Lucy Loves Magnolias

A couple weeks ago, a lady in the church approached me about making her Mom a birthday cake. She will celebrate her 70th this week, and they were all getting together on Father's Day to have her a party. The birthday girl, Lucy, loves magnolias, so her daughter requested a cake with a magnolia on it. This was a lot of fun to do. My sister picked a magnolia for me from the tree in our yard. The only one she could find was a little wilted, but it served as a good model. I first made the petals a little too pointed. Everyone was sure to point it out.I agreed, though; it looked more like a daisy than a magnolia.
So I simply took the scissors and curved the tips.There! That's more like it.

I didn't try to get the buttercream perfectly smooth.
I think this adds a certain bit of charm that goes perfectly with the flower.

I hope Lucy enjoyed her cake, and I hope she has a wonderful birthday!

Father's Day

Father's day was filled with church and family together time. I love that combination. I love how family comes together for special occasions. I love how life seems so much sweeter. Something else that's sweet?

When you can get all of your neices and nephews together to take a special picture for your Dad. (This was actually taken Thursday, but you get the idea.)

I think this really made Dad happy! That man loves his grandchildren more than anything. Can you see his smile around the toothpick?

I put the picture in a wooden frame from Michael's. I had each of the kids sign thier name on the frame, and I wrote thier age on the back.

I also made Dad this cute card. A shirt a tie card seemed so appropriate for him, since he's a preacher, and he's frequently in a suit.

Also, on Mother's Day & Father's Day we always give the mothers and fathers a small gift at church. It's always tough to find something that is nice and inexpensive. One day last week I saw this idea. I've been having addiction lately involving Crush drinks in glass bottles. They seem to taste so much more delicious from a glass bottle. Anyway, this is what I came up with:

I cut (yes, CUT. I really need to invest in a circle punch!) the large cirles from star patterned paper and the smaller circles from light green paper. Then, I stamped the green circles with a stamp that looked like bubbles. I found the "ribbon" here. They are napkin rings, but I cut them off to make them shorter.


I also had to make a cake for a birthday party on Father's Day.
Pictures to come...

One Sweet Day

In April, 1996, my sister went through what is probably the most painful experience that a woman could ever have. She had already went through two miscarriages (one with twins), and she was now going into her seventh month of another pregnancy. She was anxiously awaiting the arrival of her little girl, who she had chosen to name Dakota. Yet, once again she miscarried. We were all heartbroken. Being part of a preacher's family, you become accustomed to dealing with all sorts of things, but nothing breaks your heart more than when it's your family going through a trial. Nothing has broken my heart more than having to face my sister knowing that she'll never be able to hold her beautiful daughter in her arms. What do you say? What kind of hope do you offer. You know what the scriptures say, but at that time, in that moment, you can't remember anything to offer encouragement. I found the best thing to do is just be there. Offer comfort when you can, a shoulder to cry on when it's needed, and eventually the storm will pass and the clouds will lift. You never fully get over going through something like this. Even though my sister has since been blessed with three beautiful children (one that looked exactly like Dakota when she was born), I can almost guarantee that she still thinks of that beautiful baby that we held in our arms, just for a few minutes, on a bright, sunny April day.



After my sister lost Dakota she heard of something that our local hospitals do for women and families that face this kind of tragedy. The first Saturday of October they have a Walk to Remember in our town's zoo. They have a minister or priest that says a few words, and you are able to read a poem or share something about your baby with the group. A few years after losing Dakota, my sister asked me to write a poem in her memory. It took me almost 9 years to do this. I admit I never even started or attempted to start to write something. I finally decided to just sit down and try to put some words down. This was in 2007, right before the Walk to Remember in October. This was the hardest thing I've ever written, but I think it made my sister happy. She read it a few weeks after I wrote it, at the zoo on the day that we walked to remember those little angels that only come into our life for a brief, fleeting moment and left a footprint on our hearts forever.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
One Sweet Day
One wonderful moment in time you belonged to me.
You were a part of my life, a part of this world.
Then suddenly, too quickly, you were taken away.
I didn’t have time to prepare for your departure.
I had no idea that it was so near. I didn’t want to let you go.
One moment, you were there, so anxious and full of life.
Then, in the next moment, in an instant, all was still.
I never knew there could be a pain as great as the pain I felt when I lost you.
You were my joy, my heart…you are a part of me.
I could not comprehend why God would take you from this life…from me.
I had so many questions but never the courage to ask them.
I know that God has a purpose for everything in this life.
And He has a plan for everyone.
And in one fleeting moment He called your name, and set your spirit free.
He took you by the hand and led you through Heaven’s gates.
He whispered your name as He held you in His arms and welcomed you home.
And as I look towards the Heavens
I can almost see your smile and hear your sweet voice.
And I smile, too, for I know that one sweet day I’ll see your face.
And, as I meet you at Heaven’s gates, all my tears will fade away. One sweet day…

Very Short List

Have you heard of Very Short List? If not, allow me tell you about it.

Very Short List, aka VSL, features a little piece of information about a varying subject each day, Monday-Friday. Each feature is something interesting that you may or may not know about. Thier goal is to feature things that are not widely publicized but are well worth mentioning. It may be a movie, cd, TV show, book or website that you may have missed. You can sign-up to receive the daily email. Each day features something new, and you never know what that something might be!

In fact, VSL is how I first heard of a wonderful little blog called Cake Wrecks. Some of you may have heard of it. Cake Wrecks then led me to another delightful blog called Bakerella. I bet you've never heard of that one! After that, I kept finding more and more fantastic & inspiring blogs. So, VSL is, I guess you could say, responsible for my interest in blogging.

Check it out.

Satisfaction

A Simple Recipe for SWEET Satisfaction

Place 3-4 scoops of Breyer's Natural Vanilla Ice Cream in a cup or mug.
Pour in a 12-oz. can of Barq's Olde Tyme Root Beer. Get a spoon, & ENJOY!

Amanda

This is Shawn's sister, Amanda. She celebrated her birthday Saturday. Her husband, Zac, asked me to make a cake with some of her favorite stores, a road and a girl walking a dog while holding shopping bags. I got it all except the dog and shopping bags. Shawn painted the model '57 Chevy car pink to sit on the road.






This was right before they picked the cake up. The party was at the lake, and I did not make it because I had stayed up all night making the cake.

I did have a helper, though- my niece, Madalyn. She was a great help through the night. She would watch a movie for a while, then come help. Shawn's parents were planning on picking the cake up around 8 or 8:30 that morning, and everytime Maddy came back into the kitchen, she would tell me how many hours I had left.

This is her about 7:30 that morning when she finally gave up. I think by this time she was on her third movie (Clueless. One of my favorites!)

Thanks for all your help Maddy!

Encouraging Words

My sister and I are in the process of creating a new website for our church. It's somewhat of a challenge trying to make sure you have all the basics, not leaving anything out, while wanting to add a little more than just the basics. My brother-in-law suggested featuring a testimony from a different church member each week. I liked the idea, so it was added. Another thing I've been thinking is to add a section with encouragin words. I'm a collector of quotes, and I write down every inspiring thing I come across {I LOVE notebooks and have MANY!} So, I've thought about adding a section with encouraging words. Sometimes when my Dad is facing some difficulty in the church, I'll leave him a little quote. The last one I left him he turned into a message! I think it acheived it's purpose. It's so good to know that just a few simple words put together can encourage and inspire. The quote I left him was this:

God's capability is greater than our circumstances.

I Really Want...

this cake stand. Isn't it just beautiful?
I love cake stands, and I've been wanting one (or 2...or 3) that is colored. I'd like to have both the blue and black. They also have these in Cream, Sand & Green.
Beautiful!


Images via here