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!

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