janine and Laura set to work on creating my dream cake:

Janine applying frosty icing

Laura and Janine sprinkling the bling

Toned down snowflakes!

Positioning the couple

I didn't see the final design until I walked up the aisle where it was waiting to be cut, after the ceremony. It looked absolutely amazing! 

Every single aspect was special from the 'alternative' couple at the top, made from Christmas decorations to all the wonderful animals. 

Coming it at under £100 ingredients and decorations included(for over 150 guests) it was also great value. 
I recommend you consider attempting a homemade wedding cake, it feels really good knowing it's a one off, never ever to be created again! Also you feel the love of the making of it so much more than asking a stranger to do it. You don't need to be good at cake making....the sponges here were made from packet mixes, where you just add water and the decorating, like most crafting has NO RULES! Simply go with the flow. No guest will turn their nose up at your cake because it's homemade and if they did, then they shouldn't be invited...it's your day so make sure you get the cake you want!...........and yes it tasted very good (though a little sweet) too!

All in one shop!

Yesterday whilst on the way to  friend's afternoon tea party in Bethnal Green, East London, I saw a hand drawn sign that said 'vintage clothes', I followed it down an alleyway to discover a secret retreat which is a bit like someone's house converted into a special 'all in one' shop.
It's part art gallery (current exhibition consists of hanging fabric dolls - pictured), part vintage boutique and upstairs there's a retro 50s coffee shop with sofas and magazines for chillaxing. But that's not all!! There's also a hairdressers offering styling and cuts from £5-£15 - bargain.
A brilliant place to hang out, esp a Sunday afternoon. Exhibitions change regularly - updated on their website.


Well worth a visit, a proper 'hidden gem'! 
www.10gales.co.uk
Address: Arch 10, Gales Gardens, E2 OEJ. 

Hmmmm, teatime!

When my friend Johnathan invited me around for 'Sunday Lunch on a Saturday' I was determined to keep up with his culinary expertise and produce something equally as stunning for dessert. It gave me a chance to finally try out the recipe in the Hummingbird Cookbook that has been taunting me for a year. The Raspberry Cheesecake Brownie looks amazing in the pictures but the trouble is I hate recipes. I just can't follow them. But I tried my absolute best and something amazing was created - although true to form, I didn't stick to the recipe, there were a few strays....

What you need:

200g melted plain chocolate (1 whole bar)

200g melted unsalted butter

500g icing sugar (1 whole box!)

5 eggs

110g plain flour

400g cream cheese (2 pots)

teaspoon of vanilla extract

300ml whipping cream (2 pots)

2 punnets of raspberries

Start by mixing and whisking up 1/2 box of sugar and the butter until it's lovely and smooth. I found melting the butter in advance which the book didn't suggest a much easier option.

Next beat in 3 eggs, add one at a time. This was my first mishap, I added all 5 eggs at once : (

Then melt the chocolate by breaking into pieces and placing in a heatproof container over a pan of boiling water. Add it to the mixture and stir well. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and then pour the mixture on top.

Next make the cheesecake layer. Beat the cheesecake mixture with 2 eggs (this meant my dessert ended up with 7 eggs in total!!) Mix in 150g sugar, again I didn't notice this and added the remaining 1/2 box by mistake.......

Pour it ontop of the brownie and bake at 150 degrees or gas mark 3 for 40 minutes until set.

Allow to cool and then put in fridge overnight.

In the morning whisk 1 punnet of raspberries into the cream until it's lovely and thick. The recipe suggested adding 100g of sugar here but as i'd already added it to the cheese I left it out, the sharpness of the raspberries went well with the sweeter base. Then place it in fridge until it's needed and top with raspberries to decorate. It produced over 20 slices!

The verdict???????? Well only one person asked for a second slice but then again we also had a lovely lemon drizzle cake and the main was so good there wasn't much space for pud. But I was proud...if you look closely below you can see the coloured layers.

This morning I had some leftovers, they were quite stodgy but still very tasty and I feel less mystified about the whole following a recipe malarky.

On another notes I LOVED the Blacksmiths episode of Mastercrafts, it was my favourite to date, the gates they produced were really impressive, they were all worthy winners : )

Sundays were made for afternoon tea

For my birthday last year my sister promised to treat me to an afternoon tea in a posh hotel, so today we donned on our glad rags and headed to the Athenaeum in Mayfair. It was a tough choice but I settled for 'Bingo Blueberry' as my tea of choice for the afternoon.

Of course the highlight of the experience was the cake trolley!

Knowing where to start was the problem......

Rather interestingly, it was a very crafty hotel, intricate papercrafts were on display throughout including this paper dress once worn by Kate Moss

I guess this is what happens to the broken teacups, they end up in mosaics

There was a fabulous array of mirrors on display too, I wanted to take this one home

My sister preferred the mirror edges with London buses

But in the end she also had her eye on my favourite one

We started with a selection of finger sandwiches, followed by scones with homemade preserves, moved onto the cakes and finished with crumpets and teacakes. Highly recommended, though next time I will be putting on my own tea party. Anyone fancy coming to mine?