Buttercream Chevron, YUMMMMM!

As promised, I am going to attempt to walk you through how I do chevron ruffles with buttercream on a cake. 

 

Here are the things you'll need:

Crumb coated layered cake

Chevron cookie cutter

Buttercream icing in your choice of color and flavor

Decorating tip used to make a rose. 

 

After your cake is crumb coated you will use the chevron cookie cutter to gently press into the sides of the cake.  This will leave you with a guide to follow when you add your ruffles. 

This is the tip I used.  It's a Wilton 104.  If you choose one bigger than this it would create a larger ruffle, or vise versa if it were a smaller tip.

 

After you have a guide on the cake you will start by filling in the bottom triangles with a little "pillow" of icing.  This will allow the first full ruffled layer to have a something to lay over.  You will put the wide end of the tip up so that the ruffle has a sharp edge at the bottom.   

Then you will start squeezing and follow up and down each line giving a slight wiggle of your wrist as you move.   

 

 Continue moving up the cake filling in one chevron line at a time.   

 

Switch your tip and put on the next color you are using. 

Follow up and down each line filling in as many sections as you choose. 

As you get closer to the top of the cake you will be left with a small triangle like you had at the bottom of the cake.   

When you fill this section in you will have some icing that goes over the top edge. 

 

Use a small spatula and smooth that icing toward the middle and scrape off the excess icing with each swipe. 

 

 On the top you will squeeze with the wide end pointing to the center of the cake and follow around in a circle.

 Continue with the next color of icing.  If I had been making a one tier cake I would have finished with my darkest shade of pink in the center of the cake.  Because I was going to add another tier I stopped with this color and added wooden skewers to support the top tier.   

 

Here it is with the added tier. 

 

 

 

For the top tier I used a large closed start tip and did roses.

 

 

In a perfect world I would have a nice video of this for you guys to watch!  That's a LOT for me to take in at this point.  Maybe one day I'll get Gonzo to video me and become a computer whiz and upload a superb tutorial.  Until then...I hope this made sense!!!

 

The cake was a hit, but the baby bump was WAY cuter!  We can't wait to meet you Baby Brynley!!!

 

 

If you attempt this tag me in a picture.  I'd love to see it!!!  



Locked out

Yesterday was our first football game of the 2015 season.  I picked Adda up from school and we headed home excited about going to "Daddy's football game!"

I've learned that on game days from 3:10 to kickoff it's balls to the wall with everything there is to do.  Loading bags with snacks and water.  Packing coloring books, crayons, and books.  Getting pjs laid out so that getting ready for bed is quick when we get home.  Eating a good dinner so I don't spend a small fortune at the concession stand.  Getting all our school spirit gear on and fixing lots of hair.  With 4 little ones I have lots of things to take for each one to keep them semi focused in the stands. 

Yesterday when we got home from school I had a few things I needed to finish for a baby shower I'm helping with this weekend and then I was going to get started on my list of things to get us out the door and there for kickoff.  I was doing pretty good until I looked out the front window and saw that my flowers were all about to croak and needed to be watered.  I headed out the front door to water and shortly after Adda and Ella followed right behind me.  As soon as the door closed behind Ella I heard weeping twins.  I asked Ella to go open the door for the twins to come out.  Mom I can't get it open, she said.  So I asked Adda to help Ella open the door.  Mom, it's locked and I can't get it open.  I turned around and said something like "are you freaking kidding me!?!?!?!"

I told you my kids are gonna need counseling.   

I threw the hose and ran to the front door attempting to yank it open, like that was going to help!  I started trying to talk Claire through unlocking the door and she just kept hitting the handle over and over.  Adda and Ella and I were all standing at the door yelling "push it up Claire" and I realized my phone was in my bra! 

That's where I usually store it when I'm in a hurry and my hands are full.

I tried to call Gonzo over and over and he didn't answer.  I tried to call the head football coach and he didn't answer.  I tried to call another coaches wife for her to try and call her husband and she didn't answer.  So, I stood there and thought for a minute about what to do next.  My next thought was to get a neighbor to stand on the porch and watch the twins while I borrowed their car to drive to school and hope that the team had not left for their game yet. 

Then my phone rang and it was Gonzo.  He said, "Hey Babe, what's up!?!?"  I said, I need you to run home because the twins locked us out of the house.  You can imagine what he said next!!  My neighbor walked over while we were waiting for Gonzo and took Adda and Ella back to her house because we were all getting eaten by mosquitos. 

While I stood on the porch hoping I wasn't getting west nile virus from one of the many blood sucking bugs on my legs I snapped a few pictures of the Twinney Twin Twins! 

Trying to talk them through how to unlock the door!

Chloe was thinking, what is she yelling "push it up" for?

Chloe mostly thought this was very funny!

Let me introduce you to Claire!  She enjoys getting into things that a two year old doesn't need to be in.  She also thinks she is more like 10 or so years old.  Claire keeps me very busy!!!

 

I hadn't thought about blogging this because my thoughts were filled with curse words and sweaty pits!  Before my sweet neighbor walked off with Adda and Ella she said, "I hope you are gonna blog about this!"

 

We got to the game before kickoff.  I didn't see the kickoff , but we were there!  That is ALL that matters at this point in my life!  Grateful for a WIN after a craaaaaazy afternoon! 

To The Mom Whose Baby Is Finished With Kindergarten

 

Summer is over and routine begins tomorrow bright and early!!  I've read the blogs about all those babies who are starting Kindergarten this year.  I wondered if I would feel any different this year than I did last year.  Would I still be nervous, and on the verge of tears thinking about walking away from the school on the first day?  NOPE, I'm nervous, I keep getting an anxious feeing in my stomach, and I have randomly felt a few tears welling up in my eyes all day today.  So what about the mom whose kiddo is going into 1st grade?!?!  Or, the mom whose baby is starting Junior High?!?!?!  Oh gosh, that's brutal!!!  Okay, here's one...The mom who left her kid at college!!!  Well, I don't think it does get easier each year.  There are new teachers, and new friends, and new things to learn, and a whole boat load of new things to beg The Lord for!!! 

I think back to the day I found out I was FINALLY pregnant with Adda!  I think about the moment I met eyes with her when she was born.  I think about all those naps we took in a quiet house with her balled up on my chest.  I think about the first time she told me I love you mommy, and the first time she walked to me.  I think about all those special amazing moments and realize that it goes so fast.  A very wise godly lady once told me, "The days are long, but the years are short."  Man, is that true or what!!!

When these "first day" moments come and you realize your baby is one year closer to walking out your door, it's easy to look back at all those little things that make you love your baby so much!  You think about all the things you've done or said that could cause them to need counseling later in life!  Oh boy!  You think back to all those blogs you read about all those supermoms who had a whole summer of learning activities and their kids are reeeeady for the next grade level.  Yeah wow!  Then you think about how you've done the best you could do.  And, somehow your kiddo is doing great! 

As my oldest baby is sleeping I am praying several things!
First, that God would make himself so real to her that she would never turn back.
Second, that she would not remember all the rough mommy moments!!!!
Third, that He would protect her heart in everything she sees, and hears.

So, it's never easy watching your baby get a year older and take another step out of your reach.  And, they really aren't even our babies! So truly all we can do is give them right on over to The Lord.  Oh, gosh that is so hard!  I remember my parents telling me all that time that they daily gave me back to The Lord.  I will be the first to tell you that The Lord did some pretty amazing things to get me to this very couch typing this very blog.  I'm beyond grateful that they gave me back to Jesus every single day!  Ultimately, All my hopes for Adda's life rest in His hands!  My only hope is that she would be sold out to Him. 

To all you mommies who are sending your babies off to the next grade just give them back to Jesus!  He is our only HOPE! 

P.S. I can't wait to see all those first day of school pics tomorrow!