My Great Grandfather

Quite a while back I posted this photo that I found in our piles of family photo's and I wasn't sure if there was anyone related to me in the photo.

Well I now know for sure that my great grandfather (my father's grandfather) is in the photo... he's in the second row, third from the right with his arms crossed and the light wide brimmed hat on.  It's a photo of himself and his work team at the Car Shed for the NSW Train Line in 1911.

Funny how you can look at a photo and feel so detached but once a bit of personal information is attached to it... it can take on a whole new feeling!

George Gerard is his name. A handsome young man he was... I'd only ever seen photo's of him much later in life before seeing this one.  I was also really thrilled that my second cousins and great Uncle got to see it and have a copy of it for their own families.  That's what I love so much about the internet... it opens so many doors that would always have been closed or very hard to open before it!

And I've also gone on a big journey of discovery regarding my grandfather and grandmother on my paternal side of late and found out so much fascinating and incredible information. I'm trying to collate it all and get it organised so I can post it all on here for my relatives in Sydney and Qld.. as well as for my own son and nephews and nieces so they'll have a written record online to see when they're older.

(click on photo to view larger)

I'm starting to go pink mad!

If you'd said to me five years ago that in five years you'd be a pink fiend I'd have laughed at you... but here I am ... Pip...pink obsessed!

This seems to be recurring theme in my life of late... I'm doing so many things I never thought I'd have been doing years ago... but am loving every minute of it!!

I've been purchasing pink party everything for the last 6 months to use for promoting many of my pink stationery designs... and just hoping that I'd have a reason to have a nothing but pink party some day soon!!! Luckily my Mum is turning 60 this year and we're holding a great big party for her... because... it turns out... in all her 60 years she's never been thrown a really big party!  I feel sad just writing that!  So we want to make it as special as we possibly can... and all this pink I've been going crazy for is going to come to good use... mixed with some other soft colors... it should hopefully look a treat!

And I do have to say... it's all thanks to all the marvellous and beautiful parties I see on the web... you're all my biggest inspiration!

Thank you!

I'm off to dream more pink! :) 

 

My First Foray into Fondant

If you'd said 'Pip' and 'baking' in the same sentence 3 months ago I would've laughed! I have never pictured myself as a Mummy baker and I think what mostly put me off was my disaster of a cake I tried to make for our boy's 1st birthday party! Basically I did everything wrong that you could do wrong and I was turned off cake making for what I thought would be forever!

That is until I was inspired by all the incredible cake makers around the world (including my own sister in law) that I've had the pleasure of viewing of late through making all my party inspiration spotlight pages... so much so that I've been inspired to 'have another go'!!

Especially I must thank Tracy (Sweet Treacle) and Vanessa (Bella Cupcakes) for giving me the most inspiration of all!

So my first foray into cake making was 2 dozen spiderman cupcakes I decided to make for little man's last day of school! And of course me being me... I dug a hole for myself when deciding that I'd do chocolate toppers! I had oval chocolate moulds so I made red chocolate heads and decided I'd pipe black chocolate webbing and eyes on them!

Well now I know why it takes master chefs to create beautiful piped chocolate dessert designs cause piping chocolate is bloody hard!! Out of all 24 spiderman heads I think about 3 were semi ok ... enough to really recognise they were spiderman!! :) The rest were completely demented! Luckily kids don't really care 'bout demented spiderman heads and happily feasted on the treats. My son was so cute when he arrived at school with a big smile on his face holding the treats ready and willing to hand them out. Was a very sweet thing to see.

I think it was seeing my boys face that gave me the drive to keep going. I went to my local cake shop and decided fondant characters were my next try! Wish I'd done that first... it was like I was back in primary school making plasticine figures... I just loved it!

I made a whole batch of Gumby and friends fondant cupcake toppers for my brother's birthday. For as long as I can remember he's been a gumby fan so it was the perfect idea for cupcake toppers and cause they're an animated plasticine show it was really the perfect thing to make with fondant!!

So I had a ball and the cupcakes were a big hit with brother and especially with the little ones! They were running round the house on a sugar high all night!

 

Which way to go with alcohol?

So I'm completely excited that my brother and sister and I get to plan and organize my Mum's 60th party this year. I can't say too much here in case it gets back to her cause we want it to stay as much of a surprise for her as possible. She knows about the party but doesn't know the details.

Since I found out about the brilliant concept that is the new modern take on jelly alcohol shots I've been dying to have a go.

So I've been searching the awesome Test Kitchen blog  trying to decide which recipe to go for...

I can't decide between...

maybe both? I like these most cause of the flavours, the ease of making and the colours to match my dessert table.

Actually... I think I might enlist sister's help for this... I bet she'd love to make alcoholic jelly shots... I hope... better go ask her first!

People's Essentials - Photography Series

Just stumbled upon this awesome series by artist Jason Travis. 

Started in 2007 it was originally for Travis, a way to get to know old and new friends... to find out what people find essential to carry with them all the time.

Years later and many dozens of people photographed later... you can wade through this awesome series to see exactly what it is people keep in their bags!  Some are so interesting... some are hilarious pisstakes!

And Jason has just begun doing them in video form which I'm very excited about... I'll be watching him for sure!!