Hello and thank you for stopping by! I am Natasha, married to the fabulous Mr Lemon Drizzle and Mum to two amazing bundles of energy, aka 'the kidlets'.
Here is a brief history of my life and how I came to find myself as the proprietor of Amelie's House.
I grew up in a very creative environment, both my parents are artists. Although I was always free to choose my own path through life they were visibly relieved when I decided not to become a dentist (I know, what was I thinking?) and study illustration.
So I did just that at the University of Northumbria. After three pleasant years of study I emerged blinking into the scary world of work with a BA in Graphic design, specialising in illustration.
I muddled along as a jobbing illustrator for a year and then fell into textile design. While at Uni I had done a holiday project on flowers. My tutor look at it and said, 'It's nice, but do you really want to paint flowers for a living?' Well turns out I did! I worked in both furnishing and fashion textiles and really loved it.
However commuting to London wasn't an option with one and then two little people in my life, so I gave it up to look after them.
Well that was easier said than done. Ever since I was a child I have sketched and painted and crafted. The few years after having children were the most creatively barren period of my life, which I found very tough and I was constantly searching for a creative outlet.
I made scrappy attempts at getting myself back into some kind of work. Knitting lessons, cards, fabric nik-naks...nothing worked.
However with the advent of kidlets came parties, and with parties came cakes. I started making more and more adventurous cakes and eventually decided that they were good enough to sell.
I have never had any formal training and dislike using piping, so I decided to play to my strengths and experimented with painting on cakes. I was delighted when it worked and started Nevie-Pie Cakes. I love the fact that my cakes have two purposes, to look good and to be eaten. I like the practical use that something beautiful can also have...it's transient design.
After being a keen member of the Flickr community for a few years I was drawn into the world of blogging, and almost immediately wanted to write my own blog. I am so grateful for the response Amelie's House has had. The wonderful support I have received is always spurring me on to bigger and better things.
I hope that you will continue to come with me as I explore my new and exciting life.
