Firekites AUTUMN STORY - chalk animation video in HD

Incredible!

Deviant

So Kelly Ann turned me onto DA (Deviant Art) http://claudiamm37.deviantart.com and I have been spending tooo much time on it! The minute I uploaded an ATC (artist trading card) I got a bazillion messages! people were faving my cards left and right! I hit the ATC motherload! I have traded cards with artists from South Africa to Germany to Canada and the good ol' US of A!

So farewell Twitter! I have found my true addiction!

One good aspect of this is that I now am creating art everyday! and I'm in touch with so many other artists!

Here are some of my latest cards:

Tree - Shape Poem

July's Illustration

Sushi!!!

June's Illustration

Fowl of a Feather

Ducks....There are ducks in our pool. I don't know who was more excited, KellyAnn or the dogs...

That's it. Coming Soon: June Illustration

Sk8r Cake

KellyAnn's latest cake: A skate board cake for twin boys who recently turned 10.

One of the boys wanted chocolate cake and the other wanted vanilla. So one side of the cake is chocolate, and of course the other, vanilla. The boys liked their cake!

Happy Mothers Day

Momma Pigeons Love Their Babies!

Mamma Pigeons Love Their Babies.

May Illustration

Spring Chicken's

Black Forest Cake

KellyAnn got an order for a Black Forest cake.

The cake was for a birthday, there was a semi-theme, which was 'Bavarian', and the client was interested in incorporating the bavarian flag, if possible.

I have to say, the Black Forest cake is a DELICIOUS cake, Kirsch (cherry liqueur) is use in the cherry filling and the whipped cream, instead of using shaved chocolate, we made a white chocolate glaze.

The blue triangles were to represent the blue triangles in the bavarian flag, they were white chocolate painted with blue colorfill. Unfortunately the triangles were too heavy and began sinking into the filling, so KellyAnn removed them and put more cherries in their place.

The clients seemed pleased with the results...We're gonna have to make one for ourselves!

Cheri Turns 50! (wish I was still 50!)

Cheri's Butterfly Cake

I bought a book:"Beautiful Cakes - Irresistible Cakes and Cookies" by Peggy Porschen. On page 78 she has this GORGEOUS chocolate fondant covered cake w/butterflies.

I had Cheri go through the book, and pick out a cake she would like for her 50th BDay party. That's the one she chose.

So here is my first attempt at a three layered cake, covered with chocolate fondant, with ribbon, and butterflies...

I ordered the chocolate fondant, it's too hard to turn white fondant into dark brown, chocolate flavored, fondant. It was a nice soft fondant, easy to roll out.

I was pleased to find the ribbon, the turquoise in it was perfect! The butterflies are made from color flow icing. There are outlines in the back of the book, so you outline the butterfly in chocolate piping, then when its dry, you 'fill' it with a 'drippy' version of the icing. I let them dry overnight. You have to make an accordion piece of cardboard, covered with wax-paper, put a thick line of chocolate icing in a groove, and attach the wings to this warm chocolate. Let it dry. Once they are dry, you can attach them to the cake...don't forget to make small dots of chocolate on the wings.

I had a great time making this cake!

Thanks for turning 50 Cheri!!!!

KellyAnn is working on a Black Forest cake order...pix to follow!

Marketing 101 Flying Cake OR Cake Flyer

This is a copy of KellyAnn's flyer...so far she has gotten 2 cake orders since posting it!

Our 1st Cheese Cake

Cheese Cake!!!

We found a great book on cakes: Debbie Brown's "Enchanted Cakes for Children" It's full of the cutest cakes, colorful, whimsical, and the instructions are so thorough that even we can do it! Her work inspired this cake.

Kelly Ann spent the morning making 3 Rum Cakes (she's not allowed to handle the rum...)

1-lemon, 1-chocolate & 1-vanilla.

So I made this one....4 mice in a Cheese Cake!

What fun!!

We dropped off slices of the Rum Cake with a friend who manages a few restaurants, to see if he would like to put them on his dessert menu.

Wish her luck!

Green Car

1st Cake to Ireland

Homeschool Project: Cakes to Ireland.

KellyAnn's 1st cake order!

This Chocolate Rum Cake, was made for an 80th Birthday. The 'Birthday Girl' loves irises so KellyAnn hand-painted cut-out iris on fondant.

I was very impressed by KellyAnn's confidence with this cake. She chose the color combo, she made all the right decisions throughout the process.

Fast forward 10 years: "How long have you been decorating cakes?" "Since I was 12."

April's Illustration

April Fools Playing Possum

The Start of Something Big

The Gir Cake

"Doom Doom Doom"

For a homeschool project, KellyAnn wants to make cakes to sell, to raise money for a trip to Waterford Ireland, to (hopefully) meet a homeschool family from Ireland (we found a connection, just have to email them). We will be Twittering the process and updates while we're in Ireland. We haven't set a date, this is the first phase of her project: Research. Plan. Document.

Let Them Eat Cake

Ok, so this isn't the Ace of Cakes. It's not even close...BUT it is the 1st cake Kelly Ann and I've ever done like this. Our St. Patrick's Day cake!

It was fun to make, but such a different learning curve. Being as visual as I am, I look at it and it looks easy...but the minute I lift the fondant I am lost. The tinting, the consistency, smoothing it...I plan on teaching myself to be comfortable with it...I'll keep you posted.

Word.

Anathema

If anathema had four legs,

and crept up from the hideous dregs,

I wouldn't help it, yet I couldn't ignore,

because its very presence I abhor.

thanks to @rikmeistr (do you Twiiter?)

March's Illustration "No Presents, Please"

February Illustration "Let Them Eat Cake!"

Let them Eat Cake!

Kids Love Art!

The kids at Cesar Chavez Charter School, had fun painting panels that I drew for them. Each child chose an animal for me to draw, and after I finished the drawing phase they went to work making art!!! There's nothing like seeing kids with a brush loaded with paint!!!

New 4 2009

A new year and a resolution....Illustration. This year you'll see alot more illustrations.

Enjoy!