Black white and red (again ...)

Arn't birthday cards for men difficult. Add into that the fact that I have so very few stamps, that I cant add in stamped images to the mix. So for this one I just went with dark colours, and paper layered to beat the band!!

Actually I like the end result. Its quite three D like in real life, as there are 12 layers of paper when you get to the very top of it!!

work in progress

Can you tell what it is yet?

Electric ...... cake!

I was asked to do a cake for a man's 21st. Be it cakes or cards, men are difficult to design for! The brief was simply that he is an electrician. So this is what I did.... its got all the right colours and a socket and plug to boot :-) he was very happy with the result and aparently would not cut it on the night of the party, insisting it be brought home so more people could see it. . .

Birthday card

Just to prove I actually make stuff out of paper every now and again! Birthday card for my neice Tara, who turned 14.

I love this design have used it on a few cards now. Its adaptable for mens and womens cards.

I used a stamp to print the clock at the back, note its at 2 o clock, or 14.00 hours !! Subtle?

January 2nd and already..

We have booked our first weekend away of the year! My parents are 50 years married this year, but are possitive they do NOT want a party. So we decided to bring them away for a night, we were going to just go out for a meal, my siblings and parents. My dad had major surgury last year for cancer, and is still finding he gets tired easier, so the meal out turned into a meal in a hotel with rooms booked. This way if he gets too tired he can take himself off to bed, and we will be meeting up again for breakfast! Winner....

Trying to be a bit creative this year, and use up kits I have gathered over the years. I got the kit for this chicken cushion many years ago at the knitting and stiching show in the rds. I would have to own up and say I probably have the kit about three years now. And one afternoon later .....

I have a chicken cushion, the wing is also a pocket so it could be handy for keeping the remote control in! Of course I can't find where I put the buttons I was going to use for the eyes .... so its a blind chicken at the moment.

Happy New Year ... new blog (?)

Well maybe not a new blog ... but how about if I post stuff onto it on a somewhat regular basis? That might be nice.

For the first post of the year it has to be a catch up one...

Cupcakes for halloween - chocolate cupcakes with buttercream topping.

Birthday card for my nephew Liam - who was nine this year. It does not seem that long since he was a wee baby, but is growing up fast.

This years christmas cake. Rich fruit cake, with marzipan and rolled fondant covering. Ten inch round cake and its a good three almost four inches high. And so far its pretty much only me and Des eating it. And its almost gone :-( I will miss it when its gone.

Pumpkins - 2011

As the local shop had pumpkins for only 2 euro each we each did one this year....

Des got all creative with his wood carving chisels (which we all figured was cheating somehow..) and did Yoda

Liadan spent most of the time deciding on what to do, and then produced this wonderfully scary one, which we all loved except Liadan!

Roisin's is a firey devil ...

And I was pleased with my own effort this year ....

Even if I did have to do some dental repair work with a cocktail stick .... ! :-)

Happy Girls ....

We have not been able to have cats for a number of years as Liadan was alergic. She was also severely asmathic but has been off any medications for about three years now. So we really wanted to be able to have cats again.

Earlier this year I signed up with the DSPCA and became a foster 'mum' to an adult cat and too kittens, and we were able to test the waters with L, safe in the knowledge that we could give back the cats if need be!

The end result is that we now have two kittens :

Who are rapidly turning into cats! They are loving our garden now that they are settled enough to be let out ... although they did manage to get stuck up a tree!

And clearly Liadan seems to be ok !!

Last family wedding .....

Des's youngest brother got married yesterday. I first met Keith way back in the day when he was a wee blond headed toddler of only two years..... so it was lovely to be there at his wedding to the beautiful Katie.

It was a wonderful day, the last of both families to be married, them both being the babies! It was the most planned out day I have ever attended. So much attention to detail.

I did the cake ... the flowers were not sugarpaste but fresh (which was a bit scary to be honest from a cake bakers point of view) but the bride is ALWAYS in charge when it comes to the final decision !!

It turned out looking quite nice and everyone seemed to love it but I was not a bit happy with that middle layer :-(.

The bottom layer was chocolate biscuit cake, the centre fruit and the top is red velvet - which is delish - so if you've never made it - away with you and try it out.

Or wait for an invite to mine some time.

Roisin Debs ....

just some recent stuff !!

On with the catching up of recent events within our little lives...

Róisin graduated from secondary school:



She is heading now next September to do a one year Portfolio preperation course - focusing on Fashion and Textile design. So she is one of the lucky ones not dependant on her leaving results later this month.

One recent windy monday lunchtime - one of my favourite trees was a casualty of the wind.





We had to get the rest of it cut down, and while we now have enough wood for the coming winter - I really miss that tree!





And Liadán turned 12. And the hormones have kicked in. Which is ............. nice?

Mammy-in-law's birthday

My Mammy-in-law was 70 this week. And earlier this year - at my niece's communion - I jumped in and offered to make the cake. One of my sister-in-laws (I have seven of them) works in Superquinn ... who would want to have been her these past two weeks!! scary times for her, her daughter and my brother-in-law who have all been wondering about their jobs - but I digress ....

Anyhow - said sis-in-law usually gets the walshies birthday cakes - but not this time !! This time I got to play around a little.

I as per usual did not manage to get a good photo of the cake but it was terrific!


I used a decent (read a lot) of edible glitter and had a ball. Despite a disaster when baking the bottom layer when I completely forgot the recipie and had to throw out a large cake!! Thankfully I then remembered how to bake and away we went.

The top layer was chocolate - and delish - and the bottom was vanilla - and I got tired and didn't go ahead with the third layer!!

It was a major hit at the party and I have managed to already secure two further bookings on the foot of it!

A year has passed....

.... since I entered anything onto my blog. And I have been thinking a lot lately that I should start to reblog.

So lets start by showing off Róisín's 18th birthday cake ...:

Pucci Handbag .... Cake

My eldest daughter - Róisín is 17 today. Last year she was away for the weekend of her birthday, and we had a family wedding the day before, so it was a very low key affair.

Today she and I are heading off into temple bar for a bit of shopping and then we are meeting up with Des, Seán and Líadán for a meal out.

So I made a pucci inspired handbag cake, its chocolate orange cake on the inside ... so sod the diet and I shall be having some of this later (yum!!)

Snake Pie ...

Well its not really a snake pie of course! It is a chocolate cake, baked in a ring, covered with nutella spread, chocolate flavoured sugarpaste, and some jelly snakes in the middle.

And - TaDa - you now have a snake pie cake.

Mosaic - better image?

Hopefully this is a clearer image of the mosaic. Hopefully !! I wish my photography skills were better - was thinking this morning (as I had a lovely walk in the park) that come September and the evening classes are re-starting I may just join a photography class or club even.

Mosaic Work - redoing the splashback.

I havent completly fallen off the radar - just been facebooking really. Mainly I have been cutting up bits of glass and stickin em onto bits of wood!

You may remember i did a splashback for the kitchen in Cavan last year ...see http://littlebit-alittlebitofstuff.blogspot.com/2009/07/kitchen-mosaic-and-why-it-needs-to-be.html and you may remember that I was not overly happy with it. Actually I was not a bit happy ..

So I have been redoing it - bigger and (I think) better :

This is it ... two out of the three panels ...

I like that its a bit busier than before ..

I am paying more attention to detail this time around too ... and have gone with small small pieces for the black background whereas I tried to do large the last time.

I love the little fairy at the corner of the 'garden'

Pirate Ship Cake ...

Chocolate cake - covered in chocolate butter icing and then finished using roll out icing. Buttercream for the sea ... please note there be sharks in them ther waters !!

Cupcakes

Everyone loves cupcakes. I love making them as they are so so easy and versitile. So i made some recently and decided to go one little step further...

And made some fancy paper cases for them !!

These were a littlebit eastery as i made them the easter weekend ...!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ingvar Visits ....

Ingvar Kampard - who founded IKEA - visited the store last week ... boy was there excitement !! Not to mention the amount of hard work and preparation invovled in having someone as important as that visiting us. You could well be forgiven in thinking that it was the second coming !!

Some photos from the day ...

I managed to actually get a shot of 'Our Mary' - one of the hardest workers I have ever met. She hardly ever stops still ... will often forget that she is due a break and is like a little whorlwind in the department. Needless to say we all love her!!

This is Gary - going to be a pilot when he 'grows up'!!

Charlotte - originally from Sweeden herself - I think she is coming around to the Irish sense of humour and feeling more comfortable around us!! God help Her !!

Ann - working - on a day off !!

Manager Clare - we is afraid of her (not really ......................)

The Man himself - chatted away - bad mike - we couldn't quite make out what he was saying :-( ... so when he asked if there were any questions !! I think people were afraid to ask in case he had just told us the answer ....!!

Getting the group photo set up .... Ingvar is 83 now and he just popped down on the floor ready to go !! Hope I am able to do that at that age ...

It took a fair while to try and get everyone organised for a group shot ....

Its now official - EVERYONE in Ikea loves 'our Mary !!)

I had a chance for a little hug with a mulit-billionare myself !! So I took it.