"Sophie Overwhelmed" by Kareen Ramsey from Sophie and the Mysterious Ring by Carleen Gollahon
Well I did!
When I first married, all I could do was burn toast and bake a cake from mix. As the kids came along, it was fun to decorate the cakes however they wanted. (Self taught) And I found it was cheap to take to Pot Luck dinners at church.
"Wilbur", HoneyHair's first dog - 3rd birthday
The Flop!
A friend from church asked me to help her bake a cake for her daughter's wedding. Wow! My confidence soared (my ego too). We baked a beautiful cake adorned with real flowers just in time for the wedding.
She asked me to take it to the Community Center (site of said wedding) because she had extra guests needing a ride. So, the Good Flea and I took off with the cake in an unair-conditioned car in 95 degree heat in August. Did I mention that the icing was a whipped cream base? Sooooo glad I took along extra icing.
Well there we were with a cake starting to slide on one side. I went to work shoring it up while the Good Flea kept watch to fend off any nervous Nellies. But we were too late! The Mother in Law came in, took one look at my attempts and called out to her husband for another beer.
We got it presentable and slipped out the side door as quickly as possible. Later I found out it lasted until the cutting.
The Fun!
Well, after laying low for awhile, I decided not to give in. So, off to the Library to study every cake decorating book they had. It was practice, practice, practice. But, my poor family got so tired of cake, cake, and more cake. NOT! And in the process, I began to have fun, and my confidence came back. It was a very functional way to pursue my artistic needs. I'm so good at rationalizing.
Cakes by Kareen Ramsey
My favorite was the bird cage and canary all from icing.
It was fun teaching my niece and grand daughter to bake, but, I'm trying hard to keep away from sugar.
I hope you will be encouraged to turn your flops to fun. Or, am I the only one who has flops? Please, please don't let me be the only one.
Hope you all have a FUN Labor Day,
Kareen
FB really doesn't have enough space for my flops, so I'll stick with one: every year my church has a women's tea. One (or two) women will "host" each table of 10 friends/family. The hostess sets the table, usually with a theme and supplies the light goodies for her table. It's a wonderful evening getting to see all the beautiful tables and talk to so many friends. We sing some hymns, there is a fashion show put on by a nearby boutique and the models are members of our church, and there is a speaker as well. My good friend Kris and I always co-host a table. I was to bring a dessert to share. I had seen a magazine cover with a photo of a large grouping of cupcakes, each decorated like a different flower so when put together they looked like a beautiful bouquet. Had I ever decorated a cake other than slathering on canned frosting? No. Did I let this stop me? No. It's just frosting and I'll just copy the photo. I finished two minutes before I was to be at the church. They were a hideous mess, but since I had no time to make or even buy anything up to the church they went. As the women were milling around looking at each other's tables my embarrassment grew by leaps and bounds. My friend Kris laughed harder than anyone there and has never let me forget it to this day! This is truly why she is one of my best friends. Only besties will tell you the truth and not let you wallow in useless embarrassment!
ReplyDeleteThanks Melissa, That is too funny. So glad we can laugh about these things now. Glad I'm not the only! You made my day.
DeleteI have tried using liquid butter so that the frosting can be at it's absolute stiffest. I hate shortening in any icing. I think some people freeze the cakes too. Love your humor. i see where your sweet gurl gets it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen for the tip. I never liked shortening - love butter, but was told it made it too stiff, so never tried it. I'll pass this on to my grand daughter. She loves to bake. I went to your website - love your down to earth style. Do you have a blog? Hope you'll write more soon.
Delete