My new project...my old flame

Salam to all...and hopefully it's not too late for me to wish everybody a very happy new year...semuga tahun 2011 ini akan menjadi tahun yg lebih baik untuk kita..semuga rezeki melimpah ruah and semuga umur kita yang semakin menghampiri penhghujungnya diberkati Allah...yup..actually evry kedatangan tahun baru merupakan tanda peringatan kepada kita bahawa tiada apa yang harus diraikan infact it is a reminder for us supaya memperbaiki segala kelemahan dan keburukan kita...jesteru itu we have to berazam untuk mebuat yg paling terbaik untuk terus "menabung" dalam saham akhirat kita kerana perjanjian kita dengan Allah untuk kembali bertemu denganNya semakin hampir....So dear friends jangan kita kata umur kita masih muda...umur kita masih panjang..but sentiasa beringatlah...tiada siapa yang tahu akan bila tarikh kepulangan kita menemui YA Rabb...mungkin esok..mungkin lusa..mungkin minggu depan..mungkin tahun depan...BUT mungkin juga hari ini...apa2 pun alhamdulillah kerana walaupun kita selalu lupa dengan Allah tetapi Allah masih memberi rahmatNYA kepada kita..dan semuga kita akan terjaga dari kealpaan kita..amin...

Okay...let's talk about cake decorating...buat masa ni...i want to show my new project...I will continue about the peacock in the next entry...boring juga agaknya tak habis2 pasal peacock...but I masih belum mention about the peak of the excitement during the competition ;). Ok..ok..ok....let's talk about my new project..apa agaknya project terbaru I ya?

This is my new project..not my new love though....coz I have always love doing this since I was the age of a very small kid....to bexact when I was around 10 years old I had started this thing already...apa ya agaknya...ha...ha...projek membuat bunga...but masa tu buat bunga dari crepe paper le...maybe generasi muda tak tahu apa crepe paper...bermacam2 bunga boleh dibuat dari crepe paper...my first flower was bunga orkid....then followed by corn flower..then the advance one..bunga rose...Actually maybe all my interest in flowers derived from my late mum....she was very creative in flower making...apa sahaja bunga boleh dibuatnya...and from any medium...ribbon, dip, crepe paper, benang, kain, daun getah and even sisik ikan pun juga le...and i'm sure if she is still around she must try her hand on gumpaste flowers too...and I still have my mum's artwork..I guess it was done when I was in standard 6..ha..ha..ha...so sudah berdekad-dekad usianya...and this is her bunga sisik ikan....yup..sisik ikan merah dicantum satu2..yg bunga merah tu..bunga tulip...hasil kerja tangan i and dibuat dari crepe paper...Well I always treasure this "invaluable harta pusaka" from my late mum..alfatihah for her..and may her soul rest in peace in the garden of Jannah ..amin..


Before this I had been showing all of u all 5 petal flowers..which I panggil bunga malas.....it's very simple to do and ambil masa yg sekejap sahaja..so sebab tu I label it as bunga malas...and I always amaze at bunga "rajin"...lol...ada bunga rajin juga...To me..bunga rajin is the bunga which we have to really put our effort...buat kelopak satu persatu...bentukkan..pasangkan wayar..keringkan, warnakan dengan luster dust or any color medium..haaaa...tu baru dipanggil bunga rajin..no short cut ...and memang dah lama I berhajat untuk belajar buat bunga rajin ni..and alhamdulillah akhirnya tercapai juga hajat untuk berguru dgn Bro Shahril..juara pertandingan wedding cake..and kami berkenalan sewaktu di pertandingan tersebut...he is a very humble guy..walaupun sudah banyak merai kemenangan di luar negara terutaman Australia dan UK..but he is so damn humble..infact dia yg menegur I dulu...bukanle maksudnya I sombong tak nak tegur dia..but siapa lah kita..kita orang kecil..dia org besar....but actually before that dah terkena..cuba menegur beberapa org cake artist...walawei..sombongnya bukan main lagi..bukan terkenal sgt pun mereka but lagaknya macam sgt terror and terkenal...ada pula yg kita senyum kat dia..muka dia masam kelat..well..ini bukan cerita rekaan..but what i experienced during the competition...nak tengok kita sebelah mata pun tak nak...and sad to say..most of them are malay decorators...bukan nak cakap pula...i'm a Malay decorator too and basically i'm a freshie in this industry...no offend to any malay decorators yg baik hati...but from my experience..ramai malay decorators yg tak friendly and tidak mahu berkongsi idea or pengalaman..well..always remember...satu ilmu yang diberi tidak akan merugikan or membangkruptkan kita....malah Allah promises to reward us for our generosity and sincerity...so jgn takut...lagipun rezeki Allah yang beri...by the way dibawah ini bunga yg dihasilkan oleh Shah...not me kay...By the way this is Shah's blog add...http://cakexpressions.blogspot.com/


I told Shah that I wanted to learn the most difficult flowers..so that I will know the techniques..I always believe once we know the technique..insyaAllah we can apply it for other creation..sama juga dgn fondant..just go for the basic class...tak perlu untuk pergi belajar banayk kelas..but provided u find a good master,..and if u all perasan..memang I only go for classes yg I really think the person is really a master..sekali lagi no offend..but if logic akal...lebih baik kita belajar dgn org yg benar2 ada ilmu..bukan dgn org yg baru sekali dua belajar...terus buka kelas..and the best thing dia sendiri tak lepas lagi but dah charge mahal...this kind of thing will ruin the artwork...bukan I nak menempelak sesiapa..tapi itulah hakikatnya sekarang..Before belajar dgn Shah, memang I ada google tengok class yg lain..but bila tengok hasil kerjanya..ughhh..tak apa le...or maybe ada sifu2 lain yg I tak jumpa waktu menggoogle..so for this class...we were thought how to do the Jpanese peony, scorpion orchid, capers, balinese frangipani and few sets of leaves...

There were five of us in the class...laili, Sarah, Kak Aini, my best friend Elaine nad myself...Two days of class and it was a very long class...but we had fun...shah was too generous with his knowledge..a very excellent teacher,..a master actually...apa taknya..anak murid Alan Dunn ...and he is a perfectionist...still remember when he asked us to buat the throat of the scorpion ocrhid...mesti ada dua bintil dihujungnya and dibawah dilorekkan sikit..I never perasan all these details..and one of uf buat 3..he told us to do 2 not 3..so we all jawablah..alah bukan org perasan pun...ha..ha..ha..selamba aje dia jawab..I perasan...that's how detail he is..In this class we learned the technique of making the flowers, airbrushing, dusting and hand painting...if u all tenguk daun keladi tu..memang hand painted and ada stroke technique..bukan cincai buat....All the flowers n leaves mesti ada its natural flow..bukan kejung sekejung-kejungnya..the flowers tak boleh jadi macam bunga plastik...So dibawah ni is my flower..alhamdulillah sempat disiapkan sewaktu class walaupun terpaksa dilanjutkan hingga ke pukul sepuluh malam..it was supposed to end at 6....Maaf tak da bnyak gambar for this flower..coz tak sempat nak ambil...we were so busy...working and laughing and gossiping too..lol



I had fun in the class..the class was full with laughters and jokes...especially from Laili..hopefully we'll meet again in different class..By the way, for this class kami menggunakan gumpaste resepi Shah..and I tell u..this the best gumpaste yg pernah I jumpa..bunga I masih lagi keras..tak lembut walaupun dlm cuaca yg penuh dgn kelembapan and alhamdulillah since then I had been using his recipe...Ok doki will pen off here..will show my other flowers in the next entry...salam sayang untuk semua...;)

Swan Lake with Master Kelvin Chua (Vinism Sugarart)

Salam Ramadhan to all my moslem readers, sisters n brothers...maaf diatas segala keterlanjuran kata or gurauan yg over...semuga ramadhan kali ini merupakan Ramdahan yg lebih baik dari yg lepas2 and semuga segala amal ibadah dilakukan dgn penuh keikhlasan...and waktu sahur tadi sempat lah juga ber"tazkirah" to my anak2...peringatn for myself actually...I told them that Ramadhan bukan saja takat tahan lapar and dahaga..kena jaga semua pancaindera...esp mata, telinga and mulut...SO for this month of Ramadhan less TV time for them..can only watch program tertentu sahaja...and it doesn't mean that they can watch an Indonesian drama yg berlatarkan lagu memuji Allah...diantara liriknya yg selalu I dengar..Allahhuakbar..Allah Maha Besar..bila dengar lirik tu mesti kita sangka yg plot movienya pun bercirikan keislaman...nope..this movie penuh dgn adengan yg tk sepatutnya ada dlm sebuah keluarga islam..pergaulan bebas..berpelukan n the worst thing pakaiannya semua sexy...maybe penerbit ingatkan kita penonton bodh yg boleh dibodohkan begitu sahaja...Told them to jaga mulut juga...jgn cakap benda yg tak baik..jgn bergaduh especially. As for telinga , tak boleh dengar bend yg tak baik....straight away my smallest daughter tutup kedua telinganya..when I ask her why...selamba aje dia jawab..."kan ibu suruh tutup telinga"...duhh..gitu pula fahamnya...Well, apapun marilah kita semua berazam utk menjaga ibadah puasa kita dgn sebaik2nya dan semuga ia berterusan hingga selepas Ramadhan..

As I had promised in my previous entry, this entry will be about my royal icing class ...The Swan Lake taught by Kelvin Chua...a very talented artist in cake decorating...I guess ...maybe he is the best local artist. All of his works are very different..tenguk sahaja dah tahu...it belong's to KC..His creations are so unique and detail...pls do visit his blog..which is under my listing..Vinism Sugarart and definitely u will be amazed with all his creations...By the way, dia baru aje balik dari London..segala ilmu diperolehi dari London..This swanlake class cost me RM999 but memang berbaloi..tak ada regret pun. His class was super excellent and to those yg serious in cake decorating can consider going for his class..banyak petua and panduan menghias kek yg diajar ..memang berbaloi sgt..



As the title said...it is a swan lake class..so mesti ada swan ...and sepasang pula..sp this is the 3rd version of my swan..and different technique...teringat pula kata2 KC..these swans can only be found in France during summer at one particular lake...well..that was his joke...yup...the class were full with laughters..Senang aje nak buat swan ni...cuma just to make sure nampak flows of the wings n yg paling distinguish sekali lehernya...It has to be properly bentukkan..or else it will jadi leher itik yg panjang.


This class is all about royal icing piping techniques..2 days intensive class..and we were thought from the basic to advance techniques..and utk class project kami diajar untuk construct gazebo from scratch..just bayangkan hanya dgn menggunakan royal icing dan nozzle no 1 we were asked to dirikan sebuah gazebo..mcm impossible kan..but tak mustahil....bila siap hasilnya memang terpegun...but sebelum tu all the hardwork first..In order to construct this gazebo..we had to study the binaan and sokongan first..siap dgn dasar and tapaknya...semua plan harus dilukis satu persatu...dari tapak...dinding and atapnya..and setiap lakaran mestilah diukur dengan teliti...ha..ha..ha..itu theory...in the class we were given all the layouts and plan...everything was done by KC...Sebelum mula lukis lakaran dgn super ice...we have to gam kan satu persatu kertas surih diatas lakaran yg hendak dilukiskan...and then only we piped the super ice on the top of it..and make sure kertas yg digunakan adalah kertas surih/parchment paper yg elok or else susah hendak ditanggalkan...which mean hasil kerja kita akan mudah patah bila hendak ditanggalkan. Proses lakaran dgn superice senang sahaja, tetapi mengambil masa untuk kering...in our weather normally it takes about two weeks to dry...so dari gambar diatas u can see satu persatu binaan gazebo..semuanya merupakan kepingan gula kering and very2 fragile.


Selepas semuanya kering, barulah kepingan2 yang terlalu fragile tersebut boleh dicantumkan ..memang kena handle very nicely...pada mulanya rasa memang macam mustahil..but ibarat kata..bersatu teguh..bercerai roboh...sebenarnya bila sudah dicantumkan ia akan menjadi structure yg "kuat"...Teknik percantumannya harus dilakukan dgn penuh berhati2 and dilekatkan dgn menggunakan gum glue dari super ice juga...



Memang excited bila gazebo dah siap...semua "lubang" harus ditutup dgn royal icing melalui hiasan tambahan so tak nampaklah sebarang kecacatannya...yup memang begitulah dlm dunia hiasan kek..jgn takut or panik bila terdapat sebarang kecacatn..gunakan kreativiti kita utk cover sebarang kecacatan yg ada...just do not panic...


Actually dlm gazebo ni I plan to buatkan pancuran air..but the thing is..tak sempat kering..so letakkan seekor butterfly kecil...Actually banyak kepingan sturcture i yg tak sempat kering...ha..ha..ha..ini semua disebabkan I was down with bad flu..infact waktu my first class...50% of the time I was sneezing non stop..habis aje class..terus tidur dlm kereta..and sampai sahaja diMelaka terus pergi klinik...And ditambah pula dgn satu projek "istimewa" I yg harus disiapkan..I will post it right away after this entry...special project yg menggunakan teknik piping royal icing..practical..tapi buat benda lain..bukan buat homework....



So here are the pictures of my swan lake project...notice the 2 big butterflies...semuanya dibuat dgn royal icing sahaja...and subhanallah memang cantik sangat..dah tak lagi terfikir nak buat butterfly dgn menggunakan mould...


And these are hasil kerja semua student...and also a group photo...KC is the only guy in the picture..and mesti ramai yg kenal dgn Mama Min yg memang famous dgn naughty cakes and figurines alaDebbie brown..she is the one yang duduk paling kanan sekali....a very fun and bubbly lady...sedikit pun tidak sombong...and gambar ini diambil di class kami iaitu studio Mama Min di Damansara Perdana..a very lovely and homey studio..wish that one day i will be able to have a studio like this...


Well..my hasil tangan tidak dibawa pulang ke Melaka..if u guys go to Mama Min's studi..my artwork is being displayed there...All in all..it was an exciting class...and by the way..mesti ramai yg nak tahu..berapa harga kek yg begini...mesti terperanjat..one tier cake like this is priced RM1000..due to the intricate work..bukan senang nak buat....ambil masa..and kena banyak2 sabar...Akhir kata...semuga ramadhan ini bukan ramadhan yg terakhir buat kita dan semuga amal ibadah kita lebih baik dari tahun yg sudah2...and ingat..puasa bukan setakat menahan lapas dahaga...semua anggota kita harus berpuasa juga...sampai jumpa lagi dilain entry..semuga iman kita bertambah pada bulan yg tersangat mulia ini...amin