Easy bridal shower cake decorating

Finished cake at my daughter's bridal shower

The Cake is an essential element for any celebration! You don't have to pay a lot of money or put in a lot of time, however adding some creative details and decorations to even the simplest of cakes can really make it special and unique as the bride herself.

When my daughter got engaged she wanted the two of us to make her cake. I did a cake for her sisters wedding a said I would never do another one but never say never.. We did the wedding cake together which was a lot of fun!

She and her husband had an outdoor wedding in the what is called the Calendar Garden which is full of flowers so we wanted to put flowers on the cake itself.

My daughter came up with most of this design for the flowers on top and how to keep them out of the frosting we did both play around with it until we got what we both liked. 

You will need the circle of cardboard cake plates one smaller size than what your cake will be sitting on, for the topper. Wire cutters, glue gun, wax paper and lots of flowers!

Using the hot glue gun, glue the leaves around the outer edge sticking out just a bit to cover the white cardboard. The leaves are pretty easy to cut off the stems of the flowers you will be using later.

Just keep going in a circular pattern pretty easy and doesn't really take that long I did this whole cake in a day.

 Next glue on another row of leaves and then the the middle leaves just like you did the first row.

 Start gluing down your flowers I left part of the stem on and glued that part down sometimes you have to glue the flower itself too.

Just keep layering the flowers around your circle just like you did the leaves.

 

Once it is full it should look like a bouquet.

Use another one of the same size circle and trace out on wax or parchment paper and cut out the circle you need to glue this to the cardboard so it wont stick in the icing..

When you put the two layers of cake on the card board you want to also put a circle the same size of wax paper on that also.

I used a damp washcloth and gently wiped off all of the leaves and flowers before I decorated with them.

Set your leaves in first all the way around I did two sticking out from each flower

Push the flower stem under the wax paper that way when they are taken out and the cake is cut there aren't any stems in the cake itself.

This is the cake without the topper All you have to do is center it up on the top of the cake and lay it easily right on top. This one came up very easily with the wax paper but I think parchment would do even better. The wedding cake stuck just a little bit in the frosting.

Cake all put together with Topping took me a couple of hours not counting baking the cake to do this. It is really very simple and looks beautiful.

This is the bridal shower cake very simple and easy once you get the idea. I will blog the wedding cake a bit later. Have some baking tips also I learned after doing a few of these now. :)
Thanks for reading and if you have any questions feel free to ask!!
Happy baking and cake decorating!!

Easter dress for Emma our little princess/Diva

I wanted to make my grand-daughters Easter dresses this year, this is the one I made for Emma. She loves pretty things and is our little princess ~ Diva. 

Emma hunting eggs, I got her this little denim jacket and I thought it was kind of cute with the dress wasn't the plan but it worked.

The top and waist. I just took the sheer fabric in Purple and gathered it into two spots and sewed the two bows on the waist. The over skirt is done with the same sheer fabric only in pink. I also made two small bows and put them on the shoulder I was thrilled with my seams..

Emma hunting Easter eggs, she loved her dress and hunting eggs at Nana's house!

I bought a simply patter and then just added my own things like the bows, the over skirt and the belt out of sheer fabric. If anyone would like the pattern number I would be happy to share it.

Eating better and getting healthier!

My 2nd time cooking Almond chicken it was awesome!

Almond Chicken - I saw this recipe on Dr.OZ http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/almond-crusted-chicken-sweet-potatoes-and-asparagus
This is the original recipe from DR. Oz website. I did it with the asparagus the first time, I don't think I roasted that part long enough but everything else was great!!!

Ingredients
Serves 2


1/2 cup whole almonds, finely chopped
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, preferably pasture raised
1/2 lb fresh asparagus with the ends trimmed
1 large sweet potato
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 450° F, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a small food processor, add the whole almonds and chop fine. Lay a piece of parchment on a flat surface. Sprinkle chopped almonds on top of parchment. Lay chicken on parchment paper. Coat each piece of chicken with the mustard and dredge in the almonds. Place coated chicken breasts on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Lay asparagus next to the chicken breasts. Slice the sweet potato into thin circles and lay next to asparagus. Lightly spray chicken, potatoes and asparagus with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place cookie sheet in the oven. Bake for 10-13 minutes until chicken feels firm to the touch and is cooked through.

Recipe courtesy of Laurie Erickson

These are pictures of my second Almond chicken venture both were good but I learned that I need a food processor for those almonds.. Hammer and ziplock bag in a kitchen towel worked well. I love the taste of the mustard too I ran out of almonds and just dipped a couple of pieces in the mustard and cooked them like that.

I decided to make this one with fresh spinach and some tomatoes for a salad. I use fat free french my kids like ranch on theirs.. I also roasted the baby carrots right along with the sweet potatoes.

Add caption

I have a family of 5 so I cooked a LOT more chicken took up large cookie sheet alone and then did the sweet potatoes and baby carrots on another cookie sheet. I sprayed them with butter flavored cooking spray it gives them a little of buttery flavor and they look better.. I just didn't have any olive oil left.

I am determined to get healthy and will be posted other recipes and how they tasted soon.
I have lost only 5 lbs so far but just really kicked into high gear since Easter will see how it goes!!

My rating for this Almond chicken is an A++ I will be cooking it again really soon my entire family loves it!!!

Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter

 Holy week is the week leading up to Easter day. Starting with Palm Sunday when Jesus rode on a donkey and the people waved palm leaves and asked him to save them. Then there is "spy Wednesday",as a reference to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, followed by Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Great Saturday and ending with Easter day. 


Palm Sunday ~Is traditionally celebrated on the Sunday before Easter, in our church we pass out palm branches, some churches only give them to the children who walk in waving them in celebration of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem, and the celebrating people there lay down their cloaks in front of him, and also lay down small branches of trees.

Spy Wednesday - (Which I just learned about )A reference to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot.

Maundy Thursday, also called Holy Thursday Great and Holy Thursday Thursday of Mysteries Covenant Thursday and Sheer Thursday.
The word “Maundy” is derived from the Latin word for “command.” The “Maundy” in Maundy Thursday refers to the command Jesus gave to the disciples at the Last Supper, that they should love and serve one another.

"The Lord's Supper points to Jesus Christ, whose body was given for us and whose shed blood established the new covenant.  In sharing the bread and cup, each believer remembers the death of Jesus and God's act of deliverance in raising Jesus from the dead. As we relive this event with a common meal, we give thanks for all God's acts of deliverance in the past and present, for the forgiveness of sins, and for God's continuing grace in our lives."

In our church which is Mennonite, the lights are dim a short message remembering what lead up to the death of Jesus and a prayer. There is then a small meal usually of consisting of a soup. Foot washing and Communion.

John 13:14-17, He instructs them, 14 "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet." 15 "For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you." 16 "Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him." 17 "If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them."

Good Friday -Many Christian churches celebrate Good Friday with a solemn service, usually in the evening, the lights are turned down low in some services. Christ’s death is remembered with solemn hymns, prayers of thanksgiving, a message centered on Jesus suffering to save all of us from our sins. As Christians, the events of that day should be ever on our minds because the death of Christ on the cross is the paramount event of the Christian faith.

Holy Saturday - Is the Saturday before Easter, the last day of Lent and the day when Christ's body lay in His Tomb. In the early church Holy Saturday was a day of fasting and preparation for the Easter Vigil. In the early church this was always the time to baptize or 'christen' new Christian converts . They were then ready to take their first communion on Easter Sunday, the day of Resurrection. Christian baptisms symbolism death and resurrection and so it is very fitting for them to take place at this time of year. Most churches do not have a service on this day.

EASTER - Easter, which celebrates Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead, is Christianity's most important holiday. Christians celebrate the resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ. It is typically the most well-attended Sunday service of the year for Christian churches.
Christians believe, according to Scripture, that Jesus came back to life, or was raised from the dead, three days after his death on the cross.
It has been called a moveable feast because it doesn't fall on a set date every year, as most holidays do. Instead, Christian churches in the West celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox on March 21. Therefore, Easter is observed anywhere between March 22 and April 25 every year.

We as Christians celebrate our new lives in Christ. He died for our sins on the cross and was raised again after three days. I found a wonderful children's books called What is Easter by Michelle Medlock Adams. This is for younger children and I love the easy way it explains things. Easter is not about eggs or candy it is about the gift God gave to all of us, his son!

Thanks for reading!! God bless you and may you have a wonderful and blessed Holy week and a happy Resurrection or Easter!!


resources: http://www.mennolink.org/doc/cof/art.13.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maundy_Thursday
http://christianity.about.com/od/holidaytips/qt/whatisgoodfrida.htm


My own experiences