It's #websitewednesday so head on over to joannetruby.co.uk :)

Such a talented lady, with a wonderful blog too!

We're putting on Afternoon Tea at Joanne's wreath making workshop on 13th December, and there's only a few spaces left... hurry up and book!

While Chic'n'Cheerful specialises in Afternoon Tea, we also provide all sorts of other goodies (particularly cakes!) including savoury snacks and canapes.

Recently, we were delighted to be invited to provide a taster of our Afternoon Tea menu, along with some snacks, for a wedding next year.  Our creative Bride and Groom To Be have some wonderful ideas in mind, and clearly want their guests to be well looked after, from the moment they arrive at their venue and the photographs begin.

We baked for them, some parmesan twists, mini quiches, pork and ale sausage rolls, fruit scones, mini Bakewell tarts, along with all sorts of other tasty treats and finger sandwiches... the kitchen smelt amazing!

If you are planning a celebration or special event, and would like to try our Afternoon Tea, please do get in contact, and we will happily arrange a taster menu for you*

*charges apply

It is such an honour to be able to share in people's celebrations, and we really do feel proud to be able to help create a sense of occasion.

Recently we were invited to Brighton to create a sumptuous Afternoon Tea for friends and family of a Mother-To-Be, enjoying her baby shower.  Their beautiful home gave us a fantastic space to lay out our vintage and mismatched crockery, along with heaps of finger sandwiches, fresh scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, and plenty of cakes.  

Each time we put on an event like this, we get butterflies! It's exciting, and we love the anticipation of seeing and hearing the reactions as people tuck into our food, and enjoy drinking tea from our tea cups (people often tell us they swear it tastes better from a proper cup and saucer).

We serve our Afternoon Tea how ever you like it - a self service buffet, as we did for this baby shower, or can lay out for formal seating and serve your guests at their tables.  Either way, your guests will never leave hungry!

Crafternoons are such a fun way to spend time with friends and family - they work well for all sorts of occasions (especially if you have a group where not everyone knows one another... they can be a great ice breaker) - in this instance, a hen party, which we arranged at the lovely Sompting Village Hall.

The Crafternoon started with a sumptuous Afternoon Tea, consisting of finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, and a LOT of cakes, all served on our vintage and mismatched crockery.  Tea and coffee flowed, as everyone got chatting.

While we cleared away the cake crumbs, our hens chose from our great selection of beads and findings, and each took a copy of our 'hints, tips and guidelines', along with the appropriate tools for the style of jewellery they wanted to make.

With the hens busy chatting and crafting, we moved around the room offering some help and guidance where needed, topped up tea and snuck out extra homemade biscuits onto the tables.  No-one leaves a Chic'n'Cheerful event feeling hungry!

Our happy hens left with a beautiful selection of their handmade jewellery - we always offer to finish off and post out any incomplete projects, but the ladies had done such a good job (some had even made a matching set) most of them left wearing their creations.

Each and every Chic'n'Cheerful event, is custom made for the occasion, so no two events are the same.  If you are interested in holding a Crafternoon, and would like some ideas or inspiration, please do take a look at our suggestions, or get in contact.

Ingredients:

160g solid stork margarine, or butter
80g cocoa powder
290g caster sugar
4 eggs (room temperature)
120g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 whole Terry's Chocolate Orange (so no, you can't eat any of it while you are baking!)

 - Preheat your oven to 180C
 - Grease your baking tray (8" x 12" or similar)
 - Melt the margarine/butter over a gentle heat, then stir in the cocoa powder, sugar, and the eggs
 - Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon, until glossy
 - Sieve in the flour and baking powder, with a pinch of salt, and mix together

 - break the chocolate orange into segments, and chop each segment in half 
 - stir the segments of chocolate orange into the mix
 - Pour the mixture into a greased/lined tray, and spread evenly, making sure the mix goes into the corners of the tray
 - Bake for 25 minutes (if your brownies seem to be cooking too quickly on top, you can place foil over the tray for the last 5 minutes of baking)

 - Let them cool in the tray, then cut into equal portions, and share if you feel so inclined!

Do you have a special occasion coming up in 2015?  how about hiring our beautiful bunting to brighten your venue?

We have heaps of handmade bunting made from vintage and up-cycled fabrics available to hire - it really can transform a back garden, village hall, or hotel!

We're getting pretty excited about 2015, so we're offering 15% off all bunting hire bookings, made between now and 31st December (please note, the booking deposit needs to be paid by 31st December).  If you'd like to know more, or aren't sure on how many meters you may need for your venue, please just get in touch

We are also more than happy to source vintage fabrics, to make custom bunting for your event...