more cake decorating

So I made a cake for a friend and worked ahead in my book to learn  how to make some little dropped swirled flowers.

Don't look too closely at it being crooked and slightly lopsided - I SAID, DON'T LOOK!!!! ;)

Really I kind of liked it, it turned out very pretty as a whole, and the really cool part was it was 2 layers, one chocolate, one vanilla with a butterscotch filling!  Perfect for anyone!  LOL!

And we learned some flowers at class
The pom pom flower

That looks like this on top of a cupcake, with leaves of course!

And the shaggy mum! 

This was probably my favorite tip so far - totally reminds me of playing with play-doh.  Particularily the hair dressing set.  Remember that one, with the chair that pushed play-doh through holes on the characters heads to give them long hair??  Loved it!

 These cupcakes were filled with a cookies and cream filling, and then topped with the techniques we used!

  And my final cake class was last night - where we made this cake...

 And learned how to make a ribbon rose.  It is cool, because who doesn't want to know how to make roses out of icing?  I think we might take class 2 as well, because it is Flowers and Cake Design, using royal icing instead of buttercream, and I think I would like to know how to make more flowers.  I think I was convinced when I saw the daffodil....out of icing...totally cool!

I made it, and I wanted to write Mama Milly rocks on it - or something like that on it, but anyway, I was confused about weeks and decided to make it a birthday cake for someone's birthday that is more than a week away.  Awesome, heh? Oh well, we'll pretend it says that I rock and then we'll just eat it for fun!

Cake class

So I decided it would be super fun to take a cake decorating class. Some people are extremely resourceful and happy to be self-taught, not minding to experiment and all that, but I struggle with that.  I just want to follow the rules.  I just want to have a direction to go in.  Let me copy someone else's work for a while and I will eventually get to doing my own.  It is how I learn.

So I did make a few cakes last year to try it out and I love so much creating a special thing for one of my kids (and one was for my dad - can you guess which one??) that I decided to go ahead and do the class.  It is only 2 hours a week for 4 weeks, totally worth it.
Here are some of the cakes I made last year...

My personal favorite was the burger cake - it turned out so cool.  The whole thing was edible!

But I still always feel like I need some rules and instruction to guide me so I signed up for a Wilton Level 1 class with a friend.
The first week we learned about making a great cake, we learned the wilton buttercream recipe and we decorated cookies.

 So for this week we were supposed to bring an undecorated 8 inch cake to torte and decorate in class.

We all followed the same template and mine turned out like this

the colours are not at all like they were really, but anyway it was fun and I already learned how to smooth out the surface of my cake, and feel like I am getting the hang of my piping bag more and more.  I can't wait to learn the flowers and leaves, but that is all two weeks away because of the long weekend!  I might work ahead, the coolest thing about the class is the book that I got, it is full of lots of ideas and instruction!  I do realize that there is just as much info on the internet, but I am an extrovert and a social person.  So if something can be a social experience as much as a learning one, that is a bonus.  I will try to remember to post my pictures from the class.  Next time is cupcakes!

Getting ready for company

We moved this spring into a big house, almost double the size actually - kind of crazy.  I am not a person who loves housework...and I need a BIG amount done to get any satisfaction from it, like the WHOLE main floor being clean at exactly the same time!  Which is very tough when you have 5 kids of your own and extras running around making every day into a play day!  Not that they don't help...they totally do, they are all good little workers - when I remember to get them to help!  It is all on me.  I have to actually say to them, "oh, pick up that other game before you take out this one" or, "did you put the towel back on the rack?" or to remind them for the 11 billionth time to make their bed in the morning, put their pjs under the pillow and pick up 10 things on the way out the door of their room.
Stuff like that...
I realize lately how much I don't say, but expect them to know.  Not very fair of me...I am working on this one!  Especially for my younger kids.  I used to hate when my mom would say "Clean your room".  What does that even mean?  I find myself doing that more and more lately.  Totally not fair.  It is much easier for little kids when you say, "Pick up the books.  Now pick up the Barbies, now lets put all the laundry in the hamper...etc, etc."  Like I said, I am working on it.
I am also not the best at knowing WHERE something specific should be put away....I finally (almost 8 months after the fact) decided to put my table linens in the built in china cupboard.  Makes sense.  For born organized people, the solution is always - store it where you use it, but for people like me, who don't think so linear, but more in a circular fashion, it takes some time to stop the spinning long enough to say where will I use this thing??  Where should it go??  Beside the fact that I have never had so many places to put things before.  Even in our last house, it was a big bungalow, but it had virtually NO storage.  This house has lots of closets and cupboards and drawers.  More to work on.
One thing I have noticed about people who have a natural organizational bend, they have a ton of shelves and shelving units and other 3D storage solutions.  I even remember a few years ago that was IKEAs whole catalogue theme - not to think of your home in the sense of square footage, but of cubic footage - using the wall space and vertical storage to its best.  I also am not good at this - but I have hope!
I am thinking of this because I am cleaning in anticipation of an event (the only good reason to clean and organize if you ask me!) We are getting ready for a big bunch of company this weekend!  There is a bible quiz meet here in our city this weekend and so we are looking forward to billeting again.  One girl that stayed with us this summer called us directly to ask if she could stay here - that made me happy, it couldn't have been too bad here I guess! 
I have been making muffins in anticipation of their arrival.  All I get to make for them in the way of food is breakfast both days, so on Saturday I am planning baked oatmeal and Sunday, muffins, cheese and yogurt. 

I have also been sewing, but you'll have to wait to see what I have made!


Here is a picture of a birthday card I made.

I did my first ever one-sheet-wonder.  I loosely used a template someone created to cut one 12x12 piece of patterned paper to make 15 cards.  And I only got 12 out of it, but whatever. Of course you have to use a bunch of other cardstock too - and they are just good starts on cards, I need to add images to all of them, but it was a neat way to get a bunch of backgrounds done.  Hopefully next week I can get the images and sentiments added and they will be done.  A big addition to my sample box! Or more likely a big start on someone's very overdue birthday present - which is not in dire need of replenishing anyway, so I've heard!

So guess that is it, I don't know what else to blog about, just happy that I did remember to blog today...I am trying to keep at a weekly post, so we'll see how long I can keep it up.  Next week when my birthday present arrives, I will post a picture!  yay!

 

Officially into a new year

I don't get all excited about New Year's Eve.  I don't usually make resolutions or have goals that are specific to January 1.  I think this is because my birthday is in January, so MY new year actually begins 9 days after everyone else's!
I do have some goals for MY new year.

*to stay on top of my homework for my Bible Study
* to take my vitamins every day (I am doing very well with this one)
* to drink 8 glasses (or 4 of my bottle) of water a day. (I am getting there)
* to blog weekly (I have snuck this in - this is the last day of my new year week)
* to make at least one creative thing a week.  A card, a scrapbook page, knit something, crochet something or even a new fancy recipe.
* to get myself back to a regular routine.

I have the hardest time with the last one.  I know I have mentioned it before, but I seriously like the idea of going with the flow, and being super spontaneous.  My whole body PHYSICALLY objects to the idea of mopping every Monday, dusting every Tuesday....you get the drift.  I really don't think like that.  But the more I get to know myself, the more I realize that the Flylady is totally right.  When I keep myself on track with a loose plan, I have more time and brain space to do the fun, creative stuff!

So the Princess and I have designated Tuesday as bread-making day.  This is something I used to do.  I used to make bread, almost exclusively.  We almost never bought bread when I lived in Calgary.  But since moving back to the prairies 6 years ago I have never really gotten myself back into a rhythm where I could consistently fit making bread into our week.  So we have decided that if we just DECIDE that Tuesday is the day, we will make it!  So we have made bread two Tuesdays in a row and this week's bread turned out beautifully!

I wanted to post these pictures yesterday, but my camera battery was dead, and by the time it charged, we had put away all the lovely loaves except this one!

Anyway, I don't think my goals change much each year, but I do want to make taking care of small things that will make my life better (vitamins, water, a routine so I can be sane) .  I want to know that I do life well, that I am getting better all the time.  I like that saying, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  I realize how true that is.  Which is why I added in the goal of making something every week.  I love to sew, make cards, bake, etc, but often because of the everyday busyness I don't get to do any of those things and I think my whole attitude suffers for it.  I can't tell you how good it feels to make something after not doing it for a while.  It is like relief!  So I want to schedule that into my time so that I have an opportunity to do it.

I guess my beautiful bread can suffice for my creative something this week.  I have been working on a bunch of cards, but they aren't done yet so I won't count those!  I will try to remember to post pictures sometimes of what I make!

Happy New Year!

351 days until Christmas

Yes, my advent series was a fail...sorry for that!

Part of the problem is that I can`t upload pictures. What is the deal with that? 

So now we have a new year, trying to get back to normal.
Normal cleaning schedule, normal kids activities, normal school work.
Sigh
I love Christmas holidays.  I love all the decorations, the company, the food that we don`t normally get to have.  I love the special music, I love it all!

I didn't make any  Christmas cards this year.  I just couldn't find the time.  I did end up making one prototype, but I never did get back downstairs to produce them.  I did do a bunch of knitting though!  I know, weird, right?  I taught myself to knit and crochet almost 10 years ago, but was never very good at knitting.  I am not very fast at it, and it takes too long to make anything by knitting in my opinion.  So I have gotten pretty good at crocheting, but really haven't knit at all in a really long time.
Anyway, this new ruffle yarn makes making a fancy scarf really quick and easy! So I made about 10 scarves this year, using different kinds of ruffly yarn!

Here is a pic!

 Isn't that a neat picture?  I think they turned out great, and they were fast too, except the red one I made for my mother in law. It took a long time!  but it turned out nice so that's okay!  I made another brown one too that is for my youngest sister, but I guess it never made it into a picture, and one with really pretty spring colours for a very good friend of mine.  I am working on a pink one now too, but it also is taking a long time, and since Christmas is over I guess there is no pressure, so I haven't worked on it for days!
LOL!
I also made a decorative framed wall hanging for our family's gift exchange on my husband's side.  This is it.
I really liked how it turned out too - I have been working on my own that says FAMILY for over a year!  LOL, I managed to finish this one though. 



Here are some of our pictures from Christmas!

 Look at these kids, I am so blessed, seriously, I can't believe I get to be their mom!

 Toddler got a Mickey Mouse from Florida to go with her Minnie Mouse we got her from California last year.  Now they are a coast-to-coast couple!

 Dash got the Incredibles, she was very happy with it, but her favorite present was the one pictured below....

 A real Ukulele!  She was so excited! She just loves it.  I need to be diligent to teach her using the book that came with it so she can learn to play a song while it is still exciting!

 Princess really wanted the new Jonathon Park CD set, so we got her that!

And the oldest two got normal stuff, shoes, a movie you know, nothing too exciting, just good stuff!
What did you get for Christmas?

20 days until Christmas

So now we were a day behind in our unwrapping

but that's okay, because truthfully, I knew I would get behind!

So what will it be today?

looks like something flat, kind of flexible...hmmmm, could it be???

 Yes, a book!!

How to Draw Christmas

I am so not artistic!  I can barely draw stick figures and my favorite times of art have been when a friend of mine, who happens to be an artist, has invited my kids over to paint, or sculpt with Sculpy or whatever.  That does happen only rarely though and my kids are way more artistic than me.  I think I must THINK art is important though, because I BUY a lot of art books, but I struggle with using them!  LOL!
So today was How to Draw Christmas day!  I had the kids do a snowman picture with chalk and the older girls did a drawing of a snow queen that we are going to do a resist technique on with paint over top.  I will post a picture of the finished product too!

21 days until Christmas

Eek!  3 weeks!  Time seriously flies!
Today's gift got a little mismatched!
LOL! 
This is what happens when you get a little ahead of yourself.  I took some time this morning to go downstairs and wrap up the rest of the weeks gifts so that I am not in a time crunch.  Originally I was going to have them all done in advance, but let's face it that goes against my very personality and with sick kids and real life, I just didn't get to it!
So I was all ready to go and then my husband (who took today off, what a treat!!!) decided that he was going to go get something that was way better than anything I could give them for advent.
Have you guessed?  Should I make you wait?
It smells so good!
Yes,
it is
our

TREE!!
Isn't it beautiful?  We always end up with the most beautiful trees!
Anyway, I think it is totally thawed now and it smells absolutely AMAZING!  If you come over you would think I just washed my floors with PineSol or something!  Just kidding, it smells way better than that!

Anyway, we got the lights on, but didn't have time for anything else, as Ballerina had youth group tonight, and we couldn't do it without her.  And we can't do it tomorrow because we have care group/kids club/youth group again and we won't be home.  But we can hopefully get it decked out on Thursday night!

Are you wondering then why we got it today if we can't even decorate it and I had a different plan for a gift?  Well, truthfully it is because I am cheap.  Up to tomorrow, at the store we bought it from, we received a gift card to use in the new year, and if we use it the tree will have cost us about $5.  And who doesn't need stuff from the Home Improvement Store in the New year?? 

So anyway, we got it today, which works out fine!  I also bought a small cheap artificial tree when I was out for the front room.  The rest of the decorations were also part of today's present and we will decorate tomorrow too.

Yay!