Gone Fishin

It was my oldest boy's birthday this past weekend and considering how much he likes to fish, it wasn't much of a surprise when he asked for a fishing cake. Ever since he was little he would be so content to sit in the boat for hours on end, not complaining, occasionally napping, fishing until he got tired and then helping with the net. So I was happy to make it for him, even though making people are not my favourite thing to do! Him and dad in the boat, fishing... with blue whales inside the cake! Of course!

My other little boy was not too thrilled that he wasn't invited along on the fishing trip and he made it quite clear that on his next birthday, Seth was not going to be on his fishing cake! We will see if he remembers that!

Seth was delighted with it, and surprisingly, instead of wanting to eat the boat and fishermen, he wanted to keep it! We will see how long that lasts!

3 Baby Blankets

I've had these baby blankets done for a little while now and am just getting around to posting them. I was looking for patterns that would use up some of my scrap flannel and decided on these 3. The quality of the pictures isn't that great, but here they are:

Yellow Brick Road. I have always loved this pattern and finally bought it last fall. I'd really like to make the boys matching quilts for their bunk beds using this pattern.

Upsized Charm Square. I had to switch this pattern up a little to accommodate the scrapes I had.

Rail Fence. Another pattern I've always liked and it is so quick and simple, with so many varieties.

It is amazing what you can do with a few scraps! It doesn't take much to turn them into something useful!

Ladybug Fleece Throw

I bought this pattern a long time ago - Simplicity 3955. I pull it out every now and again, consider making it, and then put it back. This time when I pulled it out I had a little more motivation. The choir I sing with is doing a benefit concert and they needed items donated for the silent auction.

Since the pattern includes a panda, fish and ladybug, I was still trying to decide between them (the panda was winning!) when I got to Fabricland. As it turned out they only had red and black solid fleece, so ladybug it was!

I love how it turned out! I'm definitely going to have to make the panda and fish - and more ladybugs! I'm thinking Christmas presents!

If you love the ladybug, it is up for auction on Monday, May 5 at the Kerry Vickar Center at 7:00! It will be neat to see how much it goes for!

Bridal Cupcakes

One of the girls in the office is getting married in a couple of weeks so we had a lunch for her. I made these cupcakes to bring. I love using melted chocolate chip designs! They always turn out great and look classy! I'm beginning to like decorating cupcakes more and more. I just need another oven so I can bake them quicker!

Go Diego Go!

I asked my son about a month ago what he wanted for a birthday cake. He was pretty set on a pirate cake with Captain Hook and Jake, the Neverland Pirate. When I asked again last week he was going back and forth between the pirate cake and a Diego cake. In the end Diego won and he requested his cake have Diego, looking through his spotting scope, Alicia, Rescue Pack, Click, Baby Jaguar, and a red-eyed tree frog on it. It amuses me a bit that they think I can recreate scenes from whatever show they choose. Thank goodness Diego doesn't have any more regular characters on it!

So, here it is - Diego, with his spotting scope, (I call it a telescope all the time and I always get corrected!) about to rescue the red-eyed tree frog, who is stuck on a log in a river, about to go over a waterfall. Rescue pack is there, about to transform into a kayak to help save the frog. Click (the camera, Baby Jaguar and Alicia are just standing around, unaware of the danger the poor red-eyed tree frog is in.

The cake was a hit, and of course the first thing to get eaten were the characters!

Ice Fishing Cake

This year my husband requested an ice fishing cake. He has already had quite a few fish related cakes - a fish tank, a ocean with fish and a fishing boat in reeds. I'm not sure what is left to make!

I was trying to avoid the whole ice fishing idea because it is pretty hard to make such a cake with out making a person. I haven't had to make people before (expect for one pitiful attempt) so I wasn't sure just how well they would turn out. I found this very helpful tutorial. While my people didn't turn out as well as hers, they actually didn't look too bad!

I thought I could get away with only making one figure but when my boys found out they weren't going ice fishing on the cake with Dad they were not impressed. So, here are all 3 of my boys.

For the ice I thought it would be neat to make sugar glass. Again, something I've never tried before. I used this recipe. I didn't have corn syrup so I used honey. The first batch did not turn out. Although I was being careful it burnt and it turned a really dark red, which was really pretty but not what I was going for. I tried again. This time it was better - I watched it like a hawk. It still turned a golden colour, although on the edges where it was really thin it was almost transparent. I used it anyway.

For the cake I made a chiffon so I would have a hole in the middle for fishing! Since I had to add a couple of extra little people to the cake I made the "ice" bigger then the top of cake to give me a some more room. Added some fondant rocks, logs and fish to the bottom of the cake, and some ground cocoanut for snow. Later we added some blue whales so the boys could pull fish up through the holes! They had fun with it!

All in all, I think it turned out pretty good. My people and ice aren't perfect, but they look better then I thought they would! It is fun to do something different and learn something new!

An Update!

So, I have run into a little trouble. I'm working on a quilt called Mexican Train (although my quilt doesn't have trains on it, so I might have to rename it!). The pattern was for a smaller throw and I wanted to make a queen size quilt so I had to guesstimate the amount of fabric I needed. I guesstimated wrong. I suppose I really should figure these things out. I've looked at a couple Fabriclands and have had no luck finding what I need. If I can't find the fabric I'll have to take off a couple rows, turn it into a twin size, and use that fabric to finish it. Not the outcome I wanted but I won't have any other option.

Then my sewing machine started squeaking. I oiled it all up and it still squeaked, so I took it in for maintenance and luckily all it needed was a good cleaning and oiling internally where I could not get at. In the process of looking for my sewing machine manual I came across my very first cross stitch...

I got it for my birthday when I was 11 or 12. It took me so long to do! Now I wish the cross stitch I'm working on was as simple as that one! I am almost finished page 2 of 25 of Peach Chorus! It is looking great, and I love it! It just might take me a few more years...

While I figure out what to do with my quilt I've been using my scrap flannel to make baby blanket tops. So now I have 3 baby blanket tops a quillow top done, but no fabric for the backs! I need to get to Fabricland!