Crazy is as Crazy does!

So a few years back you may all remember the epic Laughing Clown cake I made for a little girls 6th Birthday Carnival Party- anyway- fast forward 3 years and one of my own children is having a carnival party of his own.
The theme for this years birthday came about at the after Christmas sales- where I managed a bargain Jumping Castle for less than a 1/4 of the original price (Love a bargain!). Since then it has sat hidden in its box until the other day- when we broke it out as the birthday pressie :)
 I had this Carnival Themed birthday to prepare- but what cake would I do?? Like any parent I relish the challenge of my kids birthday cakes, I am blessed that this is my talent to bestow upon them, and am rewarded greatly by the amazement I can provide them with my skills- but this doesn't mean making a cake is generally any easier for me. (I can totally see eyes rolling through the screen.... but wait)
Since I had my boys I have always wanted them to enjoy the simple things. On their actual birthdays we celebrate as a family with a butter iced cake- when they have a party my gift to them is whatever magnificent creation I can come up with to blow their tiny minds.
This year the butter iced family cake had me realising the pain that many parents endure when trying to create something that looks, well, Easy?!?!?!?

But before I put you through that little bit of imagery that you won't be able to un-see- My sister started the actual Birthday with a cake for the birthday boy- Enter Woolworths Fresh cream Sponge- finished with a pretty rainbow ombre on top too.
My sister is wonderfully no frills- there wasn't even cause to remove it from the plastic base onto a crockery plate ;P
Suffice to say the Birthday boy Loved every second of his first Birthday cake of the day.

So then came the evening- a quiet night at home to sing Happy Birthday as a family and eat a bit of cake. In my whirlwind of party planning- baking a cake for this family dinner became less of a priority- so I took practical parenthood by the hand and did what 1000's of parents before me have done- I bought a sponge!!!!
(Ok so you bought a cake- I am sure you whipped it into an unrecognisable work of art?)

Well no. This is where I came undone. With my other sister there to guide me out of the cutting errors I had made when attempting this on my own- I melted some ganache and tried to piece it together...........................

When I showed this pic to a long time and dear friend he suggested Mr Hanky- Just needed the Xmas hat! 

My thoughts exactly.
My number 2 looked like a number 2.
There wasn't time to start again so I had to go with what I had. The kids could smell the sugar and they didn't care how malformed this "piece De resistance" was currently looking.
No amount of 100's and 1000's was going to cover up this atrocity! So I delved into the fridge and went straight into a recovery plan.
Whipped cream and fruit!

Kind of a 2- could be a Questions Mark- either way- he can't recognise numbers yet so I am safe.

All the while sitting finished in my cake room was the Party cake.
Once I decided on what I was making for the celebration, I held my breath and went with it.

I messaged my cake peeps with little updates of the progress, and finished what I had planned with minimal hurdles.

As always, I had my husband drilling and cutting timber at all hours to make this happen in between my regular orders.

From Ganache- to Fondant covered- to Airbrushed

I had a load of fun putting him together! I loved making the horse with a bit of cheek in him- personality rather than just any old pretty Carousel Horse.

It was a hot humid day here yesterday for the party- so I kept him cool right up until cutting time.
Then I bought him down and things got a little crazy. Expectations were high. Many had predicted a Circus tent, or a Ferris wheel- but I chose a Carousel Horse because that is what my Louis Loves whenever we have the opportunity to have a go one one.

I 100% forgot to photograph the cake in my photo tent- but never mind.

A cake of this size and weight really should have been broken down graciously- but we were all having too much fun.

Poor horses behind got eaten and the weight of the front end had him flip off the board face first- still relatively in tact.

So sitting at the end of what has been a huge weekend I can look back now and be glad (and proud) that I have managed to create another wonderful birthday memory for my kids, using the talent that I have.
Sadly though- Louis was most disappointed that this morning we didn't wake up and do it all over again. Ahhhhhhh well- that's life :)

So you've now learnt that my cake making skills are far from perfect- but given the opportunity I can make make a pretty wicked cake!

Thanks for Reading!

SJ

The Luckiest Cowboy

I'm more than aware how lucky I am. How truly blessed my family is, and how fortunate we are. 

I have been priveledged to be apart of a family who encouraged and celebrated my successes, and who are always there to support me. 

Although my clients often ask me about my family, and it's not often I publicly share. 

I have written and deleted this blog many times. I've felt a bit conflicted about sharing. I've feared how it may be read, so I'm trying my best in this two dimensional platform to write it as best I can. 

For as long as I can remember I've been aware of good fortune. Whilst growing up in a working class family, my parents always gave and shared without question. This upbringing has made me conscious of giving back and helping whenever I can. 

This December  my Big boy turned 3!

I am trying to instill the same caring values in him as was taught to me. It was like a lightbulb was switched on in his mind a few months ago- where he realised people recieved "things" for their birthdays. 

So came forth the requests of anything he saw "maybe I can get this for my birthday???" became the phrase  of the moment. The highlight of this time for me was when we were driving to Kindy and he saw a plumbers truck loaded with pipes. "Look at that big truck mummy!! Maybe I can get some pipes for my birthday???" Short of bursting out laughing, this melted my heart, because it kind of said to me that maybe he would appreciate the smaller things. 

As he grasped what parties were about now- this year I wanted a simpler style party for him (yes I can hear the chorus of hysterical laughter from those who know me personally). I'm not one for commercial themed parties. I wanted something that engaged their imaginations. 

A Western Party it was to be. I had it in my mind I wanted to create a fun party without expense. We had a bbq, icecreams, a stable with watermelon, carrots and apples, and grass dip (aka Spinach hommus and Guacamole)

I made bags of "Chaff" from oven baking shredded tortillas, to create healthy crisps for the kids. 

Trail mix with popcorn added through, and I found giant marshmallows at Costco and made "campfire pops" by dipping them in chocolate- then assorted toppings. 

I love a bargain, so I  bought a number balloon off eBay for $1.90 then had it filled for $5. I reused bunting I'd made years ago (much to my husbands delight and surprise).

I upcycled old pallets to create wooden crates, and bought some hay that we later used as garden mulch for decorations. 

Yes the fiddly bits took allot of time, but what cost me in my time looked effective and kept costs down. 

I had made a hobby horse for each family to take home instead of a lolly bag. I'll be honest- I worked on these for months in whatever moment of spare time I had. I used leftover fabric pieces, stuffings of (washed) old pillows, plus old bits of braid and buttons from my grandmothers collection. The biggest expense of these was the $3 stick. 

I had in my mind that I was going to make a hobby horse cake, but about a week out from his birthday, Finley asked "can you make a little me on a cake?"  

From there my creative brain went a little overboard. Of course I could make a figurine - but how about a 3D cartoon Cowboy Kid instead?? I didn't tell Mr almost Three my plan. I wanted it to be a surprise. I wanted to see if I could impress the only person that mattered on his special day. 

So I had a go. Yes I have years of cake making and designing experience behind me, but I still lack confidence in many elembets, and I've still allot to learn. 

At one point I called my mum into my cake room to give me a bit of help, as I was doing the eyes, and scarily the cake looked like "Child of Chucky" lol. 

I channeled the artistic talents of my fellow cake peeps, and I think in the end he turned out awesome!  

I managed to keep him out of sight until the party day, then once all set up I bought the birthday boy down and showed him. 

GOBSMACKED!! He was so chuffed he kept looking at the cake- then smiling to himself. Mission accomplished 😊

This was the only opinion that mattered. 

Would he have been just as delighted with a round sponge from woollies with a number 3 candle on it- Absolutely..... But given I have this talent, I'd  treasure using it to create family happiness than simply use it for paying clients alone. 

So here he is Cowboy Finley!

And with the happy recipient. 

The party goers couldn't get enough of him either. 

And finally one of us all together. 

So there's a little insight to me and my family and a stack of great memories we've just made. 

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to ask any questions in the comment section below. 

SJ x