Taart en Trends - Apeldoorn

There were smiling faces everywhere at this show...

Holland is always a trip we look forward to immensely every time we have to go. It's always worth the travelling, the preparation, the early starts and the late nights. We meet our English friends, our Dutch friends and Frankie's many, many European fans who approach us with smiles, kisses and hugs - I love it! Each trip sees our Facebook and Twitter followers increased and our lives enriched.

Marielle Vroome's wonderful work...

This show is very well attended - although the late night Friday (11am - 9pm) can be a little onerous.We have so many Dutch friends now all of whom make us feel so welcome and so at home and it's great when they come up to the stand all smiles and Dutch greetings.

There was so much fantastic work on show, and I'm always so surprised that these wonderful pieces are made out of cake, icing and sugar. If you ever get the chance to go grab it with both hands - I promise you won't regret it.

West Wickham Workshop

On yet another beautiful Saturday morning, with a hint of autumn in the air but with the late season sun pushing away the mist and the heavy dew, Franc and I drove the 40 minutes to West Wickham, just outside Bromley. The sparkling sunbeams made even the M25 look acceptable as we made our way up the hill to junction 4 and turned off towards Bromley.

Today was workshop day and the ladies were all going to make some models from Frankie’s book Sensational Sugar Animals. We settled in and the students spent a very pleasant day modelling wonderful animals from the book; a tabby cat – based on our own gorgeous Riamh –  and a woolly sheep.

We had a delicious lunch with the sunshine still gracing us with its had finished their pieces and carefully packed them away for the journey home. We trust everyone had a great time – there was certainly plenty of laughter in the workroom during the day.

Patchwork Cutter Weekend

Jan's Autumn Fairy

 What a Wonderful Weekend!

We had been invited to The Wirrall by Marion and Gerry Frost of Patchwork Cutters who often run demonstration and Workshop weekends at their fantastic complex near Greasby. We both loved the Countryside and the weather held well until the aftermath of Hurricane Nadine hit the UK on our journey home. The traffic was disrupted as the skies opened, unleashing oceans of rain and gale force winds across the South which steadily moved northwards meeting us on our way back to Kent.

...and the fire escapes are...

It didn't matter though, the journey was well worth it - we were treated like guests by Marion, Gerry and all the friendly ladies who attended. Northern Hospitality is all we could have wished for - we felt like Royalty - and I have no talent, remember!

Gerry and Frankie at Red Rocks

The demonstrations and the Workshops were fully booked covering Tiny Shoes, Fancy Dressed Babies and Fairies from Frankie and some intricate cutter pieces from Marion. The finished work was excellent and everybody took a completed fairy home. Many ladies also made the most of Frankie's new book having arrived just the day before we left and signed copies were eagerly purchased to compliment the Tiny Shoe Cutter Set.

Finished  Fairies

Our huge thanks to Gerry, Marion and everybody who made our weekend memorable and fun. Even Nadine couldn't take the edge of our enjoyment.

wonderful work ladies...

Mini Sugar Shoes

Frankie's long awaited book to compliment her tiny shoe cutters is to be released at the end of this month (September).

The shoe cutters have been available for some time and the number of hits on YouTube has testified to their popularity - the instruction videos are easily accessible to anyone wishing to supplement their knowledge of how best to use them.

The new book has twenty ideas, many of them new ranging from flip-flops to full blown high heels, Boots and booties -  and advance orders are already high. Later, a Tiny Sugar Bags book will be released to give further ideas with the shoe cutters...watch this space.

Sugarcraft Weekend - Maidstone

A collection of Lily The Pink Fairies

This was another wonderful weekend that sold out quickly; the opportunity to make Tiny Shoes, Fancy Dressed Babies and The Lily The Pink Fairy. The two days were busy but each student completed the pieces  and took them home with them.

The great thing about these groups and workshops is the camaraderie that develops during the day. By the late afternoon, Facebook, Twitter and e-mail addresses were being exchanged, not just between Franc and the class members, but also among themselves and trying to get them all to go home was a challenge itself.

We sincerely hope that everyone was proud of their work and enjoyed the weekend as much as we did.

Coming Soon.....

......the long awaited book to compliment the Tiny Shoe Cutter set....should be available in October 2012....

Followed by 20 to Make Mini Handbags Book to complete the set......early 2013.....

See us in Holland and Cottenham in October, the NEC in November and Bristol in September....

Sugar Crystals - Horsham

We had a wonderful evening at Horsham recently; Frankie was demonstrating sugar animals of various kinds for the ladies of the Sugar Crystals Group here.

We arrived early and so had a coffee in the pub next door and then discovered that this evening was "Strawberry Night" at the Sugarcraft club. That meant scones, fresh cream, real strawberries and strawberry jam for us all - a lovely bonus. As always, we were made very welcome, the ladies all seemed to enjoy themselves and there were smiling, slightly jammy faces all aound!

Strawberry Night - Lucky us!