Zander's Story - Skylanders Cake

I have to admit, lately, the internet has bored me. Sure, I do Pintrest, and play games online, but mostly, when I go online, I check one or two pages, see that they have not been updated (because I checked them earlier that day), and decide to spend my time elsewhere. My interest in the internet, including Blogging, has dropped off. Why is that? Is this an Internet-Depression? Have I become apathetic to the internet? Have I just decided to spend my time doing other pursuits (including baking, and not posting?! A faux-pas!) Whatever the reason, my creative juices don't seem to flow as naturally as they once did. And my attention span appears to be suffering this trouble as well.

This epiphany came on the heels of posting up a new cake I created for a friend's son. His passion, and love, at this wonderful age, is Skylanders. You might recall, two years ago, I created a Pablo Backyardigans Cake for the same little guy! Well, little this guy is not, and he's growing quick!

The birthday boy insisted I use his favorite characters, and he proudly whipped out Bouncer, Spyro, Tree-Rex and Jet-Vac, each one coming with a story about why he likes the characters. I must say, his favorite, Bouncer, the one in the center who looks like Iron-Man, was the coolest for me too! His dopy smile was amazing, and the warm praise he received from Zander was endearing!

 In addition to the cake, I made a special name plate which I painted using edible food colours. I also made a cookie with each of the elements on them.

 I think the best part of this cake was the simplicity of it. It has been a long time since I got to make a simple 9-inch round cake! Lately, calls have been in for elaborate designs and sugar flowers, which I love to do! But it was so nice to make something as easy as a round platform which I placed toys upon! I think this was the first cake that I was not asked to make the figurines! In fact, Zander insisted upon his own characters! How sweet! He was super happy to see it all together, and I was super happy to deliver such smiles.

New Year's Resolution - A Pin-up

I think New Year's resolutions are silly. The ideas is solid! Choose something that you want to change in yourself or in your life, and make a strong effort to achieve that goal using the start of a new year as an excuse for a fresh start. You can... live better, eat clean, work harder, gain some kind of fame... etc.

The trouble is every year, millions of people make the same resolution... lose weight.
Ah YES! The infamous weight loss goal. The thing that is the hardest to do, and yet, the one that makes us feel better, Silly as it is.

Yet... every year, I make it my goal! I want to look good!

That is not to say that every year I vow to loose 20 pounds (which is hard.....), but I do try to do something... work on my Yoga skills, or try to get a 4-pack (not a 6.... I don't like the look), lift a heavier weight set. But every year it is something 'fitness' related.  Let's face it.... we all want the same thing (maybe?).

So, inspired by this double-edged sword of a resolution, I resolved to make pin-up cookies!

Blonde: Fun-loving

Brunette: Practical and hard-working

 Red-Head: Sexy and flirty

 Raven-Haired: Adventurous

But is weight loss a silly resolution? Sometimes people just need an excuse to get off the couch! The best way to set the goal is to have a goal at the end. Try to avoid the pitfall of a scale.Weight fluctuates, and muscle does weigh more than fat!

I like goals of time commitments (waking earlier to do an exercise - which is only hard until your body gets used to the routine), or a flexibility component, which takes time and practice. I am stubborn, and so should anyone be who has a resolution they want badly to achieve! And so far, beyond an injury I have, I have obtained my Resolutions!

The truth is, whatever your resolution, just be sure to stay true to yourself. Change is never easy. Over the last  10 years, I have discovered that no matter what I resolve to change or to work at, I must always remain true to myself.

So, whatever your personality or goals, I wish you luck!

Oh! I almost forgot!

As always, our town's annual Polar Plunge was going on.... And as always, My adventurous spirit was the perfect excuse to take the walk....

 Then the plunge!

 This year, the water was not as cold as previous years (or maybe it does not phase me as much)! But certainly, jumping into a hole cut in the ice is never an easy task. What a refreshing way to start the year!

Happy New Year everyone!

Gingerbread Home - looks like a bird house!

Asa child, my family would make gingerbread houses. We would buy one of those per-packaged kits which would come replete with icing, jujubes, and smarties. We would take a box, cut it, then line the base with tin-foil snow. After opening the candies, we (my siblings and I) were given specific instructions NOT TO EAT ANY OF THE CANDY.... Very stern!

And thus it was that our gingerbread house was made, somewhat bi-yearly, and would sit on the end-tables, uneaten (under threat for any who dared eat it before Christmas - thanks Dad). And as the days would pass, the house would become harder, and harder, and it's candy decorations (specifically the smarties) would begin to disappear piece by piece, until the day, CHRISTMAS, when the house was deemed free to eat, and was so hard it had to be tossed... a waste of food, and time. Alas, this was not in vain; the memories lasted!

And so it was that my gingerbread home tradition starts, in the dust of crumbled cookies past.


This year, as some of you may have read, I moved into my new home. This newly-built paradise, on the shores of Rainy Lake, Ontario, has become my pride and joy. In a previous post, I showed off my
kitchen and some other small quips about new-home ownership. Today, I wish to share with you all my Christmas Gingerbread Home (not a house, but a home).

Sadly, in my artistic vision, I did forget to post a door, and was stuck making a rather sad looking gingerbread bird house, but who is judging?

The roof was inspired by a card design that I received.

And of course, I could not simply make one Gingerbread house, I made several - I believe some 10 small ones or so....

And the house? Well, It met with a somewhat orthodox ending on Christmas Eve.... my mother-in-law had some troubles smashing the little structure, but with some coaxing and a butterknife, she succeeded in felling the home.

 But, as always, Photos will live on. Here is a photo of the house on my sweets tower, prior to our House-Warming/ Yuletide /End-of-the-World party. Did anyone notice how the world DID NOT end? Did anyone thing otherwise? I was certainly glad it did not end!

And, just to finish off... here is a close-up of the small Gingerbread houses... they were teeny-sized houses which fit on the end of cups. The idea was actually from NotMartha.com. If you ever find you have more time than you know what to do with, and you feel like being a Holly-Homemaker (Suzy?), check out the site. She has great ideas!

So, to close, here is a picture of my father-in-law sipping his morning coffee, eating gingerbread on Christmas.

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope your Holidays were as relaxing as mine were!

Princess and the Popstar Cake

Well, as you may have noticed, posts are becoming fewer and far between. My apologies! I'm close to moving into my new home, and have packed most of my baking gear. I am officially 17 days from moving!

I did, however, manage to get some time to bake one last cake before the move. This cake was actually baked last weekend, but I've been too busy to post it up:

This cake is for Barbie: The Princess and the Popstar movie. The family requested something with sparkles, purple and pink. Well, what is Barbie about if not sparkles, purple and pink?! I tried to model the dress from the movie, but of course, it stops at the knees, so this is a longer version of it.

You may well remember my last Barbie Cake and the subsequent Tutorial... I did much the same thing, but this 'dress' is a little puffier and has ruffles! I painted a little dotted pattern on the dress, which is MMF.

Question Insert::: How do you get the dress off of the doll?

You want the short answer? You cut it off. This may seem like a horrible idea, but it is not. The doll itself has a dress that is not removable! That is the bottom line. The dress at the back has a small attachment (I believe this one was to a star). You need to take an exacto-knife and make a small slit up that hold, then will have to sew the dress later (when you give the doll for a gift) up with a snap-clip (a snapping button). While it seems crazy to buy a doll to cut up, little girls will want to play dress-up with the dolls, and removing and repairning the dress makes that possible. After the cake is done, and the doll is cleaned, you can re-attach the dress by buttoning it around that star. It will also make a cute gift to give the dress in a small gift-package on the side :)
Hope that is helpful.

Okay, I hope that I can at least have one last cake before Halloween (our move-in date). I want to at least do my classic Halloween Head cake before it's time to move. We'll see though. Until then, thank you so much for all of your support! I am honored to see Domestic Sugar grow!

Towwwww Mater!

I had the most amazing day yesterday. It included a four hour car ride one way, and a midnight 4 for hour car drive back... but the between.. PRICELESS! Actually, the ride back was pretty sweet too! This is the reason for the trip!

 

My nephew Aiden was celebrating his 3rd birthday.

 I have not seen my niece and nephew in four months, so I definitely needed to drive to Thunder Bay to visit. The problem is that I have another cake project due this weekend, so I didn't have a lot of time to spare. So, SURPRISE! I took a day trip down there (8 hour round trip) to go to the birthday party. What would a party be without cookies?

I made special Tow Mater cookies from Disney's Cars movies; Aiden LOVES Mater. In fact, most of his present were 'Cars' related. It was a super surprise for them. I walked in the door and Abby, my niece, JUMPED ME! We had cake which dyed our mouths blue, ate hot-dogs and played! Here's Abby with her tooth-fairy costume (her future career aspiration).

 And of course, Cookies for everyone~

Vivian and Brooklyn (Abby and Aiden's friends) munch away on their cookies!

Even my cousin Kathrine enjoys the cookies.

Okay... so like I said, big project, three cakes, major work to be done! It's time for me to stop being lazy and get some work done. For some reason, I never post as much in the Summer... guess the heat combined with the prospect of swimming! Hehee, I'm a fish in the summer.

Flowers are Blooming

The wonderful weather continues! Actually, it rained a little here on Monday, but the sun came out and the rest of the week looks clear and warm! You can even see the buds on the trees starting to come out. We've had a very mild winter. Especially for Northern Canada!

This cake is my finest! I truly believe that this cake represents my best work. My friend's daughter was celebrating her 10th birthday, which was also her "Flower Birthday". How excited was I when I was asked to make the girl's cake.

Of course, this cake in my opinion in whimsical. The only request my friend had was "Lots of Colour," and beyond that, she said go to town. This design is a very classic design. It is known as a "Flower Box" Cake. It is a "Hat Box" cake with flowers spilling over the sides and the lid slightly a-kilter. I made sugar flowers for three days! Orchids, roses, hydrangeas, cherry blossoms, calla-lilies, and ivy leaves.

The sugar orchid below is my absolute favorite flower. I have never made a combined flower (that is flower petals wrapped together to make a flower). Most of my tries result in very broken flower pieces. This time, I was able to make two, one for each side, and they looked fabulous!


I think the best part was the party. I taught the kids how to decorate cupcakes. I used piping bags and we did Cuppy bears. I was super excited. They got creative and made Cuppy-Ducks and bunnies and kitties too! The kids did a fabulous job, and hopefully I'll get the pictures of the decorating fun from my friend. My course at the college, which runs April 4th, is full. I am so excited! This was a great run-through!

Well, I have one last cake for this March Break. I have yet to make it.... So many birthday parties, so many cakes! I am having a super fantastic March Break. I hope you are too!

MARCH BREAK MADNESS!

I hope everyone is enjoying the weather. It is gorgeous outside, and hard to believe that we are only in March. This break, I have big plans.. here's a clue as to what it is:

Can you guess?

If you said lounge on the beach, you are wrong. Although I wish I could. No. This Break, instead of going somewhere warm, or visiting family in the city, I am staying at home to make cakes!
It is as though all my friends had their kids at the same time... and so, in 5 days I've made two cakes. The one above is my first. Luckily it was a simple design. BEACH BREAK!

As I made the little girl figurine I couldn't help but wish I had a sunny location to go. The recent lovely weather has made for warm conditions, but having wet feet from the melting snow is hardly the beach-like conditions I was hoping for.

The two figurines on the cake, my friend's kids, are not going somewhere sunny for their birthdays, but rather, a trip to the US for a water-park like hotel. I hope you all have great trips wherever you go.


As for my second cake, one I finished today, there's a little teaser on my facebook page. I will tell you this... that this new cake took a lot more time and care to make. AND IT IS GORGEOUS! Until then :)

Book of your Life Cake

Hmm. What is this book? Why, it is about my life! It has my interests and dreams! IT'S A CAKE!

That is more or less how I viewed the giving of this latest cake. One of my coworkers recently celebrated her 60th birthday.


I love when I get asked to do an 'over-the-hill' cake. I mean, what do people normally ask for when they want to celebrate an 'older' birthday... tombstones, graves, hills with people passed out on them. I mean, what tells a person that you care about them than showing them they will soon be dead? Right?

Seriously, Google OVER THE HILL CAKES and you are going to get a bunch of winner ideas. Not that they cannot be well exectuted or quite beautiful; it's just the idea of reminding people of what is coming. That's why I decided on this Book of your Life theme. Take a look:


Barb's friends conspired to tell me the things that were important to her: her grand-kids, quilting, shopping, working with friends, gardening. These were the elements that I incorporated into the cake, trying to make it seem like a positive reflection on the years to come, rather than reminding her that death is waiting around the corner with a little scythe and black robe.


Anyway, over the next week you'll notice some changes here at the blog. I'm going to be revamping this year's design, and hopefully everything will run smoothly. If you find things hard to find for a bit, I apologize. This will be my third anniversary at Domestic Sugar, and so I decided for a change of scenery. My next post will actually be my 200th! YAY.