New website!

Yes it may seem that I have been quiet, but I have been steadfastly putting some developments in motion!! I'm moving on up.....to a websittttteee....I've decided that I want to take the business one step closer to professionalism and chose to create a free website on Yola.com. Always on a mission to make things better :) The website contains an about me section, contact information, as well as it will serve as the new home for Le Blog: Beaux Rêves!!

So if you will, please bookmark the page : http://beauxreves.yolasite.com for your reading pleasure, or just to stop by and leave a comment! I also have a new post which is the beginning of a Beaux Rêves series so feel free to check it out!

Thank you so much for your patronage thus far and hope you enjoy the new site!!!

Butterflies on the train

There she sat.. A little butterfly on the train...I did not quiver or grimace or duck as I normally might at the site of such a creature in an enclosed space, but instead I watched her happily rest on her mother's arm. Why was this creature on the 1 train to Harlem? Simple, she was on her was back home from a birthday party, exhausted from the day's events and satisfied with the happiness she experienced moments ago. This butterfly had braids, wore a pink t-shirt and a denim skirt and reminded me much of myself as a young girl. Ok so the butterfly is really a girl, but I enjoy taking some creative license with these blog posts. 4th of July weekend has come and gone, and while my own weekend was very quiet, the image of the girl with the butterfly painted on her face reminded me of how the simplest things fill children with glee!

Face painting has emerged as a popular addition to many children's parties and reminds me of a transformative effect similar to that I experienced as a young girl, playing "kiddies carnival" in Trinidad, decked head to toe in costume, glitter on my face and beads in my hair. While this girl on the train had a very simple design on her own face,complete with intricate pinks wings covering her eyes, forehead and check, and with glitter gleaming strategially on the edges...it was enough to make her happy and make her feel special.

There is so little good, simple, clean fun left in the world so I would definitely encourage anyone hosting a children's party or other youth focused event to hire a face painter. Many face painters can be hired by the hour, can provide you with galleries of their artwork, present you with new and current options, and are probably former/current art students putting their talents to good, practical use!Face painting can be as crude as work done with face paint crayons and as "fancy" as those done by airbrush..Either way, once done carefully and artistically (and quickly...kids don't sit still for too long!) it will surely be delightful :)

I found an instructional video for a bit more involved butterfly than the one I saw, but I thought it was very helpful: Butterfly Face Paint

Also I have included some pictures of my favorite faces that I found online. Click on the links for the original source and to see a larger image!

In conclusion, if you have any artistic talent, why not do some face painting at your next kids party? Or call around to find a face painter in your area, they are typically inexpensive and the kids are guaranteed to love it. What will you become?? :)

Let them eat...art?????

When Marie Antoinette supposedly uttered the words "Let them eat cake" with reference to peasant complaints about bread scarcity, she certainly wasn't discussing the cake of the 21st century! Cakes today are far too decadent now to speak of so flippantly!

Typically, cakes as we know it have always been associated with celebrations; they usually took the form of a simple, round, iced, spongy baked good that, after admired briefly, is simply a memory after a few bites. The past few years however, have brought about GRAND innovations in cake making that might make anyone think twice about scarfing down a slice or two without enjoying the craftsmanship along the way.

What has led to this cake revolution??? Fondant icing alone has given the cake "engineers" a great material to work with that is pliable and flexible enough to become what it is told to become. Be an airplane! You shout...and therein lies an airplane in your grasp. Ok, so I am being a bit dramatic but I have been watching ALOT of "Cake Pro" TV the past few weeks and have seen many a magical result from fondant wrangling, airplanes included. It seems to me that all the TV networks are trying to get in on the Cake Craze and have chosen to highlight those pastry chefs whose work is worthy enough to keep your attention for more than 2 minutes.

My two favorite shows currently are Ace of Cakes on The Food Network and Amazing Wedding Cakes on WEtv.. A close third would be Cake Boss on TLC. Ace of Cakes is centered around Pastry Chef Duff Goldman who has hired a band of crafty merrymen to assist him in his bid for the title of Master Baker. Duff's company, Charm City Cakes produces cakes that could only be called artwork... Artwork so thrilling that it almost makes you want to cry...seriously... Amazing Wedding Cakes follows a few different pastry chefs however, the Cake Girs ,led by sisters Mary and Brenda Maher are continually pushing their cakes to the limit in beauty and functionality.

In the photo montage below Duff's team created the Mario Bros cake, the Blue Henna cake, the Bubbles cake, and the Beer Barrel with cherry blossoms cake. There is painstaking detail and craftsmanship with each creation and it truly does look like what you would get if you asked an artist to make you a cake! The Turntable cake (it actually spins) the yellow mongoram mini cake, the Curious George cake, the beer mug cake and the Bowling cake are all crafted by the Cake Girls.

In my search for the pictures of these amazing cakes, I did come across some other notable mentions. The iPhone cake was made by Sugarcat cakes and the Vegetarian Sushi Cake was mabe by Whipped Bakeshop. The Singer sewing machine cake was made by Zhanna of St. Petersburg Russia.

(Click on pictures for larger images)

As you can see the possibilities are endless. Once you can dream it up, there is some artisan baker who can make your cake dreams come true!! These cakes would fare very well at birthday parties, anniversaries, weddings (grooms' cakes), engagement parties, baby showers, bachelor parties, company launches, you name it! It will no doubt serve as a focal point of the party, but will also provide a yummy treat for your guests!!

I dare you to not to eat these cakes slowly and with a hint of regret :)