April - the birthday month

If you like cake April is a good month to visit our house.  Three birthdays in one month = back to back cake eating.  The gorging is usually sufficient enough that I can't bring myself to look at a cake until at least June, let alone think about making one.  It's the off cuts that pull me in...
In case you didn't know, both daughter's are completely Octonauts OBSESSED at the moment so it kinda made it easy on the cake design.  Connie's Octonaut of choice is Peso.

Pretty good hey?!! I was really pleased with my first foray into fondant icing.  The whole process took took longer than I thought - with cutting out his shape, a first ice of butter icing, then the rolling and laying of the fondant and of course the gentle coaxing of said icing into the creases and corners.  I made the hat and collar from blue sugar paper and the feet from a tube of yellow icing.

Birthday girl

  The next birthday cake was Mr. Maker's 5 days later. Fortunately no requests had been put in for sea creatures or other animals.  As a parent, you soon realise that you are way down at the bottom of the pecking order when it comes to birthday's (isn't that right Will?!), hence no photographic evidence. His was a banana and chocolate chip loaf, yummy all the same.  


I have also had my in-laws visiting this month who kindly carried out (along with my precious Earl Grey tea bags) a Clothkits parcel.  I grew up with Clothkits as they are based in Lewes, Sussex where my cousins live.  For those of you not born in the UK in the 70's to middle class parents, Clothkits print their patterns onto the fabric for you to make into clothes and in my case, dolls.

The kit arrives will all you need to make up Kitty (you can even order with the stuffing), including easy to follow instructions. The doll didn't take long, the dress longer.  Bias binding on a tiny neck is very fiddly!  

A birthday gift made this month for it's recipient in a few months time.


Finally we come to my eldest daughter's birthday this weekend.  The invitations have been sent out, RSVP's received, games formulated and food shopping done. The effort gone into it deserves (and will have) its own blog post, so come back soon!