SWEET AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Darling gingerbread house!
Sweet gingerbread train!
Delightful gingerbread sleighs!

I redecorated my Christmas tree with sweets this year. I used gingerbread cookies, heart chocolates, and cupcakes. All made by the wonderful Lola Renner. The girger bread train and sleighs were made by her too. The gingerbread House was made by another wonderful IGMA artisan Betsy Niederer and the dolls are by Bonnie Justices.

I hope everyone a sweet and Merry Christmas!

BEAUTIFUL PASTRIES AND FLOWERS

Hi everyone! I am sorry I have not posted anything in a while. I am very busy with school. I just want to share some pictures of my birthday mini treats from Paris miniatures, from my friend Yukari from Japan and from my friend Kim Saulter from California. I want to welcome my new followers: Emma from Paris miniatures, Mini kitchen, Michelle, Ingrid, Teresa Martinez, Dora, Jody, and Margarita Vives.  I want to thank all my blog friends that always leave beautiful comments.

The fruit tarts were made by Kim Saulter, she also filled the tea sets.  All these will be part of a future project. The "Mad hatter tea party". Kim's tarts look so good to eat! Thanks Kim for the extra gifts.

The French pastries on the pink table were made by Emma from Paris miniatures. She also send me a really cute birthday cup cake with the tiniest birthday candle. Thanks Emma! These pastries will go in another bakery that I am working on.

The most beautiful and tiny flowers I have seen in miniature were made by a very talented Japanese artist and friend Yukary.

All these beautiful plants will go in my conservatory that is almost finished.

NEW PROJECT/ AGING AND DECORATING A POTTING TABLE

These are the 2 pictures of the finished and accessorized potting table. I will be posting more pictures later of other shelves that I am aging and some flowers I am making. Hope you like it. This will go in my conservatory.

I started painting this table with a light sage color and after dry I sanded it.

I added some brown pigment, black wash and dark forest green

What do you think? Doest it look weathered?

POR AMOR AL CHOCOLATE/ FOR THE LOVE OF CHOCOLATE

I love chocolate and consider my self a chocoholic. I decided to make a chocolate shop just for the "Love of Chocolate" I present to you the "Godiva chocolatier" one of my favorite brands.

Close up of right window

Closeup of left window

I made all the chocolates and boxes on this table

I took pictures of each counter outside the shop so you could see better the details of the chocolates.

Closeup of middle counters

right side counter

Inside view of shop.

Middle shelf

rightside shelf

left side and middle shelf

I started this shop many years ago. I have collected chocolate pieces made by Betsy Niederer, Lola Rener and Kerry Alexander for this shop. I also made all the Godiva chocolate boxes, bags, posters and chocolates that have the Godiva logo on it. The chandeliers were made by Tim Kraft and the litte girl dolls by Bonnie Justice and Carol Mcbride.

We tend to think of chocolate as a sweet candy created during modern times but chocolate dates back to the ancient people of Latin America who drank chocolate as a bitter beverage. Chocolate comes from the seed of the cocoa tree. The first people known to have made chocolate were the ancient cultures of Mexico and Central America. These people were the Mayas and the Aztecs. The Mayas called the cocoa tree "cacahuaquchtl" and the word chocolate comes from the Aztec word "xocoatl" which means bitter water. The Mayas cultivated the earliest know cocoa plantations from Central America to the northern portions of South America. It was consider by them as the "god's food". The Aztecs believe that wisdom and power came from eating the fruit of the cocoa tree and that it had nourishing, fortifying and even aphrodisiac qualities. The cocoa beans were also used as currency. In 1528 the Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortez took the cocoa seeds to Spain where new recipes were created. The Spaniards mixed the cocoa beans with sugar,vanilla, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and cinnamon. Eventually the drink popularity spread throughout Europe. I hope I did not bore anyone with some of the history of chocolate.