I don't really have the desire to decorate anything since I'm still un-decorating from September.
So let's have a chat where I discuss cake, smashed china cake stands, and make no mention whatsoever of pumpkin spice anything.
Daughter #2 wanted a simple wedding cake, she's not a foofy girl, and her request of Amy from Amy's Cupcake Shoppe in Hopkins Minnesota, was for cake with a dark sage green and a touch of gray, sort of earthy to match her rustic outdoor wedding.
Amy suggested an ombre style cake because Amy knows her cake stuff.
The groom requested the cake be chocolate and the bride obliged, totally disregarding the desires of her mother for salted caramel.
But I forgive them both, because come on you can't go wrong with chocolate right?
The sage ombre turned out with just the right amount of rustic texture.
While Amy might be known for her cupcakes, she's a cake maker-baker too and you can order any kind you would like for any occasion you've got going on.
The inside of daughters cake had chocolate buttercream and Amy's cakes are heavy little numbers.
The cake part on this was almost a brownie like texture, not spongy like a box mix, and just imagine that with layers of salted caramel filling.
I know I did.
The brownie-like part is filling to the stomach so a small slice is sufficient, although I confess I dipped my fork in the butter cream repeatedly the next day because the cake was at my house and I can do what I want when walking by anything chocolate on my counter.
But did I really say you can eat a smaller piece of cake?
I told you about Amy's cute and busy shop back in August when the bride and I did some cupcake sampling <<<< read about that tasty post at that link.
That post will tell you all sorts of things you need to remember, like say.... lemon curd, coconut lime, macaroon, and Waffle Wednesday with Belgian Liege waffles. Oh, and something I will never ever forget, the famous salted caramel.
Amy is a popular gal, and when you meet her it's obvious why - she's down to earth and likeable. The type of person you enjoy spending time with.
Yes I would enjoy spending time with her even if she wasn't surrounded by edible treats.
If you snoop around on her website it is clear that the Twin Cities love her as well as all her goodies, and you will also want to go buy a cupcake.
So Amy's sage ombre cake creation needed a perch.
I have made a couple other cake pedestals from my hobby of smashing china.
I realize that previous sentence just made every plate collector shudder.
The round pedestal above was made about 8 years ago, the top of that one is all stained glass pieces and making these things is like putting together a puzzle except the pieces don't really fit together.
I started going through the over 200 plates I keep stacked in the garage closet looking for any that might have sage and gray.
I really didn't have those colors, so I told myself since the bride didn't pick salted caramel for the cake flavor, I wasn't gonna fret over not having gray and sage plates to smash for the stand.
It will be what it will be, because by that point if I didn't get it done it wouldn't "be" at all.
I selected some plates that had silver edges, and slight touches of green, then also took my hammer to some gray and sage colored stained glass shards.
I worked in the dark of night because I'm nocturnal. Or maybe it was because I had a boat load of things to accomplish and night was the only time I had available?
Whichever it was, I mixed some Fusion Mineral Paint in Ash and Lamp White till I got a lighter gray color for the trim on the wood cube that was made as a base for the smashed china.
The base stands about 14 inches high without the legs that were put on later.
Painting the pedestal frame was also a good time to use the little yellow Painters Pyramids from Hyde Tools that raise your project up to easily paint. They work pretty slick.
I like to use clear silicone as the glue to adhere the plate pieces.
The part I hate is doing the messy grout, so I exchanged cooking dinner for the grouting task with my husband.
Wait... that sounds like he routinely cooks dinner and I regularly grout projects. Neither is true.
He was happy to help, and used some white grout many days after I made the trade for cooking that dinner.
In the near future I am going to bring home a sample box of treats from Amy's Cupcake Shoppe because I feel a little guilty that the man with the power tools didn't get to sample those. Or maybe it's because I totally want a lemon curd cupcake right now.
When the cake stand reappeared in the house it was my job to wash/wipe the finished stand of the grout residue, which reveals the colorful pieces embedded in it.
Many people who do mosaics like to spend time on intricate patterns, and their work is beautiful. I used to have a friend who made wonderful mosaics, she even entered them in contests for the win.
Me, I tend to like random smashed shards of glass that require little to no talent, mostly because I never have the time, vision, or patience for anything more intricate.
The stand received some log feet to raise it up about 4 more inches and give the cake from Amy's Cupcake Shoppe the place of honor that it deserved.
But all I got of it's feet was that crappy cell phone pic.
Opps, bad blogger.
The very top of the pedestal is a 12x12 piece of mirror.
The piece can become a plant stand after the fact, no need to stick it in the attic.
Someone was tasked with the duty of putting baby's breath on the cake, maybe my BFF, I can't remember who, and some lace with white lights was bunched up around the base which of course looked nice as the sun went down and showcased the cake.
The lace did end up hiding the log feet, which didn't really matter, there were plenty of other rustic features everywhere.
I think I imagined the baby's breath like a bouquet on the top of the cake, but around the tier looks nice too.
So grab a fork and eat cake.....
I know I did.
But if you want a cake from Amy's Cupcake Shoppe remember you have to order it, however she is stocked every day with plenty of other treats for you to sample.
I suggest anything with the salted caramel.
Or the lemon curd.
Or..... what would you pick?
Quick links:
Woah! That's an amazing creation all around!
ReplyDeletewhat a cool stand and i love the gorgeous cake, too!
ReplyDeleteI love cake! I wish we had more cute cupcake shops around here too. Your mosaic stand turned out great! It's the perfect piece fir that unique cake. I've never seen one like it before. Chocolate buttercream is my all time favorite too. I'm glad my birthday is coming up now so I can have more cake! 😜
ReplyDeleteWow, I am amazed with all of the wonderful projects you did! Such a special stand for the cake. And I would eat any kind of cake (so long as it's gluten free) because cake is a true weak spot for me.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful job, lady. Stand and cake are perfect together. Salted caramel is never ignored in this house. I love cupcakes. I'd have hubby going there often. I'd also would weigh 500 ponds
ReplyDeleteCindy
Wait a minute. Why did you get the fancy fork when clearly the CAKE FORKS were plastic? Methinks you cheated. Of course, had it been me, I would have employed a forklift to get that fabulous cake into my pie-hole. Beautiful job on the cake stand. I've never done anything mosaic, but now you've sure got me wanting to go out and smash things.
ReplyDelete-andi
So very cool... and I'm thinking that since you did the plate smashing yourself and didn't ask the tote toter, that another dinner, or at least a lunch, is in order. xo
ReplyDeleteSalted caramel or strawberry. I've never seen an ombre cake before. And what a masterpiece it all turned out to be sitting atop your mosaic stand. I haven't made many mosaics, but it's sure great therapy to me for some reason.
ReplyDelete