Hi ho, hi ho - it's into the New Year we go!

I hope you all had a wonderful start to 2011 with family and friends. It was a quiet one for us on the home front - struggling to keep our eyes open for the New Year fireworks. Whatever happened to partying all night long?

  Mind you, it was probably because I had been up since 4am finishing off last orders for 2010. Xmas week flew by and cakes went out as quickly as the orders kept coming in.
  The thing is that most people don't think further ahead - the amount of clients calling for last minute orders because they hadn't considered that most cake deocrators would close for a Xnas break is amazing. Or that most of my suppliers close down for this period too so orders need to be well planned out and placed ahead of the normal time consideration.

  Between the gingerbread orders, fruit cakes and then the additional ordinary birthday orders, there was little time for sleeping. I'm sure I heard Santa's sleigh pass by in the middle of the night!

 With birthday cakes for those families who need to extend party invitations to the next level - celebrating not one, not two but three events at this time of year...and we thought the rest of us had lots to do!

  Kids cakes, teenagers' and parents. Even my partners' family has three late birthdays just prior to the Xmas festivities.

   

With Summer bringing on the butterfly cakes - birthdays and Christenings for the little girls....

 

teacups for high tea celebrating a young lady's kitchen tea...

and white chocolate slats for the weddings are always fashionable. They provide a happy compromise for the couple who believe the cake is less edible if it is covered in fondant.

  A Brazilian lady who works at Mundo (Bardon: http://www.mundochurrasco.com.au/) - a wonderful churrasco style restaurant ordered the one below on the right and the reports from guests on how wonderful the cake tasted and looked were fabulous.

 Then on the other side of town - the Manager of Chumley Warner's in Birkdale (http://www.chumleywarners.com.au/) came to see me with his fiance to order this lovely black and white creation. He was nice enough to take time out the day after the wedding to ring and let me know what a big hit the cake was. I always appreciate feedback.

   For my landlady - she ordered this cake to celebrate her mother's 80th birthday. A lady who seems to have done just about everything!

 Having seen the last Twilight movie and anxiously awaiting the last: reportedly not coming out until next November!) a client requested this cake for her friend who is also a bit of a 'twi-hard' like me!

Then last but not least...was the above cake. A take on a Julie Whitehead design. Unfortunately, she was not available to make the cake for Boxing Day and so I took on the job. The cake was delivered to Palazzo Versace on the Gold Coast. With all the rain that came down during the drive, it was a cake to be prayed over to make sure it got there all in one piece...A single drop of rain on the hand-painted flowers would have streaked the cake design. The room looked extremely impressive with the cake to match.

So let's hope the New Year continues along this vein and we all remain healthy and happy. Think of all the towns that have been flooded out and keep our general safety and good luck with us.

Speak soon.

A.