An Engagement Anniversary

Exactly 1 year ago today after a hard days snowboarding Corey and I got engaged! I can't believe it has been a year already since we became engaged. We have been planning our wedding for exactly a year. It scares me a little because it means this last 4 months before the wedding is going to super duper fast.

To celebrate the occasion I decided to bake cupcakes. Cupcakes are my go to for any celebration! I used this tutorial from Little Betsy Baker as my inspiration.

After using fondant on dad's burger cake I was really keen to try using it again. This time I made a trip to the local cake decorating shop and bought myself some gel paste colours. They were so much easier to work with than the liquid colouring I used last time.

I used a vanilla cupcake recipe from my Planet Cake book and I must say I love this recipe. I am not sure what they taste like yet because I am waiting for Corey to get home from work before I eat one but they are the most perfect looking cupcakes I have ever made.

I covered the cupcakes in buttercream which I set let set in the fridge before hot knifing smooth. Then I covered them in fondant. For all you cake decorators out there do you use buttercream under your fondant or ganache? I have heard you can use both but is one better than the other. What do you prefer?

I am so happy with how these cupcakes turned out. They are not perfect by any means but they are a good start. I am excited to keep trying and keep learning and hopefully one day my cupcakes will look as good as the Planet Cake ones.

A Post of Many Firsts

Today I finally finished a sewing project that crossed off a couple of firsts for me. My first vintage sewing pattern and my first pair of shorts. Making a pair of shorts was one of my goals for my 101 in 1001 and I am so happy I can cross it off my list. To start sewing with vintage patterns was one of my new years resolutions for this year. It has only taken me half the year to get started on that goal. Woops! I have another 2 in my stash I want to make as well before the year is out.

Sewing shorts was not as difficult as I expected it to be. These are not the most perfect pair of shorts in the world but they fit without any alterations which I was surprised about.

I used New Look 6252 which I bought from the op shop for $2. The material was purchased at Spotlight about a year ago and I can't for the life of me remember what sort of fabric it is. I know it is something the usually use to make school shorts. It is extremely soft which makes them super comfortable.

I am really happy with how these shorts turned out. They made me realise that no matter how scary I think a sewing project is if I just jump in and give it a go I can make anything.

I was going to make a scalloped hem on the shorts but I had a bit of difficulty with it and decided to leave it for another garment. Because I was imagining them with scalloped hems once I finished them they looked a little boring. I added in the black bow for the photos but I am thinking of possibly adding some black trim to the hems and pockets but I am not sure yet.

Although a nice pair of basic shorts would work quite well in my wardrobe so maybe I will just leave them plain. We'll see!

Ice-cream Cone Cupcakes

Today was our nephew Isaac's 2nd birthday party and I decided to make some cupcakes to take along. I had been wanting to make ice-cream cone cupcakes for so long and this was the perfect excuse.

I used these ice-cream cones from Woolworths and the baking trays I got from Coles but apparently you can get them at Dimmey's really cheap if you happen to have a Dimmey's nearby. The baking trays are to help the cones stand up while you are baking them and they also work well for displaying the cupcakes.

I found a circular object that was slightly larger than the cones and traced it onto the bottom of the trays. I then used Corey's stanley knife to cut out the holes to stand the cones in. I then placed the baking tray on top of a normal biscuit tray to put in the oven.

When you are filling your cupcake cones make sure you don't fill them too much. I kind of experimented on the first tray of cupcakes to see how much I needed to fill them and then the second tray came out perfect. My first tray came out like this....

No worries though! Corey was more than happy to pick off and eat the spilled over bits of cake. After I had baked the cakes I covered the trays in wrapping paper to make them a bit more presentable for the party. I think they looked quite cute!

My only suggestion if you are going to make these would be to make them for a party at home. They are a royal pain in the butt to transport as they are so tall. I had mine in a container with glad wrap and chopsticks holding up the gladwrap. Next time I make them I think I will make them when I don't have to transport them.

Oh and excuse the crappy photos. I had to return the Nikon D7000 I was borrowing from my friend so I am back to a point and shoot until I get around to buying a new camera.

Summer Wedding Dress

Thank you to everyone who made pattern suggestions for me yesterday. The general consensus was Vogue 1094 which I think will be perfect!

The bodice is pretty much perfect. The only change I think I would like to make is to make the waist sit a little higher. Drop waists do not work well on me. Also I think I will change the skirt from a gathered skirt to a more a-line skirt to match the original dress. You can see in the photo below that the coral dress has two pleats on either side where the back only has one pleat either side. I am not sure whether to try and find a pattern for a skirt like this or to just draft one myself.

Decisions, decisions!!! Now all I need to do is figure out what colour I want to make it in. I am thinking a nice royal blue or even a kelly green. I do love this version of the dress which I found yesterday...

It is by Vintage Laura who by the looks of things does not have a blog but you can check out all her sewing creations in her flickr photostream.

Pattern Help!

Okay guys I need a little bit of help to find a pattern to make a dress. I found this stunning dress last night which I want to wear to my aunty's wedding in December. Unfortunately the only Australian store that has it in coral has sold out. I found another store that has it but only in black which is a wedding no-no. So I was hoping that maybe I could make something similar.

My question is does anyone know of a pattern that I could use to make a top like that? Or would I have to draft my own which I have never done before so I am a little scared of. If anyone has any suggestions at all they would be greatly appreciated.

Engagement Photos

About 3 weeks ago Corey and I had our engagement photos taken in Currumbin on the beach. Currumbin is such a gorgeous area and we got some amazing photos. We were really lucky to get a day of sunshine as it had been raining all week prior. Our photographer was Michelle from Michelle Stewart Photography who will also be doing our wedding photography. I have gone through and picked my favourites to share with but be warned there are a lot. I hope you like them as much as I do!!!

We are going to use our engagement photos to make a photo guest book for our wedding. I am going to wait till I have the disc with the higher resolution photos and then I am going to design and order one from Big W. There are also a few photos I would love to get made into canvases but we'll have to wait till we have a house with more wall space for that.