The title "Created Creatively" was chosen because I am created (creatively, in God's image); I was created to BE creative; and the things that I create, I create creatively, through God's gift of creativity... If that makes sense! ... OR it could have also been because "Crazy Cake Lady" was already taken :)
1. A fund made up of portions of money which people have contributed for a designated purpose.
2. The name of my sister's previous cat, which she adopted as a kitten.
3. This fictional character:
Naww... Hi Kitty!
This weekend, I made some Hello Kitty cupcakes. I forever* searched for how I was going to do that, and, how I was going to do that without time to locate, purchase, and/or make my own 'Hello Kitty' face cutter.
* Not really, but extensively.
I thought I'd share what I did with what I had, which was these:
Using the smaller round cutter, I made (what would soon be) the face, and then with the larger one, trimmed a bit off the top:
With the flower cutter, I could make 5 ears in one go! Hooray! Then after wrecking my brain for ways to make the ribbon without making actual ribbons (lazy, I know) I used the bottom of the balloon cutter (that I recently added to my collection just before my daughter's birthday) ->
To create Hello Kitty's ribbon shaped accessory:
Finally, with some food colouring/paint, I added the eyes, nose, and whiskers:
I also made flowers for the remaining cupcakes, which were made the same way I made flowers for the fairy cake, with a red M 'n' M in the middle. The Hello Kitty faces and flowers were placed on top of pink buttercream icing piped onto cupcakes:
I was then somehow reminded of Phoebe from Friends, and "Smelly Cat".
Which has it's own film clip!
Good question. What are they feeding you? :)
And now the answer to the question you've probably been wondering since the beginning of this post (or at least now) - What would happen if Hello Kitty and Grumpy Cat got married and had a little kitty of their own?
Soft kitty. Hello Kitty. Little ball of fuuuur.
Sleepy kitty. Grumpy Kitty. Purr, purr, I hate you.
My wallet won't close because I have too much money in it.
I showered for so long this morning the hot water ran out.
My feet are sore from shopping all day.
I have grey hairs at age 28.
#firstworldproblems
First world problems make light of trivial inconveniences that only privileged individuals experience. It gives us insight into the things we complain and whinge about, and in writing (can) give us a perspective change thinking about the millions around the world who will never experience them... Ever.
I enjoy a good laugh, and at times, a good kick up the bum. In Australia, we are considered some of the richest people in the world. You're certainly one of them if you have access to the internet and are reading this right now.
If you have food in your fridge,
clothes on your back,
a roof over your head and a place to sleep,
you are richer than 75% of the world.
And, you probably haven't been affected by any bush fires lately...
You know there's a bushfire nearby when Facebook is flooded with pictures of smoky, ashy, orangey, red and black skies... When you walk outside and all you can smell is 'burning'... And when your news feed shows friends 'liking' fire fighting and emergency coverage pages, and sharing their updates about evacuations, road closures, and the obvious- bush fires.
My first 'experience' of a bush fire was when I was little. My family owned a house in Lake Macquarie, and when we stayed there, we'd always visit my aunt, who lived in Gosford. She had a big house with a nice pool, and for as long as I can remember, the tiled fish on the bottom of said pool creeped me out! One year, my two older sisters stayed up the coast longer, while I came back to Sydney with my mum. There was soon report of a bush fire and my sisters had to wait where they were until it was safe to use the roads. I was so jealous! They got an extra 2 weeks to swim in my aunty's pool!
In my defence, I was little and didn't understand the horrific and tragic danger that bush fires can be. I guess I still don't. I've never had to evacuate from my home; never had to choose which items I carry out with me in a hurry; never watched everything I own be burned down to nothing.
I've never had to start from scratch to re-build my whole life.
As an adult, with children of my own, I live with fear*. Did the kids make it to school okay? Are they safe at their friend's house? Are they seriously going to wear that to the shops?
* Could also be anxiety.
But when disasters like this happen, it's often the time people start pointing the finger God, crying out "Why me?" or "Why them? They're such nice people." ... Sadly, I don't know how to answer that. Just to watch and hear what's happened in the past 24 hours in NSW is just so saddening.
One week ago, good friends of ours' daughter had skin grafting surgery on some of her fingers, as 2 weeks prior to that they were caught under a treadmill and received third degree burns... Her dad recently shared some thoughts on the matter here.
One day, it will all be over. God has promised that he will wipe away every tear. There will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain. (Revelation 21:1-8)
But saying that doesn't make it burn any less now... Doesn't make people who've lost everything suddenly say "At least God still loves me". People affected by bush fires are grieving and re-building their lives from scratch... Our friends' daughter also begins to re-build everything about how she lives with one working hand. Simple things like getting dressed, writing (and typing), and tying shoelaces.
Today, I did the only thing I know how to when things are out of my control. When I have no idea what to say to those going through really tough times. When I am left speechless after hearing about so many horrible situations...
I didn't think I would live to see this day... No, that's a lie. I just didn't think this day would come so soon! As per my usual morning routine, I looked in the mirror, and once again promised myself that I will (maybe 'next week') start that daily and totally beneficial skincare routine I've been putting off for the past-however-long. I'm too young to worry about wrinkles, aren't I? Might I add that at the beginning of each year, I also say that perhaps this will be the year I learn how to do a backflip. And then the worst possible thing happened...
I'm blonde. Yes, I'm a bit dense and naïve at (numerous) times, too, I'll admit that. But, I have blonde hair, naturally. And I had spent years convincing myself that because of my light coloured hair, this wouldn't happen:
Not my hair (yet!). But it's only a matter of time...
I'm shattered. Husband claims he can't see them, but I totally can! And it's not just one. Similar to me forgetting to write down milestone dates for my children losing teeth and learning to walk, I completely missed writing down the date that my youth left me, probably because I wasn't expecting to age so quickly. It's over. I have grey hairs. And I can't do anything to stop them from multiplying. In a manner similar to Rhianna, I soon found myself scringing* "Whaaat naaaaoww?"
* Combination of screaming and singing. Because life should be a musical.
I'm not even 30 yet! <runs away and scrings into pillow>
Do I blame my kids? I would totally have Disney-worthy ridiculously luscious hair had I not been a mother. Or a worrier. Or a cake maniac. Or female. Or, you know, not-animated. Damn Disney movies with perfectly animated hair. Maybe it's my mother's fault for letting me watch too much TV growing up...
But. Life goes on. I guess I always thought that I'd remain at least youthful! And... flexible? Perhaps this is a similar experience to when you know that your own kids are getting older, but then when you see your friends' kids you haven't seen in a while, who were the same age as yours, suddenly they're all grown up! And, surprisingly, still the same age as yours. Or when you try to cartwheel after years being out of practice, and pull muscles you didn't know you had, forcing you to walk weirdly for the next 2 days...
I'm not happy about having grey hairs in my 20s. I'm not terribly sad about it, either, I guess. But I do somehow feel like my grasp on youth is getting harder and harder to hold onto! My bones are becoming fragile; my body is already less flexible; my hair: grey! And my brain so much more forgetful. Sorry, who are you again??
Help! I'm gonna break a hip if I fall!
And now to put my eBay addiction to good use (instead of more cookie cutters) and order a walking frame...
As per usual, my kids always take something into school to share with their friends and classmates for their birthday... Cupcakes has been the usual request, and I've always been delighted to make them (like, seriously, you have no idea how much pressure I put on them with choosing the theme in advance). But this time (I assume because she liked the Top Chick biscuits) my daughter asked me to make biscuits for her instead of cupcakes.
I suggested that because it was for her birthday (and because I had the foresight to order this particular cookie cutter from eBay a few weeks ago), I could make balloon biscuits for her... And put them onto (cake pop) sticks! Luckily, she is at an age where she is open to a persuasive argument put forth by a slightly obsessive mother as long as it's combined with bright colours and the threat of having to sleep in the garage.
I wasn't sure if baking the cake pop sticks would work, but it did! I then outlined them with melted white chocolate, and coloured them in with different colours of royal icing. Look, I even lined them up to match the original balloon photo above! It's not a problem. I can stop any time I want.
The one thing I hadn't counted on was how long white chocolate takes to set compared to how short my patience is. Husband once remarked on the dichotomy (whatever the heck that means) of this problem: I seem to have no problem spending four hours painstakingly piping a face onto a biscuit, but if I have to wait five minutes for them to set? "It's friggin' World War 23 because you you took World Wars 3-22 already waiting for the Cookie Cutter to arrive," he says, unaware that saying something like that in the kitchen is a good way to find yourself unexpectedly stabbed.
I inflated the bags so that they didn't stick to the setting white chocolate, and it was a great success. Husband pointed out I could have just put them in the fridge. Somehow, it seems one of the knives has been misplaced. It's currently located in the emergency ward.
And here they all are (finally), wrapped and ready to take to school (yes, in a shoebox), because Nike said to "Just do it!"
As I was thinking about biscuits being 'on a stick', I was reminded of one of my favourite comedians, Jeff Dunham, a ventriloquist who has a character (Jose Jalapeño) who refers to himself as being... "On a stiiick!"
She was delighted to take the balloon biscuits into school on Friday to share with her classmates, teachers, friends, friend's siblings, other random children in the playground, her brother, and her brother's friends, because she's such a lovely young girl whom I love and enjoy having as a daughter! :)
So, to our only daughter who has already spent most of her childhood...
I've just started a new way of doing the housework. Yay! Why am I blogging about it? Because it's creative, and I'm really excited about it! Adapted, slightly, from creative exercising, I've designed myself a housework-related card game!
It's simple.
Here's what I did:
I wrote down on a few small pieces of paper a room or area in my house, e.g. Bedroom #1, Bedroom #2, Bathroom, Kitchen, Pantry, Laundry, Bookshelves, etc. You could be as specific or as broad as you like, I guess.
I shuffled and stacked these papers upside down, next to a timer (my phone) which I kept setting for 30 minutes. The aim was to spend 30 minutes tidying or cleaning that particular room/area (that was on the paper picked up, one at a time) and nothing else! You see, I'm the kind of person who tends to get distracted quite easily (you better believe it!), claiming that it's 'multi-tasking', and I'm totally being 'really productive and time efficient'.
I would spend my days at home wandering around the house, tidying bits and pieces here and there, starting one job and then leaving it due to a sudden desire to bake (for example), only to really not have much to show for all my hard efforts at the end of each day... Except un-iced cupcakes, or a half-swept floor*.
* Just kidding. I don't own a broom.
Being a stay-at-home mum means that the fact that I've now organised a housework 'game' is like totally the most exciting thing I've done all day!!
... Which is a bit sad, really.
But, if you're anything like me, and struggle to remain attentive to one given task/room to clean at a time (I believe it's a lack of something called 'self-control'), give this game a go! Experiment with it... Be creative! I found myself justifying spending more time on each room. Though, perhaps that's just continuing on the vicious cycle by not having much to show for it at the end of the day... Except a reeeaally shiny toilet.
"I hate housework. You make the beds, you do the dishes,
and six months later you have to start all over again."
Early in the morning. When it's still dark, and everyone is sleeping. It happens. The moment everyone experiences. When that... thing screeches closer and closer to your house, waking you up in a hot, panicky sweat...
<gasp> "Did I remember to put the bin out??"
Yep. The garbage truck. You're a liar if you've never feared missing the arrival of the garbage truck. Countless times, Husband has sprinted out of the house (in just his undies, might I add) because his wife couldn't remember if she had deposited their week's worth of rubbish onto the kerb for collection...
Well, liars, I thought I'd share with you a rubbish cake I have just made. But not just any rubbish cake. A rubbish truck cake... A specifically and totally planned wonky rubbish truck cake*!
* That's a lie. In my plan** it wasn't wonky at all. It was perfectly trashy.
** Rule #1 of cake decorating: Always. Always have a plan.
"Number one rule out here: Always! No. Never go out in a blizzard!"
So, poor Elijah wakes up on his birthday, sees his cake, and probably asks the question "Did she mean to make it wonky, Mummy?"
The answer, obviously, is "Of course, honey! The creative cake lady was just really clever and made the truck look like it has no suspension in the whole left side, probably from cornering too hard or braking too suddenly... or, something."
"Mummy... What's suspension?"
"Something that your cake is missing on its left side, dear."
See, from some angles, it doesn't do it's wonkiness justice... It looks, well, quite normal, upright, and delicious!! With M 'n' Ms as the 'rubbish', both in the truck and in garbage bags ready to be collected, amidst yummy gummy worms working their way to/from the truck:
But then... You see a photo from the back, and well... Enough said! It's soooo wonky!! :(
I had a friend visiting us at the time I was decorating, and as I was icing the "3" on top, I actually was sad that I couldn't manage it to be perfectly centred... She brightened the mood, though, by confidently declaring that "at least it matches the rest of the cake!"
So, whenever you think of garbage trucks, forgetting to put bins out, donkeys, wonkiness, and friends who make you feel better by making light of somewhat slanty situations... Think of this:
And so, we arrive back home after a week visiting Husband's family in Jindabyne. Time away from home is always refreshing. A change of scenery is sometimes all that our family needs to escape the busyness of life.
It was a really nice week, drinking hot chocolates by the fire (because the temperature was at least 20 degrees colder than in Sydney), taking the dog for walks in the freezing cold wind, catching up with family, exploring the farm, planning a future cubby house, and relaxing.
On our way back home, we were also able to drop off our children to my side of the family in Canberra, who offered to look after them for the long weekend. It was a win-win scenario, leaving Husband and I excited about coming back home for 4 days by ourselves.
A whole long weekend, just us... Imagine the craziness! Staying in bed all day if we wanted, spontaneously going out to swanky dinners, and various other romantic experiences that are normally hard to find energy and time for...
As soon as we get home, Husband seductively says "lets get dirty in the kitchen". Excitedly, the oven gets turned on and I begin mixing butter, sugar, flour, and chocolate to bake a cake, thus dirtying various bench-tops, utensils, and appliances...
Apparently, that's not what he meant.
Who says women can't multi-task?? I made a cake, messed up the kitchen, and disappointed Husband all at the same time.
This photo was inspiration for the cake.
And here's how I made it:
I started with a plan! I work better when I have a plan to refer to, as sometimes (just sometimes!) when I do things spontaneously, they don't really work out (crazy, I know)...
This is the bottom tier, as per the plan - red fondant all over, with a yellow strip down the bottom (for Mickey's shoes, I believe).
The cake for Mickey's head was baked in a glass mixing bowl, as I didn't have anything else quite as round. For his face, I traced an outline from the computer, and used that to make sure his features were symmetrical (my friend-turned-cake-assistant, who was with us at the time for dinner, suggested this).
Mickey's head was covered in black fondant, his face was attached, his ears were cut out and stabbed with wire, awaiting the moment they were set.
As I went through my mental list of things that definitely had to be done the evening before, or things that could be done in the morning, the stars for the birthday boy's name needed to be made, which were yellow stars, also poked with wire:
Mickey's face looked a lot more like his face once I outlined it with fudge frosting!! I wasn't real keen about the frosting eyes, though...
Mickey's head was attached to his body, and so far I had this!
... It was about this time that I decided that I really was unhappy with what Mickey's eyes looked like with the fudge frosting. So, I carefully scraped it off and replaced them with brown M 'n' Ms. Oh, Mickey, you're so fine :)
Then, I wrote the birthday boy's name onto the stars...
Lined up and poked Mickey's ears into his little cake head...
Poked Xavier's name in stars into the cake - aiming to get the wires behind Mickey's ears...
Added Mickey's buttons onto the front of the cake... And, it was finished!
Happy 1st birthday Xavier!!
Now Husband and I could enjoy being young again, with the rest of the weekend to do things that couples-who-don't-have-children get to do!
... Right after one more cake I needed to make.
It was like some kind of supernatural force. I was once again led not to the bedroom, where Husband patiently waits for me, probably naked... But back to the kitchen, turning on my overworked oven, to once again mess up the kitchen, all in the name of creativity!
Husband's input (apart from him talking to me in a Mickey Mouse voice aaaaaall day) to making the Mickey Mouse cake is this:
And lastly, some fun facts about Mickey Mouse:
- He is the beloved, animated cartoon character and mascot of Walt Disney.
- He was created in the studios in 1928 and is by far the most recognisable characters in the world, with his big round ears, red shorts, yellow shoes, and white gloves.
- His official debut was in the short film, Steamboat Willie.
- He has continued to appear in over 130 films... That's more than Arnie!
- His on-screen girlfriend, but off-screen WIFE, Minnie, adores him. Married, but dating?? Relationship status: COMPLICATED!
With the flower cutter, I could make 5 ears in one go! Hooray! Then after wrecking my brain for ways to make the ribbon without making actual ribbons (lazy, I know) I used the bottom of the balloon cutter (that I recently added to my collection just before my daughter's birthday) ->
