Had such a lovely email today from a couple for whom I created wedding cake toppers for last month at pretty much the last minute. It's so lovely to get feedback like that as it can be a very lonley process making these - particularly as you don't meet your customers! The email reads:

'As promised please find attached (I hope!!) pictures of your wonderful cake topper on our wedding cake! Thank you so much once again, our guests absolutely loved them and they now have pride of place on our mantlepiece.'

Also a lovely pic of the couple with the cake which makes my job so much more worthwhile (especially given that I have spent the last two days glued to my chair making toppers for next years' weddings)

Happy New Year everyone... :)

Happy new year everyone

Happy new year to you all,

Kids finally in bed and bacardi out of the cupboard. Hooray. Hope you have a happy and, most of all ,healthy 2009. Hope some of your prayers are answered and some of your dreams are realised in the next 12 months. Best of wishes from me to you x x x

Nikki

Christmas hello

Hello and hope all had a lovely Christmas. I know I did! Now it's over and I have no excuse but to get back to work. My latest cake toppers are baking as I type. Will post some pictures of recent ones in the next day or two. I have a very busy couple of months ahead with some exciting new ventures so really looking forward to 2009. Hope all is well with my fellow bloggers too :)

For Norman

I see the countless Christmas trees, around the world below
With tiny lights like heaven's stars reflected in the snow

The sights are so spectacular, please wipe away that tear
For I am spending Christmas in Heaven above this year

I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear
But the sounds of music can't compare with the christmas choir up here.

I have no words to tell you the joy their voices bring
For it is beyond description to hear the angels sing.

I know how much you miss me I see the pain in your heart
But I am not that far away, we aren't really apart.

So be happy for my dear ones, you know I hold you dear,
And be glad I'm spending Christmas up in heaven above this year.

I send you each a special gift from my heavenly home above
I send you each a memory of my undying love.

So have a peaceful Christmas and wipe away that tear,
Remember I'm spending Christmas in heaven above this year.




Norman, you will be sadly missed and remembered with immense fondness. Hope you enjoy your first Christmas in Heaven. x

Christmas Craft Shop Advent Calendar from the Secret Corridor

Meet my latest wedding cake toppers! This pair are made by hand from my buyer's descriptions and photographs. Great fun to make. I used a cotton reel that I bought at just the right size for the paint can. I unwound the cotton and wrapped a thin sheet of fimo around it, before adding a paint can label and handle. It has a trickle of paint leaking from it.

I had a trauma when making these! I was mortified when I finished the bride to see that I had given her a vertical striped top instead of horizontal (as requested - instructions were VERY precise) so had to do her top half again! Was bemoaning the fact to hubby who came over and helpfully pointed at the remaining striped clay I had left, and in doing so knocked my unbaked painter off the table!! So he had to be done again too cos he ended up coated in carpet fluff. Oh I was not a happy bunny! But I shouted so much at him I ended up laughing my head off cos its so unlike me and so ridiculous a reason to fall out. The second version was better anyway!

Had a lovely afternoon making this pair. My next pair (which I plan to make tomorrow) poses less of a challenge. But I have just been asked to quote for a bride and groom on horseback... Hey - life would be boring without such stretches on our creativity!!

Wedding Cake toppers that 'saved the day'

This was one of my first pairs of wedding toppers. The couple had been let down by their original topper maker just a week before the big day, so I had to get busy straight away with these, to get them made in one evening! I worked from photographs and was really happy with the result. The bride has a textured bodice and a layered skirt. The groom has very short cropped hair, so I used teeny tiny beads instead of extruding clay for his hair. The flowers were great fun to make. Here they are pictured on the cake with their relieved owners!

Golfer groom wedding cake toppers

These toppers flew all the way to Sardinia for the big day. The groom was a keen golfer and so is carrying his golf bag and clubs, ready to escape to the course after his vows. The bride has a little jewelled detailed band around her waist. I worked from a description and also photographs of the couple. The golf clubs were sourced from a dolls house miniatures company - which reminds me. I must get some more! The flowers are simple but have little jewels to add sparkle at their centre.

Personalised nurse and chef wedding cake toppers, handcrafted from fimo.

These are some of my favourite toppers, made recently for a chef and a nurse. I worked from a description for these as photographs were not available. It was unusual to have the nurse in a check dress, but the bride said this is the uniform she wore when she met her groom to be. The chef's hat was quite tricky - I moulded it on the end of a whisk handle and then collapsed it a bit to make it look slightly floppy. The check fabric took some doing too - I used a millefiori technique of layering and stretching a cane, then slicing it and blending the slices together. Well worth the effort though. The groom is holding a tenderiser that I sourced from a dolls house miniature company. I like to add different mediums and textures whenever I can.

Manchester United fans football wedding cake toppers

These toppers were made for two Manchester United football fans. Although the bride wanted to be shown wearing her dress (there is a red train on the back with gold detailing), she wanted to wear a shirt over the top. The groom is also wearing his beloved shirt. The bride and groom have their names on the back. This bride wasn't sure exactly how her bouquet would turn out - she asked her florist to surprise her with something big and christmassy. I have included poinsetta, holly, mistletoe and berries into this bouquet and also some little metallic gold twists. I enjoy making the little flowers and arranging them.

Please browse my slideshow!

Welcome to my new adventure...

Well here I am, finally embarking on the blog bus. Have never blogged before so this is quite an adventure... My name is Nikki, I am based in the North East of England, and have recently taken the decision to be a 'stay at home / work at home' mum to my 2 children.

I produce cake toppers which I sell online and in craft fairs around the North East. I am kept very busy but I love it!

This bike crazy couple is an example of the work I produce. These toppers are handcrafted from polymer clay, each personalised to my customers' exact requirements. I like to work from photographs, and for me, the fun is in the detail. This couple required a Honda Blackbird motorbike with them on the top tier of their wedding cake. The bike was quite a challenge but great fun - I used liquid fimo to mould the visor at the front and tin foil for the mirrors. I used sewing machine bobbins in the wheels to give them a lovely shiny appearance.

Pin strip trousers took some working out initially but now I find them a lot easier! The bride is carrying lillies with little jewels at their centre.

I hope to be able to use this blog to show you my new work and also give some tips and ideas if you, like me, enjoy modelling with clay. There are many more examples at my website www.nikkisnoveltygifts.com of wedding toppers, and also christening and other celebration toppers.