Cupcake Cuties!

So I think it's fairly obvious now that I have a bit of an 'issue' with cupcakes! I love everything about them, and 'ooh' and 'aah' like a child in a sweetshop when confronted with anything cupcake related!

I've been meaning to incorporate cupcakes a bit more into my sprinkles jewellery, and this weekend gave me some time to play with the idea. I'm not 100% happy yet with the design, but think they look quite cute nonetheless at this stage.

I'll be offering these for purchase at a reduced cost in my Etsy shop (which I've updated with overseas shipping costs this weekend too for international buyers); you can visit my shop here : Cupcakes And Jewellery on Etsy. Whilst there's nothing 'wrong' with them at all, as I'm still not completely satisfied on the design, I feel happier to pop them on at a discounted rate of GBP £10.00 (rather than £13.50 which they will be priced at when the design concept is improved). So be quick!

  

But what about the 'real-life' cupcake cuties??? Well, I also found time to visit some wonderful cake makers fanpages on Facebook too...and just look at what I admired from The English Cake Company, based in Stamford, UK.

How gorgeous is this? I adore the icing design on the top, so classy, so cute and still so much fun. But there was more... oh yes...

Not one, not two, but 7 incredibly decorated yummy cakes...like little pieces of art right there on a plate!
You can find more of The English Cake Company's work on their website : The English Cake Company Website, or become a fan of their delightful facebook page : The-English-Cake-Company on Facebook. A word of warning though - pages invoke mouth watering and hunger pangs!

Sneak Preview of a new collection from Cupcakes & Jewellery!

I've been looking forward to sharing this with you, as I'm ridiculously excited about this new collection I've been working on. I won't be releasing these for sale for a couple of months yet, but if anyone just 'haves to have' an item from the new collection now, then I'm sure the offer of a cupcake or two would persuade me into an early custom order!

'I support GB' - 2012 Olympic Games Sprinkles Collection by Cupcakes & Jewellery

I'm so pleased with them, and there will be a whole range for different countries competing too! I would have loved to have been able to attend the games, but sadly wasn't picked out of the millions who applied to go...so I shall have to console myself with tea and cake in front of the TV, whilst wearing my GB Sprinkles!

How amazing are they? I found them on Made With Pink's blogpost for the Royal Wedding - you can read more with full instructions for creating these gorgeous cupcakes AND the decorations, here : Made With Pink/2011/04/royal-wedding-cupcakes-flowers-union.html.  This is a fantastic blog to read, easy to follow recipes, informative and well written, I am most definitely a fan!

Exciting Times for Cupcakes & Jewellery...and Summer Pudding!

In yesterday's blog, I mentioned exciting times were afoot for Cupcakes and Jewellery, and today I can reveal one of the reasons with you!

I'm so proud to announce that a wonderful shop in Newark, Nottinghamshire is now stocking some of my Sprinkles Jewellery. Run by Zoe, 'Summer Pudding' is based in the beautiful Buttermarket, slap bang in the middle of Newark on Trents historic town centre. Her tiny little shop is packed full of beautiful handmade gifts all produced in the UK.

Zoe makes the most amazing candles too - teacup candles and yes...you guessed it - cupcake candles too!!!!

Summer Pudding can also be found online - the facebook page is here : Summer Pudding on Facebook; the website with online shop is here : summerpuddingcandles.co.uk. And if you find yourself in the beautiful area of Newark - pop in and say Hello!

The light and weather's been unkind to me for taking photographs of new items the last couple of days, but I managed to quickly sneak out and snap these new lovelies while the rain held off. Sterling silver ear-rings for those with more sensitive ears like mine!

The butterflies are hallmarked 925 Sterling Silver, and the sprinkles ear-rings themselves measure approx. 8mm in diameter. Great fun yet quality items of jewellery which sit along nicely with my pendants. Sterling silver sprinkles charms will be unveiled soon too for bracelet owners!

No cake for me today (boo!), so I'm not even on the search for fabulous cupcakes to share with you as I don't think my poor stomach could take it...it's rumbling away now at the very mention of them! I promise I'll find some for you tomorrow though! Till then, take care for now.

New Sprinkles Pendant Design Preview! Paper Art and Cupcakes too!

So I promised I would share my new Sprinkles design for Cupcakes and Jewellery...and for those that didn't see it on my Facebook - Cupcakes & Jewellery page yesterday afternoon...here it is:

I'm so pleased with how it turned out, and am working on a whole new line of these little beauties now - different colour combinations, blues, greens, purples, oranges, reds...I may even attempt a rainbow!!

I've also added necklace chain and superior gift box upgrades to my listings on Folksy and Etsy, so buyers can have the complete package should they want - ideal for gifts. I love the boxes I have, I think they work really well with my jewellery :

You'll have to excuse that last photo - the light was a little gloomy here yesterday in middle England. Today's not much better either, which is a shame as I have new Sterling Silver Ear-Rings to photograph but they'll just have to wait for now.

I have a busy day ahead with my ever increasing to-do list...not that I mind, in fact I'm so excited about all the things that are in the pipeline for Cupcakes & Jewellery...but more about that soon. Instead I will sign off but leave you with details of an incredibly talented lady I've discovered who makes unique and contemporary paper art in Brighton, UK. Just look at this :

You can see more of Karen's work on her website Divine In Brighton, and she has a fabulous facebook page too : Divine In Brighton Facebook Page.

And lastly but by no means least, and because they're never far from my mind, how about these fabulous cupcakes from Oh Crumbs Cupcakes in Manchester, UK :

I adore these...really love the wonderful vintage colour combinations used, the fabulous rose toppers and yes the buttons are just toooo cute! You can find more details about Oh Crumbs Cupcakes here : Oh Crumbs Cupcakes Website

Creative Mojo = Sleep Deprivation!

So yesterday on my facebook page (Cupcakes & Jewellery on Facebook if you're interested), I mentioned I hadn't slept particularly well the night before due to creative design ideas beating any potential fence hopping sheep in my dreams. One of my fans admitted she had a similar problem, and it got me wondering if anyone else suffered from the same thing, and if so - what do you do? I keep a little notepad on my bedside table and by the light of my phone I scribble down anything that comes to me. Ok, so I do have trouble reading my own midnight scrawl the following morning, but I find it does help me to refer back. My mind races with so many ideas, that it's also easier for me to prioritise any potential new designs that way.

And that leads me on to 'Design' in general. What inspires me? How do I hit on ideas? This is pretty easy for me to answer - I think by being naturally creative, I notice design in a variety of places, but I am open to other people's thoughts and suggestions too - constructive or not, and I think this is important to designers and creators. Just because you might not like something, doesn't mean others don't. I stick to my overall niche style at all times, but sometimes it's fun to broaden your horizons.

The above key-ring came about from a Facebook fan asking if I made them at all...I didn't at the time as it happened, but thought it a fabulous idea, and so granted her wish accordingly! Now of course, my keys have a rather wonderful fob attached to them too...well we must road test our own handcrafted items now surely! More of these will follow soon.

I have another wonderful item to share with you later too, I haven't taken photos of it yet, but I just love it and am sorely tempted to keep it instead of listing it for sale...sigh! All I will say for now is if you love pink, then you'll adore this... Chat soon x

Cupcakes love Camping!

Sunset Sprinkle Pendant (available to purchase in my Folksy shop : Folksy Shop : Cupcakes & Jewellery)

Wow, is it that time of year already...when the children break up from school, and parents find themselves scratching their heads wondering what on earth to do with them for the duration of the holidays? Well, why not grab the family, pack the rucksacks, load the car and head off into the sunset for some tent fun in the outdoors? Childhood memories are made of that stuff! Oh and don't forget to pack the cakes...

How cute are they? I just had to share these with you. They're the fabulous creations of Vicky from Bumble Cakes based in Basingstoke in the UK. Check out more of her yummy work on Facebook : Bumble Cakes on Facebook.

For once this will be a very short and sweet post from me as I'm still working on new designs for Cupcakes & Jewellery, which I'm trying to get finished over the next few days. I will of course post photos here first!  Take care until then, and if all else fails, keep calm and eat cake!

Round Unisex Sprinkles Cufflinks (available to purchase in my Folksy shop : Folksy Shop : Cupcakes & Jewellery)

Sneak Preview!!

So yesterday I teased you with the mention of working on....new lines for Cupcakes And Jewellery! And here's a sneak preview of what's to come!

What do you think? I really like the simplicity of these new items and have received a custom order for the pink collection already!

Items will be listed for purchase in my Folksy shop later today : Folksy Shop - Cupcakes & Jewellery

More new items are on their way too (see - told you I was a tease!), and you can read about them here first! So watch this space!

Well, it's hi-ho for me, off to work I go....

Welcome to Cupcakes & Jewellery

Do you love cupcakes AND jewellery?

Well, I'm an avid fan of both - oggling, touching, wanting having to buy..., but my poor long suffering waist line is known to shudder just at the very mention of 'cake' since I hit my 30s!

I've been creative for as long as I remember, painting, sewing, lampworking, resin, general jewellery making and design, the list goes on and on! But earlier on this year, whilst attempting to 'tidy' my work studio with necessary cupcake in hand to keep me company, I dropped some cake sprinkles near a pendant I'd made and had one of those rare lightbulb 'eureka' moments! Why not combine my love for cakes and jewellery? And, more to the point, why on earth hadn't I thought about this before?! Cupcake was discarded, and assortments of 100s and 1000s were summonsed from my kitchen for employment.

So here we are, some months later - with the birth of 'Cupcakes and Jewellery'. I decided to set up a blog to keep fans up to date with new products, sneak previews, and latest news; but more to the point I do like to 'chat'! I have a facebook page (www.facebook.com/Cupcakes-Jewellery) but it quite often feels like users simply post and run in social networking, and I'm left thinking I want more, I need to know this, that and the other, oh and I like pictures, so I get annoyed with that little rotating 'loading' circle you frequently see when flicking through albums...highly frustrating when you're drooling over delicious cakes or jewellery!

On that note, I shall sign off for now - sprinkles are calling, and I have jewellery to make for.....well, I'll leave that for my next post! Oh yes - should have warned you from the start, I'm also a bit of a tease! If you'd like to have a mooch at my new Folksy shop in the meantime - you can visit it via this link : CupcakesAndJewellery on Folksy!

Chat soon!