British Cream Tea : Delicious British Felt Food Sculpture

Strawberries, Cream and Teething

I am taking a break today. Toby is teething and not well at all so all my attention is otherwise engaged.

But I checked my shop and stats earlier and discovered I was in 5 Etsy treasuries at one time including the strawberry one above (in fact my strawberries and cream sculpture set are in 3 of them...popular berries at the moment!)

I think that is a record for me ;)
  British Cream Tea: Delicious British Felt Food Sculpture

I do like to be beside the seaside!!

 

After the excitement of the last couple of days I am taking life a little slower today...cuddling with Toby, playing endless games with a new 3 piece jigsaw and watching "The Shapes" on "Mister Maker" over and over again to see the look of joy creep over a little boy's face as he checks to see if Mama is laughing too ;)

And tonight I am starting to put together my first felt sculpture pattern for my little shops...not food related but something very British that I am sewing for Toby, though it is turning out almost too beautiful to be played with!

Patterns are a completely new area for me so I am guessing it will all take a while to come together...but I will let you all know when I am almost there with a sneaky peak...

Oh and the treasury above is one of the ones currently with my work in them and I love it!! So seasidey (I am currently a little addicted to the British seaside...)
  British Cream Tea: Delicious British Felt Food Sculpture

Red Pillar Post Box

 

The traditional, iconic British Red Pillar Post Box.

The UK boasts approximately 115,000 letter boxes dotted around villages, towns and cities and the British favourite is now recognised and protected as national treasures by English Heritage.

In Britain the first pillar post boxes were erected in Jersey in 1852. Originally painted green, the now famous red was introduced for better visibility in 1874. In 1879 came the cylindrical design of pillar box, which apart from a few recent experiments has changed very little since. During the Second World War the tops of some boxes were painted with gas detection paint, while their plinths were painted white to aid movement on unlit wartime streets.



This post box's next delivery is Monday (as shown on the little square plate above the slot) and it is from  Elizabeth II's reign. I like to think it is full of letters and postcards ;)

 

This is my first in a new range of British Icon Sculpture and so far I am loving it!!

British Cream Tea: Delicious British Felt Food Sculpture 

Selvedge Feature!

A fellow Etsian messaged me yesterday to congratulate me on British Cream Tea being in Selvedge...so I had to investigate...

Selvedge is an influential textile photography and design magazine...and my strawberries and cream sculpture set is in their July Newsletter!



"Felt food has become quite a craze among crafters but British Cream Tea
 make some of the most delectable. Their strawberries and cream
 creation, for example, has all the charm of an afternoon at Wimbledon.
 We've been gazing longingly at their ice lollies and ice cream cones...
 cool treats for grown ups and children alike."

This is unbelievably exciting!! I think I may have fallen off my chair!

Thanks Barbara xxx
British Cream Tea: Delicious British Felt Food Sculpture

WOW! What a day!!

 

Yesterday morning I awoke to discover that my set of sugar flower fairy cakes had been on the front page of etsy in a tea themed collection overnight and mentioned on twitter by Etsy itself as "some of the sweetest felt cupcakes yet" and described as "too dear".

My hearts went through the roof and yesterday alone I had over 2,500 visits to my little Etsy shop ;)

So exciting!!



Later on, when I checked my hearts and saw another huge leap in numbers I checked to see that my set of french fancies were on the front page in an admin chosen collection...



So all in all and exciting if slightly overwhelming day!
  British Cream Tea: Delicious British Felt Food Sculpture

Sunflowers

 

A few months ago my friend Jackie gave Toby two tiny sunflower seedlings that her two year old son had grown from seeds. We watered, nurtured and watched the two tiny green shoots as they grew daily until they eventually took over the kitchen windowsill and had to be moved to Billy's parent's back garden.

Where they continued to grow.

Now they are almost 7 feet tall with two enormous yellow flowers the size of dinner plates on stems as thick as my thumb.

And I am proud. Proud that my little boy's first seedlings have thrived, prospered and bloomed into such a magical display. Proud that they overshadow all of the sunflowers my sister and I used to grow under my Mother's expert eyes for the annual Blue Peter tallest sunflower challenge. Proud that today my son had his photo taken, completely dwarfed by two massive beautiful plants that we grew together.

And I am proud I didn't kill them...that the girl who was once told by her exasperated green finger mother that she was gardenally challenged managed to grow two fabulous flowers!!
  British Cream Tea: Delicious British Felt Food Sculpture

Strawberry and Cream Chocolate Fairy Cake

  

The smaller, British version of the American cupcake complete with strawberry and cream and perfect for summer parties and Wimbledon! The newest felt food sculpture to be listed in my little shops.

This is the second fairy cake sculpture in my collection of more decadent adult British Cream Tea fairy cakes.

I love chocolate fairy cakes, strawberries and cream...so these, for me, are perfect ;)

125g self raising flour

25g cocoa

125g golden caster sugar

125g butter

2 large eggs

3 tbsps of milk

2 tbsps fraise liquor

2 tsps unflavoured gelatin

4 tsps cold water

500ml cold whipping cream

60g icing sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

12 strawberries with stalks

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C degrees and line a fairy cake tin with 12 liners.

2. Cream the caster sugar and butter until pale and fluffy, then beat in the eggs and liquor.

3. Stir in the milk and sieve over the flour and cocoa and stir until combined.

4. Divide amoungst the liners and bake in the centre of the oven for 10-12 minutes. Transfer the fairy cakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. Combine gelatin and cold water in a small saucepan and leave until thickened. Place over a  low heat and stir until the gelatin his dissolved. Remove from the heat and cold slightly.

6. Whip cream, sugar and vanilla until slightly thickened. Then, whilst whipping, add the gelatin/ water mixture slowly. Whip until almost stiffened.

7. Spoon the cream over the fairy cakes, smoothing with a warm palate knife. Then top each with a strawberry and spoon a little more cream over the top so it falls down the sides of the berry.

British Cream Tea: Delicious British Felt Food Sculpture

 

Window Exhibit next week!!

 

This week I have been sewing furiously to get a late notice collection made up for a window display in the Designer Forum in Nottingham entitled "Twisted Teashop"...I sewed for almost 48 hours straight but I finished the last piece of the 39 sculpture collection at 1pm today and it is now in the post.

yay!!

They are sending photographs when it opens on Monday...

The three seaside pieces on the left are part of a set of boules I am designing and making for Toby in my spare time that I may sell the pattern for...we'll see ;)
  British Cream Tea: Delicious British Felt Food Sculpture