Cake Time

I baked a huge batch of cupcakes recently for a friend's birthday; vanilla with sugar flower decorations and chocolate/orange with sprinkles.  I highly recommend using a piping bag; not only does it enable you to add an obscene amount of butter icing, it makes the cakes look pretty good too:

I visited a friend recently and discovered Blue Ribbons Sugarcraft Centre in Hampton Court.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I stepped inside the shop.  They stock the most incredible range of cake papers, decorations, colourings, sprinkles and everything else cake related you can think of!  If you thought that edible metallic balls only came in silver, think again...  Make sure you check out the Cupcake Boutique section of their website. 

The staff were really helpful; they advised me which sized piping nozzle and bags to use, and didn't get grumpy when I was still deciding which cake papers to buy 2 minutes before closing time.

Check out these stunning cake papers (all available to purchase from their site):

 Images courtesy of Blue Ribbons Sugarcraft Centre.

Valentine's Cupcakes

I did a bit of baking last weekend and made these Vanilla Valentine cupcakes, entirely for his benefit -honest. We washed them down with hot chocolate (which he's cunningly taken to flavouring with rose syrup so it tastes like turkish delight!). Yes, we felt a little queasy by the time we'd finished...

Halloween

This year we had a pumpkin carve-off, the results of which are below. His is flashier than mine (typically).  I hadn’t done this for years but I can see it being an annual fixture. I’m already planning for next year...

His:


Mine:

Just before Halloween, I heard about the American recipe of “Dinner in a Pumpkin”, which I had to try for myself.  Just scoop out the inside of a culinary pumpkin and add cooked minced beef, condensed cream of chicken and mushroom soup, onions, peppers, garlic and cinnamon. Then bake it in the oven for a couple of hours with the lid on and serve with garlic bread or whatever takes your fancy. I thought it looked pretty impressive and it certainly disappeared quickly. I also attempted a sweet pumpkin pie, but the less said about that the better!

A little bit about me

Hello, my name is Lucinda and I live in London, England.  I have an Etsy shop called 'LuliBags', which I opened in late April 2009.   I sell a range of handmade bags and purses, using a mix of modern and vintage fabrics.

I work full-time in the City but my passion lies in sewing and music.  I also enjoy cooking, photography, ashtanga yoga, vintage shopping and gardening.

I set up this blog to share Etsy finds, simple sewing tips for any would-be crafters out there and anything else creative or inspiring which takes my fancy.

Feel free to comment on my blog, I'd love to hear from you.  You can email me, convo me via my Etsy shop or find me on Twitter and Facebook.