Wedded Bliss Part 2

Teapot Mice

4th October 2012

In the second part of my series of articles about the wedding cake toppers I've made, I thought I'd start off by looking at the role that props often play when I'm working on a design. And first up are these adorable Teapot Mice, made for the lovely Helen and her husband Gareth. Helen first got in touch with me in April through Etsy, as she had spotted the Teacup Mice and she thought the style would work for their wedding theme. Helen  had in mind the idea of a mouse in a teapot, and after we spoke on the phone, we came up with the idea of a mouse in a teapot, and also another mouse pouring a cup of tea (I just love the circularity of that!) Helen managed to source this wonderful miniature teapot, to which I added the mice (the little grey mouse just tagged along for the ride - the handle was just crying out for a mouse!)

Photo © Richard Moore 

And this was the amazing cake, upon which the Teapot Mice were perched! Isn't it beautiful? You may spot a little cup and saucer at the bottom of the cake - another couple of mice found their way in there, holding a sign saying "Keep Calm and Marry On". Perfect.

Another commission that involved a certain circularity was a computer mouse on a, err, computer mouse! These two mice were based on the bride and groom's professions, with the groom in IT and the bride a scientist. I managed to find a fairly flat computer mouse on eBay, and the mice were right at home!

Another recent commission I did involved a beautiful ceramic apple from Penkridge Ceramics. Jo had got in touch to see if I could make some fairly simple mice for her wedding, to include three little mice to represent their daughters and the flower girl.

What I loved about this commission was that the mice are wearing elements of the real wedding outfits, but just in highlighted form. So the bride has a couple of flowers at her waist, similar to those on Jo's dress, and the bridesmaids and flowergirl are wearing sashes, again taken from their dresses. The apple is just wonderful - Edie's mouse is clambering up the side (she loves climbing), whereas Lily's mouse is dancing. The tails of the bride and groom and entwined in a heart.

Signs are always a pretty popular prop when it comes to weddings. These two giraffes were commissioned by Al as a gift for her sister's wedding. The groom is about 9cm tall, and the bride is 8cm tall.

There is one final installment to go in this series of wedding cake toppers - if you'd like to see more of the sort of commissions I do, pop over to my Flickr page
.

Wedded Bliss Part 1

Michelle and Paul's wedding mice

10th August 2012
I consider it a great honour when I'm asked to make wee creatures to perch on the top of a wedding cake. To be a part of someone's special day is a big thing, even if it's only a small part, and I love working with people to come up with just the perfect design.  I've clocked up quite a few now, so I'm going to take a look at some of the ones I've made over a couple of posts.

Introducing the Moodlings

3rd July 2012
June was an interesting sort of a month for me, one of those roller coaster ones that come along every once in a while. Not only did it not get off to a great start when I dislocated my left thumb and was out of action for over a week, but it didn't really improve when my computer caught a few bugs which (thankfully) are now fully cured. But on the plus side, I have developed a new range of wee creatures, the Moodlings, AND I have finally opened my long-awaited new online shop!

Fame at last!

Craftseller magazine, Issue 12, July 2012

11th June 2012
Can you spot any familiar faces in this picture? Yes, that's right - Quernus Crafts was featured in the current issue of Craftseller magazine! I'm talking about my ArtFire shop, The Mouse House, which has been up and running for the past 18 months or so.

Summer's Here!

Keep Calm Mouse available to buy on Etsy

2 May 2012
Summer is definitely on the way! How do I know this? Perhaps not because of the weather, where the April showers are persisting into May. Nope, I know because today the Summer issue of the UK Handmade magazine is out!