CreativFestival - Toronto

This is the cake that CSSA (Canadian Society of Sugar Artists) members created for the entrance of the CreativFestival in celebration of the Festival's 25th Anniversary.  

And in the background, hanging on the curtain is my Flower Quilt.

The cake represents crafts and hobbies that have been featured over its 25 years:  quilting, scrapbooking, jewelery making, doll making, knitting, crochet, embroidery, smocking, and cake decorating, etc.

And this is me with my Flower Quilt at the same show.  My quilt made it into the 10 finalists in the Quilt Category! 

When the large cake was being discussed I volunteered to make the sugar "quilt" to go with the sewing machine.  Verdie (my cake partner) and I worked on it last week and Glenys (the big cake coordinator) and I manoevered it into place onto the sewing machine.

Here it is, the sugar quilt on the sugar sewing machine.

All these are made from sugar - knitting, jewelery, dolls, painting.

Cake mixer, scissors, buttons, cake decorating items.

Canada Blooms 2012

One of my "sugar" groups, CSSA had a booth at Toronto's Canada Blooms Show this past month.  It was our prize for winning the best booth in the show last year.  Can you imagine, sugar flowers winning over real ones.  That just shows how realistic our creations are!  We were a little tight on space this time, so we had to scale down our exhibit.  And because one aspect of the show was supporting a cure for cancer, our booth was designed with that in mind.  

Our booth with our President, Eduarda, a lady with so many great ideas and the ability to put them into action. 

Our members were given the task to fill a yellow plantpot with sugar flowers in honour of someone who is a survivor, being treated for, or who has passed due to cancer.  The response was great and very touching.  

It was a really interesting display and there was the usual amount of astonishment when visitors discovered that the flowers were all made from sugar.

My friend Verdie and I spent a good part of one day demonstrating.  It's fun to produce a life-like rose in front of folks who have not seen the sugar version before!

Preparing for "Canada Blooms" Garden Show

 

Our group, Canadian Society of Sugar Artistry (CSSA) will have a booth at the garden show "Canada Blooms" in the middle of March.  One of the exhibits will be a six tier cake decorated in sugar flowers all handmade by members.  Verdie and I are working on the peony tier.  Lisa (Flour Confections in Pickering) is our team leader.  This past Sunday we worked in Lisa's amazing shop and produced these spectacular peonies. 

Here's Lisa covering up the foam "buds" with gumpaste petals.  This takes three small petals first to cover the Styrofoam, then three and then five petals of the next size. 

This is the bud with eleven petals.  Add a calyx and this would be a bud.  Most of them will need another ten to 15 petals to complete the flower.

 

Kathi and Stefani are making the larger two sizes of petals on wires.  They are drying in a plastic former that has a hole for the wire to go through.  A better system than the apple trays I was using!

The petals have been tooled and shaped and are drying.





These are peony leaves, tooled to thin their edges.  They are drying on the foam to give them a more natural look.

These are the cutters we used for the leaves and petals

The next two photos are of Lisa's shop.  It's well stocked with great cutters and cake decorating toys.  All the tools we used to make the peonies she sells.  Here's a link to her website Flour Confections



Verdie is adding the larger petals on wires to the buds.



The inside of an open peony is filled with stamens.  Lisa is holding the inside of one peony.



An open peony finished.



It was a lot of fun and those flowers are really lovely.  Can't wait to see the cake.  But that won't be until the middle of March and I'll post some more photos then.

Baby Competition Cake

CSSA's 2009 Cake Competition was held past weekend in Toronto. There were a total of 48 entries in the various levels of Wedding Cakes, Baby Theme, Birdhouses and Sculpted Cake.

It was an amazing show of talent and pictures of the cakes have been posted on CakesCanada's website, and will also be on the Canadian Society of Sugar Artistry's website.
I participated with a baby cake and received a 3rd place in the Master's Class.

Even with sugar, I can't get away from stitching! If you look closely, there is a patchwork blanket and the hood of the cradle is battenburg lace.

The cradle hood

Sick Kids Fundraiser

A couple of weeks ago CSSA (Canadian Society of Sugar Artistry) got together to decorate gingerbread houses for Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. Various businesses sponsored a decorated house by donating a specified amount of money (the larger the house, the bigger the donation), and CSSA members did the decorating. Decorating was an all-day event. Many of our members baked all the components before the date, while other members came prepared with sugar cone trees, small icing wreaths and candles for the windows, and various gingerbread and modelled folks. The finished houses are on display until Christmas at the Markville Mall, McCowan and Hwy. 7, in Markham.

Here are a few photos: This is the log cabin. Verdie and I worked on this. The MansionThe Garden Centre

The Golf Shop

Train Station

Train, sponsored by our GO Train (Govt. of Ontario Train)

The Bakery

I think this might be a gift store.