Thursday, December 31, 2009

Memories of 2009

As we enter a new year & new decade, I wanted to take a moment and remember all that has happened this past year. In 2009 Flour Confections met many new clients, some amazingly talented artists, and saw many changes - read below as we share a few :


In 2009 Flour Confections got a whole new look with the launch of our new website
In February, I started off the 2009 wedding season by creating a stunning vintage glamour 4 tier wedding cake for a wonderful couple Leslie & Mike - who have now had a baby boy! Congrats to you both and all the best in the years to come! (photo courtesy of Xero Digital)

In March we graced the pages of the April issue BRIDES Magazine & website

(photo courtesy of BRIDES magazine)

Our biggest change in 2009 came in April - on April Fool's Day actually, as we opened our doors to our brand new location - a specialty cake supply store, custom cake shop & edible arts school! And in May we launched our online store offering specialty cake supplies to everyone across Canada, the USA and abroad!
Just before our grand opening, I took a few moments to myself and whisked down to Savannah, Georgia to attend the most amazing sugar art class - A Master Class of Sugarpaste Flowers with Ron Ben-Israel at Minette Rushings' studio
April was a busy month with all the new changes, but I managed to find time to create a few entries for the CSSA Sugar Art Show held at Markville Mall. My wedding cake entry took 3rd place and my baby cake entry took 1st.
Heading into May, we hosted a fabulous class with the talented Elisa Strauss of Confetti Cakes
Students spent 2 days with Elisa learning her amazing techniques while creating her open gift box cake & safari animals.
Some wonderful cakes were also created in May for some great clients - including this ode to a police officer - a giant Tim Horton's cup, police badge & mega chocolate chip cookies!


June was filled with some wonderful weddings & events, here are a couple of highlights: a Poker themed 40th birthday, and I worked with Cindy Johnson of Platinum Events Group to create this sophisticated wedding cake for a stylish wedding at Trinity College.
(photo courtesy of Andrew Adams Photography)

In July, the Lifestyles with Rita Nave crew visited our shop to film a segment on cookie & cupcake decorating, it aired on Chex Durham. This was my first TV segment...with more to come later in the year.....
August was a very busy month! I traveled to the ICES convention in Chicago with my colleague Karey to see all the latest and greatest tools & techniques in the world of cake! We had a fabulous time learning & laughing, making new friends and hanging out with fellow cake chics!
Coming back from Chicago, I went into full gear creating a 5 tier hot pink, black & silver anniversary cake & cupcakes for the 20th anniversary of the Pink Pages Directory.

Later that month our store was graced with 2 very talented celebrity guests, Bronwen Weber & Francois Long of Frosted Art Bakery. Bronwen taught 2 classes and also donated her time & talent to our free night of sharing where we raised over 200lbs of food for a local food bank.
The first class was an entire day of airbrush skills - the amount of information gained that day was incredible - my airbrush is now my friend in the kitchen! All our new skills culminated in a 2D carved fish, brought to life using an airbrush.

On day 2, students learned how to create a free standing cake using a support structure created by Bronwen & Francois called "Cake Bones". In class we created a 3D clown, but the skills learned that day could be applied to anything that stands on two feet - wait until the November update to see how I applied my new found skills.....
Just after Bronwen left, I took my airbrush in hand and created a really fun cupcake tower for a fabulous couple with a sense of humour! Tom & Tammy (aka TNT) had a fun idea for their introduction as a married couple - they were going to walk into the hall while TNT by AC/DC played! This sparked my idea - I was going to create a barrel of TNT for their top tier cutting cake complete with a cake sparkler, and each cupcake would be adorned with a sugar dynamite stick! They loved the idea and we ran with it, resulting in one of my favourite cupcake towers.

The Fall is always busy season for weddings, and this year was no exception. Here are a few highlights from our fall weddings:
(photo courtesy of Angela Cook Photography)


October began with my annual trek to Tulsa Oklahoma to participate in the OSSAS show, again with my driving partner & colleague Karey by my side. This year I entered again in both the Grand Wedding Cake Competition as well as the Sugar Art Show. The judging was tough this year, but I was pleased to have my wedding cake entitled "Tying the Knot" place in the Silver ranking, while my divisional entries all placed as well. I was awarded first for my cookies, first for my baby entry, and second for my special techniques entry. And now the work begins for my 2010 entries.....

After creating some beautiful fall wedding cakes, I joined my family for our annual vacation to Disney World in Orlando.

Highlights in November were birthday cakes & classes & press. My husband celebrated his 36th birthday, and what birthday is not complete without a cake?? And when you are married to a cake artist, you don't just get any old cake, you get art! Expanding on the skills I learned with Bronwen, I modified the Cake Bones system to create a standing Taz cake - entirely edible made from lots of modeling chocolate and lots of cake!

Continuing with birthdays, I then created a cake for another family member, my father, who celebrated his 65th in 2009. Again my classes with Bronwen did not go to waste - taking my airbrush in hand, I created this full sized rainbow trout cake for this avid fisherman. After covering the cake with white fondant and creating a blank canvas, the colour and details were achieved via the airbrush.


We taught some great classes in November including Cookie Couture, Cupcake Couture & Airbrushing Basics.

And we were featured in Canada's leading trade magazine for the baking industry, Bakers Journal


December went by in a flash! Besides the regular hectic nature of the season, I was asked to do a live segment on Canada AM for their Holiday Treats & Sweets week. We featured the sugar cookie and filled the studio with tantalizing treats!

Right after the segment, we hosted our first annual Holiday Open House & Product Play Day at the store - we opened our kitchen to anyone who wanted to try out some of our favourite products including the airbrush, silicone moulds & tappits. We also gave away some amazing prizes to some very happy customers! Thank you to everyone who came out!

So that brings us to the end of 2009, but boy those are some amazing highlights!

Now we've come to a new year, a new decade and some exciting times at Flour Confections! This year we will be hosting some more fabulous classes including ones with Mike McCarey, James Rosselle, Lorraine McKay and Bronwen Weber!

Here's to a sweet 2010!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Canada AM - Thursday December 17th

If you are not a morning person like me (wow 6am is EARLY!), you may have missed our spot on Canada AM this morning featuring the sugar cookie!

So if you did miss it, here is direct link to our spot - enjoy!

http://watch.ctv.ca/news/holiday-guide/#clip247495

Monday, December 14, 2009

Holiday Sweets & Treats Week - Canada AM


All week on Canada AM - Holiday Sweets & Treats! Today was shortbread....tomorrow is gingerbread....wonder what will be next? If you love to bake, tune in every morning!

Friday, December 11, 2009

Do your holiday shopping online!

We have been busy busy busy reorganizing the store to make room for so many new products - just in time for the holidays!

First off - GIFT CARDS ARE HERE! If you are looking for the perfect gift or stocking stuffer - why not buy them something they REALLY want?? A shopping spree for cake toys!!! Get them in store now!

New products:
We have a huge selection of coloured cupcake liners in both standard and mini sizes - perfect to jazz up any party or event!
https://www.flourconfections.ca/shop/index.php?cPath=26

New patchwork cutters:
Lots of fabulous holiday and Christmas designs are now available - check out what we have in store!
https://www.flourconfections.ca/shop/pr ... ts_id=1501

New sugarpaste cutters:
Including musical notes and an adorable reindeer!
https://www.flourconfections.ca/shop/pr ... ts_id=1490
https://www.flourconfections.ca/shop/pr ... ts_id=1489

THE most ADORABLE Princess Pig & Prince Frog cookie cutters! Get em while they are HOT!
https://www.flourconfections.ca/shop/pr ... ts_id=1480
https://www.flourconfections.ca/shop/pr ... ts_id=1479

Fabulous metal ball tools for sugarpaste work - one of my favourite tools!https://www.flourconfections.ca/shop/pr ... ts_id=1461

The ENTIRE line of Americolor Soft Gel & Amerimist colours in 4.5 oz bottles!

Many new Designer Stencils including the latest design featured in the most recent Martha Stewart Weddings
https://www.flourconfections.ca/shop/pr ... ts_id=1476

The list goes on and one - you'll just have to stop by the store or shop online to see all that we have to offer!

Cheers!

Monday, December 7, 2009

2010 Classes at Flour Confections!

We have recently updated our website to show our 2010 Winter/Spring class schedule including the ever requested certificate courses.




We now have the following new courses available:


Baking for Profit or Pleasure - 4 day course or 1 day only options


January 11th-14th or February 8th-11th


Creative Canvas - Cake Design Basics - 4 day course or 1 day only options


January 18th-21st or February 1st-4th





The Art of Sugarpaste Flowers -3 day course learning a wide variety of sugarpaste flowers


January 25th-27th or February 22nd-24th

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We also have rescheduled the Wilton courses - all 4 courses will be running again from January to April


Wilton Course 1 Discover Cake Decorating


Wilton Course 2 Flowers & Borders


Wilton Course 3 Fondant & Tiered Cakes


Wilton Course 4 Fondant & Gumpaste

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And of course we have rescheduled our workshops:



Airbrushing Basics Thursday March 18th HANDS ON workshop no supplies required


Basic Sugar Animals Sunday February 28th HANDS ON workshop no supplies required


Cookie Couture Sunday April 18th HANDS ON workshop no supplies required


Cupcake Couture Sunday February 21st HANDS ON workshop no supplies required


Flour Power - Baking Basics Wed April 21st & Thurs April 22nd HANDS ON workshop


Fondant FUN-damentals Sunday March 14th HANDS ON workshop including lunch


Roses Roses Roses Thurs March 11th HANDS ON workshop no supplies required


Sugarpaste Flower Basics Sunday March 7th HANDS ON workshop including lunch


The Royal Treatment - Piping Skills Thurs March 4th HANDS ON workshop

Friday, December 4, 2009

Holiday Open House December 17th 10-7:30pm

Join us for a day of sharing


On Thursday December 17th we would like to invite you all to join us for a day of sharing during our Holiday Open House! From 10am until 7:30pm we will be enjoying a "Product Play Day" where you can come and try out some of our favourite products and learn a few new skills. Light snacks & refreshments will be provided as well as prizes.
We look forward to seeing you all in store!