The Do-ya-think-he-saurus....

Cake!

Now, i am no professional cake decorator - but i spend an awful lot of time around cake for work and for eating!!

So for my fabulous friends special birthday i created this little creature and fully enjoyed myself!

I used the excellent Culpitt Cake Decorating Sugar Paste - for a beginner like me it was fantastic to use and so easy to roll and model with......

 Easy to shape thanks to a number of episodes of Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes and their rice krispie treats.....

 The covering was the scariest part - a few crinkles here and there but the paste was amazing to work with and was so easy to fix

 Almost there......

 His crown was made from the paste and some brilliant jewels also from Culpitt - they look great and taste nice too (well i have to try one for the team!)

All finished - Mr Henry the Doyathinkhesaurus.........she loved him!

A Great Yorkshire Show !

Phew what a scorcher!

Last year 6 inches of mud...this year melting stock and a heatwave......not that i am complaining (too much!) It was lovely to see so many people, some lovely new and old customers - but by 'eck it were hot!

Lots of lovely new stall friends this week - a big hello to: 

Wool and Buttons:

 

www.woolandbuttons.co.uk/ 

Beautiful wool, knitting sets and handmade items and they had a visit from the Great British Sewing Bee chap who loved them - exciting!

And the lovely Penny Lindop and her beautiful animal pictures - i wanted all of them!!!!

 www.pennylindop.com/

Parma Violet were opposite with their fabulous animal head wall mounts - again....i wanted all of them plus a pair of foxy slippers 

 

www.parmaviolet.co.uk/

 Mmmmmmm - the fabulous Lottie McPhee's were here too

Oh yes and here am i.......

 My fabulous daddy in the background helping ......

And what next.......the Discover Vintage fair at Ripley Castle near Harrogate on Sunday then a few weeks off to collect and gather for a mad mad mad few months before Christmas!
I am just updating the events page so please have a look to see if our paths will cross!

Coming shortly is a new service i am going to be offering at the larger busy fairs ......watch this space!

BBC Good Food Show Summer...

...a fabulous week!

What a week that was - amazing organisers, venue staff and of course the wonderful customers that visited.....

A lovely feature in the show guide:
 

Some fabulous Celeb shoppers......

 

The beautiful Lisa Faulkner chose some stunning china and cutlery for her next book.

www.lisafaulkner.co.uk

We were lucky to be near some amazing other stallholders....a big mention to Lottie McPhee's and their gorgeous cupcakes, bars and loaf cakes.  www.lottiemcpheescupcakes.com i ate way to many, but worth every delicious calorie!

The lovely Gower Cottage Brownies are amazing and the sent a lovely box to my daddy on Father's Day www.gowercottagebrownies.co.uk ! Next door was the lovely Tim Kinnaird www.macaronsandmore.com - delicious!

Some beautiful sprinkles, decorations cases and accessories from both www.scrumptious.uk.net and www.bakerscreations.com



So, my feet are up - TV is on - cuddles with the pampered pooch and life is good! Cannot wait until the next one......

....next up is the BIG Vintage Fayre at Hedingham Castle followed by the Country Living marquee at the great Yorkshire Show!

xx

Back to the.....

....Future!

I am currently sitting in the lounge at Fiji airport ready to go back in time and back to the UK after an amazing couple of weeks being pampered, being lazy, adventuring underwater, exploring and helping out at the premier of my husbands latest film Bula Quo (a film he produced last year in Fiji hence us being here again this year!)

We set off today, overnight in Korea and land back in the UK tomorrow! Cannot wait for the jet-lag !

Straight back into vintage life though with the lovely Vintage at Farnham Maltings on Sunday, pick up more stock ( and my beautiful pooch ) from my parents who have been brilliant as looked after everything at vintage land for me! Then back to do the fabulous Wealden Times Midsummer Fair.

A quick turnaround and up to Birmingham for the week and the BBC Good Food Show where we will be in the Great British Bake Off village.... First time there so fingers crossed!

Right, the flight has been called so off I go into the past...... I shall be posting later in the week with some ticket offers as freebies!

Bye for now.... Xxx

May the Fouth....

...Be with You!

(well almost....but i love the gag!)

So lots has happened since my last posting....many great events, a new venture and an amazing holiday to look forward to!

First up last weekend was the excellent 'Festival of Vintage' at York Racecourse. A lovely event with some amazing outfits to view, cars to drool over and music to boogie to.

Here is a picture of a gorgeous couple who bought my Picnic Case....

Cannot wait to be back next year.......


With all these amazing events i needed to stock up so off on another adventure with my Dad up to Barnard Castle and a new auction... a little more refined affair than i am used to - but got some lovely new stock....plus had lunch with this chap on our way back......in North Yorkshire!!!

He was a bit grumpy though.....altogether now......He had the hump!!


So onto the weeks ahead.....next saturday i am jetting off to the paradise island that is Fiji - courtesy of my hardworking husband who has to go back to finish off the film he has been working on for the past year! (Bula Quo for any of you Status Quo fans out there - released in the UK in July starring the legendary Quo! www.bulaquo.com)
Thanks Tim!!

Straight back to it on  my return - although i am sad to miss the Village Vintage in Plumpton i shall be back and hopefully wide awake for Vintage at Farnham Maltings. Then straight onto Wealden Times Midsummer Fair and a rush up to Birmingham for the BBC Good Food Show !

Then round off June with  BIG Vintage Fayre at Hedingham Castle!

Check out the events page to see all our new events.....

Phew!

The next great news is that as of Tuesday/Wednesday i shall have a space in the Halstead Antiques Centre

http://www.halsteadantiquescentre.co.uk/

I will have a huge selection of China, homewares, Linens, 50's kitchenalia and gifts on display at my usual great prices!!

That is about it for now.....until next time...TTFN!
 x

Finally finished my 21 day challenge!

Phew..... that was a bit mad! 

This was my itinery for the last 21 days.....

1. Build up for Country Living Show in Islington
2. Teaching a business and entrepreneur workshop for a school in Lewisham and then go and finish setting up the stand at CL
3. Country Living Show opens until 9pm 
   
   
   
   
4. Country Living all day
   
5. Country Living again
   
6. Ooooh more Country Living.....decide not to cook and instead grab a take away complete with a dose of food poisoning.....lovely!
7. Country Living....along with sore belly and head!
8. Break down stand from Country Living
   
9. Travel to York
10. Preparations for a grand 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration for my Aunt and Uncle (ex- Ballroom world Champs!) and our close friends Son's wedding
11. Finish off 14 table centrepieces, venue decor, 22 floral arrangements and more
12. Make 255 cupcakes and decorate two large cakes (thanks for the help Waitrose on those)
    
    
    
    
13. Set up for Golden Wedding Celebrations in Hull. Dance the night away, remove all venue decor and drive back to York ...oh yeah and the clocks went forward!
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
14. At silly o clock in the morning after aprox 3 hours sleep we set off for the beautiful Cotswolds and to a bright sunny Burford we arrived and started setting up the next cupcake tower and sweetie table. Get changed in 5 mins and dance the night away.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
15. Half a day off and enjoyed brunch with friends and then back to London.
16. Wholesalers today for a spot of shopping for some vintage style treats for the stand.
17. Back up to York via Birmingham to drop the Mr at the Gadget Show! Quick cuppa and off to see the lovely Hazel for some of her vintage finds.
18. Set off to Manchester and set up time for Cake and Bake Show 
    
19. The Cake & Bake Show opens at Manchester Central. Watch Mr Hollywood, Mr Whaite, Ms Turner and more....
20.  More Cake and Baking
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
21. And a bit more Cake and Baking then time to pack up and head back to York!

Whoa......a day off yesterday and back to London tonight!

Full update of the events page to follow very soon as lots of new exhibitions, fairs and markets.

Come to....

the Fair!

As usual i am a last minute lady and this time it is deciding to exhibit at this years Spring Fair with Country Living.

I am on stand M5 and anyone coming along and telling me the special password 'SpringFling' will get a 10% discount on any purchase over £20!

But first......this weekend i am back at the fabulous Kitsch and Stitch Fair in Cranbrook, Kent. It is one of my all time favorite events as it is friendly, happy and full of wonderful craftspeople!

 

http://kitschandstitchfair.blogspot.co.uk/

So please come along and visit....i have some complimentary tickets for the Country Living fair so please let me know if you need any!!

See you on the other side of a mad and crazy fortnight!!!

xxx

Come to Manchester...

....this April for:

www.thecakeandbakeshow.co.uk

COME AND SEE US AT THE CAKE & BAKE SHOW MANCHESTER!

After a sell out launch show in London, the UK's first live event dedicated to cakes, breads and the art of baking is heading to Manchester for three days filled with celebrity demos, expert classes, competitions and fun interactive features, plus an exhibition full of delicious artisan produce and all the baking and cake decorating supplies you could wish for!

We will be bringing lots of vintage cake stands, bakeware, china, linens and cutlery. Alongside this there will be some fabulous new vintage inspired bakeware, gifts, display items and more......

If you are interested in anything vintage - please drop me an email with the kinds of thing you are looking for and i will make sure i bring them along if i have them or can source them !

Keep an eye on this site over the coming weeks as i will be offering a fabulous competition and discount voucher!  Or 'like' on Facebook ..... Www.facebook.com/simplyvintagedesignsuk

See you there!

xx

A Change...

...is as good as a rest!

So i have slightly altered my logo and branding - a little fresher and less pink! I thought i liked pink but after 3 years i think i have fallen out of love a teeny bit. So Teal and Duck Egg are still in and the pink is relegated....for now!

This coming few weeks i am looking forward to lots of exciting changes....trying out a couple of new events, returning to some favourite ones and seeing lovely friends i have made in the vintage/craft world over the last 3 years.......and then of course on the 4th March hopefully) greeting my gorgeous new little godson who is popping out painlessly and easily (i hope - it will be a planned c-section birth) of my best friend who has been through a nightmare pregnancy and has coped incredibly like the amazing person and mother she is! So fingers crossed....i shall be sharing the pictures proudly.

This brings me onto my newest challenge of this year in which i have entitled 2013 'a year in photos'. i rarely take pictures, even though i have an iphone - so no excuses of not having a camera, so this year is the year i take pictures of everything......and yes my best friend and husband are fed up of it already. So i shall be boring/interesting/annoying/amusing you for the next 12 months with random pictures.......so sorry!

Have just updated the events page with all of my events so far this year......if there is an event you think i would love to be at please do mention it - always looking to be somewhere new! 

So for now i shall leave with a few random pictures from the last month.....

Ta-ra for now! x

Dads 70th Celebration in January!

His special Dinner....

The fimo cake topper i made based on...

...this picture of him in panto.

Afternoon tea at @mphersand

Just perfect....lovely afternoon with the Cooper ladies

Gorgeous niece and her fabulous Poppa!!

Happy Birthday to meeee!

My gorgeous doggy Barney..on a crisp frosty morning walk

followed by a cheeky snuggle on the bed!