Best of Bruxelles

Finally here are some more photos of my trip to Bruxelles last week. I was lucky to revisit many of my favorite neighborhoods and friends. It is always inspirational to faire lèche-vitrines (window shopping) and admire the beautiful Art Nouveau architecture .

A stunning necklace made of paper disks and felt pompoms.

The Grand Place where most building date mainly from the late 17th century.

The city of beer and of waffles!!

Mokuba Christmas Gift Wrapping Story

It's that time of year again and have I got great gift wrapping ideas for the upcoming holidays... they all include ribbon! There are numerous varieties to choose from in the aisles at Mokuba & I enjoyed the design challenge, focusing on the options that work with this year's seasonal colour palette of gift wrap. It was really fun tying and bowing the looks for this story. You can see what I did & get inspired by picking up the latest issue of Canadian House and Home magazine (November 2008, page 116). Try your hand at a classic double bow and with a bit of practice, your gift will surely impress!!!

Front page Style Me Pretty!

It was such a huge thrill to get a phone call from Michelle, telling me that Chapeau de Gateau was going to be on THE front page of Style Me Pretty!! Thanks so much to Abby and her team for featuring my recent work, and getting the word out about my newly launched shop on Etsy! As a Toronto member of her Little Black Book of vendors, I'm very proud to be included with such a talented group of people. It's great to check in and see the Real Weddings and stunning inspiration boards. I really appreciate the support. A grand merci!

Martha comment!

Fortunately Chapeau de Gateau has been profiled on several wedding blogs, but I found this recent one very charming, as it refers to my cake toppers as having a "Martha-chic" feel to them! What a compliment-thanks! I really like to design cake toppers that have a fun fresh graphic look to them. And without a doubt, Martha Stewart Wedding magazine is a constant source of inspiration.

Now I await to hear Martha's opinion!!

J'adore Laduree!

Chapeau de Gateau went on a inspiration trip this week! Well truthfully it was one action packed day in Paris. And merci to mon Cheri, I was able to tag along on one of his trips!! It was a stunningly beautiful warm fall day, perfect walking weather, and I visited some of my favorite haunts, the most special being the patisserie Laduree. I visited their location on Rue Royal which is the original tea shop and purchased their famous Macaroons. I'd have to say the salted caramel is now my new favorite. The elegant store is full of character and exquisite pastries. Pastries called Religieuses are pictures above. I love their colour palette and ultimately their chic pretty delicious creations. Look for some Laduree inspired Chapeau de Gateau cake toppers.

Shop Open!

I've officially posted a few cake toppers and my ribbon place card holders on Etsy!! This is a new venture for me, and I'm excited to see how all of this will work. My pal Stefanie at Heartbeat, is a computer genius in my books!! Many thanks!!! She was very helpful in the set-up and designed the eye catching header. She told me that eventually I'll get the hang of things...