I was quite busy lately baking cakes and cupcakes, almost every weekend!!   I just love it, but all the other 
things like blogging was put aside, but all my cupcakes and cakes can been seen on my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/carina-at-homecom/246779655361825?sk=photos.    


Will still update my blog.    So please pop in, as I'm going to have a weekly post from now on.   


We've been back in South Africa a year this week and I've finally settled with a routine of work-work in the mornings, attending to the kids in the afternoons with all their activities and enjoying them, baking and preparing for special occasions most Wednesday-afternoons, decorating on the Thursday evenings and Friday mornings and have some hooky time when I have a spare few minutes.


Have a good week and I've got some nice pics to show you soon of my creative things that I've been busy with the last 2 months.


Carina x

Posted in by Carina | 0 comments

Posted in by Carina | 0 comments

I started back in May with this little cot bed blanket for my sister's new baby - soon to arrive. It was a surprise for her baby shower (which i'll blog about soon), so therefore could not blog about it before.

Now I can't wait for the little man to show us how he looks like ... hopefully he'll have a name soon as well. Will introduce him as soon as he's here!

Have a good and creative week. I need to get busy again, preparing for the Christmas market, that's not that far away now!

Carina x

Posted in by Carina | 0 comments

Posted in by Carina | 0 comments

When my friend asked me to make her little 3 year old a VW beatle cake a few weeks back.

I had a few ideas, but never thought it will turn out to be a little Herbie.

The invitation gave me the idea to make the same.

Think it turned out really well and apparently the cake was gone, even Herbie was devided!

It was quite a busy weekend with my sister's baby shower as well. Will definitely have a blog post ready soon.

Have a great day.

~Cx~

Posted in by Carina | 0 comments

1 September also official Spring day in the Southern Hemisphere (although it was more Wet-Windy-Winter-Western Cape) and I've attended a Crochet-in-coffee-shop event here in Durbanville that was part of a country-wide initiative from one of the magazines of South Africa. http://www.idees.co.za/content/?category_id=13&id=5813

It was fantastic to meet fellow crafters, although the morning was just tooo short.

I worked on my stash for the Christmas Craft Market in Villiersdorp in November, as I've still got lots to do. So the countdown is here now, so I'll have to move.

Still got a few school events, cakes to make and some family occasions coming up as well, so for the next few weeks I have to plan my craft time as well as work time very well.

Have a good weekend all.

Carina x

Posted in by Carina | 1 comments

Love puts the fun in together,

the sad in apart

and the joy in your heart.

~Author unknown~

I was so privileged to be the 2nd shooter / assistant photographer at my brother's very first wedding shoot in Stellenbosch - have a look at his well capture photos of their special day http://www.amdejager.com/?p=404. Congratulations Gerrit & Karla! Well done AM for a great job.

The couple looked gorgeous, her dress STUNNING, the venue awesome, the decor amazing and the simplicity thereof striking and best of all the weather .... beautiful - blue skies, no rain, no wind and it was in the middle of winter in the Western Cape.

Some of the pictures I took

Posted in by Carina | 1 comments

Last weekend I had the privileged to make another pirate cake for 2 brothers. I wanted something different to the previous pirate cakes I've made.

I made a double layer dark velvet chocolate cake with some buttercream icing and covered it with sugarpaste. Decided to bring in some blue and I just love how the wave effect turned out.

There is some more cakes for the year.

This weekend was quite busy, but will leave it for another post later this week.

Have a good weekend.

Carina

Posted in by Carina | 0 comments

When Mariette asked me to make a Hello Kitty cake for her niece, I wanted to make something different to what I've done earlier this year for my little one. I want to make every cake individual and special.

The cake: Double layer Red Velvet Cake (recipe from Hummingbird)

Icing (inside): Vanilla buttercream icing inside.

Icing (on top): Pink 'marble' icing and decorated with a 'stitched' hello kitty, letters and some flowers.

The birthday girl loved her cake so much, that in the beginning she did not want to share it with her cousins!!! Glad that I could made something special for a special little girl.

I've got a few more cakes lined up until the end of the year and I look forward to making each and every one of them. Have some more planning to do.

Have a good week.

~Carina~

Posted in by Carina | 1 comments

I said that I will tell you how to make the bugs in my previous post. I did see it somewhere on the internet, but never made a note of it, but here is my version of it.

::You'll need::

1) little chocolate sweets such as M&M's, smarties or any sweet that you want to use for making your little bugs.

2) baking parchment / wax paper; and

3) a dark coloured pencil

::How to::

1) Draw the bodies of your bugs on the baking parchment (make sure that you check the size of your sweets to more or less decide how big they should be).

2) Once finished, turn the paper over and put it on a white sheet on a baking tray.

3) Melt some chocolate bits in a zip-lock bag in the microwave for 30 sec (or until it's melted)

4) Be careful as spots can be really hot. Make a very small hole on one end of the bag and push the chocolate slightly to the corner and use this as you would with a piping bag and 'draw' the chocolate bug-bodies.

5) Make 2-3 at a time and add the sweets on top of the chocolate and push a little bit to set in the chocolate.

6) Once finished put the tray in the fridge for 10 minutes until chocolate has set completely.

7) Remove the bugs carefully and add them to your cakes or cupcakes.

Kids, especially boys just love them. ENJOY making them.

See you soon.

~Carina x~

Posted in by Carina | 0 comments

We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing.

Action always generates inspiration.

Inspiration seldom generates action.

~Frank Tibolt~

::Cake::

Dark chocolate cake with chocolate fondant / sugarpaste.

Colourful sugarpaste snakes on top, green buttercream icing for grass and some chocolate, smarties & M&M bugs.

::Cupcakes::

Dark chocolate cake with lime green buttercream icing with bug topping.

Post to follow with the making of the edible bugs!

Have a good weekend.

~Carina~

Posted in by Carina | 1 comments

Appetite comes with eating,

the more one has, the more one would have

~ French Proverb ~

At the beginning of the month I was asked by a friend to make a pirate cake for her little 4 year old as well as some cupcakes.

I just love how they turned out.

Also took some pictures of the birthday boy and his little friends.

More birthday cake baking this month, so it's going to be busy.

I'll be back to show you the results.

Will post some pictures of the winter school holiday soon.

Take care.

~Cx~

Posted in by Carina | 2 comments

Carelessly planned projects take three times longer to complete than expected.

Carefully planned projects take four times longer to complete than expected, mostly because the planners expect their planning to reduce the time it takes.

~Unknown~

After opening some boxes in my hobby room the other week, I discovered an unfinished pillowcases that I started a year ago for our bedroom. (see our France holiday http://www.carina-at-home.com/2010_06_01_archive.html) - I never finished it, as our lives changed a lot after the holiday when we decided to move to SA and now I'm slowing starting to take each room and finish it. In between my job, being a mum, renovating the rooms and other hobbies, I'll hopefully get these unfinished projects finished. One down, a few more to go!

Have a good week.

Cx

Posted in by Carina | 3 comments

Posted in by Carina | 0 comments

Posted in by Carina | 2 comments

Posted in by Carina | 1 comments