6th Photo Meme....no, not the 3rd...most definitely not the 8th

Over at smalltownmom's place, she was tagged for a 6th Photo Meme....and then she told "us" to just tag ourselves...and since it's almost 1:00 in the morning and I'm not really tired, I thought I'd do it....you know...just to see. When she posted, she did some playing around with her folders (She's such a bad girl...but we love her anyway!!)....trying the 4th Photo from the 4th folder...the 5th...and then she even tried from the bottom.

Well...let me tell you, my friends, what you're getting from me is straight up.....the 6th photo from the 6 folder...and then a couple more just to make it all more interesting (it will be, it really will be!!!).

So...going to the 6th folder...This one is titled "CAKES"....one of the quite a few things I dabble in is cake decorating....I am, by no stretch of the imagination, very good, but...I have been able to make some pretty good ones..IMHO...for friends and have actually gotten some cash for a few...let's just say that it would be difficult to find what I do at cake shops here!!

They may not be perfect, but what they lack in professional design quality, they more than make up for it in the total yumminess of my creations!!! Now.....the 6th picture is this.....

Some American friends were throwing a birthday party for another friend...the party was a Hawaiian luau themed party and I made a couple of cakes for them. The first one (the 6th photo!!) is one of my favorites.....the flip flops were carrot cake, topped with a cream cheese frosting (my personal favorite!!)...the "sand" was some butter cookies crunched up...the shells were real, as were the flowers!! And yes, before you say anything...I know...the straps on the sandals probably should have been longer, but...I was using licorice and when I made them longer, they kept popping up out of the cake (no, not little little teeny-tiny strippers!)... so I had to cut them short.

I'm going to add the other cake that I made for that party....
...the turtle is a sacred creature in Hawaii...named honu meaning "God of the Sea"...I actually used an old hanging air freshener as my design for this one!!

That same group of women also had a baby shower for someone and asked me to make cakes for that event, too. (They were my best "customers"!!)

I also added a little tag on the onesie that said "Made in Japan"!!

(This picture was taken before I did that....sorry.)

A good friend called me and the boys to come over to help her daughter celebrate her birthday and this is one that I put together without much trouble at all...I do love the many things you can do with just a plain, round cake!!! And thank goodness I have frozen frosting in my fridge....I do sometimes use it for decorating actual cakes and not just on Oreos or apples or....a spoon....

I really wanted to show you this next one....this is the cake that started it all, really.

My British friend was having a "Yeah, you got married!" party for her brother (who also lives here in Nagasaki)...he and his wife had gotten married in the town where she is from and not many of us here were able to go and help them celebrate.

I know that different countries have different traditions when it comes to weddings...but...as an American, I do believe that we have some of THE most delicious wedding cakes ever, bar none. When K told me that in England, a wedding cake was usually a fruit cake, well...imagine my shuddering surprise!!
Don't get me wrong, I do love a good fruitcake...but for a wedding?! No...I'm sorry...that's just wrong.

So....I volunteered to make an American wedding cake for the party.

What the frick was I thinking?!?!?! I had never made a wedding cake before!!

After I calmed down, I quickly fired off an SOS-type e-mail to my aunt in Colorado who has actually taken cake decorating classes and is really good at making some great cakes!!! She was so encouraging....she told me where to find a couple really good "wedding cake" recipes (from their church cookbook!!) and then she gave me a pep talk that would rival any locker room, half-time speech from the coach.

After a few days of planning....this is what I came up with.....

K was definitely surprised....as were most of the people at the party...and her brother and his wife were very happy with the results!!!

Armed with the feeling that "yes, I can do this!" and the wonderful books and ideas that my aunt has so graciously passed on to me, I'm feeling more confident in doing this...which is good, because, I talked with K today and her daughter is turning 16 soon and I'm making her cake....oh...what fun this will be!!!

I wish you all a sweet Sunday...be it left-over pumpkin pie or cake from Thanksgiving or frozen or canned frosting on a cookie...may it be a good one!!!