cake fail...

hi all!

thursday already???  who has been checking out the new goodies launching at cha?  i have been trying not to look - i need to keep myself on a strict budget and if i look i want.  and then i am sad!  busy busy around here.  i let my maid service go too so i am on my own with the cleaning now and it is quite an undertaking.  but i put me and pez on a schedule and she does her share too so she can earn some allowance - it has been working out quite well.  not only is she doing them but she is actually doing better in general being on a schedule.  with have our IEP meeting with the school in 2 weeks and i feel much better about her odds of doing well in kindergarten too now.

this weekend my funnest buddy EVER, Catherine, is coming down from canada again - i cannot wait to see her and kev gets to meet her hubby bart.  i think they may be long lost twins.  and they both have to put up with the likes of us so they should become fast friends!

i told y'all about a cake i had been asked to make last week for a guy who got a military promotion.  i was going along fine and quite proud of myself.  the entire cake making process went off without a hitch! the girl called at the last minute and wanted to pick it up much earlier than planned but i managed to finish up the last bits of it in the nick of time and her dad was knocking on my door to get it.  two solid days on my feet in the kitchen.

chocolate cake, chocolate mousse filling and my yummy homemade buttercream frosting on top with dee-lish chocolate clay decorations.

i was sitting at dinner when the phone rang - right at 6 o'clock, when the party started.  it was the girl who ordered the cake and she was terribly unhappy :(  seems i mis-understood her emails and pictures for the cake.  i left off the ONE thing she wanted to be on there the most!  the party had started, they had seen the cake for the first time right at that moment, there was no way i could fix it :(  i felt HORRIBLE!  when i went back through the emails i finally realized what she had meant.  i wish i had asked more questions but i didn't think i had any.

fortunately, i am reasonably certain the cake at least tasted good even if it wasn't what she wanted.  but i doubt i will be agreeing to make any more cakes for anyone!

happy birthday trevor

hi all!

how is everyone?  having a great weekend i hope!  we are still getting teased with barely there snowfalls - BOO!  a friend told me the farmer's almanac says we will get a big one in march so i am keeping my fingers crossed!  of course by big one i mean less than a foot but enough to actually PLAY in!

despite the fact that i am still not feeling very well i just HAD to get my boy's birthday celebration done - i mean that's what moms do right???  trevor just turned 19 and he is one awesome kid!  so he needed an awesome birthday meal.  we have never really done the go out to an expensive restaurant thing for birthdays - probably because i could barely afford McDonalds for most of their childhoods!  i always make them their favorite meal and make them a cake.  so that's what i did this time too.  however i get much more involved with the cake making than i used to!  he wanted a cake with "that yummy filling you make and the whole thing covered in that stuff i like and then with the decorations..."  um ok....so i had to guess a little bit on the filling but i knew he meant covered in fondant and decorated with modeling chocolate.  of course since i don't know the first thing about moderation (despite my ever so patient dad trying to explain it to me a million times when i was growing up) i went all out.  i mean if i am going to do something i might as well DO IT right????

(is that one good lookin' kid or what???)  so i will say that despite my best efforts i am no cake diva like my buddy catherine at Sugar 'n Sweets BUT trevor's exclamation of joy at seeing it is really all i needed!  the first layer is chocolate fudge cake with chocolate pudding and andes mint chips for filling.  the top layer is chocolate fudge cake with french vanilla pudding and bananas for filling.  the layers are covered in homemade buttercream and then blue fondant.  i used the duff fondant from michaels this time and i can say it actually tastes pretty good.  i wish i knew how to put the fondant on without all the wrinkles and without getting the powdered sugar/cornstarch all over it from trying to keep it from sticking to everything but no luck.  next i made modeling chocolate with white candy melts and chocolate candy melts by mixing in a little corn syrup after i melted them.  this is really yummy AND so easy to work with.  here is another pic of trev after hubby got involved:

of course pezza helped with the whole process - not kidding i spent the better part of TWO DAYS on this cake ACK!  she decided she wanted to make a bow for the top.  i was really wishing i had paid more attention and had her use the BLUE for the strings hanging down but on the other hand it seemed appropriate for trev - he was the typical fascinated with gross things kinda boy growing up so i left it as she made it:

so what else was on the menu?

living on his own trev doesn't eat nearly as well as when he was at home so i thought a good steak was in order!  as well as some vegies so we had broccoli AND spinach!  also made baked potatoes and crescent rolls with pepper jack cheese rolled up inside.  YUMMM-EEE!

i am hoping to take it easy today after all the standing and work i did.  i will be getting the info and registration page up for the workshops i have been asked to teach at a retreat in baltimore in May so keep your eyes open for that!  we would LOVE to see everyone!  there's nothing better than getting together with crafty peeps, especially ones you "know" online - i hope a bunch of you can come!

pezza's party

hi all!

Pezza's party was a success yesterday!  but i have to say i am BEAT and to top it all off i pulled a muscle big time in my neck/shoulder this morning and it HURTS O. M. G.  i have not really had that happen much before. thank goodness it happened AFTER the party right!

so pezza's theme - in her words - gold and silver stars and a dash of colorful-ness.  okaaayyy.  one of our fave stops when going back and forth to where we store our camper is Dairy Queen.  last weekend we went out there to put the cover on him for winter and stopped on the way home and she spied an ice cream cake with the most magnificent rainbow bright color scheme going on and NO other decorations on top - perfect for me to throw on some silver and gold stars so we started with that:

Pezza also wanted some candles she saw in one of my Wilton books:

The best part - they are actually rice krispie treats covered in white chocolate - YUMMY!  and different.

We did a low key party - ok not low key but not the high end style where you shell out hundreds for chuck e cheese or pump it up.  we just had it at our house.  i had games planned but the kids were having so much fun playing we never even got to them.  of course my house is a mess but who cares!

my stepmom made this incredible banner - went with the party theme PERFECTLY and pezza loved it!  Daddy got her some super awesome balloons - she just about fell over when he came in with them.

candle time with a few of the guests - notice her enormous golden plate - a platter actually but she saw it in the party store and insisted it was her birthday plate. 

The January/February issue of Through the Craft Room Door will focus on birthdays and contain lots of in-depth info on this party and others from cake making, goody bags, decorations and game ideas and tips i used to save some money for this party!  you won't want to miss it!

now i am off to find an ice pack!