Petalsweet in Australia Part II

After a fabulous first week out in the country in the Yarra Valley outside Melbourne (see Part I below), I flew to the beautiful and bustling city of Sydney, Australia for the next round of classes, and to visit some very dear friends!

Due to my teaching schedule, I was going to be in Sydney for just about a month, so I stayed in a wonderful high-rise apartment building in the middle of all of the excitement of the city...my view:



One little thing that made me very happy was the easy access to really good coffee...they take it pretty seriously over there, and I was thrilled to be on the receiving end of some really good mugs full of the stuff (thank you Viola!):





My first two classes in Sydney were at the lovely studio of the incredibly talented Faye Cahill, in a little suburb outside the city. Faye and her staff graciously hosted me for 4 days of teaching...and a few days of hanging out...and I loved every minute! If you are unfamiliar with Faye's beautiful and inspirational work...here are a few photos of her studio and cake designs:







The first class I taught covered some of my signature flowers including the open peony, hydrangea and filler flowers...all arranged on a beautiful little 6" tier. This was the class project:



Some of the teaching process:









Arranging demonstration:



And my students did a fabulous job creating and arranging their flowers:





Great class photo:



The second class covered some of my favorite Spring flowers...parrot tulips and freesia blossoms:



Students created numerous flowers, buds and leaves, and then dusted them with beautiful colors to finish. The petals and leaves drying:



Dusting:



A bit of pearl dust to catch the light:



Gorgeous student work:



Another great class photo:



Many, many thanks to ALL of my students for coming to class - it was such a pleasure meeting and working with you! And thank you to Mav and Viola for your perfectly executed assistance during set-up and class time...and for being your fabulous, kind and talented selves. And finally, my heartfelt thanks to Faye for hosting me and letting me teach in your lovely space...I truly loved it, and I can't thank you enough for the amazing opportunity:



And right after classes were over, despite a bit of rainy weather, I finally had my first glimpse of the gorgeous Sydney Harbor Bridge:



More Sydney to come...thank you for stopping by!

Copyright © 2011 by Jacqueline Butler of Petalsweet Cakes. Content of this blog (including text, photographs and layout) is the property of Jacqueline Butler - please respect copyright laws. If you want to link to my blog, or post any of my photos, please contact me - it would be great to have the opportunity to connect with you. Thank you!

Petalsweet in Australia Part I

So...let's see...what have I been up to since my last post?



Well, I've been doing a little bit of traveling...
in Australia...
for the past 7 weeks...
teaching sugar flowers!

Yep! I'm still pinching myself that it all happened, and it truly was the trip of a lifetime. I never thought my love of making sugar flowers would take me to another part of the world...but now it has...and I am truly grateful and feeling very blessed for such an amazing experience. It was an incredible, unforgettable journey...and I want to say THANK YOU to all of my hosts, colleagues, friends and students for making it such a very special trip!

I have been asked a lot of questions about the planning of this trip, and yes, it took a good, solid 9 months of emails, contacts, messages, research, list making, buying/collecting/shipping flower supplies, counting and re-counting, organizing and organizing some more, and making travel arrangements to put it all together. Even my lists had lists, because I wanted to make sure my classes ran smoothly, and that I had all the supplies needed for the students to be successful. In spite of a few manageable hiccups...the entire trip ran very well, and all of my students created really beautiful sugar flowers! I definitely could NOT have done it without so much fabulous help and support from home, and from all of my dear friends in Australia. Thank you so very, very much! xo

I landed in Melbourne, Australia on the morning of May 25, and was greeted at the airport by my lovely and very talented host Alison Thompson of Alison Louise Designer Cakes. Her gorgeous studio is located in Yarra Glen in the beautiful Yarra Valley...which is also wonderful wine country, and about an hour outside of the city of Melbourne:





Alison's studio sign:





With Alison:



Alison is a certified Pastry Chef and Chef, and has a very impressive resume, including authoring two books - one on baking and one on making macarons. And she is already working on a third book about sorbet and ice cream. Here are her beautiful books:





My two sugar flower classes were held at her amazing studio:





And my very kind, welcoming and talented students created a lot of gorgeous flowers including hydrangea, filler flowers, gardenias, sweet peas, peonies and parrot tulips:













Alison also treated us (spoiled us) to some amazing homemade lunches, AND stunning pastries for dessert and tea each day...yes...all made from scratch...sigh...





Fabulous class photos...thank you all SO much for coming to class and making my first stop in Australia so wonderful!





And finally, we can't forget about all of the amazing wildlife...here are a few photos from the Healesville Animal Sanctuary in the Yarra Valley...

Including a few adorable dingoes...



And me feeding a sweet kangaroo named Josie:



Many thanks to Alison for being such a wonderful host, and providing such a beautiful venue for the classes! All my best to you! x

Thank you for stopping by...stay tuned for Part II in Sydney!

Copyright © 2011 by Jacqueline Butler of Petalsweet Cakes. Content of this blog (including text, photographs and layout) is the property of Jacqueline Butler - please respect copyright laws. If you want to link to my blog, or post any of my photos, please contact me - it would be great to have the opportunity to connect with you. Thank you!