Handmade/ Homemade vs. Store Bought

For so long I was able to express myself by giving gifts to people by purchasing something that reminded me of them the most. Just because it was something bought, it doesn't mean that it didn't come from the heart. For my friend's very long anticipated birthday, I decided to do something different. I thought I'd try going with a handmade and homemade gift versus something store bought. The idea was inspired by that person and their kind heart. With all that I've been given, I wanted to match just half of their creativity.

I guess I was in the "do it yourself" mind state. For their birthday, I decided to make a card and a cake. To add the Daniel effect, I upgraded the card into a scrapbook-type card and a regular cake to a fondant-wrapped cake. To make my stories short, I'll leave out the thought processes it took to get from a my initial idea to the finished product.

For the scrapbook, I took advantage of the slow hours during work that I normally used to text and Facebook/ Twitter and brainstormed themes for pages, haha. A quick trip to Target and Walmart covered the supplies like foam boards, card stock, glue, stickers etc. Went through and printed out pictures from the past and jotted down some notable memories and put that natural-born creativity I'm sure not even my friend thought I'd have. A few long nights and weeks of revising later, voila! we have a 12 page scrapbook celebrating a special day and great friendship. I'm unable to post the finished product but here are a few pictures of the first few steps in the scrapbook making process.




pictures: cut foam board. covering with card stock. pages laid out. adding pictures and such. finished product (intentionally blurred).

The cake wasn't as easy to do as I thought it would be. I had never messed with fondant before. I only saw it on Ace of Cakes or Cake Boss. So i went out and did a lot of research and asked a lot of questions. I even asked my friend that I was making the cake for but clever me made it come across as if the cake were for someone else. I came across a class that taught beginners to decorate with fondant and signed up for it. After 2 weeks of the 4 week class, I was ready. Ideas had been planned out and it's amazing that the cake looked exactly how I envisioned it by the time I was done.




pictures: original sketch. happy birthday banner. side view with edible image sheet music from "grief and sorrow". top view with piano ornament, drape, and panda image.

In the words of Chauncey Billups..."I normally don't drink my own kool-aid but..." I was proud of my work for both gifts. So proud that I wanted to give it a month in advance, how lame. However, one thing I'll never know is the reaction of these gifts. Maybe it's better that way. I'll always wonder if the cake tasted good? Was all the sentiment realized when going through the book? It's my new unsolved mystery in life. It was the two biggest projects that I ever put on myself. To take the effort and time to make these gestures for something even I was too blind to see or unsure about was a risk. Risk taken. Appreciation? Heart warming smile? I'll never know. I just hope that they'll see the rarity of a gesture like this or wonder if something like this will ever come around again.

P.S. Thank you to everyone on facebook who commented on my cake album and for expressing their opinions on it. It made my day. =)

EDIT*** To conclude by deciding who won the battle? Store bought won in the price category. Much more would have been saved by just picking up a cake and card. But the gesture and sentiment in a homemade gift outweighs any store bought product and wins by a total knock out. Only one judge can decide and that, we'll never know. So the bout remains on a split decision.