Project: Chanel handbag cake for Mhine's Birthday

My first ever attempt on handbag cake.  It took me a lot of courage before I finally got to convince myself that it could be worth trying.  

It has been a long-time dream for me to create a project such as this, but my scarce knowledge and limited tools would always prevent me from fulfilling that dream.  I've done a few cakes before that somehow have helped me improve on my skills yet the fact remains the same that I'm just a beginner.  There is still more to learn.  It's a learning process that requires patience and hard work.  And I'm very much willing to go through all that in order to be better in my craft.

Since a dear friend was gonna celebrate her birthday, why not try making that dream come true?  It would also be a perfect present for her because she simply loves bags that come in all sizes. 

I picked the easiest design I could find on the net.  Trying to do for it the first time, I expected it to be hard.  On the contrary, it wasn't as hard as I had imagined it.  The quilted pattern was fun to do using an improvised embosser tool, a bread knife with the help of a ruler.  That still gave it a quilted look though not as good as with the real cutter/embosser wheel.  Another thing I had difficulty doing was the chanel logo.  I made it look a little bit bigger than it should be. 

The end result was more than enough to give me assurance that I could do some other designs beyond my imagination.  As long as the desire to do better is there, everything else follows.

Click link for photos of her birthday: 

Project: Barbie cake for Chubs

On her 6th birthday, I promised to make her a cake. She specifically asked for a barbie cake, like the one I did for Ashlyn's 1st, but I opted to do a slightly altered version.

Here's how it turned out.

barbie sitting on a cake

I've seen a design similar to this with the barbie sitting on the edge of a square cake.  It looked so cute and quite easy to make.  That's where I got the inspiration from. 

16th Family Day (April 17)

Our usual Sunday gathering marked the beginning of the Holy week, as the entire Catholic community celebrated Palm Sunday. Too bad I was stuck working all morning and therefore missed hearing mass.

I was hoping yesterday's weather would be as nice as that of the days prior but it turned out drizzly all day. Any plans that we had made ahead of time were completely crossed off the list. Nevertheless, it was still fun and didn't make our family day any less pleasurable.

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15th Family Day (April 10)

I missed out two important events yesterday -- first, the bargain bonanza and second, Ate Ellen Din's birthday. Working since seven in the morning has consumed most of my energy that having a rest was all I wanted to do as soon as getting home. Apparently, that shouldn't be a valid reason to not attend our usual Sunday gathering. As a matter of fact, I even managed to cook some nice and warm chicken macaroni soup for merienda.

We almost forgot about taking photos yet the number of shots we've had clearly defines how we could creatively make use of indoor space and never-mind items to make viewing more fun and entertaining.

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14th Family Day (April 3)

Had to finish cooking dinner; place the men's baon in their respective lunch boxes; make stir-fried noodles for merienda and then clean up. Would you believe I've done all those in less than 2 hours? Well, I had to, otherwise we won't be able to make it to our gathering.

It was a bit cold outside that afternoon. Going out with the kids was actually not a very good idea but they seemed to love the cold breeze. It's been weeks since the last time we went out on location shoot and we didn't want to miss the fun of it.

Location: Bob Thomson Gardens, Middleton Road

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Andrew and Donna's 70's-inspired post-wedding party

I think everyone will agree with me if I say that seventies is one of the most unforgettable eras of all time in terms of fashion and style. It was the rise of mini skirts, halter cat suits, midi dresses, floral printed, flared pants and a lot more. Who would ever forget those hugely successful clothing that have never really gone out-of-style decade after decade?

Donna handed out invitations few weeks ago to probably give us enough time to prepare. Note at the bottom says, " People who don't dress up will be thrown in the shed". I didn't want to take it too seriously but still caught myself scouting for something to wear days prior Saturday.

isn't he ravishing?

Edil wearing the famous afro hair

we came prepared

Donna and Andrew, best-dressed

The party was held at a farm in Denmark, about an hour drive away from Albany. It was a totally fun experience being surrounded by everyone else dressed up in "retro". Andrew and Donna were both wearing the perfect inspiration of what seventies fashion was like.

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