A Christmas Cake That's Just A Little different!

After the sheer concentration that went on creating the special wedding cake tea tray, I decided I'd better get back to Christmas as Kensington show is 3 weeks today...HELP...how did that creep up so quickly on me! I just don't know how anybody can make enough stock to do more than 1 show a year...even enough for one 3 day show would be impossible for me...there just aren't enough hours in the day.  If anyone has any spare that they can send me I'd be really, really grateful! :-)
BUT...as usual, I got so sick of making the ordinary Christmas cakes that I went off on a tangent (which is not unusual for me!) & this little "snowball" Christmas cake was suddenly born!....I guess I'll have to get back to making the more classical kind now though!

How's this for a wedding cake?

Some time ago I was asked to recreate a wedding cake in miniature & of course said "yes"....a dangerous word for me...before I'd really taken a good look at the photo I had been given....oh oh! This was some intricate cake...although I'm not at all sure how the wedding guests got to eat it as it's an ornate teapot & 4 cups filled with tea coloured roses & a sugar bowl full of coloured "sugar" cubes all sitting on a tray!

I really didn't think that I'd actually manage to replicate such an ornate piece in  miniature but after working on it exclusively for 3 days & nights I finally finished it tonight & guess what...I LOVE it & am actually quite sad to see it go to the lady who commissioned it...I would love to keep it in my collection :-(

I'm not too sure that I'd want something like this for my wedding cake though!

Christmas is coming after all!

OK so I give in...Christmas is on the way...still too quickly for me.
It hasn't been a good week for me this week, my much loved black labrador died on Monday morning & I miss him terribly...he used to go everywhere with me..even to the loo! The house is just not the same :-(

I thought perhaps the idea of all this chocolate ( except it would need to be real!) might cheer me up a little!

Forget Christmas!

I'm trying to forget that Christmas is rushing towards me now....each year it becomes more & more of a nightmare knowing what to get for kids that have everything, so I try to bury my head in the sand & pretend that I won't have to actually take the plunge & buy something...anything. Once again, I'll be panicking at the last minute

To take my mind off the Christmas nightmare I've been making some shellfish instead of the Christmas puds, cakes, mince pies etc etc...... & here is the finished product!

Some filled jars for a friend!

Half term has sort of got in the way of mini creation since I came home from holiday...the kids & I have been visiting quite a few of the North East's attractions..if you ever find yourself in Durham try Beamish Museum..it's a "living" museum & a wonderful insight into the life of miners & farmers & their families in the 1800's.
I have managed to finish some jars for a good friend & I hope she likes them!

It's SO cold here!

Oh dear...I've come back to earth with a pretty big bump over the last couple of days! I left lovely blue skies & sun with temperatures in the high 30's C to find myself with a maximum of 12 degrees C...brr..I had to buy a quilted jacket to keep me warm & find my fur lined boots to replace my flip flops.....not pleasant!
Not a lot of mini making went on over in the desert, but I did manage to weave 10 baskets while waiting for my lazy daughters to get out of their beds each morning! Here's one of them filled with some shopping.....cheese, baguettes, a squash & fruit!

Last blog before the heat of the desert!

OK...before I head off for 2 weeks of lovely sun, sea, lots of sand & mojitos in the desert I'll show you one of the very few pieces I've managed to create this past week...we've been having some glorious weather, temps up in the high 70F...so much better than our supposed summer...& there was NO way I could be inside when it's been so nice...consequently my long list of work to do hasn't got much less this week

So, here to celebrate the fantastic year it's been for growing fruit & veg is a little Harvest Cornucopia! Hope you like it!

It'll be making an appearance on eBay around 10th October....while I'll still be soaking up those rays(not to mention the alcohol!!)