These Boots are made for walking……

Aug13
Cowgirl Sugar Paste Boots

Cowgirl Sugar Paste Boots

It is quite appropriate, after having celebrated Women’s Day here in South Africa on the 9th  of August, to post these really pretty pink girlie Cowgirl Boots I made for a client last week. Arusha asked me to make a pair of boots for a cake order she had for a young girl’s birthday. After searching the internet for a pattern for cowgirl boots and finding some rather odd looking examples, I decided to buy a child’s pair of wellington boots and form these boots around the original boots. I added my black modelling chocolate pieces onto the boots, cut and added stitching detail to the paste, allowed them to dry for a few hours and then removed the front and back pieces carefully from the wellingtons.

Cowgirl Sugar Paste Boots

Cowgirl Sugar Paste Boots

The pink embossed pieces I added once the black boots were dry once again adding stitching detail. The last addition were clusters of Aragon minikins, to complete a pair of boots any cowgirl would be proud to show off! Arusha I wish your young client many happy birthdays as she grows into a young woman and may she proud to walk in the footsteps of the brave young South African women who have walked before her.

Cowgirl Sugar Paste Boots

Cowgirl Sugar Paste Boots

Cowgirl Sugar Paste Boots

Cowgirl Sugar Paste Boots 

Succulent Cupcake Gift

Aug3

Succulent Cupcakes in a Pot

It has been fun to watch over the years how my blog posts are being followed by people all over the world and I have had a few interesting requests including supplying cupcakes for a hotel in London and delivering cupcakes to a wedding in Kensington in the UK. This is a trifle tricky if your are based as I am in Johannesburg, South Africa. There are times, however, that I have been able to help an international client from Australia and London and this order was one of them.

Tendai contacted me from the UK and asked if I could make Succulent Cupcakes for a friend celebrating their birthday in South Africa. It was such an orginal gesture of hers and a fun surprise to do for her friend. As her friend is a bit of a succulent guru and has a garden full of them I made sugar paste succulents as true to nature as I could and popped them on  “potted cupcakes” topped with crushed Oreos for soil. I was able to deliver a beautiful tray of cupcakes to an awesome young guy and Tendai you really made his day remembering his passion for succulents and surprising him with this sweet gift!

Succulent Cupcakes in a Pot

Lisa (TQO) Turns 60!

Aug3

 

It was a privilege to be invited to Lisa(TQO)’s beautifully elegant Roses and Pearl Themed 60th Birthday on the Saturday after we had celebrated a Blue Themed 60th for her at the Memory Shed. In my previous post Blue Drizzle Cake for Lisa(TQO) I added a tribute to Lisa The (not so) Quiet One just because she is such a special friend. These cakepops made by Gail Freer of Popcakes, onto which I popped a handmade sugar paste rose, were the perfect addition to a beautiful function with exquisite food, pretty table settings and surrounds and of course much laughter and chatter among all Lisa’s family and friends. All these brilliant photos are courtesy of Debbie and Ruth CD Photography.

 

Rose Cakepops by Popcakes & Cupcakes2Delite

Photography by Debbie & Ruth CD Photography

Lisa (TQO)’s attention to detail was superb and all her careful planning was put into action on a beautiful clear wintery day. All her family helped set up with loads of laughs and the smiles continued into heartfelt speeches, fun group photographs and of course the usual basket of tricks that Lisa always brings to any party.

Lisa (TQO) 60th, Debbie & Ruth CD Photography

Photography by Debbie & Ruth CD Photography

 

 

Lisa (TQO) 60th, Debbie & Ruth CD Photography

Photography by Debbie & Ruth CD Photography

Tiny chalkboard names personalised each guest’s table setting and the most wonderful surprise of all was the handmade gift bag Lisa had thoughtfully made for each person filled with handmade goodies and gifts. I had to include a picture of mine with my colourful embroidered cupcake bag & all its contents! Of course the fun extended into the taking of selfies and I had to include Michelle here just because I love her too!

Handmade Gift from Lisa

Decor, Selfie and Beautiful Gift at Lisa(TQO)’s 60th!

Thank you Debbie and Ruth for capturing our surprise at our gifts from Lisa, also the 3 Musketeers in stitches of laughter during Dave’s speech and our wonderful group of scrapbooking friends. Memories like these will last a lifetime.

 

Lisa (TQO) 60th, Debbie & Ruth CD Photography

Photography by Debbie & Ruth CD Photography

True to Lisa’s wonderful nature, she did not forget an order from me for a pretty Lace Rose Cake for a friend who shared her birthday on the day of her 60th and Rose Swirled Cupcakes to surprise her family with for their afternoon tea.

Once again Lisa, it is a joy and a privilege to have you in my life!

Rose Iced Cupcakes & Rose Lace Cake

Rose Iced Cupcakes & Rose Lace Cake, Back to my photography!

 

Blue Daisy Drizzle Cake

Jul24

Blue Daisy Drizzle CakeThis 60th Birthday Cake had to be both quirky and gorgeous as we celebrated Lisa (tqo)’s birthday last month as it had to fit the crazy and awesome nature of a truly special friend in our lives. I chose the bluebelle coloured chocolate to make the ganache for this drizzle cake and added the extra Candy Melts on the board around the cake. I painted champagne centres in the soft blue and white daisies to match the champagne buttercream border of the cake. Of course no celebration on a Wednesday is complete without other goodies so I made matching blue macarons and blue and white chocolate popcorn that was generously laced with honey crunch, bluebell chocolate pieces and matching beads.

Blue Drizzle Cake, Blue Macarons, Blue & White Popcorn

Here is my tribute to this beautiful woman…

“Lisa, you have always shown how much delight and joy you take in the small details of any occasion…..& every occasion.  It is a rare gift to have to enjoy every celebration in the way you do with such spirit and joy and at the same time be able to spread so much of that fun to everyone around you.  Thank you for having this gift in abundance and for sharing it with us every time we see you.  Whether you are laughing with us, teasing us, praising us or teaching us you always make us feel an invaluable part of your very interesting life.

In all the years I have known you as a friend from the Wonderful Wacky Wednesday Scrapbooking group, you have taught me how to laugh at myself more, take myself less seriously, make life fun and how to party with zest!  Just in case you think you may have scored 100% score with me I have to just let you know that you haven’t quite managed that as I still can’t roll out 4 layouts per class as you do….still waiting for that osmosis to happen!

You are an incredibly humble, gracious and beautiful woman and you twinkle through life leaving your magic wherever you go and with whoever has the honour to know you.  If Tinkerbell had dark hair then you would be her to a tee with the mischievous glint in your eyes, the magical carefree feeling you have around you and then there are those crazy pom pom slippers…..and you have been known to don a few crazy items if the occasion calls for it.  You are the only person to have had flasing boobs at Christmas in my lifetime….ok my lifetime is nowhere near the lifetime of nearly 60 years experience you have had so there is hope for me yet!!!  I loved your version of a French maid’s outfit for our macaron demo and needless to say that pink feather duster brought out a few laughs !

Love you madly Lisa and I know that at 60 you are just going to be even more amazing, kind and crazy just with a few more grey hairs with Shaunagh’s crazy turning 60 jokes and anecdotes!  

 All my love Lisa” 

Blue Daisy Drizzle CakeBlue Daisy Drizzle Cake

A Humble Sugar Post

Jul19

Fondant CarrotsFondant Carrots

Lisa Myburgh from the Memory Shed Scrapbooking Studio took these 2 pictures of my humble sugar carrots. Thank you Lisa, you really captured their simplicity in these photos and thank you Celia for such an unusual order to add to your granddaughter’s birthday present to represent her passion for horse riding. I was so touched by your excited phone call to say how much you loved the carrots and how real they looked.  They even fooled my friends who wondered why I had raw carrots lying on my sideboard when they came for lunch!

Cause4Paws Cupcakes

Jul16

Cause4Paws Cupcakes

All the Johannesburg bakers joined forces this weekend to bake over 3000 cupcakes for Cause4Paws which is an animal welfare society raising funds this weekend for their furry friends. These cupcakes are being sold from the 14th-17th July at the Coffee and Chocolate Expo at Montecasino, Johannesburg.  Tickets are available at the door so please remember, while you are revelling in the aromas of coffee and tasting the different chocolate sweet delights, to add one of these cupcakes to your purchases! You’ll add a tasty wag to some furry tail!

Cause4Paws Cupcakes

I added decorations to these delicious vanilla cupcakes and did a pairing of my own, not coffee and chocolate but Lemon Meringue and bright yellow pearls, Turkish Rose  and popping pink pearls and Candy mallow and bright blue pearls.  The soft puffs of Mini Meringues are paired with a matching sheen of pearls.

The coffee swirls of iced cupcakes below I decorated with White Chocolate  and champagne pearls. Cause4Paws Cupcakes