What are you Christmas Traditions?

Our heritage is Danish so we celebrate on Christmas Eve.  We have our Tradition Pork roast as well as a Turkey for the Canadian spouses and the children that are born here. 

After dinner we have Rice Pudding that is made the day before from a Rice Porridge (made from Milk and long grain rice)to that I add whipping cream and Vanilla Sugar.  On top of this we pour some warm thickened blackcurrant syrup, oh and it tastes soooo good!!! 

Once we are finished with dinner and dessert and the plates are cleared, we gather around the tree, (we use to hold hands and walk around the tree but there are 25 of us now and that makes it a little difficult) sitting on the floor or wherever there is room.  We sing at least 3 songs and we always end with Silent night.  After the songs are done, one person is designated to hand out the gifts to everyone, making sure that each person gets at least one gift before passing out another one to someone who already has one.

After this is done, the kids play and the adults have a cocktail, coffee and some cookies or chocolates and relax until it's time to go home :-)  It's always a great time to be with the whole family!!

Well, that's our Christmas tradition, I hope you enjoy reading it :-)


Did anyone make it out for any good Boxing Day shopping?  I was at home preparing dinner for the kids and my MIL.  We had our own quiet family dinner on Boxing day and it was really nice with just the 7 of us (my youngest brought his girlfriend)  Funny it takes you all day to cook and then it's over in an hour and then it takes 3 hours to clean everything up again ............ LOL.  But it is worth it to have everyone together once in a while :-)

Take care, thanks for stopping by,

Annette

PS - Guess what I got for Christmas - I got a YUDU!!!!  WOOHOO!!!  Now I just need to get my craft room in order so that I can set it up and start using it.  Maybe this will be my incentive to get cracking ...... LOL, well you never know.  I think it's off to IKEA some time this week to see what kind of sales that they have going on right now :-)

Happy Holidays

I know it's been a while but with the holidays it's been quite hectic around here.  I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and all the Best to you and your families in the New Year.  I hope that you have a very safe holiday!!  I will be back and post on a more regular basis in 2011, that's my New Years resolution :-)

Take care,
Annette

Happy Thanksgiving

To all of our Friends South of the Border.  Here's hoping that your home is filled with friends, family, and delicious smells :-)

Have a safe & very Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Cake

I forgot to load the picture of our Thanksgiving cake back in October, oh but I guess it's better late than never :-)














The larger pumpkin was Vanilla cake with Vanilla Buttercream covered in white fondant and then painted with Orange Americolour.  The small pumpkin is Butter Pecan with  Vanilla Buttercream covered in white fondant and also painted with orange Americolor.

Thanks for looking,

Take care and come back again soon to see my Christmas Cards :-)

Annette

Copics Christmas Card Class

On October 2 I took my third Copics coloring class which was a Christmas card classs.  It was a blast and I learned so much from it.

Anyway, here are the card that I made:

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day :-)

Annette

It's been a tough month around here .............

Sorry I haven't been around much lately, but it's been a little busy with a Copics Christmas Card class, Thanksgiving, my birthday on the 24th, and my niece's birthday on the 30th (more about those in a minute).  In between that I had a couple of really bad spells with my Fybromyalgia, Migraines (the weather and a full moon), and Chronic Pain which usually sets me back a few days :-)  If I have 1 or 2 good days I always seem to overdue it which in the end makes it worse for me the next few days because I end up not being able to do anything.  How many of you out there are affected by any of these disorders and can relate?  Sometimes I feel so alone and that no one understands exactly what I am going through. And then there was the anniversary of our son's death on the 25th, it's been 8 years since he died, but it seems like every anniversary the pain is just as fresh but then fades away again.  I miss him terribly every day, RIP Jason.............................

Well this will be a very long post if I do everything all at once, so I think what I will do is break it down into separate posts.  It's been a long day already and I need a break so I will pick this up tomorrow with the Copic's coloring class that I took.

Talk soon, thanks for stopping by,

Annette

Classes with Lorraine McKay

I recently had the privilege of taking some classes with Lorraine McKay.  She is an absolute hoot and I just loved being in her classes.  I found them challenging at times because some of it was fairly new to me, but I still kept up with the class and my final result turned out quite well if I do say so myself :-)

The following are the pictures of the gumpaste figures that we made in her classes:

Mermaid in a Bathtub:

Fairy sitting on a log feeding a Bluebird:

  

 Bride and Groom:

 

 

I can`t wait until the next time I see Lorraine McKay, I want to learn so much more from her.  Now to purchase the tutorials that she has for sale on her website http://www.extraicing.co.uk/#/sugarcraft-tutorials/4542219227  Go check them out, you won`t be sorry :-)

Well that`s all for now, I hope you ahve a great day!  

Thanks for stopping by,

Annette

I was invited to write an article for a Cake Decorating blog and was taken completely by surprise this request!  My first thought was, how do I write an article when there are so many talented Cake Artist that have already been showcased?   How will I compare to them? What kind of tips and tricks can I give?  Well, that’s why I am going to do something a little different here.  It all started in the spring of 2006.

I was working as a Software Developer for a large Credit Union.  I had to take some time off for disability in order for my arm to heal after having nerve surgery.  Well 12 weeks turned into a year and I was going crazy at home not being able to do much with my left arm.  After the surgery I developed Chronic Pain Syndrome (due to nerve damage) on top of the fact of already having fibromyalgia, and migraines, it really took a toll on my body and my mind.  I needed to find something that would get me out of the house and that was relaxing.  Little did I know that this 12 weeks would turn into what is now going on almost 5 years without any possibilities at this point of going back to work full time I am now classified as permanently disabled.  You’re probably thinking what has all this got to do with Cake Decorating, right?  Well, my story continues.......... 

My first thought was Cake Decorating.  I had always wanted to do this but never thought I had the talent, every beautiful cake I ever saw I envied the talent behind it!  Besides, this was something that I had no previous experience with so I would not have to re-learn how to do anything different with my left hand, which was a bonus.  Anyway, in April of 2007, into the local Michael’s store I went and registered for the next 4 Cake Decorating classes.  After the first class I was hooked!!  From there my passion (and my mass collection of books and tools) grew.  To keep up with different techniques and things that I had learned online, I made cakes for my family’s birthdays so that I could practice until I could make the cakes for friends and be proud of them.

In the spring of 2009 a family friend contacted me about doing their wedding cake.  Well I have to tell you that I was so scared I thought I would die!  So I booked an appointment for her and her fiancé to come over and have a tasting (I had read somewhere that it was the right thing to doJ).  About a week later they arrived at the arranged time and they were a bit surprised by what they saw.  On the table I had set out a nice plate of 4 mini cakes, all different flavours, some with buttercream icing and some with fondant, so they could taste the difference as well as see it, a little bouquet of sugar Roses in a couple different shades of purple, white and some filler flowers, which I let her take home with her (I found out the brides colors during our phone interview).  I also made up some cake balls, which they absolutely loved!  The following is a picture of the table setting that I had for them when they arrived.

Picture 1

To my surprise (this was my first appointment for a wedding cake after all) they decided that they wanted me to make their wedding cake.  I started on the design right then and finished it off after they left, sent it to them and received approval without any changes.  I was walking on a cloud, and now I wanted it to be Wedding week so I could start ............... LOL, I know, I was a little anxious (and scared), but this was my first big cake for someone that I really didn’t know!                       

 Picture 2

After the couple left, I was so happy that I started working on my MIL’s 86^th Birthday cake.  We were not having a big family thing, people were dropping in off and on throughout a couple of days so I thought that I would make her an individual cake with one of the mini’s that I had left over from my baking batch for the cake tasting.  She absolutely loved it and so did everyone else who admired it before she ate it.

Picture 3

My first Wedding cake in August 2009 was a success.  There were a few things that I learned from this project.  The most important ones are that fact that if you don’t knead your fondant enough it will not have a smooth finish (it looked like little pinholes all over).  The second problem I had with the fondant was that it shrunk up from the bottom, so make sure when you trim the excess fondant off that you don’t trim it too close, leave it a little longer for shrinkage J  Here is a picture of the Wedding Cake at the location:

Picture 4

Picture 5

This leads me to the end (or beginning) of this story, there is one more thing.  In early 2009 or maybe it was late 2008, I entered a contest to have your cakes, cupcakes and cookies showcased in an upcoming book called “1000 Ideas for Decorating Cupcakes, Cookies & Cakes” I thought what the heck it can’t hurt, right?  A couple of months had passed and I had almost forgotten about the submissions when I received an email notifying me that 2 of my photos had been approved for the book (see Picture 3 & 4 above).  WOW, I was walking on a cloud and couldn’t believe what I was reading.

Not too shabby for a beginner cake decorator with a disability (I think I can call myself that now and be proud of it).  So this article is more of a “You can do anything, if you want it” than a tips and tricks.  There may be someone else out there reading this that had the same thoughts as me or that is struggling with a disability and I wanted to give them inspiration to go out and try something new!

Thanks for stopping by, take care

Annette

September already

Wow, where has the time gone?? It's September already, I can't beleive that the year is 3/4 of the way over!!

This past weekend I was in Las Vegas to help my brother and his wife celebrate their 25th Wedding Anniversary (again, yes it's the same couple that I made the deer cake for) they renewed their wedding vows at a little chapel and the service was performed by none other than Elvis (well not the real one anyway) The chapel and Elvis were both in the movie Hangover, so that was kind of cool too.  After the ceremony we went out for dinner and then to Freemont Street, it was a great time!  There were 13 of us altogether (I know that's not a lucky number, and it truly wasn't because 4 hours after we arrived their hotel room was broken into and their laptop was stolen!  Can you believe that, right out of their room!!  The hotel basically did nothing for them!

I haven't been doing much of anything lately in the way of crafts or cakes, but hope to get back into the swing of things soon.  On the 16th I will be leaving for Seattle to take 4 classes with Lorraine McKay from Scotland, which I am SUPER excited about!!  I was originally scheduled to take classes with her last year in Texas but due to unforeseen circumstances I had to cancel so I am really excited that she is coming so close to home that I can drive this time :-), this is my second chance to take her classes.  As soon as I get back I will be posting pictures of the creations that I will be making.

Well that's it for now, I'll be back again soon with some more :-)

Take care and have a great day, thanks for stopping by!

Annette

Copic Sale at Dies R Us

  I saw over at A Crafty Little Place, that this week only Aug 20-28, Die Cuts R Us is having a Special Copic pre order sale! Check out these prices!

Copic Ciaos: $2.99 each

Copics Sketches: $4.25 each

Refills: $4.90 each

This will be their last Copic pre-order sale of the year. Complete details of the sale are available on the store website:

 

www.diecutsrus.com

 

Have a great day!!

 

Annette 

Blog Candy

I found this wonderful new website for card making and noticed that she was giving away some blog candy and WOW is it ever generous!!  Check it out:

Head over to Cats Scratching Post and check it out ( http://cattsscratchingpost.blogspot.com/2010/07/blog-candy-alert_30.html ), she has some wonderful ideas and tutorials.

Take care,

Annette

25th Anniversary Cakes

It was my Brother and Siter-in-law's 25th Anniversary on Tuesday and the celebration was held on Saturday night.  Everything went off without a hick, but I didn't always think that it was going to be that way especially with the cakes.  At one point I asked her if it was OK if I went out and bout the couple that stands with the rifles, it's a new Bride & Groom that I saw at our local retailer.  I started to think that I was never going to be done with these cakes. 

They are both avid hunters and fisherman, therefore the theme for the event was Hunting and Fishing.  Alison's request for the cake was that it resemble a White Birch Tree, that it be three tiers, that there be three types of wild flowers (she gave me pictures, close-ups, but I didn't know the sizes), and that there be a Buck and Doe head on top of the cake. 

WOW,   I had never done any of what she was requesting!!!  I am still fairly new to cake decorating,  I have been doing it for almost 3 years, but have not been making that many cakes.  So needless to say I was a little scared.  I really wanted to do this for them so I didn't want to tell them that I could do it and was there something else that i could do?  So scared that I didn't do any work on the cake for the first 3 months of knowing that this event was coming up! 

The week before the cake was due, my husband and I decided to make a game plan, he was going to help me at night with the baking (it was getting to be way too hot during the day)  For the next three nights he was my little helper, while I was busy doing flowers and the heads, he was downstairs making the cakes, it gave my that extra energy and the extra hands to get all this work done.  Only problem is that just as we where cleaning everything up from the last cake, the most important one, that she specifically requested, he realized that he had forgotten to put in the sour cream.  The cake was way too dry to serve to after having just crumbcoated part of the cake we decided not to continue on with it.  I just hoped that we had enough with the other 2 slabs that we were doing :-)

Here are the pictures of the cake, hope you like it as much as I did :-)


             

That's it for me today, I haven't been doing much in the way of crafts of cake decorating.  Now I have to get my room back in order, it looks like a tornado has gone through it since last week :-(

Take care, talk to you soon,
Annette

Super Sweet Wednesday

I've made another card the same, but I have changed it up a bit and it's going to be part of Super Sweet Wednesday Challenge #59 on the following blog:

http://sweetsketchwednesday.blogspot.com/

and here is my card:

Thanks for looking, be back soon.

Now, I'm off to work on the Anniversary Cake (3 tiered dummy cake) for this coming weekend.  We also have to make 130 chocolate fish and 3 1/4 slab cakes all decorated with wildflowers :-)

Talk to you soon,
Annette

Paper Playtime Challenge #8

I've decided to try another challenge this one is for Flower Power and I think I have the perfect card that I created.  I beleive they are suppose to be Pansies, but I'm not sure, anyway I coloured them the way my mood swept me :-)

Copic colors where used but for the life of me I can't remember which colors I used and I forgot to write them down :-(.

Check out her blog and all of the other beautiful cards and papercrafts!

http://paperplaytime.blogspot.com/2010/07/challenge-8-flower-power.html

Thanks for looking, be back again soon,

Take care,
Annette

Check out TurnedGypsy's Blog for a Fantastic Giveaway

ONE PERSON TAKES ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The rules for this one could not be any simpler.  Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Cricut Message Board and put her button on your blog etc. On your blog also add about the surprise w/o warning giveaways. You must do all of the above to win both gifts certificates below!!!

Her blog and crop stop have a surprise for you.  The most posts in the public forums each day will recieve one entry per day per forum. for the Crop Stop and the CSN store certificate.   It's up to you how many entries you earn for the drawing which takes place on July 4th, so go for it.  I know I have a lot of catching up to do, how about you??

Take care,

Annette

My latest cards

I am gong to keep this really short just in case my body decides to fall alseep while I am trying to post this.  Seriously, it's been happening alot lately.  I can't tell you how many times I have worn my coffee this week.  One minute I am drinking my coffee and checking out my favorite blogs and the next minute it's an hour later and my clothes are soaked and so is my work space and anythiing I was working on (or reading).  I just bought 3 new magazines yesterday and they were ruined this morning by a very full cup of coffee :-(.  It's getting very frustrating, but the light is getting closer at the end of the tunnel.  I go for my final sleep study at the hospital on Tuesday and this one is to identify which CPAP machine is going to be the best for me.  I'll keep you posted, it will probably be another 2 weeks after that before I get to see the specialist again!!  Grrrrr, I really don't like the waiting.  OK, so much for this not being a long post, so on with it.....................

Here are some of my latest cards that I have been working on over the last little while.  Not really as many as I would have liked.  I wanted to enter some challenges, but I couldn't find any that fit the theme of my cards.  Oh well there will be others :-)

Everything just came together really well on this card from the colours of the cardstock to the accessory cardstock used and the brads used I really like the way it turned out :-)

This card was a complete accident from start to finish.  I had some scraps and that's actually how this one started, so I put it on the card just to see how it would look and to my surprise, it fit.  Then I found the oval green piece and it matched perfectly in colour and size. Then I found the cupcakaes and the balloons and the next thing I new, I had a card :-)  Love it when a card comes together like that, especially when you are really new at this!!

This card was made especially with my SIL in mind, it was her BD coming up and I had her gift all picked out, but not her card, so I decided to do this one with the blossoms "bleeding" a bit if you will.  It turned out exactly the way I had envisioned it, I loved it! and so did she :-).

White Stamp on Black Cardstock with a Red Silk Ribbon, Finished off with Silver Brads in the corners.

I Won my First Challenge

I can't believe it, I actually won a Challenge, my first ever!! Remember the two boxes that I posted about (my last two posts) at the following blog:


http://www.thewildflowerpatch.com/?m=201006

I know it was a random draw and there was only 12 entries and I had 2 of them, but still I won! HAHAHA.............. Well, at least I can laugh about it, not that my entries were bad or anything, it's just usually I can't win anything even if it's just me and another person in a contest, seriously my luck is that bad!! Well, hopefully this will change my luck :-)

Anyway, I've been working on some stamped images today (finally). I've been meaning to get to them for some time now and I finally just said enough is enough. I stamped about 12 images and got 1 coloured so that's a pretty good start. I should be able to get at least 5 or 6 cards completed tomorrow as long as I don't get interrupted too many times during the day. Maybe I'll even enter a couple more challenges, I really enjoyed the last one it makes you want to get your project finished in time.

Have a great day, be back soon!

Annette

My Second Challenge

I decided that since I had made to boxes for my son that I would submit both of them for the challenge.  What could it hurt??  At least I would get some experience is my line of thought..........................  That's my story and I'm stick'in to it .............. LOL.

Here is the second box that I altered.  Hope you like it :-)

Take care, and have a great day!!
Annette

My First Challenge

I decided I am going to try my hand at my very first challenge and see how it goes.  I made these altered boxes for my son's 28th birthday and gave them to him with 2 sets of Le Plum felts and one Blender felt inside.  He loves art and you should have seen him, nothing could have made him happier, which made me ver happy!  Out of all the kids, he is the easiest to please I just love that about him :-)

I have entered the following blog (challenge)

http://www.thewildflowerpatch.com/?m=201006

Here is a picture of the box that I made, thanks for stopping by :-)

Take care,

Annette

Forgot to Post Flowers

I was just looking back at a previous post and I completely forgot to post the flowers from the class that I was taking, so I am going to do that right now before I finish the other posts that I am working on!!

So, without any further waiting here they are ...................

 Fuchsia                                                                       Cattleya Orchid                                            

Daffodil                                                                    Tiger Lily

Thanks for looking, I will post more later, may days are all a little messed up now, since I have a couple of days now that I have sitting in the drafts section that are partly done. I just get too tired and can't finish them but at the same time I don't want to forget either so I start the post :-) It's the age thing setting in ........ LOL.

Well I hope you all have a wonderful weekend if I don't talk to you before then.

Take care!

Annette

My SIL Birthday Cake

I was asked to make a cake for my Sister-in-Law and I just didn't have a clue what I was going to make.  I though mybe I wouuld do some exotic flowers and butterfleiews, but the flowers I knew would take me far too long to make, so I made the good ol stand by, Roses!  It was suppose to be a flower pot with a rose bush growing out of it, but I didn't make enough roses to fill the flower pot (go figure), that's always the way it goes with me I suppose, I never have enough of one item usually!

The feedback was good I suppose, but they could say anything really and I wouldn't know if they wee lying because I wasn't there, I ended up staying home sick.  I could barely walk yesterday after working on this cake.  I don't know what happened other than my back just completely gave out!!  Timing could not have been worse!

Here is a picture of the cake, but please bare in mind that there should have been alot more flowers in the  middle and then some smaller flowers along the edges.

         

Copic's Class

I went to my first class last Saturday to learn how to use the Copic Sketch Markers.  It was a beginners class, and am I ever happy that I went.  It was a very good class and I learned so much that by the time I got home my brain was in overload!  When I was first leaving the house, I reminded my husband that he was going to have to remember to take care of the dogs.  He asked me where I was going and I had to remind him that I had a class.  The next question was "what was the class again?" typical for a male............. to which I replied, "It's a colouring class".  You can probably guess the next question - "why do you need to take a colouring class?", so I responded "I need to learn how to colour in the lines"  .................  LOL, we both had a good laugh at that point :-)

Anyway, I am posting a couple of pictures, the first one is a stamp I coloured before the copic's class and you have to promise not to laugh!  Yes, it's that bad ............... LOL.  The second, third, and fourth stamps are posted in the order that I coloured them (is that how you would say it? I'm still so new to this). 

Sorry about the blurriness of the first picture, I'm not sure why it would not come into focus :-(

I'm off to get ready for a cake I need to do for this weekend, plus I would also like to make a card to go with it.  If anyone has any ideas about where I can find a clay flower pot with Roses (or some other flower) planted in it I would appreciate it if you could let me know.  The cake is going to be a flower pot with Roses planted in it (and maybe some other blossoms and leaves too if I have time).

Have a great day!

Annette

Birthday Blog Candy

Wow, talk about Blog Candy, check out the generous Birthday Blog Candy that Debbie is giving away on May 27th.  Make sure you check it out before it's too late :-)  Not just that, but she has a fantastic blog as well!!

http://passionforcrafts.blogspot.com/2010/05/its-my-birthday-blogcandy.html

More later...........................

Annette

Great Blog Candy

I just found this blog tonight and they have some pretty interesting stuff on the blog, including a chance to win some wonderful blog candy once they reach 800 followers:

Particraft Ltd Blog

Sorry, I would add a picture of the blog candy, but I am still new to this and haven't figured that one out yet :-)  The count is currently at 760 (after I became a follower) which is pretty close, so get everyone you know to become a follower and add this link to their blog. 

Take care and have a wonderful Monday!

Panda Bear Cake

Hello everyone,

OK, I finally finished the Panda Bear cake after having to bake it 3 times to do a poor baking pan, a core that was warped and my cake was too soft. I had used this recipe before and it was a very dense cake and I should not have had any problems with it so I'm not sure what happened to it. In the end everything worked out fine as it usually does.

There were some mishaps while I has making and painting the bamboo, but nothing serious thank goodness! My hubby, he's such a sweetie sometimes, he knows exactly when to check on me, when things are too quiet! While I was supposes to be putting petal dust on the bamboo - 7 different colours to be exact, I could hear him in the background calling me. Finally, I responded, and I was sitting with the bamboo in one hand and the brush fully loaded in the other hand, mid stroke getting ready to put the dust on the bamboo and the client was to pick up the cake in the next hour or two (I still had to put the cake on the board and add the grass and final touches) Well, I didn't skip a beat I answered him back, said everything was fine and that I was almost done, and thanks for checking. In fact I was actually sleeping and had to get back to it real quick!!!!

OK, I got the last of the dusting done, went downstairs and put the bamboo into the back of the Panda Bear, put the Panda on the larger cake circle, mixed up the icing to the right colour green. The grass was laid and I made sure that everything looked as it should, oh one final touch I put a bouquet of Stephanotis (the client's mothers favorite flower and she passed away years ago, they always like to include her in their celebrations in a little way) in the Panda's paw.

Side of the cake, showing my lovely bamboo :-)

When I finished the cake I still had a little time left over and I decided to put together a card that I had saved, I knew that I would need it one day :-) It's a card that was in the MTC Library and I'm sorry but I don't know who the creator is to give credit to.

Left the inside of the card blank so that she could right something before she gave her the Birthday cake :-)

That's it for me, hope you had a wonderful weekend doing what you love!

TFL,

Annette

Walking the Dog

I know this post is really out of order and probably should have been one of the first ones, but that's not how my brain works ....... hahahaha. Does it really matter anyway, probably not :-)

As I was out walking the dog this afternoon I was thinking why do people start blogs?? Why did I want to start a blog? I don't know a lot of people, I have a lot of FBF (Facebook Friends), but their not real friends, so why do we do it and how do we get people to read it or do we even care??

Well the conclusion I came to is nothing and nobody :-) I know that sounds horrible, but in all honesty I am doing this blog for myself. I am getting older, my children are growing up and moving out. All but two, one is still at home, he is the youngest and the oldest, well that's a whole other book. My oldest committed suicide 7 1/2 years ago 2 months before he would have turned 22. I'm not afraid to talk about it anymore, so if anyone out there is having problems or just needs a shoulder, I am here for you! As a survivor I know what it's like to have people walk around you like they are walking on egg shells. Anyway, back to the what I was saying, I finally decided to create the blog for me, it would track accomplishments and share them with anyone willing to look :-) I also think that it will be great therapy, to help my brain from completely shutting down ........ well that's what it feels like sometimes. There are days that I can't keep my eyes open for more than 10 minutes, and there are the days that I don't want to keep them open because the light hurts too much from the severe migraine attack that has just hit! So if I do get some followers and there aren't any posts for a few days, don't panic, I'm just having a bad day :-).

Well, now that it's taken 2 days to write this post I think I should probably post it ...... LOL. Writing was never a strong point of mine, sorry :-)

Have a great day tomorrow!!

PS - I started a Gumpaste flower class and of course I forgot my camera so I will have to post the results when I get the flowers finished and wrapped in a spray. The next class starts on Monday and it will be Cattleya Orchid and Tiger Lily.

Awesome Blog Candy

This is just a short post, but hopefully I will have some time tomorrow to post some more of what has been going on.  I ran across some Awesome Blog Candy tonight and didn't want anyone to miss out on it, so here is the information for you :-)

http://scrappyjandesigns.blogspot.com/2010/04/happy-first-blogoversary-to-me-and-you.html

Have a wonderful night!!

First Cards Ever Made

OK, I know these cards aren't the best anyone has ever seen, but I was pretty impressed with them.  I made them for Easter to give to my Family members and I think that they really like them.  Not really knowing how to do layouts and sketches and such., I decided to go simple and I remembered seeing a few cards that I thought I would be able to handle.

The first ones I did was standard white card stock that you can buy at Michaels in a package with matching white envelopes for real cheap (can't remember what it was I bought them so long ago).  I folded the cards in half and then cut some nice coloured card stock for which I had some matching ribbon.  I then ran the coloured pieces of paper through my cuttlebug (my latest toy) using the swirly embossing folder.  Then I glued it onto the fron of the card, added the ribbon, and made a small bow with the same ribbon and placed that on the card and I was done :-)  I was very happy with this card and thought since it was my first one I would also enter it in the http://cuttlebugblog.blogspot.com/ contest.  Here is a picture of these two cards:

Now remember, these are my first two so please don't laugh ........LOL  ok, well maybe just a little :-)

Have a great day!!

Fire Truck Cake

I was asked to do a Fire Truck cake for a 50th Birthday for a Fire Chief.  Let me tell you I was a little worried, first of all I had never done a car, never mind a truck.  I couldn't do any of the accessories for the truck in advance because I didn't know exactly how big it was going to be until I had it crumbcoated which I couldn't do until the day before the cake was do.  So.................. you guessed it, I pulled an all nighter, actually it was more like 39 hours without sleep but I worked on the cake for about 24 hours including the time it sat in the freezer for the crumbcoat to set.  I am just starting out with the more detailed cakes so I'm alot slower than someone with more experience, plus the fact that I am working with a disability doesn't help but that's another post for another day.  Anyhow, back to the cake -

This is my favorite picture :-)  I'm so glad I decidied to do the dog.  He was a last minute decision when the cake and everything else was already done and I was about to go out the door (I hadn't called yet to say I was coming over and it was only 8:30 in the morning) so I decdided to go for it.  I think it really finished off the scene having the dalmation there, even though he's a little short and fat to be a dalmation, but that's what I'm going with :-)  That's it for now, see you again and have a great Sunday.........................