Sunday, August 9, 2009

Castle Cake!

This is the first castle cake I've made, and I think it turned out rather well.  I wish I had taken in-progress photos.  There were several points when I felt like throwing in the towel, that there was no way I could make the castle presentable.  I had a temporary loss of faith.  At one time, I was positively despondent - I considered calling the customer to cancel.  The end result is pretty cool, though, if I get a chance to do another castle cake, there are A LOT of things I would do differently.  But that's the learning process, right? 

The green 'land' part is cake: vanilla with mango curd and strawberry buttercream.  The pink castle is Rice Krispie treats covered in fondant.  

This first photo is when most of the work was done, but before the final touches.

The back.
The little girl's name above the entranceway.
View from above right.
View from behind.
Right tower (this is before everything was touched up).
Left tower.
After touch-ups and additions.  Please ignore the bowls of oatmeal in the background.  Very professional, I know.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Eli and Jude's Cupcakes

A very good friend of mine had twin baby boys on the 27th of July!  I brought these cupcakes to the hospital when we visited.

Gumpaste decorations drying after I cut and painted them.

Probably my second favourite shirt combo.

My original plan for these was a onesie and a diaper on each of nine cupcakes.  However, when I sat down to decorate them, two had mysteriously gone missing! *cough* Ian *cough*.  So I decided to do six instead; two onesies on four, three diapers and a onesie on one, and six diapers on one.  I had a bunch of prepared miniature blue and white flowers that I used as filler....I'm wishing I'd come up with something more creative.  I don't like how they look.

This pair of baby shirts was my fave.


Saturday, August 1, 2009

My Silly Babies



Formula....

I just meandered over to Mama is.  Take a look at this new product. She made a comic about it.  

My mind is blown, a little.  Especially by the "humanitarian" angle the company is using to sell this abomination.  The article states that gastrointestinal distress would be minimized (compared with formula made with potentially contaminated water).  I am skeptical - what about formula recalls, melamine, mechanical contamination during manufacture?  Certainly we can't believe that "sterile" conditions in a factory are guaranteed?  Employees are human; machines malfunction.  I don't have that much faith in centralized production.  And regarding AIDS in Africa?  Serving formula to the two thirds of African babies that would not contract HIV through breastfeeding puts them at a serious risk of many other diseases (and the mothers too!), hinders the development of their immune system, and reduces mother-babe bonding.  Not to mention the expense.  How can ill parents in an impoverished country possibly afford to buy single-serving formula for every single feed?  I think the money is better spent on HIV/AIDS reduction/education methods.  
  They also say it's "green", because it is made with "paper products", and is free of Bisphenol-A.  Unfortunately, the processes to recycle and manufacture tetra-pack style packaging is not.  Nor for the plastic nipple.  Or to ship this product worldwide from the USA.  Or to collect, assemble, and then ship the ingredients the formula will contain.  So?  Maybe they meant, "greener than plastic bottles".  Yeah.

  I suppose these people have their hearts in the right place.  Or maybe they don't, and it's just all about the money.  EIther way, this sort of thing leaves me shaking my head.