Saturday 22 December 2012

Festive Fling!


It's nearly Christmas and soon after it will be 2013! Where has the time gone?! The poor blog has not been updated for months! Rest assured i am still active and been caketopping all year! I suppose it's true to say that i find it easier to update my facebook page with new photos or unusual cake top stories. So please do stop by there if you would like to keep tabs on caketopland!

Also, for all you Summer and Autumnal Brides who may be keen to order a cake top during 2013, please be aware that due to an extended break that i shall be taking i will have limited availability for caketop making next year. I shall be taking some time off from May onwards, so if you may like to order a cake top for this time or later in the year please get in touch by early January or February and we can discuss the finer details and book you into the diary. Brides who may be in touch after february i will try and accomodate if possible but, as i say, i will have limited availability. Contact me at info@caketops.co.uk
Here's wishing you a wonderful holiday season wherever you may be, and i look forward to hearing your wedding bells if they are due to ring in 2013!


Helen

Sunday 17 June 2012

there's a moose loose...

Well, time has flown in now that is well and truely wedding season.... but it's not just been wedding bells that have been ringing here, you know. There has been some tambourine shaking and trumpet or two being tooted! Oh yes! You'd need big ears to hear it tho...



This was a couple of special characters made for Little Venice Cake Co, check out my 'how they were made' photo diary on facebook here...

Wednesday 11 April 2012

answers on a postcard please...

Well, it's the age old question and one which many a kilted fella enjoys when those curious ladies do thier best to find out... Still now there can be no doubt!!

Sunday 18 March 2012

and the answer is...

Recently i was contacted by a past customer, journalist and film critic, Jen Kilchenmann who asked if i would answer some questions about my work for a piece she wanted to put together. I gave Jen big rambling answers and lots more than she needed for her article i think!!! Here are my answers to her questions in full, and you can read her resulting piece in SoSoGay Magazine.
Can you tell me a bit about your background?
I studied Animation at Edinburgh College of Art, and when I left I didn’t have any real career path in mind. I spent a bit of time travelling and having adventures and in between times worked at The Finishing Touch, a party and cake decoration supplies shop, and then The Cake and Chocolate Shop (now closed)`, both in Edinburgh and both founded by Fiona Forder. Fiona was a wonderful woman who was very generous with her time and knowledge, and encouraged me to learn about cake decoration, which was one of her passions, and she taught me a lot about running a business too. Due to my animation background Fiona thought I would be good at modeling in marzipan and sugar so offered me a job at The Cake and Chocolate Shop, even though I had never iced a cake in my life! I ended up decorating up to 3 or 4 cakes a day for 2 years or so, learning alot in a very short time about cakes!
 
Why cake tops?
I never was very ambitious, but I did always hope that one day I would live in the Highlands and work from home, doing something creative. That thing turned out to be caketops. It just sort of fell into place as it combined my experiences doing animation at College, where I made models as part of my study, and my time spent working at the cake shop and being introduced to the world of cakes and of course wedding cakes in particular. I made a whole lot of marzipan figures for wedding cakes when I worked there! After a request from Mag at The Finishing Touch, I made some kilted bride and grooms from wood, fabric and polymer clay, as grooms wearing kilts were hard to find at the time, and much sought after in Scotland as you can imagine! Making the caketop figures from more permanent materials was ideal as it meant they could be posted of course and they could be kept too, as a memento of the day. So I started to make lots with different kilts and different hair colours and would sell them to shops, and it grew from there. Now I do live in a little highland cottage and potter away making all sorts of caketops, it soon got a lot more personalized than just different kits and hair colours!
What is the craziest cake top you've been asked to create?
I tend to mainly stick to making human figures so they don’t get too crazy really. They are often personalized with something to do with work or hobby- I’ve done a groom in full riot police uniform which made me laugh as I wondered what must his guest list be like if he really did turn up on the wedding day wearing that?! I do sometimes accept stranger requests or challenges if it is for friends, family or if you catch me on a good day and I just fancy making that caketop! Often if it is something really tricky it may mean it would be expensive, as it’s all about how long it would take for me to make it rather than the actual cost of materials. I made a bride and groom riding a moped for friends, and it took nearly three days to complete. Making the moped out of polymer clay was painstaking to get right, but I enjoyed making it. Doing something because it is good fun is sometimes just as important, and you can learn a lot too.
I do a few commissions a year for The Little Venice Cake Company in London. I was lucky as during my first few years of doing caketops I contacted Mich Turner at Little Venice, who was herself a fairly new company and has since grown to become cake decorator to the stars!! Over the years I have made figures for footballers and their brides, Russian millionaires, TV and film parties, and a bride and groom for a top secret music couple’s big day. Oh and possibly my crazyiest request is due to Little Venice too, I made the green picket fence which Mich used on the wacky cake she made for the movie Nanny McPhee!
 
How long does it take to make a pair of cake tops?
The time it takes to complete a cake top really varies, if the cake top is just two figures it can maybe take 4 or 5 hours. If they are wearing complicated outfits, have pets or props to signify hobbies or career, then it’s all extra time to do as I make the majority of things myself and by hand. Dogs and cats are modeled and painted, individual flowers are handmade, beads on dresses are hand sewn, mini football scarves are knitted! The only things I buy already made are some dollshouse items such as musical instruments, real glass wine glasses and bicycles! Generally if I can make it I will.
What occasions would one need a cake top for, surely not just a wedding?!
Weddings keep me really busy so I don’t usually do other occasions, and it is my most requested occasion anyway -partly due to costs. I think people will buy a cake top for a wedding as it’s a big celebration, their guests will all get a kick out of it, and it’s also something they can keep forever to remind them of the day. But other special birthdays or occasions do come up from time to time and people want something special to help them mark that day too. As I have been making caketops a long time now I have had some past customers contact me and ask if I can do a christening caketop! So I do those too, although it makes me feel old!!! It is nice to hear from past customers who come back again and you know you must have done a good job for them to return! One past customer contacted me to make a 40th birthday cake top for her husband, and it had alot of fun things on it to do with his hobbies and work. That along with their wedding cake top she had organized in secret and it was a surprise for him. Then, when it was her 40th birthday, her husband contacted me and asked if I could make one for her! She had a surprise too and it was great fun to be involved making those caketops for a lovely couple’s special occasions!
How much advance warning would you ideally need for a wedding cake top?
Generally I’m busiest from April through to September and for those months as much notice as you can. I do have regular wee holidays and am usually falling behind my ideal schedule come June! So its always good to be in touch as soon as you know you really would like one, but perhaps haven’t yet decided on all the details for it. You can be slotted into my diary so you have a spot reseved, and we can discuss ideas and I can give you a quote. I will do last minute requests for caketops if I can, but sometimes it’s just not possible.
 

Tuesday 28 February 2012

Fairy magic!

Now, it is true that the webmaster has often been mistaken for an elf, hobbit and on occasion a fairy... but in this case it is most definitely NOT her... No, this time the magic belongs to young Elizabeth who, when no one is looking, likes to flutter about and sprinkle fairy dust! Oh yes, i'm sure of it!!! lol!

Fairy magic is powerful stuff.... look what it did to cousin Toby!! Why, he's standing in a starburst!!

















These figures are all completely modeled using polymer clay. They are a bit different from my usual bride and grooms ( which use a combination of wood, fabric and clay) and can take some time to do- depends on the complexity of the figure. Prices are upon request. Have a look at my facebook page for more images and feel free to contact me if you have any queries or if you would like to discuss ideas.

Thursday 2 February 2012

a little birdie told me...

tweet tweet!!! Ha!! I'm on twitter these days... well i'm a lazy tweeter actually as i have it set to automatically tweet my facebook posts. I thought i should make more effort to plug into this social networking lark (what more birds?!) that everyone is into these days... In fact i have to say facebook is great, i've been enjoying checking the caketops fan page and trying not to become hooked on how many new 'likes' i may or may not have lol!! So far, i am successfully not counting... however saying that there will be a MASSIVE PARTY if we ever ever make it to 1000!! hee heee!

Facebook is great tho i have to say. Until i started paying more attention to it a few months ago, i never knew that there were so many cake lovers out there, globally meeting up with a simple click on facebook. In fact so many creative souls of all kinds (whether it be work, hobby or obsession!), posting photographs, information, tutorials and all sorts of interesting bits and bobs. Gosh, to think it wasn't so long ago that we used smoke signals to comunicate, lol.

On facebook, you can loose hours easily, beware!! Ha!! Just yesterday the webmaster introduced me to 'Smörgåstårta' via facebook, i think actually i may be one of the few folks who hadn't heard of it before. It's pretty cool, however from what i can tell, even tho its a form of sandwich a popular ingriedient seems to be everything fishy. I am not a seafood lover, so if we have a Smörgåstårta at our facebook party for 1000 likes, we may need to come up with a slightly different version....

Anyway, i digress. The real reason i entitled this post was 'a little birdie told me' was because i have made a cute cake top for a pidgeon fancier groom and his lovely bride. Of course i was trying to be clever with a birdy title, then i said 'tweet' and then off i flapped on a tangent... still, here is the caketop, and i'll pop it on facebook too, and then it will automatically tweet itself, (our pidgeon would love to nibble on some Smörgåstårta while he's over there.... ) and then you see, it all works out in the end!

Congratulations to our happy caketop couple!!

Saturday 28 January 2012

website back online!

Hooray!! After some difficulty, the website is now back up and running... whew! All it took was a fella at the end of the phone to put me on hold for two minutes and then he came back on and said it was fixed. And it was! Yay! So all good. http://www.caketops.co.uk/ is all systems go!
I am still to catch up properly with all emails after being away on holidays, i should be back on track soon.... oh its all go, even with the website being in a huff, and i have a cold...!!!

On the last day of my holiday, i knew that caketops were bekoning, as i saw these in an antiques market, and i started to think again of all of you!!

Wednesday 25 January 2012

RETURNED!

Hello world! Back now after a lovely wee holiday, all recharged and ready to make lots of caketops! First thing on my list today however was to sort out the website- now who forgot to renew the web pack thingy??!! So if you have been looking for the website it has be unavailable the last couple of days, but should be back in buisness by this evening. You may have/had trouble emailing me via my 'info' address so instead you can use caketops@btinternet.com i will be catching up with all emails over the next few days. Anyway nice to be back and busy.... no more beach or stork watching for a while...i shall make do with hairy coos and sheep instead!

Monday 9 January 2012

HOLIDAYS!!


HOLIDAYS!!! Yes i'm off to the sun for a few days so please forgive any delay in replying to emails or comments you may post over on facebook. I will try to keep an eye on my email inbox whilst away, but will be back around the 25th of January when i will catch up properly with everyone caketopwise! If you haven't had a reply by 1st of February then please do chase me up, full contact details are on my website ....
If you have a caketop request for mid to late February time and haven't been in contact already, i may still be able to fit you in. Ring me on my return, and if emailing please type 'URGENT' in the subject line so i spot it in amongst all the spam!!
Looking forward to lots of caketop making fun in 2012, till then bon voyage!!

Friday 6 January 2012

Happy New Year!!

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful holiday time and so far so good for 2012! Wishing all the very best to all of you! For me, January is a time to answer emails, but this January is also a time to be on holiday! Yes, away i go from this chilly, windy, wet, and generally driech northern land, and its a wee trip to a slightly warmer land- where no doubt unseasonal weather will set upon us!! Ha!! No! Indeed i am packing my bucket and spade so lets hope for the chance to use it.... So while i will try to stay on top of emails this month, please forgive any late replies. I shall catch up properly by the 1st of February, and if you haven't heard back from me by then, please do chase me up!

So, this December time was great fun for me. I was able to make some cakes and have a go at making Gingerbread Houses for the first time. I found alot of inspiration on the web... Wow! Don't people make wonderful things- and you even get to eat them afterwards! I made a big lump of gingerbread dough, which i rolled thin and thinner still in the quest to find out the secret to how thin or even thinner it actually needs to be. It does need to be pretty thin if you are making something small i discovered... Also, important to note the thickness of walls when sizing a roof! AND, trim it when its warm! AND, royal icing doesn't like to stick to crumbs, AND it doesn't take as long as you might think in the oven at all, (note that gingery burning smell....), AND more practice needed to make see thro sugar windows.....

Here was my first attempts at making something out of gingerbread... you can see my progress from left to right, and how tight my roofs were- they needed more overhang! In the end i successfully made a mini birdhouse, mini house and a bigger house. I had LOTS of spare bits and test bits, but they proved good for munching on while pondering that roof issue...

 The mini birdhouse went onto a mini cake, for my bird loving Uncle. I was going to put robins all over it, but thinking about it i decided a jolly festive flamingo would add a dash of bright colour and maybe raise a smile or two. Plus it would look cute in a scarf and hat.

The big gingerbread house was for my Uncle and Auntie and family, and it I made up as i went along. I think next time i may try and make one which is more cartoon like, or with either just pastel or primary colours. I would have liked it to have been more dramatic! It turned out a bit Hansel and Gretel i think and perhaps needed a chimney....!!

The last cake i made was finished on Christmas Eve for my folks, and this one i had been thinking of for ages and as it happened was the one i had least time left to spend on. I wanted it to be a bit nordic looking, with red and white and reindeer! I had looked on etsy for colours and pattern inspirations and had a lovely ribbon picked out!

Also i had aquired a fine collection of cutters which i was determined to use. Have you spotted that TK Maxx always have a random selection of cake decorating equiptment and bits and bobs these days?  PME and Wilton among the brands you can find there.
After discovering this I had set my Mum on the hunt for PME holly leaf plunger cutters. Dedicated Mum that she is, three TK Maxxes later she found them! (not all in the one day of course, this took her weeks, with various other cutters bought along the way!! lol!, plus she lives in 'civilization', so the TK Maxxes were closer together....) So of course my folk's cake had to make good use of all the cutters, although not the holly leaf ones- they got used on everything but!!

So, it's been a full cake Christmas for me this year. It's really the only time of year i experiment a bit with some cake making and sugarcraft decoration. In years past i used to work as a cake decorator where i made about 3 or 4 cakes in a working day, whew, i was always sticky!! Ha!! So these days i reserve the kitchen chaos and sticky floors to December only. Well, more or less...

I hope you have had a wonderful cake filled Christmas and New Year, and here's wishing you and yours all the best and more of the same in 2012!! xxx