Artistic Outlet

I've always had an artistic streak to me. I made things up as a child. I drew. A lot. And that stayed with me through high school. I took AP art my senior year and several of my pictures won awards. Nothing major, but enough to make me think I knew what I was doing.
Which, I don't.
Not exactly.
I haven't picked up a pencil to draw in close to 12 years.  I'm not even sure if I could still do it.  But since then, I've found new ways to express myself.
Like writing, which I have been fortunate enough to not only be able to do on a daily basis, but also get paid for.
And, my cakes. A new-found extension to my creativity. I enjoy that I can share my creations with others, give them as personalize gifts and in a strange way, I enjoy the ephemeralness of it as well. How it's not intended to last forever.
But, I have been given an opportunity to wield my paintbrush yet again.
As I have mentioned before, my brother-in-law is a pediatric dentist and Brad manages his dental office. And I get to paint the walls.

This past weekend, Brad and I added a mural to the lobby. An area previously declared 'parent zone' and therefor paint-free.
Of course, we went over-the-top bright.

Brad has gotten much better with his painting! We previously did the back room in a jungle theme and Brad was tasked with painting the large areas. I did all the detailing and outlining.

AAAAAANNNND, now I can't find those photos. I know they exist somewhere.
But, we have more plans for the lobby, including another waterfall, and a Mayan-esque doorway covered in vines.
So, as we finish those projects, I will continue to update you with photos.

Cakes are great!

So, I got some major love from Sara over at Domestically Challenged? this morning!  That was really exciting to wake up to. She mentioned my admission into the We Heart Art contest where I showed off some of my cakes. 

I started this blog (originally anonymously) as a journal of sorts and it is slowly evolving.  To what, I'm not exactly sure.  From a business standpoint, all advice points to (changing to deep business guy voice) 'doing one thing on your blog and doing it well.' But, I don't have one thing.  I tend to complain about my home life.  I love my work life (but usually avoid that as a subject).  And I've decorated cakes.  

So, my Friday posts will now be about cakes.  I will feature a specific cake, describe the process of putting it together (which often involved a lot of cursing!)

Todays cake will be the first.  The one that started the obsession.  

Five years ago, my grandparents had their fiftieth anniversary.  And they wanted to have a big party.  I thought it would be really cool to make the cake for them.  And I wanted to go big.  I mean BIG!  I had no formal training at all, just a few season of watching Food Network and having made birthday cakes for everyone in my family for years.  (But, they were average, 2-layer, chocolate frosting from a can).  So, I went to Barnes & Noble and sat down.  I read several books and ultimately left with Cakewalk: Adventures in Sugar with Margaret Braun.  

 From that book, I chose one of her designs.  It featured tiny, hand-sculpted limes, lemons and oranges.  It was adorable.  But since the party was in the fall, I changed the decorations to leaves and acorns.  

OK, so, before you see the photo, I have SEVERAL things to point out.  Each tier had four layers.  All of the cake was made from scratch.  The butter cream was made from scratch (with real butter).  The fondant?  From scratch - it was Margaret's recipe.  Royal icing decorations?  From scratch.  From the time I bought the book until I delivered the cake was a little over three months.  It was a crash course to say the least!  Also, this is an old photo (pre-Kelli having digital camera days), so it is a scan that I butchered in Photoshop. (please don't judge!)

I was up until 2 a.m. three nights in a row.  My husband had to go to the grocery store on multiple occasions, for eggs [twice] and sugar [three times]!

Since then, I have been hooked.  I hope new readers find something they enjoy here.  If you ever have cake questions, feel free to ask! (I teach Wilton classes, too)