Tried to make flowers again

julie47

Well peeps as alot of you know my hands are not in good shape. Disfigured and quite useless due to ra.

Well years and years ago I used to make cakes and ice them, using royal icing or butter cream depending on the occasion.
Making flowers and ornaments for cakes. :P

Sooooo after seeing demonstrations on you tube and thinking how easy it was I decided to send off for a new icing set. It arrived on saturday , so today I made some royal icing.

Well, that was the first step that it was going to be difficult, I could hardly mix it.
Then.....trying to get the mixture into the piping bag was another difficult procedure, kept getting stuck on the sides

Now...to try piping well i couldnt squeeze the bag even with my two hands. :roll: I kept trying and eventually laid the bag on work top and squeezed as much icing to the bottom with my wrist on top as i could. Then, I picked it back up and tried again. Well a shape did come out, not the shape I was expecting, :shock: there was no way that this blob would turn into a rose.
After a few attempts I gave in. BUT I may try with butter cream another day as that may be a little easier :?

I love crafty things. I used to knit a lot....I tried that last year and couldn't hold the needles.

I do paint again and use both hands to hold the brush or pencil

I used to make my clothes on occasion too, but now can't hold the scissors to even cut the material, paper is bad enough. :roll: as for holding pins.....well, you can imagine

This isn't meant to sound like a moan, more of a frustration and hopefully you laughed along at some of the comments and pictured me with the icing all over the place and white icing dust on my trousers.
The nozzles are soaking....

I guess for the moment I will have to stick to dusting, I am ok at that, got a long handled feather duster

Any other suggestions I could try

Have A good day every one.....keep smiling
and trying

love juliepf x

pinkbritishstars

Hi Julie

Really sorry to hear about the problems you are facing.

I do understand because I can't knit because of the arthritis in my fingers.

What kind of cakes did you make before you were unable to make them?

Thinking of you and if I come up with any ideas I will pm you.

Take Care

Bronwyn xx

suzygirl

Do you know what I really loved about that post Julie? It was your spirit, nothing can diminsh that. You still clearly love fun and have a posiitve attitude and a life full of enjoyable things.

The end results may not be quite the same, but the person still is.

(((hugs))) to you x

stickywicket

This wasn't quite the morning you had planned, Julie? :roll: While you were hammering out the icing sugar I was trying to do a similar thing with mayonnaise. (Mr SW, left to his own devices - I blame myself - had got a squeezy one instead of a jar.) These hands were certainly not made for squeezing. Still, plenty of opportunity for you to practice your dusting after throwing the icing sugar everywhere.

Other suggestions? I'm afraid all I can come up with is to buy a book of crafts and see which you might like/be able to do. Or maybe, if you really fancy the icing thing, different equipment might give different results. Or try just cutting the nozzle a bit wider? I used to have an ancient tin cylindrical thing of my Mum's. You put the icing in then forced it out with a sort of plunger. It'd have been great if I'd just had couple more hands - two to hold the cylinder steady and another two to work the plunger.

With your talent for painting, how about chinese letter brush art?

Sorry, best I can come up with.

barbara12

Oh Julie my love..I used to make jewellery...but I cant grip the tweezers..so I am looking out for something..at the min like you but probably not has good..I am turning my hand to painting...you would laugh if you saw them..but it really relaxes me..I will get my thinking cap on xx

julie47

Thank you ladies for your kind words.

pink....I used to do all sorts of cakes. Christmas, birthday, an anniversary cake for mum & dad 25th (cor...that was 25 years ago...blimey time flies)
a christening cake for my niece, I used to love it.

sticky....oh that chinese letter brush art looks lovely.
I have as you know been given some inks, I have to buy the brush and rice paper. have watched demos on the wonderful you tube and will have a go at painting the flowers but the letter art....well that looks a little bit tricky.
I know what you mean about the icing plunger....yes....perhaps I could buy one of them...not for delicate flowers but for boarders and star flowers....mmmm thank you.

suzygirl ...thank you for your lovely words. Honestly if you saw me you would laugh at what i try to do just ask my Richard....he will tell you I am very trying

Barbara....oh it is a shame that you can not do your jewellery (gosh took me three attempts to spell that ) any more. I can imagine how fiddly it would be threading beads on and then the little fasteners.
I am glad you enjoy your painting though. It is relaxing isn't it ? and i am sure I wouldn't laugh at them at all. You haven't seen mine
Never mind it keeps us out of trouble doesn't it

take care all
love juliepf x

suzygirl

I have thought about making cards, you just buy the parts and stick them on. I am very very clumsy though, so a bit wary. Maybe worth a thought, you could combine with your other talents?

Or do cupcakes, the icing is easier for those??

I wish you well and much satisfaction from whatever you do.

theresa4

I can fully understand where you are coming from. I used to do reflexology on my mum in law and my grandma it relaxed me and helped them too and I often had lots of toes wiggling at me to do them next. I happily obliged. Then I got RA...I cut down to just my mum in law and grandma after alll they needed it most. Then as time went by once a week became once a month until now when I can no longer offer it at all.

Im yet to find something else that I enjoy and am good at that the RA cant ruin but Im still looking.#
HAve to say the icing incident reminded me of when I opened a bag of sugar it took ages to pull the bag apart and when I finally got a grip and the strength to pull it apart it sprung open depositing sugar everywhere, in my hair, down my top, across the counter, over the floor, in the bowl (good aim ) great fun.
good luck for whatever you try your hand at next

Theresa

dreamdaisy

Like Suzy I too greatly admire your spirit and willingness to have a go at stuff. I don't even try, I think 'Oooo, I'll give that a go!' then decide I can't be bothered to make the effort. :roll: I am getting back into doing jigsaws - OK that's not a craft but it is a good distraction from pain. I think you need to look at other arty areas, Sticky's suggestion was a good one, mine is what about calligraphy? Can you hold a pen without too much trouble? DD

julie47

Thank you to suzy ,theresa and DD

Suzy, card makng is very therapeutic and I do love doing that too.(I think you should try it) It is even better that you can get POP OUT Decoupage , no more cutting I used to do it alot, but now I only do them every so often. I don't often send them through the post now as the postage ruined it. A lot have to go through as large letter.
I have also done cards on the computer.(have you thought of trying that?) There are some lovely dvds out there. Cup cakes......on my next list

theresa I am sorry that you have had to stop the reflexology , I am sure that the people you used to do it on also miss you.
I hope that you can find something soon that ra will not stop you doing.

DD....calligraphy oh I love posh writing I would use both hands to hold the pen but it is something I would try I will make a note of that and perhaps when I am on holiday in the summer, I will buy myself a set as a present to myself. thank you for that suggestion.
Jigsaws.....I also keep looking at those but wondered if I would finish it. I have done them in the past with Lisa but they were childrens ones. I may look again and get a cheap one from the W**ks stationary shop.

Thank you all for your suggestions

stickywicket

I only enjoy children's jigsaws. My boys had several lovely Mr Men ones and my grandson has one where you put in the wooden animal pieces and it makes the appropriate sound. Far more fun than chocolate box cottages although my son says it has to go now because every time there's a fluctuation in sunlight, one or other of the animals starts bleating or whinnying or mooing.

lindalegs

Hi Julie,

Loved your icing story and boy can I relate to your frustration.

Below is a link to jigsaws on-line. No fiddly pieces or having to turn them over, as long as you can use a mouse you'll be able to do them. You can change how many and the shape of the pieces and even have a timer. It's fun and free and not frustrating at all.

http://www.jigzone.com/

Love,

mig

I did laugh like you said,had pictures in my mind and then i got choked up for you.I have ra in my hands left is not too bad the right one is just going misshapen but i can do most things.God bless your spirit you certainly lifted mine .(((()))) Mig

julie47

Hi sticky legs and mig

sticky big pieces, wooden and brightly coloured with a moo or baa sounds just my level

Linda.... I have had a go at the jigsaw thank you for that site and will keep using it. made a note of it.
It took me 15 mins :oops: and the average is 4 :shock: I will have to use a plug in proper mouse as this on the laptop is difficult to drag and drop. I kept dropping. (well, that's if i want to be timed, no rush really eh?)

mig I am glad i made you smile and thank you for your kind words
I hope you are well today

love to everyone on this thread
Juliepf xx

prefabkid47

I can understand your frustrations ladies.Although a mere male I have watched fascinated as my OH has iced and decorated cakes for weddings and other occasions.Her speciality is the making of fine,delicate sugar flowers to decorate her cakes and for wedding cakes she will wire these flowers together often to match the bride's bouquet (you can barely distinguish hers from the real thing!).Also for her cakes she will lots of fine piping.
Just don't know what she would do if she had joint problems in her hands.

She is also a talented card maker (but unfortunately in both areas she is her own worst critic).