What does one do when one received a cake order from a customer?...Nothing serious, right? Just bake the cake & move on, I would say...Well, let me rephrase my question then. What does one do when one received a cake order from a customer AND customer requested for a mermaid figurine ( Princess Ariel to be exact! ) to accompany the cake? Errr, do bear in mind that THAT someone has never made a figurine in her life! I guess by now you already would have guessed that THAT someone is me :-P
Here's what actually happened the moment I received such a request from my dear customer, Miss CKN...I honestly 'blanked out' & if my jaw could physically drop to the floor, it really would! I was so panicky & repeatedly told CKN that I've never done any figurine...Even suggested that she try another baker. Yes, I really was THAT panicky + scared + nervous + oh you know all those feelings! CKN however wouldn't budge & lovingly insisted that I do her cake.
For dayssssssss ( and I really mean for days! ), I literally sat down staring into space wondering what I'm supposed to do. You have to know that I have never EVER done any figurine modeling before. Heck! Even as a kid, I fail at playing plasticine. Can't even shape a decent apple from plasticine, so how am I supposed to make a mermaid figurine with fondant?
Yes, I did turn to You Tube & try to learn on how to make fondant figurine from all the videos they have online but being a first timer, I was totally lost! Being all panicky didn't help too. I must have been too nervous that nothing I see on You Tube actually registered into my brain :-P
I was about to give up ( even plan to call CKN & tell her that she'll have to make do with a toy or something to replace the mermaid figurine ) when I suddenly decided to try my luck and seek help from one of my online cake idol, Lesley of Royal Bakery.
Let me tell you that it took me a lot of courage to write up an email to her & tell her of my dilemma. Embarassing too, I might add *blush* I was desperate & as the saying goes, desperate people do desperate things :-P Lesley was my last hope & to be honest, I really didn't expect a reply from her. I've decided that should I not hear from Lesley, I definitely ( and reluctantly ) would call CKN & tell her that I'm not able to come up with her mermaid. When I press the 'send' button from my email, I was really leaving it to chance :-P
Imagine then my surprise when I received a reply from Lesley. Not only was she kind enough to reply to all my inquiries, she even went out of her way to guide me on how to make the mermaid figurine. Honestly, I was so inspired by Lesley's patience & dedication that I finally gathered enough courage to start making my first ever figurine!
Now, the world premiere of my very first figurine :-P
Princess Ariel Themed Birthday Cake
Yup! My Very First Figurine *blush*
I even made some seashells themed cupcakes to go with CKN's mermaid cake ;-) Yup, I was that inspired! *chuckles*
Colorful Seashells
All in all, I'm pretty happy with how the cake & cupcakes turned out :-) I really couldn't have done it if not for the support & encouragement I received from CKN & Lesley.
CKN, thank you so much for never giving up on me & for always pushing me on to try new things. Your love & support means the world to me. Thank YOU!
To Lesley, words can never describe how thankful I am for all you've done. Not only have you shared your knowledge but you've also changed my life. You have truly inspired me & because of you, I'm a much confident cake baker/decorator :-) From the bottom of my heart, thank YOU! Lesley, thank you for being my cake angel ✗o✗o
