Award Winning???

Here is the Little Duckling Cake I made for the cake competition this weekend. I wish I could have spent more time on it. It's been a busy two weeks. I'm not sure what I would have done differently but I don't feel like it has the "wow" factor.

I'm worried about taking it on the plane. Most of the cake was airbrushed so if anything breaks I won't be able to replace it and get the same color effect. Can you tell I'm a bit nervous? Man this post is a downer.

Wish me luck?

Quads

I took a day off of work and hung out with my nephews. We took the quads out and let the kids loose. Here's Grandpa laying down the rules. Stuff like, "I know it feels really good to go fast, but keep it under 15mph" and "If I see you going over jumps too fast, I will come and haul your butt back to the truck."


This was my first time driving an ATV. I was a little nervous at first but got the hang of it before too long. I was out by myself and kept entertained by chasing the huge jack rabbits around the trails.

I always love it when Dave's brother Shayne and his family come to town.

Debbie's Wedding Cake

The wedding turned out beautifully Saturday night. Debbie looked gorgeous and the party was lively.

So here is the wedding cake. The bumble bees were added last minute. Debbie thought they would be cute. At first I wasn't so sure, but when the cake was put together I thought that it worked.


I wish I had a better picture of Debbie and Kylie cutting the cake. I snapped this one really fast beacuse I didn't want to get in the way.

I think we can make it through this

The wedding cake is done! Yeah! I'll post pictures of it after the wedding.

Surprisingly, besides the bird incident, I didn't have any problems putting the cake together. It only took me twelve hours from baking to adding the finishing touches. I'm sure twelve hours seems like a long time, but I was pretty happy that it didn't take longer.

Katie and I are on better terms. She spent the last two days in her impromptu hang out in the garage. Yesterday morning I went to check on her. She was laying on her little bed with the saddest look on her face. I went to pet her and she wouldn't even look up at me. I made myself a tuna fish sandwich for lunch just so I could give her the left over tuna juice (her favorite treat). After I finished the cake and put in a safe spot, Katie was aloud back in the house. It only took her a few minutes to warm up to me again. I've forgiven her for dropping a bird on my cake and apparently she has forgiven me for locking her out of the house for two days. I think we can make it through this.

Does anyone want Katie?

Does anyone want Katie? We’ve been on the outs for the last month and last night she crossed the line. For the last three years I’ve dealt with the nonstop meowing, excessive shedding and the occasion bird, mouse or snake at my doorstep. But last night takes the cake (in more ways than one.)

Dave’s sister is getting married on Saturday and I get to make her cake. This is my first attempt at a wedding cake and I have to admit I’m pretty nervous. Last night I was working on making hundreds of little sugar flowers. I decided to take a break and go get the mail. I left the front door open because I was just going to be a second. As soon as I got the mail I could see Katie on the doorstep with something in her mouth. This is a usual scene at my house. I couldn’t tell what it was but I yelled at her to drop it. Instead she decided to run into the house.

I ran after her and caught her in the kitchen. I realized the bird she was carrying was still very alive. When she saw me she let go of the bird. Unfortunately it was right on top of the flowers I so painstakingly made. The bird was flying around like crazy. I was screaming a trying to get Katie out of the kitchen. I’m sure it would have been a funny sight but I was too freaked out and devastated over the loss of my flowers.

I threw Katie outside and began to look for the bird. I slinked around the kitchen and timidly looked in every corner. No bird. I looked in the basement thinking maybe she flew down there. No bird. I grabbed a laundry basket to use a trap and continued my search throughout the house. Still no bird.

So I opened all of the doors and went outside and cried. I didn’t know what to do. Dave was on a trip, my kitchen was in shambles, and there was some wild bird waiting to attack me somewhere in my house.

As a kid I had a scary incident with a huge grasshopper. It was the most traumatic experience I can remember to date. Until recently every scary dream I had involved grasshoppers. It’s my biggest irrational fear. What bothers me so much about them is how unpredictable they are. You never know where they are going to hop next. Having this bird in my house not knowing where it was or where it will fly next took me right back to that day with the five inch grasshopper.

After spending a half an hour outside talking with my mom as she tried to calm me down I figured the bird had left or maybe it flew outside during the commotion when I wasn’t looking. I convinced myself I was safe. I grabbed the vacuum and started the daunting task of cleaning up all of the feathers. As the vacuum cleaner came close to the bay window in my kitchen the missing bird was not missing any more. It started fluttering and flying into things. Again I screamed and ran outside.

I eventually went next door and asked my neighbor to help me out. I’m sure they think I’m crazy. I was a complete basket case. Through the tears I managed to tell them my predicament. Stan easily grabbed the bird and released it outside. It didn’t seem to be too hurt since it flew away immediately.

I was really surprised by my reaction to this whole situation. I can usually keep it together and rarely cry in front of people. I’m not sure if the tears came from my fear of unpredictable birds, confusion with Katie, or having my cake destroyed.

I think the main reason is because I’m so paranoid about having my house sanitized before I cook for other people. I always kick Katie outside, put on a hair net and sterilize my kitchen before I start cooking anything that is for someone else. I would hate to have people not want to eat my food because they know I have a cat in the house.

Had I not been working on Debbie’s cake I probably wouldn’t have reacted so insanely about a bird in the house. Tonight I’ll resume the cake decorating, sans the risk of passing on the bird flu, and Katie will not be allowed in the house for the next few days. I’ll set up her bed in the garage with some extra treats. I’m sure she’ll be devastated, but I don’t have a choice.

Water Olympics

In honor of the Summer Games our ward had our own Olympic ceremonies. It turned out better than I could have expected. We started off with a dutch oven breakfast and then tried our hardest to get everyone soaking wet.

The games consisted of rely races

obstacle courses

and of course a medal ceremony.

I'm going on my third year in the activities committee. I'm a little burned out but I don't want to say anything for fear I might get an even more time consuming calling. Luckily my committee is much more excited and dedicated than me.

The Ugly Cygnet

I received the requirements for the cake competition I will be competing in. Apparently there is a theme for the special occasion cakes. This year it is Fairy Tales. My ocean cake would probably work if I adapted it to "The Little Mermaid" but I think I want to do something completely different. I'm going to try the "Ugly Duckling." There is a lot I can do with this little cygnet. My mom told me what a baby swan was called. Here is my inspiration for the cake. I'll keep you posted as I make the different elements.

Almond Daisy Cake

I made this cake about 4 years ago, long before I experimented with fondant. The cake is covered in a glaze frosting. I goes on really smooth and has the appearance of fondant with out the work. The flowers are real (I don't think I'll ever be able to make sugar flowers look that realistic.) This is the only time I've put fresh flowers on a cake. I'm usually not a fan. It looks beautiful but I worry about the pollen getting in the edible part of the cake. Maybe next time I'd use edible flowers.

Sugar Orchids

This weekend I attempted to make orchids out of sugar paste. I made enough petals for about six flowers but was only able to successfully make two orchids. But now I think I've got the technique down so next time it should go a lot smoother. They would look a lot more realistic had I spent the time to paint each petal instead of leaving them white.

Eastern Idaho State Fair

I was thinking about submitting a cake to the Sugar Arts Festival in Tulsa which is the largest cake competition in America. I went last year as an onlooker and was totally amazed. I think I need to ease into the competitive side of cake decorating though. I found out the Idaho is having their own Sugar Art Show at the Blackfoot fair this year. Perfect. I can easily get a cake to Idaho and I'll have supporters to go to the fair with me.

I need your help though. I'm not sure what to submit. Should I recreate a cake that I've already made or come up with a new idea altogether?

My Finding Nemo cake would be fun. I can spend more time on the sea life details.


I've always liked this popcorn cake. I'd definitely put more detail on the popcorn bucket.

The trout cake might appeal to the Idaho crowd.

I really want to make an original cake. Not out of a book. So the Dragon and Jungle cake are out.

Let me know what you think the judges and fair folk would be the most impressed with.

Pot of African Violets

A few posts ago I warned you that I would be posting pictures of my beginner cakes. This is my first attempt to make a cake look like something other than a cake. The terracotta pot is a little lumpy but it kind of works. It looks like a kid made it in art class.

This cake was for my mother-in-law's birthday a few years ago.