Miss Honey Joy – the new home of cake bunting and other gorgeous handmade things

At the end of last year I decided I didn’t want to make my cake bunting anymore. But having invested so much time in creating the products, photographing them appealingly, discovering they were popular and subsequently gaining such a lot of good press, I couldn’t bring myself to just let it fade away. It seemed a bit of a waste.

I began to consider who, if anyone, might want to take the reigns.

About 2 years ago a gorgeous girl called Julia contacted me to say thanks for my cake bunting tutorial as it had enabled her to make some gorgeous decorations for her sister’s wedding. She was kind enough to include some photos and they were lovely.

When I responded she mentioned she was toying with the idea of starting her own crafty business but was not quite at the point yet – she imagined it was something she might do if she one day had a baby and was on maternity leave. And we left it there.

Some 2 years later, when I began to mull over who might take on twirling betty cake bunting, the lovely Jules popped into my mind. I had no idea what stage she was at in her life but thought it couldn’t hurt to put the proposition to her. And, serendipitously, she was newly up the duff and starting to contemplate a crafty biz with more focus! I LOVE it when stars align like that. It was totes meant to be.

So, I am delighted to introduce you to Jules’ gorgeous Etsy shop, Miss Honey Joy. As you’ll see, it’s packed full of cake bunting and banners but also other lovely things: hand stamped gift bags and cupcake toppers, screen-printed cards and tags and larger garlands too.

Jules’ products are beautifully made – she REALLY cares and it’s evident. I cannot even express how happy I am that not only did I find someone I could trust to invest the same level of care and effort as I did but that is also just a gorgeous human being.

Please do pop over and have a browse in Miss Honey Joy and, if you do order from Jules, let her know I sent you.

And you can follow her on Pinterest – she has the most exquisite taste.

twirling betty cake bunting and banners

I recently re-photographed my cake bunting and photographed my new decorations: cake banners.

By the time made all the banners and bunting, iced the cakes, came up with decorations to dress aforesaid cakes up and sorted out a professional lighting set-up ie, sticky taped my lights to the backs of chairs so they were at the right height, it took me a full weekend but I’m happy with the results.

My handsome husband took the girls off to his mum’s for the full 48 hours (I’m in love, still) so I didn’t have them crawling into my light tent and just generally doing other helpful things like that.

I was grateful as I do tend to feel product shots are more effective without little kids’ sticky hands reaching for the cake in the background. Just my personal opinion, though.

Can I just say, learning how to set a custom white balance and availing myself of appropriate ISO settings have changed my photographic life.

If you’ve got something to celebrate, cake bunting and cake banners are available now in my Etsy and Made it shops.

What do you think my friends? Do you like the banners or will you vomit if you see one more thing atop a cake other than icing?

PS: I only sell the non-stamped bunting (the one on the pavlovas) in Australia. If readers in other countries would like plain bunting like that, please do visit the lovely Dawn’s Etsy shop: Kiki La Ru.

Longer-term readers might recall the great cake bunting scandal of 2010 (that’s what it’s referred to as in official documents at least) when twirling betty and Kiki La Ru clashed wooden skewers over who originated cake bunting. If you want the full details you can read them here (not one of my finest moments), but long story short, we both came up with the idea independently around about the same time. And now in the happiest of happy endings, we are taking on the cake bunting world as a united force! Well, that might be putting it a touch strongly, but we do refer business to each other and out of respect for Dawn I don’t sell plain bunting in my Etsy shop and she doesn’t do personalised bunting in hers.

Dawn lives near a picturesque Austrian forest and has a lovely blog too. And after a hard road (I’m not telling you anything that isn’t on her blog) she’s pregnant again and that makes me very, very happy.

Ahhh, cake bunting: bringing people around the world together one little string of flaglets at a time.