The Bead Spot

Before my daughter was born, I used to set up a tray table in front in front of the couch and work on my beads. For nearly a year after she came along, I was able to continue to bead this way. But when she became mobile, that became harder and harder to do. She would walk up, shake the table and scatter beads everywhere.  So I put the tray table away. Finding time to work on projects has been quite a challenge over the past year or so. But now I think she's old enough -- at age 2 -- to learn to occupy herself within my eyesight while I get some work done. The take tray table is coming back out, and hopefully she'll let me work. Here's hoping.

This past week, I tried my hand at a different type of craft -- cake decorating -- for my younger sister's baby shower. I have decorated cakes only once before, just this past August for my daughter's birthday. Then, I decorated cupcakes to look like Elmo. For the baby shower, I chose something a little more complicated. I bought a Wilton cake pan in the shape of baby carriage, and chose pink and green colors. To make sure there was enough for all shower guests, I made three cakes. (I told my sis it looks like she's having triplets.) When the cakes were finished, I wasn't all that happy with the way they turned out. There were gaps in the icing in places, and the end result, I thought, looked sloppy. If I could do it all over again, I'd give myself more time. However, my sister was happy with them, which is what matters most.  In the end, I learned to allow myself more time next time. And now, back to the beads.