Happy 50th birthday Sally

This order came in with about a weeks notice, a budget and a "do what you want, I trust you". Yikes. Very scary. I had a busy week already with a few orders booked but wanted to squeeze this one in. I figure, if you get told to "do what you want" you should go for it! However, time was limited and keeping in mind budget, I decided to go with a few elements I had done before (exploding design), practice some things (sparkle dust, tappet letters) and try something again I had only done once (figurines). So, a bit of everything!

I have to confess, I am a bit addicted to the pearl dust, love a bit of bling! It has featured on a few cakes this month (more in the next blog!).

I still have some more work to do on my figurines, but practice makes perfect.

I mentioned last blog, that I am learning as I go in these early stages, this cake taught me a lesson too! I debated about sharing this with you, but what the heck, you  have been with me from the beginning, good and bad.

Many decorators have a dedicted "cake room" (oh, how I dream of this!) or at least a set up area. I just operate out of my kitchen and, sometimes, my dining room table, both of which I have to share with my family. I believe it is important to have home cooked meals and eat them at the table as often as possible as a family. So, this means, as I am working on a cake, it is moved from the kitchen (when I am cooking for the family) to the dining room, then from the dining room (when we are ready to eat), back to the kitchen. All fraught with danger and to add to this, two small children and one big child, in the form of the Workaholic, running around the house. It was bound to catch up with me.

And it did. I always thought it would be by dropping the cake (which is still possible), however, it was as simple as someone splashing some water on the cake. Not good. Water eats away the icing. I didn't notice for about 15 minutes, by this stage, the damage had been done. Most of it was contained to the board. I contemplated recovering the board, then I thought of Planet Cake and some of their advice, "if you make a mistake, or find a flaw in the cake, cover it up with something or turn it into a feature". This is where the stars containing the "50's" come into it. They covered up the water stain. Thank goodness Sally had given me the green light to do what I wanted, there was no specifics, so I could do what I wanted and cover up the water mark.

So, I will keep learning, and thank you Sally, and all the customers who give us free reign and a chance to learn and grow and I hope you had a fabulous 50th!