icing on the cake!

Recently my sister-in-law asked if I would make a cake for my niece for her high school graduation. And automatically I said “of course”. My kids are my kryptonite, my children and all of my nieces and nephews, I would do anything for them. After all, how hard is a cake? And then she lowered the boom on me. For 100-150 people and she really liked the cakes with fluffy feathers on top and cheetah prints on it. Not to mention the colors are red, black, gold and cheetah print. Not gonna lie, it scared me. The cake always seems to be somewhat of a centerpiece at most parties so I was petrified as I am but an amateur. But as I said, my kids are my Kryptonite so the research began!

I really want every cake I make to be special because I am sentimental like that. So me and the Three T’s have had lots of cake to the build up of this graduation party. I decided to incorporate the cheetah print inside the cake. You can see that tutorial here. The outside of the cake, I wanted to make black and red. Which come to find out, is the hardest colors to make! In the trial stages of this, Big T kept telling me to just buy the icing and call it good. Well, I knew it wouldn’t taste the same. And nothing is more disappointing than teasing your eyes with cake only to bite into it and discover a horrible taste. So I bought Wilton food coloring, red and black, and started experimenting.

At first it took forever to get the right color. I saw somewhere on Pinterest that if you added cocoa to your red it would make it a nice deep red color. So I did that. I got purple. I probably put too much in or something, but it did not do good. I did the same with the black and it made it grey. So the cake we got that day was purple and grey and nowhere resembled the cake I wanted to have. Bummer.

The next time I tried (and after a consulting with a couple of local cake makers I know) I just kept adding the food coloring and got the perfect tint.

So the day before the Big day, I had several cakes ready including all the cakes for my BIG cake! So I made up some white icing to put between layers. This icing, consists of powdered sugar, crisco and a dash of milk.

I cut the tops off these cakes to make them nice and even.

Remember the inside of these puppies are cheetah print, so when I cut the top off, this is what it looks like. You can also see the inside here.

I put white icing between the layers but I covered each section with the color I needed

With an icing spatula, and a jar of warm water, smooth the icing out. After the icing gets a crusty take a Viva paper towel and smooth out the icing.

Honestly, I know I didn’t take enough pictures, but in all fairness I finished at 2 in the morning. Sorry.

This cake was pretty big. The biggest I have ever made. So I bought I wooden dowel to cut up and put down in the cake to support the weight. Underneath the top two layers I cut the cardboard cake stands to size for extra support. Considering the density of this cake, I am so glad I did this. The bottom two layers had three wooden dowels each to support the layer above.

This is not the best picture but you can see where I place the dowels in the bottom most layer.

Also you can see the tip I used for much of the detail on the cake.

The second Layer I used a wide open star tip for a rose effect.

This is the 2 am finished product!

the bottom has my nieces initials and scriptures in between. The second layer is the roses I was telling you about. and the top layer is black Sixlets I bought in the cake isle at Wal-Mart at the bottom and icing with a Sixlet at the top. The topping of this cake has ostrich feathers to give the foo foo look we were going for! The tiara on the cake is one I found at the dollar store in a little girl play package. I thought that added a little extra.

I made four more cake for the bulk of the group. We cut into those before the big one.

initials and High school initials on the side

I bought the roses at the bottom and gave it black leaves.

The bows on this one were also a purchase.

Just little details here in there that are about her.

This is my beautiful niece. Truly a gem inside and out.

This cake had to travel an hour, on not so great of roads I might add. We did have a blow out. But I took the rest of the icing I had (thank The Lord) and fixed it when we got there. In hind sight, I might would have transferred the cake in pieces and put it together when I got there. It was the longest hour ever.

This is the cake at the party…a little more sad than at 2 that morning. But it was a success! Considering I am an amateur I thought it was pretty good!

If you have any questions that I didn’t explain very well here, just ask!! Will be glad to tell you!

cheetah print cake

Recently my sister-in-law asked if I would make a cake for my niece for her high school graduation. And automatically I said “of course”. My kids are my kryptonite, my children and all of my nieces and nephews, I would do anything for them. After all, how hard is a cake? And then she lowered the boom on me. For 100-150 people and she really liked the cakes with fluffy feathers on top and cheetah prints on it. Not to mention the colors are red, black, gold and cheetah print. Not gonna lie, it scared me. The cake always seems to be somewhat of a centerpiece at most parties so I was petrified as I am but an amateur. But as I said, my kids are my Kryptonite so the research began!

I did not really want to attempt cheetah print on the outside of the cake, seemed a little overwhelming. So I decided that maybe I could make it on the inside. I watched some tutorials and read up on some things. Some had regular cake in a layering action going on. But what I most liked was the technique of piping in a design. It is more work, but the end result is worth it.

First, you will make you cake batter. I did NOT make mine from scratch. I used Pillsbury cake mixes. They are delicious and easy.

I used a WHITE MIX with the whole egg option, and a CHOCOLATE mix for the affect I needed. After the you have mixed the batter, you need to add about a 1/2 cup of flour.

This will thicken the batter so that you can pipe it into the pan. This should be the consistency. Nice and thick.

To make a cheetah print, you need three colors. the white mix with the whole egg option to get it a bit off-white, the chocolate mix and a combination of the two. Take 2 spoonfuls (mix stirring spoons or the spatula you are mixing with) of white mix and 1 spoonful of chocolate and mix together for the third tan color.

See how nicely that comes out?

BEautiful Clark!

Next, you will get some Glad baggies for the piping. Put the batter in as if you would icing.

all 3 mixes need in a bag

Cut one corner of the bag to pipe out of

GREAT!! Now for the fun part!! First lay down a thin layer of white cake mix from your bowl in your GREASED AND FLOURED CAKE PAN.

Notice mine did not go all the way to the edges. It’s okay. Imperfection will add character.

Then take your chocolate bag and pipe down a design. Nothing in particular, but some long lines

Note: none of my cakes looked the same on this part.

Next take the tan colored mix in the bag and pipe on top of the chocolate mix. This will be the center of your cheetah print. If you don’t get exactly on top or a little to the side, it’s OKAY! Again….Character

Now to complete the cheetah print, pipe chocolate on top of your tan

This is the cheetah print!! How exciting! Too bad you have to wait to see the inside!! AHH!

Now in order to keep this nice and structured we DO NOT want to just pour cake mix on top. NO NO!! That would undo your hard work! So take the third bag of the white cake mix and pipe it around and on top of your design in the pan.

Around to keep them from meshing together

And on top to finish the cake

Put the cake in the preheated 350 degree oven and cook for at least 40 minutes. poke and see if it is done.

Here’s what it looks like!

In all fairness, we cut into the not-as-good cakes first and I didn’t get a picture of the cakes I worked extra hard on. But it looks like a cheetah print!

It really was pretty moist, but super dense so you will have to use support if you plan on stacking it very high.

Hope you liked it and can get something from it! If you have any questions or suggestions let me know! I would love your feedback!!

bare with me

I know I haven’t posted, but I am working on a project this week and can’t post till next week. I am excited!!!!!

earned wrinkles

One of my favorite quotes from a movie is in “THE GUARDIAN” with Kevin Costner. The movie is kinda sad so I don’t really like to watch it much because I like movie with fluffy happy endings. But it is a good movie. Costner plays Ben who has been in the Coast Guard for a number of years and is coming to the reality that is getting older. In a conversation with his old friend (and bar keep), Maggie, she busts out with my favorite quote! I have edited it But you aren’t missing much of what I left out.

“Ya Know what though, I don’t mind. I mean if my muscles ache, it’s because I’ve used ’em. It’s hard for me to walk up them steps now, its ‘cuz I walked up ‘ten every night to lay next to a man who loved me. I got a few wrinkles here and there, but I’ve layer under thousand of skies with sunny days. …. I lived and I loved, danced, sang, sweat…..my way through a pretty good life if you ask me. Getting old ain’t bad Ben. Getting old, that’s earned.”

It is really quite lovely. Getting old is earned. I will admit, when I look in the mirror I expect to see what I saw 10 years ago. Vibrant tan skin with no wrinkles, tighter skin…everywhere, oh I could go on about what I used to see. But the fact is, I have been married for 10 years, worked hard, and have had a baby. Honestly all these little wrinkles and sags are warrior marks, not worry marks. I go for gold ever day, why wouldn’t I have scars in some manner? Some of these wrinkles are starting because I have laughed and smiled so much it’s becoming imbedded. My husband loves me, and not because I look like (or don’t look like rather) a Victoria Secret Model. I can handle that. We can age gracefully together!

In Proverbs 31:30 the Lord says

“Charm is deceptive, and BEAUTY IS FLEETING; but a woman who FEARS THE LORD is to be PRAISED.”

Think about it, even pretty girls who are mean appear uglier than they really are. And their beauty will fade, but their personality and lack of God in their lives will shine more and more as the years go on.

So be a woman who fears the Lord! Because as those wrinkles start visiting more often and then decide to move in, your beauty on the inside will peak through those more and more. You will look younger than you are!!

Enjoy your day, and ignore those wrinkles or give them credit!

Post Mothers Day

Good Morning! I hope your Mother’s Day was fantastic!! Full of a nice church service with a flower, naps, kisses, no cooking or cleaning and hugs!

Now welcome back to Monday and reality!! Full of poopy diapers, chores, ‘Momma’s’ for this and that, I need help with homework, and occassional kisses.

As we looked at Mother’s Day, we reflect of Mother’s past. Your Mom, who was awesome! Your Grandmother’s who were Amazing! and stories from them about theirs. We also look at the great women from history, including those from the Bible. Which would inevitably lead us to Jesus’s mother, Mary.  The obvious blessing she got from being able to birth and mother the Messiah, the goodness she was full of. But what we read is Mary pregnant, then with a beautiful baby boy and poof! He is an adult! Now, I know as you sit there with banana in your hair and chocolate on your pants, you know there was a middle.

Jesus was HUMAN. He felt all the pain on the cross and encountered temptation to avoid it.

Baby Jesus was a beautiful baby who maybe whimpered when he was hunger or dirty. Ah yes, what a wonderful time, when those bundle of joys can fit on your lap and you can baby talk all day!

But what we do not think of is Toddler Jesus. Mother is mother. Weather you are Beth from Cape May, NJ or Mary the mother of our Savior, somebody has to do the grunt work. You think Jesus magically was potty trained when he popped out? I don’t think so. You think he didn’t have some kind of rambunctious personality that gave him the urge to RUN and not walk EVERYWHERE! Can you just imagine Mary turning to get bread ready for supper only to turn around and her precious toddler is has ran off around the corner to see if he could see Daddy? Honestly, if Jesus was preoccupied enough to not join the others going home when he was 12, I am most certain he ran around naked through the yard when he was 3. Because even though we get on to our littles for doing things like this, we think it is cute. I don’t think God would deny Mary all those little joys and accomplishments that make our kiddos so precious to us mothers. Or perhaps Jesus was a talker! You know the ones (I mean I was one and my son has inherited this trait), the little guys who just talk and talk and you don’t have a clue what they are saying. When they are 2 1/2 and you understand one word every 10 words. Maybe he drove Mary and Joseph nuts just talking up a storm!

Mary had to do the grunt work AFTER the miraculous conception and birth. After the shepherds came and the Wise Men brought their gifts. Mary had to wipe faces and pick boogers, get him dressed for the day, cut his hair, run around picking up after him, feed him, bathe him, make him laugh after a boo boo that she was tending to. Because all those little things is what makes us Momma. Our kids are not nearly as sentimental about us if these little things don’t get done on a daily basis.

So know that you are not alone! For crying out loud even MARY had to do this stuff. Well she got to do this stuff. Because it is a blessing.

So after the flowers are wilted and the naps are had, us mothers have to get back to work. And that’s okay. We are molding these children into good Christian young men and women. Just as Mary helped mold Jesus into the adult he was. Every little thing you do is molding and important to your child’s future and more importantly his soul. So Good Job Momma! Not everyday can have naps and flowers, but those are the more important days!

Americana front porch

This last weekend I did a couple  of projects. You can see the Bed overhang here. That was fun!

Since we have moved to this house, I have been in love with decorating the gorgeous porch. I love it! It really is so much fun. I got the spring decoration up a bit late so it is still up with my latest project. With Memorial Day, Flag Day and Independence Day coming up, I knew I wanted to do something patriotic!

There has been a TON of construction at the bank so I snagged a smaller pallet and took it home before it met it’s demise. This pallet had a whole board on one side as apposed to the ‘holey’ ones, so i knew it was perfect.

I grabbed a couple of flaps from a diaper box, red white and blue spray paint and got to work!

I used one flap to help me get semi-straight lines. And the other piece of cardboard I cut out a star and sprayed away. This honestly took me zippo time and I think came out great!! No prepping. No waiting really. This was super easy and now I have a patriotic display for my lovely porch! Since this picture I have gotten some red flowers for that plant holder to add to it!

STRONG AND COURAGEOUS

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

I love this verse. Okay, to be honest I love all of them that say BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS!

This verse tells us to stop being afraid. I was literally afraid to do my workout yesterday. I did not want to hurt, or sweat and mostly I didn’t want to fail. I completely dreaded the entire action of DOING it. And why? It was a completely healthy thing. It took minimal time away from my family. Well hardly any. Part of the time I was doing it with a toddler on my back, other times he was doing it with me and making me laugh or I was opening a juice box while jogging in place. So really no time away. Although this seems a bit on the shallow side as far as examples go, I consider this a big thing. Our bodies are temples.I have not always been healthy with my body, and that is a big goal of mine. So being afraid of something that will be beneficial to the Holy Spirit’s temple is silly.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20New International Version (NIV)

19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price.Therefore honor God with your bodies.

“FOR IT IS THE LORD YOUR GOD WHO GOES WITH YOU. HE WILL NOT LEAVE YOU OR FORSAKE YOU”

I think this is a critical part of this Deuteronomy verse. GOD goes with us. HE does not leave us….we leave him. People are quick to blame God for leaving them. When in reality it is us that leave Him. We are not doing the courageous thing and sticking with Him through thick and thin. We are quick to drop Him like a rock when it is convenient for us. When things are good, do we praise Him? When things are horrible, do we not accuse Him? Remember He will NOT leave or forsake you.

So buck up you timid one. God has got your back. There is nothing you cannot do with him!!! YOU CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS!!!

sign project

Good Morning!!! Wake Up sleepy head!! I always have good intentions on waking up like at 5:30, but it doesn’t happen. kudos to you Mommas that can do that, You get an extra Gold star for that.

This weekend, I thought I was pretty productive. We moved into our new abode not that long ago and I don’t have the all walls decorated yet. For one, I have like 3 times the wall space. For 2, my decorations don’t quite fit the new house like they did the former. and thirdly, I wanted to make sure I had the right thing before I started putting stuff up on the walls. I don’t want to put something up just to have something there.

I couldn’t find something for above our bed….so I made it! And something you will learn about me is that I love to be super frugal. If I have something, I am gonna want to use it. We had a twin bed frame that broke. Big T insisted that I throw it away, but I couldn’t make myself. It had 3 drawers in it and lots of wood…..how can I let that waste??!! Recently one of the drawers were used as our dog’s bed. I put his bed and blanket in there and he was happy as a lark! We have gotten him a house since then and he ate the drawer. So the remainder, sadly, I did throw away. The bed is on it’s end in the garage and used as a shelf. I can’t help it. I have always been like this and Pinterest just field my fire. 😀

Now the part where the mattress actually sat on the bed…this had 2 long (I think 6 ft) boards. These are fantastic and I cannot throw them away. So for one I have decided to use it for my piece above my bed!

First I stained it!

I just grabbed an old T-shirt and the former owners did a lot of staining and such. So, I took some of the stain they had. It worked great and I loved the color!

 The Letters I got for $5.00 at the local craft store here. I painted them with paint I already had. First, I stained it the same color (because I wasn’t buying any! and didn’t want it to be the wood color underneath the ‘weathered’ look I was going for) I used the sleeve of the t-shirt I was using, dipped it a bit in the paint and kind of scraped it across the top for a rough finish.

The frame is an old frame I just painted up. All the colors, again, I already had. I think that frame was originally gold.

The Family and Love signs I got at a local boutique wonder store here in town. Those were around $25-$30 each. You can probably find them cheaper if you live in a bigger city than I do.

I used Gorilla Glue for this project. Everything seem to be holding its own! It is actually pretty solid! It was super easy!!

This is the finish product!!

I love the contrast with the iron and wood and the elevation of letters. I am super happy with this project!!

Now, In all fairness this is not hung up yet. There are several different ways we are considering. This piece is pretty heavy and it about 6ft long so I want to make sure we do it right. After all, our heads is what it will land on!

If you have any suggestions, let me know!!!

Hello Friday

Hello Friday!!!

You have made it! It is Friday and you are a work day away from a weekend! For me Fridays at work are either super productive or….not-so-much. Then I can come home and just be HOME! YEAH!!! I will say something else amazing about Fridays is that when I come home from work, I always have about 10 times the energy as I do any other day. Maybe it is because the rest of the week I have to pace myself and Friday I can give it 100% without the fear of being to exhausted to think straight the next day. Today is the day we can go see that movie we have been longing to see. Or go bowling, a night out with the family. We are big fans of a night in with the family and late night movies, and weather permitting, a cookout! That is the best! No fear of waking up late, or waking up with exhausted for w…(the W word) .

Because in the morning….ZZZZzzzz. Should you be so lucky your kiddos don’t wake you up. But don’t tell me you don’t have some kind of a ‘system’ in place so that you can catch those few extra Z’s or even just to lay in bed for a bit longer. Even if you do wake up for yard day, there is just something about the freedom of a weekend that gives you extra energy. You could truly take on the world on Saturday. Anything is possible! Mowing, shopping, GARAGE SALES!! Your pick of whatever you want to do! Maybe not such a late night on Saturday so you don’t fall asleep in the sermon Sunday. Saturdays are the best!

and then Sundays!! Wake up and get the fam dressed for a day to praise the Lord with your Church family! So rejuvenating! And if you are on top of your game you will come home to a roast smelling house. Mmmmm. Relax today, for God rested the 7day and so we should take some time and rest too! Everyone under a blanket with NASCAR on TV ready to see the winner take his/her place (or to take a nap while the boys watch :)) Such a peaceful day, Sunday. Even the wrapping up of Sunday with picking out outfits for Monday,  or even the week, is leisure.

Not to mention HAPPY MAY!!! I personally think it is the busiest month and I blink and it’s June. I have a niece graduating this month and am not looking forward to it. She is such a blessing and has grown into a beautiful young woman, which I am proud of.  But it makes me sad to say goodbye to this part of her journey.

Enjoy your Friday!! Go get it done at work! Or finish the cleaning at home! So you can enjoy the best part of your week!