Polka Dots and Bows

Photo taken on site at Sweet Blessings.

Since my last blog post, I have been able to visit Sweet Blessings again. This was actually a special occasion for Sweet Blessings, because it was their fifth annual Bake-a-Thon. Each year in February, Sweet Blessings celebrates its birthday by hosting a 24-hour baking episode. Since their first year as a non-profit organization, the number of cakes they have been able to make each year, as well as the number of cakes at the Bake-a-Thon, has increased each year, as you can see to the right.

Myself while cutting out
polka dots

Sweet Blessings is always bustling when I go in, but when I got there this past week, it was busier than ever. Everyone seemed so eager to help out in any way they could-- and even though it was busy, it wasn't stressful, and it seemed like everyone was determined to complete the goal they had set with no problem. My first task I had was to make polka dots to go on a Mickey Mouse cake. I used a rolling pin to roll the white and black gum paste pretty thin, and then I used a cookie-cutter to cut out little circles of different sizes.

 After I completed this, Rachel and I asked a lady named Cecilia if she needed any help. We had met Cecilia during our first visit to Sweet Blessings. From what I gathered, she used to work with the organization often, but hadn't been there much recently. I could tell when Ashley, the founder, talked with Cecilia, that she was genuinely happy to see her again, and really encouraged her to come back. She has been there every time I have since then. Anyways, Cecilia allowed us to take over her job because she was getting ready to leave. Rachel and I cut out gum paste pieces to fold into bows. I had done this before so I also showed Rachel how to do it. After we did many of these, we switched to another job and began making UK logos to go on cakes. These were more difficult because we had to trace the outline of the blue UK with white, only using a cutting knife. If you look at the picture to the lower-right you can better understand what I mean.

The UK logos Rachel and I made

I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Sweet Blessings so far. I am excited to expand my skills that I will be learning and maybe even have the opportunity to decorate a cake myself. The best part of this service learning, though, is getting to know the people involved with this organization. After all, "It's not about the cake."