Sugar & all things deliciously crafty..?

[emsworth]

Hello to all

I found this forum today by accident and its great to see so many different crafts & helpful artistic people on one website

One thing I think you could add is a forum dedicated to all things pretty and edible. I do a lot of sugarcraft and cake decorating and a tips/ideas swapping place would be muchly appreciated

emily
xx

[janetdc]

Hi. I can't make anything sugary and sweet but I do make some yummy jewellery!

[woodtattoos]

to the Forum!

Si.

[The 8th Gem]

Hi and a warm to the forum...a great idea love all the edible crafts but hate cooking lol...bought all the stuff to do a decorated cake l saw on a site was gorgeous....its still sitting there looking at me 6weeks later...ooops
Edible crafts gets my vote!
Suz

[Scorch]

Welcome, Emily!

My Mum used to make and decorate cakes for people - weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and so on, and I used to help her, back when I was a teenager. Come Christmases, we had up to 50 cakes in the house, covering every flat surface! Plus lots of party food frozen down for other people's celebrations - we even used to cater for events, loading it all in the back of our little old ex-Post-Office van.

So I can make cakes, fillings and fondant and royal icing from scratch, and do all sorts of covering and piping and novelty work. My favourite things to do were run-out work, fondant modelling, and painting in food-colouring on fondant plaques or run-outs. Mum used to do all the fancy piping work and lacework, and we'd make paste flowers together.

We made all sorts of novelty cakes, too - Viking ships, swimming-pools and lady's busts, trains and fire engines and teapots, shoes and country lakes and dragons, Wombles and Transformers and dogs and cats, and once a whole cake covered in little naked ladies in provocative poses!

Used to be fun, though it's terribly time-consuming...

[[email protected]]

Hi Emily and to the board.

I have been wanting to go into sugarpaste models for a while now but time and money have not been that kind to me.

I feel the experience I have with my fimo models would stand me in good stead for such pieces as sugar mice etc.

Would love to have a go for christmas and make some snowmen, penguines and santa's!! Who knows, I may just wake up one morning and go buy some and have a go!

Pauline

[Snow angel]

Hello and

[Scorch]

Hi Emily and to the board.

I have been wanting to go into sugarpaste models for a while now but time and money have not been that kind to me.

I feel the experience I have with my fimo models would stand me in good stead for such pieces as sugar mice etc.

Would love to have a go for christmas and make some snowmen, penguines and santa's!! Who knows, I may just wake up one morning and go buy some and have a go!

Pauline

Having seen what you can do with Fimo, I am SURE that you could do exactly the same with sugarpaste.

You can buy it in small quantities from sugarcraft shops, (or make your own, but it does require some special ingredients) and either colour it with food-colouring or paint it afterwards. If you want it to be really hard and tough, buy the sort of paste sold for modelling, or add some gum tragacanth to the usual sort. Just keep it damp while you work, and let it dry in a cool place when you're done.

You'd be really good, I'm certain! And you can eat your mistakes...

[emsworth]

Hi. I can't make anything sugary and sweet but I do make some yummy jewellery!

Ohh edible jewellery...? now there’s an idea ;P

xx

[emsworth]

Hi and a warm to the forum...a great idea love all the edible crafts but hate cooking lol...bought all the stuff to do a decorated cake l saw on a site was gorgeous....its still sitting there looking at me 6weeks later...ooops
Edible crafts gets my vote!
Suz

Haha ohh i love cooking, have since i was little, as long as someone else does the washing up You can always cheat and buy some plain sponge or fairy cakes to get you going.
I‘ve done that with a couple of things.. i bought lots of wool intending to start knitting up the most fabulous clothes and accessories and its since been donated to my cats =/
xx

[emsworth]

Welcome, Emily!

My Mum used to make and decorate cakes for people - weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and so on, and I used to help her, back when I was a teenager. Come Christmases, we had up to 50 cakes in the house, covering every flat surface! Plus lots of party food frozen down for other people's celebrations - we even used to cater for events, loading it all in the back of our little old ex-Post-Office van.

So I can make cakes, fillings and fondant and royal icing from scratch, and do all sorts of covering and piping and novelty work. My favourite things to do were run-out work, fondant modelling, and painting in food-colouring on fondant plaques or run-outs. Mum used to do all the fancy piping work and lacework, and we'd make paste flowers together.

We made all sorts of novelty cakes, too - Viking ships, swimming-pools and lady's busts, trains and fire engines and teapots, shoes and country lakes and dragons, Wombles and Transformers and dogs and cats, and once a whole cake covered in little naked ladies in provocative poses!

Used to be fun, though it's terribly time-consuming...

Sounds like my idea of heaven =) I just do it for friends and family at the moment, mainly birthday cakes. I’ve not been asked to do a wedding cake yet tho my sister’s just got engaged & i’ll be flattered if she asks me. I’m still very much a novice. I’d love to do it proffesionally one day. I don’t really have the working space at home at the moment as i’m still living with family.

It can be time consuming and frustrating as everything is so delicate, its worth it all to see people’s reactions. I love how people turn into children when you hand them a big pretty birthday cake with all stars popping out of it =)

xx

[emsworth]

Hi Emily and to the board.

I have been wanting to go into sugarpaste models for a while now but time and money have not been that kind to me.

I feel the experience I have with my fimo models would stand me in good stead for such pieces as sugar mice etc.

Would love to have a go for christmas and make some snowmen, penguines and santa's!! Who knows, I may just wake up one morning and go buy some and have a go!

Pauline

Hello =) your fimo models look great! I don’t think you’ll have any trouble, you’ve obviously got the delicate touch & patience needed.

I started out gradually... It used to be my duty to decorate the family christmas cake every year and every year they got that more & more elaborate! I bought a couple of new bits and pieces every time i made a new cake and slowly built up a collection of tools, colourings etc.

You could probably get the basics to make some sugarpaste christmas models for about £10. Just don’t confuse any fimo models you make with the sugarcraft ones and start biting their heads off!

xx

[Critchley]

Emily. One of the nice things about this forum is that our Super Mod is always open to suggestions - not impropper ones I hasten to say.
Anyway, its nice to see you. I can't say any more about all the goodies you make cos I'm on a strict diet weighing in at .......... Well, the scales just told me to get off before I cause further damage. lol.

[emsworth]

Emily. One of the nice things about this forum is that our Super Mod is always open to suggestions - not impropper ones I hasten to say.
Anyway, its nice to see you. I can't say any more about all the goodies you make cos I'm on a strict diet weighing in at .......... Well, the scales just told me to get off before I cause further damage. lol.

Haha oh dear i know that feeling! Its a craft thats not very good for the waistline.... When i first started out i was always sneaking bits of buttercream and icing scraps. So by the time someone offers you a slice of the finished articly you’re pretty much stick of the stuff. I kind of HAVE to taste it tho.. just to make sure i've not made any horrible mistakes
xx

[Scorch]

Sounds like my idea of heaven =) I just do it for friends and family at the moment, mainly birthday cakes. I’ve not been asked to do a wedding cake yet tho my sister’s just got engaged & i’ll be flattered if she asks me. I’m still very much a novice. I’d love to do it proffesionally one day. I don’t really have the working space at home at the moment as i’m still living with family.

It can be time consuming and frustrating as everything is so delicate, its worth it all to see people’s reactions. I love how people turn into children when you hand them a big pretty birthday cake with all stars popping out of it =)

xx

Heheh - yes, it was good fun. We only did it for family & friends & acquaintances, really. But when you're a teacher, like Mum was, that can add up to a LOT of people!

Workspace is always a problem, as is H&S these days. Your kitchen will not, no matter how clean and lovely it is, meet the H&S standards for a commercial kitchen, as they're impossibly high... and so you can't really sell stuff officially.

But it's a lovely craft to do, as people are so happy with what you've made them. I remember kiddies refusing to cut cakes 'cos they liked them so much. It got so that if I painted a picture on a cake, we'd put it on a removable plaque to save the tears!