Teapot Tuesday- It's beginning to look at lot like....

Hi Folks,

It's finally December, which means- CHRISTMAS! Hurray! I love everything about Christmas- the food, the decorations, the presents! So its likely you'll be hearing a lot more from me this month while I make my Christmas presents and hold my annual Christmas Gathering, but to start you off- it's TEAPOT TUESDAY again!

Of course, I had to post a festive one to celebrate, and I absolutely adore this Emma Bridgewater teapot:

If you fancy one yourself you can pick one up on her website www.emmabridgewater.co.uk for £60.GBP.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Hayley x

Updated website- check it out!

Hi Everyone, 

Just a quick note to let all our fans and customers know- Madame Fusspot's Travelling Tea Party is changing it's website- exciting news I know! :) 

You may notice that we are no longer offering Murder Mystery Games on the site. I've decided to sell the Murder Mysteries separately and focus on giving our customers the full English tea party experience, along with bespoke decorations and party favours. 

The murder mystery games will soon be available to purchase on Etsy, and you'll be able to download and enjoy them in any event or setting you like! 

For more details, and to check out our slightly new look go to Fusspot's Website:
www.fusspotstravellingtea.com

Thanks, 
Hayley x x x 

Teapot Tuesday- Halloween!

Hi Folks, 

Halloween is only a few days away, so this Tuesday’s teapot is an amazingly adorable pumpkin teapot by Sorelle. 

I've only recently discovered Sorelle Porcelain, but what I've seen so far has been exceptional, quirky and very “old meets new”- I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for their tea sets.

All their teapots are handcrafted, and the company is run by 2 Italian sisters ("sorelle" means "sisters in Italian) who design everything themselves- there’s a video of them making them here. 

Happy Halloween! 

Hayley xxx

Teapot Tuesday- Dutch Style!

Hi Folks,
Its Teapot Tuesday!  I've just come back off holiday from the wonderful, beautiful city of Amsterdam and am feeling rather inspired. So on that note todays teapot is by Delftware -this iconic Dutch-style blue and white pottery made in Delft, Netherlands. I saw some wonderful ones here and there on my holiday.  

This one is an interesting example, 19th century, with a flower bud finial (thats the little knob on the lid), and decorated with scenes of dancers and musicians it also and comes with its own stand and warmer (very Dutch- they like to keep things warm and anything a bit DIY). Delfte China goes back nearly 500 years, so if you wanted an antique Delfte teapot for your collection- there are plenty about online or in the Netherlands themselves- just one of many reasons to visit Amsterdam I say. 
Danke, 
Hayley 

The Handmade Fair 2014

Hi Folks,

I had a really wonderful weekend last week at The Handmade Fair in Hampton Court. So much so, I wanted to share the day with all my lovely readers! 

I went with my fellow crafty friend the wonderful Mrs D, and the drive - despite detouring through central London on the way home, was surprisingly easy and I was really happy to find the parking ample and stress free.

The sun was out, Hampton Court was a gorgeous setting and there was plenty to see a do- we spent a good 7 hours there and still felt we could have stayed longer. 

First things first- a cup of tea. 

There was a really cool tent serving tea and cakes in vintage china- and better still, all the china was for sale! I had to show some considerable restrain here. The tent was also decorated with really nice vintage bunting, lampshades, and they had other knick knacks and clothes- including some vintage bloomers! All really pretty and tasteful. We then even had a couple of 1940's style vintage singers come out and treat us to a few Andrew's Sisters songs! 

Vintage Tea Tent

Then it was onto our first workshop of the day- "Create a crochet project with Jane Crowfoot". This was an hour long workshop in which you were taught to make what was described as a "quick and easy" crochet flower.

The tent itself looked super cool and crafty and Jane ran the class as best she could. But it turns out that it's near impossible to teach 100 people of completely different abilities how to crochet in an hour! 

Crochet Workshop

Both myself and my friend were complete beginners but Mrs D was a complete natural and took to it really well...myself less so. After an hour, some people were even adding pretty little beads to the end of their perfect crochet flowers- Mrs D even had something resembling the middle of the flower..I was less successful- I had spent an hour producing what was basically a fancy knot. Mine's on the right: 

On the plus side- the woman of the hour Kirstie Allsop herself turned up at our table out of the blue and started chatting to us about crochet- turns out she's no good at it either- so this cheered me up. Though I do wish I had got a picture, rather than going suddenly mute and cripplingly shy...

Then we had another wander around and poked our noses into a couple of tents- there was a lecture from Etsy about running your own craft business online, and a Hobbycraft tent selling craft kits at a discount. 

Then it was onto our pom pom making workshop- after the disaster of the crochet project, I was definitely looking forward to something I knew I could do! Pom poms are super easy, especially if you use a pom pom maker (I have this one from Hobbycraft). The 30 minute workshop was run by a lovely, slightly over-enthusiastic lady who clearly loved pom poms- which is understandable, they are little balls of fluffy satisfaction, especially if you make them yourself! She talked us through what else you could do with pom poms- garlands, decoration etc-(she had loads more ideas than that) and it was a fun little half hour. Apparently we were trying to break a world record of Pom Pom's made in a day...or something. 

Pom Pom Making

We then had about two hours to kill before our last event at 4:30 so we got a wonderful lunch from one of the catering vans- a French one, very fancy- I had 16 hour slow cooked beef with rice and veg- it was magnificent. After lunch we spent the rest of the time in the shopping villages, which was equal parts wonderful (look at all the pretty craft stuff! Fabric! Buttons! Craft Kits!) and torture (I cant buy everything!). The exhibitors we're great, friendly, and lots of different crafts and materials being sold- some of the sellers had arranged their space just beautifully as well.

Shopping Village

And then onto our final event of the day in the Super Theatre- it was called the Molly Makes Mash Up. I have to admit, I didn't know what I'd signed up for exactly, but I am a fan of the craft magazine Molly Makes and figured it looked like a nice way to round off the day- and I wasnt dissapointed. It turned out, amazingly, to be what can only be called a Craft BATTLE.

Molly Makes Mash Up

Momtaz Begum-Hossain vs Ellie Jarvis

Two ladies, both experts in sewing but with different specialties BATTLED to make something with just 1 meter of fabric in 45 minutes. It was great fun to watch, and really useful too as I have so many small off cuts and 1m's of fabric around it gave me some inspiration. Ellie made various small no-sew projects like cushions and wraps and Momtaz made a great matching apron and headscarf set- which I will be trying out soon. Then at the end we voted for who we liked best (like Ready, Steady, Cook, but with sewing <3). Momtaz and her apron won, but it was close. 

So that was the day, writing it all down it seems like a lot and a long day, but it flew by and I had a blast, cant wait to go next year!

Hayley xxx 

Teapot Tuesday- Mary Berry is great, that is all.

Its been quite a month already for cook book legend Mary Berry- what with the Great British Bake Off "bingate" controversy and then that awful Danny Dyer fellow allegedly manhandling the poor old dear at the TV Choice awards- that's quite enough for any 79 year old surely? 

Mary Berry giving W.I realness

But Mary is still keeping herself busy and today she has officially announced on her Facebook page that she's launched a new range of baking products and kitchenware- including a teapot! 

The range as a whole is simple but traditional with a gorgeous muted, pale blue running through the whole collection. I am particularly partial to the ceramic measuring jug, which I am adding to my Pinterest wishlist this very minute. 

The Mary Berry Teapot- (that's what I'm calling it.) Is a very reasonable £15 and available in store or online at Sainsburies, you can view the entire range here.

I approve! Can you tell?

Teapot Tuesday- Doctor Who is nearly here!

Hi  Folks, 

So the Doctor Who season 8 premiere is this Saturday! 

Whilst I wouldn't call myself a die-hard Doctor who fan (...what would they be called- Doccy's? Whovians?) I think Peter Capaldi is an inspired choice for the Doctor and have heard quite a few of the episodes will be set in Victorian London again (!)... So I'm all in! 

So today's Teapot Tuesday is a Doctor Who themed teapot- check out this beauty:

For once, this teapot isn't actually that difficult to purchase- its currently in production and can be purchased from ThinkGeek RRP $40 or various online retailers. It's also super cute!

The Doctor Who Season 8 premier will be Aug 23rd, 7:50PM on BBC 1. 

Thanks, 
Hayley xxx 

Teapot Tuesday- RIP Robin Williams

Hi Folks, 

I'm sure you've heard the news, Robin Williams passed away today. As a kid growing up in the 90's, I most remember the typical wacky, loud Robin Williams movies like Mrs Doubtfire and of course Aladdin, so was very saddened to hear the news this morning that he is no longer with us. 

So in memory of one of my childhood idols, this weeks teapot is amazingly shaped like Genie from Disney's Aladdin, circa 1992 and like all the best novelty teapots its music - it sings the melody to "A Friend Like Me."

I did try to find a Zelda teapot also, as (fun fact) Robin Williams was a massive Zelda fan and even named his daughter after the game, which was just one of many awesome things about him...RIP Robin Williams, you bloody legend!

- Hayley xxx

Cor Blimey Guvnor' it's Teapot Tuesday!

As a Londoner, Disney Fan, and Poppins Fangirl (One of my all time favourite idols)- I was very excited to hear about the Mary Poppins Pop Up Restaurant Experience coming to London this August.

At £75, its not cheap- but you do get a 4 course dinner, ALL drinks, and a night of Poppins themed entertainment, so I will definitely be looking into it. 

In keeping with this, I found a fabulously rare Mary Poppins Teapot for your Teapot Tuesday this week:

Walt Disney Production Teapot made by Enesco Imports Japan.

It even has a music box concealed in the bottom- it sings "Chim Chim Cheree"! Its very rare, produced in 1964, the same year as the movie I believe, but if you look hard enough there are a still a couple floating around out there in places like Etsy or Ebay.

Teapot Tuesdays!

This week myself and my partner will be heading down to the lovely coastline of Dorset, where we will most certainly be enjoying a famous west country cream tea.
So in honour of our little seaside excursion, this weeks teapot is by Crown Dorset (who are actually based in Staffordshire, but shhh!) who have been making traditional chintzy English teapots for about 50 years.
This is one of my favourite, summery floral teapots by them

Its a rare little teapot, I haven't been able to find any for sale yet! 

Teapot Tuesday!

POLKA ROSE VINTAGE TEAPOT

By Royal Albert

Royal Albert have a wonderful range of floral "English Country Garden" inspired china at the moment, of course Royal Albert ALWAYS do beautiful china but their most recent collection has a simplistic, more modern approach, thats still in keeping with their classic chintzy style. 

If you're not familiar with Royal Albert China- it is one of the most iconic English fine china companies in the world, founded in the era of Queen Victoria
Most of their collections for the last 100 years have been inspired by their "fondness for English cottage gardens".

My favourite from their new collection, has got to be the Polka Rose in pretty pale green, and it is my first official Teapot Tuesday Teapot!

RRP is £50 but if you shop some online retailers are selling it for £40. 

Quick Vanilla Cupcakes

I was sitting around having a perfectly lazy Sunday, when suddenly the need for cupcakes hit me- I'm sure you know the feeling...right?
So I decided to whip up a batch of quick cupcakes from what I happened to have in the house: butter, eggs, flour, milk and sugar- they took suprisingly little effort and came out really well, so I decided to post the recipe up, Enjoy!  

Quick vanilla cupcakes

Makes 12 in 30 mins (ish)

Ingredients

175g butter (at room temperature), cut into large pieces

175g self-raising flour

175g caster sugar


3/4 tsp baking powder


3 medium eggs

1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract 

For the icing:

150g butter (at room temperature), cut into large pieces

1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract


1-2 tbsp milk


250g icing sugar


sprinkles/decoration

Equipment

Large Bowl

Electric Whisk

Seive

12 hole cupcake tray

12 Cupcake cases 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cupcake or muffin cases.

2. Put all the cake ingredients into a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until smooth and evenly mixed (a few minutes) Divide the mixture evenly between the paper cases.

3. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and golden in color.

4. While the cakes are baking, make the icing. Put the butter into a large bowl and whisk untill smooth (about a minute), then sieve in a few large spoonfuls of icing sugar, incorporate into the butter using an electric mixer and repeat until all the icing sugar is mixed in. Then add the vanilla extract, a little milk and whisk until light and fluffy- at least a few minutes.

5. When cakes are done,transfer to a wire rack to cool.

6. When the cakes are fully cooled, pipe on the butter icing using a large star nozzle.

Tip: I find wearing latex gloves really helpful when handling butter icing, as it tends to melt quickly as you work with it and give you slippery greasy fingers- no good for icing cakes!

7. Sprinkle with your chosen decoration and you’re done! The cakes are best eaten fresh, but will last a few days in an air tight container at room temperature.

Madame Fusspot's Travelling Tea Party

Hello gentle readers, Long time no see, and that is quite unforgiveable- I do apologise, but there was quite a good reason for it…

You may have noticed my lack of presence on this blog for a few months and the mysterious new blog title, well it’s been all change for me the last few months because… I STARTED A BUSINESS!

I’m delighted to introduce to you, the blog reading world, Madame Fusspot’s Travelling Tea Party!

I’ve always loved baking, sewing and hosting parties so one day I finally decided to put all my favourite things into one big (tea)pot and turn it into a business, thus Madame Fusspot's Travelling Tea Party began! 

The idea behind the travelling tea party, is in essence- tea parties that come to you. Booking a Madame Fusspot’s Tea Party brings the decadent English afternoon tea experience, to your home. We use only the finest products: vintage china, top quality homemade food and luxury tea from world renowned Fortnum & Masons.

I also provide a bunch of fun extra’s including decorations, vintage games and activities (such as lawn croquet or vintage jewellery making) favours for your guests, and a bespoke cake design service- for more details, pleae visit my brand new websiteL

 www.fusspotstravellingtea.com
 

I’m very excited to be starting my own business, theres still a lot to do, but I have at least started to make waves (or maybe ripples) in the big pond of owning and running your own business- Wish me luck and tell your friends- if you book before August 1st I'll give you 15% off! 

10 Homemade Easter Treat Ideas

Hi Folks,

I’m not a massive fan of Easter crafts- we don't decorate the house for Easter or have any children, however like most people with a tongue, I adore chocolate. I am, all in all, a complete sugar addict- I love sweets of all kinds so Easter is one of my favourite holidays (that and long weekend we get off of work).  

This year I inadvertently left it way too late to get my partner an Easter Egg, so decided to make him his favourite chocolate orange fudge-the recipe of which can be found here.

As I was making the fudge this afternoon I started thinking that perhaps it could be a nice tradition to make something homemade every year- there must be loads of great homemade easter sweets you can make that are much tastier and thoughtful than the generic off the shelf ones! Here’s the top ten I could find on my search for ideas:

10 Homemade Easter Sweets

1. Mini Egg Easter Bark

One of my favourite Easter chocolates is Cadbury's Mini Eggs, and this bark is ridiculous cute, as well as simple to make.

2. Homemade Creme Eggs

Cadburys Creme Eggs are my all time favourite Easter chocolate- I'm intrigued by this homemade version!

3. Creme Egg Fudge

Another combination of yummy things I'll have to try!

4. Mini Birds

ARGH, So cute!

5. Hollow Easter Eggs

These may look tricky, but after reading the recipe I think any crafty person should have no trouble- and they look really impressive.

6. Carrot Cones

This is a really clever idea- but I’d use only half the cone myself, to make them a bitesize snack.

7. Macaroon Egg Nest

No, not the french macaron- the coconut macaroooooon! Makes the perfect little next for mini eggs!

8. Easter Basket Sugar Cookie

Yep, you can make baskets out of cookies- so happy when I found this out!

9. Chocolate coated Creme Filled Eggs

A more mature homemade easter treat...

10. Meringue Eggs Splats

Lemon and meringue, a lovely non-chocolate alternative.

PS- A lot of these recipes include an ingredient called Candy Melts- just FYI you can buy this in the UK at a lot of cake decorating stores, and Hobbycraft carries it too (here's a link). 

Happy Easter!

Hayley xxx 

New Issue of Snippets!

Hi Folks, 
Just a quickie from me today. 
If you've not read it before- Snippets is the online magazine for my favourite ever craft website Cut Out + Keep.

I've been lucky enough to have written a few bits for them over the last year or two- the most recent one is an interview with Hong Kong based artists, Dekanimal. 
You can check out the interview here!
Ta Ta,
Hayley xx 

Homemade Valentines Gifts (for the geek in your life)

Hi Folks,

I've been seeing a lot of “Homemade Valentines Ideas” on the craft blog-o-sphere recently and quite frankly I’m unimpressed… would your beau really want a lavender scented hanging heart? No. He would not. So this Valentines day, make the man in your life something he’d actually like to receive- Personally, my partner is a massive geek, so here’s my list of 5 cool homemade gifts that won't make him gag.  

1. 8-Bit Bow Tie

This one is super simple, you just need perler beads which you can get from any craft shop or online and a safety pin- here’s a tutorial.

2. Breaking Bad- Blue Meth Candy

Because you've got Chemistry- get it? Sugar Hero has a great tutorial. The ingredients are pretty basic, but you’ll need a candy thermometer to get it just right.  

3. Anatomically Correct Heart Cake

I got the recipe for these Eat Your Heart Out red velvet cakes from Lilli Vanilli’s “A Zombie Ate My Cupcake” recipe book- a copy can be found here. But I’d recommend buying the book from Amazon as it has a bunch of great, creepy recipes for any occasion.

4. Bacon Roses

Why not say I Love You with bacon?. Instructables has the best tutorial for this. ...I freaking love this idea.

5. Geeky Lingerie

This is a gift for him and you! Get yourself a plain bra and knickers set and customize to his favourite show, game, comic etc - you can customize using fabric paints, diamantes, it’s really up to you but here are some ideas:

You could even try customizing something for him…

Enjoy your Valentines Day readers,

Hayley x x x