Monday 20 August 2012

Alice's Temporary Wonderland


Being a slightly mad bunch of friends, we decided that an Alice in Wonderland themed birthday party for our friend Alice was a definite must. It was also decided that this was to be a surprise, but that didn’t work out quite so well…

Planning this fabulous event was definitely a lot of fun. I had given myself permission to drift off into the land of make believe and dream of whimsical, and often impossible, ideas! I set aside a notebook and began planning menus, decorations, outfits – everything that goes hand in hand with a party. I soon had a rough idea of how the day was to commence, and just a week before I set about creating the decorations.

First there were paper chains. Hand cut from the pages of an old Alice in Wonderland book they were glued together and stored carefully away. Then there were placemats. Full pages from the same Alice in Wonderland book featuring lovely colour illustrations (these also later hung from the backs of chairs). Then there was card bunting. A length of string, a pack of cards, scissors and a hole punch was all that was needed to create this. Then I set about to make some tiny ‘eat me’ cards designed to be stuck into the delightful delicacies.  And then it was the long process of cutting out hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs – all also to be stuck into cakes.

And then the day of the party arrived, and it was into the kitchen for me. Slaving away, with a little bit of help, I created mini quiche, sandwiches, cupcakes, mini cupcakes, jam tarts, a birthday tart and scones – all before 5 o clock! Luckily the guests were late so there was ample time to get changed into a fabulous dress, heels and hat, and carefully transfer everything outside! No accidents occurred and the table looked wonderful! Cocktails were served to everyone upon arrival. Poured from teapots into quaint, mismatched teacups and garnished with a slice of lemon and umbrella, they were picture perfect!

 





...Miss Jones...

Wednesday 1 August 2012

A Little Slice of London

I apologise for the shockingly long break from blogging; I have started and abandoned many sewing projects before finally settling down to finish this one!


Instead of the delightfully rustic embroidery fabric I usually use, I decided to choose a slightly more stark white, so that the black thread stands out more against the distressed turquoise frame. I was slightly worried that the scale of London Bridge and The London Eye would not be right - which it probably isn't - but I love it anyway! Definately not perfect by any means but delightfully handmade and quintessentially British!


Perhaps I will next undertake a New York or Paris skyline - wish me luck!





...Miss Jones...