Celebration Time

Making Halloween Biscuits - Click here to see more
Halloween Cupcakes
Halloween Treats - Click here to see more
Icing Halloween Biscuits - Click here to see more

My new makins ultimate clay machine arrived today I ordered it at the end of August but it was on order. I am so pleased the clay comes out feeling and looking like a strip of silk. I was so fed up with my last pasta machine as the clay kept sticking to the rollers but now I'm in clay heaven.

While I was in Hong Kong I had a chest infection. I do not know whether its possible to pass our virus's onto cats but my little cat has been sneezing for a couple of days and off her food. So I am being extra kind to her wrapping her up in blankets etc

I have told myself definitely no more Halloween items now I will start on Christmas bits my next favorite time of the year. Here's a sample of what I have been upto.

Now I'm off the play with my new clay machine.

A Miniaturist in Hong Kong

Here I am in this humid, crowded and hot metropolis. I should have left last night but the flight was over booked, so here I am ready to try again this evening for a flight home. When I first arrived here, to say I was overwhelmed by the sheer size and of this neon skyscraping city would have been a diffinite understatement. I have taken a ferry across the harbour, trawlled the markets for bargains and even been to "Venice". We took a ferry to Macau, which rivals Las Vegas as the capital for Casino World. Where we stayed at The Venetian a mirror image of its sister hotel in Las Vegas. I even had some time to visit a dolls house shop.
We are staying at The Salisbury YMCA and I must say I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the accommodation. If like me you associate the YMCA with rickety old bunkbeds and lots of washing your own pots and laundry. Checkout your local YMCA. This one overlooks the harbour, is decorated to a high standard with an excellent restaurant and is very affordable in comparisan to other similar hotels in the vicinity. Oh yes it also has a swimming pool.
Hopefully I will be back in London, UK Monday 20th September. I don't think I could stand leaving the airport at 01.00 to look for a hotel again tonight. Wish me luck with my flight.

Halloween Madness

I just cannot stop myself making Halloween goodies. I love the colours and the sheer fantasy. Yet in reality, if I ever saw a ghost and was aware of it I would probably be so scared I would faint. Here's my latest creation. A 3 tier cake featuring a pumpkin as the bottom tier, a haunted castle night scene with orange icing oozing down as the middle tier and a mummy's face on the top with black oozing icing leading to three skulls perched precariously at the base.

Wonderful FREE Dolls House Magazine

The September issue of A.I.M. Artisans in Miniature is out now. Its well worth a look its crammed full of projects and articles about artisans and their crafts.

My week so far has not been too good my pasta machine has broken again. the clay just keeps circling its gets stuck to the rollers. I am sure its less than a year old but I cannot bring myself to send it back to the manufacturer as I have not exactly been rolling pasta with it LOL. I think they would find traces of clay and get suspicious. Well I have invested in a Makins clay rolling machine from The Craftmill based in the UK. The only place I could find selling them in the UK. So I am patiently awaiting its arrival.