Cupcake castles Weblog

Manic again as usual - trying to get out a lot of orders ( if your one of the many waiting please bare with me !) and get ready for my next trade show Pulse - Top Drawer, so much to organise but everythings booked and ready to go - but look what it all done to my pretty pink shed - chaos and meltdown spring to mind!!! , guess which one’s the before and after pic’s . Pulse is held at Earls Court in London on the 1st, second and third of June

Primula’s are my favourites in springs  - have far too many ! ( too many shopping trips with mum - we’d rather buy plants than clothes ), but they lasted a lot longer this year because of the cold miserable weather - just what they like. Yesterday my first dahlia shoot popped out the ground - had a little drink on his homecoming, like an old Friend returning ( have had this one for eight years - nearly as old as my kids !) , I’ve planted another 12 this year so have lost count now ! but I’m looking forward to a massive riot of colour

They did really well this year ( only a  few lost to slugs ! ) - these are my favourites so thought they deserved to be seen a little longer, bye bye till next year.

Here’s how I know !!, spent all day sunday watching a greenhouse being built in my mums garden - took a lot longer than we all thought ( way into the night !)

I’ve got so many ideas for new clocks and chalkboards it’s hard to find the time to get them done, ( I feel some early morning starts coming on again ) My boys often help me with a few ideas - I get them to sit and draw their ideas as clocks or mirrors (  taking out the more gory parts and dripping blood that seem to infiltrate all there drawings!) so there’s plenty more to come ie. knights, more dragons and big scary dinosaurs.

After lots of requests I decided to make some new fairy hangers, they have hooks along the bottom of their skirts to hang jewellery so have a use. They were very popular at their first show with more than a few shops wanting to take them away ! So there may be a whole range of possibilities there.

Anyway it’ll be a while before any of the new stuff will be seen on my website as I came back from the show with only 3 pieces before i’d had a chance to take any proper pics of them ! but if anyone see’s anything they do want just email me for a chat, I’d love some comments too.

Didn’t have much time to make lots of new designs for my first show of the year but did manage a few new clocks and some very new chalkboards ( posh for blackboards?)They went very well at the show so I’ll be doing more for Pulse. It would be great to hear from anyone else attending any shows this year - especially shows around christmas that are slightly less expensive than the big London shows!

Show time again!

Here we go again, the first show of the year. This is a very little trade show compared to the big shows I’ve done in the past but it has a nice atmosphere. It’s great to chat to other makers , find how their year is going and what shows they think are best - there are so many shows to choose from now and they are so expensive you have to pick the right ones to suit your product otherwise it can turn into an expensive disaster!

I was happy with the with the orders I got as I was already busy and my next ( much bigger show) is only 2 months away ( pulse, top drawer in June ) but the show did feel quite empty and many many people exhibiting did’nt get a single order! which I do feel for them as there is nothing more soul destroying as you sit and watch hundreds of people just walk past the work without a second glance that you have poured your heart and soul into.

 I’m an old hat at this now ( eight years) and have developed a very thick skin, many makers that I started showing with many years ago now have “proper” jobs as it does get tiresome hoping for and waiting for orders and then waiting forever sometimes for payment! when supplying - it’s a much happier mix to sell to the public as well, as I realised last year at the Country Living christmas fair.

Two examples just sent yesterday of mirrors designed completely from swatches of fabric sent to me, I’m always glad to try new designs and one off’s although this was even more of a challenge as I don’t possess any brown paint as I’ve never had to use it before, but it did give me the idea to do some ethnic fairies and princess in various different colours not just white.

Any piece can be personalised , or messages can be written on the back like this one from last week, turning a pretty clock or mirror into a family heirloom that can be passed down as a momento of a special occasion.

Every clay flower, butterfly etc. is hand cut and each petal or edge is hand smoothed ( enough to drive you nuts!)

A glimse of how my mirrors start there journey, you have to get the boring bits out the way before you can start playing with all that gorgeous glitter!

All I want for mothers day are flowers.

I’ve been busy again but at least the kitchen is almost tidy! as you’ll see why further down in my blog. But I also had a try at Etsy this weekend ( my shop is cupcakecastles of course) just to try and get more presence on the net as it’s a very large place!, but I’m not sure about it really apart from the fact that everything is in dollars even though it’s a worldwide site which I think would put off a lot of buyers new to the site it seems that only the sellers know of the site in the UK , so I’m not expecting much. There’s also the same problem that I ‘d have with selling on google that I’d have to stockpile these items for god knows how long till they sold when they could be earning money being sent out with shop orders which I have plenty of, and the website - www.cupcakecastles.com is ticking over quite nicely at the moment, but I can’t help dipping my toe into new things.

Doesn’t he look really miserable and lonely out there in the freezing rain, I can feel him beckoning me to come and give him a spring clean and a repaint, he’s aready been pink ,lilac, dark blue, pale blue and now you see him in last years colours - coffee and cream.

It’s that time again - time to clean the workshop as I’m fed up having pink fairies and pirate clocks all over the house. Every winter , especially at christmas the workshop gets turned into a dumping ground so every march its gutted and repainted ready for the first shows in April. It’s a great place to keep all my toy’s and bits that remind me of when the kids were tiny they are dotted all over the place even in the rafters.

Continue reading Tidy workshop…

That’s better !

To all those mums out there - how was your mothers day on Sunday, I had a great day with my mum ( just mum, no children)  and we did what we like doing the most - plant shopping. Some mums feel that mothers day means spending time with your family but I’m with mine a lot as I work from home so mothers day to me means escaping from them! Anyway we had a really nice lunch at Lucy’s on a plate in Ambleside ( Lucy was the first person to ever sell any of my work many years ago , back then she had a shop and restaurant now she has seven outlets so she’s a real inspiration)then we plant shopped till we dropped. Of course I bought lots more lilies and dahlias ( dont know where I’ll find room for them all ?) but it’s too early to buy much else as it’s still frosty so primulas wil have to do for some colour now.

Last week was a really busy week which is odd at this time of year?  so because of the weather its easier to dry some work in the kitchen

Lots of smiley happy faces !

I really enjoy attending the fairs gives me a chance to hear peoples comments as they can point you in the right direction and give you so many more ideas, it’s all to easy to sit in your little workshop everyday and forget where your going with your work, it’s also really fab to see what everyone else is doing as most the designers and crafters I have read about for years ( usually in country living magazine ) are at the same big shows , I usually come home with a boxload of new ornaments and jewellery!

Nearly that time again - Show time,   I am showing at two trade fairs and one big private fair with country living magazine in November . So march will be spent busily designing at least 20 new designs especially for boys - more dinosaurs and monsters , the ones I make now are very popular but I had a few comments from my last fair from mums who wanted scarier dinosaurs ! so I’ll try my best. There will be a lot more seaside mirrors and clocks but what I’m most excited about are my first attempts to make chalkboards and memoboards - I’ve got all the paints and boards ready I just need to experiment and see what works best - hopefully the first ones will be at my first trade show of the year in Harrogate in April - BCTF

Found this fairy in my garden ( with a broken arm ) anyway she volunteered to help me take some pics for my website www.cupcakecastles.com, thought this would help potential buyers to see how large each piece is as it’s hard to imagine from just my website pictures - more of these pis can be seen on my about page. Next summer I’ll catch lots of little fairies and a couple of pixies to help with with some new pics.

This is a new clock , not even on my website yet, I’m working on about twenty new designs at the moment - a lot more dinosaurs, dragons, monsters and ships, also designing a complete new range of chalkboards and jewellery boards - so watch this space - they’ll be on my blog spot before my website.

Cupcakes are just everywhere at the moment so this is one band wagon I’m definately jumping on, these are just things I make with cupcakes on , the rest can be seen at  www.cupcakecastles.com

Last October me and Ian finally married after 15 years and two children, my mum made the main cake with about six tonnes of white chocolate ( my favourite ) I also had fifty cupcakes made ( of course!)   - the kids had eaten half of them before we even got round to cutting the cake.

This is just after we’ve been married outside with all our nephews and nieces and our two boys of course. We kept it all very informal especially the photo’s, the best memories are from the more chaotic pictures - babies knocking drinks over, kids falling around. I’m still waiting for most pictures to arrive so I’ll put the more chaotic ones on when they do.

dancing fairy mirror

This is my attempt at some “country living” style photo’s in my garden, need to think of some more interesting places to take photo’s this summer for my website  www.cupcakecastles.com

cupcake fairy princes

This is my harbour mirror ( nothing to do with Balamory !) and it has been one of my most popular pieces for the last eight years, a new version is now available with sailing boats instead of a fishing boat, have had a lot of requests to change this one ie add octopus and jellyfish but the strangest request was to paint the sea hot pink, very hard for me to do but she loved it.

These are my boys  after climbing up the Hoad a famous landmark of Ulverston and can be seen miles away, it looks really high from a distance and the first time we went to climb it we pack tea and sandwiches and donned our serious hiking gear thinking it was going to take all day , it only took 20 minutes! brilliant view from the top though , you can almost Blackpool in one direction and the Lake district hills in the other direction.

This week has been so cold!, about minus 7 everyday, I just wanted to remember last summer. It’s always at this time of year that I really really want to start some gardening -I stand staring out of the french doors willing the plants to grow ( fellow gardeners will understand ). I know that sounds slightly sad but I need colour all this greyness is so mind numbingly boring. In the big world of flowers I like the tarts - the bigger and brighter  the better thats why I love dahlias and lilies. These are just a few from my garden last summer.

to prove my piont here he is again !

This is Bob ( another male ) , he follows me wherever I go and especially likes to have his picture taken, he has this uncanny knack of knowing what I’m going to take a picture of !

My very pink workshop,( even the floor gets a recoat of pink paint every year ) this is what happens when you have two boys and are surrounded by action men and tanks everyday.This is where I can escape into glittery pink world ( not for long though , they always seem to find me !) When it gets really busy the house tends to get taken over as well - never enough room!

Hi , this is me Liz Mortimer, covered in paint as always ( usually covered in a lot more paint than this!) I am the designer and maker of the glittery mirrors and clocks on cupcakecastles.com and just wanted to set up this blog site so potential buyers could see how , where and who makes them. As I like to offer a very personal service ( you can phone or email me any day of the week - I’m usually working, to chat about a one off commission or special changes you would made to any piece)it’s nice to see where they are coming from.