TV Appearances

Create and Craft TV can be found on Freeview 36, Sky 674, Virgin 748 and FreeSat 813 - and if you choose your times then you'll be able to see Frances give some amazing demonstrations from a selection of her books.

The first show - aired on Sunday 21st September - seemed to be a great success, the producers were pleased and Frankie's FaceBook pages and email accounts went into melt down for hours afterwards. If you missed that show then you have two more opportunities to see her live - Sunday 2nd November in the afternoon and on December 14th. You can also look out for the re-runs but why not come to say hello at Cake International, the absolutely HUGE show held at the NEC from 7th November until 9th. Frances will be signing books and demonstrating her Tiny Sugar Shoes, Fancy Dress Babies, Sensational Animals and her Wonderful Fairies.

We'd love to see you.

The Latest Class List

Sugarcraft classes with Frances McNaughton in Tunbridge Wells, Kent

• Saturday 29 March     Peony Spray

Beautiful realistic peony with leaves and buds, perfect for using on wedding cakes and for other special occasions.

• Saturday 19 April     Modelling chocolate - Introduction

Easter is here- that must mean CHOCOLATE!! In this class you will learn how to make modelling chocolate, and make chocolate roses and simple models. The big advantage of using modelling chocolate is of course that your cake decorations will also be delicious!

• Saturday 10 May     Tiny Sugar Shoes and Bags- Introduction

Come and make a large selection of tiny shoes and bags. Perfect for anyone who hasn’t tried making miniatures before. Just the right size for cupcakes. Discover how easy it is to use different basic shapes to make different parts for the shoes and bags.

• Saturday 17 May     Buxom Fairy

Make this delightful ‘voluptuous’ fairy. A lovely modelling class in which you can personalise your own fairy with suggestions from Frances.

• Saturday 24 May     Introduction to Royal Icing

Learn how to make Royal Icing, piping bags, basic piping skills including writing. Build your confidence in a skill which is very useful in many styles of cake decorating.

• Saturday 31 May     Fairy Dressmaker’s and shoemaker’s workshop

Let your imagination fly when designing dresses and shoes for fairies. Final designs will be displayed on a tiny dressmaker’s dummy.

• Saturday 7 June      Tiny Sugar Shoes and Bags - Glitz and Bling

Create a gorgeous selection of shoes and bags to include animal prints, edible glitter and ‘bling’. A lovely follow-on class for anyone who has already started making tiny shoes.
 

• Saturday 14 June     Fancy Dress Babies

Make two sweet babies dressed in character ‘onesies’. One is dressed as a tiger, the other as a flower.

• Saturday 21 June     Introduction to Wired Sugar Flowers- Rose and Lily Spray

Learn how to make this delightful wired spray of roses, lily and leaves. This is a good introduction to flowermaking and colouring flowers with realistic powder colours.

• Saturday 28 June     Sugar Dogs

Be the first to come and learn how to make simple sugar dogs with the author following the release of Twenty to make, Sugar Dogs by Frances McNaughton. Great fun for anyone who loves dogs, or who makes cakes and would like to add another set of models to their skills.
 

ALL CLASSES START AT 10 am AND FINISH AT APPROX 4.30pm

MAXIMIUM FOUR PEOPLE PER CLASS

For full details please contact frances.mcnaughton@gmail.com

Dublin Sugarcraft Guild 22-23 March 2014

We'll be in Dublin this weekend for the Sugarcraft Show there - we hope you'll come and say hello as we're looking forward to seeing all our friends and our Irish "family".

Frances said; "I'm looking forward to the Dublin Sugarcraft Exhibitio - I'll be demonstrating this little sleeping baby fairy in the demonstaration room, and the rest of the time I'll be demonstrating other techniques on my stand."

We'll be selling Frances' books, cutters, moulds and the tools she uses for her work and she'll be signing her books at her stand. See you at the City West Hotel at 10 am on Saturday.

Check out the details HERE

Scotland in September

Having had a three week trip to Australia and then an August of rest and regrouping, working on stock, ideas and planning for the remainder of this year and next; we began the late season with a jolly jaunt north of the Border to meet up with the talented Paul Bradford and David Brice his business partner at their light, airy and superbly situated studio in Kenmore on Loch Tay.

Paul has been in the cake decorating business since 2001 and has designed cakes for the Bee Gees, famous footballers and Monacan Royalty. Recently the business has expanded into online tutorials and now boasts a customer base in the tens of thousands from all over the world.  Several TV appearances have ensured his continuing success and popularity and we were to spend five days or so filming some of Frances' work for future online programs which will be available shortly. 

Both Paul and David are consummate professionals and yet Frankie and I felt instantly at ease in their company. In fact Paul and Frances had so much to talk about and so many ideas to share that we almost had to guide them to the table for lunch and dinner and even on our long, wonderfully scenic and weather blessed walks they would still be head to head discussing technology, sugar, Sugarcraft, books and teaching methods along the way intermittently stopping to take in the breathtaking scenery that surrounds Paul and Davids' studio.

The Magical View from the Studio

Yet in between the filming and the photography we did have time for some wonderful food, long languorous but invigorating walks with the dogs Ben and Leo, a little bit of fishing (Mike) and an occasional glass of wine. If you ever get the chance to visit Paul and David we sincerely recommend you take the chance; Paul's new book is now available and the ongoing Internet tutorials are available for all levels of ability - check out their superb website HERE

A Trip To Sweden - Kakburken

Recently, Frankie was invited to Sweden by Camilla of KakBurken - her Facebook page is HERE - to teach Tiny Shoes, Fairies and Fancy Dress Babies for a weekend.

It was a wonderful few days for Frances and she was very well looked after and welcomed by the Swedish enthusiasts. The results in all three workshops were beautiful and the models made were proudly displayed at the end of each session. Judging by the comments on Facebook and Twitter it would seem that the students enjoyed themselves too.

Frances didn't get to see too much of the Swedish Countryside due to a flight delay, but the hospitality of her Swedish hosts left nothing to be desired and left an abiding memory of friendly faces and bright, warm sunshine.

Frankie's present from Sweden

Huge thanks to Camilla, Jonas and Cordelia for their assiduous attention to Frankie's comfort and for looking after her so well.

Cork Sugarcraft Exhibition

We just love our trips to Ireland; we Honeymooned here and we have made both friends and many wonderful memories in the Emerald Isle. So it was lovely to be back in Cork City for the biannual Sugarcraft Exhibition at Little Island at the Radisson Blu Hotel.

There were 300 entries into the Competitions - the largest number ever, and in all the years we have been coming here the standard has got better and better every time. This year was no exception and over the two days of the show there were many comments regarding the standard of the work, which, even to a layman like me, was exceptional. 

Exceptional Work...

As always, Frankie was busy demonstrating; Tiny Shoes on the stand and Fancy Dressed Babies and Fairies in the Demonstration Rooms and the show was busy all over the two days with Sunday afternoon - Mother's Day -  proving to be just as popular as the Saturday.

The Craic was good too; Murphy's here in Cork, not Guinness, with a Jamieson's chaser - or so I'm told, the Cork Sugarcraft girls looked after us so well, and made us so welcome, that it was a real wrench to leave. Unfortunately, the Ferry Company tried to help, cancelling our early morning crossing due to the severe weather, but we got across on a bumpy little catamaran Ferry later that evening which tried its best to relieve us of our hearty meals, but we're made of sterner stuff, and we survived both the crossing and the snow storm that hit the South East corner of England and made our midnight drive across Kent a minor adventure.

Worth it?

Every single wave tossed, Snow flurried moment!

Can't wait until 2015! 

20 to Make Mini Sugar Bags

Frankie's new book 20 to Make Mini Sugar Bags is now available HERE

It compliments her 20 to Make Mini Sugar Shoes Book and her Tiny Shoe Cutter Set and details how to make handbags of various design  to match those wonderful shoes you have all been making....