Welcome!!!

As my blog name suggests, this blog will be like a learning journal. I won't go step by step on each dessert on what to do, but instead focus on the technique(s) I was learning and what I discovered while in the process of making it. I hope you will learn a thing or two, or if anything, use this as a reference and get ideas for your dessert-making. Happy decorating!

Friday, August 23, 2013

Pirate Cake






Chocolate cake in specialty cake pan, buttercream frosting, chocolate buttercream frosting

Techniques Used- star, C border,

Focus-the ENTIRE ship!

Boards on ship
making the cake plate with tinfoil and tracing cake pan
C border
Dark Chocolate pirate flag
using a specialty pan
cake was small, but lots of time spent decorating this cake
all the layers!
Cake pan site

This cake was decorated August 2012.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Train Diaper Cake


diapers (size 1), string, cake mix box, cardboard, skewers, ribbon, tissue paper (white, green with white polka dots), spool
Focus-overall design of the cake



This is where I got the idea for this cake.  There were parts that were easier than expected, as well as harder than expected.  The wheels were pretty easy.  Each wheel is four diapers, and after wrapping them with string, I then put white ribbon over the string.  To keep them together, cut off the sharp part of the skewer to length you need.  For me, I just needed to cut off the point.  Make sure the two skewers are the same length.  Then, using either your fingers or a crochet needle, hook the ribbon through the middle of the diapers and around the two skewers; make a knot (try to make it snug) and cut off the extra.  Move the knot to the inside of the wheel.  Be sure to tape or glue the ribbon at the ends of the skewers.



The big cylinder part of the train is even easier, because it's just three rings of 6 diapers wrapped with tissue paper.  You can use blankets instead.  I don't remember if I did this, but you could put a skewer through them to hold them together while you wrap them. 



The hardest part for me was the back of the train.  It kept sliding around and since it was so heavy, it kept trying to fall off.  I also wanted it to be pretty rectangular, and it didn't work until I used a cake mix box (really any box or cardboard will do).  The other difficulty was getting everything to stay together.  I didn't want to use anything that might damage the diapers when taken apart, so I used scotch tape and prayer.  This cake is a little top heavy, so that added some difficulty as well.  I solved this by adding the bottom board (wrapped in tissue paper).  The other board is wrapped with tissue paper as well.
This diaper cake was decorated August 2012.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Baby Stroller Diaper Cake

diapers (size 1), string, ribbon, crib sheet set, yellow tissue paper, silk flowers, kids shoebox (optional)

Focus-trying to make the diapers and crib sheet look like a baby stroller!

 
 
Here's where I got the idea.  Each wheel used 3 diapers, but any size to your liking is fine.  The crib sheet set is in the yellow tissue paper, which really helped with shaping the sides.  I used a shoe box for the overhead part and then wrapped diapers over it. 
 

This diaper cake was decorated June 2012.

Blue Flower Bouquet Diaper Cake

diapers (size 1), string, 6" cake pan, ribbon, tissue paper (blue and green), gift card
 
Focus-tissue paper flowers and wrap
 
Here's where this diaper cake idea started.  This diaper cake was for a mom of five, so I wasn't sure what she would need.  I figured one can't go wrong with giving diapers and gift cards!  I didn't want to just hand her a bag of diapers, so I started looking around YouTube for a creative way to wrap them.  I don't remember how, but I stumbled across this site and liked the look of the "vase".  Obviously, I used diapers instead of toilet paper rolls.  I then used this site for the tissue paper flowers.  Again, here's the link to the diaper stacking site.  For the flowers, I added leaves by cutting small rectangles, folding them in the middle (like you would for gift bags) so that all the corners are close together, and then taping each to the back of a flower.  The gift card was taped to a skewer, but I suggest getting the skewer through the diaper cake first.
 
This diaper cake was decorated June 2012.