Time for a Change

Dear Fellow Followers,

It's time to change this blog.  Let's face it - I'm not caking as much as I used to and that's why I originally started Act of Sweetness.  I'm not even baking as much as I used to, and I'm definitely not sewing so much these days.

Please update your blog readers to the address: http://www.hawleydaygreetings.blogspot.com 


I will switch this blog over to that address in the next few days.

Until then, I'll leave you with this most awesomely-wonderful photo:

Yes, it's a foot.  And it's mine.  Okay, not really mine, but I have possession of it.  This foot is the reason I haven't blogged in months--I've been too busy sleeping, eating, and finding new clothes that actually fit me.

I can't wait to meet the owner of this foot--sometime in November!

Until then, change your bookmarked address for this blog and I'll keep you updated with pictures and stories.

Time for a Change

Have you noticed our new blog address?
Update your readers – we are now at hawleydaygreetings.blogspot.com
I am doing this because with our new addition on the way, I sense a change of hobbies coming.  Baking, and especially caking, has dwindled at my house, and even sewing has taken a back seat for a while.  I’m changing to a family blog for now so we can keep family and friends near and far updated on happenings at the Hawley House.
For now, I’ll be cleaning up the old blog and possibly back-dating some new posts that have been sitting in my draft box for a while.  I won’t promise a timely posting of new news, but when it comes, it’ll be housed here.

I love books–and a giveaway!

I love books.  Josh thinks I love them a little too much.  Luckily, I have been able to refrain from buying too many lately, although I tend to check out way more than I can read each time I go to the library.
Today I bought my heart out.  I had so much fun.
I read a blog called Scotty Boy & Katy Girl.  It was Katy’s birthday this week and to celebrate with all of her blog-reading friends, she is hosting a giveaway.  The best part of this giveaway is that to enter, you need to donate a book (or 2, or 3, or….)
Each children’s book donated will be sent to a hospital through the Joyful Life Library project.
Here is what I donated, along with a few others that wouldn’t fit in the widget:

Can you tell I LOVE Little Critter and Richard Scarry?  Those were some of my favorite books when I was little.
To see all the details of donations (and prizes), head over to the blog and celebrate with Katy:


Happy reading and happy giving!

Wedding Weekend

My big sister got married on May 7.  Remember this cake?  It was for her wedding.  We changed a number of the details and came up with a cake that was perfect for her and her sweetie.  I take that back…we came up with A LOT of cakes that were perfect.
Here’s a quick view of the fun.

Mulry Wedding VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

In all, there were nine flavors of cake.  Seven of those were prepared by the aunts (bakers) and sisters (decorators).  Two of the flavors were baked by another aunt.  This cake buffet was definitely an act of love. 
May 7 was also Kentucky Derby day, so we had some Derby fun at the wedding.  Many ladies wore their finest hats.  We had a lot of fun in the prep hours and a ton of fun at the event.
Congrats Crystal and Bill!

Stash Increase

One of our local quilting stores had a fat quarter sale on Saturday so I headed over there for a little fun.  I was at the store last week and and a good idea of some of the fabrics I wanted to purchase.  I didn’t reach my fq limit, but I did get close.  Look at the great pieces I found:


No pictures of the fat quarters in action, although I did work with them on Saturday afternoon.  I have 2 new quilt tops cut out and will work on putting them together this week.  Below is a sneak peek at one of my favorite in-progress quilts.  I love the lilac fabric!


Happy Sewing!

Getting Ready for a Wedding

One of my favorite sisters is getting married in a few weeks and my other favorite sister and I are making the cakes.  Crystal has chosen a cake buffet with a few different flavors of cake.  The centerpiece of the table will be a cake like this one – it represents the love of nature that Crystal and Bill share.  They spend lots of time at parks and Crystal loves photographing wildflowers, so this natural cake is a perfect touch for them.  Bill also took Crystal to a state park to propose!
It’s been a while since I’ve made a sculpted cake, so I need to practice.  This one is pretty easy to sculpt, but covering it in fondant is not as easy.  Luckily I have a few more weeks to practice.
Crystal drew inspiration for this cake from this photo, which can be found on the Cupcake Envy web site.

Below is a photo journey of my afternoon.
  Cakes are baked, cooled, and have amaretto simple sugar on them.
Cakes are stacked and trimmed so the sides are flush.
I think a basket of flowers would make a nice cake also.
The half-finished cake with chocolate fondant on it.  Next time I will put even less buttercream under the fondant.  It looks a bit puffy here.
  The finished cake.  I made the grass and flowers out of fondant as well.  Crystal and Bill’s initials are inside the heart and since the top seemed so empty, I drew in the tree rings also.

The Basics Charity Challenge

I donate to various community organizations on a regular basis.  My favorite place to donate material items is the Home of the Innocents.  I got connected with this organization shortly after I moved here - 6+ years ago already!  I volunteered for a short time, but with a major change in my work, I couldn’t guarantee being able to be there on a set schedule, which was necessary for my volunteer position so I stopped volunteering.   I never stopped donating, though.
I donate everything from clothes, to personal needs, to art supplies, and I feel good knowing that what I donate is used by the children at the center.  Look here for a list of their current needs.
Today’s post isn’t about the Home of the Innocents, though.  It’s about a post I saw while blog surfing on my sick day.  Yes, the teacher finally took a sick day.  I’m actually on day two of being out of school, having been sick all weekend.   What better way to recuperate than to read blogs and help other people???
Cara over at CaraQuilts, has a great post HERE about her pull to donate to a local shelter.  I can’t write it better than her, so please read her post.

As I read her post, I thought about how often I donate to HOTI, and how often I don’t donate to other locations.  There is a shelter very near my school that serves many families, including some of my own students.  I volunteered at the shelter on a community-wide volunteering day a few years ago, but I had never donated anything there.  CHANGE THAT!  This is an organization that helps my own students and their families.  How can I not help them?  I promptly sent a donation through their web site and will have a donation of wish-list items for them as soon as I get over this bug that’s hanging on.
I’m offering you the same challenge.  Drive past a local shelter.  Check their web site.  Give them a call.  Find out what they need.  Donate something.  Help those around us. You can do it, and I bet you’ll have fun doing it.
Happy Giving,