Cake Post // Leopard Print

I think it's time I got back to posting on this blog. I have so many cakey pictures saved on my computer and they just don't suit my other blog!

So I'll start with these ones, of a leopard print birthday cake I made for a friend. It is a chocolate mud cake, with a chocolate ganache, then it's iced with fondant. The 30 is made from fondant sprinkled with non-toxic glitter. She loved it! I'm pretty happy with it. I managed to ice the whole thing in 3 hours which I thought was a good effort!

I'm sure some of you will get a surprise seeing a new post from Sequin Corner pop up! I have regularly been getting comments on my old posts though, so I thought it was time for a new one. 


Come & check out my facebook page if you like - I've been posting lots of cupcake pictures lately!

 

Fondant People // Gardener Pop

Here are some pics of the cake topper I made for my Grandads birthday cake a couple of weeks ago. He loved it! I was so happy with it. Making a standing fondant person is hard work, but it's so rewarding when its finished (and it hasn't fallen over!) He is made from coloured fondant with a hardner added, and toothpicks in him to help him stand up. The 'dirt' is made from dried, finally chopped fondant and there is a toothpick down the centre of his spade to help it stand up.

Hopefully I'll have a couple more to do in the next couple of weeks, I love making fondant people! 

Road Trip - Aoraki Club 5th Birthday Celebration

A little while ago I went on a road trip up to Timaru with about 9 other members of the Dunedin Sugarcraft Guild to attend the Aoraki Club's 5th Birthday Celebration. 

We left pretty early in the morning to get there by 9:30 or so, luckily one of the club members has an amazing giant people-mover so it was a cozy, warm drive up the road! 

We arrived to morning tea with scones and tea and coffee, then the demonstrators started. First up we watched a Chef from the local Polytechnic made a chocolate box, then a couple of woman made some very elaborate flowers and my favourite was at the end where a woman made a man lying on a sun lounger with a BBQ beside him!

We were treated to yummy food all day and it was a really fun experience. Hopefully there will be another opportunity to attend something like this again soon! 

Flowers - Stargazer Lily

It has been awhile! I finally have an Internet connection again, and I've got plenty of pictures to add to my blog. First up is this Stargazer Lily I made a little while ago. Usually they are pink but I decided to go with purple as I have already made a lot of pink flowers.

It took a bit of effort to get the whole thing done, all the petals are made separately. I finished it over 2 evenings, making the petals the first night then dusting them the second and taping the whole thing together.

The good thing about these flowers is they are so big!! You would only need a couple on a wedding cake. I'm really enjoying getting into the more time-consuming flowers now, it's so satisfying having this sitting at home and getting all the nice comments about it!

Lots more photos to come so check back again soon! 

Forgot my Handbag!

Here are some pictures of a handbag I made at cake decorating class a little while ago. It was pretty hard to get the pleats in the icing but it came out pretty cool!! I love the pattern on it, I used the Cuttlebug embossing mat to get the quitled pattern.

More photos coming soon - I still have to make a cup and saucer and an Asian Lilly!

50th Birthday Cake

Hello again!! It has been awhile. I finally have working internet again, so I can post these photos of a cake I made 2 weeks ago!

A friend of my sister wanted to order a cake for her Mothers 50th birthday party. She decided on a chocolate cake with buttercream icing, "Happy 50th Birthday Lynley"and some pink on it somewhere. I decided to make a white Swiss meringue buttercream, similar to what we used at the French Bakery where I worked for the gateau's. I wanted to keep it grown up, so used soft pink roses to add some colour, as well as lettering cut out with my stencil cutters.

I got some great feedback about the cake so I'm glad it was a hit!!

DIY Storage Solutions

One thing I have become obsessed with since starting cake decorating is storage solutions. Just don't look in my baking cupboard, it's a mess in there!!

Aside from buying all the necessary flower cutters and moulding tools required for my kit, it quickley became apparent I would need a way to store all these newly purchased goodies. Now all these ideas could possibly be used for other crafty pursuits - such as painting, scrapbooking, kids craft stuff or even makeup, jewellery or hair accessories!

Top of my list is my newly-acquired fishing tackle box. I have been looking for one for yonks that was plain coloured and not too manly, I jazzed it up a bit with some silver sparkley letters with the name of my small business, with the thinking that if I have to drop off a cake anywhere I can take this filled with any "emergency" equipment I may need. A tool box is also a good option - evidenced by the plethora of them that have appeared in my cake decorating classes!

Next is my tool holder. I actually purchased this one off Trademe as I was in a hurry to find something to store my tools in. I have just picked up some material to make my own one, as I already need something that is a bit longer with more little pockets to store stuff in!

Never underestimate the simple shoebox. These came in so handy with transporting my pieces to the show held recently. Boot boxes are great, if you don't have any at home just ask at a shoe shop - they should be able to hand some over to you for free (hopefully!)

Snaplock bags - perfect for storing all sorts of goodies. I use them to hold my various flower cutters, all labelled, then I store those in a larger one. This method takes up less space in your kit which is always nice!

Clip containers are great for holding messy items, such as gel colours which can make a mess even if you think they are securely screwed closed!

This wire holder is such an awesome invention!! It stops your wires getting bent and it also makes it so much easier to get them out one at a time. You can purchase one here.

I discovered this tray full of little plastic containers the other day at Spotlight. Perfect for storing my dusting powders in, but they could also be used for beads or glitter. 

This stackable plastic containers are great, because of their shape they take up a lot less space. This one stores my kremelta, cornflour and icing sugar. 

I hope all of those give you guys some ideas of how to store your crafty goodies!