The Sewing Dilettante

This week, it seems, is destined to be one of general frustration for me when it comes to all things crafty! Last night, at cake school, our task was to create cute little cake-toppers for a traditional christening cake. It all seemed pretty straightforward.... cut out a few pieces of sugar paste, mould them together with a bit of royal icing to construct a teeny-tiny crib, artistically arrange a miniature baby and few delicate flower blossoms, et voila .... This is what they were supposed to look like! Mine, sadly, had structural problems from the start. The first crib was terribly crooked and refused to hold together. The second seemed like it might work... that is, until baby and pillow were inserted and blanket draped over both. At that point, the foot end of the crib cracked and fell off, imperiling poor baby, who was, in any case, nearly smothered by my ham-fisted attempt at a blanket. *Sigh* I didn't have the time or energy to start again, so I took everything apart, ...

This week at Cake School, we learned how to make calices (singular: calyx) - the little green leaves from which the rose bud .... well ... buds... - and leaves of various sizes. Adding calices to my roses from last week certainly resulted in more life-like, botanically correct flowers... I can't wait to see what they look like with the leaves added to them! The leaves were fun to make, if a little bit tedious. I especially liked pressing them in the 'veiner', which looked and felt like a dentist's mould of some sort and added all the necessary life-like character to each leaf.  Our homework is to complete five sets of leaves consisting of one large and two small leaves and to wrap the stems of all of our leaves and roses in green floral tape. I'm also aiming to make a few more full blown roses and another few four-petal flowers to replace the ones that broke after class the first night. After that, I feel sure I'll be ready to accept commissions for o...

This week in Cake School, we learned how to make sugar roses.... a time-consuming but surprisingly straightforward affair! It's really just a question of strategic layering of thinly rolled sugar paste pieces, so you start off with just two little petals folded around an inner core of paste and go from there. Slightly fiddly, yes, but as with last week's simpler five-petal flowers, practice makes perfect! In the two hours of class time last night, I managed to make one 'starter' rose bud with just two petals, two medium sized roses each with two layers of petals, and one fully blooming rose. Not nearly a bouquet, but I'm getting there! Next week, we're going to add leaves and other greenery to finish the roses off. Looking forward to it! xx Tina

This weekend was a fantastic one full of fun and relaxation - a perfect birthday weekend and a great way to unwind after the work craziness of last week! Saturday afternoon, I went to Bee Blessed, and it was just so nice to catch up with everyone after such a long break! (I can't remember the last time I was able to go, but it was at the very start of my pregnancy, so nearly 5 months ago!) What's more, it was amazing to see just how much we had on the go... Judith has a great summary of everything we're working on at the moment, and Ruth also posted a few photos of the quilt she's finishing up for gifting in the next little while. It's lovely to see so much getting done and to know that all of the projects will soon be going to new homes, where, hopefully, they'll bless and encourage their recipients! After Bee Blessed, I was treated to dinner at the local Indian restaurant ( Bengal Brasserie , for the curious) with several friends and my lovely hubby, who ma...

Well, I've survived another chaotic week at work and am looking forward to a fun-filled weekend with a Bee Blessed gathering tomorrow afternoon, a friend from London visiting, and a low-key birthday dinner on Saturday with a few friends. I managed to get a bit of EPP done in the evenings this week but not much else. Nevertheless, here are a few snapshots (literally) of some of the cooler aspects of my week... Hubby got me these super cute Converse earrings for my birthday yesterday.... for some reason, they make me want to sing 'These boots were made for walking'!  Also yesterday, I started the second installment of Cake School. To explain: last Christmas, hubby bought me the gift that keeps on giving... enrollment in a baking class at the local community college! I had been saying that I really wanted to learn how to decorate cakes a little bit better, so he registered me for what he thought was a decorating class. It turned out to be a more traditional baking class...