Cakes by Fiona Barnett

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2011-11-18T20:23:00.002Z

You may have noticed a lack of posts this year. Well to say its been busy would be an understatement. So with work, and the associated paperwork that goes along with being self employed something had to give, and unfortunately it has been the blog that has suffered.

So to keep up to date with what we are up to check out our facebook page

www.facebook.com/cakesbyFionaBarnett

Fun day out

2011-04-15T18:56:00.002+01:00

Late last year I was contacted by one of the radio stations in Aberdeen, about placing an advert with them. The radio station is one that Sophie and Jamie both enjoy listening to, and one I listen too when I get the chance. I mentioned this to the sales guy, and he said that he would try to arrange a studio tour for Sophie and Jamie. Because this was just before Christmas, I decided not to tell them until Christmas day, so they had an extra surprise.

Well, today was the day for the visit, and they thoroughly enjoyed it. Sophie and Jamie wanted to take a cake in with us, and what else could you do for a radio station but a radio. Everyone at the station seemed to be impressed, and the kids had a fun time too.

Thanks to everyone at Original 106, we had a fantastic time.

It was a good idea in theory

2011-04-13T20:34:00.006+01:00

I initially wanted to have a blog as it was easier for me to update than the website. The problem is in trying to update blogs, keep up with the facebook page, make cakes, attempt to keep up with the various paperwork, and keep the kids entertained while they have been off school for Easter has meant having to prioritize things.

So by way of a catch up, here are some I prepared earlier.

Both of these are variations of previous cakes I made a while ago.

This one was also a variation of a previous cake, (Jamie's 5th Birthday Feb 2010), although its more of a difference than the other two

Squires show 2011

2011-03-16T00:44:00.011Z

Well after a busy week or two, normal service is returning. I had a fantastic time down in Surrey this weekend at the Squires show. I thought it was going to be a good show as there was no last minute rush, the roads and weather were fine and we had no hold ups at all. It was really nice to meet up with all the regulars and see such a variation in designs. One interesting thing was the lack of cupcakes in the wedding cake show room. This followed on the dramatic reduction in the cupcakes on show last year. It would seem that the days of the wedding cupcake are numbered, but I suppose only time will tell.

Squires is a great show for me, the distance from Ellon is so large that there is need to worry about trying to get orders, it's purely a chance to meet some of the counties most talented cake makers and talk all things cake. To be sharing a display space with some of the people I looked up to when I started making cakes is still hard to believe. You are all such a talented bunch.

So apart from being let loose on the public for 3 days what were this years highlights. One was certainly getting to see Carlos Lichetti at work. His figure modeling is astounding, and make mine look like they are made by a two year old. - Don't just take my word for it, have a look for yourself. You will not be disappointed (http://carloslischetti.blogspot.com/)

Another highlight was the positive reaction my cakes seem to receive. Coming up with new designs that are worthy of the wedding cake show room is never easy, and to get so many compliments make the 1500 mile round trip a little more bearable.

On a totally personal note, I would like to say a big thank you to Lindy Smith. You have been such an icon to so many cake makers, and to me especially. For you to have said that, some of the cakes I had at the show were inspirational, will be something I shall never forget, and I'm sure that all the cake makers you mention in the blog feel the same.

http://www.lindyscakes.co.uk/Blog/2011/03/14/inspirational-wedding-cakes-at-squires-2011/

So what was all the fuss about?- make your own mind up

Old wives Formula 1 Routemaster law

2011-02-10T00:50:00.005Z

Does toast really always land butter side down?, do 2 buses always turn up at once? and do things always happen in three's?.

Probably not, but this is the second F1 car I have made in the last few months. So will there be a third?

2011 YWE wedding exhibition

2011-01-15T22:20:00.008Z

As promised, here are the pictures of the new wedding cakes.

Today was an incredibly busy day, which was a good thing, and hopefully tomorrow will be as good.

Just hope my feet recover in time.

Dear Mr Crosby.....

2011-01-05T21:03:00.003Z

Dear Mr Crosby, the next time you have a dream of a festive weather event, could you please keep it to yourself.

OK, so it's not a Skoda

2010-12-18T10:57:00.003Z

Every now and again an advert comes along that makes you think that the designers earned their salary. The recent full sized Skoda car cake one is a good example of this. Of course one big advantage that the cake making team had, was that the cake didn't have to be eaten, so detail was everything.

Sculpted cakes are always tricky as there is a fine balance between getting the proportions accurate enough to be a reasonable representation, and remembering that cakes are bought to be eaten, so compromises will have to be made.

I'm just glad this one wasn't full sized, as the stairs at the shop may have complicated things.

Aberdeen FC

2010-11-22T02:23:00.006Z

The best thing about being a bespoke cake designer, is getting asked to make things that are out of the ordinary. So when I was asked to make a copy of Pittodrie Stadium, I knew it would be a challenge.

I thought it was better to ask for permission from Aberdeen FC, just in case there was any copyright issues, but thankfully they were happy to let me make the cake.

The bride and groom were happy with it, and the staff at Pittodrie were really impressed.

More again

2010-11-22T02:05:00.015Z

Another mix of wedding cakes from earlier this year

And some more

2010-11-22T01:52:00.008Z

A few more wedding cakes and figures from earlier this year

Oh dear, where do I start

2010-11-22T01:30:00.012Z

I'm not sure of the best way to do this as there are an awful lot of wedding cakes that I haven't added yet. I think it'll be best to add a few, and the ones that I miss will be on the new website, which hopefully wont take as long as it does to update the blog.

Boys and their toys

2010-11-22T01:06:00.004Z

Someone said to me once, that boys never grow up, it's just that the cost of their toys get more expensive. So when I get asked for cars, lorries, trains etc, I am never surprised. The problem is that some of the recipient's are so interested in their 'toy of choice' that I am always worried I'll get some of the details wrong.

I made a vw camper cake a while ago, and someone, currently sitting not a million miles away from me, told me that I had used the wrong bumper as that bumper was only fitted to later versions. -You get the idea.

I enjoyed making both of these, and even enjoyed the detail. I sometimes think that I try to add too much, but that's the fun part, although at 2am it doesn't feel like much fun.

Late again !!

2010-11-22T00:18:00.006Z

When I started the blog I had hoped to update on a regular basis, but the last month or so seem to have been virtually non stop. I had hoped that the late night/ early morning finishes were at an end after the D2 wedding show, as usually thing ease off a bit after October, but not this year. So as a result the blog has taken another back seat.

So what has happened since the last entry, well, the D2 exhibition was excellent this year. It was the busiest I have been at the Beach Ballroom, and I will be going again next year.

As you would expect there have been many cakes and toppers made, which is the main reason for the late blog entry, There has been some more of my cakes featured in Wedding Cakes - A design source Issue 36 and 37.

I have also been invited back to the Wedding cake Showroom at the Squires Kitchen’s Annual Cake Decorating, Chocolate and Sugarcraft Exhibition. It is their 25th anniversary show and it will be great to meet up with everyone again. http://www.squires-exhibition.co.uk/

I had hoped to get to the NEC this year, although one show a year is probably enough. It is primarily a trade and competition show with loads of nice new things to buy, which is probably another good reason for not going. I did go a few years ago, and managed to get some gold awards in the celebration and wedding cake classes, but that was a long time before I started this as a full time job.

Too much to do- no time to do it

2010-10-06T01:05:00.002+01:00

It always seems the same story when it comes to wedding shows. I think I have plenty of time to prepare, but always manage to have a last minute panic. This weekend is no different. Paid orders always take priority over exhibition work, as they pay the bills, but I really need to be more organised for the exhibitions.

Unusual, but...........

2010-09-07T23:02:00.004+01:00

Strong colours can sometime over power a cake, but with some cakes it works. I think with both of these the cakes can take the colour.
The first one was a variation of a previous cake in chocolate and ivory. The butterflies were silk, not the normal sugar ones I would make.

The second one was certainly unusual and very original. Both the bride and groom were into tattoos, and they wanted to incorporate some of their designs into the wedding cake.

Tufted Duck

2010-09-07T22:28:00.003+01:00

Earlier this year I had a couple of cakes to deliver to the Tufted Duck at St Combs ( near Fraserburgh). I had never been to the hotel before, but was really impressed with the place and the staff. It makes a really pleasant change to turn up at a venue, and have a table ready for the cake and friendly helpful staff.

http://www.tuftedduckhotel.co.uk/

The picture of the cake in the wedding section of their website is not one of mine, but I quite like it.

Nice Surprise

2010-09-07T21:59:00.004+01:00

I was checking through my website counter, and noticed a link from one of the local photographers.

http://rubislaw.com/

So being an inquisitive soul, I had a look. It turns out that they were the photographers for 2 of the wedding cakes I had earlier this year. What was really nice, was the comments that accompanied the pictures.

This is my photos of the cakes, but if you have a look at the professional ones, I think you will agree that I should stick to making cakes.

I haven't forgot......Honest

2010-09-07T20:30:00.001+01:00

As you can imagine the summer is a very busy time for me, and just trying to keep up with the orders is a job in itself. So keeping the blog updated can be difficult, but with the summer orders now past, I should have a little more time for the admin side of the business.The problem I now have is where to start. I can't believe that the last post was all the way back in July, so be prepared for a few posts in the next day or so.

This cake was for a 21st birthday (the 21 on the stars may have been a bit of a clue). The brief was to make something girly with shoes and fairies.

Soldier, soldier

2010-07-16T10:59:00.004+01:00

These are two military themed cakes that I have made recently.

The first was based on a Challenger tank, and it certainly was a challenge. Not too bad for my first tank, but I would do a few things differently next time.

The second was for a 5th birthday.

Cala bling

2010-07-16T10:43:00.003+01:00

One of the recent trends with flowers, is for them to have a diamante crystal at the tip. The first flowers I saw this done with were roses, but the cala lily is perfect for this.

I still think that on a personal level that the cala lily is my favorite flower.

..

Taxi

2010-07-16T10:32:00.001+01:00

This cake was based on a 1965 Black cab taxi.
I didn't know how little the design had changed from the original. I suppose that it just goes to show that sometimes a design just works

Quick rant

2010-06-18T16:16:00.004+01:00

The Internet is a wonderful tool. It enables communication, commerce and research, all at the touch of a button or two. Unfortunately there are some people who will use this access of information to deceive. In this case the deception was not to gain financial reward, but involved the use of photos taken from someone else's website (mine), and used on their own.
Fortunately they were able to see the error of their ways, and the pictures were removed, although, looking at some of the pictures still there, I would be surprised if many of the cakes shown were made by them.

I would like to ask one question. Why?

Are these people :-

Lazy- (Have the ability to copy a design, but didn't want to put the effort in to it ),
Trying to deceive - ( Pass off photos of other peoples work as the quality of theirs), or
Stupid- (Think that they won't get found out.) There are a few really good websites and programs that will search other websites looking for pictures.

I don't have any issue with someone who wants to copy a cake that I have designed, (although it is nice to be asked first), but I do have a problem with stealing pictures from websites.

Just remember - It is really easy to check

Dress inspired rose ruffles

2010-06-18T15:57:00.007+01:00

This was another of those cakes that I was really pleased to have been asked to make. I love being able to come up with a design that means something to the bride. The rose ruffle design on the cake was to mirror the roses on the brides dress.

Hydrangea and peonies

2010-06-18T14:27:00.005+01:00

One of the nice things about designing bespoke wedding cakes is that you get asked to make one or two things that are a little different to normal. The only problem is that I become very protective and don't really relax until the cake is set up at the venue and I know it perfect. So with the amount of potholes that the roads around here are plagued with, delivery has been a little nerve racking, especially with some of the bigger cakes.

Thankfully all was well with this one.

And again

2010-06-08T23:16:00.008+01:00

Part two

This one was just the topper for the cake.

Where does the time go?

2010-06-08T22:17:00.013+01:00

I can't believe that the last entry was all the way back in March, but this is the height of the wedding season, and cake work has to take priority over everything else including sleep on several occasions.

So here is the first instalment of the picture catch up.

Why do I do it??

2010-03-19T08:20:00.008Z

Well a week has passed since the start of the Squire's show, and I can say in all honesty that I am still recovering. I think it must be an age thing, but it seems to take longer to catch up with everything than it used to.

As with last year, I would like to say a huge thank you to Beverley and the rest of the Squires team, for all their hard work to make the show the success it is.

When I was at the show, I was asked why I go all the way down to Surrey, as it wasn't likely to generate any work, because of the distance to Ellon. I had to think, but not for too long. There are two reasons.

Firstly the people you meet. Whether it's the visitors to the show, the other cake designers, or some of the exhibitors and demonstrators, it is great to talk to so many people who can appreciate all the hard work that we put in to our cakes.

The second is the inspiration you can give to others, and the inspiration that you get from viewing the other cakes on display. I can't speak for the other designers, but I am always looking for new ideas and ways of doing things .

After all that I had better post the pictures of the cakes to let you see what you think. This was the overall table view. I had made 3 new cakes, the bird cage, the pumpkin, and the lace and cala lilies. The other 2 I took were ones I had tweeked from wedding show in January.

Tick, tick, tick

2010-03-05T22:33:00.002Z

As you probably have gathered by now, the blog entries are a bit of a feast or famine. This is mainly down to finding some spare time to be able to sit down and put pen to paper, or more accurately fingers to keyboard. Not that I'm complaining. Given the choice of being busy or waiting for the next order to come along, I'll take being busy every time. Although it does mean that the admin side of things can sometimes take longer than it should, and this includes updating the blog.

With all of last weeks orders out of the way, I can now start to concentrate on the cake I hope to take to the Squires show in Farnham next weekend. When I say concentrate I actually mean start the cakes for the Squires show. I had intended to take 6 with me, but having set some boards out on one of my tables, I think it looked a little cluttered, so have decided on 5. I just hope that I have the same sort of feedback from people as I had last year.

I am tempted to post some teaser photos of the display before I go, but it will depend on how the cakes are working out, and what time I have left. Being up near Aberdeen means that we have to allow a full day for travelling, so although the show starts on Friday 12th, we have to leave early Thursday morning, and hope that there isn't too much traffic problems. So this series of posts could be the last until I get back.

If you can't wait that long, but still wanted to read some cake related blogs, then have a look at http://www.cakedecoratingcourses.co.uk/cake-decorating-blogs/

The Blog is run by Lyndsey, and she is looking to create a directory of cake related blogs, which should make for some interesting reading.

Jamie's 5th Birthday

2010-02-05T23:12:00.005Z

Jamie was 5 last week, and has 3 favourite things Cbeebies, teddy and our cat ceefor. Cbeebies characters are covered by copyright, so I couldn't use those, but he did get a model of teddy and the a picture that he had drawn cat on the cake so he was pleased enough, and as Meatloaf once said - 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

"Hike!"

2010-02-05T22:47:00.003Z

As most of the country will be aware, the weather has been a little chilly recently, and winter weddings are worrying, as delivery can be tricky. So imagine the look of horror that must have been on my face when I was told that this cake was to be delivered to near Aviemore. I was assured by the bride that delivery would be fine as there hasn't been any snow on that weekend for many years. The bride and groom were keen dog sled racers and were due to be racing on the Saturday at a large international event at Aviemore, and that in all the time that they had raced there, had never had snow.

Thankfully, their weather prediction was almost spot on, as there was still a lot of snow lying on the ground, but the roads were completely free of snow and ice, so everything arrived safely.

gone fishing

2010-02-05T22:33:00.002Z

This cake was needed for the Saturday of the wedding show, so had to be delivered on the Friday afternoon instead. It was another one of my very late night cakes, in fact it was so late, the kids had already had their breakfast before I got home. I'd like to think it was worth the lack of sleep.

Wedding Ideas Magazine pt2, well issue 79

2010-02-05T22:20:00.003Z

I've just seen the latest issue of Wedding Ideas magazine, and they have used another one of my Squires cakes. This time it's the bride and groom collapsed on the bed. Although I have made many versions of this cake over the last few years, I think it may be around for a bit longer yet.

Wedding Cakes 34

2010-01-28T23:46:00.004Z

I had an e-mail From Squires today, telling me that my work is to be featured in the latest issue of Wedding cakes- a design source. I had hoped to get some pictures in the last edition as it would have been the current issue for the AECC show. However, I had missed the deadline, so had to wait until this issue.
Unfortunately I don't yet know which one or ones they have used, as my copy hasn't arrived yet -hopefully I'll get it tomorrow.

2010 AECC Wedding show

2010-01-20T20:41:00.006Z

This week has been another fairly hectic one for me. Both of the kids have been off sick from school, and I fell too far behind with the display cakes I wanted to take to the AECC show that I was not able to take all the new cakes that I had planned too. Luckily as the black and white flower one had been in Wedding Ideas magazine, I was able to bring it out of retirement for one last show. Still it does mean that I can have even more new ones for next year.

The show went well as usual with lots of interest and a few bookings, which I don't normally get until a few weeks later, once everyone has had the chance to look through all the leaflets that they picked up over the weekend. It makes me think that I could be in for another busy year.

Apart from being able to display some of my work to the public, one of the other things I look forward to is meeting some of the other exhibitors. Working for yourself can be a bit solitary at times, so it's good to catch up with people. Someone who I met for the first time last year, but never really got the chance to speak to was Rebecca Barnett, (no relation.. honest!)

http://www.rbweddingdesign.co.uk/

She is a wedding planner, and one of the nicest people you could meet. Not only that, she seems to be very good at her job.

So, back to the cakes. There were only really 2 new ones this time, although the lacey cake seemed to go down really well again.

The first was another dress inspired cake with some delicate icing flowers, a bow and sash and some piping detail, and the other was a variation on a cake that I am working on for the Squires Show in March

I've seen that one somewhere before

2010-01-10T23:25:00.004Z

After the recent spell of particularly wintry weather, I thought it was time to dig the car our of the drive, and pay the local supermarket a visit. It seemed like everyone else had the same idea, so things didn't progress quite as quickly as they could have. The kids started to get board, and as a bribe, buying them a magazine seemed like a good idea to keep them happy. While they were trying to decide which TV related reading material was essential for them to have, I had a look through some of the wedding magazines that were there.

While looking through 'Wedding ideas' magazine, I saw one of my cakes. It was the black and white flower one I had at the Squires show in March.

I was really excited about this as it is the first time that I have been in a national wedding magazine, well at least with out paying for an advert. It isn't the first time this year that one of my cake turned up unexpectedly. I made some cupcakes earlier and the photo of them were used in the main cakes page in the Grampian wedding directory.

On the subject of snow

2010-01-06T21:09:00.003Z

The last cake of 2009 was delivered safely to Drumtochty Castle no thanks to the weather. The roads were clear enough, but unfortunately the screen wash was only rated to -5C ,and was freezing, not allowing the screen to be cleared of the spray from the road. Fortunately we pass a couple of supermarkets on the way, so could get some proper screen wash. I hate dirty windscreens, which is always made worse with the glare from the snow and wet roads.

The cake was a 3 tier stacked with castle topper and bride and groom figures. Sparkly snowflakes came down the side of the cake, which given the weather seemed more appropriate than normal

OK, it may look pretty, but it really is time to stop now!

2010-01-06T20:19:00.003Z

Snow and ice are part of the hazards of living in the north east of Scotland, but it is starting to get a little silly now. Just hope that the roads around Aviemore are clear in a few weeks time.

Christmas cakes

2009-12-27T19:22:00.003Z

I don't tend to make many Christmas cake other than the family ones, and a regular order from the Forget-me-not club in Banchory. This year I had a couple of other cakes to do, which with the weather as it was, were thankfully being collected.

Run, run Rudolf

2009-12-27T18:46:00.005Z

Christmas wedding cake can be both rewarding and a total nightmare. I enjoy the cakes, but the weather can be unpredictable to say the least. Last year we had a few lucky escapes, as we seem to have managed to deliver the cakes at just the right time. With this cake we managed to get the same lucky weather break. The forecast on the day was heavy snow showers, which seemed to go on for an extremely long time. Thankfully the roads remained clear, and we arrived back in Ellon without any problems. I am not so sure about tomorrow's cake. It is being delivered to Drumtochty castle which is quite a bit inland, and on some very minor roads, which should be interesting. I think that this will be the first time that my cake delivery kit will include a shovel.

The cake itself was a parcel style cake with a Santa figure and two reindeer. I have never made reindeer before, although I have made horses, and with the exception of the antlers the process was pretty much the same.

When simple is special

2009-11-29T21:57:00.004Z

When someone starts a new job, learns a new hobby or skill, there is a tendency to want to use all the skills and techniques they know all in one go. This is not unique to cake decorating, and this enthusiasm should never be dismissed, just tempered a little. It is something that we are all guilty of and this cake was no exception.

I had drawn out several designs based on the design requirements that I was sent. Most were much more complicated than this one, and all contained various clever little tricks and techniques that I have picked up recently. However, the bride wanted to keep things simple so these will have to be kept for another day.

Wedding cup cakes

2009-11-29T21:37:00.010Z

These are really popular at the moment and are much easier to make than the mini cakes.

This cake was to have a Las Vegas theme, with the bride and groom dressed as the characters in the film 'True Romance'

This one was a little more conventional with contrasting white and deep cerise pink icing and a single blossom flower.

Yo ho ho

2009-11-29T21:28:00.005Z

I have seen many well executed pirate ship cakes before, but have never made one myself. This one was for a previous customer who pretty much let me do what I thought would look OK.

Light at the end of the tunnel

2009-11-29T20:35:00.005Z

With the end of the year fast approaching, I am often asked if this is a busy time for me, the assumption being that I will be busy with Christmas cakes. The reply goes along the lines of, yes it is busy, but with wedding cakes. Christmas cakes are not really an area that have a great deal to do with. This is for 2 reasons, firstly I think that people would expect supermarket prices and they have an economy of scale that allow them to sell a finished cake for less than I could buy the ingredients for, and secondly most people have a friend or family member who take a great deal of pleasure in making Christmas cakes.

The last couple of weeks, as with many this year have been busy, with the usual mix of birthday and wedding cakes

Kissy, kissy

2009-11-03T23:35:00.003Z

When I am asked to make a wedding cake for someone, I always ask for as much detail as I can be provided with. This gives me a better idea of colours and any other details that the bride and groom want included. Normally for the colour, a material sample is provided, and this was the case in this instance. Unfortunately the material was very shiny and kept changing colour, so it was really difficult to get the right shade for the roses.

spooky !

2009-11-03T23:21:00.005Z

This is one of the weekend's wedding cakes. With the date being 31 October there was a Halloween theme to the reception. I have made a pumpkin wedding cake before, but that was along time ago, so when I was asked for a pumpkin wedding cake, I thought " no problem". In fairness the cake itself wasn't a problem, just really time consuming. I was happy with the outcome, and hope that the bride and groom were too.

More dress inspiration

2009-10-20T01:41:00.004+01:00

Here is another recent dress inspired cakes. This one used the embroidery pattern for 2 of the tiers, and some small flower designs on the other tiers. The cake was finished off with the icing ribbon and bow.

mini cakes

2009-10-20T01:32:00.004+01:00

Not much to say about these really. I don't normally like mini cakes, or I should more accurately say I don't normally like making them. As I have said in previous posts, they are very time consuming, and the price can sometimes come as a bit of a shock to people. However, I do like how they look when they are set up, especially when there is a more conventional cake used as the top tier.

Drumtochty weddings

2009-10-20T01:14:00.006+01:00

I don't tend to do that many weddings at Drumtochty. It's a good hours run from here, so it can be a little hectic if I have cakes for Peterhead on the4 same day. Fortunately this was not the case on this occasion. In fact only one of the cakes had to go to Drumtochty.

The other cake was for a couple who were getting married at St Palladius Church, near Drumtochty. The middle and top tier were made to be slightly wonky, which doesn't show up that well in the picture.

Late again!

2009-10-20T00:38:00.006+01:00

Once again it seems to be time to catch up with everything. The last wedding fayre of the year has passed, and we have just come back from a short break.

Because the summer is so busy, I don't have the opportunity to take a holiday in the summer, so use the October half term break, or tattie holidays as they are called here. So with the batteries recharged, I thought it was time to catch up with all the things that would have been done before the holiday, but were delayed because of the wedding show, including the blog.

Trawling through the pictures I have not yet uploaded, I found this one. It is the only picture I have of this cake, and it's not finished. I had planned to take a picture of the finished cake once it arrived at the venue. It had to be delivered on the Saturday of the wedding show, so we knew we would be late arriving. Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera with me.

The other thing I was meant to do before going on holiday was to post a picture of the new cake I made for the show. The big thing at the moment is to pick detail off the wedding dress and include it in the design on the cake. Ribbons are also a popular feature, but you have to be careful with them. I like to make the ribbon on my cakes in icing, unless it is just to go around the sides. The problem with using real ribbon is that it doesn't always fall as you want it to, and it can end up spoiling the end result. With icing ribbons and drapes, you don't have this problem, as the icing is flexible enough mold to the cakes contours.

This weekend's show

2009-10-10T17:56:00.002+01:00

Wedding shows are a lot of work. Samples to prepare, cakes to make, printing to organise and various other bits and pieces to do. So as you can imagine, by the time the show starts, there is usually something that you have forgotten to do. This time seems to have been the exception. In fact we were set up by yesterday evening, which was handy as we had to deliver a cake to Peterhead this morning, and still manage to get into Aberdeen without being too late for the start.

The show seems to have gone really well, and I took more bookings than last year which always makes spending the money to exhibit worthwhile.

Just tomorrow to go and that will be the last show for this year, giving me enough time to think of some new ideas for January's show.

While you are waiting, here's a little music

2009-10-06T17:14:00.002+01:00

The problem with technology is that we have all become so reliant on it that when something goes wrong it causes such a problem. Any of you trying to access the website today will have noticed that it isn't there, or rather it is there, and is just not letting anyone look at it - including me.
I thought it would be nice to have the new site online in time for the show this weekend, but it may not have been such a good idea, as there is already too much to do without having to sort it as well.

oh well, hopefully normal service will return as soon as possible.

You know when your doing something right when......

2009-09-24T09:59:00.002+01:00

I don't get too much time for trawling around the web, especially during the busy times, but that's what husbands are for. On one of these 'research' missions he came across a couple of sites we hadn't checked out before, so he had a look around the gallery. Some of the cakes he saw were 'influenced by' some of my previous cakes. Now I am not going to start a rant about copyright, there is no need, well at least not in this case. If anything I was quite pleased with myself. The thought that another cake designer thought the design was worth adapting makes me think that I must be doing something right.

As if by magic, a new picture appears

2009-09-13T15:10:00.003+01:00

One of the things I have noticed since starting this blog, is how slow I have become at adding the new cakes to my web-site. Well within the next week or so the site is due for a bit of a rebuild, in time for the October Dedicated to Weddings Show, so watch this space.

Child labour

2009-09-04T00:07:00.005+01:00

I made a cake for the forget me not club this week. It was to celebrate their 10th anniversary, and the organizers had arranged a trip out in a horse and cart for its members.

The horse was called Harry, and he is a Clydesdale horse from Strathorn Farm
http://www.strathornfarm.co.uk/

Now when the kids are over staying with my parents during school holidays, the get to go along and help out at the forget me not club, and seem to really enjoy themselves. When the found out that I was making the cake they asked if the could design one too. So armed with some paper and pencils, they came up with their design which I put onto the cake for them.

I'm not quite sure which one went down the best, but I may have found some apprentices

My cake

Sophie and Jamie's cake

POP!

2009-09-04T00:02:00.002+01:00

I feel that I need to mark this post by mentioning the fact that the post count has reached 50. Not bad really considering how often I manage to get on-line at the moment.

Now where's that Champagne

Here chicky chicky

2009-09-03T23:33:00.003+01:00

Occasionally I get asked to do some thing for cakes that on the face of it seem quite straightforward, but when it comes to making it, it's a different matter.

I was asked if I could make some hens for a bride and groom topper. No problem I thought, but they were a problem . A complete nightmare. They would not do anything I wanted. A bit like real hens I suppose. Eventually I did get them sorted, but never again will I assume that because it looks fairly straightforward, that it will be simple. I did like the finished topper, and more importantly so did the bride.

Unlike most cakes I make the bride and groom weren't so much of a topper, more like a sider. The figures with hens were placed beside the cake, as there was to be a thistle, hearts and beads on wire topper on the cake and some small thistle sprays at the sides of the tiers.

Start of the new season

2009-09-03T22:35:00.007+01:00

Well another month has come and gone, and yet again I find myself trying to catch up with things on the blog.

I don't know if it's just coincidence or not, but there seems to have been a run on football related themes for some of the recent cakes. One was the full wedding cake, one was a birthday cake, and I also had a bride and groom topper

Born to be wild

2009-08-26T23:50:00.007+01:00

A few weeks Ago I had a phone call asking if I would be able to make a cake with a model of a trike on the top for a birthday cake. I assumed it was a child's trike with maybe a toddler riding it.

How wrong I was.

I had arranged for some pictures to be sent over, to give me something to work from, and was horrified to see that it was a motorcycle trike. I suppose it was my own fault for making the assumption, and I did have lots of notice, which made a pleasant change.

Didn't turn out too bad

Watch out for the thistles

2009-08-17T00:00:00.005+01:00

This week has been a little more reasonable, on the work front, with just 3 wedding cakes, and a couple of consultations. The cakes were not too bad with some minicakes, and 2 stacked cakes with bride and groom figures, although the figures weren't in the normal side by side stance.

Is it that time already?

2009-08-16T23:35:00.003+01:00

Last year I was asked to go along to the Squires Kitchen annual show as an exhibitor. I was really excited, and a little apprehensive, but I felt the show went well, and I met some really nice people. So as you can imagine I was pleased to be asked again this year. I know it's a long way, but I did enjoy it last year, and now that I have a better idea of what to expect, I may even be more organized, although I somehow doubt it.

Breathe out, - and rest

2009-08-10T00:31:00.011+01:00

And so ends another week. Hopefully it should be a little more normal this week, and I may be able to catch up with some sleep. So along with the potato harvester in the previous post, I had these 3 wedding cake. All of them needed figures, and two of them needed cars. Even the one that didn't need a car wasn't simple with a bed topper, a couple sun bathing and a bride and groom standing behind a table.

spot the difference

2009-08-08T18:26:00.005+01:00

This week, like last week has been fairly steady. Just a birthday cake and 3 wedding cakes, so it should have been easy, well not quite.

When I say just a birthday cake, it wasn't a run of the mill birthday cake, but a was to have a model on top. Some 20-ish hours later this is what I came up with. I have included a picture of the toy I was given to work from, and don't think I did a bad job, even if I do say so myself.

The first one is the toy model, and the second one is my sugar model

It's time to catch up

2009-08-08T17:50:00.008+01:00

With the summer wedding rush, it can be difficult trying to keep up with the blogs and forums but I try to do my best. This was some of last weeks wedding cakes. I had been doing quite well as they had been finished by Friday evening, but I had a wedding reception party on Friday evening, Cake deliveries and Sophie's birthday tea on Saturday, and the day out on Sunday, which meant that I didn't do anything cake wise all weekend. I paid a heavy price for it this week, but hopefully by next weekend I should have caught up a bit.

Happy Birthday Sophie

2009-08-08T17:34:00.003+01:00

Last week was a particularly busy week. Apart from the wedding cakes I had to make, It was my daughters birthday. We normally have a trip into the local fun fair, on her birthday, but with it falling on Saturday this year, we wouldn't have had the same amount of time, so this was put off until Sunday . In fact this week was so hectic I didn't even manage to make the crazy train roller coaster she wanted for her cake. Instead I had copied a picture of Snorkel, the loggerhead turtle that she had drawn.

Snorkel lives in the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, and every time we are down there we have to go and see him. If you are in the area for any reason it is well worth a look, just don't expect to be out in five minutes it is a very large aquarium, with some truly spectacular displays.

Please can I have a table

2009-08-08T09:58:00.003+01:00

Hotels are a nightmare. There are one or two exceptions, but most make me want to pull my hair out.
When a room is set up they seem to forget to set up a table for the cake. I then have to wait around until they find a suitable table, and table cloth. It's not that they wouldn't expect a cake, and they seem to manage to set up the rest of the room, they just forget the cake table. It doesn't work when you phone in advance either, there is still no table ready. So when I arrived to deliver this cake it came as no surprise that there was no table ready for me.

When is yellow really red?

2009-08-07T20:57:00.003+01:00

When that's what the bride tells the groom her colours are.

When it comes to weddings, the groom can get a bit of a raw deal. When they show no interest, they are sometimes accused of not getting involved enough, and when he does show interest, some of the details are kept from him, especially when it comes to the dress.

When we delivered this cake last weekend, We were told not to mention red at all, as the bride had been telling the groom that yellow was one of her main colours. The staff at the hotel were happy to go along with this and were taking ever opportunity to mention yellow when the groom was nearby, this even went down to carrying yellow covers into the room that the reception was being held in.

No way!

2009-08-07T20:48:00.006+01:00

Some people just don't look their age, so when I was asked to make this cake I was really surprised to find that the recipient was the age they were. The cake itself was made using the edible image sheet, which is something I don't use very often. I made an icing boarder to go around the photo to make it look more like a framed photo.

Hey mister postman

2009-07-27T22:16:00.005+01:00

This morning I heard the familiar rattle of the door, and letter box, just prior to the deep thump as something heavier than usual landing on the floor. Along with the usual rubbish from direct marketing companies, and the local politician letting me know how important I am to him, there was a large brown envelope. It was the latest edition of wedding cakes - A design source. Normally if any work is in the magazine, I get an e-mail telling me that my work is to be featured. I didn't get an e-mail this time, probably as I haven't sent any pictures for submission at all this year, and it is the file pictures that have been used recently. So I was quite pleased to see one of my Squires exhibition cakes used.

Now must get on with sorting out the CD for the next issue

Say cheese

2009-07-26T02:29:00.002+01:00

This cake was a surprise for the bride and groom. The brides mum had organised it, and she seemed happy with the final result.

If you look carefully at the corner of the second tier you will see a small hamster.

Time for bed

2009-07-26T02:17:00.003+01:00

This cake is a style that I normally make as a topper for a larger cake. With this one the cake is the bed.

simple and elegant

2009-07-26T01:28:00.004+01:00

Although a lot of the cakes that I make involve some form of modelling, such as figures, vehicles or flowers, it's nice to have a change once in a while.

Ding-a-ling

2009-07-26T01:04:00.005+01:00

It may sound odd, but there are some cakes that make me smile, and this is one such cake. I think it's the flower, dots, and colour combinations that do it. Good job too, as the delivery wasn't as straightforward as usual. It was going to Fyvie castle which is a National Trust property, and the room the cake was to be set up in was still open to the public when we arrived. Once I found the person in charge, and found out where the cake was going to be set up, the cake was unloaded from the car, only to be returned when the fire alarm went off. Fortunately it was a false alarm, or rather an accidental activation. Apparently the flash from someones camera set it off.

Still, I had a nice comment from a member of the public who was looking around the room at the time. She said that it was worth coming to the castle just to see the cake. - It made her smile too.

monochrome

2009-07-26T00:03:00.003+01:00

I have based this cake on one of the display cakes I made for last years wedding shows. The couple getting married wanted mini cakes, but liked the idea of the black and white cake.

I don't make the mini cakes that often, as they can seem quite expensive. One of the problems with mini cakes is that because they look simple, people do not always realize how time consuming it can be to make them.

Hope ewe liked it

2009-07-12T22:53:00.003+01:00

Ellon was once a small market town, which like most market towns, has become a dormitory town for a nearby city, which in our case is Aberdeen. Having said that There is still lots of farming going on in the area, and this cake was for a farmers 40th birthday

I could Harley believe it

2009-07-12T22:32:00.004+01:00

One of yesterday's wedding cakes was for one of our neighbours. So when the wedding party left the house I was able to wave them off. The bride, along with the rest of the family and bridesmaids were taken to the ceremony in a very long stretched limo. This was impressive enough, but the bride and groom are Harley Davidson fans, and have one of their own each, So it was no real surprise to see five pull up and escort the car to the hotel.

Lull before the storm

2009-06-29T20:04:00.004+01:00

Last week and this week are quieter on the the wedding cake front, which is a good job as the heat here over the last few days has been awful. To help thing along I bought an air conditioning unit. It's only a portable one and I had to come up with a clever way to vent it, but it has made such a difference. I even managed to get it for half price. I also bought a new mixer this week. There was nothing wrong with the last one, but this one has a larger mixing capacity. Again it was a special deal that the catering supplier Nisbets have on at the moment, and was definitely a worthwhile buy.

Back to the cakes

The first one was a heart shaped cake on separators. Unfortunately there are no commercially available heat separators that I am aware of, and the heart tins I use are a slightly different shape to the boards, so I had to make some. I think they turned out fine, but it would have been easier if I could have bought them.

The second one was a variation on a previous design. It is a design I really like, with the clear separator giving the extra height, making an very elegant looking cake, especially with the draping rose spray

Surprise!

2009-06-29T19:41:00.002+01:00

I was going to post this one on the day it was collected, but it was to be a surprise for the groom, so I thought I had better wait until after the wedding, just in case he found his way here.

Keep off the grass

2009-06-29T19:27:00.004+01:00

This was for a birthday held at the local golf club in Ellon. It was for one of the green keepers, and I made him sat on his John Deere mower. I found out afterwards that someone from the local John Deere dealers was at the party, and was really impressed.

More flowers

2009-06-29T19:11:00.005+01:00

One of the good thing about using sugar flowers as opposed to fresh ones is that you can make them in any shade of colour and size you need them. The other advantage is that you know that there will be no pesticide or other residue coming into contact with the cake. Some people don't worry about this, but I wouldn't fancy it.

Playtime

2009-06-29T18:38:00.002+01:00

I was asked to make a cake for Jamie's nursery recently. They had just had some new play equipment installed and were having a 'grand opening', and wanted a cake to mark the event

Where does the time go?

2009-06-14T20:57:00.010+01:00

I can't believe that we are already half way through June and this is only the second post of the month. Having said that it is the wedding season, and I don't get on-line as much to update things here. Getting time to reply to e-mails is bad enough ( sorry to anyone who has been waiting for a reply), but I should be able to have a bit of an easier time this week. There is still a lot to do, but not so many wedding cakes as last week. It's my own fault really, I hate to turn people away, and I always seem to manage, even if it means a sleepless night or two.

So this week there were 4 wedding cakes, one of which had an additional cake with a bride and groom topper, a bride and groom topper, and a birthday cake. I already knew about the wedding cakes and the toppers, but the birthday cake was a bit of a surprise. It was for a friend of mine who had helped out at the Dedicated 2 weddings show, at the beach ballroom in March. It was the same weekend as the Squires show and I couldn't be in two places at once, so managed to get some cover.

The 1st wedding cake was for Wednesday, as was the topper. These were both collected which made it much easier for me.

The 2nd wedding cake was for Thursday, and had to be delivered to Banchory (40 miles away).

The birthday cake was for Friday, and again was being collected.

leaving the final 2 cakes for delivery on Saturday.

Things were a little tight time wise for the Saturday cakes, I managed to get back from work at around 7.45am on Saturday morning, with the first cake being left at the hotel at around 10.30am.

How far is too far?

2009-06-01T19:06:00.006+01:00

Yet again it's been a busy week. It's the wedding season and wedding cakes require a lot more work than a celebration cake. This weekends cakes were all fairly time consuming, and didn't even have bride and groom figures. The biggest problem was the location. Fortunately one of the cakes was for Friday, but involved a 40 mile round trip, The other 3 were all in different directions so I had to do 1 cake at a time. So delivery involved 2 additional 40 mile round trips and a 140 mile round trip. This, along with 3.30am finishes on Thursday and Friday nights, or more accurately Friday and Saturday morning, has left me feeling a little on the tired side.

Still not to worry I'll do it all again this weekend

Fergie

2009-05-24T01:39:00.003+01:00

This was another novelty cake for this week that I was asked to make. It seems that everyone knows someone with a grey Ferguson tractor around here, but even though they are popular, this is the first shaped cake I have been asked for.

60's, 70's, 80's, 90's Icon

2009-05-24T01:25:00.002+01:00

I really struggled to think of a title for the last entry. I was hoping to find a quote from a gangster film, but nothing I could think of seemed to work, so I decided on the Italian Job with obvious reference to the Godfather. Then look what happens. I get asked to make a mini cake. I was really pleased with this one, as it is the first car cake I have made for a while.

The Italian Job

2009-05-03T00:52:00.002+01:00

When I was at school, and even now I suppose, when I am doodling, I find myself drawing a horse, usually just the head, but it's usually something to do with horses. I have always been keen on horses and even had my own for many years, so to be asked to make a horse head cake was fairly straight forward. The recipient was delighted eventually. At first she thought that her daughter had got her a wall plaque of her horses head, and did not realise that it was a cake. I always feel an extra sense of achievement when the person getting the cake doesn't realize it is a cake.

Uneasy

2009-05-03T00:43:00.003+01:00

I was really uneasy with this one. I had an order placed for a birthday cake. Not much wrong with that, but It was to have a modelled Spitfire in German air force markings. For obvious reasons I assumed that the markings were of the modern variety not the mid last century ones

Flowers

2009-05-03T00:33:00.005+01:00

I really enjoy making flowers, I think they are probably the most challenging thing I do. Not only do they need to be the correct shape, which is usually the easy part, but the colour and arrangement of the spray need to be right too. I haven't made orchids for a while, so I was quite pleased with them. The roses were for another cake maker who was let down at the last minute.

Rocket Man

2009-05-03T00:25:00.004+01:00

Because of the problems with copyright, I always worry when I am asked to make a birthday cake for children. Usually I get asked for the TV or cartoon characters, which are a problem, so this was a lot easier. All I was asked for was a spaceman and space rocket.

Butterflies

2009-05-03T00:13:00.003+01:00

What is it with kids and butterflies? This was Jamie's first butterfly this year. I think his face says it all (by the way, the butterfly is on the dandelion)

Can't live with them, can't live without them

2009-05-02T23:55:00.002+01:00

Well it been a month since the last entry, and I am now using a virtually new PC. The last one decided that it didn't want to play anymore and stopped working. Applying some logic to the problem, the fault was traced to the main motherboard. So after pricing the components out, I found it was nearly as cheap to by a component bundle, with new board, CPU and memory. While I had the covers off, I had a new hard drive added too. Once everything was plugged back together, and the box powered up everything was working fine. I then realized that I was running low on toner for the printer and tried to use some of the toner refills. I wish I hadn't bothered. The toner dust is bad enough but the printer would not recognise the cartridge, so I can honestly say that the whole thing was a total waste of money. I am waiting for some new toner cartridges to be sent, but seem to be having problems with the supplier.

One thing after another, springs to mind.

Without a printer, I could not send out any orders, so I had to get another printer to tide me over. At least I can use it down at the shop when the order finally arrives.

Long and not-so-winding road

2009-03-29T20:54:00.008+01:00

Well I made it back from the Squires show in one piece, and I would like to say a huge thank you to several people.
Firstly, I would like to thank all the cake designers I met exhibiting in the Wedding cake showroom. They are such a friendly bunch, and made me feel so welcome. I'm going to add their details to my website links, so if you want a wedding cake in the same area as these people then you wouldn't go far wrong in placing and order with them.
I was also pleased to meet several of the people from the British sugarcraft guild forum. It was so good to be able to put faces to the names that post regularly on the message board. You have always been so helpful if I have been stuck in the past, and will hopefully be as helpful in the future.

While at the show I managed to get along to a few of the demonstrations. I would have liked to get to more, but there is only so many hours in the day. I feel a little guilty in picking anyone in particular out for special mention, but I have to give special mention to 3 of the demonstrators.

Firstly, Alan Dunn. What he does not know about sugar flowers isn't worth knowing.

Secondly, Javier Mercado. The man is a true genius when it comes to working with chocolate.

Last but by no means least is Eddie Spence. This man is a gentleman, his passion for the art of royal icing is infectious. I can say in all honesty it was a real privilege to meet him.

2 of the other demontrators that I didn't get to see demonstrate, but was pleased to meet were Ann Pickard ( author of some very good books on sugar models), and Alyson Lilleyman from Perfect Petals up in Elgin.

I would finally like to say a big thank you to Beverley Dutton and all the other staff from Squires. without them there would be no show, and no wedding showroom.

Was the trip worth it?, well I think so, the drive down was fairly straightforward with no real holdups, and apart from a problem with a lorry lying on its side having deposited around 40 tons of cocoa beans on the M40 slip road we needed on the way back the return was straightforward too. Or at least it was until we reached Aberdeen to be greeted by snow showers and sleet.

It took most of last week to get over the trip, but with any luck we will be doing the same thing next year.

After all that I had better post the pictures of the cakes to let you see what you think.

This was the overall table view. I had made 3 new cakes, the bag and shoe one, the bed, and the lace effect. The other 3 were ones I had used for the wedding show in January.

It was like that when I got here.

2009-03-08T01:42:00.003Z

This is one of those "wonky", topsy turvey",or "whimsical" cakes that have been around for a few years now, and yes they are meant to be that shape.

The crown at the top was something the bride provided, and we tried to pick up the design detail in the piping work. I've been making cakes for a while now, and it never ceases to amaze me, how adding some small detail to a cake, can make such a difference to the final design.

Heads or Tails

2009-03-08T01:22:00.003Z

This morning, ( well Saturday morning), I received the exhibitor pack for the Squires show on the 20-22 March.
Unfortunately, there is a reasonably big wedding show up here that weekend, and I was going to miss it. Wedding shows are probably the most effective way of advertising for me, and with several new cake makers starting up over the last year, not being there, is not an option. Luckily the cavalry arrived in the shape of two very helpful sisters. When we have done the AECC show in the past, they have always been willing helpers, and have agreed to cover the whole show for me this time.

So if you are going to the Squires show, please come along and say hello, even if it's just so that I know that I'm not spending time typing this stuff out to myself, and if you are going along to the Beach Ballroom in Aberdeen, then I'm sorry I can't be there, but my sister's should be able to help with most enquiries.

Tee and cake

2009-03-08T01:06:00.003Z

I sometimes think that if you look at many of the blogs that are written nowadays, you will find that the titles would make a tabloid editor proud. This one is yet another to add to that list.

I digress, This cake was based on one I had previously done for a family friend. I had made a hat to go on the figure, but couldn't get hold of the customer to check if they wanted it or not. I'm glad I left it, as they thought it was better without, so if anyone needs a small icing flat cap I currently have a spare.

Cheek!

2009-02-28T20:03:00.004Z

Recently, there has been one or two issues with other cake makers "borrowing " pictures from other websites and claiming the work as their own. This is both misleading and dishonest, as the implication is that the cake is their work. What makes it even worse, is that they then use a copyright warning, saying that the images belong to them.

So far I have been lucky, and managed not to have any of my pictures borrowed. The funny thing is that some of these people when approached about this, seem to think that there is nothing wrong with it, and that we should be pleased to have the extra advertising. Which would be less of an issue if we were credited with the original design.

A similar thing arises when we are asked to make character cakes, especially children's ones. The creators/ copyright owners of the Lazy town franchise (if you have small children your know what I mean), asked a cake maker to stop making cakes with the figures or logos included as they had not given permission to make the cakes with the lazy town design. The cake maker has complied with the request and has a copy of the letter they were sent on their website.

I'm not sure what answer to the copyright issue is really, Character cakes are very popular for children's birthday cakes, so I can see why some cake makers would want to make them, but without permission from the copyright holder they are running the risk of legal action. The holders of the copyright licence the characters to commercial bakeries, who pay a lot of money for the rights to make these cake, so you can see why they get upset with the small independent cake maker.

I think I'll just leave it to the legal people to sort out.

Can we fix it?

2009-02-28T19:50:00.004Z

I was asked to do a retirement cake for a builder called Bob this week, so this is what I came up with. The figure, and all the tools, including the wheelbarrow are hand crafted in a special sugarpaste, and will be able to be kept, as long as they are stored in the correct environment.

all aboard!!

2009-02-20T20:40:00.005Z

Sorry for the title, but I couldn't resist it. This was one of last weeks cakes. The recipient was really pleased with the train, and wanted to know the best way to preserve it. The most important things are to keep the sugarpaste toppers damp free, at a stable temperature, and out of direct sunlight. It did get me thinking as to how it would look using a polymer clay instead of sugarpaste. I think that when I get some spare time, I'll have a play around and see how things work out. There would be so advantages with using the clay, but I will always be a sugarpaste person at heart.

Well that makes a change

2009-02-20T20:10:00.002Z

One of the things that I have noticed recently, is the number of people selling advertising, who are suddenly very interested in my work. I've lost count of how many times I've been told that an advert "would raise my profile", or "we would love to do a feature on you" - you get the idea. Well today was different. I had a call from someone from Prefect Wedding magazine, who was quite happy to listen to my requirements, and although in this instance there was no sale on their part, it was a much more pleasant way to do things, rather than pushing the hard sell. In fact I was so impressed with this attitude that I thought I would give them a mention. Seems a little strange really- I was supposed to be advertising with them not, for them. Having said all that, I know nothing of the magazine at all, it might be the best, or the worst on the market, they just have some nice advertising sales staff.

So far this week

2009-02-11T21:06:00.009Z

It's been a fairly steady week this week, even though the snow keeps making a very unwelcome reappearance, There were 2 cake to get finished for Monday, and another 2 cakes and some topper type figures for Friday.

This was the 1st of Mondays cakes. The cake was shaped as a sofa with a model of the customers husband sat on it

The 2nd one was an 18th birthday cake. ( the 18 on the cake kind of gives you a clue ). It was similar to the 4 tier exhibition wedding cake I had done for the AECC exhibition. The girl the cake was for plays for a local ladies football team, so I had to try and get footballs into the design somewhere,but keep it quite 'girly'.