Review of Lesson 2 of Intensive PME Professional Diploma in Sugarpaste

This is my review of Lesson 2 of Intensive 5 Day Course for the PME Professional Diploma Course in Sugarpaste.

The opening talk in Lesson 2 of Intensive 5 Day Course for the PME Professional Diploma Course in Sugarpaste covered awareness of a professional approach to business, including the need to find out about the health and hygiene regulations you would need to conform to if you start selling your cakes professionally, the finances of running a cake business and what to consider when taking orders and payments.

The practical session of Lesson 2 of Intensive 5 Day Course for the PME Professional Diploma Course in Sugarpaste covered cake carving, using textured rolling pins including basket weave, levelling and preparing a fruit cake for icing by use of marzipan. We also had to cover the top of the marzipaned cake with a layer of sugarpaste which we then textured, in preparation for creating an inlaid plaque in week 3.

Pillow Cake with Basket Weave Texture

For my carved cake, which had to include use of the PME basket weave rolling pin and feature the garret frill cutter, I choose to create a pillow cake. You can find the recipe for my Chocolate Cake in my Chocolate Cushion Cake post. I also used the technique of inlaying cut-outs that we had covered in Lesson 1.

I made my own template for the cushion cake. My chocolate cake recipe provides a firm cake and I made the cake the day before using it to ensure that it was firm enough for carving. Once carved into the shape of a cushion cake, I split the cake, filled it with chocolate buttercream and then crumb-coated it with a thin layer of chocolate buttercream. I covered the cake in two colours of sugarpaste. For the bottom layer, I used plain dusty pink sugarpaste, and I then used my own template to cut the fondant to shape before placing the carved cake on top of it, gently bringing up the fondant to shape around the cake. I covered the top of the cake with a layer of sugarpaste that I had coloured a light brown and textured with a basket weave rolling pin. This paste was also cut to shape before placing on the cake. I eased the two layers of sugarpaste together but was not too worried if there was a small gap, as I used my sugarpaste gun to create contrasting piping – as you would find on a real cushion.

I decorated my cushion cake with an inlaid garret frill and fabric effect flowers.

I really enjoyed this class and there was a lot of creativity demonstrated. There were 9 students in this lesson and such a variety of carved cakes were produced, including a Chinese Steamer Basket with sugarpaste sushi! It was very inspirational and there was no overlap in ideas between students at all.

You may also be interested in my other reviews of the Intensive 5 Day Course for the PME Professional Diploma Course in Sugarpaste: Lesson1, Lesson3, Lesson4, Lesson5 and Final Presentation Board and Presentation Celebration Cake.

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Review of Lesson 1 of Intensive PME Professional Diploma in Sugarpaste

PME offer a number of courses and I have recently completed the PME Professional Diploma Course in Sugarpaste.  I did this PME Professional Diploma Course in Sugarpaste as an Intensive 5 Day Course over a 5 week period at Confection Perfection in Barming, Kent.

This is a review of Lesson 1, I've also completed reviews of Lesson2, Lesson3, Lesson4, Lesson5 and of my Final Presentation Board and Presentation Celebration Cake.

Each lesson starts with a talk about an aspect of running a cake business as well as the theory of some of the techniques to be covered in that lesson. In our first lesson, we covered using sugarpaste, quantities required, colouring and coating cakes. We also looked at the use of colour in cake decorating, and were taken through the theory of using a colour wheel.

Fabric Effect Sugar Paste Flowers

Onto the practical element of Lesson 1
For basic techniques, we learnt how to level, split, fill, crumb-coat and cover a round Madeira cake. This cake was to be a technique cake – which meant that our finished cake was a Smorgasbord of different creative styling techniques including crimping edges, fabric effect sugar flowers and cutting-out basic shapes and then inlaying them with other shapes (such as circles in circles). We also learnt a number of different techniques using Creative Plaques, including how to turn them into cut little handbag toppers for cupcakes.

I liked learning how to cover a cake professionally (although this needs a lot of practise) and making the fabric flowers. I grew to appreciate the versatility of what could be achieved with Creative Plaques, although this was an expensive piece of kit that I will need to be creative with to get value for money from it. I did not like crimping edges – currently this seems to be a very old-fashioned style.

You may also be interested in my other reviews of the 5 Week Intensive PME Diploma in Sugarpaste: Lesson2, Lesson3, Lesson4, Lesson5 and Final Presentation Board and Presentation Celebration Cake. Pin It Now!

Christmas in July - House Mouse Christmas Fireplace

Just as the elusive summer finally appeared, it’s time for Christmas in July – but I hope these cute little House Mouse characters in Joanna Sheen’s Christmas Fireplace will melt your heart!  'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the House, Not a creaturing was stirring, not even a Mouse.......

Card Recipe:

Stamp: Joanna Sheen House Mouse Christmas Fireplace

Colouring Mediums: Memento Black, Promarker Pens

Paper & Card: Paper Adventures, Stardream, Elegance Satin

Tools: Martha Stewart Punches, Marianne Design Creatables dies, Big Shot, Spellbinders

Embellishments: Zva Pearl Swirls, Hand-made Pearl & Crystal Hat Pins, prima flowers, Christmas Charm, pearl brad.

I started by twice stamping House Mouse Christmas Fireplace onto Joanna Sheen's Elegance Satin Card using Momento and colouring with Promarkers to coordinate with my gorgeous Paper Adventures papers in teals and reds. I then cut out and decoupaged the candy cane, the peppermint sweet and the cute mices in their Christmas Stockings. The stockings were embellished with little pom-poms – really fun!

I created a message topper on my computer. Both this and my main image were cut out and mounted using Spellbinders Labels 2 – one of my favourites.

To ensemble, I created the backing mat from PaperAdventures and stitched the outside edge. I used a Martha Stewart snowflake punch to crate a feature border, and Marianne Creatables die for the Poinsettias which I cimbined with Prima Got Flowers. A liberal sprinkling of rhinestones followed.








To finish, I added Zva pearl flourishes, handmade crystal and pearl hatpins and a sweet Christmas Stocking charm.

 

Thanks for visiting my blog and I really appreciate all your wonderful comments.

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Chocolate Pillow Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake:
175g organic unsalted butter
160g organic golden caster sugar, divided into 115g and 45g
6 large organic free range eggs
1.5 tsp vanilla bean paste
1.5 tsp glycerine
150g sifted organic self-raising flour
25g organic fair-trade cocoa powder
225g plain organic fair-trade chocolate 70% cocoa

For the filling:
100g plain organic fair-trade chocolate 70% cocoa
140g unsalted butter
140g icing sugar

To decorate:
500g fondant icing, coloured to your theme
Fabric effect sugar flowers and leaves

This is a dense chocolate cake, suitable for cake carving, but remains moist and delicious! Adding vanilla bean paste (or a very good quality extract if you can’t get paste) adds a subtle depth of flavour to the cake. Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature.

Heat your oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Grease and line a 6” square cake tin with baking parchment. In a heat-proof bowl, break up the chocolate into small pieces and melt in either a microwave or by resting the bowl over a pan of bowling water. Set aside to cool back to room temperature.

In a food mixer, cream together the butter and 115g of caster sugar (reserving 45g for use latter) in a large bowl until light and fluffy (even with an electric mixer, this should take you at least 10mins to get to really light and fluffy!). Don’t scrimp on time at this stage – it will make such a vast difference to your finished cake. Separate your eggs, setting aside the whites to use a little latter. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time into the butter and sugar mixture, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla bean paste and glycerine – mix well. Slowly beat in the cooled melted chocolate.

In a separate bowl, whisk your egg whites to the soft peak stage. Slowly beat in the remaining 45g of castor sugar. In another bowl, sift together the flour and cocoa powder.

Using a large metal spoon and a gentle folding action, fold alternate spoonfuls of the flour/cocoa and egg whites until the mixture is well combined, but don’t over-beat.

Place in the oven. Check the cake after 45mins, it is ready when it is beautifully risen, firm to touch and a skewer comes out clean after being inserted in the middle. If the cake needs longer, check again after 10 mins.

As this is a carved cake, it is important to allow the cake to cool completely in the tin and then transfer to an airtight tin to rest for at least 12 hours before carving.

To make the buttercream, in a heat-proof bowl, break up the chocolate into small pieces and melt in either a microwave or by resting the bowl over a pan of bowling water. Set aside to cool back to room temperature. Beat the softened butter with the icing sugar with an electric beater, beating until soft and light, then slowly incorporate the cooled melted chocolate.

To assemble, carve the cake using a hand-cut template and a serrated knife. Do not split your cake until you have finished carving. Cut the cake in two and sandwich back together with the chocolate buttercream. Use the remaining buttercream to crumb coat the cake. Set aside to firm up in a cool place. Then cover with fondant icing and decorate with sugar flowers, sugar laces and garret frills.





If you have any questions, do leave a comment - or just let me know what you think!

I am entering this project into the following challenges:

Craft My Life - Anything Goes Pin It Now!

Lavender & Lace

Lavender and Lilac colours are my absolute favourites and this card is my June birthday card for a Birthday Card Swap that I run, so I hope it is well received.

Card Recipe:
Stamp: Rubber Stampede
Colouring Mediums: Memento London Fog, Promarker Pens
Paper & Card: K & Company, Stardream, Nenaah
Tools: Martha Stewart Punches, Sizzlit, Quickutz, Big Shot
Embellishments: Lace, hand-made lace flower, handmade felt heart motif, hand-made Pearl & Crystal Hat Pins, mulberry flowers

To make the card base I punched “around the page” using a Martha Stewart PAP set and inked the edges. Onto this I mounted a background page from K & Company, and used a second page to cut out the butterfly and hydrangea to decoupage up.

I stamped the Rubber Stampede Lavender image onto Joanna Sheen's Elegance Satin cardstock using Memento ink in London Fog, which gives a softer result that using black. This was coloured in with Promarkers and then I hand-stitched the border with a lavender glitter-metallic fibre.

And so to the element that is so my style: lots of hand-made embellishments! On this card, they include:

• Hand-pleated, delicate lace border on the stamped image
• Hand-made felt heart motif, cut using sizzlit dies primitive heart and embellished with mother of pearl buttons, satin ribbon and hand stitching
• Hand-made lace flower
• Hand-made butterfly hat-pin with bicone beads

To finish, I added die-cut flourishes, my decoupage flowers and butterfly, all embellished with flat-back pearls and crystals. On went my lace flower, mulberry paper flowers, felt heart motif and hatpins. I do love a lot of detail, and hope you do too!

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Damask Diva - Shaking her tail feathers!

Oh-La-La – this is a very theatrical card for a work colleague who is involved in Amateur Dramatics! There are lots of layers creating texture and, I hope, interest.

Card Recipe:

Stamp: Kanban
Colouring Mediums: Brilliance Black Pigment Ink, Promarker Pens
Paper & Card: DCWV, Centura Pearl Ivory, Stardream Black, Neenah stamping card
Tools: Silhouette Cameo, Spellbinders, BigShot Pro, The Crafter’s Workshop Mask
Embellishments: Feathers, Mulberry Gardenia, Cherry Blossoms & Rose Bud flowers, Satin Edge Sheer Ribbon 25mm, hand-made beaded Hat Pin, Crystals


I started this card making good use of my Silhouette Cameo; I made the A4 shaped card base (this is one of my favourite techniques now I have the extra long cutting mat) from Black stardream card along with the scroll frame and key. I used the mat tool to cut mats for the scroll and key from centura pearl, and I then embossed both of these in my Big Shot Pro with a 12” Crafter’s Workshop Mask.

My image is from Kanban’s Damask Divas stamp set and is one that I really love, stamped in Brilliance Black and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I couloured the main image with Promarkers, but I also stamped the bodice onto an offcut of flocked DCWV card and cut this out. To this, I then attached a fibre thread as the lacing and black feathers at the base, then mounted the bodice to my main image. I cannot lie, this was very fiddly to do, but I was pleased with the effect!


To ensemble, I mounted the scroll frame and scroll key onto their respective embossed mats and decorated with rhinestone crystals. I threaded a lovely wide cream satin edge sheer ribbon around the card base, and mounted up all the layers. The stamped image was mounted onto the paper-pieced mat, and this was mounted onto the card, ensuring that the picot edge ribbon on the mat aligned with the same ribbon on the card. The card was finished with mulberry flowers, a hand-made hat pin and ribbon bow.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:
Bunny Zoe's Crafts Challenge - Girls, girls, girls


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Ship Ahoy!

With Father’s Day fast approaching, I thought I would share my card for my dear Dad. Now my Poppy will actually be arriving in New York on the Queen Mary2 on Father’s Day (that’s the way to spend Father’s Day in my book, just wish I was there too) so a nautical theme seemed appropriate!

Card Recipe:
Stamp: Kanban
Colouring Mediums: Memento Ink Paris Dusk, Promarker Pens, white gel pen
Paper & Card: Deni Mechelle Design for PaperWhite, Elegance Satin


Tools: Spellbinders, BigShot, Martha Stewart Punch, Tim Holtz RulerEmbellishments: Raffia, miniature bottle, starfish, shells, sand

I stamped the Kanban Stamp nautical image in Memento Ink Paris Dusk onto Elegance Satin card and coloured in with Promarker Pens. I then cut the image out with a spellbinders circle die but with 2 sections coming outside the die. This was mounted onto a spellbinders scallop circle, which I then doodled a faux-stitched effect to the outer edge with white gel pen.However my needle and thread came out for real when I hand-stitched the background textured pearl card. The larger mat had one edge punched with Martha Stewart Bubbles punch to compoliment the nautical theme.

I had the perfect papers in my stash for this card, a series of nautical designs by Deni Michelle for PaperWhite.

To finish the card off, I added a “Happy Father’s Day” message to the miniature bottle (an Ebay find) part filled with sand from Dunelm Mill. The shells were also from Dunelm Mill and the starfish was also in my stash along with my raffia.


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On Your Retirement

My Mother asked me to make a “special” card for a friend of her’s that is retiring.

Special’s my kind of card making, and I love to make a coordinating box, with the card nestling in layers of tissue paper for that extra special touch.



This is also my first play with my extended Cameo Silhouette cutting mat – I used to the cut the fancy edge card blank with the matching frame. Very happy with the result. I will be using this technique again on other shapes – it was a doddle to do.




Card Recipe:
Stamp: Kanban
Colouring Mediums: Momento Ink Pad Cocoa, Brown Pigment Ink, Promarker Pens, Tattered Angels Glimmer Spritz
Paper & Card: Kanban Printed Cardstock, Stardream Opal, Opalescent Vellum
Tools: Spellbinders, Silhouette Cameo, BigShot Pro, Quickutz
Embellishments: double satin ribbon 10mm & 3mm, hand-made beaded Hat Pins, pearls, mulberry roses, gardenia & cheery blossom.

To make this card, using my Silhouette Cameo, I cut the card base from stardream cardstock, the frame from Kanban Printed Cardstock and the flourish background from Opalescent Vellum. Additional swirls were die-cut from a Quickutz die in my Big-Shot Pro from both the Kanban Printed Cardstock and Opalescent Vellum.

I then embossed an offcut of stardream card through my Big-Shot Pro using a spellbinders embossing folder. Once embossed, this offcut was paper-pieced together with an offcut of coordinating Kanban Printed Cardstock and the join was covered by a strip of double satin ribbon, then die-cut with Spellbinders Labels 1.

My brown pigment ink was not as deep as I wanted so I inked up the stamp first with a layer of Momento Cocoa and then added a layer of brown pigment ink. This was then embossed with clear powder and coloured with promarker pens. The finished image was then cut from the smaller Labels 1 die, using the ‘outside the die’ technique so that the tassle came below the cut line of the die.

I printed my greeting onto an offcut of Kanban Printed Cardstock and die-cut it out.





To ensemble, I mounted the flourish background onto the backing card, topped off with the frame and inked all the edges. The mounted stamped image and greeting were added . To embellish, I used mulberry paper rosebuds, gardenia & cheery blossom flowers, handmade HatPins, flat-backed pearls and a double-satin ribbon bow. Finally, the entire project was spritzed with Tattered Angels Glimmer Spritz, for a subtle shimmer.

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Keep Calm & Have a Bath!

And Relaxxxxxx! Girly and feminine, this card is for all ladies who love a pampering soak (and that most definitely includes me)! This multi-dimensional card also features a hidden message tab, slotted into the folds.

Card Recipe:

Stamp: Kanban

Colouring Mediums: Encore Ultimate Metallic Ink, Promarker Pens

Paper & Card: Kanban Printed Cardstock, Kanban Foiled Cardstock, Stardream Opal, plain burgundy

Tools: Spellbinders, BigShot Pro, Tim Holtz Ruler, Martha Stewart Punch Around The Page, Heat Gun, Guillotine

Embellishments: Satin-edge sheer ribbon 10mm, hand-made Pearl & Crystal Hat Pin, mulberry flowers, Pearl Brad, crystals

To make this card, using my Guillotine, I cut the card base from stardream cardstock, and the mats from Kanban printed and foiled cardstock and plain card. The hidden tab was punched out using Martha Stewart Punch Around The Page. To echo this on the front of the card, I used my Tim Holtz Ruler to pierce holes all around the edge of the top cardstock layer.

The lovely bath stamp is by Kanban image, which I inked up Brilliance Pigment and then embossed the image with clear embossing powder and a heat gun. I then coloured the image with Promarkers.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Bunny Zoe's Challenge - Ribbon or Twine
Really Reasonable Ribbon - Feminine
Stampin for the Weekend - Layers
Dream Valley Challenges - For a Special Lady
Oldie But Goodie - Dies & Punches
Crafts&Me - Favourite Colour Combo

I love to read your comments, they are a highlight of my day, so do let me know what you think of this or if you have any questions.  Thank You!

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How to Make Felt Flower Pins/Brooches

This tutorial covers how to make these simple felt flower embellishments, which can be used on cards or scrapbooks, but also turned into a brooch or hairgrip.

To make the first brooch from the left, I cut:
  From Spellbinders Rose Creations:
      2 midnight blue felt flowers, 1 printed cotton flower, 1 felt leaf and 1 linen leaf
  From Spellbinders Nested Circles and Scalloped Circles:
      1 printed cotton circle and 1 felt scalloped circle

Using a contrasting thread, I used a running stitch to attach the cotton circle to the scallop felt circle. They great thing about using spellbinders dies for this is that they leave a faint embossed edge, which is a useful guide for stitching. I ran the same outlining stitch around both leaves and then stitched them to the brooch base.

I also stitched an outline on the base midnight blue felt flower before layering the three flowers, then used a pearl brad to hold them together.

 I glued the flowers to the brooch base with Pinflair gel glue. As I’m using my flower on a card, that was my project finished, but if you want to make this into a brooch, cut 1 additional scallop circle from felt, stitch on a brooch fixing and glue to the back of the flower, to hide all the “workings”.

For this broooch, simply:
cut 2 midnight blue felt flowers, 1 printed cotton flower, 1 felt leaf and 1 linen leaf from Spellbinders Rose Creations, and 1 printed cotton circle and 1 felt scalloped circle from Spellbinders Nested Circles and Scalloped Circles.
Contrast stitch with backstitch the leaves, large felt flower and cotton circle.
Make up a coordinating Hat Pin (see my tutorial on Creating Hat Pins for more instructions on this)
Stitch flower to backing mat, then add glass pearls to centre, and finally push hat pin into place.

For this broooch, simply:

cut flowers from midnight blue felt, printed cotton and mushroom felt leaf, plus leaves in printed cotton and mushroom felt Spellbinders Rose Creations, and 1 printed cotton circle and 1 felt scalloped circle from Spellbinders Nested Circles and Scalloped Circles.
Use a running stitch around the circle and leaves.  Attach 3mm satin ribbon loops to thr leaves, and layer onto backing mat with flower.  Finally stitch a mother of pearl button to the centre.

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