A chocolate-tastic day!

On Friday last week, I received the most wonderful email from Dan and Paula at Elements for Life, telling me that my name had been picked out of a hat and I had won a free Raw Chocolate Making Starter Kit

Cue MUCH excitement from me, I mean, does it get much better than that?  Its chocolate, its good for you, its FREE and to top it off, it arrived just in time for half term so I could make them with the kiddies - YIPPEEE!!

So today we made our chocolates, much to everyone's delight!  As a bonus, Mr Starstruck made it home from work early so he was able to take some action shots of us...

Grating the Raw Cacoa Butter:

Preparing the mould - We bought some little white chocolate buttons and cut them up, then placed a few pieces in each mould so that we would get some white chocolate on the tops each each one.  If you can see the saucepan just past me, this contains a glass bowl, forming the bain marie that we melted the cacoa butter in:

Aliya adds the Raw Cacoa powder to the melted Caoa butter,  we then added some of the Sweet Freedom sweetener (we added a bit more than the recipe said as the kiddies thought it was a little bitter still.  I thought it was delicious, but they overruled me!):

Spooning our chocolate mixture into the mould:

And a couple of hours later....TA DA.....!

I like to think in this photo, Aliya is thinking "Oh my gosh, look mummy we made CHOCOLATES, and i'm SO excited, and now you're pointing a camera at me - here is my BIGGEST smile!".  And Austin is thinking "Yeah? And? Can I eat one yet?".

Confirmed by this photo where Aliya still can't get the grin off her face, and Austin is eyeing up the nearest one and wondering if he could sneak it in without me noticing:

OK - Mummy lets the kiddies eat the chocolate:

Loving the matching expressions:

My gorgeous chocolatey boy:

My very smiley little girl:

 

And I am really proud to show you this as well.  Aliya was so impressed with the chocolates that she sat and wrote this note.  Her reading is exceptional, but she really struggles with writing so this was a huge effort for her.  She chose the words herself, with just a little help with some of the spelling.  

Originally she was going to write "they were delicious", but when she got to writing the word "delicious", she decided to change it to something that she could spell!

All in all, a great experience.  The kiddies had great fun making the chocolates, and they definitely enjoyed eating them.  The chocolate itself is the best I have EVER tasted.  I've actually never tasted chocolate quite like it, so rich, smooth and it melts quickly in your mouth.  We've used half the pack on this batch, and Mr S and I have plans for the next lot, involving dried cherries soaked in Armaretto....Mmmmmmmm...

Happy Happy Birthday Cake!

This weekend has been wonderful fun in the Starstruck house as our beautiful son was 2 years old.  I didn't get an awful lot of work done, and the blog post that I am trying to write is still not ready, so I thought i'd fill the gap with a photo of perhaps the Happiest Happy Birthday Cake, EVER...

This is exactly how it came out of the oven, and it certainly made me smile.  It seemed a shame to ice it really, but we did anyway.  And Austin certainly seemed impressed!

So Happy Birthday, to my gorgeous, cheeky little boy.  If the last 2 years have been anything to go by, we're in for a ride and a half with Austin in our life!

Food for thought

Today I read a really inspiring article by Laura at Laptops and Lullabies, about what a blog should be about. And my heart sank.

Point 3 made it very clear that I should identify my target readers, and write for them. That I should work out who they are, what they like to read, and write every single thing for their benefit.

 

Uh oh.

My blog is kind of for me. I mean, i'm happy for anyone to read it, and really, what is the point of a blog if not to be read by others? But my website is for my business, and my Facebook page is for mini updates about my business, and Twitter is for.....well, i'm actually not sure what that is for, other than wasting millions of hours of my life... But my blog is the point where personal me and business me merge. I blog about my work, but I do it from a personal point of view. 

On the Starstruck Designs website you will find the final, edited shots from a photo shoot of my work. But on my blog, is where you will find the "behind the scenes" breakdown of what happened on the day, and my dreadful nerves beforehand. On my website you will be able to order whichever of my designs you fancy, but on my blog you will find out what inspired the piece, who named it, and why I think it is fab.

And sometimes on my blog you will hear about my husband, and my children. Because as much as I love my work, I love them more. And sometimes they need me more, and no work gets done until they are tucked up in bed. And sometimes, as much as I go ga-ga over some sparkles, I melt into a big old messy puddle of love for my gorgeous babies and have to tell the world about them.

So who do I write for? 

Brides? Hmmm...only those that love my kiddies. And sparkles. And weddingy things. But definitely those who are happy with my babies putting in an appearance, sometimes wearing said sparkly accessories.

Mums? Hmmm...nope, unless they are getting married, which they might be. But its not a mummy website, or a "useful for mummies" website. And although I do promise to delight those "I need some sparkle in my life" mummies, its unlikely that I will ever post anything that enables them to create a 5 minute, 5-a-day rich, "look! my children are perfect and my make-up is perfect and I have not a hair out of place" dinner every single day of the week.

Me? Uh oh. I've identified my target market! Its ME!

If you fall into the "Me" category, please let me know i'm not just talking to myself!

The Royal We...

I think there must be something in the air, perhaps its the new year? I don't know, but over the last few days I have read some unusually personal entries on the blogs that I follow.

It got me thinking about my own blog. I don't post very often - I guess I don't really have a clear focus when it comes to the purpose of the blog. Its predominantly about my business, and the wedding industry, but i've always been a bit of a gas-bag, and I often find I really curb myself when i'm writing so that I don't get too *involved*, at least not on a personal level. Honestly - I spend more time editing my waffle than I spend writing it! But what the heck....

Let's start with me. This is me (no not Isme, I *really* hate those adverts!).

I'm a closet magpie. OK, who am I trying to kid, i've not been in the closet for a very long time! I'm a Magpie, and i'm proud!

But I have to balance my sparkly side, with another side that is Wife and Mum. This year sees my husband and I celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary, and we have two beautiful children, Aliya who has just turned 6, and Austin who will be 2 in a couple of weeks. So really I suppose, THIS is me --->

I often use the words "we" and "us" and "our" when I talk about Starstruck Designs, and that's because, although I run the business, and I make all the pieces, this is very much a family business and all four of us are involved. My husband Andy, is my ultimate sounding board. He is the one person that I can guarantee will stomp all over my fantastic (expensive), creative (non-commercial), never-been-done-before (impossible/unrealistic/away with the fairies) ideas without a care in the world. Sounds harsh? Hmmm...but he keeps me grounded. He helps me sort the chaff from the wheat when it comes to the crazy think tank that sits on my shoulders. He also critiques my new designs, enourages me during the lows, pours me a glass of wine to celebrate the highs, and nags me to complete my tax return on time. He's also not afraid of the early Saturday morning run to the post office, with both children, so I can have a lie in. And he sometimes comes back and wakes me with tea and a bacon sarnie. For that, I love him forever.

My children tell me when i'm working too hard, or working when I shouldn't. They run their fingers though my boxes (and boxes, and boxes) of crystals and pearls and diamante and ohh and ahh over my "sparklies". Their delight when I twirl a tiara around in the sunlight and cause rainbow flecks of light to fill every wall of the room reminds me of the beauty of the materials I work with. Aliya likes to try on the samples that I make up, and if she can pop a tiara on and then completely forget she is wearing it, I know that its not going to cause a bride a headache on her wedding day. Austin also likes to try on my samples...

Last year was a tough one for me. It was the first year I was back at work full time since having my children. Its hard to balance a business and a family, and I don't always get it right - and if the balance isn't right then both sides suffer. If I spend too much time working and not with the family, my children miss me, I feel guilty about neglecting them and that inhibits my creativity. If I spend too much time with my family and not enough working, then of course, my business, client relationships, and credibility suffers. Sometimes one side needs me more than the other and identifying those times when a shift is required is tricky...that's why it takes more than just me, to make sure I get it right. But believe me, Starstruck Designs is made up of a team of experts - we might not all get involved in making tiaras, but we are all brilliant at the parts we are in charge of!

Behind the scenes with Starstruck (and a Chicken...?)

On Saturday, Starstruck Designs embarked on its first ever location photo shoot, which turned out to be incredibly good fun, very hard work, and from the preliminary shots i've seen, extremely successful!  I really wanted to be able to showcase my work "in situ", and so enlisted in the help of an incredibly talented team of professionals to create a portfolio of images which I simply cannot wait to show you!  However, whilst I wait (im)patiently for them to arrive on my desk, I thought i'd share a "day in the life of" account with you...

The day dawned with the beautiful sunshine that I had been praying for all week, and I packed up the car and headed to the venue, Stoke Hall, which turned out to be the most beautiful, intimate wedding venue in Notts and Lincs that I have ever seen.  Owners, Diane and Brian, were so patient and welcoming throughout the whole day, despite us tramping through their home for almost seven hours! However, the very first person to greet me as I arrived was a very sociable chicken who seemed to think she was part of the family, and that access to the Hall was her right.

She became quite a fixture throughout the day, I think at some point all of us had a go at trying to chase her out of the house as she found her way inside again and again!

After a quick tour of Stoke Hall, we chose the Orangery as our base due to the fantastic natural lighting, and started setting up hair and make-up equipment, and laying out all the accessories into sets ready for the quick changes that were to come!  Model, Jess, soon arrived with her mum Julie, who was incredibly helpful when it came to helping with accessories changes, and keeping track of what had and hadn't been photographed!

The very talented Karen Kemp, Lincoln based hairdresser who created 2 fantastic looks on our models, here expertly coiffing Nikki's hair:

And equally as talented was our Lincoln based make up artist, Helen Mitchell who created the most beautiful looks on both models, here finishing off Jess's make-up:

Whilst our models were being "beautified" (like they needed it....gorgeous ladies!), Lincolnshire wedding photographer, Richard King and his rather lovely wife, Elizabeth were scoping out the venue for perfect locations to shoot.  The cherry on the cake when booking Richard, is that Elizabeth just so happens to be a highly sought after wedding planner! She brought a real perfectionist attitude to the shoot and I really do consider myself exceptionally lucky to have had not just one, but two fabulous professionals taking care of the photography.

Both Karen and Helen stayed with us all day to ensure that hair and make-up remained absolutely perfect throughout. So with hair and make-up finished, and dresses on, we started shooting...

Moving from one beautiful room to another, stopping briefly in the stunning hallway to take advantage of the impressive staircase:

And I had to include this photo as it makes me smile so much - Spot the model hiding out of shot!

Both models, Jess and Nikki, worked really hard as we moved from room to room, and swapped one set of accessories for another.  Photographer, Richard, knew exactly which parts of the rooms to use to create the best effects, and to make the most of the natural light that streamed in through the huge windows.  He also shows enormous patience with me as I nipped in and out of shots adjusting a tiara here and a necklace there!

Then, as the day got later, and the sunlight softened we headed out into the Secret Garden.  An exquisite walled garden, hidden entirely from view until you are standing in it.  Flowers of every conceivable colour, in every size and shape you could imagine, just everywhere.  And in the very center, a beautiful little fountain - the sound of the gently trickling water was the only noise to be heard.  I could have spent hours sat out there drinking in the colours and the peacefulness, however there was simply too much to be done, and I only managed to snap a few photos, but they give you a glimpse of the beauty:

I've already had a sneaky preview of some of the professional photos taken by Richard and they are absolutely stunning.  He managed to take photos of over 20 headpieces, and about 15 necklaces, with matching bracelets and earrings, on models, close up of each piece on models, and then individual product shots on both white and black backgrounds.  He worked tirelessly throughout the day and I think he would have carried on a lot longer had Elizabeth not kept him in check!

All in all, the day was absolutely brilliant and I couldn't have asked for a more professional team to have worked with.  I would highly recommend every single person within their role, with absolute confidence that they will not disappoint!  There was so much more to the day, but I fear I may have gone on too long already!  Watch this space for some of the professional shots soon!


Huge thanks to everyone involved in the shoot:

Venue:  Stoke Hall

Photography:  Richard King     Facebook Page

Hair:  Karen Kemp   Facebook Page

Make-up:  Helen Mitchell    Facebook Page

Models:  Jess and Nikki

Accessories:  Starstruck Designs     Facebook Page

And a little thank you to Elizabeth for all her help too:  Elizabeth King

Waiting for the weekend!

This Saturday Starstruck Designs will be involved in its first ever professional commercial photoshoot.  Nervous?  Me?  I was thinking a photo of an ostrich with its head in the sand would be appropriate, or maybe a photo of a headless chicken.  This one covered all bases.

The incredible venue is Stoke Hall, and I feel utterly privileged to have a fantastic team on board.  Two gorgeous models, Nikki and Jess, hairstylist Karen Kemp, make-up artist Helen Mitchell and as luck would have it, the Lincoln based photographer, Richard King, will be accompanied by his Wedding Planner wife, Elizabeth.  With such a wealth of experience between us, what could possibly go wrong!?!

There are plenty of new tiara and headband designs to be unveiled, as well as some gorgeous jewellery, both old and new.  Watch this space for pics from the shoot, and I can't wait to blog about the experience - once I have recovered!!

Happy Anniversary!

So last week was my Wedding Anniversary! The 6th of April marked the day that my gorgeous husband and I had been married for 9 years. I still can't believe its been that long - 9 years!?! Where the heck does time go? For some reason, this year I really did spend a lot of time thinking back to our wedding day, remembering every aspect of it: getting ready in the morning, the drive in the car with my Dad (He was so nervous the driver had to do his tie up!), arriving at Boringdon Hall and the feeling of being in a dream as I got out of the car! The build up of excitement and nerves as I stood outside the room we were to get married in, and could hear the start of MY entrance music (Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" - lol!)



Then I walked into the room and developed the weirdest tunnel vision. I'd planned to smile graciously at all our guests as I glided down the aisle, and instead, all I could see, all I could focus on was my Husband To Be. It was almost like someone had blurred everything either side of me and there was only him. I think I almost ran down that aisle. To the man that I loved, that I wanted to marry, that I was about to MARRY!!!



It really was the most wonderful day - the weather was gorgeous, really sunny and not a cloud in the sky, although it was really windy, but that just meant some fab photos of me veil streaming out behind me! I've always loved this photo, which was taken by my Sister in Law - it always makes me think of a perfume advert:



It was so lovely to spend a whole day with our friends and family, celebrating our marriage. So much hard work goes into planning a wedding, but I can promise you it is absolutely worth it on the day to see it all come together. Having said that, I must admit that there were several things that went wrong on the day which should have been a disaster, but just weren't! I really couldn't care less that the music in the ceremony was a bit messed up, that the venue forgot to play our chosen CD's during the wedding breakfast, or that the DJ turned out to be a cheese-tastic School Disco kinda chappie who offended my mum almost to the point of tears (!!!). None of it mattered. I was married!! Nothing else seemed very important any more!

And here we are, 9 years later. Lots of wonderful times behind us, and a fair few tough ones as well. With our 2 beautiful children who we both adore, and who drive us up the wall at times!

Happy New Year!

Well its an obvious one, but Happy New Year sparkly fans! Hope you've all had a lovely Christmas and New Year - we certainly have in the Starstruck household. Christmas was hectic with both our familes here, and Mr Starstruck and I hosting for the first time ever (scary!), but everything went well. The children loved their pressies, the adults loved the food, and the wine went down a treat too!

So now its back to work, and as I do like to hit the ground running, i've booked a wedding exhibition for this weekend! Oh yes - on Sunday 9th January, we will be exhibiting at the Bentley Hotel in South Hykeham, Lincoln, from 10.30am to 4pm.



I can't remember the last time I did an exhibition so the nerves are starting up a little bit, but with it being this weekend I really don't have time to think about it too much!

I think we'll be advertising some kind of fabby offer on the day, i've not decided what yet....what would you like to see? A substantial discount on your order? A competition where 1 person wins a tiara? I'm going to have to have a good think about this!

Other news is that we have a brand new collection in the making, inspired by a commission that came in just after Christmas. Based on the idea of lace, pearls, buttons and the obligatory sparkle, the collection will contain a range of hair accessories and tiaras.



I've got most of these bits and pieces on the way, with a range of others as well and as soon as they are here i'll be adding new designs as soon as they are ready.

And here is the first piece: A little lace hairclip, with a sprinkling of sparkles.



That's it for now...time to get tea for the kiddies, and then I can sit down and finish adding all the new jewellery to the website. Dullsville evening ahead, but someone's gotta do it!!

Its beginning to look a lot like.....

....Ok, so that's a really predictible title for this time of year, but you know what? I really don't care! I LOVE christmas, I just love it. The songs, the food, the wine, the pressies, the snow (oh yes!), the wine, the look on my daughters face when she sees what Santa has left, the wine, the good cheer, the wrapping of presents, the wine, the tacky decorations, the mulled wine, and of course the SPARKLES! (and did I mention the wine...?)

Swarovski crystal AB bauble by Starstruck Designs

Christmas is the one time of year when I can guarantee my husband wont bat an eyelid at me adding sparkles to everything. From tinsel on the Christmas tree, to lights in the windows, to foil hanging decs in the hall, to edible glitter on our food (ok - so I still have to try and get that one past him, but if anyone can do it - its me!)

This is the first year that i've actually put together some Christmas themed pieces on my website. There is the bauble above, and then this Christmas tree decoration:



Both modelled on my beautiful Christmas tree (sorry - I don't do the whole "matchy matchy" thing!)



I've actually been surprised at how many orders have come in over the last week - not for Christmas presents, but for brides getting married either over Christmas, or very early in the New Year. There have been a few orders from the new side tiaras collection, in addition to some snowflake pins, and snowflake necklaces and bracelets. Of course, there has also been a run of orders for Christmas party accessories, including a lovely customer, who having recieved her Christmas tree decoration, asked to have it make into a necklace for her party this weekend!

Working hard.....whilst the baby is ill.

Or not working hard.

Or perhaps working even harder than normal, but being a lot less productive whilst the baby is ill...?

As a little reminder, to those of you who aren't familiar with my utterly gorgeous little boy - here he is. A series of photos during and after a feed. Sometimes I manage to do these with 1 hand, and you might just be able to spot the cables of my laptop at the edge of a photo!



He's been really poorly this week. In fact on Monday we had to rush him to the hospital with a temperature of over 40C. But the antibiotics started to work very quickly, and here he is on Wednesday, along with what we "lovingly" refer to as his Kitchen Carnage:



So this week has been really difficult. I've managed to make all the client orders that were due, including a necklace and bracelet set that I love so much i'm having to make one for myself! And some hairpins, earrings, and a side tiara. But mostly this week i've been blogging, because that is relatively easy to do with 1 hand!

So i'm sorry...so SO sorry to all of you that are expecting some wonderful, sparkly post from me. But this week has been about my family. The essential part of work has been covered, but the "mum" part of me has really been called upon over the last 7 days. In so many ways. And you know what..? sometimes I think its really important to remember why we do this. Who we do it for. I LOVE my job, but gosh my babies are gorgeous.....

Admitting defeat, with a small success

Well, I lost the blog. Totally. No matter what I tried I couldn't get my blog to integrate with my website. So theres been a change of plan!

If you can read this then its because i've changed my mind, am still hosting the blog on blogger, and am going to link to it from my website. Cop out huh?!

But on the success side of things, I exhibited at a Ladies Christmas Gift Fayre tonight. It was fairly busy, and I got lots of compliments, as well as a few sales, which is always good! And it would seem my dress was something special, as I got many, many comments on it!



Of course, I was wearing a custom made Starstruck necklace, had on a pair of grey heels, and I absolutely DID NOT stand with my feet pointing in like that!

Simply Celestial

Have you read "The Celestine Prophecy"?

Its a great book. Not as good as I thought it would be, but I think that all depends on what your expectation is. I took away a single thought from it, which turned out to be hugely instrumental in a big decision that I made in life. I think I should read the book again as I am sure I would find a different meaning in it this time. I think its the kind of story that has a different meaning, and a different implication, depending on the stage of life you are currently at.

Anyway, I mention it just because a friend of mine referred to it tonight. I had been thinking of her today, having not spoken to her since around October last year, and decided to give her a call. During the course of our conversation, she told me that she had only been thinking of me, just minutes before I called her. Coincidence?

We had a similar moment about a year ago where she was stood in a shop, deliberating over accessories for an important outfit, and thinking how great it would be if I had been there to help her decide, and at that exact moment I walked into the shop. Actually it was that incident that prompted her to tell me about "The Celestine Prophecy", and to lend me her copy. Fortunate?

I'm not even sure why I felt it was important to blog about this tonight. Maybe I just needed to write it down. I miss her a lot.

Poorly sick in this house

My husband was ill on Tuesday. I thought he was putting it on a bit - all the huffing and puffing from the sofa was a bit irritating. However at about 2am Thursday morning I was made to eat my words when I came down with the same thing. I've ended up spending all day in bed, just sitting up for long enough to feed the baby, and then going back to sleep again. Now I am feeling a bit better, and I was inspired to search Folksy for some cheerful "get well soon" ideas:





Its my first attempt at a Treasury, so I hope i've managed it ok.

Now i'm back off to bed again - am not good at being ill, and I know that in an hour or so, the little one will be awake and wanting a feed...