Classic sponge cake with Eton Mess filling

For the second instalment of my Summer Table I had to share the amazing (and delicious) Eton Mess sponge cake recipe I used for my celebration and mini flower topped sponge cakes. I wanted a classic home baked cake to be at the centre of the styling, reminiscent of summer fetes and country cottages to sit prettily amongst the gorgeous tableware. When looking for recipes you can never beat Mary Berry, for all of these I followed Mary Berry's All in One Sponge. Using measures for the large cake (4 egg) cake for the big one and measures for small (2 egg) cake for the mini sponges. I had a bit of a baking fail - I had intended this to be a three layer event but opened the oven too early and my third sponge sank! Not to be deterred I turned it into the most delicious mini cakes which worked better than I could have possibly imagined and looked lush sat upon their individual plates. I've shared the filling and how I created the mini cakes below, I really hope you give these a go whilst strawberries are still in season. Bon Appetit  Friends!

The sponge was Queen Mary's, but the filling was all me! Using meringues I bought in France (you can find pre-made in deli's or supermarkets here in the UK - I double checked this morning), double cream (I used two small cartons for all the cakes and had plenty spare) and two punnets of the juiciest strawberries I could find. I whipped the cream so that it was lovely and thick, sliced the strawberries so they were roughly quartered and crushed the meringue, folding everything together in a large bowl. 

To fill, I spread an over generous layer on the bottom cake and then added halved strawberries around the edge (I kept the best looking ones to one side for this purpose) and then popped the second cake on top. To finish I added a dollop of the cream mixture to the top along with a few more pieces of crushed meringue and the juiciest strawberry I could find. A dusting of icing sugar was all it needed to be photo ready. 

To serve I used a simple glass cake stand with a truly scrumptious large serving plate, layered up with napkins and doilies - do this before assembling the cake.

For the mini cakes - bake one 2 egg sponge (see above link) in a 20cm round cake tin and leave to cool completely (I left mine over night). Using a circular cake cutter cut out small cakes and slice them in half through the centre. Fill generously with the cream, dust using a sieve with icing sugar and then top with a fresh flower (make sure its not poisonous). To complete, place each individual cake on a vintage paper plate. 

Thanks to Talking Tables for gifting the partyware used in the post -  concept, styling, DIY's and photography all me.

Party Under the Pear Tree a summer table with Talking Tables

I'm absolutely delighted to bring you this summer table today, filled with gorgeous girly prettiness and some rather delicious baking. When Talking Tables got in touch to ask if I would style some products from their Truly Scrumptious I jumped at the chance, I have really fond memories of my mum buying plates years ago and only using them for special birthdays (we were so careful, we got SO many used out of them). 

Apart from the tableware which has such a romantic nostalgic feel, I was inspired my a picnic Stanley, Milly & I had outside  on the grass one evening - too tired to cook, we had fish and chips followed by a punnet of strawberries. It's such a fond memory, I knew I had to include strawberries in the styling. When it comes to styling for children I don't really change things too much from if I was to style for adults - I love disheveled layering which works across all ages and makes a table feel fun and inviting. My babes loved this set up, saying "wow" as they came round the corner and promptly helping themselves to fruit, cakes and meringues as soon as I'd finished shooting.   

My aim is to always make the everyday beautiful so I styled this in a way that could be recreated inside or outside, garden or park - summer makes everything feel lighter and more relaxed and I wanted that to be reflected in the set up. Working from the ground up I kept everything loose - layering vintage fabrics and furniture with garden roses to compliment the beautiful partyware. The range is a pattern lovers dream so I went a bit 'extra' layering as many plates, doilies and napkins as I could, keeping to my favourite palette of yellows and pinks with a dash of turquoise. Layering, especially patterns is a really inexpensive way to add interest to a table, if celebrating inside you can mix these plates in with plain coloured ceramic plates but as its summer the plates and cups really lend themselves to outside celebrations being so pretty and light.

Handmade elements are really important as they really make a party feel unique. I made ribbon and string bunting plus went large with a simple sponge cake.  I have written this table set up as a series of posts so I can't wait to share the details that I created for this shoot over the next few weeks.  Having a backdrop to a table really pulls the whole set up together, even if DIYing isn't your thing a few metres of pre- made bunting will really set your table to perfection. You can use it to zone an outside space like I've done here (make use of any trees close by) or have it as a backdrop to an inside table, if you're inside hang the bunting lower than you think for maximum impact. 

Enough chatting - I'll leave you to enjoy the images but don't forget to come back soon for more delicious details. Links to the items are at the end of the post. Happy Summer! x 

Vintage Paper Cup Set 
Truly Scrumptious Doily 
Truly Scrumptious Large Paper Plate 
Scalloped edge napkin
Truly Scrumptious Vintage Paper Plates
Truly Scrumptious Table Cover

Thanks to Talking Tables for gifting the items above for the post - concept, styling, DIY's and photography all me.

Four Simple Summer DIY's for June

Squeezing in a quick DIY round up before June passes me by completely. I've dug deep into the archive this month to find some real crackers for you. I've got a real urge to pick up my jewellery making tools this month, I'm so looking forward to finding some time to make this years summer statement earrings. If jewellery making isn't for you then there are plenty of others to inspire you...Happy Making! x

Summer Statement Earrings - Time to dust these pretties off and get wearing.

One Seam Skirt - Totally forgot about this one but so glad we're reunited.

Salvaged Wood Shelf - Everyday this shelf filled with treasures brings so much joy, currently filled with garden blooms its the first thing I look at (well second, Instagram is first!!!). 

Real Flower Crown - It's not summer without a few flowers on your head, I really want to make a mini one for Milly.

DIY - Paper streamer party back drop

One last post from my Spring Celebration Table series...Unless you have an actual Instagram location home, I’m imagining that there are a few ugly spots around your house you’d prefer not show online (hi there ugly speaker and random heating control). When setting up my Alice and Rosa shoot I was faced with a radiator just in shot, I couldn’t move it or the table so decided to blur it. I made this very simple wall hanging using paper streamers the same colour as the wall, a few left over decorations and set up a drinks table in front. The whole thing took me about 30 minutes to set up and created a lovely distraction from a dull radiator ( if you’re putting items on the table that are prone to melting you might want to turn the radiator off!). I think this set up would work for covering tv’s, bookcases etc and also creates a perfect photo booth corner. Here’s how to make...

You’ll need  - a length of dowling , painted to match the wall if possible mine was 1.5cm thick and 120cm long) paper streamers, honeycomb decorations, foil garlands, glue or tape. 

Step 1 - Hang your piece of dowling in place, I hung this of some shelf brackets but you could also use wire or cord like this or this wall hanging). 

Step 2 - Loop a length of streamer over the dowling and fix into place at the back with a dab of glue or some tape, repeat until the whole length is covered. Ideally you want the length to touch the floor so you might need more than one packet of streamers depending on how long your dowling is and the drop. 

Step 3 - Add in a few lengths of foil garlands and honeycomb decorations - I kept mine purposely minimal.

Step 4 - Add a pretty table with your chosen party wear  - I used Meri Meri partyware from Other Letters .

Spring Flowers

We’re on the brink of summer and I love it. We had our doors open until past 9pm last night, swallows (or are they swifts - I never know?!) have been circling the evening skies and my roses are getting ready to burst, it’s one of the best feelings in the world. But before we dive in I wanted to capture my spring flowers one last time. 

This year I planted mainly supermarket bulbs as I was on more of a budget than the spring before. I picked up bulbs in Morrison’s, Lidl and Wilko. I chose them based on the colours of the packet rather than a specific variety. I planted them in my cut flower patch, in pots and in the garden - basically anywhere I had space. concentrating the more decorative varieties, so anything parrot like, patterned or frilly in the cut beds and pots and adding the ones bought in bulk bags around the garden. 

If planting bulbs is new to you don’t fear, they are really simple and after the initial planting they don’t require any maintenance. Packets appear in the shops at the end of summer and I start buying them as soon as I see them and then plant gradually from September - November for spring flowering the following year. Depending on the winter we’re having I might give pots a bit of extra water if like this year we’re having a dry winter. After that I simply wait for them to pop up. 

This year I grew tulips, daffodils, ranunculus and anemones. I always thought that ranunculus and anemones would be hard to grow but they’ve been just as easy as tulips and daffs, I grow them in my cutting beds as I’m growing them purely for the house. If you can I’d grow them in bulk as the corms are quite small and popular with squirrels so tend to get dug up easily. The only thing I'd really do differently for next spring is add more anemones and ranunculus to the cut beds, I think i'll try some under cover and some not to see if I get a more staggered flowering window. I'll also look for more interesting varieties, I did miss the pretty dancing ones I grew last year. 

For the tulips and daffodils, it's all about adding volume. After seeing the amazing tulips at Sarah Raven's garden this spring I want to double the amount of bulbs I add to my pots and throughout the garden. Daffodils will spring back every year but not all tulips will so I'd recommend adding fresh tulip bulbs to your beds every year - I'll definitely buy two bulk bags of tulips to one bag of daffodils. In terms of colours and type I'll keep buying what catches my eye, I'd like to add more tulips with double petals and I missed a trick not growing any orange varieties - they really are spectacular. .

Seeing the garden come to life and bloom again is one of my great joys, I relish my daily stroll to see whats popping up. If you haven't dipped your toe into the world of gardening then I can't recommend it enough - whatever your space there is plenty to plant and enjoy. I was thinking the other day I only started to grow flowers to accompany my DIY posts but the balance has tipped and now its the other way round - its funny how things change! Happy gardening! xx 

Three A-MAY-Zing DIY's

The weather might be keeping us guessing as to what season it is but these three DIY's for May are well and truly all about spring. I'm really enjoying looking back through my archives and pulling out my favourites for you to enjoy, hope you like this months beauties...

Silk and Tassel Bracelet - I gave my craft room a huge tidy up last month and rediscovered these gorgeous silk tassel bracelets. When the sun's been shining these are first on my wrists!

Hand Painted Gingham Gift Wrapping - I'm a sucker for anything gingham and this hand painted gift wrap tutorial is up there with one my favourites.

Leather Trimmed Glass Vases - I use these all year round and they are so versatile. My garden roses are beginning to bud so can't wait to fill these vases with freshly cut flowers but they would look equally fab hung on trees filled with (battery) tea lights.

Planning Projects Around Children

There's nothing I love more than having a project on the go whether that be for my home, garden or thinking of new projects for this blog. As much as I love the satisfaction of the implementation stage, I get a real kick out of the planning part too. I was speaking to someone a while back and they were asking me about how I fit my projects around childcare, I made out that it was all a bit of a fluke but later I realised that I'm actually really organised when it comes to finding the time to be creative and work on projects that excite and inspired me. For those that don't know, I'm a full-time mama, I look after my two small children largely on my own for 14 hours a day (thats from before breakfast to after dinner). Whilst I adore these brilliant young days, they are tough, and  I know that as part of my general wellbeing I need to be able to carve time to dream and create. Today I thought I'd share the ways in which I find the time to be creative whilst looking after two small children...

Be protective of your time - I have two nap times per week that are my time. I don't see anyone, I don't do any housework, washing, cooking etc. I use the time to make, be in the garden, photograph or write my blog. I am SO protective of this precious time - if you're struggling to carve time out then put it on a calendar or tell people - anything that makes it official. Even if you get 20 mins, its so worth getting into the routine.

Write a big list, then work on the top three - Every few weeks I sit down and write a big list of everything that needs to be done across all areas of my life. I highlight only the top three most urgent/important and work on those. This stops me from feeling overwhelmed plus it means I’m not starting 100 jobs and getting nothing done (although there are plenty of days like that!). I was a PA/Office Manager for eight years before I was a mum, this method really worked for me and I can definitely credit the success of my Creative Monday's to this method. 

Look at the weather - Of all the projects I do, the ones in the garden feel like the biggest treat. Unfortunately living in the UK means I am governed by the weather. As there's always a running list for inside and out, I check the weather forecast and work around that. This week for example, I had a free naptime and the sun was shining. Whilst the washing was calling my name, I shelved it and made the most of an hour in the garden, I'm so glad I did as it rained for the following two days!

Allocate certain jobs for certain days - I had a few sleepless night whilst prepping for the Spring Celebration Table, I knew what I wanted to do but couldn't work out if I was going to have enough time especially as it was half-term and couldn't rely on nap times. To calm myself I wrote out all the days I had until the shoot and allocated jobs to the days I knew I had childcare. This got me organised and focused (I worked backwards from the shoot itself), on my 'mum-days' I could concentrate on my little ones.

Turn off distractions - I'm sure I’m not alone when I say the internet, especially Instagram is my biggest vacuum of time (that and looking for tiny lost toys). Sometimes the only way to get on and get stuff done is simply put the distractions away and get on with it. I've been deleting Instagram off my phone once a week for mental reasons but I'm finding myself deleting it more and more when I need to crack on. 

Set a deadline - Apart from preschool drop-off and pick-up I don't have tonnes of deadlines - which in some respects is brilliant but not always conducive to getting anything complete. I set myself little goals to get projects complete by, it might sound crazy but if I say, "I'd like this done by Easter" I'm much more likely to get it finished.