A personalised anniversary cake

 

Wow! I thought work might be winding down on the run up to Christmas but it seems to have gotten much busier.

 

My mind is turning to thoughts of baking for all the family events we are attending this year. I am going to make some fantastic home made shortbread mince pies. I'll share the recipe and the result here.

 

But, for this week, I thought I might share some baking I did for my my in laws wedding anniversary a few months ago.

 

We went out for a lovely dinner at Lachlans Old Government House (also a wedding menu tasting whilst we were there - I can't wait to get married because the food there is yummy!).

 

Here's Di and Neil on their wedding anniversary.

 

 

I decided to make a unique cake for them so I personalised it by creating their heads from fondant icing (I have a great recipe for vegetarian fondant icing - again, will share in another post).

 

Ha, Ha! What do you think? A good likeness?

 

 

You could try making your kids and your kids friends for their birthday cakes. It's really fun.

 

There's n need to make separate batches of icing in different colours.

 

I just made a big batch of white fondant icing then pulled off bits the size I needed, rolled them into balls, dipped the balls in food colouring and worked them with  my fingers until the colour blended well.

 

Then  I rolled the icing and used cookie cutters to cut the hearts and a small knife to cut out the face and hair shapes.

 

I finished it off some edible balls as eyes and earring then wrapped a bow around it.

 

It made a great dessert when we got back from dinner.

 

 Is it wrong to eat your in laws??

How to make a cheap & cute summer dress out of an old singlet

I am the first to admit that I am a complete novice when it comes to sewing. My fiance bought me a sewing machine last Christmas. I really wanted a sewing machine and I was delighted. At the time, all I wanted to do was make some giant cushions for my Balinese day bed.

Anyone who knows me, probably knew that, once I got started on sewing, cushions would never satisfy me. I instantly wanted to be able to sew a lot more.

One little problem though....I am terribly impatient! I don't want to waste time in sewing classes making things that I will never use, never want and probably can't even fob off onto other people as gifts (not anyone I'd like to keep as a friend anyway).

So, instead, I started some trial and error sewing projects. Some are completely made up in my own head and others I base on really useful blogs and tutorials that can be found on the web.

I've made about 5 dresses now, all different styles. This is my most recent. I'll post some others and how to make them in later blogs.

This one is based on fantastic instructions posted here:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-An-Easy-Dress-For-Cheap/

My singlet cost nothing. It's an old one that I accidentally splashed bleach on the bottom and couldn't wear anymore. I cut off the bleached bit so you wouldn't even know.

The material I used cost just AU$3.95 per metre. I just looked for cheap fabric in a little store near work that had similar colours to the singlet. I think it's a cotton/polyester mix. I put the dress through the washing machine quite a few times and it's come out well.

When I was sewing it, I made a few changes that I'll explain below.

Roses Decor
I made roses or the top of the dress so it might look less like a sports singlet attached to a skirt.
I used the piece of the singlet that I cut off the bottom. Cut it into 1 inch strips and rolled the strips.
Once secured with a bit of thread, they were simple to sew on and they've stayed on through a few washing machine cycles now.

Elasticated Waist
A few people made comments on the tutorial that it was difficult for a bigger busted girl to pull the dress on over their head as the waist did not allow for any stretch.

To avoid this, I cut a piece of 1 inch thick elastic to about the same circumference of my waist, allowing for a little stretch.
Before I sewed the skirt to the top, I bunched the skirt  waist along the elastic, pinned it and sewed it in a straight line with a zig zag stitch.
Then I sewed the top to both the skirt and the elastic.
It worked perfectly.

But of course, after successfully making a really cheap dress, I realised I had to buy some shoes to match it....if only i knew how to make shoes!

Creative Outlets Blog Begins!

I never imagined myself as a Blogger! But here I am. Hi, I'm Sally.

Why am I starting a blog?

I'd love to connect to like minded people. I think there's a lot of us out there. Perhaps not as manic or unusual as me :)

I have a great life. I have travelled the world and experienced many things. I live in Sydney Australia and make the most of the beautiful weather, outdoors, BBQs, parks and beaches. I have a wonderful fiance and three beautiful puppies.

 

I'm really happy.

But, there's a piece of me that I always feel I under utilise.

I work in an office. Great job, lovely people. But I leave the office feeling like I have something on the inside bursting to come out. I have energy and focus and imagination that cannot be used or harnessed in the workplace.

So I fill the gap with projects. My own projects. Lots of different projects. I try stuff. I do stuff. I feel a sense of achievement when I complete stuff. And sometimes I just stuff things up!

I'd like to share some of my projects on this blog. If anyone ever reads my blog and you like some of my projects, I'll share how I did it, where my ideas come from and how I see them through.

And, if nobody reads it, that's OK too. I tried my hand a blogging. I'll be happy with that.