Custom Surf Board Sign for Barefoot Brady's Tiki Bar

Barefoot Brady's Sign (Click to enlarge)

Here is a piece that I finished over the summer. It is a custom sign intended my brother's tiki bar at our family's river place. The entire bar is dedicated in loving memory to Amanda Brady (Family and friends loving refer to her as Brady). Our family has named it Barefoot Brady's in her honor. The decor inside is either inspired by or dedicated to her memory and love of the beach. The sign itself was intended to incorporate subjects that she loved, as well as, symbols that friends and family associate with her and remember her by.

The board itself was crafted out of plywood, using a knee-board as a guide to get the size right. It was cut and primed by my brother for me. I began with a white board and projected my sketched design on to the board. This way I could trace the main elements on to the board for painting.

For imagery, I painted a bright blue beach scene accented with palm trees and flowers. We planned to keep the colors bright and happy. The white stripes across the center of the board were inspired by surf board designs. The emblem in the center was  intended to house the lettering of the sign. Inside the circle, I used a sand texture for the background and painted the lettering of the sign over it. The white outer circle has one of Brady's favorite sayings, "Live, Laugh, Love." I also repeated a footprint motif to tie in the 'Barefoot' part of the title and help balance out some of the colors used in the beach scene. 

One of the things I really enjoyed about this piece was that I included several hidden symbols representative of Brady in the scene. I chose symbols that family and friends would know the story behind and pick up on. The first was the number 47. This number was Brady's jersey number in softball. Family and friends have often seen this number in various situations and we all associate it with Brady. I worked this symbol into one of the decorative curls under the lettering on the center of the sign. See the detailed shot below.

Detail - Hidden Symbol: #47

 

The next symbol is a lady bug. Brady's family members have often seen a lady bug after a loved one's passing and we all have come to see it as a sign that their spirit is with us and letting us know they are there. There have been several instances where family and friends have seen this symbol over the years, as well. I hid this little lady bug under a pink flower pedal on the right side of the sign. I am very pleased with how it turned out and how it tucked nicely under the pedal.

Detail - Hidden Symbol: Lady Bug

 The last symbol I put in was a four-leaf clover. Brady was well known to find four leaf clovers all the time, even though they are so rare. I slipped in this little clover under the palm tree on the right side of the painting.

Detail - Hidden Symbol: 4 Leaf Clover

This project has been very personal to me, our family, and friends. There is a lot of love painted into this sign! The completed sign has been a big hit and now hangs proudly over the entry of the tiki bar. The family has also decided to make T-Shirts featuring the design and they are selling them to benefit the foundation that was created in memory of Brady, The Amanda Brady Foundation for Youth. Visit http://amandabradyfoundation.org/ to learn more about the Foundation.

This is our tribute to Brady and a fun way to keep her memory and spirit alive with us. We love you Brady!!

Cake Decorating Art

Sometimes it is a lot of fun to apply my skills to something new and different. In this case, cake decorating! I had the chance throughout the previous year or two to try my hand at making fondant figures and cake designs for a few family events.

The first, was a set of fondant cats and a fondant house to go on two groom's cakes, for my cousin's wedding reception. The cats were really fun, I got pictures of my cousin's cats and matched the markings to look like them. Working with fondant was very similar to working with clay. The only real noticeable differences was that I had to use an Exacto blade to cut detailed shapes, use tooth picks to help support the legs and head while they dried, and I used water to attach pieces together (instead of pinching or pressing them together). The water is just put on lightly with a paintbrush and it acts like glue.

Here are a few pics of the cats before and after they were placed on their cake. (My Mom did a fantastic job baking and frosting the spice cake itself. It turned out great!)

The other groom's cake depicted my cousin's house at Christmas with 'Marry Me' spelled out in lights on the roof. This was how my cousin proposed to his fiancee, so we recreated it for their cake. My Aunt and I teamed up on this one together. We both got the textures and main shapes cut and attached. I helped add in little details like transparency paper over the yellow windows to make them look more like glass and the wreath on the door. My Aunt wrote the 'Marry Me' with icing after attaching the house to the cake. She also baked and frosted the house cake. (Her chocolate cake is delicious!)

The next cake I got to work on was for a party following the 2013 Monument Avenue 10K Marathon. A lot of friends and family participated for the Amanda C. Brady Foundation for Youth. This Foundation was started in memory of my brother's fiancee. You can check them out at amandabradyfoundation.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/amandabradyfoundation?ref=profile. All the runners wore baby blue or pink T-shirts with the Foundation logo on it to show their support. After the Marathon, everyone met up for a party to celebrate. I made the Foundation logo out of fondant for the cake. (My Mom baked and frosted the cake itself, she is a pro!) This one was really challenging because of the thick and thin lines of the logo and the general shape. At first, I tried to get a template of the logo and cut/trace the fondant with an Exacto blade. This didn't work too well, the parts of the logo began loosing their shapes and breaking in thinner areas. So I scrapped that approach, and decided to cut strips of fondant and use them to layout the logo. This method worked like a charm! I let the logo dry and harden overnight and then I transferred it to the cake.The Foundation is participating in the Marathon again this year, please support them! They accept donations and pledges to run on their website, donations go toward scholarships and other activities related to the Foundation.

The last cake I worked on, was for a birthday. I made a Tiki Hut design on a beach with waves coming in. This one was really challenging because it was all icing work. I experimented with different tips on the decorating bags to get different shapes and textures. My favorite was the tip I used to get the wood texture on the hut. In some ways icing is a forgiving medium, if I made a mistake all I had to do was get a toothpick or knife to remove the flaw and begin on it again. I added in some cinnamon and sugar to make the sand under the Hut. It was a lot of fun to go in and add little details like the swings, crab under the Hut, glasses on the table, and flowers here and there. Really fun Summer B-Day cake!

That is it for now. If I wind up making some more cool looking cakes this year I will post some pics of them. Food art is fun!