true boy tales: A Sweet New Skill

Sunday, November 15, 2009

A Sweet New Skill

When Dawson was born, I started watching TV during his middle of the night feedings. This made them much more tolerable for me since I was up for a full hour with nursing and pumping. Obviously there aren't a lot of choices on TV at 4 or 5am but there were a lot of cake decorating shows on, like Cake Wars or Amazing Wedding Cakes. I started thinking how fun it would be to do this- I love to bake. I'm also extremely meticulous and detail oriented and have a pretty steady hand. (I love cutting in the ceiling without tape when I'm painting and getting a perfect edge :) I'm not hugely creative but figured I could easily copy other people's designs.

So anyway, my mom read an article in the paper about a lady who offered classes out of her home in Ankeny- a 3 hour class for $35. I jumped at the chance and a few of my friends were excited to do it too. We had so much fun. I loved learning the techniques and even dreamt all night last night about making cakes! :) I seriously can't wait to do more and have thought of fun ideas in my head. I think my mom's even going to get me a few of the supplies for Christmas so I can get started perfecting my new skill!

Ready to begin!:

I forget what this step was called- we put a border of frosting on to keep the filling from seeping out:

The raspberry and whipped cream filling:

Putting on the "crumb coat":

Lots and lots of frosting!:

Rolling and cutting out our fondant pieces:

Decorating (we were restricted to the colors and shapes the teacher had pre-selected):

Manda's cute acorns:

The finished products (double click to see larger pictures):

I think Katie won the prize for the best design. Turns out my friend had experience we knew nothing about! I love finding out surprising things about people :) :

12 comments:

jon colyerNovember 15, 2009 at 10:31 AM
looks like a bright future for me:)
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EmilyNovember 15, 2009 at 11:04 AM
thats so fun have! my mom asked me if i wanted to come down and do this cake class too! i had to do music and now she is down in ky caring for my gma. maybe next time. love your cakes so fun!
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Elisa ClarkNovember 15, 2009 at 1:04 PM
Your cake looks beautiful! Cake decorating is so fun! Before I was married I took all of the Wilton classes and even got certified to teach wedding cake classes. But I don't do much with it anymore. So if you ever want to borrow decorating tips and things to see what you like let me know...they don't get any use from me! :)
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mandaNovember 15, 2009 at 1:34 PM
That was SO fun and the cake is SO yummy! I was really concentrating in those pics! Lol!
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EmilyNovember 15, 2009 at 1:54 PM
Your boys' bday cakes are going to be rockin awesome! What a fun thing to do! (And by the way, I'm with you on cutting in around the ceiling. It's my favorite part of painting and I HATE when Josh does it-it's never as good!) :)
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NikkiNovember 15, 2009 at 3:21 PM
love the cake designs! i've been making all of Ethan's cakes (and soon Eva's!)...my mom and mom-in-law both used to decorate cakes as a side business, so they've taught me a lot, but I still need to learn more. great job have!
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Jennifer HandsakerNovember 15, 2009 at 3:33 PM
Great job Have! I can't wait to see those bday cakes!
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stacie stanleyNovember 15, 2009 at 6:35 PM
Great job!!! I definatley want to join you in you do this again.
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i'm B.November 15, 2009 at 6:58 PM
they look great! (oh, and i tried mom's today--that frosting tastes like sweet butter!!!)
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AnonymousNovember 15, 2009 at 7:15 PM
First, love the new pic at the top of the blog. Darling. And, wow, for the first time your cake is fantastic!
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JudieNovember 15, 2009 at 7:16 PM
sorry about post with no name - my name is Judie!!!
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Kim VocelkaDecember 6, 2009 at 1:06 PM
Haverlee! LOVE the cake! I'm going to take Wilton Cake classes at Michael's after the first of the year...but as affordable as this gal sounds, can I get her name from you? We'll have to "talk shop" this week. Looking forward to seeing you on Friday!
Kim V.
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for the book lovers {my recent favorites}:

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan: An incredibly haunting medical memoir. There's a lot of medical info to read through but I didn't find those parts boring and difficult to wade through. I thought she shared just enough. But if you like a book that's easy to read, this isn't it. I couldn't get this one out of my mind for a very long time. An unforgettable true story.
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes and What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty: I'm just going to lump these two together because they're in the same category. I'm calling them deep chick lit. A perfect summer book to get lost in. Read them. Both. I promise you from the bottom of my heart that you will LOVE them. (I liked them both way better than Where'd You Go, Bernadette.)
These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner: Most of my favorite books have a main character with a whole lotta grit. I wasn't quite sure about this one when I first started it but, oh, did it sweep me in and not let me go til the last page. I also love a book that makes me "emote out loud" as I like to think of it. This one had me smiling all the way through and crying my eyes out at the end. It follows a young girl through her life in the Arizona Territories in the late 1800's. A must read for anyone who likes Historical Fiction.
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill. I LOVED this book. Its a very well researched historical fiction novel about a young girl kidnapped from her village in Africa and sold into slavery. It follows her through her whole life and the unbelievable heartache and trauma she lives through. I've been telling people I liked it as much as Unbroken but the main character is so much more endearing and has so much spunk.
Another Place at the Table by Kathy Harrison. I have a thing for modern day memoirs of utterly heartbreaking stories (Like Breaking Night and Blackbird). This is a Foster mother's first-hand account of the children she took in over the years and the unbelievable trauma they went through before they came to her.
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. I loved this lighthearted yet emotional story of a strong woman making the best of a hard life in the Southwest, beginning in the 1930's. I love her writing style--just cuts to the point of every story without too much "fluff" and yet tells it in a way that you can picture everything in vivid detail. Her memoir, The Glass Castle, is one of my all-time favorites, and this true-life novel about her grandmother didn't disappoint.
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Modern day fiction about a girl raised in Foster homes and her struggles throughout life. She learns about the Victorian Era language of flowers and that becomes a huge part of her life. I finished it in two days. An easy read but very emotional and moving.
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. The true story of a man's experience after Hurricane Katrina when he decided not to evacuate in order to look after several properties he owned. Quite an unbelievable story and so hard to believe this happened in the US only a few years ago.