Practice Cakes, Card Stock and Saved Corks (Oh My!)

Operation Wedding Planning Land is in full swing. With help, we are steadily working away on the crafts, projects, and tasks we have charged ourselves with. Now that my dress is basically done, I feel a sense of relief and I can focus on other projects as the countdown to the big day continues.  We have been trying out

various recipes--particularly those for cakes and frostings and I have taken to referring to them as "practice cakes"--as in, "I'll bring a practice cake to the party/potluck/meeting!"  We have crossed a couple cake recipes OFF our list of potentials (sorry but red velvet really did nothing for either Teri or I) and there are still a few to try.  In the process, I have learned a few new-to-me snazzy cake-baking tricks:

1. Some cakes are just less crumbly than others!  Go with the less crumbly ones!
2. Crumb coating is a nifty first step to keep from picking up crumbs during the main frosting of the cake.
3. Professional gel food colorings are mighty cool!
4. A round of waxed paper on the bottom of the pan makes sure the cake comes out in one piece AND makes for a nice, smooth bottom!

5. Those cardboard cake bases really do make for a sturdy and portable base for a decorated cake.

6. The offset spatula rocks.

I know that these may not seem very revolutionary to most people, but for me, each new skill makes me feel studly and more confident that we’ll be able to pull off all the baking ourselves.  Each craft or task that we accomplish is like a feather in our Wedding cap.  Yay us!

We have a rather big project yet to do (and we haven't even started yet.)  We have decided to make placecard holders out of the wine corks we have been saving and accumulating since we first moved in together.  Each time a bottle of wine is opened in this house, Teri and I decided to toss the corks in a glass jar and save them.  I think we originally pictured a huge carboy full of corks collected over time.  Instead, we've decided to take all our joint-so-far corks and use them for the wedding.  This will involve two gals and a couple of sharp implements (utility/exact-o knives) and neither Teri nor I have been overly eager to start with the cutting!

The other day, I did sort out all of the corks (and threw away a couple that were cracked or crumbly) and discovered that we had 96--that is a lot of corks for just over a year of cohabitation by two women who aren't very devoted drinkers.  What that really means is that we've been blessed to share our home with many wonderful people; host a few parties; and accumulate some memories--perfect little mementos to add to our Wedding day.