Backpack Explorer and Boy Bands

The cakes this past week seemed to mostly fall in the "huh...?" and "hopefully this will go better than the first time" categories.

As for the "huh...?" cakes - I was visited twice by the intrepid backpack carrying explorer.  And, was thwarted in my original design intentions, twice, because I couldn't find a decent set of figurines to use as toppers, anywhere.  Good thing there's always plans B - Z...*sigh.*

What I can't understand, is why, if she's so popular with the kiddos, can you not find a toy that remotely resembles the actual character in stores?  True, it could just be the stores in my area - they offer such wonderful shopping options and such a wide variety.  (Yes, you do detect a hint of sarcasm there.)

On the bright side, I am brushing up on my drawings skills.  Oh, and I have to ask...what's with the car-driving purple squirrel?

Another "huh...?" head-scratch inducing category is boy bands/singers/famous faces.  I'm always at such a loss as to what to do design-wise for these.  Thank goodness for the Internet in these cases, I can usually find some good inspiration.

In this case, it was Sweet Sugarbelle's cookie design that inspired me; she even had a printable template for the boys' faces.  Bonus!  If you have an hour or three to spend drooling over some amazing cookie designs and learning some great tips, I highly recommend you pay a visit to her site.

Ah, chevron.  You're definitely having your moment in the design world, and while I love the look of you, I'll be glad when some of your popularity has faded.  Why?  Because I have yet to figure out a foolproof method for applying this pattern to a cake.

Though this attempt did turn out better than the first, so I'm improving.  The method I currently use is very time consuming, so I figure there has to be a better/quicker/easier way that the professionals use - I just haven't stumbled upon it yet.  Maybe one of these days...

Of course, things always balance out, right?  So, despite all the other cakes that gave me headaches, there was this one that was simplicity in itself.

Plus, after this weekend, I have a cake free one coming up.  Though, I'll probably spend part of it making treats for Halloween...I may need a baking intervention.

Talk to you soon!