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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13th Family Day

Last Sunday's heat was like summer in its full swing.  A lovely day, I supposed, for most people who were relaxing in the comfort of their own homes and for some who went out enjoying the beach. Too bad I didn't get to go home until four in the afternoon.  I needed to hang on at work though it was terribly boring.

We held our usual gathering at the Umali's, where we shared a feast of four equally filling dishes (see second photo). I reckon this every Sunday affair is gonna make me fat.

It was already dark when we left home to visit Roan Mae. She's been sick for quite sometime due to her health condition so we've decided to see how she's going. Listening to her story and how she continues to courageously fight with all her struggles makes me admire her. Faith can really move mountains.

Project: My very first boobies cake

One of our friends, Vivian, celebrated her birthday last Saturday.  Prior to that, she came over to the Dome to personally ask me if I could make her a cake.  Without a second thought, I said yes. 

my sister's boobies cake

 A couple of weeks back, my sister posted this photo of her latest cake design.  It was a boobies cake in red corset.  It looked so nice and I couldn't help my admiration of how she came up with such creative concept.  She has really gone a long way in the art of cake making and decorating.

The thought of making my own version gave me a thrill of excitement.  My sister would always tell me which design is easy to make and which is not.  And when it comes to inputs, I knew I could only trust the expert.

Cake design makes a cake stand out.  If you want your cake to catch everyone's attention at a party or in any gathering, you have to make it distinct.

I set aside my hesitation.  Before all the ingredients were delivered to me, I started making an outline in my head.  I didn't want to fail on my first attempt.

Making the cake base was easy.  The only difficult part was making the boobies look fuller and even in shape.  If I had the right baking pan it would have been easier but thanks to my resourceful ideas.  I just used two small oven-proof bowls as alternative pans, trimmed off excess of the cake and shaped them.  Covering the whole cake with rolled fondant was another critical point.  I've rolled out the fondant too thin because I wasn't sure if I had enough to cover up the whole cake.  As a result, the surface turned out with lopsidedness and lumps.  Lastly, the most intricate bra design.  I had quite an interesting time working it out because I was so concerned that it won't be pleasing to the eye.  I added a few details on the bra just to make it look more attractive.

my version of boobies cake

Vivian Rey's Birthday Dinner

Last Saturday was such a busy day for me.  After knocking off from work at two, I had to rush home as quick as I possibly could to finish my cake.  From the moment I stepped in the kitchen and put on my apron, I was like a wanna-be "pastry chef".  Not to mention the mess I made around the whole place while engrossed in the process.

I finally got to polish the design on time. When I handed it over to Vivian, I could see the joy in her eyes. And that was enough to ease my exhaustion...  It gives me real happiness when people appreciate and value the work that I do.

Kids Carla and Vianca loved the cake

With other ladies guests

Invasion of the blondies

Wednesdays have been my RDO for quite sometime now, and whenever Kumare (Jeraldine) gets the same day off as mine, she makes it a point to fetch us up for some OP shopping.  Don't even try to imagine how on earth could she manage to fit two babies and three passenger adults in her car.  I tell you, it takes a lot of courage to do that.

On our recent day out, we had a quick stop over at Gigi's place.  Like most women I know, Gigi loves collecting shoes, bags and accessories.  When asked if she's already prepared for Donna's seventies party, she brought out this long curly blonde wig.  No doubt, she's on to it.  Oh m, I almost forgot about that thing, might have to do some googling for outfit suggestions.

I wanted so much to try it on just for fun. So we ended up trying it on. Each of us had at least a couple of photos wearing it. But I've got more than that because I also tried Gigi's gorgeous pair of boots.

Winnie

Mhine

Even Ashlyn

It must have been my lucky day visiting their house for the first time, for she gave me a pair of black boots. She's already got two pairs pretty much with the same style, so she said I could have the other one.