WORKSHOPS IN AUSTRALIA...REGISTER YOUR INTEREST NOW!

What I mean is....I can offer just as much in any of my classes than what I do in Bride and Groom workshop.  The wedding couple is ever popular and I completely appreciate that.  If I personally didn't love creating them so much then I would be out of business as the majority of my wedding cake requests are for the personal touch.  Each one the same subject but very much different in the dress style, hair and colour.  All of them unique, all of them fabulous.....and many a happy bride for sure.  When I offered the Bride and Groom workshop for my visit to Austin, Texas....I had no idea that it would fill in extraordinary quick time.  There are a few disappointed people among you but please be assured that a return visit is on the cards so you may still register your interest with Capital Confectioners making sure you let them know it is for future classes you are enquiring.  There are still some spaces available on the other classes.  The "Daddy and Me" workshop offers so much use of techniques and skill and has as much to offer as the Bride and Groom workshop so don't feel disappointed....sign up for this one and sieze the opportunity to pick my brain when you have me in Austin FACE TO FACE!!  Believe me, I don't intend to travel so far and not share my skills with you.  Take advantage....I would!

Finally today The Icing on the Cake presents the fifth in the series of How To's....Puppy Love!  Enjoy!

The new tutorial is called "Puppy Love" and features...as the title plainly tells you!....a puppy with a kneeling boy.  My techniques for making my characters are always being improved as I work on finding perfection....I wonder if that will ever happen!   The new tutorial shows some added detail in the making of facial features and I show you, as usual, with the help of an abundance of photographs so that you won't miss anything.  The tutorial is due for release on the 27th June and details will be announced on my blog a few days before.  I always enjoy putting the tutorials together.....I hope you all enjoy it too!  Thank you so much to everyone who has purchased and used my previous tutorials.  I thank you all for sharing your work with me and who have joined my Flckr group to show the world what can be done with online lessons.  You all make me so proud.

This is my darling little Barney....he is a Lhasa Apso and was born in November 2007.  He has had his first hair cut and is looking every inch the loveable rogue that he is.  Although he will never replace my beloved Yorkie, Fitz, who I lost on Boxing Day last year, he has helped tremedously in easing the pain.  Fitz will always be with me.  I think about him every day.  Barney is so lively and such a cheeky boy.....he makes me laugh and that can only be good.  It is so good to have him around!    

I have been approached with the possiblity of doing workshops in Australia.  I can't give too many details at this point but first of all and most importantly, I need to know if the trip would be worthwhile for me.......what I mean is, would anyone turn up to have a workshop with me??   I have posed the question on Cake Central forums http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-585129.html so if you are from Australia and are a member of CC, please do leave your comments.  I'm thick skinned, I can take the bad with the good!

 

As you already know, I am doing workshops in Texas this October and the response to those has been tremendous.  There will now be 5 workshops available in Austin and I am thrilled about that.  If I could repeat this in Australia I would be doubly thrilled!

I just want to clarify the offer of 4 tutorials for the price of 3.  The offer is.....buy Character, Bear Hugs and Sweet Dreams tutorials and I shall send the Baby Topper tutorial FREE.  DO NOT ADD BABY TOPPER TO YOUR PAYPAL SHOPPING BASKET WHEN BUYING THE OTHER 3.  The e-mails containing the links and passwords are not automatically sent but are done by me personally.  When I receive a notification of payment for the 3 mentioned tutorials I add the Baby Topper tutorial to the order.  Please also bear in mind that I am in Scotland and our time differences mean that while I am checking mail first thing in the morning then you may still be tucked up in bed.  I check mail at least 3 times a day to specifically deal with the orders so I guarantee that the tutorials will be with you within 24 hours.  If you do not have the orders withing that time scale, please do check your junk mail and spam folders to see if they have by any chance landed there without you noticing.

 

I have sent many refunds because of overpayment which may be my own fault in the way I have worded the offer and caused confusion.  But the offer says "BUY Character, Bear Hugs and Sweet Dreams tutorials and GET the Baby Topper free"  I hope that helps.  If you have any queries at all please do let me know.  I can be reached through www.lorraine-icingonthecake.co.uk or www.extraicingdemonstrationsandworkshops.blogspot.com 

 

Thank you so much to everyone for your purchases, your appreciation, your kindness and friendship.  I really do appreciate it.

 

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!

I've had a wonderful invitation to teach in Austin, Texas and will be landing on US soil in October!   The classes will take place on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th October.  Sooooo.....all of you lovely Texans who write to me.....I'M COMING TO MEET YOU!!    The venue has yet to be confirmed but as soon as I know I shall post it here.  I am thrilled to bits!

This should be a lot of fun....a new forum for cake enthusiasts with a good sense of humour and a willingness to share.  I know many of the people on this new forum and can guarantee you that you will have a bundle of fun getting to know them too.  Take a look and see what you think.  Another place to hang out and you'll always find me there too. Crafty Sugar Crafters

I am loving every minute of my workshops I have to say and I know my students are enjoying them too.  So far, I have only had one workshop on a Saturday and am often asked why I don't do all of them on a weekend instead of during the week.  So here is how my working week goes and how I spend my weekends and hopefully you will understand a little bit more.  As you know, I am a carer for a young man (Paul) with complex special needs.  I only see Paul on a Monday so that day is ours, it is not a cake day but sometimes if I have to catch up with something, Paul will patiently allow me to do this while he entertains me with his sing-a-long DVD's.  The remainder of the week is taken up with either cake orders, scheduled workshops or demonstrations.......sometimes all three!  By Friday, I make sure that I am up to date with any sugar work required for the cakes in the coming weeks.  Anything that can be done in advance, I try to do to save me time nearer the cake's due date.  As well as this, I have to spend a couple of hours in the mornings dealing with mail which ranges from enquiries, tutorial purchases, requests for help and many, many thank you's and photographs from grateful customers.  That cheers me up no end and sets me up for the day ahead I have to say. 

 

When my grandson Daniel was born premature with Downs Syndrome and heart difficulties, I vowed then that my work load would lessen and that my weekends would now be dedicated to my family and especially my grandsons.  My workshops and demonstrations have allowed me to take on less cake orders which has cut down the stress of having to get things out on time and has certainly put an end to late, late nights of cake decorating.  I now have a personal life again and I cannot apologise for taking the decision to ensure the weekends would always belong to the boys. 

 

Now and again I will offer a weekend workshop but I have to tell you that I live for the weekends and being with the boys.  Daniel is growing in strength but he still needs a lot of help.....and so does my daughter.  All mums need a break and I am just so grateful that I can do this for her.

 

I have many plans for the coming months and when I have more details I will certainly be shouting about it on my blog.  There are more tutorials in the pipeline for sure.  This year at the NEC in Birmingham, I won't be competing for the first time because I will be demonstrating modeling with Regalice Professional Sugarpaste instead.  I'll bet when the time comes I will change my mind and enter SOMEthing in the competition too!  We'll see.

 

So there you have it.  My life is busy, busy, busy.  You can't please everyone all of the time but if I can please some people, some of the time then I am doing something right.  Thank you for your understanding and if you ever need me you know I am just an e-mail away!

 

Cheers!  

More workshop dates are now scheduled.  Have a look at www.extraicingdemonstrationsandworkshops.blogspot.com and see if there are any classes that you wish to attend.  I have a 2 day workshop coming up in July which will cover making a bride and groom.  The dates have yet to be confirmed as I have an Australian visitor attending and as soon as she knows the exact dates of her arrival I shall get the dates finalised and a class up and running.  This class will be best suited for those who already have some degree of modeling skills.  You don't have to be an expert....but you will be by the time you leave my class! Book now for this one in advance to secure a place.

I thought I'd put another little video together so I planned to make one of these cupcake toppers.  However, against the clock and trying to keep the file to the size required for Howcast and You.Tube....not to mention the bloopers and outtakes, I ended up having to make 7 of these in total and a five minute video took me about 2 hours to get done! I hope the effort to get it seen was worth it!  Have you heard of Howcast?  If not go look it up www.howcast.com  You'll find an incredible selection of videos on every subject.  Be prepared to get addicted! 

I am now giving away "Baby Topper tutorial" FREE when you buy "Character", "Bear Hugs" and "Sweet Dreams" together.  I send these tutorials personally to you so please do allow a 24 hour delay (although it's never that long) to allow for the time difference between those of you across the pond and me here in Scotland.  A complete project absolutely FREE when tutorials 2,3 and 4 are purchased.  Go on.....have a look!   http://www.lorraine-icingonthecake.co.uk/masterclasses/tutorials.htm

At last, my latest tutorial is ready!  Check it out at www.extra-icing.blogspot.com  It's a cutie!

My workshops are doing extremely well I'm happy to say.  The only problem is that time goes by much too quickly and the fun has to end!  New workshops are scheduled for February and March so go have a look on www.extraicingdemonstrationsandworkshops.blogspot.com and see if there are any you might be interested in.  I'd love to see you there!

Since I started putting together the little You.Tube videos, I receive just as much mail about my accent as I do about my work!  Just to satisfy those who want to hear me talk about ANYthing, I put this together...I doubt if there will be another, but I hope you enjoy it!  

On Boxing Day my little Yorkshire Terrier died.  I am still numb with shock although I knew he hasn't been himself lately.  He had been slowing down a little, something we put down to his age.  He was 12 years old but still very much a puppy to us in many ways.  He was going about his business normally every day and still followed me around all the time so no real cause for concern but the plan was to visit the vet once Christmas was over.  We just got our Daniel home from hospital on the 20th and had spent much of December running back and forth to hospital to visit him and his mum (my daughter) and the journeys were long and because of the time of year, most of the time we were stuck in hellish traffic jams.  However, the visits were worth it and as we were looking after Andrew, our 2 year old grandson, it was great to be able to take him to see his mum and his brother for a little while so that he knew they were okay.  Andrew's birthday was the day after Daniel's release from hospital so it was all systems go to get his cake organised and to get on with Christmas shopping.  My little dog, Fitz, was so patient and waited his turn for attention during this time.  Daniel is recovering extremely well and we were looking forward to him coming to us with his family for Boxing Day.  Our Christmas Day was the usual presents, dinner and over indulging in sweet things.  Fitz joined in the festivities and was bringing his toys for us to play with him which we thought was strange as lately he hadn't much interest in them.  We were happy to see him wanting to join in with everyone.  On Boxing Day, he was pretty poorly in the morning so we left him to lie in his bed as we normally did when he wasn't well, making sure he had a drink and was comfortable, checking on him now and again.  The last time I checked on him he had tried to get out of his bed and just collapsed onto the floor and had been very sick.  I ran a warm bath to clean him up while my husband called the emergency vet.  When I lifted Fitz, he was so weak and was just looking at me with such sad eyes.  I gently bathed him and dried him off, wrapped him warmly and held him in my arms for the journey to the vet.  I was hoping that he would get some kind of injection to ease his pain and we would perhaps get some medication to bring home to make him well.  This wasn't to be.  We had left the family in my house saying that we wouldn't be long before we returned but I never imagined that I would be going home without my Fitz.  The vet took an x-ray of him and found an enormous tumour in his stomach.  He had been treated for stomach upset just a couple of months before.  We asked how this could possibly be but she said that these things can grow rapidly and a normal check up would not detect it some weeks ago.  She also said that we were lucky that my little dog did not suffer up until this moment as some dogs can be so poorly and go through a lot of exploratory operations before they finally have to go.  I didn't feel very lucky at all.  She told us in the best way she could that we would have to let our poor dog go.  He couldn't stand up and his little body had given up.  This was all to quick for me and I could not take it in.  I went to pieces on the spot.  We were given some time to let it sink in and to take our last cuddles before she ended his pain.  I held his paw and stroked his head, telling him I loved him so until he couldn't hear me any more.  I am devastated and empty without my Fitz.  I have never cried so much in my life and I doubt I have cried my last.  I know that time will heal...at least that's what I keep telling myself.