What I Did on My Summer Vacation Part 2

Hannah Noah, newly weds, Santa Cruz, CA

It wouldn't be summer without a wedding. Our trip to California was in part, to see my dear friend Hannah, marry her wonderful Noah. I asked Hannah this spring how I could contribute to the rustic, elegant, bespoke event she was planning. She requested something I'd never done before- a paper cake that a cupcake could sit on top of. Paper hats, collages, even clothing I've done but never a cake. She left the design, color and style completely open to my inspiration. Checking out her beautifully curated Pinterest wedding board, I got a feel for what she was attracted to. For materials I settled on an old Benjamin Moore color chip set. Inexpensive, abundant and perfectly graduated colors to build my version of an ombre cake. Photos by Paul Clancy

Thank you Mr. Benjamin Moore

I started with trimming hundreds of paint chips
 to create flat bottomed "petals"

I then stitched them together, carefully butting
the edges of each petal.

I arranged them in four tiers, starting with a
 small light cream top (big enough to hold her cupcake)
then a soft green and blue layer,
then two deeper blue/green layers
 and ending with a large "chocolate" bottom.

I also made hundreds of white, cream and chocolate
" mushrooms".  A simple circle, with a slit to the center.
 Pulling the corner on each side of the slit together,
I glued them with a dab of hot glue.

The cardboard base of each layer I made
fashioned after a basic hat box design.
Using templates that were available
(cereal bowls, odds and ends) I traced
two circles the width I wanted each layer.
I added a 1/2 inch to each circle and cut out.
 Then all around each, I cut tiny slits from outer
 edge to traced circle and cut.
They became the tabs I used to glue it all together.
Straight strips of cardboard cut
to the size I needed with
penciled guides for gluing became
the walls of my cake layers.

Even though I carefully packed and shipped the
cake unassembled, there was a little repair
I had to do when I got there.
The hundreds of mushrooms hid lots of sins.