Sep 30, 2013

Beautiful Butterfly Cake

Remember the Owl Baby Shower Cake?  This super sweet beauty of a butterfly cake made her way to one of the little girls in that family for her 5th birthday.  


It was inspired by this cake on Pintrest, but we customized it for the little girl Emily who loves pink and purple and is even sweeter and more adorable than this cake..  

To make the butterfly, I used 3 heart shaped cakes, one for each top wing, and the third cut in half to make the bottom wings.  The center was made of rice cereal treats.  The cake was iced with buttercream and accented with Sixlets and M&Ms.  I had some flower picks that matched the colors nicely, so they became the antenna.


What's my favorite thing about this cake?  That's easy.  Emily's reaction when she saw it.  She leaned over to her mommy with a huge grin and whispered secretively "It's beautiful."


Sep 27, 2013

How to Paint Your Apple Doll's Face



Once you have carved your apple doll, let it dry and given it eyes, you must decide how to finish it.  You have the option of leaving it natural, sealing it without painting, or painting and sealing it.  

Sep 25, 2013

Owl Themed Baby Shower Cake




A very dear friend of mine is expecting a little girl very soon.  She is such a special lady and I am always in awe of her abilities.  When I was approached about helping with her baby shower, it was a no brainier to offer up my services and provide the cake.  However, it took a bit more thought to come up with just the right design.  At first, being unaware of the recent "owl" trend in home decor and all things baby, I was a bit stumped by the owl theme of the party.  I know, I know, how could I not have known.

 5 minutes with Pintrest and my attitude went from


"Really? Owls?"  
to 
"YES, of course! OWLS!  

The guest of honor already has two girls and is a super busy always on the go, never gets enough sleep, but always smiles about it kind of gal.  Her husband has a job which requires him to travel alot especially recently.  He'd been gone for over a month by the time her shower rolled around.  Can you imagine?  8 months along and taking care of two demanding little ones on your own.  
I don't know how she does it. 


So the sleepy Mama owl and her little owl to be sit at the top of the cake.  Her two owlets perch on branches below. 






  












Since her husband was still out of town for work at the time of the shower, papa owl is out of the nest, but was represented on the back of the cake by a bird flying away, or back home depending on how you look at it. 

 Luckily, she found the humor in that like I knew she would.

Don't miss my Other Cakes.

Sep 23, 2013

How to Give Your Apple Doll Bead Eyes


After carving your Apple Head and letting it dry, you can add beads for eyes and paint it to give it more character. You can also use apple seeds, in the same way.  For dolls that I sell, I make polymer clay eyes that are inserted in a similar way after the Apple Head has been painted and sealed, using glue behind the eye to secure it. 



MATERIALS
sharp knife, acrylic paint, paint brush, sealant, beads


Use a sharp knife to cut a tiny horizontal slit where each eye will be.  Next, create a cavity by using the end of the paintbrush to make the slit more open and round.


Paint the inside of the cavity with white paint.

Insert a bead into the cavity.  Use the end of the paintbrush to move the bead into position.

Apply a big glob of sealant to each eye to lock the beads in place.

Optional:  use paint to change the color of the iris/bead.  You can also use black paint to paint the inside of the bead/pupil.


Be Sure to see all of my other Apple Doll Tutorials





Sep 20, 2013

Eagle Scout Cake

My husband's co-worker recently asked me to do a cake for her son, Forest, who just earned his Eagle Scout Award.  Here's what we came up with.  



It's a 2 tiered cake.  The top tier is smaller than the bottom, giving space for the words on the bottom tier. The seal/patch is made from royal icing, while the ribbon is a made using candy clay for the ribbon portion, and royal icing for the eagle.  

Considering this is the first big sheet cake I've done in a while, I think it turned out well.  I'm especially proud of my eagles that were piped by hand.

You can see my other cakes here.

Sep 18, 2013

My Twins turn 10

I suppose that should really read My twins Turned 10, since it was back in June.  With the events of the summer, I just couldn't get around to posting pics any sooner.  We celebrated with a small family gathering at home, but one must always have a custom cake made by mom, especially for the big 10!  So here they are.

Smaug on hoard and Mt. Doom

This year, the theme was hobbit-ish.  With a Smaug type dragon asleep on it's hoard and my rather loose interpretation of Mt. Doom.  The really cool thing about the volcano/ Mt. Doom cake, didn't get captured on film, but built into the top was a reservoir for water and immediately before serving, we dropped in some dry ice so the mountain had smoke/steam escaping from the top.  Made for a really neat effect.  

Next year or sooner, I want to do a hobbit hole.  Hmm... we do have an anniversary coming up.

Sep 16, 2013

The Long, Hard Summer

School is back in session. The kids have settled in with their new teachers and new routines, I've finished a few key projects and have a small amount of.. dare I say it?

Free time.

Little guy is in Pre-Kindergarten, this year.  He's only going part time, to help him adjust to what will be full time kindergarten next year, but the few hours we have apart each week are just amazing.  He's having a blast with his new friends, and I'm starting to recover my sanity after what was a pretty rough summer.  Don't get me wrong.  I enjoy having my kids home, but this summer will go on record as being one of the more difficult we've spent as a family because of two major tragedies.  


The first was the loss of our little old lady cat "Maggie".  My husband and I rescued her from a shelter about 17 years ago when we were still in college.  As a kitten she had been hit by a car and had some brain damage, but it was minor.  I remember the first time I saw her sitting on a little shelf at the back of the cage looking so dainty.  I knew instantly that she was for us.

She turned out to be a very mellow and tolerant cat with a sweet face that matched her disposition.  She chirped with eager anticipation at the birds she spied out our windows.  She was a skilled hunter who would seek out, destroy and eat any fly that dared to enter our house, and spent her free time basking in the sunlight.  She was also capable of the most unusual vocalizations that scared the begeezus out of us on more than one occasion.  She actually learned how to meow "mamma" after hearing our twins call out for me, and was known to wander the house at night calling my name in a human like voice.  It was eerie, but amazing.


This May, she got very sick, and we almost lost her.  She was diagnosed with advanced kidney failure and we were encouraged to consider euthanasia, something we could not bring ourselves to think about at the time.  With medication and IV fluids she rallied and was better for a while.  We  vowed to hold on to her until her suffering outweighed her happiness.  We providing supportive care, a special diet, and all the love and cuddles we could.  We watched her very closely for any sign she was in pain.  By the beginning of July she was telling us it was time to let her go.  We scheduled the appointment to have her euthanized and tried to prepare ourselves for what would come.  

Two days before her appointment, we were hit by the second tragedy of the summer.  My otherwise healthy cousin passed away very suddenly from a blood clot.  Out of respect for her immediate family I won't go into detail, but it was an event that shocked us all and left us shaken and bewildered.  Within a weeks span, I buried a family pet that had been like a child to me, and a dear cousin who left us far to early.  

As a family we've managed to carry on through our sadness.  We find moments of happiness where we can in the simple things; picking berries, taking long walks, and visiting family and friends.  Time will help us heal our hearts.

According to the  kids, having new kittens doesn't hurt either.