Baptism Cake And Some Helpful Things I Learned From Pinterest

  I made this cake for a Baptism celebration we attended Sunday.It’s kind of hard to tell, from the picture,  but I made this in the shape of an open book.  Since I’m too frugal to by a lot of shaped pans, I improvised. I used a 13x9 pan for the bottom layer. For the top, I cut a 9x9 cake on the diagonal, using the top of the cake for one side and then flipped the bottom over for the other side, putting the thick sides to the middle. I had to cut off approximately 2” on each side of the top layer, so the edge was even. This was my first time making and using fondant and I think it turned out quite well.

So, what did I learn from Pinterest? 

I have a board on my Pinterest page called The Been There, Done That Column where I put the tips I’ve tried and projects I’ve copied. These are the tips I used for this project:

 The Best Tip EVER for filling a pastry bag!! @Chef Mommy

REVIEW:  This totally rocks! I wasted so much LESS frosting and cleanup was easier! I could even switch bags, from a large tip bag to a small tip one, just by wrapping another piece of plastic around the original. The only change I made was to knot the back end; thereby, preventing end blowout.

  How to Make Marshmallow Fondant @Clockwork Lemon

REVIEW: I found that constantly dusting your hands with the sugar keeps the fondant from sticking to them better than the butter did. I used a tsp. of vanilla and it tasted good; much better than any bakery fondant. I did find that you have to use a lot of sugar to get it to the point of non stickiness. When rolling this out, I found it works best between 2 pieces of parchment paper, then stick it in the freezer for a few minutes and it comes of quite easily.

 Quick and Easy Smooth Icing Using A Roller @ Cake Central

REVIEW: How to make a smooth frosted cake with a paint roller. This worked best for me with just the roller. 2nd best was with paper toweling. The wax paper did not work with my frosting recipe, stuck to it. I did not try parchment paper.

Do you Pinterest? It’s a great way to bookmark pictures you find on the internet and full of loads of inspiration. Why don’t you check out my Page and maybe become a follower, if you are so inclined.   And if you need an invite, let me know. I’ll gladly send you one.

MILK GARDEN

Remember this garden bed I was working on?

The plants have finally grown in in my “milk garden”, so I can show what the finished flower bed looks like.
The idea is that the milk can has tipped over and spilled out the “milk”; in this case, plants. In keeping with the theme, I also have my “Ice Cream Sundae” totem in front of the Planter Bench made from an old metal bed frame.
For the milk, I planted some Nettle, which is a perennial, but because they won’t fill in for a couple of years, so I filled in with Dusty Miller, which is an annual in my area. The Dusty Miller is much whiter than the Nettle.

From Pinterest

This was the inspiration for my garden bed, but I wanted to use white foliage plants instead of flowers, so that the effect would be long lasting. I suppose if I wanted to spend tons every year on annuals, I could have gone with flowers, but I just can't justify that cost.

I had a milk can that I was no longer using as a plant holder, so it came to this garden bed. In the inspiration photo, they used a much smaller can, so I can see where they could get away with less cost on the flowers. I left the can as well as the bench rusty and peeling paint.

There is flat stone around the garden bed, so I can mow right up to it. In the non-milk area, I have planted Ajuga, but it will be a while before that fills in, so I covered the bare areas with wood chips. Underneath this all is heavy plastic from a silage bag, with the white side up. I guess, once the plants filled in, it didn’t really make much difference if it was black or white, but before the white blended a little better. Behind the planter bench, I planted Dahlia bulbs. They won’t flower for another month or so, but they should get at least as tall as the back of the bench and will have dark red flowers. It is a very beautiful Dahlia that I’ve grown for years.

I am pleased with how it turned out.

KITCHENS AND STUFF

If you enjoy reading my posts, leave a comment at the bottom.

I really like getting feedback and respond to every comment or question.

So please, won't you leave me some footnotes!

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Just my opinion, but does anyone else not like this, or is it just me? I have no problem til I get to the barn board cabinet doors.

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This would be a great idea for a craft table. You could elegantly label the drawers with craft supply names.

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Kind of a neat idea for a kitchen herb garden, but I'll bet it's expensive.

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Wouldn't I just love to have a kitchen garden like this!

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Here's another view.

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This would be nice for a covered porch. Don't think I'd like it for a kitchen or dining room, though.

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All I can say is.... WOW!

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I really wish I could pull off something like this in my kitchen, but probably not.

Now this would be my dream kitchen for a new house. Just couldn’t make it work in our present house. Some of these images are from the Kohler website and some I took myself at the Kohler Design Center.

Have a Dream Filled Day!