Sleepless nights and sunken treasure!

My sister in-law works for the Welcome Wagon in essex. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's an organization that arranges greetings for people who are undergoing lifestyle changes such as new homes, family member or career changes.On March 27th She held a baby shower for all the pregnant women in the area. She worked so hard to make this event possible. There were a lot of different booths where each mom could go visit and get some ideas and win some awesome prizes.
She asked if I would make some cakes for the even and I said of course!This was a big challenge for me. This is the first time I have baked 2 three tiered cakes and decorated them for one event. There is so much cake batter and icing involved that I thought at one point I was in over my head. But I kept trucking through, and had the help of a good friend. So I started early in the week baking and planning out what these cakes would look like. I wanted to show how diverse I could be. So one I made simple and girly and the other was a little more complicated and playful.It was an exhausting week to say the least and a little stressful. I was able to take off both Friday and Saturday to prepare. On Friday I started cake number one, it was gonna be all white, the top tier I wanted to do so delicate piping, and made some vines and flowers. The second tier I wanted to try my hand at making a large bow. I also just picked up these cool things made by my favorite baker Duff (from Ace of Cakes) they are these plastic embossed pieces that you place and press over fondant and it makes a pattern. So the ribbon and bow would be embossed with a flower pattern. And finally the bottom tier I just wanted it to simply read Congrats. Well everything went well Friday, but come Sunday it was a different story. The cake started to sink!! Are you kidding me?? my first show and this has to happen. I just took a deep breathe and reminded my self it happens to professionals all the time. But still I was fighting the urge not to cry. So I took the tiers off and when I got to the location I had to run out again get some more support dowels and try and lift it up. I ran into a friend who is an amazing cake decorator (She made my wedding cake) and asked her what I can do, she said nothing. :( there was no time to bake another so I just had to make due. So I went back and tried to make the best of it. Because the front was sinking and not the back I was forced to turn it around and make the bottom tier plain white, with some simple white fondant dots. I found I liked that look better.
Cake # 2
This one I wanted to be super cute. So I knew my good friend Mandy would be able to help me that day so I designed the cake with her amazing figure making abilities in mind. I made all three tiers blue, with white spots to look like clouds and then stars around the tops. Mandy then made me four sleeping babies with blankets. Such a tedious and time consuming job but she did great. It just added the sweetest touch to the cake. My favorite so far.
It was a good experience to have a taste of how busy and hectic the cake industry can be. But I can say I thoroughly enjoyed my first show and hope there are many more to come!