So I know I haven't done a post in a while, and that's because my life has been a little up in the air lately!
I've also been pretty sick, and my insomnia has been playing up, so I've been uber slack about it.
I'm still not doing great today, so I'm going to be a little slack with this post, but I thought I should share a few tips that I have picked up =)
#1- Fondant.
Anybody who's as into cake decorating as I am probably knows about these magic awesome gel sheets that you can buy to roll out fondant with zero mess and zero issues. Anybody who's looked at these sheets knows that they are not cheap. In saying that, not many things in the world of cake decorating are. But anyway.
Most of the time you can probably get away with rolling out fondant on your kitchen bench (make sure it's very clean!!!!) one problem with that though is getting it off the bench and onto the cake. If you have a coloured fondant, chances are you probably shouldn't roll it out on the bench due to colour transfer.
SO. Low budget solution? Chances are you have a flat baking tray right? (If you don't, get one! they're handy!) Take the baking tray (obviously make sure it's cold), cover it in gladwrap, making sure it's as taut and flat all over as possible -you could do it straight on the tray, but I like to cover mine- then simply roll your fondant out over the tray! You can then flip the tray upside down and gently peel off the fondant onto the top of your cake. Easy!
#2- "Plain" icing?
I usually work with buttercream icing because I have never been able to get the knack of your usual icing sugar and hot water icing. Never. My mother taught me a fair amount of baking, and neither of us can understand why that icing just never seems to go right for me lol.
A couple of weeks ago I made my friend an "Amumu" cake for her birthday (it's a "League of Legends" character, google it to see), and I realised just before I went to decorate it that I forgot to get white fondant for the eyes. How was I going to fill in the eyes with white? I thought of maybe melting down marshmallows, making a different icing, I looked up various recipes on the internet, but I had limited ingredients, limited money and limited time. So what to do?
Well. The answer actually came from my father -a man I try to avoid conversation with at all costs- I had rung to ask my mother but she wasn't there, and I was desperate so I thought what the hell, I may as well ask him!
What did he say? Oh just mix icing sugar with milk.
I thought he was crazy. But after thinking about it it made sense. So that's what I did. I mixed icing sugar with milk. The end result was a thick but goopy, very white icing, that set pretty well. Fantastic!
A bit of a warning with this though-start of with a very very very small amount of milk! I put in what I thought was a small amount, and ended up with almost a whole bowl of the stuff before I had the consistency I was after.
#3- Shop around!
Now I know this is something we're told all the time, but how many of us actually do it? I am a pretty lazy person. I don't like doing something one way if I can find an easier way to do it.
On the other hand, I would like to think I'm a thrifty person. I am a bit of a tight ass when it comes to money. I will walk around for another ten minutes if it means I can find the same thing $2 cheaper somewhere else.
One example of proof? I was looking for Rimmel eyeliner, I was told two stores had it, so I went to both stores to check out how much they were. At the first store a fully packaged Rimmel eyeliner pencil cost $10.50. At the second store a Rimmel eyeliner pencil with no packaging cost $13.50.
What?! You'd think if it didn't have any packaging it'd be cheaper!! Not to mention the pencils were all mixed in together. Seeing as the second store is a bigger chain, I expected more from them.
SO SHOP AROUND. Save some money and burn some more calories!
#4- Conditioner!
In a previous post I've written about going ALS/SLS (generally sulphate) free with shampoo and conditioner. I've also taken an extra step and gone for sulphate free body wash as well and my skin hasn't been so good or soft for years before I switched!
But this tip is about hair. Most shampoos and conditioners will say to leave them in for something like two minutes, but I say don't listen to them! Of course this tip may need some tweaking depending on your needs, but here goes.
With your shampoo, leave it in only as long as you work it in-which you should do pretty thoroughly. I use a shampoo brush every single time I wash my hair. With every application and rinse. I strongly suggest for anyone who has scalp problems -maybe a little oily, maybe a little itchy, maybe a little dandruff- get one, use it, see if it works for you. After you apply the shampoo or conditioner take the brush and move it in small circular motions all over your scalp-do this again after rinsing the shampoo or conditioner out.
Now. The conditioner. Total opposite. Leave the conditioner in for as long as you can. Leave it in while you shave, while you clean the rest of yourself. Just leave it!
A note for this is I can't say I know how this will go with shampoos and conditioners that have sulphates in them, but for the products without them the result is fantastic.
So there are some tips, enjoy ~^_^~
