Baking in a small place for a Big cause. Part 2

So I know I've mentioned Karing for Kids a few times here on my blog but I feel it's time to take a deeper more personal look into why it's so close to me. I would also like to share my latest Cake Pop photos/adventure with you. 

My dear cousin Jennifer and I through the years.

Us 2…The grand combination of Jennifer's voice and Chad's dance moves. They will dominate the musical world!

Or so we thought while we were young and dreaming. In the spring/summer we used to "practice" on sleepover nights in the loft of the barn. Stereo blasting, singing our hearts out and dancing until our bodies couldn't take anymore.

We continued to do this for years, but we began to grow and came to realize that dream was only a dream. We still continued to be creative. I wrote my poetry and worked on my art. Jennifer kept singing and even started singing solo for her church.

As time passed and life's path stepped in…There was a period of time when Jennifer and I saw little of each other. I was starting my path to being an adult and she was in the middle of her high school years. It was in early August 2004 when Jennifer and I realized we had to spend some more time together, not an option. All these memories and fun times, we couldn't let those moments end. I know it's odd that I say this because we were both still young, but it was just meant to be. We were meant to feel like we had to spend more time together.

It was on that Tuesday afternoon in August Jennifer and I decided it was time to get together. She had been taking some guitar lessons and she wanted to show me what her and her teacher had been working on. Little did we know at the time but our poetic words, her beautiful voice and guitar lessons would lead to us writing a song together. As she had just begun the lessons when we decided to sit and write, her guitar teacher helped in the music composition and eventually ended up recording the track. The story behind the song was simple, love. We sat on the front porch of my parents house and she explained why she was feeling the way she was, we wrote. To this day I still have the rough edit of the lyrics as we wrote them on that day in August, the 10th. I made sure we both signed the paper in case she happened to break into the music scene someday. I know it's silly, but I've always been a dreamer. Anything is possible. While we wrote simple words and didn't create the next number 1 hit, it was dear to our hearts. We had practiced all our lives for that very moment and we didn't even know it. 

That day will forever be one of the best memories in my life. It was on that day that Jennifer and I had made one of our dreams come true. 

The reason I chose to share this story is to explain why Karing for Kids is so close to me…On August 26th 2004, Jennifer, at the young age of 16, was in a car accident. We may never understand why certain things happen, but there's always a reason. Bringing my family closer together, Jennifer's Closet, and Karing for Kids are some great things that have come to light after a dark time. In May 2005 my Aunt Rhonda and Uncle Tim opened Jennifer's Closet at their home in memory of Jennifer. They started it as a simple drop off location of clothing donations to help families in need in their community. They've since taken on a chapter of Karing for Kids to serve the surrounding communities. There are 2 big events each year (Back To School and Christmas) that they raise funds for all year by holding certain fundraisers and donations.

For more information on Jennifer's Closet and Karing for Kids visit the website: http://www.karingforkids.us/

One of those fundraisers is a food booth at a local festival. When I was asked by my Aunt Rhonda to come up with a dessert for them to add to the menu at the festival the simple mention of Cake Pops was an instant win. Aunt Rhonda and I chose to go with a kids theme…Lions, Tigers, Bears, and Monkeys. She picked up the Bakerella Cake Pop book and we attempted to create the Cake Pops. Now, as this was only my second time doing Cake Pops, I didn't really think through all the steps and the TIME it would take. Live and Learn.

The day we happened to make the Cake Pops was on the 26th which marked 7 years since Jennifer had passed. I'm thankful that I spent the day with my family. Also, I think Jennifer was watching over Aunt Rhonda and I because somehow we managed to get the Cake Pops finished despite the issues that were thrown at us. While we did have to cut back and just make the Lions and Bears, we did also manage to get some Brownie Pops (Bites) and some plain Cake Pops done.

(Side Note: It is because of my Aunt Rhonda that I've taken such an interest in cake decorating and being creative with food. I grew up watching her create some beautiful and fun cakes. A BIG THANK YOU to her for all those times! Little did I know at those moments that I would be here today creating my own cakes. I was beyond happy to work with her and in return for all those years, teach her what I had learned about the Cake Pops.)

When I say we had issues, they weren't many but it being our first attempt at these Cake Pops, they seemed like big issues. For some reason the Candy Melts simply wouldn't melt properly. Bakerella points out you can add vegetable oil to make the Candy Melts more smooth, so I did. While it did help the Cake Pops themselves were just to moist. The pops being to moist was my fault, I managed to put a little too much frosting in the crumbled caked. Can you blame me, who doesn't just LOVE frosting? ;-) I also couldn't find black heart confetti anywhere for the noses on the bears. I just bought some Candy Writers and used that to create a dot of candy for the nose. Another tricky thing was cutting the M&Ms for the nose and ears…use a really sharp knife! I'm a perfectionist most of the time so about half of what I did cut just weren't good enough. I wanted them to be a perfect smooth cut, but that just wasn't completely possible. Sometimes one must learn to accept the imperfections. So I did, try.

The biggest issue that fought against us was time. The first Cake Pops I made were pretty simple and I didn't remember them taking me forever to do. Hence the reason I thought we could do all these Cake Pops in one day…NOT! I should have planned this out a little better and made them, as they would still be good, a few days in advance. Lesson learned.

I didn't manage to really grab any photos of the Cake Pops so I remade a small batch so I could show you what we created. I took into account the things I learned and I had a much MUCH easier time making these to photograph.

Click on image to see large version.

The Brownie Pops I mentioned didn't work out perfect, we just coated them and they were more like Brownie Bites. Those I will work on and hopefully post in the future with some tips and tricks.

Thanks for reading and sharing a glimpse into my life. :-)

I hope you challenge yourself to create some Cake Pops…They are work but completely worth it!