December 15, 2011

Before Christmas is over I have some pictures from the recent Christmas Styling Event I presented at for Penny from Working Mums Masterclass.  We had a lovely day talking about everything from organising yourself for the silly season, to your Christmas dessert table, favour ideas, a Christmas menu, gift wrapping and how to make your table setting ever so stylish.
All four presenters had something very different and unique to show and I am sure that all the lovely ladies who came along took something away from the day that they could use in their Christmas styling instantly.

 

Thanks Penny for organising a wonderful series of workshops though out 2011 – if you would like to join Penny’s mailing list to find out the 2012 workshop schedule pop on over to her website here.

I must say a special thanks also to Lindt for providing some gorgeous boxes of chocolate to include the participants goodie bags as well as on my dessert table – they were delicious!

Leanne

December 12, 2011

I know we are still to make it through Christmas but today I have a little New Years Bling for you from the recent article I put together for the Party Dress Magazine.

I went with an elegant theme of black, white and silver for my new years eve cocktail party.

I decided on a cheese stack instead of a sweet cake as my centrepiece item – this way I could cater to the savour lovers as well as those of us with a sweet tooth.  Beautiful cupcakes and cookies by Jacki from Blissfully Sweet Cakes added some more sparkle and in my mini pots I created a little cheesecake using brownies as the base and topped it with a mixture of mascapone cheese and icing sugar.  
Pretzels dipped in chocolate were also included as this gave a mixture of the sweet and salty together and they do taste devine. 
So have you thought about New Years Eve festivities yet?
Welcome 2012 or Happy New Year Stamp and cutlery are available in the Sweet Style Store here
Mini pots, cake stands, jars and Chevron tote favour boxes also available in the store
Photography Sweet Style

Leanne

December 9, 2011

The final article I put together for Vesna’s My Little Jedi Magazine was all about gift wrap.

I have taken the colours from my Christmas Dessert Table which also features on my tree this year and I have teamed it with lots of naturals.  Some kraft paper with a piece of patterned paper around the middle.   Simple twine or string with a lovely tag.  
I love using plain white boxes from a variety store or even meal boxes and adding a hint of patterned paper.  I used a few of the oatmeal luggage tags from my shop and cut the patterned paper into little triangles and stuck it on to look like bunting.  I finished them off with one of my Christmas stamps also from the shop – so simple but just lovely.  

Leanne

December 7, 2011

In the recent edition of the My Little Jedi Magazine Jacki from Blissfully Sweet Cakes and I decided to create this delicious Pavlova two different ways – one for easy presentation on your table and the other to use as a great take home Christmas favour.

First up is the Pavolva Tree – this is honestly so easy to put together as I took these photo’s of Jacki creating her tree in about 1 minute flat – she just kept layering it with all the delicious components and it worked a treat. Here are some photos showing just how simple it is to put together.
The second version of this wonderful dessert is a Pavlova in a jar. Great for take home gifts or a cute way to serve your guests at the party. As with the tree you just layer the components on top of one another, close the lid and tie on a cute tag. Yum!
Jacki’s recipe and instructions are below.

Nutty Chocolate Pavlova Tree Recipe
Find your favorite Pavlova recipe, or use the one below, and made a few quick and easy changes to the way it is put together and you have a Pavlova Tree or a Pavlova in a jar – great to serve on Christmas day and for party favours for your guests.
You will need:-

6 egg whites (room temperature)

330 gms caster sugar
1 tbs cornflour
1 tsp balsamic vinegar

25gms cocoa powder
6 Ferrero chocolates, crushed
600mls thickened cream

1 vanilla bean, scraped
1/3 cup icing sugar

Pistacchio nuts, hulled and crushed
Punnet of blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 140°C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat eggwhites in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add in the caster sugar. Continue beating until meringue is thick and glossy, about 5-7 minutes. Sift cocoa powder into meringue and fold in the crushed ferrero chocolates.
3. If making the pavlova tree, spoon the meringue mixture into rounds on your baking paper using different sizes circles. This will achieve the Christmas tree cone shape. Make as many rounds as you like and make the tree as high or wide as you like.
4. Put the trays in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 120°C. Depending in the size of your shells the cooking time will take between 1 and 1½ hours. Keep checking. The shells will be ready when the surfaces are hard. Turn the oven off and leave the door ajar until the oven is cooled.
5. To make chantilly cream, beat thickened cream together with the scraped vanilla bean and icing sugar until stiff peaks are achieved.
6. To assemble, get your favourite cake stand or plate and place a small blob of cream on the stand and start layering the pavlova shells, with the larger circles on the bottom and work your way up. In between each layer, pipe the chantilly cream with sprinkle with the pistachio nuts and blueberries. Top the tree with a swirl of cream and a luscious blueberry.
7. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe by Blissfully Sweet
Jars, Printables and cake stand Sweet Style
Photography Sweet Style

Leanne

December 5, 2011

The gorgeous Christmas edition of Vesna’s My Little Jedi Magazine is out and it is just devine.  I was delighted to be part of this issue by contributing a number of articles from a Christmas Dessert Table to some gift wrap ideas to a collaboration with Jacki from Blissfully Sweet Cakes showing some lovely ideas for Pavlova’s.  

Today I am sharing with you some photos of the Christmas Dessert Table I put together.  A very different colour palette than my usual christmas but I just love this modern and simple look.  I hope you enjoy some shots of the table – the link to the complete magazine is attached at the bottom of this post and I will be back during the week to show some more photos from the other projects.
Cake, cupcakes and cookies were all made by Jacki from Blissfully Sweet Cakes
Pops on sticks and chocolate dipped donuts were made by me.  The table also included delicious Lindt Chocolate from their Masterpieces range and caramel macaroons.
Photography – Sweet Style

Leanne