AOh my goooooooddddddd!!!!

Mercia beaucoup really infuriates me. They are SO slap dash!!! GOD

A

Those pillars?!!!

M4rvel - I agree - the Bollywood cake, right?

Kathy

ALove love love the floral 'romance' cake...!

AOh my god. That romantic vintage wedding cake Christopher garren just did. WOW!!!

That is just beautiful oh my lord I'm impressed with that!!!

Back on to merci beaucoup - the pillars! The quilting! The lopsided topper... This is why I think my cakes suffer because I'm such a perfectionist I try to fix things and end up making them look worse!

Hey kuuushi - I'm with you.  However, not sure about the satellite cakes although the footstool was fab.  Got to peg my washing out now otherwise I'll never get anything done.  What are those girls hitting with a hammer???

AYeah the blown sugar isn't something I find pretty but I can appreciate the craftsmanship in it.

They're hammering a spoon to use it as a mould. Can't understand why they didn't blow torch the area they wanted to bend and create much less noise but there ya go! Lol

Quite like these white flower shoppe in the new episodes!

Oh I fell asleep!  I am totally exhausted and this heat is back with a vengeance!  I missed the end.... I have seen this one - White Flower Shoppe are my favourites anyway.  They do an amazing cover up job on the bottle (I already saw it the other day!).  Off to get me some coffee!

AI had to take the Mother-in-Law to a Monsoon 20miles away to collect something that's out of stock here, so I missed some! *sob*

You didn't miss much Marvel, I've seen these two episodes before so you probably have too! 

Are there any new episodes at all?

A

I've actually only seen a few episodes of Amazing Wedding Cakes. Was never really on my radar until recently...

AI think that guy should ditch his boyfriend - he's not nice!!!

AI'm so disappointed. I spent ages yesterday making Dora the Explorer and her backpack only to be told today by the girl who wanted the cake that she doesn't want it anymore. She's a friend of my brothers and has been having a hard time lately with very little money so I was making it very cheaply for her. I checked so many times that she still wanted the cake and she kept saying yes, I even checked yesterday morning before I started it. Then yesterday evening my brother rang to say she's finally moving house so won't have any money for it now! Gah!

I half feel guilty for not offering to make the cake for free but I don't know her that well and don't really want to be out of pocket. But now I have a Dora with no where to go...

What would you all do? She's going to go to waste now but at least I haven't made anything else, the cake wasn't until 5th August I was just trying to be organised. This is what happens when I'm organised!

ASugarluva that's gutting :( that's why I take deposits even if it's only for the price if ingredients! Once they've parted with some money they would rather keep the cake and say no!

You could sell her on eBay though!! Cake toppers go for loads if it's the right price. Can you post a pic so we can all see?

AAw bless you siany, at least she'll keep!

ASorry, meant sugarluva.

AI don't usually take deposits for small cakes because I only do them for family and friends so seems too formal. I've never had someone change their mind either though, they know they're getting a bargain. I do feel bad for her because she is having a hard time but like I said I don't really know her that we'll...

Here is a pic. Please don't laugh. I know she's not perfect and an annoying crackers her just appeared in her neck that I need to get rid of. She's also a bit too heavy so needs sitting up better. She's quite big too. I haven't done many models but it's something I want to practise so at least it was a bit of practice.

[IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3268517/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

[IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3268518/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

A

It is formal, but it means you don't make such a loss on a cake if they flake. I take 50% of the cost of ingredients to secure a booking and I start buying bits as soon as a cake is booked, so if they then flake, I've not lost anything on what I've already bought.

ASugarluva why would we laugh?! We're totally not like that here and it you know we would give you 100% honest opinions and really feel like I speak for everyone when I say that! In all honestly if that's your first try or one of I think you are heading well in the right direction! You are right, she isn't perfect but you know that and that's why you said practise! I can't say anything though because I really can't do people. I suck, no I don't suck, I REALLY suck! Your backpack is amazing!! It's SOO hard to do people, I did art for A level and flaked out when I was told that human eyes were a module for my course work!

Marvel is right, it is formal but you had to go out and buy that stuff on the hope she wasn't going to flake, but she did and now she doesn't care! If you were professional you would absolutely have to have 50% deposit and on top of that you'd need to have the full payment a week before the cake was delivered. You need to cover your own back and even though she's having a rough time it doesn't give her the right to pick and choose.

AThanks kuuushi.

Oh I know how different I would have to do it if I was professional. As with my business everything is secured with a deposit and everything paid in advance that isn't a problem. It's just with family and friends I feel bad charging as it is! Asking for a deposit feels too professional if you know what I mean. But I won't make the same mistake again, like I said it's never happened before and I wouldn't usually have said yes to her because I don't know her well but I thought I was doing her a favour. Oh well!

I think Dora looks a bit butch haha. She looked better in pieces until I stuck her all together but she's a little on the chunky side now.

AEvening all. :-) How's everyone coping with this heat? I can't stand it and it doesn't look like it's going to get cooler anytime soon. Not looking forward to making a fruitcake tomorrow.

Lovely cake nanny, I thought the same as Kuuushi, as soon as I saw it I thought doc mcstuffins.

Olaf's brilliant M4rvel, I watched frozen last night (well, most of it) Olaf was my favourite character. Leah wasn't interested enough to watch it all the way through but she liked the songs and she laughed at Olaf a lot.

How are you tiddy? Hope it doesn't come back tonight and you have some peace. X

That's annoying sugarluva. Like nanny said tho, she'll keep. I don't think she looks chunky actually. Or butch! I think she's very good. I'm rubbish at figures and if I made her I'd see where I wanted to improve but I would be pleased, she's instantly recognisable as Dora. And the back pack is fantastic, you've done that really, really well. That must've been fiddly. My puppy was fat. I made his body once and thought he was fat, made him thinner and by the time I put him together he looked fat again. I think I struggle with getting the proportions right. But I struggle with figures full stop.

Took me ages to catch up so sorry if i've missed anyone.

AAw Maisie, I'm with you hate it unless I'm on hols, where you do nowt except sunbathing, swim and drink copious amounts of alcohol, doing anything in this heat is twice as hard, thats why I left covering my cake til 10 last night.

Yes I love Olaf in frozen, makes the film!

AI can't sit out in it nanny, I really can't stand it, it makes me miserable. I've never been on holiday to somewhere hot, that would not be my idea of fun!

I want to make a frozen cake now! My niece is obsessed with it, I wish I'd known that a month ago, she'd have got a frozen cake instead of the awful one direction cake!

AOlaf is on par with Sven the reindeer for me! Haha!

Maisie the heat has nearly killed me. It's different from abroad. Here when it's warm it's thick and heavy and oppressive. It feels like it sits on you unlike when you go away! It was so bad that Thursday night after I finished the cake I went to bed and I was up at 1am throwing up which gave me a headache and sore throat. I went downstairs to sleep as it was 24degrees in my house so upstairs was hottest. Slept on the sofa with no cover and woke up every half hour in a bath of sweat. I got up for work on Friday morning still not feeling great and went to the bathroom to have a shower and I clean my teeth before getting in. The last thing I remember was putting toothpaste on the brush and the next thing H2B is trying to bring me around. Turns out I fainted! He found me about half hour later, picked me up and took me to the living room and was trying to cool me down with ice cold water on tea towels! I was on fire!

That's when I had the lecture about burning the candles at both ends and to choose. Cakes or work

AExact same words my daughter said to me in March, I knew she as right, but it isn't always that easy, but after a few sleepless night and trips to the loo I made my decision, yes I'm losing few hundred but I've cut down, not that I'm a big spender, but some adjustments and I know I've made the right choice.

I've been working for 40yrs, just had enough!

AYeah it's hard isn't it? I really need Togo part time but doing that is such a hard question to ask. I don't have any kids so I can't ask for flexi and I don't exactly have an excuse for wanting part time.

How do I go in and say "is there any chance I can go part time? I really just want to focus more on doing cakes so I can eventually leave. Really I'm just using you until cakes kick off enough!"

AI did like Sven Kuuushi but Olaf really made Leah giggle, especially when his head was upside down and his nose was in the back of his head!

I worked abroad, only Germany, nowhere too exotic! But I went all over Europe while I was there. Even on the continent it's different, and we'd have a thunderstorm most nights during really hot spells, really cleared the air the next day. I still didn't like it tho! I'm going to move to Scotland I think. Or Alaska. Or Norway.

And I still think fasting contributed to you fainting btw Kuuushi.

AChoose cakes Kuuushi! You haven't looked back have you nanny?

AIt did for sure Maisie, but with everything else on top I just broke!

I'm scared to go part time because it's definitely affects your way of living. Money is halved, I don't know how that will affect everything you know?