Week Four

Tonight, I am feeling a little bit proud that I have kept my resolution for four whole weeks. This has definitely outlived any other resolution I have made for myself. Maybe if I posted my weight or bank account balance on a blog, I would have some motivation to be frugal and work out! I have heard the statistic that says it takes 21 days to make a habit; however, I am wondering if something I do only one day a week takes 21 days or will I know I have made this a habit once I have made it to 21 weeks?

This week's project was cupcakes made to look like baby rattles. (OK, I know you are sitting there thinking you are sick of looking at pictures of cupcakes, and soon I promise I am going to branch out.) But, my mom asked me to make these for a baby shower that she was hosting with her bell choir for a girl that we all go to church with. I found the idea on the Betty Crocker website. The only adjustment that I made was to use marshmallows as the end of the rattle. Their recipe called for gum drops. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find gumdrops when it is not Christmas?? I thought for SURE I would be able to find Valentines colored ones. But I think the pink marshmallows (which tasted like strawberry, and they were delicious.) gave them the same effect.

Heres the update for week 3!!

Here is a little bit of what has been going on this week. Last Sunday, I went to the Viking Store in Atlanta and I took my first "real" cooking class. Wow, it was such a great experience. The instructor that taught the class had done her externship under the guy who did Princess Diana's wedding cake (I thought that was a pretty cool piece of trvia!). She gave us all sorts of neat hints and tricks to decorate beautiful cakes. The staff in the store also takes great care of you, we had breakfast and lunch provided. If you ever get a chance to take one of their classes, I would highly recommend it. Another great thing is that when you take a class they give you a discount toward merchandise or future classes, so, I went ahead and scheduled the advanced class in March.
I made the sunflower cupcakes for garden club on Tuesday night. I got the idea out of a book called Hello, Cupcake! It is filled with great ideas that you dont need any fancy equipment for. When I took the class at Viking, they gave each student a packet with some great recipes in it. So the icing that I used to decorate the cupcakes was their Italian Buttercream. Italian Buttercream is light and not too sweet. It was also great consistency for decorating. Making this icing is not easy, especially when you misread the recipe (like I did). I misread the temperature that I was supposed to cook the sugar to, and I almost ruined a saucepan. Another issue that I had was that I don't own a candy thermometer, so I used a cheapo meat thermometer. Not a good plan... However, I finally got it all to work together.

week 3

here are the pics from this week! I will update this soon.

Week Two

For my week two project, I made a dress for Caroline Powers. It is pink corduroy with little pink flower buttons. I can't wait to see her wear it.
Here are a few things that are in the works for the next couple of weeks. Sunday, I am super excited to be using my Christmas gift from mom and dad by taking my first decorating class at the Viking Store in Atlanta. So, I will be posting pictures of the results of this soon. I have also had some orders for cupcakes for people to serve at some showers.
As some of you know, I teach at a private school here in Griffin. I told my Latin class about my project and they have been working hard to keep me from procrastinating. So, I also want to thank my students at Grace for making sure that I stay on task. Everyday, they ask me what new thing I have made. I am sure that part of it is that they want me to bring the leftovers from when I bake, but they have been working hard to keep me accountable!

Week One Continues

Today, I am meeting with a bride about wedding cakes. Since my cake portfolio is exactly one cake, I figured I should take some mini cakes along for a tasting. I had made all of these recipes before, except for the white icing, and I have always wanted to try making traditional wedding cake icing (the kind that is sweet enough to send the healthiest of individuals into a diabetic coma and gets a little crunchy as it dries). I think I was successful, I guess I will have to wait and see what the bride thinks!

While I am on the wedding cake subject, above is a picture of my first wedding cake. I made this "deconstructed" cake for my friends Sydney and Walker. The cake was chocolate with cream cheese icing. I made the flowers that were on the cake from tulle and taffeta, and they were held together with little pearl buttons. Sydney ordered her bride and groom topper from Etsy.

It was a wonderful day (words cannot describe how perfect it was), and I was so happy to not only get to celebrate with them but create for them as well.

Nectar and Company, out of Thomaston, did the decorations. Here is a link to their blog so you can check out other pictures from the day (and better cake pics!)

http://www.nectarandcompany.com/blog/?m=200911

Week One!

I topped these cupcakes with hand-made chocolate butterflies.

My New Year's Resolution

My resolution for 2010 is to be more creative. I want to use this blog to keep myself accountable. Each week, I am going to post something that I create. Yes, I did watch Julie and Julia over the Christmas break, and I got a little bit of inspiration from there. However, there is no way I could post something each day. I got my own copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking for Christmas, and I have no idea how that woman made a recipe a day and had a full time job.