Classes with Andrea Sullivan

What a blast I had this past weekend!  Andrea Sullivan (and her husband) were here from Ontario for the long Weekend.  It was absolutely wonderful being in her classes, she is such a fantastic teacher and both her and her husband have a great sense of humour!!

Here are some pictures of the cakes and toppers that I made from her classes:

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!!

Stampin' Up - New Catalogue and Promotions that are ending

Hello everyone,

I hope that we are going to start to get some good weather soon!  This seems like it's been the coldest, wetest, and longest Winter/Spring in my entire life.  I don't know about you, but I am certainly ready for some warm weather!!

I know it's been a while since I posted and so far I'm not sticking to my New Year's resolution very well :-(    It's been very busy and I'm hoping to get back on track again soon!

Here's the latest scoop on Stampin' Up promotions that are going on now and promotions that are ending:

The feeling of the joy and freedom of summer is simply bursting from the newly-released Summer Mini catalogue! From flip flops and sail boats, to flowers and never-before-seen Triple Layer punches, you'll be amazed at what is blossoming from each and every page!!

Forgotten But Not Gone....

Although the Holiday and Occasions Mini sales periods are over, you can still purchase select items that you may still love and want!

You will find these items on the following carry over flyers:

2009-2010 Idea Book and Catalogue Carry Over Flyer

Holiday Mini Carry Over Flyer

Occasions Mini Carry Over Flyer

If you'd like to browse my website for project ideas, or if you need some additional supplies - SunflowersCrafts.

It's that time of year again, Stampin' Up! will be releasing a new 2011 - 2012 Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalogue. If you'd like to receive a copy BEFORE it's release of July 1st and do not currently have a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator you can pre order a copy from me. Cost is $11.95. (I'll reimburse $11.95 on your first order of $65 (before shipping and taxes) placed through me on or after July 1st)

This years Catalogue will simply amaze you with over 200 pages of fabulous inspiration to help you with all your creative projects. This book will feature products for the use of all sorts of paper crafts, card making, scrapbooking, home decor, digital studio and more!) Don't miss out on getting your copy before it goes live July 1st!! Email me ASAP (asimpson2@telus.net) I will be pre ordering the catalogues on June 1st. (You'll receive your catalogue on or after June 20th!!)

Happy Crafting :-)

Stampin' Up - Spring is Blossoming

This is the last week to take advantage of the Spring is Blossoming promotion. This one is a sneak peek from the upcoming 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog debuting in July!

Spend $20 on any Stampin' Up! products and become eligible to purchase both the Four Frames Set and Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper. Promotion ends this Saturday! You better get it while it's available because I have an upcoming project to show you that you will want to have it for...but I can't show you yet.

Have you ever thought of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator? Would you like to get a discount on your supplies? How about convention (which is in Salt Lake City, Utah), you know how much fun we have there! Come join me!

Signing up is easy, just visit my demonstrator website HERE and click on Start Your Own Business. Fill out what you want in your starter kit and submit the payment. That's it you are a demonstrator!

If you have any questions, you can always contact me through my Stampin' Upwebsite and I will answer any questions that you may have.

When you sign up for your starter kit with me, you become a member of my personal downline.  We live nationwide and are entirely virtual, low pressure and fun!  If you are in the Fraser Valley area (in British Columbia) you can also choose to come to the Upline Meetings and learn new ideas and create some wonderful friendships.
Have a great day, talk to you again soon :-)

Italian Meringue Buttercream

A few weeks ago, I took a class which featured Italian Meringue Buttercream and let me tell you if you've never tried it you absolutely must!!  It was love at first bite :-)  It is so light, smooth and creamy, not at all what I was expecting since there is so much butter in the recipe.  This is definitely going to be one of my regular buttercreams rather than the good old shortening based buttercream that I currently make.

I haven't made any yet, but I'm hoping to have some time this week and when I do I will be posting some pictures :-)  I will also post the recipe at the same time!


Thanks for stopping by :-)

How to get CakeJournal’s tutorials on PDF for FREE

Yes, you read the heading right!!  Have you ever been to CakeJournal's blog??  If not, you are missing a great, no Fantastic blog!!  Louise is just amazing when it comes to everything cake, cupcake, cookie (and sugarcraft) related!  When I grow up, I want to be just like her ................  hahaha!!  Well, I'm all grown up, but you know what I mean.

Anyway, go check out her blog and her tutorials, they are fantastic.  She is so patient in the way she writes her instructions and her pictures tell the whole story, they almost don't need any words to go along with them.

The address of her blog is http://www.cakejournal.com stop by, have a look and say "hi"

And the link to the tutorial PDF's is here -

http://www.cakejournal.com/archives/how-to-get-cakejournals-tutorials-on-pdf-for-free

Take care and have a great day!!

New Look - I've had a Makeover

Well, I've had a makeover, my blog has that is :-)  So what do you think?  I'm pretty excited about it.  It's so ME, and the colouurs are perfect, not too bright, but not to subdued either.   They are just perfect!!  Laurie is just an amazing women (I can't say it enough times, she is AMAZING!!) at Doodle Pantry who redesigned my blog for me and I loved what she came up with.

In case you would like to contact Laurie, this is the link to her blog:

http://doodlepantryblog.blogspot.com/p/blog-backgrounds.html


Well, that's all I have for now, I just wanted to share this exciting news with you all :-)

Take care, talk to you soon,

CDAC 5000 Member Celebration

Wow, Crafters Digital Art Center has reached 5000 members and they are having a celebration!!  Check it out:

http://priscillastyles.ning.com
















Please go to group and sign up, it's a great place to meet new friends and learn new techniques.  You even get some really great deals here, and once in a while you will get some freebies :-)  Everyone loves freebies!!

Take care,

Annette

Recent Class at Scrapbooking Store

I recently took a class at our local scrapbooking store called "Organized for Life".  When I first saw the class I thought "this is perfect for me, just what I need right now since I'm in the middle of re-doing the craft room".  Yes, I'm still working on the craft room :-)  Actually I'm still trying to pack everything up and move it into the other bedroom.  I've had to wait for my son to move all of his stuff out to his place before I could start moving anything in and that's been my excuse not to pack more than I could store in the open floor space that I have in the craft room.  Good excuse right?  That's what I keep telling myself anyway and it works for me :-) 

This is a picture and a description of the class:  

Organized for Life

 

"Let's start the new year with a little organization. Do you have too many products - you can't keep track of what you already have and what you may need? You're not alone!! In this class we will be creating a product organizer."

Anyway, back to the class.  First I should have clued in by the size of the book compared to the stickles bottle, but being fairly new to the paper crafting world I didn't.  The book itself was only 6" x 4 1/2".

I don't really know where start or how to organize everything on paper that I have.  Well let me just say that this class did not live up to my expectations; all we did was put together a book with some dividers in it.  Does that sound like the description to you?  Well it sure as heck doesn't to me!  So I'm asking anyone reading this if they have any suggestions for me that would help me to in putting onto paper an inventory of everything that I have and organizing it so that it's easy to see at a glance.  I'm finding that it's at the point that I'm buying duplicates of things now, especially for my cake decorating equipment, which isn't cheap :-(

Well, that's enough ranting for now, I'll be back later this week with a yummy post about cakes and buttercream ..................mmmmmmmm.

Take care, and thanks for stopping by

Annette

Hockey Skate

This was a last minute cake that I made for my nephew who was going back to Alberta to his home away from home.  He was recently drafted to a Junior Hockey team up there and was able to come home for Christmas.  Before he left I didn't have a chance to give him a congratulations cake and I was feeling really bad.  Then with Christmas and New Years, the time went by so quickly that I didn't even realize that it was time for him to leave again. 

So I quickly got the cakes I had in the freezer (I had luckily just made some) and I started carving them.  This was at 11:00 am on Sunday morning.  At 7:30 my brother called and asked if we were going to make it over there to say goodbye, WOW where had the time gone??  I couldn't believe that it was that late already but this cake was a bit of a challenge.  First I carved it, then it was crumbcoated in buttercream, put in the fridge to set, then I coated it with 2 coats of Chocolate Ganache and let that set, and finally it was covered in fondant.

The inspiration came from a picture I found on the internet but I can't rtemember the persons name so that I can give him/her credit :-( 

This is what I came up with:

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!!

Annette

Happy New Year

Hello,

I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!!!!

Has anyone made any new year' resolutions? I have, I usually don't stick to them very long but this year I am really going to try :-)

My new year' resolution are to post on a more regular basis on my blog, create at least one cake a month, and sometimes I may do a raffle and give the cake away to one lucky Facebook follower and finally do some more crafting. I really need to start using some of this wonderful equipment that I have, otherwise what's the point of having it, right?

Well, gotta go for now, family is coming over for eggs Benny brunch tomorrow and I should get some sleep :-)

Thanks for stopping by,

Annette

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