Goldney Hall and I Love Crafty

This Sunday we had our second wedding fair and even though the footfall wasn't as high we still had a tremendous amount of interest and met some very classy brides to be. I think, in part, this was down to where the fair was held - Goldney Hall in Clifton. It really is a truly beautiful and peaceful place to be;

Not only was it a beautiful building but there were some beautiful vintage brides floating about through the day adding a touch of glamour to proceedings;

We were housed in the Orangery which had a lovely airy feeling and would make an excellent space for dancing!;

And last but not least the tranquil gardens with it's little pond, hidden gardens and tower. The weather helped to make the whole thing really rather idyllic!

However, more excitingly than our success and being in such a lovely environment we discovered a little company called "I Love Crafty"  which specialise in favours, trinkets and original gifts. They are usually housed in Clifton arcade but do the odd wedding fair and market. We loved their stall and everything they sell. If you can't get to the shop then definitely take a look at their website http://www.ilovecrafty.co.uk/

We love them and hope that you do too.

How to make a cake stand

This is one of my favourite things to make for weddings as they are so quick, easy and effective. You can also make them from any variety of style plates, glasses, candel sticks, tea cups, jugs, basically anything that will give you tiered layers with room for cupcakes (or whatever you fancy) in between.
Personally I like mismatched vintage crockery that I can forage for at boot fairs, flea markets and charity shops. If you're wily you should be able to make them for literally pennies!

What you will need;

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3 plates of different sizes, 2 glasses with stems, a tea cup for the top, a ruler, a light coloured pencil and araldite glue. You can use super glue but the chemicals react with the glass and make it go all foggy. Also araldite dries slower so you have more time to wash it off your fingers or reposition if you need to to!

Step 1; Use your pencil and ruler to find the middle point of your largest plate - you will also need to do this on the back and front of your middle plate and the bottom of your top plate;

Step 2; Run a small amount of araldite (only mix a little at a time as it dries quite quickly) around the base of one of your glasses and place it directly over the centre of the plate;

 

Step 3; Run araldite around the top rim of the glass and place the medium plate on top;

Step 4; Araldite the bottom of your next glass and place it in the centre of the plate - a good way to check if it's in line is by looking at it straight on, the glasses shouls appera to be directly above each other;

Step 5; Lastly glue around the top of the glass and add your smallest plate. If you're adding a tea cup remember not to glue it to the plate as you will need to take it off to empty/clean it;

And you are done, it really is that quick and easy! These three took me 25 minutes;

I would love to see pictures of the ones that you have made so feel free to email me your pictures at thehandmadeweddingco@yahoo.co.uk if there are enough I may even do a feature blog with them.

Happy cake stand making

xkt

Vintage Building

We spent this weekend in London for a christening and the friends we were visiting live on the infamous Rowley Way. It's Grade II listed but rather than  a building from the Georgian times or a unique post office building from the 1900's it's a whole street built in the 1960's.

As you can see it's more then just a street. From the main walk way are flats staggered up and backwards. The majority are still council owned and behind the right side is a maze of play areas and gardens;

It's a crazy place that can seem both depressing and hopeful depending on the time of day. The thing I love most about it is how some people really love their homes and although they are all totally uniform in build, tenants have added their own little touches of personality;

If you're ever in the neighbourhood (NW3) i really recommend checking it out as it's one of a kind.
xkt