so, it's official. my honeymoon is going to be in belize. we are staying at the cahal pech village resort. the staff has been so helpful; we were not 100% excited about any of the packages offered, so the owner helped me plan my own package! and it's cheaper than the others we were looking at. bonus! we're going cave tubing (like the lazy river at waterparks, but only through a cave), seeing mayan ruins, taking a zipline canopy tour, and exploring a cave with actual skeletal remains... cool! we are really pumped.
last week it was upholstery; this week i took a stab at cake decorating...
this is a quatrefoil shaped cake i made for the founder's day ceremony that my alumnae chapter of phi mu held. i had big dreams for this cake -- too big, i'm afraid. it looks much better in the picture than it did in person. i was able to hide some of the flaws with some creative icing as well.
problem one: getting the proportions right i used a lot of cake! here's a better outline of the shape:
i ended up using a 9 in. square cake pan for most of the cake. for the round parts, i started off with a round cake pan, knowing that it would be too big for my little cake. the icing lid was the perfect size circle, so i used it like a cookie cutter on the cake -- cut those circles in half, and i had the perfect round parts! the problem in general though, is that my oven seems to be slanted. you know how cakes typically poof up in the middle? these plumped up on a slant! of course, i have to cut off the stuff to make these cakes level.
problem two: putting the cake together this was fun -- layering the damn thing. i decide to just put the icing in the middle. since my cake was cut off, i couldn't get a nice smooth layer so i just kind of lumped it on. used the icing as glue to put the half moons on as well. it's at this point on friday night that i realize if i want to put on the icing, i am going to need a spreader thing. so i then go and watch a couple of hours of CSI on spike. yeah, that's getting a spreader. then i go to bed. i've got time in the morning.
problem three: icing is harder than it looks icing, frosting, whatever you want to call it -- sucks. i've iced cupcakes before. each year when we study mitosis in my biology class i bring in cupcakes for my students to draw the stages. it's fun. i have learned that the whipped frostings are a lot easier to mix food coloring into and spread than the others. so that's what i buy. i also decided that i didn't want to mess with the food coloring so i bought the prepared decorating tubes in pink. when i make cupcakes, i ice them warm. very easy. but i've read that you should let the cake cool completely before you start to frost it, so that's what i did. in fact, i let it cool overnight because i was too lazy to go out and get a spreader.
this morning i go to walmart and buy a spreader. (and an awesome brocade knee-length coat for $9.00) i'm thinking that this cake decorating experience is going to be awesome. i've got the high tech tools, so i'm going to make a high-tech cake. i read that you should have plenty of frosting so you don't touch the cake. i thought i did that, but the stuff didn't want to stick to the cake. the cake wanted to stick to it. so i end up with little pink stuff throughout the icing (the cake was strawberry). i'm putting massive heaps of icing on here. i can kind of get the front, but the sides are A MESS. my cake looks like a big blob and you can barely see the quatrefoil shape. my last hope -- the pink icing. i pipe the outline, and it's starting to look okay. i do the writing and it's cool. now i think i have plenty to pipe the sides to cover up the mess. it's looking better and better... until i have to change tubes. this tube is darker! boo! then i run out and make a run to kroger. well wouldn't you know it, this new tube is back to the original pink! grrr! but it's better than leaving it all white, so i don't care.
that's how i got to the cake shown above. not too bad for a rookie performance. i don't think i'll be taking any offers to make cakes though. ;)
my parents got a new dining room/kitchen table, so they rented a van and brought us their old one. we bought new fabric and padding and reupholstered the chairs! this was my first "home improvement" project and my first time upholstering. i had to yell at my dad some because he wanted to staple it all weird, but i had to let him know what was what, you know?
my kitchen is jolly green giant, so i have lots of yellows and greens. i didn't want to pick a fabric that was so "out there" but i couldn't find much else that i liked. and this was thick and $2/yd. what better could you ask for? i like them.
p.s. i took this picture with my new digital camera, so now i can take more crafty pics and post!
the teacher next door to me makes AWESOME snowflakes. my snowflakes are 1st grade quality. hers are professional. she said she had some templates that she learned off of that i could see.
thus, i expected my snowflake from this site to be just as sucky. well, it kind of is. but you can check your progress as you go, so that helped me to see what would work. my virtual snowflake is probably ten times better than any real one.
my fiance was so interested that he had to make one too. which one is better??? ;)
chad's snowflake
rachel's snowflake
keep in mind, he changed his to a white flake in photoshop. he tried mine, but i think he sabotaged it so i couldn't have a white snowflake. :)
i ordered my wedding dress today. it looks absolutely stunning. here's a pic, but it looks pretty ugly in the picture(and the girl looks crazy). i promise you it is much more awesome on me. the dress is in ivory and gold and i'm not wearing the strappy things.
not only am i getting this gown at a double discount, but the manager offered me a free "headpiece"! we all know how much those damn tiaras and jeweled head stuff goes for. and we all know how much cheaper and better a job we can do ourselves. but i can't let a $250 headpiece (that cost $2.50 to make) go unloved! so i have a tiara-like thing that i don't have to make and i didn't have to pay one cent to get it. pretty flippin' sweet. that means a lot in the hectic world of wedding planning.
yep, sometimes cheap (free) is better than crafty. or is it crafty to be so frugal?
1) i never got my scanner completely working after the move. and i have been so sad! i did some cool work that i wanted to show off!
2) my computer bit the dust.
no worries though -- my new dell will be delivered early next week! and i got a mucho discount through my school, which was nice. totaled 38% off! that's rockin.
okay, so i've been tagged by my buddy chris. guess i'll answer. :)
10 years ago (1995): i'm in my junior year of high school. have a really crappy parking space, but it doesn't matter much since i stay after school -- no crowds.
5 years ago (2000): my senior year at georgetown.
Yesterday: had superlong speech practice, came howm and watched tv and graded papers
5 Snacks I Enjoy: cheese, pickles, chex mix, celery and cream cheese, baked lays
5 Songs I Know All The Words To: closer to fine - indigo girls, kiss - prince (this is my standard karaoke song),
5 Things I Would Do With 100 Million Dollars: buy/build a house with an awesome craft studio, save for my future children's education, give to charity, buy whatever wedding dress i wanted, take my speech team on some really cool trips
Things I Would Never Wear: high heels with jeans
5 TV Shows That I Love: survivor!, CSI, charmed, sex and the city (my new guilty pleasure), 30 minute meals
5 Bad Habits: biting my nails, procrastinating, eating poorly, saying "okay" all the time, not taking enough showers :)
5 Biggest Joys: my fiance, tv, playing sports, the fun people at work, roller coasters
5 Favorite Toys: craft stuff, games, the chemicals i get to play with at work, my paper crimper, handheld solitaire game
here's my own:
5 things i wish i could happen right now: if only chad would install the drivers for my scanner so i could post my projects, i wish the room was clean so i could work on my craft stuff (i'm going through withdrawl!), the idea for my financial portfolio was clear, i had an onion so i could cook what i want, the mouse that is loose in my apartment would magically come to me and stand still so i can catch him and feed him to my snake.
so i bought this awesome blazer at macy's (on clearance, of course) along with two skirts and then spent a week finding the perfect shoes to match. this was my new first day of school outfit. put it on -- the damn blazer was kind of small! i agonized in the dressing room trying to decide between a 12 and a 14. guess which one i bought.
anyway, i took the jacket back to the store today, worried that they wouldn't have my size. but there it was, in all it's blue glory. when i went to make the even exchange, it was on sale even more! so not only did i get a better fitting piece of clothing, but i got $8.13 back! it was an awesome time.
and to top it off, when i got back in the car, the beastie boys "she's crafty" was on the radio. what a great morning. :)
check out this product from the post-it people, 3M:
the one i bought also includes a cool flag dispenser carabiner. i'm so excited to highlight important things, crafty and non-crafty, then flag the page.
chad's snowflake
rachel's snowflake
