Baby Sativa

Today thousands of people around the world paid tribute by letting off balloons to precious little Sativa who lost her 20 month battle to Leukemia this week.  Sativa won the hearts of nearly 6000 people around the world on facebook with her gorgeous smile and heartbreaking story.
http://www.facebook.com/HelpSativa

Diagnosed with cancer at just four months old she was in the hospital much of her small life.  Her story is a reminder to us of how fragile life can be and to make the most of every moment, especially with our dear children.  Today when you are with your children, cuddle them as much as you can, laugh with them, spend time with them.  All over the world there are mums like Sheree who are longing to do just that and cannot.  Don't worry about the mess or their cheeky behavior.  Just stop what you are doing and LOVE your babies and remember Sativa.

These cake pops were made for the family for the funeral to celebrate the life of Sativa.

Cupcake decorating with kids

Today was one of those fabulously memorable days.  A day I will look back on with fond memories.  Six of the neighborhood kids came over and we decorated cupcakes.

It all started a few weeks ago when I suggested to my seven year old neighbor girl that we should have a cupcake decorating afternoon during the school holidays.  She promptly sat down with my 3 year old and they constructed invitations and brought them to all of the kids in the street.  My daughter was incredibly excited and has talked about this coming event ever since.

Last night I was still slightly unclear about what to have the kids make as I had a range of ages from 3 to 11 and half boys and girls.  In the end I decided on monsters(cute ones of course) and butterflies.

The afternoon went far better than I imagined! When the kids arrived I had the older ones decorate their cupcakes first so that they could help the younger ones.  The girls got right into it, surprising me by coming up with their own monster designs.  They then went on to create their own cupcakes without my supervision. I loved to see this creativity flourish!  How I wish I had this as a kid.  All of the kids stayed well until the afternoon, a few of them I had to kick out when it was dinner time (nicely of course).  The sound of the kids playing in my yard and in my house brought fond memories as a kid playing late in the street with all of the kids, in and out of each others houses.  A few of them sat and chatted to me for awhile.  My house was always an open house to kids growing up and I loved that and want the same for my kids.

Have a look at the kids creations and see what you think!

Time for a catch up

Its been awhile since I have posted anything.  Things have been a little bit crazy as of late.  Between having a ton of family visiting, sick kiddies, a broken dishwasher(I have been doing alot of dishes!) and starting part time work for the first time in nearly four years, cakes have been put on the back burner.

I have loved the new challenge of work and will guiltily admit that the 12 hours away from my children a week is somewhat bliss.  It could have something to do with the fact that I have the sexiest boss ever or the 12 hours of order I feel when most of the time I am terribly disordered. Sometimes I don't think that its the kids I need a break from, but me to get my head into gear a bit better.

Last week I did get to make some cake pops for a friend which I loved making and to top it off the party was in the country with lots of animals! My kids loved it.  My daughter said it was the best party ever.

I will admit that I have tried a few other hobbies to fulfill my need to be creative while cakes have been missing.  My husband thinks that I am turning into a little old lady and laughs at me while I am sitting on the couch crocheting little booties.  Personally I think I am just practicing to be a nana so that by the time I am one I will be the BEST nana ever. Sadly my own Grandma jokingly asked me to teach her to crochet.  I really do enjoy it though and was pretty happy with my first attempts.

Nothing quite beats cakes though.  I was feeling particularly out of sorts this week and sat down last night to work on a cupcake project for my daughters kindy.  While I worked, everything just fell off my shoulders and I felt refreshed again.  Sometimes a girl just needs to get her cake on.  For my daughters kindy I helped 24 2-4 year olds decorate these cupcakes.  They are learning about flowers at the moment so it was perfect!   They did such a great job!  Happy spring!

60th birthday cake

This cake was a special cake for a a friends father of mine.  There are specific elements in this cake that represent him. I was very pleased with how it all came together.

70th birthday cake

This is a cake I made a few weeks back for a special ladies 70th birthday.  It was chocolate cake iced in chocolate butter cream and covered in fondant.

Under Construction

Its been a few weeks since I have done any cake making so my friends sons 3 year old birthday party was a welcome chance to get my creative juices going again.  We had a fabulous day spending it with special friends, at long last outside and out of the rain!  This winter has been a rough one and I know my friends and I are looking forward to warm days, sunshine and bug free kids!

Skiier cake topper

More and more I realize how much I love the sculpting side of cakes.  This weeks skiier cake topper I enjoyed immensely.  I tend to go into a zone and everything slows down around me as I lose myself in my work.