Wedding Cake Part 5 - Am I having Fun yet?

This morning I sat at the Kitchen table in Prayer and Contemplation of the day ahead.

I needed all the help I could get!
I Prayed for Clarity of thought and no "unnecessary distractions".

And when I finished I wrote a list,

On my list at the bottom was "Enjoy yourself - this is Supposed to be fun!"
I laid the soft fall matting behind the bench and got started....

Well I got started AFTER washing all the storage containers that I had to put the cakes into once they were baked.

I have lost track of how may times I filled the sink and washed the bowls and beaters and tea cups.
("Stay Hydrated"
was also on the list).

I learnt NOT to turn your back on the mixer if you are trying a new attachment (smaller bowl).
At least this was only a batch of Vanilla cupcakes to ward off the raiding party who wanted 'samples'.

(Sorry folks this is an order - NOT for tasting!)

I Mixed batch after batch of Chocolate Mud Cake.

[I used to LOVE making Mud Cakes as a child and baking them on the roof of the Shed, but then that was when they weren't a "Thing" and were actually made out of Mud!]

And Just as the last lid went on the last container....

Emergency Sirens came wailing into the street
Our 'troubled' neighbour up the road finally set fire to his house.


Well - at least the distraction was AFTER I had packed up for the night!
In the end there was not much damage and we had a nice 'catch-up' with the Neighbours while watching the Firefighters.

Tomorrow - Assemble and Ice!

Wedding Cake Part 4 - The Cake Stand

Oh how I have had issues with Cake Stands!

One order a few years ago saw me having to make a much larger cake than the Bride wanted because her MIL-2B insisted on having an exceptionally large footed stand. 

I still believe to this day it would have looked lovely with floating candles in it instead of a cake!

(Click this link to read the full story)

This time the Bride and Groom are wanting a "Rustic Country" Wedding.

The Venue, a Vineyard in the Wine Region of the Victorian Goldfields - Ballarat

So they have opted for a Hand Made Stand using Raw Timber Rounds, which will sit to one side of the Bridal Table on top of a Wine Barrel. 

I finally got the photograph of it yesterday.

I won't be seeing it for real until I get to the Venue to set up on Saturday - SO

Enter a Stand in ..... Cake Stand.

Not terribly stable but enough to show the Couple what their Cake MAY look like...

Although it is a little like doing a dress fitting on a dummy with no Bride to be seen!

And this is what I have got so far ....

Nice to know that those extra Flower Sprays may be able to be used.

I spent today crawling into the back of cupboards and venturing down the Bungalow/Storeroom to find enough containers to transport the cupcakes.

Tomorrow I will start to Bake.

(And Pray that nothing goes wrong!)

Wedding Flowers Pt 3

The Humidity is proving to be a constant problem.  I had to stop working yesterday as I felt the flowers were softening again. But Thankfully, the Main Bouquet is Finished and Safely 'under wraps' until I can show it off - ON THE CAKE!

It is always a Good Practice to make more flowers than you need - These things are VERY fragile and can easily be broken.

(See what happens when you don't pack the cake properly
in THIS POST)

Today it was time to Play with the 'Leftovers'.

A few Leaves and then some Filler Flowers to start with, then a little Rosebud.

Taping each flower to the next with Florists Tape that goes sticky when you stretch it.

I continued to make Small Sprays using what I had to hand, adding a few extra Blue Forget Me Not blossoms. Because all Brides need "Something Blue".

Taping the Sprays onto a heavier gauge Supporting Wire.

At this time my hands were cramping and my fingers sticky from the Florist Tape, but I was enjoying myself.

After I finished playing I realised that I had a spray that could decorate the Bride's Knife and some very usable pieces that can be placed on the cake if needed.

BONUS!

Wedding Flowers - How is it going?

Following on from the heartbreaking mess of my last post.

Some of the Flowers and Foliage that I have made for the Wedding Cake are totally unusable...

But with valuable advice from a Cake Decorating Colleague, I have been able to salvage SOME elements.

And then it was back to the beginning - Make more Roses...

1 Large
2 Medium Half Blooms
6 Small Buds
and Leaves

lots and lots of leaves


Under the watchful eye of "He who wants to be Involved in everything"

They were safely stowed in a Large Cardboard Box to dry - away from the Humidity,
and any other Perils. . .

It was then on to the Filler Flowers.

All Bouquets need their supporting act and Filler Flowers can be fun to make as they rarely need to resemble any specific Bloom.

From here the artistry comes in -
Bringing to Life dull lifeless bits of Icing, just like a Make-up Artist, by dusting with Petal dust and Powdered Chalks.

The dust gets EVERYWHERE-
Yesterday, I had Sparkly Sunbeams dancing across the Kitchen Table...

And CAREFULLY steaming them (yes Steam!) to set the colours.

Using too much steam will melt your Blooms OR give them an unappealing Waxy/Wet look, as in Bloom #3.


From here it is on the The Part that I do enjoy the most.
In my Next Post I will show you How I Pull all these together into a Bouquet for the Wedding Cake!

Roses for a Wedding Cake

I don't know why, but everyone I  know wants to get Married in a Heat Wave!
Why can't they all be sensible and wait until the weather is so much better for Cake decorating - WINTER would be nice!!!!

So, once again I am trying to make Sugar paste Flowers in the Humidity and Heat.

And what is more - I seem to have forgotten how to make Roses!

(These Ones are Real, 

and it would be nice if I can come close to what they look like).

I have been able to manage to get some Buds working - so IF that is all I can manage - then a bouquet of Buds and filler flowers will still "Fill the Brief".
Oh - and The Client's Brief -

"Make my Cake....
and I want 75 Cupcakes too!"

I suppose that gives me Artistic licence......

* * *

I wrote the above post 2 days ago and didn't get around to pressing "Publish".



Today, it was 39c and I came home
from helping a Friend pack up her Parents Home.

To find THIS!

Now THAT is not supposed to happen!

Heart-breaking.

Two Weeks' worth of work in a melted heap - compliments of our Evaporative Air Conditioning and a very Hot, Humid Day.

I can't fix them - they are only JUST holding together.


With only 3 weeks to the Wedding and more Humid Weather forecast, I can't afford to have this happen again.
Maybe it is time to look into Cold Porcelain instead?

Time to call it a WOMBAT

Yes Friends - this is certainly a momentous occasion.
My first ever WOMBAT.

I have UFOs, but they are all,
in one way or another - Redeemable.

After the Week that I have had, (see last post). 

I have decided Life is far too Precious

 to persevere with a Quilt that I am not enjoying making. 

Not everyone who embarks on a Mystery Quilt is thrilled with the reveal and for those who have stuck with this one and finished it-  I salute you,
    but I will not be joining you.

There are still way too many components to make.
And that is before I can even begin to put the required 50 Blocks together!

I am not going to be discarding the work that I have done so far - MAYBE one day,
I will sit down with EQ7 and design something that I actually DO like with the blocks I have already made.


But for now - it is time to call it Quits - Bag it up - Change "Hats" and Move on.

I have a Wedding Cake to Make!

WHY oh WHY ?

We throw a stone into a Lake and we can no longer see it

It is gone yet the consequences of our action can be felt far and wide.

Yes, even to Distant Shores.

Yesterday was one of those days.

Yesterday I held my Daughter as she sobbed in Grief and Disbelief 

Yesterday She lost a Treasured Friend and Colleague.

Yesterday She had so many Questions that may never have answers - 

He worked beside her

He danced at her Wedding

He survived his PhD

He adopted a Stray Kitten

He had Friends and Family that Loved Him

He had so much to live for.

Now He is Gone

Someone had to Find Him

Someone had to Tell his Parents

Who had to Tell his Family

And Inform his Work 

Someone then took the Task of telling each Friend and Colleague.

And Someone held those people as They Cried.....

WHY?

There is Nothing that is so Insurmountable that you had to do THIS.

* * *

This is not the First time we have been touched by the Ripples of Suicide.

Tragically we have seen it too often.

The dedication in Our Daughters Thesis is to a Beloved Uncle who encouraged her to follow her dream and then never saw it completed.

The actions of a Person so desperate that they take their life - 

It does not end there with them.  

It starts a Ripple of Grief that touches each and every one who have taken that person into their Lives and Homes and Hearts.  Hearts that are now broken.

If THAT person could be YOU - PLEASE seek help

There are people who love you

There are People Who care

Who will live on with the heartache of

"If Only ...."

* * *

The Links below are to Websites dedicated to help you.

AUSTRALIA

BEYOND BLUE  - AUSTRALIA

SUICIDE-LINE - Victoria 

LIFELINE - AUSTRALIA

USA

LIFELINE - USA

EUROPE

International Association for Suicide Prevention