Patriotic baby quilt

This is my latest baby quilt. Giving it to the little one for Christmas. He is 7 weeks old now.... better late than never uh? Hoping they like this one. Now on to the next baby that is coming up. Hope it is a girl( I have a girl one made and waiting to go ) so I can catch up. Will start a boy one just so I can break even. lol

Birthday cake

Not much to say with this one. Just covered in fondant cake.. customer wanted something purple and green for a girls birthday.. this is what I gave them.. They loved it. Me wished I made the bow bigger and more full and I put the happy birthday on my worse side of the cake. Oh ! well, live and learn.

UAB graduation cake

Graduation cake... learned a lot on this one... tried to make my top out of fondant, let it dry for about 3 days. ripped to pieces the day I put it together. I finally had to wrap some cake board in fondant to make the top. Hand painted the dragon onto dried fondant( proud of that any way) My poor tassel looked more like a squid with a knitted cap on but, flew with it any way. A lot of things I would change if I had to make again. For now, I will hang onto my dragon looked good.

added flower

I added the Rose... makes it more less manly...

Postal bag cake

Mail bag with mail..... carved cake then covered with fondant. Hand painted the emblem and stamps... also painted some texture to make the bag hopefully look like old leather. I might add a single rose to feminize it some. This cake is for a women postal carrier. Letters were made out of fondant. I let them dry over night then painted on stamps and writing.

I think I shocked my self with this one. This was my first try at any kind of bag. I have always wanted to do a purse. One old leather bag looks as close as I will come. Really happy with this one and I am not one to toot my own horn. But toot toot toot for me.. I think I am proud to deliver this one. Feels nice for a change. ....... still thinking over weather or not to add the rose.. Will depend on if the rose looks good tomorrow when i am finished. Next week........one birthday cake and one graduation cake... My little hobby seems to be taking off and I really didn't mean to turn it into work. People keep asking,, I guess I will keep making. ( or baking so to speak lol )

Topsy Turvey Black and White

My Topsy- Turvy black and white cake for my daughter. Thought I would show the whole table scape for this shot. This was my first try at a Topsy -turvy. Never want to do it again in chocolate cake for sure.... chocolate seem to be on everything by the time I had this one carved out. Would like to try my hand at one again though. Over all was proud of this one. I did learn when doing a design start on the edge of cake and work up and down. Became hard to get diamonds to match up on the weird angle of the cake. Live and learn. lucked up and found black feathers to put on top and I made the stripped 18. ooooooo la la. Happy Birthday to my Daughter. I love you.

lady stripper cake

This is the stripper cake I have done. Took me six hours from baking till finished product. Butter cream icing with fondant panels on the side hand painted. She ( the stripper) was made from gum paste and fondant mix together. I find I get a softer product that lets me create the face better.

Rolled out gum paste and cut wedges and shaped to dry to look like the cake is busting open... Was happy with all things considered. I decided to paint women on the panels. Keeps it with the naked lady theme. Hoping it looks more masculine than little flowers. Hope he enjoys his birthday and his cake.

Alabama bithday cake.

This is an Alabama cake for a birthday. There is an Alabama design that is used on plates, frames ect.... this is my version of it in butter cream. My daughter made the little daises out of gum paste of course. Hope she likes it. Rolllll Tide!!!!

Had to get this one done the same night I did the Auburn cake... was just glad to get them both done.

The Auburn Cake

Well this is my Auburn cake. It was done all in butter cream. not much more to say... iced smooth, then drew on face with a tooth pic, then colored in with the butter cream. Then waaaa laaaaa . The Auburn University football logo in butter cream. I just made little paw prints on the side and made the AU logo on the side.

The apple cake

The apple cake is done. Over all happy with this one. If I had to create this one again I would do a few things different but, you live you learn. I have learned a lot from this one.

drawing of the apple cake

This is the design I drew up for the apple cake. I thought I would show the design in its creative stages. That way everyone can see what I was going for and what I end up with.

Fondant Apples

This weeks cake is all about apples. This is my first stab at making some apples. I wanted not to use so much fondant and have five lbs. on top of the cake so...... I formed Rice Krispies into the shape then covered with fondant. Did a little painting to add depth. Going to be making a round apple crate( basket ) out of cake and then cover it with fondant and hope it turns out like the picture I drew.I saw the idea on line and thought I could make it work for the apple themed birthday party. Of course adding my own touch, Ideas and talent to the mix. I was scared of the apple theme at first , now I am loving what I want it to turn out looking like. Always praying they turn out. Keeping the fingers crossed and my hopes high. Stay tuned to see if this one comes out looking good or not.

little mermaid cake

Well ,this is what I came up with. Did not get started on this one till late. Over all I am sorta happy. Would have loved to have the little mermaid made out of gum paste look just like the Disney version, but what can ya do? Made characters out of gum paste and fondant. Cut out an oval out of white fondant and painted her picture on it and happy birthday to put on the side of the cake. I think my trunk was my best part. I thought it looked real cool. Here's hoping They like this one.

One bad day with cakes

This one has to be my worst. I waited to late to get started. I was not happy with my skull. my snake was to dark for top of cake... the Oreo cookie crumbles made it hard to do any decorating on top of the cake and my butter cream never would crust over. I cooked the cakes the same day they were put together, which then made them hard to stack and layer with fudge topping in between the layers. I wanted it to have many snakes crawling in and out at the bottom but, again I ran out of time. He only got a few snakes. Finally put it together and made it all work. Just thanking God this one was for my son. I do no think I could have sent this one out to any one paying for it. This one was a live and learn from your mistakes for sure.

The pink and violet anniversary cake

This weeks cake was for an anniversary. I Just butter creamed the whole cake. Used fondant to make ribbon band. Made royal icing roses and attached them as I made them. Wished I would have made the board bigger on the bottom so I could have made bigger roses coming off the bottom. Oh' Well I did the best I could do with the choices I made. Happy with this one all being considered. To be butter cream covered it turned out OK smooth.

Little mermaid cake

This one was for my niece... made it when little mermaid came out....so that tells you how old this pic is. Again i just drew on the picture using a tooth pic then filled in with different tips to get the effect i wanted ...............excuse the bad picture quality it was taken with an old disposable camera... and i scanned it in. I guess that is why I got tired of working in butter cream... it was a lot of work to get it to look like what I wanted it to... I always strive for realistic to the character as much as I can. I remember being proud of this one also. It looked better in person.

The Batman cake

Thought I would up load an old pic of a cake I did for one of my nephew's birthday. Had to be done sometime in the 90's considering Zach is now like 21 or 22.... This one was done in all butter cream... Back in those days that was all I used... this one I remember taking me a long time... I drew it out with a tooth pick and then filled color in... I was real proud at the time because I thought my face looked good......Looked like the real batman at the time.

Cakes seemed to be a hit at the wedding...Couple was happy and guest complimented on them often..( me....I found the grooms cake turned out dry and the wedding cake tasted better but, i am not a fan of boxed red velvet cake. Glad i did not try to make them from scratch ( they do taste better that way.) I was already in a time crunch. Now we move on to the next one... This week...........wedding anniversary, Pink and lavender tiered up like a wedding cake... ( this one is going to be a round cake , Hoping it will be awhile before I have to do another square cake again.)

I found the square cake to be awkward to work with and difficult to cover the big bottom tier in fondant.....( still loving working in the fondant though.. it is amazing how well it travels and easy to fix on the spot. Wedding cake squished in a little on the back side ( thank you God for being the back of the cake) All I had to do was push it back down .......no one ever noticed.

Black and White Scroll Wedding Cake,

It is now 11:26 p.m. The Brides cake is finished. I do not even want to count the hours that I put in today. I am also just getting to eat my supper. I should call this one the cake from hell. I bought a new brand of fondant to try... It does taste better, but it is so soft. It's easy to rip, bubble, and very sticky. I will not let that deter me from using it again because I do prefer the taste of it better ( Satin Ice ) . Wilton's brand is easier to work with.. seems to be thicker in consistency. I will just have to learn how to work with the other. Then I never could get my roses done before hand. So, ribbon roses were tossed together and stuck on. Then my pipping was terrible. It kept stopping up my small tip. Over all just glad I am done. These are just what they are. Not loving them but, I will live with them. Lesson learned in today's hobby.. NEVER do two big cakes in one day. I am only one person with one stove and a mixer. Would love to try the black and white scroll pattern again..............When it is the only one I will be working on.....and not starting on it at complete exhaustion. My feet are throbbing, my back is aching, and my hands hurt. Getting out of bed at 6:00 , and stood on my feet till I sat down to do this.............( did have a fifteen min. lunch break) but will get to bed by 12:00. If I can only relax enough to fall a sleep.

U A groom cake

close up of the alabama grooms cake

It is now 3:27 p.m. I am finished with the Alabama Grooms cake. Grooms initial is the center piece with Big Al being the groom on this cake. I started as soon as I got back from taking the kids to school. So, I am thinking This one took me about 7 hours with maybe 30 min sit down breaks here and there. I did put the hounds tooth print on top. Cutting each print out by hand. That was my most time consuming part. Oh' and lets not forget I made the elephants and all other little add on's out of gum paste about a week ago. This cake in total has about 10 hours of work put into it. To find out The S was backwards and everything had to be turned around .........I am tired and exhausted and still have the big grand daddy of a bride cake to go.....Hoping I can hold out till the end and make it great. OH' dear lord be with me for the next 7 hours or more.

Pinks and brown baby quilt

Chocolate pinwheel is what I am calling this one. took me for ever to finally quilt it. Hand quilting on both side of the seam. This was also my second pieced quilt......I hate cutting all of them out. A rotary cutter was used to cut many at a time but still, not my favorite thing to do. I procrastinated on this one as well. I had no deadline,but i made my self finish this one so I could start my next one. Thinking American Baby, lets see how that one turns out.

Just another view.. with the little flowers

The tigger lilly cake

The Birthday cake for this week... I think I am going to add little purple flowers..... Not completely happy with this one...I think I had my hopes up to high. My wings broke on my hummingbirds.. so I only added one. Cake was butter cream, flowers were gum paste. purple bow was fondant.

Pink and Brown Baby shower cake. Baby booties tucked inside the bow. Little white gum paste flowers on each connection of triangle. Cake was covered in fondant. Bow, triangles, and stripes were also made from fondant. A little less happy with this one. I should have let my bow pieces dry more before attaching and wish I could have found a more perfect triangle cutter. I bought the square cutters and pushed in on the side to oblong it. It worked for what I wanted I guess. Also wish I could have had more time, and worked on getting my strips more equal. Each cake is a learning experience and makes me better ( I hope). Hope there happy with it. Keep in touch to see how the recipient liked her baby shower cake.

Baby bootie made from gum paste ( I did make the set of them, only one pictured here)

This will end up on the baby shower cake I am making for Sunday... Hope to have it pictured up and ready by Sunday morning. Still not sure what I will be doing for it. I guess I will be winging it and just let my mistakes and artistic ability show me the way. Wish me luck.

Humming bird made from gum paste.... this was my first try. I am hoping to touch him up before I put him on the cake and I have a few more to make..if...that is if i can make them all turn out to look OK. So I guess we will just see if this one makes it on the Ballet shoe, tiger lilies, and hummingbird cake.

Just got a baby shower cake ordered up, due This Sunday.... Have to think fast, Work up fast and decide what i am going to do. Will have posted as soon as i get my pictures of it downloaded. It is going to be a shower for a baby girl.... So right now thinking Big pink bow, Maybe pink and brown polka dots.... maybe baby shoes and other baby items... We will see how times works for me. Had to work my paying job today and will work it tomorrow. Here is hoping i get off early tomorrow as well.

Ballet shoe made from gum paste. This was my first attempt. Wanting them to look like a worn old ballet slipper. I am going to try a different approach on the second shoe. The first one a started out with a roll of gum paste and cut away what i did not want then using my carving tool i made dents, seams and wrinkles. I will not put the other ribbon on the shoe till time to go on the cake. I want it to be really standing tall like a leg is still in it. next shoe thinking i will try to cut out each side and form. ( more like a real shoe is made.) If I can't get both of them to look good... there will only be one shoe on that cake.keeping fingers crossed ( I want both shoes on that cake )

Got my next request for one of my cakes.... I am going to have to get my mind working on this one. Butterflies, hummingbirds and tiger lilies are what she likes . I see in my mind what I want to do. Now, I will just have to figure out how to get that hummingbird to be flying above the flowers. Cake not needed till Sept. 5Th so I have some time to be figure something out. All else fails.... She will get the butterflies and lilies. Oh, The tension builds. What , how and can I create a cake that will make them go "wow"! Stay tuned as the drama builds. lol

Today I work a real job. In the sense that I have to show up at a certain time, stuck there till they let me leave, and will be compensated by my little paycheck at the end of the week. I am a server one or two days a week. My money is made in tips. This Saturday has me asking WHYYYYYY!!!!!! I have only worked a few of them this year, and now I am having to do another one. O.K. here is my dream, its like everyone else, " I want, I dream, I yearn, I desire, I fantasize to win the lottery. We drive, or someone in the family does, to get lotto tickets so that we can always have a chance. One day I will win and my artistic side will not have to suffer another day under someone else control. I will put on my fake smile, my fake happiness, my fake good attitude and do what I must to get through this day of horror.

Gum paste daisies and fondant bow is what this weeks cake making adventure was all about. I made this cake for my niece. Four layers with strawberry filling between two of them. Covered with just butter cream frosting. Was a little scared at first when it was just a green square. My daughter said at that stage it looked like one of those green foam florist squares.
White dots, daisies and the bow took that look away and made it look like what you see before you. This was my first try at making daisies, while teaching my self I showed my daughter how, as well.I enlisted her help to make many of them. I found the daisies very easy and fast. I was able to make them while cake was cooling, and even had to make a few to add on at the last minute. Also discovered dots and flowers can cover many a flaw in icing. Also discovered that this shade of green became darker after it sat for awhile. It was not the perfection that I would have hoped for but, the family seemed to like it. )OH! thought for today " if it was not for my flaws in my smooth finish I would not have added the cute dots nor so many daisies... again mistakes worked out to a great creation". I wonder what my next mistake will create again i can hardly wait.

Quilt was made for the love of my life, uh ...not the dog in the picture, the Man in my life. That is my dog Boo. (If i wanted him to sit there he would not have done it to save my life.) Do not have a name for this one.It makes me think corn field in the fall. Its just a pieced, and hand quilted quilt. Was my first pieced one I ever made. I messed up the pattern, but went with it ( I was not about to go and rip out seams to several little pieces to get it right). I am happy with it, sometimes mistakes makes great creations ( sometimes it makes a big mess) and besides sometimes them mistakes makes us get creative. Here is a thought , If one is more creative than another person, Does that mean the creative person has made more mistakes.

If this is true, one should be just as proud of the mistakes they have made. They are just one step closer to being a more creative person. So for anyone that might read this, go out and try something, accept the mistake and work around it. Get Creative!

This is the baby quilt i am working on now. Showing in picture how you make a quilt sandwich. The backing fabric facing good side down, then put on quilt batting, then your quilt top facing up. It being a Small baby quilt i just pinned to hold sandwich together. I Then put a embroidery hoop in the middle and hand quilt out. (Always start in the middle of project so you don't get folds in your project ). Quilt out to the edges then add your border. This one has not got a home either... We do have another baby coming into the family. Yep you guessed it, Its going to be a boy. I can never get ahead. I think my plan now is to start making all boy quilts........ then maybe i can start having some baby girls around here. So now i have two baby quilts to make before the end of this year. Well, this will give me somthing to do between decorating cakes.

Fall will soon be here and school has already started. My daughter 17 is looking forward to turning 18 in November ,school to end and dreaming she could own her own car.. she is a Senior this year. Son 15 about to have a birthday in October had to shave for the first time. He really is enjoying his freshman year so far, he got to start at the high school and he has a new girl friend. wow they sure grew up fast.

This is a picture of my front door... three years ago... will have to show what i do this year... will be decorating for fall soon.....then Christmas decorating omg time is moving fast! better get started on that alabama baby quilt soon!

Well I said one of my hobbies is painting so I thought I should post one of those as well. The inspiration for this picture I got from a Christmas card. I really wanted this beautiful picture of Santa I saw at a store. Could not see paying out that much money ( I do have two kids) So saw my card and Painted my own picture. Had a picture that i hated but, liked the frame. Ta-da painted the mat Christmas red and green and popped my painting in. I used a cheap thin canvas purchased at a well known used to carry all my crafts and material and does not any more store. ( But let's not get me fussing. that is an all different blog page) I used oil paints. I used my kids names on Santa's list to make it more personal. Here is the sad part......I miss spelt my son's name.... was about to hang the picture... Daughter caught it.. well lets just say it took a couple more weeks before we got to hang the picture. He looks good hanging on my red wall at Christmas with the glow of Christmas lights sparkling in his face. I have no plans for future pictures at this time.... I have cakes to make ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Wedding getting close. Sept. 19. Ordered black fondant and waiting for its delivery. Will start making gum paste roses and those Elephants soon.

This quilt was made for another great nephew. Bears and bubbles. I tried to make the colors match his room. This was the quilt (baby pink tea party) was supose to be for. I just knew it was going to be a girl.... Well needless to say once i was finished with the pink one. It became a boy so I had to whip this one up fast. The strips around the edges, I sewed one long strip of all the colors then cut them in length i needed and resewed. DID that make sense? o well that was what I thought was going to be the most time comsuming , Ended up being the easiest. I am glad to say I came close to the stripped fabric in his bedding. Would have loved to but more time and create more bears with more detail but what can you do....... Make him an Alabama football quilt for christmas ( if i get my self to a cloth store and find the time) That is what we are going to do. This is also the baby I keep Mon.- thurs.> He is holding up his own present.

Baby quilts I made with love.. Dogs on blue went to my great nephew. Little pink tea party has not found a home yet. But, i am thinking with my big family someone will have a girl soon.

These quilts I made for my two sisters. Bird quilt was harder. It was a lot of little piecing and more hand embroidery work.

Next cake to be coming up is going to be a wedding cake and a grooms cake. Wedding cake will be white with black scrolls and red roses. grooms cake will be another Alabama cake this time with Hhounds tooth top, stripes and two marrying elephants..I am hoping and praying that they come out close to perfect. keeping my fingers crossed

Alabama big Al. cake

Elephant was made from gumpaste , shirt was made from fondant. Cake covered in buter cream. football ,hat and flag was from fondant . I was very happy over my ball cap. picture does not do it justice. not happy with covering of the buttercream. my buttercream was almost melting off the cake that day.

These cakes were made for my great nephews first birthday. This was my first try at carving cakes. I was happy with the carving of the shape. unhappy about tire being flat. Will be attempting matter from same movie in feb. so it will be interesting to see if i can get his tires off the mat.

The big car was covered in fondant with a few butter cream details. The little car was decorated with butter cream icing.

Luau Cake, Beach scene with palm trees, hibiscus flowers, tiki faces, chocolate shells , flip flops complete with sand, blue sky and water

.Cake was made for a luau couples shower. Took me an hour to make the first big hibiscus flower. lets just say I started weeks in advance. Over all I was very happy with it. Chocolate shells where the easiest to make because I had a shell mold. base covered in fondant, cake covered in butter cream icing. All other decorations were made from fondant and a little hand painting with food paste color and aired dried before attaching . Good old fashioned brown sugar was used for the sand. First try at this one. Over all was happy. would love to try again on my palm trees.. I think my next ones would be more full with palm leaves.

just by M.E.

starting out lets see where this takes me