Nikki McWilliams is experiencing a biscuit shortage and for a woman known as the Biscuit Lady, it’s nothing short of a crisis.

"I have half a packet of custard creams and five bourbons left," she explains. "I think I’ll have to start rationing them."

While her biscuit tin may be running empty the same can't be said for her home studio, which is currently chock-full with biscuit-inspired cushions, leather purses and jewellery ready to be deployed to her growing fan base.

From jammy hearts to malted milks, the 30-year-old’s biscuit business has grown into a sweet success since its inception in 2009.

Graduating with a degree in fine art in 2008, it was a printmaking course at Dundee Contemporary Arts that opened up the world of textile design to Nikki.

Working part-time in retail while creating small pieces of jewellery to sell on craft website Etsy, it was a tea break that led to Nikki’s key to soft furnishing fame.

She says: "I look at things around me for inspiration. I would sit on my tea break, Googling with a cup of tea and a biscuit in front of me. My best ideas happen when I'm not thinking about it too much."

Biscuits quickly became the focus of Nikki’s designs. A visit to the Tunnock's factory in Glasgow, which Nikki describes as “like Willy Wonka’s factory but with teacakes", saw the marshmallow confections added to her range of pink wafers, custard creams and digestives.

Not long after, the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow asked Nikki to create a range of Tunnock's badges using the foil wrapper and, with an agreement made between the confectionery company and the designer, Nikki’s biscuit empire expanded.

It was a few social media posts of cushions she'd made for her new flat that helped propel Nikki’s creations to fame.

She says: "People started asking if they could buy my cushions. They were pretty patchy in places and I was quite surprised people wanted one."

With an online store now overflowing with family favourites, an invitation to exhibit at a designer trade show in London led to Nikki’s range being picked up by Selfridges, who created a window display with her furnishings during the London Olympics and Queen’s jubilee.

Nikii says: "It seemed to fit in quite well. A cup of tea and a biscuit is very British."

With her studio at home in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Nikki and her team make and stuff her popular cushions in house at 'Biscuit HQ', selling them across the globe from her website to those with a penchant for traditional British biscuits.

Catching the eye of celebrities, Nikki’s cushions have been spotted in videos made by YouTube star Zoella and on TV presenter Alexa Chung’s sofa.

She says: "It’s quite exciting when it happens but I never know about it. Alexa Chung was probably the first, she had a Malted Milk cushion but I had no idea, a friend had to tell me.

"It’s quite cool but I really enjoy seeing them in everyone’s homes. People send me pictures of their cushions and their pets and babies and I just love that they are part of someone’s memories."

An army of biscuiteers now follow Nikki on social media, with thousands of followers on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter sending pictures of her creations in their homes, the most popular being her Tunnock's teacake and custard cream designs.

To keep them sweet, Nikki relishes the chance to get creative with biscuits for Instagram and blog posts, recently painting a custard cream to create an ombre effect and whipping up some "freakshakes" with popular British biscuits.

With a wicked sweet tooth, Nikki says she can’t imagine being creative without biscuits.

She says: "Biscuits have been my subject matter for the last five or six years. People think I’ll run out of ideas but I feel constantly inspired by them.

"Whoever said it was rude to play with your food – it never did me any harm."