a lil' bit of cake by tania: Good News!!!!

As some of you may know the reason for starting this blog was because I lost my job 2 years ago and I found out that I was able to do something creative. I was" lucky" enough to loose my job and figure out that there was more to me that my career. Blessings are sometimes disguised and this was surely one of them

The unfortunate part of my wonderful new job is that it leaves me very little time for my new hobby...fondant work.

I've had some friends ask me to make cakes for them and my answer has always been "Oh I just don't have the time"...well that's going to change!

I have decided to make this blog not just about "how to learn from my fondant mistake" but "how to make a hobby and a job work."

Recently, a friend asked me to make cupcakes for her baby shower and since this was my first time making these sweet little confections again, I agreed to make the fondant toppers.
150 of them...ARGGGHHH!!!!!

I've seen many cake designers make a cake mimicking a baby's touche underneath a blanket and I said to myself- "why can't we make the same thing as a cake topper?"

BABY UNDERNEATH A BLANKET

First thing is to look at the calendar- how many days off do I have before the shower- 8 days off and one month before the shower.

8 days and a month. That's enough time!! I can plan about 20 toppers-each day off. Perfect. I won't have to worry. Plenty of time to make them at a nice steady pace.

Ha! I am sure you all have guessed by now- I didn't stick to my schedule and left them all for the week before the baby shower.

LESSON LEARNED: KEEP TO THE SCHEDULE

I ended up having to make 160 toppers in 4 day. It just so happens that while this is going on at home, work wasn't any less stressful. It was the busiest time and I was working 10 hour days. was feeling so stress and I wasn't enjoying my fondant project as much as could have.

Definitely stick to the schedule. Stress takes away the reason for having a hobby in the first place-to relax.

How did I fix this predicament I put myself in... I started a assembly line of little baby booties.

I then rolled the little legs and "glued" them to the booties using a gum paste/water mixture.
Once I did this was completed, I added the feet. The feet were tiny balls of fondant that I "glued" to the legs. I then took a brush and wet it with the gp/mixture. I made an indent with the brush to give the tiny feet a arch. Once I had a rhythm, it went quite smoothly.