Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Cake | Made From ScratchHappy Monday everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Mine was filled with meeting the very lovely Natalie Dent for a hair and  make up trial for amazing friend Emily, before celebrating the night away with her and some very gorgeous ladies at her hens night and of course a little baking – it was the perfect weekend! I often find that after I bake cakes like my pretty Ombre Tinkerbell Cake I crave making something simple and incredibly delicious, plus my hubby needed a birthday cake for some lucky work mates so it was perfect! This Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip cake is so divine, I promise that it will be your go to cake in no time at all! x

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Ombre Tinkerbell Cake | Made From ScratchHappy Friday everyone, I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week so far! I’ve had such a wonderful week of new things, introducing the gorgeous Gem from Blackbird to the blog where each Wednesday she will share her Creme of the Crop posts and of course announcing that my classes are going to be held at the wonderful Studio 46, the next few months are going to be so wonderful and I can’t wait! I’m so excited to share the prettiest new cake with you all – it’s been called the Tinkerbell Cake as it’s for a gorgeous little ladies 5th Birthday today, I think it’s the perfect name for such a pretty ruffle cake!  I hope you all have a fantastic weekend planned, I’m going to be out celebrating my incredible friends Hen’s night tomorrow night – I can’t wait. x

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MFScremeofthecrophello.

I am Gem. I am a wife & a stylist, a photographer & a friend, a blogger & a maker.

The ever so lovely Rachael has asked me to guest post for her…blush.

But to give you a little context to who I am, I need to go backwards, before we venture forward. After 4 years of running our business HUNTER GATHERER, my husband and I decided to take a break. This sending me running with open arms into the world of styling. I studied fashion styling which naturally progressed into my obsession with interior styling. And so was born BLACKBIRD, I am now a lost cause to the world of object, colours and shapes.

Each wednesday I will bring you a fresh post. A little window into my ever changing mind, a place where I will share my ‘get-in-my-home-or-closet’ items .

Throw in a few tips on home decorating and personal style, Fill it to bursting with images and BAM. I bring you Creme of the Crop.

little-drom-storeBrr, Winter really has settled -but how lovely is snuggling under a cozy blanket and watching a movie I love it!! I could hardly believe my eyes when I stumbled upon these gorgeous pins from The Little Drom Store they really are the cutest things ever and I simply had to share them! Now the hard part, choosing which one to get – I’ve a feeling that one really wont be enough, I’m a little in love with the bunny and hopscotch pins, which ones do you love? x

blondiesHappy Monday everyone, I hope you all had the most wonderful weekend and of course spoilt your gorgeous Mama for Mothers Day! We had a really lazy but productive weekend after a week away, it was perfect – plus a little lazy Sunday afternoon is wonderful while it’s a little chilly outside. My gorgeous Mother-in-law gave me this delicious blondie recipe years ago, I’ve made it more times that I can remember – it’s just so good!! Her recipe calls for macadamia nuts but I didn’t have any so I added in pistachio nuts and crystallised ginger – either way this recipe is absolutely incredible and so quick to make I promise it will be your go to treat in no time! x

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Mothers-Day-Gift-Ideas-Happy Friday everyone, I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week so far. So yesterday I shared the sweetest Mothers Day table setting – today is all about gorgeous gifts for your incredible Mama! I’ve always found giving gifts to my Mum a little tricky, as I feel that whatever I give it would never be enough to thank her for everything that she’s done! But all Mama’s deserve something beautiful, be it a delicious cup of tea while wearing sparkly slippers or a subscription to endless goodies by the gorgeous Sample Bar (you might remember the incredible Mothers Day parcel I received a little while ago – I can now share what’s inside!!) either way no matter what you give your Mama this Mothers Day, she is going to love it! xo

| necklace | teapot | candle | cake stand | slippers | sample bar | umbrella |

Mothers-Day-Tablescape-Setting-Aw, with Mother’s Day this weekend it’s the perfect time to organise something special for your incredible Mama! I’m a little in love with this incredibly elegant yet simple table setting styled by the lovely Caitlin Moran for Glitter Guide - the soft gold and green touches are perfection, as is the very sweet name tag with a sprig leaves from the flowers. This weekend really is the time to spoil our wonderful Mama’s for everything they’ve done for us, I’ll be sending all my love to mine as she’s lucky enough to be spending Mothers Day in New York – how wonderful is that! x

| Photography, Natalie Franke | Styling, Caitlin Moran for Glitter Guide | Dishes & champagne glasses: Cin Cin Vintage | Flatware: Madhouse by Michael Aram | Wooden platter: Marshall’s |

SydneyOh my, it’s so so lovely to be back – I’ve really missed you all, our fluffy puppy and blogging each day it so strange not doing it each day! Although in saying that my hubby and I had the most wonderful time in Sydney last week – he was there for work and I was lucky enough to tag along to do a little shopping and catch up and meet some incredibly amazing people. Like catching up with the wonderful Kate Robinson at the Donna Hay (where naturally quite a bit of shopping was done!) general store before brunch as Bills and meeting insanely lovely and gorgeous Mia from Mia Loves Pretty at the delicious Grounds of Alexandria for lunch – beyond perfect! As well as of course shopping and catching up with lovely people my hubby and I wandered around this gorgeous city taking in all of the beautiful sites that it has to offer – it really is such a wonderful city! So since returning from our week away being a tourists in Sydney. I now want to explore Auckland a little more like a tourist, I think there is something wonderful about trying to see the city that you live in through a tourists eyes! I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week so far, I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to – oh and I’ve started my baking classes again, be sure to have a peek here! xo