Cakes

Well, I've finished icing my neices Christening cakes and really pleased that its gone ok. I'm only a hobby cake decorator, birthdays & Christmas etc.

When they got married 2 years ago, they asked me to ice the wedding cakes. 3 square ones, plain iced with a ribbon around the bottom edge, all very simple. Everything was planned, until my mum said we would take them up 1 week early. We were on holiday for the first 10 days of May and that would leave me 10 days to ice 3 cakes. I said I'm not doing it and took them to a "proffesional cake decorator". When I collected them I had a quick peek inside the boxes, paid and left. When I got home I cried, hubby called my mum as he didn't know what to do. The cakes were terrible. They weren't on the boards square. The icing was different thicknesses around the edges and it wasn't level on the top. Luckily mum knew someone Kathy of Long Sutton who came to the rescue. She removed the icing and started again. The first lady had even left the chunks of apricot on the cake when putting the marzipan on, she went bankrupt last year so can't inflict this upon anyone else!!!

This is how it looked on the day, after a major repair job.

This is how the "Pro" did their wedding cake!!!

I wanted to prove, to myself and sis-in-law that I can do it. Confidence restored!! Lesson learnt, always check things properly before leaving the shop!!

Well the sun is shining and I'm loving it. I come over all mother hen when its a nice day, I want to wash all the sheets and spring clean the house. The reality is I get one set of bedding washed, empty the hall of clutter, hang the sheets out, sweep the floor and put everything back in the hall, realise at bedtime I didn't put clean sheets back on the bed and the dog & children have run through the hall so many times it doesn't look like I did anything. Still I tried.

We had some friends over for tea last night and all the kids played happily,5 boys and 1 girl. It was the most peaceful "friends round" evening we've ever had. They played together well and didn't fall out. There must be something in the air.

The tadpoles are living happily in the pond. I keep looking to see if their tails are getting shorter, but they swim away too quickly. As soon as I see legs I'll post a picture!!

I really must get making more things too. I sold a teacosy on www.misi.co.uk and was inspired to make another on after reading the comments about it, but haven't got round to it. Its next on the list I think.

I'm off to make a lovely G & T and have 10 mins in the sun. xx

The end is nigh

Well the holidays are nearly over and the children will be returning to school full of enthusiasm, well 2 of those 3 are right.

Oh, the postman has just delivered more of my plaques ready for me to paint and sell. Something for me to do when the kids are at school. I love it in the holidays when they are at home, we get to talk more and relax rather than just live each day in a routine of get ready for school, come home from school, homework, tea, tidy, wash & bed. We never really have time to sit and chill during the week :(

I had another tattoo done yesterday. I went with my neice, she had some stars along the top of her foot and I was going to have a chain of flowers around my ankle. After talking to the tattooist I changed my mind and had some daisys along the side of my foot. It was bloody painful and I'm glad I changed my mind from my original idea, otherwise I think he'd have got less than halfway round before I stopped him. My neice however was chatting away like she was on a car journey.

The tadpoles are still growing, they are feeding on worms that have either fallen in or my youngest has put in there!! At least they are still with us. On a sad note we had to dispatch one of our chickens, Action man, she belonged to my eldest son and was the last of the first 4 chickens we got 4 years ago. He wants to bury her next to his rabbit which died last year. Generally my children are very matter of fact about the lives of animals as we are very rural and the family have a farm, but my son has taken this death to heart as Action man was more of a pet to us. RIP.

Well this is exciting, its my first post on my very own blog spot. I've only got into it through http://www.misi.co.uk/. A fantastic web site for people with the skill to "make". You create your own little shop and people come, have a look and hopefully buy. I'm very hesitant about using the word "crafter" to describe the people on the site, because they are much more than that. There are people who make, teddies, jewelry, soft furnishings, clothes, toys decorations and much more. Have a look and see what you think.

I'm starting to make more things now the weather is getting better. My studio is in a cold part of our house, its an old farm house, and I don't like working in the cold. We've been busy outside though, pricking out the seedlings and keeping an eye on the tad poles in our new pond. A friend has given me some tadpoles and spawn to put in there and were waiting for the frogs to develop now.