Wedding party

Hello! Long time no type! Actually I've had a whole day typing and I'm nearly typed out. I have been doing a massive email catch up... what happened to all your good email 'staying on top of 'em' intentions I hear you say?! I have to apologise, it's just as well that an essential skill of all brides-to-be is organisation and planning. It's a fact- bride's are 9 times out of 10 excellent at thinking ahead. (and if you're not you soon will be) The brides I meet certainly seem to be on the ball - pretty good at emailing early (first enquiry for 2011 received today) and giving me a ring if I take too long to reply. So don't be shy and give me a bell. (Oh and don't worry if you're a last minute bride, I love you folks best of all and always try to squeeze you in if I possibly can!)

Anyway, part of the reason I have been so slack on the emails lately is due to this busy time of year of course, plus it just so happens that a few of July's cake tops had lots of pets and children joining in on the wedding cake top action!

So here's a couple of July's cake tops where I had to make the base bigger just to fit everybody on....



Do you know my most common request must be for the couple's pets to be included on the cake top? I think it's lovely as often they can't actually be at the wedding themselves, due to doggie breath or being a chicken, so it's more than fair to put them right there at the top of the cake. They're very good at raising a few smiles among the guests I hear. I do hope the bride and groom will take them a bit of wedding cake home...

I have some fun cake tops to make this month as well. I'm looking forward to a Sixties style bride and groom, pool players, lots of pets and some very sparkly dresses. I shall keep you posted!

P.S. I must say Bon Voyage and Good Luck to my lovely friends Nic and Paul, who are off to live in New Zealand forever and ever. They visited me to say 'cheerio', drove me over a mountain for dinner by the sea, and as a parting gift gave me a real and authentic New Zealand recipe for PAVLOVA!!! (Oh how they laughed after reading here I though she played tennis...) The recipe came complete with pictorial inspiration... such an amazing feat of strawberry engineering I had to share it with you!

This is Paul's pavlova and I am challenged to make my own, however I fear my strawberries won't be nearly as neat. Incidentally Nic is responsible for the tagline at the very bottom of the blog, which I and the webmaster thought should be the cake top website motto!!

Here's a pic of Nic and Paul, say hello if you see them in New Zealand and tell them to come straight back, I need a strawberry slicer...

There's nothing like seeing yourself in minature to make your day! - Nic

Now we are seven!

Hello and welcome to Jay our new genuine follower! I had no chocolate cake to celebrate your arrival I'm afraid.... this time it was PAVLOVA!!!

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Pavlova always makes me think of Russian tennis players, don't you? (actually I just looked on Google and I should be thinking of the ballerina, but too late I thought of imaginary tennis players first). So here we are, a sporty cake top! There's even some tennis balls on. This is for a lovely couple who are PE teachers (and are not Russian as far as I know). Oh to be more sporty.... I could eat so much more pavlova if I was super sporty.....or if I was a ballerina....

I must say a big thank you to the webmaster for doing clever mysterious 'stuff', to make this blog look like my Granny's are haunting the internet, giving it a funky vintage overhaul and some nice lace edging! I think they would be so proud! We have had much debate and discussion as to what the caketops website revamp should look like. With a little help from beyond the grave I think we (or rather the webmaster!) have cracked it..... now if only the Granny's were here to give us some fashion tips the makeover would be complete.....

Fashion? Did somebody mention fashion? Time for another tenuous link to a cake top...

This cake top is for a happy couple who both contacted me separately with secret 'props' to be added to their partner's cake top figure. So the bride informed me that her groom should hold his hairdryer in his hand and have some football boots on the base. The groom confided that his bride-to-be should have ruby red lips, hold a MAC lipstick and at her feet she should have some gold shoes as she likes shoes! This was fun, as I quite enjoyed being privy to all the secrets... (I've let the cat out the bag now of course) Oh! and I imagine they are a very fashionable couple!

These are just a few of the cake tops that I've been busy making lately. Oh it's a hectic time of year for me. Give me a ring if I haven't answered your email, I'm afraid I'm behind again. There have been lots of caketops that I've enjoyed making and have made me smile. Hopefully they have made the couples and their guests smile too.

Let's say Congratulations to all the brides and grooms!

P.S. Keeping with the vintage theme, I have for you a photo of Anna Pavlova after which the pudding was named. I think there may be Pavolvas in Caketopland for years to come....

Isn't her dress a lovely meringue?!

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A new (old) look!

Hello everyone! I'm guest blogging for you this week while Helen is away on holiday to Caithness - don't panic though, she will be back making caketops for all your summer weddings soon!

To kick things off, I thought I’d give you a taster of the look of the main caketops website redesign that should hopefully be unveiled in the not too distant future. Helen will get a surprise when she gets home from her holiday and checks her blog – will she recognise it?! The inspiration for the redesign has come from a bit of old fabric that once belonged to Helen’s Granny (that's her in the photo!). I've teamed it up with a lace edging to give a ‘vintage tablecloth and runner’ look.

I’m planning to improve the navigation of the website and expand the photo gallery so that you can see different views the caketops – Helen puts lots of detail into the caketops and I want to add close-up shots and back views so that you can appreciate all the little details from all angles!

Also I’d really like to make the ordering process as easy for both you and Helen as easy as possible. This is something that Helen and I have discussed numerous times and we’re still pondering the best way to accomplish this... If you have any suggestions or ideas about the website or the blog please do let us know – we’d love to hear from you!

Until next time,
Lisa

N.B. Well, I only had a 50/50 chance of being right so, naturally, I got it wrong and posted a photo of Helen's other Granny. To make amends here is a photo of Granny L looking very stylish in a fantastic frock.

Granny L - original possessor of the fabric!

Love to dance!

Hello, welcome and GOOD LUCK to our latest genuine follower Jenny! I say 'good luck' not because she needs it in becoming a follower, but because she is in fact getting married on Saturday!! How do I know this? Well, I could have read it in her blog, but no! In fact I have insider knowledge as I was lucky enough to make Jenny and her soon to be hubby a cake top! Hooray! They love to dance, and so there they are, dancing the night away and with a big shiny trophy too! They even made the front page of 'Dance News'!

Jenny had the great suggestion of having the groom with a rose clenched between his teeth, which I thought a genius idea! Now I would like every single groom I make, for evermore, to have a rose in his mouth.... however I shall resist, be professional, and only do it when asked....

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Let's wish Jenny and James the very best of luck and hope that Saturday is super douper!!

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Jenny is just one of the brides I've been making cake tops for since the last blog. I've had some interesting requests keeping me on my toes! There were lots of dogs, but even more cats, a couple of chickens, two police officers, a couple of rugby balls, one football... whew...

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Also this week I have been slack again with the emails, appologies. However this time it was all down to a computer meltdown which meant I couldn't get on the web. I didn't realise how much I used it until I couldn't get on it! Arrrgghhh!!! However, thanks to my technical support team in the shape of my Uncle RTL, normal service has been resumed. I'm still catching up on the emails tho, so if you are waiting for a reply don't worry I will get there. If it's urgent please do give me a call.

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Good catch!

Oh it's been a busy old week here in caketopland! It must be June. So far, sunny weather for all to enjoy. Oh I remember the days when it was snow all over the country and no one could get to work and, oh! watch out for that snowball... ooops too late.... and now it's sun everywhere. Don't forget the sunscreen, and that nice straw cowboy hat I saw you wearing... and picnics.... and if you happen to have a secret swimming spot, (some folks do, you know) keep it secret, keep it safe!!!
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I wonder if there are fish in it? If there are I know a young fellow from caketopland who'd want to know the secret. Mind you, he's got a fish on the line already, well done that man!

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I must appologise as I have been very bad at keeping on top of the emails just lately. There's just not enough hours in even the longest of June days. I promise to do better. Just in case you have an urgent query you can always give me a bell. Leave a message if I don't get to the phone in time- sometimes I'm gluing, doing the post, having lunch or, well, answering emails.....

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There is a FAQ page on the website which the webmaster edited using her great talents of attention to detail, excellent vocab and translation from the 'Helen', to make the complexities of personalised cake top ordering infinitely easier to understand. That may help. Sometimes it's hard to know where to start eh? It also explains the basics like, how big are they? What are they made of? How do I pay?

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The webmaster is working on the new caketops site, so let us know if you have any feedback on the FAQ page or any other part of the site that we could improve on.

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I do hope you're having a lovely sunny June day today!

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P.S.

Would you believe I can almost call myself a 'runner' ? Thanks to Coach Jenny over at Invergarry Lodge I have earned myself a place in history and a lovely shiny medal for my trouble, running 10K in the glorious time of 66 minutes. If it hadn't been so hot that day it probably would have taken us half the time.... not. Anyway, my first race and in the beautiful surroundings of sunny Skye. Hooray!

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Kirstie's Homemade Home

Have you been watching Kirstie's Homemade Home on Channel 4? Lots of wonderful ideas and crafts and I love a junk shop bargain too!

Even though it was the last episode the other day it was my favourite, as there was Mich Turner from Little Venice Cake Company showing Kirstie how to do a bit of cake decorating. Nicest thing for me was the shot of one of my caketop figures atop one of LVCC's fantastic cake creations! TV stardom at last... well sort of....

Mich and her team at LVCC make the most amazing cakes, they really are superb. Mich first commissioned figures from me way back in 2002 and since then I make a handful of special figure orders for her every year. They're different from my regular caketops as they are completely made from clay, quite a bit bigger, and believe me they can take a very long time to do! The episode featuring Mich was really good as she showed Kirstie how to make some lovely mini cakes with roses on top, and some trademark candystriped ones - steady hands needed maybe, but lots of fun. I think I may have to have a go myself....

If you missed it, you can still watch it on the channel 4 website, and there is lots of info about all the things Kirstie got up to here.

But if its fantastic wedding and celebration cakes you want more of then check out the Little Venice Cake Company and prepare to be amazed!! Mich has written books too which are packed full of fantastic ideas and designs, and great instructions so you can make amazing cakes of your own! Oh and if you are interested in a cake top, don't forget me!!

Lucky horseshoes...

May already! I'm a busy bee with lots of caketops to do. Spring and Summer are definitely the busiest times for weddings, so get in touch quick if you still haven't ordered your cake top.

Oh, but don't you worry, it's not like it's a race or anything...

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Sporty cake tops happen to have been popular just lately, but this one was my first on a horse racing theme. Unfortunately, I didn't pick up any racing tips for you, although I'd suggest this fellow would be well advised to not be holding a copy of the 'Racing Post' when walking down the aisle...

Actually the look of the cake top is to be a surprise for him, he doesn't know anything about it. With a bride that thinks of everything, I bet it's a dead cert that their wedding day will be a sure fire winner!