I wanted to write the obligatory ‘end of year report’ – even in the first week of the new year – for a couple of reasons; the first is to say a massive thank you to a whole load of you at once!
Thank you to everyone who bought a copy of Deliciously Decorated last year.
I put my heart and soul into making my second book something that would be genuinely useful to cake bakers and aspiring cake decorators alike; if you freak out at the idea of getting the icing onto your cakes, I wanted to break down the step by step process with clear pictures of each stage. I read and re-read every single word that I wrote to see if I was making any sense at all! I want this to be the book that you reach for when you need a friendly guiding hand around your kitchen and – yes, despite the much maligned absence of my traditional red manicure – those are my hands!
If you’ve not got a copy of Deliciously Decorated in your kitchen yet, you can pick one up for a song on Amazon right now…
Thank you to everyone who got involved in our Let Them Tweet Cake campaign on ITV’s Lorraine last year.
When the producers at Lorraine asked me if I would like to get involved in a cake feature with the gorgeous John Whaite, I was beside myself with excitement.
The idea was to encourage a sharing of cake creativity amongst Lorraine’s viewers. For our part, John and I filmed a series of masterclasses to be shown throughout the campaign; for your part, we hoped that a few viewers might send in a few pictures of their own cakes. As it happened, we were inundated. So many of you took the time to send in a picture or two or three! The quality was outstanding too. There is some serious talent out there and what really struck me was the love that was going into each bake – cakes for your kids, your loved ones, for family weddings, birthdays, heydays and holidays. Thank you for sharing this with us because it made my day on several occasions looking through your tweets in the spring.
I’d like to just stick a special side thank you in to John himself here for being such a peach to work with and for all his help, advice, and friendship. You are a class act, John.
Thank you to everyone who came to see me or took the time to chat to me at a show last year.
2015 was a fabulous year for getting around the country! I was lucky enough to visit Harrogate, London, Edinburgh, and Manchester with The Cake & Bake Show and met so many amazing people. I know that you have to pay a little extra on your ticket price to attend one of my classes and I hope that you enjoyed them and learnt something useful too.
Last year I was invited to demonstrate in The Cake & Bake Super Theatre too, alongside the show’s fabulous celebrity ambassadors. Because I knew that you could all come along to this demo, I chose to share my Red Velvet Cake recipe with you and a quick decorating tip or two using cream cheese frosting. As always, I did it my way… wearing 4” stiletto heels, a fabulous frock, and no apron!
I’ve never looked more at home on a kitchen stage as I did in The Kenwood Kitchen Theatre at The Goodwood Revival in September! Alternating between a 1940s and 1960s kitchen set, I felt like I had finally found my place in the world. What an incredible event! The fashion, the music, the cake; all was the perfect setting to celebrate my birthday with some of my favourite people… including The Three Belles who sang me onto the stage!
I finished my year off by appearing at the Foodies Xmas Festival in London and making festive cakes. What a way to wrap up an incredible show year.
I’m looking forward to announcing my 2016 dates soon and seeing lots more of you for cake.
An extra huge thank you to all of the amazing dress companies who have kept me feeling glamorous all year… Victory Parade, The House of Foxy, Glamour Bunny, Collectif, Miss Candyfloss, Daisy Dapper, Lindybop, and Claireabella’s Closet (who made my lips dress, using custom printed fabric by Sacha Hamed Designs).
I get asked a lots about my dresses and styling… if you are new to retro glamour, head over to Campbell-Crafts who curates many of the above brands beautifully.
Thank you to all of my gorgeous Wedding Couples last year.
I have loved working with you all and being a part of your big day. It has been a genuine delight to be able to work on so many different designs, from Art Deco decadence to classic, crafty, and chic.
Consultations are now open for 2016 Wedding Cakes and I cannot wait to see what my couples inspire me to create in the coming year! If you are getting married this year and want to discuss getting together for a consultation, just click here for the details.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me or said a kind word.
You have no idea how much your support and kindness mean to me. It is the time of year for reflection so I looked at a little note I made in a diary on 1st January 2015:
“I resolved to be kinder to myself this year. Easier said than done, this diary is to keep me on track.”
Needless to say, the diary entries fall off by mid-February and I reverted to being my own worst enemy, harshest critic, cruellest boss, etc. I share this because I can imagine at least one of you feeling this same way and, if we can vow to be kind together, maybe we will both stand a chance of staying kind and possibly sane until maybe March or April!
I am only setting myself one, achievable, professional goal this year. I am not sharing it because, if I do not tick that box, I’ll be even more annoyed if you were waiting on it; I’m not doing that annoyingly cryptic ‘exciting stuff I can’t tell you about’ thing. Genuinely, nothing in this life vexes me more than unticked boxes on a to-do list.
I am not setting any personal life goals. I’ll just enjoy that ride wherever it may take me.
But I am going to relax and smile more in photos!
Happy New Year, you gorgeous lot.
Cxx
