Superheroes

I realized I haven't posted about my cakes in a while.  While I have been busy baking, I don't really take pictures anymore unless there are special decorations involved. Here are two of them.

AVENGERS-THEMED BIRTHDAY CAKE

I wish I could have done 3D figures.  That would have been challenging and really cool. But as I was only given a week's notice, 2D was the only way to go.  Lucky, I found a helpful tutorial here so the job became a lot easier.  I did change a few bits here and there.

See, I made the Hulk angry rather than cute and I gave Thor his long, blonde locks.

The cake was for a joint father and son birthday party.  The boy just turned 4 and barely had any idea who the Avengers were so I guess it was probably the dad who really wanted this cake...

There must be tons of Avengers-themed parties going around these days as these photos were viewed in my Flickr so many times in so short a time.  People were most likely searching for ideas. Who wouldn't want a theme like this anyway?

ESSENDON BOMBERS-THEMED CAKE

Just for the information of those who aren't Aussie, the Essendon Bombers is one of the most popular among the 18 Australian Rules Football teams.  We do live and breathe our footy over here, most especially in Victoria (where I am) so it's no surprise that someone would request a footy-themed cake.  If you were a star-struck 6-year old, you would certainly want to be portrayed wearing your hero's jersey and number, wouldn't you?

Making people figures has never been one of my strengths but I was quite happy with this cake topper.  And so was the boy's mom who was so excited when she saw the cake.

There is really nothing more gratifying than being told how you made a little child happy.  And of course, being told that you did a magnificent job too!  It makes all the hard work worthwhile and definitely gives you the inspiration for things yet to come.

I'm looking forward to making a Christening and also a simple wedding cake soon.  Can't wait.

Till next!

Homesick

Feeling a bit homesick today.  I made this short video (to the beautiful music of Carole King's Home Again), a compilation of some old family photos. As you will see, I belong to a very big family.  I am the only girl and the youngest among 9 children.  Mom and my brother Rey have passed in recent years.

Old photos are so special, aren't they? Especially the black and white prints.  They just transport you to another place and time.

Things were very much different then.  Kids are not the same these days.

Good times.  I do miss my family very much.

Long overdue iPad case

This project has been in the drawing board since late last year. (We got our iPad2 in November.)  To be honest, we didn't really need an iPad case.  The only reason I wanted to make one was because I wanted to learn how to.  

As expected, what held me back all these months was the thought of installing the zipper.  Zippers are in fact always on top of the list to avoid when I am thinking of something to sew.  In this case, however, it was particularly important to me to have a zippered closure.

Yesterday, as I was throwing away piled up scrap papers, I found some of the notes I had made before.  I actually had my measurements and steps already written down and I had forgotten all about them.  

It was about time I tried.

The result is not super great but still very pleasing, considering the fact that again, my overeagerness led me to some bad stitching here and there.

The outer cover is denim lined with fusible fleece.  I printed out an Apple logo and used it as a template to make my applique.

The interior is quilting weight cotton lined with light fusible interfacing. I used a continuous zipper cut to length for this purpose.  As with my other recent projects (cosmetic bag and travel wallet to be specific), I opted for bias binding to give the cover a nice finish.

Most of the handmade iPad cases I've seen on the net are either simple padded sleeves or just larger versions of cosmetic type/zippered bags.  In saying that, I reckon my case is quite a nice change....with elastic corners to hold the iPad and zippered all the way around for greater security!

What do you think?

Anecdote

Last night, as my 10-year old son Matthew, was playing a computer game, he said to me from out of the blue,

"I think you are my kryptonite, Mama."

Puzzled, I replied, "I don't know what you're talking about, Matt."

"You know....the One Direction song...", he then pointed out.

While I was trying to figure out the lyrics to the said song, Matthew started singing, then he said, "That was kind of corny, wasn't it?"

Maybe so, but oh so sweet.

I will savour the moment while it lasts.

How would you have felt?

I didn't intend to post here again so soon but I am just itching to tell you a story. (Take note: This has nothing to do with my predicament on the previous post.)

Last month, a friend of mine mentioned she would soon be ordering a cake from me for her daughter's eighteenth birthday.  I sensed she was a bit worried about the cost as she would have to pay for food catering and other party-related stuff as well. Since I would be giving a present anyway, I thought, why not just gift the cake instead?  When I told my friend, she appreciated the gesture very much.

Fast forward to last night, the night of the birthday party.  Below is the cake I had made.  I know I could have done a better job but I still thought it was pretty cool.

 A 12" chocolate cake, as requested, with gumpaste decorations.

I bought a JEM ladies shoe cutter specifically for this purpose.  I liked how I had embossed the celebrant's name on the shoe itself, like it's the shoe brand.

Thinking the cake might not be enough, I also prepared 24 banana cupcakes with matching flower decorations.

When we arrived at the party, I was led to where the cake was to be placed.  To my surprise, at the center of the dining area were two matching cakes displayed in one of those floating-style cake stands.  Those cakes apparently were the "main" birthday cakes.  Another family friend had them made somewhere else.  I was then directed to a small table reserved for my cake. It was located in the corner of the same area next to where the plates and utensils were. And the cupcakes? There wasn't enough space on that small table so I had to leave them on the carrier and put them down somewhere else.  Too bad cause they did match my cake and the two would have looked nice together.

To top it all, the birthday girl didn't even acknowledge my cake's presence.  Not to me anyway. It was like it was invisible.  Sigh.  

I could have felt hurt right then and there but I consciously chose not to be.  

A moment later, my friend's auntie came up to me and said she wondered what those shoes in my cake were made of so she took a pinch off it  to taste it.  What????  Did I hear that right?   I sneakily went to the table to take a peek at my cake and true enough, there was a chip on one of the shoes. Oh............my............God.

Was it time to get upset now?

I tried my best to be as understanding as possible.  Some people just don't know how much time and effort go into making these decorations that is why they do not appreciate them and treat them (and the maker as well) with respect. They don't know how much care is exerted to make sure a cake makes it to its destination in perfect shape. Just like that...a chip.

Well, I didn't let that ruin my night.  And you know what? As guests were having a taste of both cakes (which happened to be both chocolate), I overheard them saying mine was the better-tasting one.  

So, was I still happy inspite of everything?  Absolutely.  (But I would be lying if I didn't admit I can still see that chip on the shoe in my head until now.)

PS. In fairness, let me just add that they did put my cake next to the two others when it was time to sing happy birthday to the debutante.  And they did light up the candle. :)

Sigh

I am just feeling so down right now.  More than anything, I feel really misunderstood and betrayed.

I don't want to talk about it though.  I don't want to vent and cry.

So, I thought, why not just go and post something here.  I've been away for a while anyway.  Didn't even get the chance to greet all you moms out there last Sunday.  Hope you had a wonderful Mother's day!

As for me, I got some special treats from my kids.  For one, my daughter made me this card.

See, she tried to include some of the things I love...sewing, baking, the iPad app "Draw Something", my mobile phone (which she says is always ringing for cake orders), and Grey's Anatomy (the one and only show I truly love and watch faithfully).  My kids bought me a Pictionary too because they said I really dig that "drawing and guessing" thing.

Did I have a cake for Mother's day?  Unfortunately, no.  We are basically tired of cakes and even if we weren't, I'd really have no more extra time to make one anyway.

I did make cakes for other people and for other occasions.  Here are some of them (again).  Hope you don't get tired of looking...

POCOYO-THEMED CAKE

Pocoyo, who????  Never even heard of this children's show before.  (My youngest grew up on Wiggles and Hi-5 and he's nearly 11 now.)  The birthday boy's mom wanted all 5 main characters on the cake so I really had to do my research!  Thankfully, the cake topper turned out quite lovely.

FIRST BIRTHDAY / CHRISTENING CAKE

Isn't Eden Rose such a beautiful name? Wish I had thought of nice names like that for my own children!

ANGRY BIRDS IN SPACE-THEMED CAKE

I truly had a blast making this cake.  Angry birds in superhero form!  The birthday boy's reaction upon seeing this cake was really priceless.

ANOTHER CHRISTENING CAKE

First time to make those gumpaste hi-cut sneakers.  Loved it!

Ok, I'm feeling a little relieved now.  I just wish I don't get any more upsetting emails, phone calls, or text messages for the rest of this day.  I don't need them and I truly don't deserve any of them.

Hope you are all doing better than me.  Take care now.

Yes, it is worth it!

I had another one of those super hectic weeks and I realized (though quite late) that I haven't properly acknowledged all those who left messages, advice, words of encouragement and expressions of concern and belief in me when I wrote this post.  THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.  I must admit though that I haven't had much progress into getting my priorities sorted out BUT I will get there, I promise.  In the meantime, just know that I am managing.

There are a few cakes I haven't shared with you yet.  Here they are!

ALICE IN WONDERLAND-THEMED CAKE

My niece turned 16 last month and this was her special request.  Her only specifications were that the cake be blue with no Alice figure.  Personally, I didn't want a whimsical design as most Alice cakes were.  I wanted something quite elegant.

This gumpaste teacup is probably my most favourite cake topper to date.  It's just stunning and pretty.  It does seem complicated to make, doesn't it?  Really, it's not (with the help of this tutorial).  All you will need is a lot of patience.

Another thing that I wanted on the cake was the rabbit's watch.  At first, I didn't think the watch time was important at all and I just made it to be 5:00.  Then my daughter corrected me, saying that tea time in Wonderland was always at 6:00!  I could have left it at that but I just couldn't stand the mistake.  So yes, I discarded a perfectly good watch and made a new one.

Here is the finished topper.

And here is the cake.

My niece appreciated it very much.  And so did all her friends and other guests at her party.

THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE-THEMED CAKE

My kids were never into Thomas.  I don't know....we just found the show quite boring (sorry to those who love the show!).  This is why we don't own a single Thomas toy.  How then was I supposed to make a rather complicated figure with nothing to copy from?

I searched the web and found a few tutorials and videos.  In the end, I decided not to stress too much into making a perfect Thomas with all his parts and details.  For as long as it was recognizable, it would be fine.  Maybe a 3-year old would not be so discriminating after all.

Could have been better but it's not too bad, isn't it?

ANGRY BIRDS-THEMED CAKE

This cake theme seems to be very much requested as the game is so popular with kids.  I don't mind making them cause the birds are so easy to mould, what with their very basic shapes.  The cake topper was all done in one sitting.

I know it's not as elaborate as other Angry Birds cakes are but sometimes less is more, right?

I have another Angry Birds cake coming up soon and this time around, it's going to be the new Space version.  Really looking forward to making that one!

BART SIMPSON-THEMED CAKE

When I was first asked to make this, my initial thought was to just make a 2D Bart.  Moulding a 3D Bart seemed too advance for my skill level.  One night, however, I sat down and just thought of trying.  If I could only make a decent head, then everything else would probably be less difficult.

I moulded the head then asked my kids, "Does this look  Bart enough?"  When they all said yes, I was confident enough to proceed.

Funny how the kids said my completed Bart was too fat. I didn't mind because isn't almost everyone in Springfield?  

I hope you enjoyed reading and looking.  I really have fun making cakes like these.  Sometimes the compensation is great, sometimes not so great.  Sometimes I feel like I work too hard, sometimes it seems like it's more like playing.  Whatever it may be, at the end of the day, knowing that I've made someone happy does make it all worthwhile.

Have a good week!