I was one of the few tiny humans I know that was completely revolted by frosting. I still am, for the most part.
At birthday parties, the frosting was the overly sweet, gritty, garishly colored upcycled Crisco, and I really just couldn't. I wasn't big on sweets even as a kid, but I always thought that that type of frosting wasn't even actually food. I still don't think it is.
My favorite cake much more closely resembles unfrosted white wedding cake or just a good plain pound cake. Or just skip all that and give me a potato chip.
In an ironic twist, I actually got a blue ribbon for a cake I made at a 4H contest. And it wasn't sweet at all. It had a thin layer of dark chocolate as the "frosting" and between the layers, and it was a really pretty Neapolitan cake.
But the combination of not really liking sugar that much and living in a boiling hot climate have conspired to eliminate baking from my life, with the notable exception of my annual Free Range Fruitcake festival.
But what I really love is to LOOK at cake. Especially on Pinterest. And especially tiered cakes.
Maybe it's the architecture of a tiered cake that I love. I love that they look like little buildings, with room on each floor for three-dimensional decorations. I'm pretty sure I'd never eat fondant, but it's spectacularly beautiful. I also don't think I'd eat marzipan, but the little fruits made out of it and dusted with color are a feast for the eyes. And look - here's a marziPANDA.
It's all very Alice In Wonderland to me, the world of cake.
So I'll take you down a cake rabbit hole with me today with my post for the Splitcoast Inspiration challenge. I'm filling in for the completely amazing Audrie today. I always get nervous subbing for Audrie, because she is so, so good at what she does.
But I found this gorgeous Etsy shop for my inspiration. Book worshipers - avert your eyes. Some books are about to be sacrificed on the altar of art up in here!
This shop has everything I love - old books, illustrations, children's stories. So fantastic.
So that is our inspiration site for today.
For my card, I chose the singularly beautiful Happy Day stamp and die bundle from Concord & 9th for a very good reason - my inlaws' 50th anniversary party is today! So this is the card I made for them. Vintage Watercolor for some vintage celebrating :)
Isn't that a fun, low calorie cake?
It was super easy to make too. I made a little video for you of the process.
And while you're watching that - I'm off to eat cake! :)
Loveyameanitbye.
Loveyameanitbye.
BEAUTIFUL.
ReplyDeleteSo very beautiful! I came over from SCS to see this. I knew right off you used my new favorite technique! The cake looks soooo elegant! I love the different colors of the Elegant Writer, it's always a fun surprise to see what happens with the added water! Happy 50th to your in-laws! I hope to play along later but hubs is home today so we shall see.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous!!!!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous card - Love the inspiration site. I have a two giraffes with book page backgrounds similar to those on the site and love them :)
ReplyDeleteLOVE IT!!!!!! I have that brush thing in my SSS cart waiting for me to pull the trigger.....
ReplyDeleteGOR-GE-OUS!!! elegant too! i'm sure your in-laws will cherish it.
ReplyDeleteI hate frosting too! My sister loves me, so for my birthday each year she makes a lemon sheet cake. The she pierces it all over with an ice pick and poor over a glaze made of freshly squeezed lemon juice mixed with some confectioners sugar. Lovely and super tart!
ReplyDeleteLove this Lydia! So vintage and pretty!
ReplyDeleteSimply stunning, Lydia. I bet your inlaws absolutely loved receiving this. Thanks for making a video, it's always nice to have a little burst of Lydia in my day.
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone Lydia - most Germans cringe when looking at the colourful frostings in the US. I would not exactly consider them food either. And I could not get the basic ingredients for our German frosting anywhere when I lived in CAL... Funny thing is that the "color cakes" are taking over Germany now. ;-) I have always enjoyed the artwork behind them (as long as nobody tells me to eat it) just like you do.
ReplyDeleteI hated frosting as a child so I never ate birthday cake! Still I scrape most frosting so off if we have cake especially those decorated ones with 2 inches of frosting. Thanks for the awesome technique!
ReplyDeleteI stopped having cakes with frosting for my daughter's birthdays since I noticed that many kids simply scrap off the frosting. Instead my husband (he is the baker in the family!) bakes two large chocolate cakes and the kids love them! I loved the card and thanks for the video. It is a great technique I would love to try.
ReplyDeleteOh, Lydia! This is a gorgeous and magical process for this stunning image! Perfect video, too ❤️
ReplyDeleteLove what you did with this pretty cake stamp! Beautiful card!
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