Baking and Caking

Hi all,

The last two weeks have been filled with cake making, yet again. Not much crafting done, unfortunately. I did have fun with the caking, though, I got to make a tardis and my other fantasy cake - a merry-go-round.  I think they both turned out ok, although the tardis is a little tilted.

Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to go for a full day decorating course with Kelvin Chua of Vinism Sugarart. Wow, talk about intensive. Nine hours of hand-breaking piping. Definitely worth it in the end though. What a great experience.

This week, it's about cupcakes. Pull-away cupcakes, that is. I've only made them once before, but I've since decided I love making them.

Merry-Go-Round Cake

 The bottom part is cake. The middle and top part are fondant covered styrofoam cores. Since the cake was only for 12 people, I decided not to do the whole cake in, well... cake. The horses turned out so cute and I love the rainbow colours, which the client had specified.

Tardis Cake

As a child, I used to be a big Dr Who fan and remember Tom Baker with his mile long scarf (this probably tells you how old I am). I haven't had a chance to see the 21st century versions. Maybe I should have a look some time.

Shanghai Splendour

 This is the cake (or rather cake dummy - the inside is styrofoam) that I went to class for. The minute I saw this cake course, I knew I had to sign up. I don't get to do a lot of piping and am so out of practice, and this cake design is just so stunning. Thank you to Kelvin Chua of Vinism Sugar Art.

AFL Pull-away Cupcakes Cake

My second pull-away cupcake cake. I'm pleased with how my logo transfer turned out.

I have one more cupcake cake to do for Monday, and then it's caking hiatus until September. Miss C just finished school and we'll be off to the UK from mid July for a month. The rest of the time here will be filled with keeping Miss C occupied and to get ready for the trip - lots to buy for family and friends.

If this piques your interest, have a look here for my other cakes.

Thanks for looking,

Happy Sunshine Girl

Hi all,

It's the start to a busy week - cupcakes and two other cakes to make.  I guess everyone is trying to get all the birthdays out of the way before the summer holidays descend on us. On top of that, I may have a class to teach, and am going on a full day cake course myself. To round of the weekend, there will be a farewell dinner, a birthday party  and I'll most probably have family over on Sunday. Whew. Is it Sunday again yet?

This most probably means that I won't have any time to craft this week, although, I am finishing off something special for someone this week. I'll be able to show you that once I'm done with it.

In the mean time, here is a simple layout that I did last week. This was a quick one hour job. I absolutely love the photos and wanted them to stand out, so the background is pretty plain.

Happy Sunshine Girl

Isn't that the most adorable face? Even with that missing front tooth, that I'm still hoping will come through soon. I really love the blue worded background paper and how the photos and elements really pop against it.

The cutest sun and clouds overlay. Just use a couple of tiny glue dots at the corners to stick them down and you will hardly be able to see them.

Alter a simple title by adding a little more to your title to make it yours. I love the rose die cut for that pop of colour.

Gosh, those eyes get me every time. I call them her laughing eyes. Add little details just to make the photos extra special.

Products Used
Papers, chip board, die cuts and stickers all from American Crafts Mayberry collection
White foam Thickers letters from American Crafts

Thanks for stopping by,

Daddy Will Always Be Her King

Hi all,

Father's day draws near, and of course, I'm again last minute shopping (unsuccessfully, I might add) to get the man in our lives something special. This is where you can see me frantically browsing the web for ideas. Hopefully, I'll be able to get something by tomorrow. Miss C will no doubt be making something for her daddy to accompany the gift(s).

One thing I am on top of is my Father's day layout.

My King

I love this photo so much. It's so poignant as it shows some quality father/daughter bonding time together. Just that image against the waves make it a little teary eyed.

The fabric flowers, leaves and meshing really add texture to the page and lends a girly  juxtaposition  to a predominantly male layout.

I raided my stash for all things "crown". Didn't find many, but this was one of them.

For the background, I sprayed and inked through a "cracks" stencil. I then spread molding paste through a harlequin stencil, before spritzing and outlining some of the diamonds. I really like the burlap and raw cardboard. Such a masculine feel.

I found this quote online (author unknown) and it just hit a cord.

Products Used
Papers and die cuts from Pink Paislee Bayberry Cottage collection
Crackle stencil from Prima Marketing
Harlequin stencil from Crafter's Workshop
Glimmer Mists in various colours from Tattered Angels
Fabric flowers and metal gears from Prima Marketing
Mini Daisy Color Me Crazy flowers from Petaloo
Remnants rub-ons from Tim Holtz
Burlap from Canvas Corp
Paper crown from Kaisercraft
Clear acrylic clock, leaves and black chipboard shapes unknown source
Cardboard and meshing from stash

Hope this will inspire you to do a father's day layout for that special dad in your life.

Thanks for looking,

Giant Ducks That Go Quack

Hi all,
If you're from Hong Kong, then you could not have missed the giant duck sitting in Victoria Harbour for the last month. The rubber duck, an art piece by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, measuring 32 metres high, sat bobbing in the water for thousands to gawk at. You could see him from the other side of the harbour and I just had to take Miss C into the throngs to have a closer look. It really is quite cute. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to the duck on Sunday night as it makes its way to the next destination.

Quack Quack

 This paper line just came into the HKMC shop yesterday and I quickly grabbed it up as I love the bright colours and thought they would go well with my photos.

I'm also entering this layout for the MCS May sketch challenge.

 Could not resist putting in this title. Placement was a pain but I think I finally got it balanced correctly.

 I love how the flowers from the paper line seem to match the ones on Miss C's dress. (She loves this dress, hence you see it in different settings). There was a chipboard flowerpot, which I filled with large colourful flowers.

  Cute chipboard bird house and labels make it so easy to put together.

Products Used

Papers, stickers, chipboard and clear cut shapes from Little Yellow Bicycle Poppy collection

Large yellow flower from Bo Bunny Blossoms Buttercup Zinnia

Smaller paper flowers from Prima Essentials 5

Blue title letters unknown

Mini yellow alphas from Basic Grey

Thanks for looking,