I'm having great fun here at Cushion & Cake. I'm baking a Dorset Apple Traybake and while I wait for that I thought I'd get an update on the wee blog.

Business has been fine over the last few days. Some days are inexplicably quiet, other days are inexplicably busy, I can't see any trends as yet and I suppose I might not ever. I just have to be prepared each day to be busy.

During quiet periods I've found some time to make some little things to sell in the shop. I've been enjoying a bit of stamping and making simple but cute cards.

As well as making some cards myself, I met a lovely woman last week, an illustrator who made cards. The lettering us cut out in her cards and features greetings in Gaelic, a wee bit of Scottish culture which may appeal to tourists of people who have relatives living abroad. The little rosettes for example are detachable so when the card is used, you still have a wee something to keep.

 www.catingall.co.uk

 

 

 

 

I've made some new cushions too with lovely fabric I found when I was out and about.

I feel quite inspired being in the shop each day and go home with more ideas on what kind of things I'd like to make. I've got a custom cushion order to get ready tonight so I'd better get on.
xx

Upcycled Blackboards

I was pleased to finally get some old frames to make into blackboards to write the soup of the day and other messages on in the shop.

I just removed the back and the glass from this picture frame, got my dad to cut some ply wood to fit, and painted with blackboard paint and voila. A vintage, upcycled, handmade blackboard for the tearoom.

Diggers and C & C Press

It is a little bit of a quiet day today at the tearoom, except for the big digger digging a BIG hole outside the shop.

They're fixing a drain just outside.
I'm still adding little bits to the shop. Mostly hand done stuff such as my jazzed up Ikea clock.

I took it apart, spray painted the outer frame, then got some lovely retro style paper with bikes and mopeds on and cut to size then reassembled the clock. I'm really please with it. I love the paper.

I also needed some blackboards so that I could have my soup and cakes for the day displayed on the wall. I got a thrifted some old frames from a charity shop, got my dad to cut some new board for them to paint with blackboard paint, then reassemble.  I'm pretty chuffed with these too but I'll have to add these images tomorrow. I left them at my parents house to fully dry off.


Experimenting with some cookies today I made rose and pistachio cookies. I had one of these in a cafe in Glasgow and always wanted to make one but couldn't find a good recipe. I did a search online but the ones I found looked a bit complicated and had some ingredients I wasn't sure about so I just messed about with a similar recipe.

They're pretty tasty. I'm looking forward to seeing what people think of them tomorrow.
And finally. I managed to figure out how to scan something on my printer. This is a little article in Glasgow's Evening Times a week or so ago about my little tearoom.

 

You may have to zoom in to read it!

Lovely Review from Scotland's most popular 'what's on' guide The List

I had a lovely couple and their little baby during the week for a bit of lunch, tea and cake and as they were leaving, the gentleman mentioned that he was the food reviewer from The List. I noticed the little review on my place had appeared online yesterday and I'm delighted with it.
You can read it here.
I'm really happy with it. He's captured the mood of the place really well so a big thanks to The List!