Watermelon cushion

Continuing on a theme I’ve just completed a commission for a watermelon cushion. Quick photoshoot last night (apologies for the poor lighting) and off it went to its new home in Mauritius!

PS. It’s huge.

Food Themes

Here’s a super-sized orange cushion I finished today – it’s so big I’m going to have to continuously move it out of my way when I’m at home.

Fish Food Styling

Here are a few fish shots I styled with the help of Sid (http://www.sidphotographic.com). We were just playing about with some props and backing boards and here’s what we came up with in a morning.

A Weekend Bag

It’s been ages since I posted but I promise I haven’t lain down my needle or cooking utensils. I’ve started at least half a dozen projects, half of which are waiting to be completed…..luckily for this one illness struck and I was forced back into the deepest confounds of Shropshire where Mum was on hand to motivate me (with cake!). Et voila: one fully operational weekend bag.

On ye hols

Mum’s leaving home – I’ve packed for her 

Food Styling 09/08/14

Stained glass window

It’s been a while but I’ve been working on a few different projects whilst juggling a couple of cooking jobs.

A month or so ago I signed up to an evening class learning how to put together stained glass windows. Turns out it didn’t come to me as naturally as I thought it would – I came up with my own method of cutting glass (smashing the glass then filing it into the desired shape) which others would frown upon.

Anyway here’s the finished article: a traditional Welsh lady who’s been named Bertha. My sister has booked me into a dress making class which I’m very excited about, I just hope I’m better with fabric than I am with glass!

Bertha, Blu-tacked to the window

 

 

 

 

Dress Making

I’ve always thought that I’d love to be able to make my own clothes but I’d never attempted to make anything – until now! The contestants on The Great British Sewing Bee make everything look so painfully easy though I knew I’d have to walk away from the sewing machine a couple of times. Mum was the lucky recipient of my first garment (and she’s promised me she WILL wear it…) and Dad has been warned he’ll be next. Lucky things. 

 

And this is what I got when I asked Mum to strike a pose. Very Lady Gaga, apart from the grin:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Screen Printing

My sister, Amy, organised a fantastic evening of screen printing in her office with her colleague Sam. It was such a good evening and I would do it again in a heart beat. We designed and cut out our own stencils and, from gripping the knife too hard, I’ve lost all feeling in the end of my thumb. I made a custard cream and my sister printed a party ring (anyone spot a theme?) with the intention of making them into cushions for Amy’s flat.

Ta da!

Birthday Cake

I recently signed up to a charity called ‘Free Cakes For Kids’ where families who find it difficult to provide a birthday cake for their child can have a cake made for them. I was asked to make one for Louise, and after battling with the oven and eating way too much icing I sat in front of the TV sticking dried fruit around the sides and those reeally fiddly gold balls to the top. A lot of love was poured into that cake and satisfied does not describe how I’m feeling!

Food Styling Practice, Take 2

We’ve been having beautiful weather over the past few days- it’s still a bit on the cold side but the sunshine is fantastic. The kitchen is right in the centre of my shared flat and has a small window about 12 feet up on the roof, and the light is terrible. So these pictures have all been taken in my room by balancing the coffee table on the sofa to get the most of the light.

I tried to get a couple with a kind of weekend-breakfast-in-spring feel (in France, on a sunny day)….

The croissant is actually a magnet that my sister and I bit into on countless occasions, convinced that it was real. Or not even real but somehow edible.

I then had a play around with light and shadows with the following results. I’d like to get some more varied backgrounds so will have a look at boards, and whether I could make them myself.

Aaaand finally, these two show quite nicely how the light was changing as I was poised and in position with the camera: