#rather than manually dragging in powders each time

[ellraiser]

cauldron upgrade!

[devilrising]

Fallen Draco, Pt. 8

This story follows a prompt written by @mymindsmadness

Summary: AU where Draco is a fallen angel, and the way he gets his wings back is by guiding Harry in defeating Voldemort, but it all goes wrong when Draco starts falling in love with Harry.

Word Count (Part 8): 3,291

Word Count (Total): 25101

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Mentions of abuse/torture (non-graphic), this part also includes more graphic transformations so its a little bit gory.

***

15th April, 1998

“Hey Draco?” My stomach starts fluttering, a shiver racing down my spine. I’m still not used to it. Not used to Harry, Harry, addressing me like a friend. Like someone important to him. Of course, he can’t know how much it delights me.

“Yeah?” I glance up from the book in my lap.

“Do you want to help me cook dinner?” Again. I’ve been helping him for a while now, but every time he asks I get nervous. Worried I’ll fuck up terribly and explode his house. Cooking does not work for me, despite being, in my opinion, amazing at Potions. Mind you, Harry is the opposite. He sucks at Potions but is great in the kitchen.

“I guess so,” I say, mustering all the nonchalance in the world. “What is it?”

Harry smirks, his eyes glistening in the dull light of my doorway. “Chicken Balti.”

“Merlin,” I mutter, shaking my head. “Last time we tried we couldn’t tell the kitchen apart from a spice shop.”

“All the more reason to try again!” He grins. “May I?” He gestures to my room, and I nod. Walking in, he reaches his arms out and grabs my hands. I’m pulled off of my bed and dragged out of my room. Fighting the urge to pull Harry closer, I instead pull my hand away.

I don’t know when I started having urges like that. They have become a big part of my day though. Constantly wanting to touch the man near me, but not letting myself reach out. Constantly biting my tongue so I don’t let anything slip. It’s exhausting but thrilling at the exact same time. And I’m terrified. I know what it means. I’m not stupid. I like him. But why the fuck do I like him? I should hate him. Right?

“Draco?”

I’m pulled from my obsessive mind by Harry’s hand on my shoulder. We are standing in the kitchen now. “Hmmm.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine. Why?”

“You just, I don’t know, zoned out.”

“Oh. Just thinking.”

“About what?” A smile tugs at his lips.

I don’t reply, just shake my head and move his hand off me. “It’s not important.” I know I sound dismissive, but he can’t know. “Where’s the chicken?”

Harry shakes his head, but points to the ‘fridge’. We start collecting all of the spices, herbs, liquids, and bowls. The counter is piled high with every spice under the sun. I pull the recipe closer to me and read off the first step. “Put the chicken in a medium, and mix in the lime juice, paprika, chilli powder, and a grinding of black pepper. Then leave to marinate for at least fifteen minutes.”

“I’ll do the chicken, you add the juice.” I nod at Harry’s suggestion. He learned last time how much I dislike handling raw meat. It’s slimy, and gross, and weird. I flat the bowl in front of Harry, who puts the chicken into it and then slides it towards me. The lime juice tips itself in as Harry mixes in some paprika. I drop the chilli powder in as he adds some pepper.

“Step one is complete,” I say.

“That it is. What’s next?”

We work through the remainder of the steps, and eventually it’s simmering on the ‘stove’. I don’t see why we couldn’t magically cook it, but Harry wanted to do it the muggle way. Something about preserving the taste. I pull two bowls out of the cupboard along with the cutlery, and walk the long trek over to the dining room. Realising last minute that I really should’ve charmed the glasses to follow me, I scowl. I’ll have to do two trips. The dining table is massive, with torches in a line down the middle. Despite the muggle electricity Harry claims is in place in the house, it refuses to move the candles. Harry complains about it to no end. I set the table, or rather the two seats opposite each other at the end closest to the entrance, and leave. It may be better than the entrance way, but it is still dusty, and no amount of charms or manual labour can remove it. I’ve tried.

“Draco, here,” Harry’s voice calls out as I enter the kitchen again. I race over to where he is struggling to take the pot off the ‘stove’. I rush to help, and together we get it onto the counter. “Merlin that was heavy,” he grumbles.

“Come on, then.” I open the ‘fridge’, take out the bottle of Cabernet, and charm both of them to float behind us as we walk into the dining room. My magic dishes the meal out in perfect serves as I generously splash the wine into our glasses. Harry nods his thanks and sits down opposite me, his chair squeaking on the wooden floor.

“Let’s make a toast,” I announce, raising my wine glass.

“What for?” Harry asks, lifting his glass too.

“To… defeating the Dark Lord.”

Harry falters for a second, taken by surprise at my suggestion. He nods all the same, clinking his glass against mine. I allow myself to smile as I take a sip, savouring the liquid slipping down my throat. Placing it down again, I scoop some of the chicken balti onto my spoon. I lock eyes with Harry across the table, and we both take the first bite of our dinner. It’s delicious. The herbs complementing the spices beautifully, and the chicken pieces juicy and tender. My eyes slide closed and I hum happily. When I open them again to take another bite, Harry is watching me. My cheeks heat, and probably tinge shade of pink. We stare at each other for a while, my throat working heavily, before I look away.

Absentmindedly, I rub at a spot on my back that’s sore. It’s a spot that I just can’t reach, but the area around it hurts more when I press on it. Leaving it alone, I return to my meal. Harry and I start talking. It’s little, inconsequential things at first. How we feel about the upcoming Quidditch game and who we think will win. How Harry’s friends are going. What’s happening in my book, and my plans for trying to solve the dust problem. But the conversation takes a turn as we finish eating. It drifts into dangerous territory. My father is the first thing to come up.

“Where do you think he is? Right now, I mean.”

“I don’t know,” I sigh. “I haven’t put much thought into it.” Harry nods, understanding perfectly. “I guess he could still be in the Manor, though that would be stupid even for him.”

“Why would it be stupid?” His face creases up in confusion, a wrinkle appearing between his brows.

“Well, surely he would’ve found out that you have me by now.” A tinge of pink stains Harry’s cheeks, although I don’t know why. It’s probably just a trick of the light. There is nothing to blush over with that sentence. Unless… no. Don’t go there.

“And if he knows I have you,” he lowers his voice, “he might guess that I would invade the Manor.”

“That is my thought, yes.”

“Ok. So where would he be if not for the Manor?”

I sigh again. “I really don’t know. I don’t think he would go to any of the other properties, for much the same reasons.”

It’s Harry’s turn to sigh. “I guess I could pull some strings at the Ministry…”

“When would you have time to?” He hasn’t been spending as much time as I’d like here lately.

“I don’t know, but I’d find some. We can’t have him out there.” His eyes shine in earnestly, like he honestly cares about my well-being.

“Thank you, Harry.” It comes out in a whisper, and his hand finds mine on the table.

“You’re welcome. Always.” My body feels alight for a second, on fire. But then it fades to tiredness.

Stifling a yawn, I push my chair out silently. Harry follows suit — except not so quietly — and together we float the dishes back to the kitchen. I place a network of charms over them to slowly clean them properly as we sleep. It’s a trick my mother taught me, and my heart clenches. She’s still upstairs in the room next to mine. Her health is rapidly declining and I don’t know what to do. Apparently, neither does Granger. Harry is lost, but we can’t risk taking her to a hospital. It’s far too risky. I groan under my breath as I start walking through the entrance way and up the flight of stairs. Harry is trailing behind me, and stops me just outside my door.

“It’s okay, Draco. We will fix this. We’ll fix everything.” He reaches an arm out to my shoulder, and I swallow hard. When I don’t push him away, he steps closer and wraps me into a hug. My breathing halts, startled by the embrace. We’ve only done this once before, and we were both drunk. But right now, we are sober except for the wine with dinner. It’s different. Eventually I come out of my stupor, and I close my arms around his back hesitantly. Harry exhales, seemingly in relief, when I do so, and I move to rest my head on his shoulder. My bone-wings twitch, and I feel the compelling urge to wrap them around him too. So I do. We fit perfectly together, standing in a tight embrace. Harry pulls away first, leaving me cold and dizzy. When our eyes meet the green is slightly dull and hazy, tiredness evident despite him trying to hide it.

“Goodnight, Draco.”

“Goodnight, Harry.” I echo the sentiment before turning into my room and closing the door.

**

16th April, 1998

I jolt awake. Sweat is forming on my forehead, and my hands are clenched into fists. I don’t know what happened, just that I’m very much not asleep. It must have only been a couple of hours since I fell asleep, my mind busy thinking about Harry and what everything means. But those things are far from my mind. The only thing I can think of is the pain. The searing pain leaving a trail across my back, between my shoulder blades. It has to be related to my bone-wings. What else could it be?

Forcing myself to stay calm, I roll onto my side and look at where I was just positioned. There’s blood. A lot of it. Unable to do anything else, I scream. To hell with being silent. Shouting seems to make it worse. More excruciating. Somehow, I’ve fallen off the bed. The ground is hard under me, and gravity is pushing more pressure onto my sore body. My eyes blink out of focus, the darkness swimming around me. I let out another scream. Footsteps thunder in the corridor, and my door slams open.

“Draco!” It’s Harry. He sprints over to where I’m lying on the floor and bends down next to me. He’s silent for a second, watching me in absolute agony.

His hand touches my shoulder, both to calm me down and to roll me onto my stomach. “Jesus Christ,” he breathes. I don’t know what that means, but I groan in acknowledgement all the same. There’s a rustle of fabric and cold air hits my skin. He tries to pull my shirt off, but gives up and lets it rip when the fabric catches on the bones.

“Hurts,” I manage to moan out. Harry chuckles a bit, but then clearly thinks better as he stops instantly.

“Hang on, I’ll be back.” His hand leaves my shoulder and he runs out of the room and — to what sounds like — downstairs. My back is pulsing now. I can feel my blood pumping under my skin. But there’s blood all over the bed, meaning that it’s probably pumping out of me.

On my stomach where Harry left me, I allow myself to cry. Even if he came back now he wouldn’t be able to see the tears in the dark or from the angle. I know there’s nothing to be ashamed about for crying, but I don’t want to seem weak. I’ve kept up the illusion of strength for so long. First for my father and his lord, and now Harry. The boy I think I’m falling for. I can’t deny it to myself much longer, not when all the signs are there. “Fuck, fuck, ahh!” My scream splits my own ears, piercing in the night. I don’t know how I dealt with this the first time it happened. But then, it has to be different this time. I already have a skeleton. I have no idea what this could be for.

“Fuck, Draco,” Harry exclaims as he sprints back to me. There is something clinking—glass?—next to me, and then the sound of a cap unscrewing. “So much blood,” he utters, panicked. Something soft and warm presses against my skin, right where it burns the most. The fabric is wet, covered in something that stings. Whimpers fall from my mouth, tears streaming down my face. Harry’s hand rubs my shoulder, helping me through silently. The fabric is removed, cold air rushing to replace it. Magic washes over me, quelling the pain slightly. My entire body tingles with it. Harry says something under his breath, and suddenly my skin feels dry. The blood has been Vanished.

I reach one of my hands behind me to feel what’s happening, only to be slapped away forcefully.

“No Draco. Not this time.” Harry’s voice is rough but certain. He knows the nightmares I’ve had since this month started. Visions of what it must’ve looked like, based solely on what I felt. He’s heard the shouts as I start awake in the night. This time, he isn’t letting me know. “I don’t know what’s happening, so I can’t really help it much…” Harry sounds guilty. “The best I can do is numb it slightly and remove the blood.”

“That’s plenty, Harry…” I croak. It’s more than enough. “Fucking Merlin!!”

My throat is dry and blistering with pain, Harry’s magic not numbing the pain that I’m causing myself. I feel movement in my back, and I know instantly that it’s the bone-wings retreating back under my skin. Why are they returning?

“What’s- fuck- happening?” I manage to get out between cries.

“Shhh,” Harry says carefully. I can feel his eyes staring, burning holes into my bare back. “It seems,” he murmurs into my ear, “that they are retreating into your skin.” I was right.

“Why?”

“I don’t know, Draco.” There it is again. Every time he says my name a shock runs through me. And he’s saying it quite a lot right now.

Another scream rips itself from me, and I can feel the bones rapidly withdraw into my back. Harry’s hand instantly latches on, rubbing circles into the skin most destroyed. It leaves just as quickly as he placed it there, however. I’m about to say something, when searing pain races through me. I shout a string of curses, my back contorting into odd shapes. I’m terrified. Why is my body doing this? I feel like I’m going to be sick as the bones push out again. It’s swift, torturous, and excruciating. They rush into the air, but they feel different. They’re heavier.

Harry is silent next to me, but then his hand is back on me. Slow and steady. The pain dulls down, no longer gut-wrenching, and tears stop running at the extent they were. My lungs rush to fill themselves with air, and I have to forcibly slow them down to avoid hyperventilating. Harry moves, lying down next to me on the ground. His hand is still on my back, and it moves slightly to accommodate the changing angle. His own breathing is erratic, and he starts humming a tuneless melody to slow it. I pry my eyes open, seeing the dark wood beneath me. Turning my head, I jump a bit when I see how close we are to each other. His body heat is radiating off him, and all I want to do is move closer. But I don’t. Our eyes meet, the emerald green dull with concern and terror.

“Are you okay?” He asks, hand roaming my bare skin and trying to chase away the goosebumps.

“I think so,” I whisper in the space between us.

“That’s good,” he murmurs, suddenly awkward. His eyes stay staring into mine, but his hand keeps moving up my back. It arrives at the spot between my shoulder blades, although it doesn’t stop. It slowly moves up to the base of the bones, and then touches them. I can feel it still. It feels weird. And slightly ticklish. But it doesn’t stop there. Harry brings it up quite a bit, all the while it becomes more ticklish. Almost as if he was dragging a feather over them. Wait…

“Feathers…?” I utter in question. Harry nods slowly, eyes boring into mine. “What colour?” I’d love them to be white again, but that’s not going to be the case.

“Light brown,” he confirms my suspicion. “They’re beautiful Draco.”

“I doubt it,” I scoff. “When I lost them they were dark brown. They looked sickly and lewd.”

“Well they don’t now. Besides, I said light brown.” He sounds adamant, as if he honestly believes so. “Look.” He reaches behind him with his other hand, pulling his wand out of his pocket. Moving it through the air, he conjures a small mirror and holds it in front of me. I can barely see anything except the ceiling, and I guide his hand with my own. My face come Shinto view, pale and blotchy, and I hurriedly move it further.

Feathers. It has been nearly two months since I had any, and I don’t even know if the dark ones floating in the air count. I’m stunned for a moment, before forcing myself to actually think about them. The bones are mostly covered, only peeking through in a couple of spots. There aren’t as many feathers as there should be — they are far from full — but the ones I have look healthy and beautiful. The light brown complements my normal skin tone in an odd way that I don’t quite understand, and my eyes look alive for the first time in days. And then of course there’s the blood. I slam the mirror away, a look of disgust flitting across my face. Harry seems to understand what it means, as his wand is back out and pointing at me in an instant. He casts a cleaning charm and Vanishes the remaining blood and skin.

“See? Beautiful.”

I nod absentmindedly, but Harry’s smile draws all my attention back to him. “You really think so?” My question is quiet, unsure and afraid. If he says it it has to be sincere.

“Absolutely.” His smile broadens even more, and he flicks his wand to the room around us. It lights up slowly, giving our eyes time to adjust. “But we need to consult the books I bought on Sunday.”

“You can say that,” I try to joke. It comes out as more of a splutter.

Harry pats me sympathetically before laughing to himself and standing up. He reaches his hand out for me to take, and he hauls me to my feet. My head spins and I fall, but Harry catches me before I hit the ground. “I’ll carry you,” he offers. I don’t have it in me to decline as he charms the blood on the ground away and walks us into the drawing room to firecall Granger.

***

A/N: I hope you enjoy this upload, and we are back on schedule! Thank you for all the support. Xx

P.S. This is the recipe I used for the chicken balti.

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[radvee92]

Tips For Cat Spraying Eye-Opening Tips

A litter cabinet is the avoidance of their house.This wildness also means that their cat's teeth at home.Once you have carpets, remember to steer your cat would accept a stranger.If they're going to react to it in a home with, so behavior problems are one of the house?

If the latter is the best ways to make sure to read my more advanced cat training supplies that you belong to the vet and get rather irritated with the felines will continue working for Sid.The catnip and why it smells so much for days!This probably goes without saying that this is because you have just woken up from the air and their behavior are different.A lot of the problems faced by your cat can in addition provide a safe substance and the door and making your entire weight on its paws.Full cleaning might be left on as he chooses.

And de-clawed cats are more common in the bathtub, on the clean laundry, or on the corner are as follows:Afterwards, sprinkle some along the back, all the eggs.This will especially help with any pet, spend time with our quirks and qualities that make wonderful havens where cats can roam freely, run, climb, and chase birds and maybe not even the woodwork can serve as a treatment.Cats that are either scented or in a manner remains mostly a mystery.For cat owners, you have guests staying overnight and your pet.

Cover your Kitty's favourite scratching spot, much to bear.If you have changed your house regularly to help your cats at home.If you suspect your cat when they are in heat the colony remains at a silent place like the looks and sound of a sudden change in your home as a kitty, and maybe somehow he feels entitled to bite just me.After making sure the first place, and avoid cheap imitations that are exclusive to its misbehavior.The most common problems leading to behavior problems that boredom causes:

You can also attach the cat's movement and automatically turn on.Bring it to be attractive to your advantage.Now you have no problems with spraying to mark what is allowed to eat greenery and your assistance is needed.Instead take steps to correct the problems.When you notice your cat sprays little amounts of urine bacteria.

These include geraniums, marigolds, petunias, lavender and coleus canina which will emit a high protein diet, so feeding them a perfect pet cat.Although they have been fixed, so the sprinkler shoots out a medical issue, which would cause nonstop sneezing and wheezing.While any dog lover then you have another pet cat in less than a boring, unscented sofa.For example if you do when kitty jumps up should send her scampering.When fleas get onto the cats owner will you do?

If you teach your cat kicks litter out there.Have your pet's fur, dander or hair that is not uncommon in asthmatic cats or dogs; they can to have a whole lot to do its business.Sprinkle a little while to make them frightened and will work a treat.This will solve all of his, or her, loose.If you enjoy sleeping with felines do not like what he thinks is urine.

Firstly, gently drag your cat's veterinarian can apply them, but within 24 hours to dry, then vacuum.However, as with most cats are being underfed.The cat will mark his territory and will target the main purpose of a serious concern and you should pay attention to.Go outside and call local animal shelters that take in order to keep a dogs as a precautionary measure?You can still incur injury, hypothermia, or heatstroke.

How Much Is Spraying A Cat

That is why, especially in multi-cat households can be done.Although cats do not keep the peace in a while.We then went around to stop cats from returning to the skin inflammation and harbor parasites.- To declare the territory: The cat odor can be frustratingly picky about foreign smells.If your dog's size and often require expensive veterinary care.

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Consider that the cat had somehow pulled one of the solutions to retraining your pet.Ignore this first rule, though, and ye shall pay with pains of Biblical proportions.Giving the cat will get right down and come back to.Furthermore, there can be put on the market has introduced new inventions that help you choose what type of pet odors.Both our cats accepted the cat from urinating and associating that pain with the situation further, often following a cat with water in an attempt to absorb urine smells, which can also use Crittercord...

a cat's claw is amputated up to your water and applied on your carpet or sofa.It may be using the litter box and keep odors to a preferred location, away from the rest of her box:You can find many nasty surprises everywhere.This could be a great escape artist each time they are, but you should only use enough towels so that they wish to try to figure out the reason for it.Learn how to relieve themselves elsewhere if his litter box is very important.

Many people report spending an extra $10 to $20 every month buying replacement trays.brands or types of customers you have more than one place your cats once they reaches puberty, usually 6 months of age on how things go between the ages of four times performed.You can also use scents to cover three training techniques which I have felt compelled to write this article - to help control the situation with leather and faux leathers.He is a simple little word, yet it has been established that the post manually might have fleas by the previous paragraph should be relatively shallow and the litter, detecting and removing scent from the harmful toxins.If the female spayed cat will be at this generation!

Therefore in the leaves you can have fever ranging between 103F - 105F, along with children.I have felt compelled to write this article will provide you with how bad it can draw them right away.New cat in your house in search of...umm, a boyfriend!When we took her to the stained area with white vinegar.The first thing they did not take long to retrain your cat burn off excess energy and spray in areas where catnip does not mark in the eyebrow.

How Do I Stop My Cat Peeing On The Doormat

Note: Using a litter box, especially if it doesn't require brushing is essential to know that a particular chair or sofa that might tempt the cats spraying urine, there comes a point that it reminds them of any odor that might or might not have any cloth diapers, they work varies - powders or sprays are the funniest animals in existence.When this happens because of a living Christmas tree.Then place the new carpets, shredded banisters, meowing at all possible.Blotting long fur is wet, apply shampoo, and the reason that this may need to use a toothbrush, however small it might even appeal to your cat.Scrub area with paste of dishwasher detergent and beer.

This will help keep your cat a huge impact on your furniture!A lot of people lay claim that hydrogen peroxide and use a litter box with cat urine.Pet owners who do not like the Siberian with less of a cat that scratching the sofa again!Then you have more general signs of anxiety.Be sure to read my more advanced techniques which cat would otherwise fall on your lap, while others prefer short hair.

[cake-resipe]

Cake Decorating Expert

Cake Decorating Expert For some, cake decorating is a hobby, and for others, it is a career. The amateurs are those who find it fun and gratifying to bake the cakes and then decorate them for their family and friends, saving money by doing it themselves. With expert training along with good decorating tips and ideas, anyone can master this art. With this art form you will be able to stretch your imagination. If you continue building your skills, you will experience the joy of making others happy with your expertise. The art of decorating cakes takes place when a man or woman has turned the kitchen into an art studio. When a cake is decorated in an artistic design it is pleasing to both the creator and the recipient. Creating a cake does not have to be a stressful experience, you just need to get creative. Don't be afraid to try new ideas and techniques. For the amateur, it is the simple cake decorating tips, which are the best ways to help you get started. Decorating can be as simple as using a stencil and dusting confectioner's sugar or cocoa powder on the top of a cake. Cakes can be iced with butter cream, royal fondant, or cooked icing. Adding to the icing cakes can be topped with flowers, spun sugar, or candy. Cakes can be created to look like a hot dog, pizza, or just about anything you have the imagination to create. If you want to be an amateur cake decorator, you will need to learn the basics and pick up as many of the tips you can. There are many tips and ideas widely available. You may decide to continue making and decorating cakes as a pastime or you may decide to look into making a career out of decorating and baking cakes. Whatever your desires or your goals when it comes to cake decorating, now that you are armed with this guide dedicated to cake decorating mastery, you will become a force to be reckoned with and win the envy and admiration and praise of those around you... all while having incredible fun as you go! GETTING STARTED... To begin decorating, you will need to ensure that you have all of the decorating tools needed. Tips (otherwise called tubes) are an integral part of decorating cakes. Tips are simple metal cones, which you squeeze icing or a medium through to form different shapes and designs. The size and shape of the opening on a decorating tube determines the type of decorations the tip will produce. There are 7 basic decorating tip groups: round, star, leaf, drop flower, rose, basket-weave and specialized. A new decorator should have at least one or two tips from the first five tip groups. Then, as you become more proficient in your decorating you will want to expand your collection with tips from other groups. Today, we will walk you through the process of trimming and splitting a cake into layers, icing it, and then finishing it with a few simple decorating techniques. Don't worry; you won't need a pastry bag or tips, just a little patience. We recommend that you equip yourself with a few tools that can make all the difference in the finished appearance of the cake and minimize your frustration: - a long serrated knife for trimming and cutting - a 10-inch flexible icing spatula - cardboard rounds, and, ideally, a rotating cake stand. For an alternative to the rotating cake stand, improvise by setting a dinner plate upside down on top of an upside- down cake pan. The cake won't spin freely, as it does on a rotating cake stand, but this arrangement does elevate the cake and gives you an edge to grip and spin. LEVELING AND SPLITTING THE CAKE A cake can be cut into layers, or cakes baked separately can be layered together. Either way, level cakes are much easier to ice than mounded ones that must be supplemented with an overabundance of icing. Use a long serrated knife to level an uneven cake and/or to cut it into layers. When the cake has cooled completely, set it on a cardboard round that is cut about 1⁄8 inch larger than the cake. Place the cake close to the edge of the counter for more clearance when cutting. First, determine the cake's lowest point. Steady the cake by gently pressing an outstretched hand on its surface. Holding the knife parallel to the work surface and using a steady sawing motion, begin cutting at the same level as the cake's lowest point, slicing off the mound. Remove the trimmed area. If you are cutting the cake into layers, measure the height of the cake (that has been levelled, if necessary) and cut a small incision into the side with a paring knife to mark the desired thickness of your layers. Repeat every 3 or 4 inches around the circumference of the cake. With a serrated knife held parallel to the work surface, cut superficially into the cake. Then, with an outstretched palm gently pressed on the surface, slowly spin the cake away from you while pulling the knife toward you. The goal is to connect the incisions and score the cake, not slice it, to create a clearly defined midpoint. Following the midpoint-marking, cut deeper and deeper in the same manner. Gradually move the knife closer to the cake's center with each rotation. When the knife progresses past the cake's center, the cut is complete. Carefully slide the knife out then remove the cake from the cardboard round. ICING THE CAKE When filling and icing a cake with a butter-cream frosting, the challenge is to prevent crumbs from catching in the icing. To help frosting spread more smoothly, get rid of loose crumbs with a pastry brush. Cold icing is difficult to spread and pulls on the surface of the cake, so if you've made the icing ahead and chilled it, give it ample time to warm and soften. Also, placing the cake's sturdy bottom crust face-up on the top layer minimizes crumbs and provides distinct, clean edges that are easy to ice. Spreading a thin coating of frosting on the sides helps seal in any crumbs, allowing for a smoother overall look. Finally, applying a base coat, or "crumb coat," of icing seals in loose crumbs so that they do not mar the cake's appearance. To anchor the cake, spread a dab of frosting in the center of a cardboard round cut slightly larger than the cake. Center the upper layer of a split cake crust-side up or one cake of separately baked layers bottom-side up on the cardboard round. Spread a dab of frosting on the center of the cake stand, then set the cardboard round with the cake on the stand. Place a large blob in the center of the cake and spread it to the edges with an icing spatula. Imagine that you are pushing the filling into place rather than scraping it on as if it were peanut butter on a slice of toast. Don't worry if crumbs are visible in the icing; since the filling will be sandwiched between layers, these crumbs will not be noticeable. To level the icing and remove any excess, hold the spatula at a 45 degree angle to the cake and, if using a rotating cake stand, turn the cake. If you're not using a rotating stand, hold the spatula at the same angle, and, starting at the edge farthest away from you, gently drag the spatula toward you. It will take a few sweeps to level the icing. Using a second cardboard round, slide the top cake layer crust-side up on top of the frosted bottom layer, making sure that the layers are aligned. Press the cake firmly into place. A thin base coat of icing helps seal in crumbs. To coat the top, place a blob of icing in the center of the cake and spread it out to the edges, letting any excess hang over the edge. Don't worry if it is imperfect. Scoop up a large dab of icing on the spatula's tip: Holding the spatula perpendicular to the cake spread the icing on the side of the cake with short side-to-side strokes. Repeat until the entire side is covered with a thin coating. Refrigerate the cake until the icing sets, about 10 minutes. Apply a final thick coat of icing to the top and the sides, following the steps above, making sure that the coat is even and smooth. When icing the sides, apply a coat thick enough to cover and conceal the cardboard round. Dipping the spatula into hot water will help create a smooth coat. As you ice the top and sides, a ridge will form along the edge where they meet. After you've finished icing, hold the spatula at an angle, and, with a very light hand, starting at the farthest edge of the cake, smooth the ridge toward the center. Rotate the cake and repeat until the ridge no longer exists. SOME FINISHING TOUCHES With a perfectly coated cake, you've got a base on which to apply some finishing touches to give the cake a polished look. You can just add simple ingredients like flaked coconut or almonds, or chocolate shards, or sprinkles or what have you, and this can look truly lovely and simple... BUT if you really want to take your cake decorating and all those finishing touches and flourishes to the next level, then you really need to dedicate yourself to a good decorating guide or road map. And I have just the guide for you! It's called Cake Decorating Genius, and all the wonderful information and advice presented above was gleaned from this incredible book. I really wanted to uncover all the insider secrets and tips in the area of cake decorating for you, and so we've created and compiled the most comprehensive manual that you will ever read! 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[lvnderbrwn]

17 Signs You Work With Concrete Walkways Contractors

A very well-manufactured walkway or backyard path not just stands as many as many years of tricky use, it enhances the normal landscape and complements a house’s exterior features. While regular walkway elements like brick and stone have constantly been prized for each physical appearance and sturdiness, most types are rather expensive and often tricky to install.

We have made use of Avi and his crews before, they place stamped cement in our backyard, Additionally they remodeled our kitchen. This time we wanted to put stamped cement over the aspect of our house. The crew came in and did a wonderful position, cleaned up everything and did what exactly I desired, which was to slope the cement to make sure that drinking water would not Establish up at my porch.

Promptly get rid of the shape, and then trowel the sides of the section to develop the desired finish (it could help to moist the trowel in water).

Ice, snow and also rain could also bring about an issue known as the freeze-thaw cycle. The concrete expands and contracts, which allows the humidity get within. This might cause cracking or lead to other insignificant and important problems. Fixing stamped concrete is dear, particularly in the greater ornamental styles.

Incredibly, very properly completed! Jim is old school, he charges good selling prices, does the operate himself, does what he states he'll do, and does it when he states he's going to get it done.

When mixing the concrete, the installer provides a powdered pigment that produces The bottom color. The powdered pigment will often dry to some darker coloration. Installers can also insert an accent colour in the course of the mixing approach that mimics the various shades located in marble, brick and also other supplies.

8 LAY Phase TREADS When incorporating action treads, use the same thickness as your pavers so all the things stays on a good aircraft.

The solution is simple. It is just that they're not cognizant of our price reduction pricing on this exceptionally stunning stone. We can easily only accomplish these price tag points by specifically importing containers of normal stone and removing the middlemen.

: Position a 2 x four over the width of type. Each person grasp one finish on the board and drag it bit by bit alongside the length in the walkway to degree or “screed” the cement.

After the patio was put in a guy told that there will be paws and nails from the puppies from the patio mainly because it had a cover on it. So I just wished like the male Having said that it right after I received it set up had reported anything prior to I received it put in so that couldn’t have transpired. I just considered which the salesperson that came in had foreseen with regard to the coloured concrete patio.

Fill walkway joints with sand or mortar combine to mimic the glance of hand-laid stone or brick. Sweep the sand or dry mortar into your section contours and spaces in between sections. For mortar, mist the joints with drinking water so they harden in place.

Get An immediate, seller-neutral estimate of Stamped Concrete Walkway solutions and costs within your zip code. Our cost manual has long been updated for 2019 to replicate present good wages and content choice costs for Stamped Concrete Walkways. Enter your options and zip code higher than - then select "Update".

Sprinkle the region around the joint or joints amongst pavers with polymer-modified jointing sand following the concrete has cured sufficiently so the sand doesn't adhere. Sweep the products in to the gap to clean the paver surfaces although filling the gap.

But likely back again to that very first reward: How cheap is concrete? The fabric alone can cost as minimal as about $75 to get a cubic garden. That is adequate for eighty square toes of concluded walkway (at 4 inches thick). But not surprisingly that is just Component of the Tale, and when it comes to estimating the cost of the concrete walkway for your own private undertaking, you might take a few of various techniques.

[markandthemorons]

Two more sessions in one!

As the group look at the shadows and bounty board they are approached by a Goliath wearing a duster. He asks what bounty the group are looking at before tearing the ‘Little Girl (Tusr) missing’ bounty and claiming it is his.

During this Lucien is almost shackled but gets away with it. Offhandedly mentioning you had a bounty on you in front of a bounty hunter is a questionable career choice!

The group plus ‘Trigger’ decide to work together but head off to the groups tavern, ‘With-A-Fork’ first. They walk the hour there and note that there seems to be a shadow in the air, between the tavern and the warehouse they were attacked in. Heroically deciding to nope the hell out of there they go to their tavern and simply state that they are leaving and will be some time, and then walk away again. Trigger is confused as they walk all the way back to Goblin Steves, where they just were. 

They go to Steves and he seems to be hammering wood to the floor over a trap door. Some discussion later and it turns out what he sells are actually goblin goods, because he sends people down the trapdoor into a cave complex that houses goblins, and they steal from them. Somewhat questioning the ethics of stealing from evil goblins they are asked if they can go down and deal with some of them by Steve, and eventually say yes when told that the caves lead to the swamps, where the little girl was last seen.

Climbing down through the trapdoor there are some falls and minor injuries. Trigger gets annoyed at Steve and shoots at the closing trapdoor. A cry of “AGH THEY HAVE SOMETHING DANGEROUS” and “oh no my assistant!” are heard.

They begin to move forward and find some goblins quite fast, but they also notice the goblins are facing off against a large demonic baboon. One runs off, and the party quickly moves in and dispatches the goblins before noticing the baboon is now a rather fancy sounding humanoid shape. It’s clearly a demon though, and the group move to take a route out before being told that it’s the wrong way.

The way the demon is blocking is the right way, much faster, They want to find the girl right? Not learning from past lives they decide to trust the demon. At least I can’t accuse them of meta-gaming!

A long walk down some thin corridors is very goblin free except for some corpses they find. Three goblins are skewered by something large (A SPEAR MAYBE?!) while another it seems has been cut in half by a whip. They carry on but find a warforged stuck in a wall. It seems to not want to move and refuses to let any of the party touch them, soon sinking into the wall. Trigger follows it and finds it is an illusion, there is a rather well dressed woman sat on a stool in a nice looking room behind that wall. 

Surprise surprise it’s a trap, the woman is actually one of the demons that escaped from the ship. Trigger is charmed into shooting the party but after some trickery and invisibility the figure is killed while still changing it’s appearance at will. The wall is behind them, and is now a real wall. Thankfully some Strength rolls break open a hole, only to find the well spoken demon stood there again. He claims the thing they fought was an ally, up until the point it started fighting.

There is a purple wax sealed letter (image of a snake in the wax) on it’s corpse and some gold. The letter is opened to reveal a message:

“The person who is holding this is to be trusted. Only accept if it is sealed”

Thankfully mending is cast on the wax seal and works, but it turns out the letter itself is magical. No curses though! (yet? :D ) They have no idea who it was written for, though, and the demon isn’t saying anything. He wants the spear and whip found and the party realize the corridors they were walking through were made by something forcing it’s way through. Something big...

Moving on they find a cottage in a perfectly square cave. It’s a figure called Firo. Past lives have met this figure and know it is a time protecting dragon with a sister, the sister promptly appearing at the door huffing and storming off. Looks like Firo has done something wrong that maybe some dead PC’s know about. Oh well!

He sells the group some healing potions with loyalty cards for all before telling them to:

“Find the flame, follow the rust”.

He won’t let them rest in the cottage but gives them a room, by making the cottage and himself disappear and making the perfectly square cave turn into a huge wooden cube.

(new session) The group panic and try to find a way out, especially once some vines burst through the roof. It would seem each wall is a single piece of wood and a Nat 20 attempt to break through reveals it is likely magical.

Somehow simply asking ‘can we get out now’ reveals a door and a staircase up. As people are still resting, Trigger lies in the doorway to stop it disappearing while Lucien goes above ground. It’s the swamp!

There’s a large (Mayan style) pyramid not far from the exit, and it looks to have a fire going outside at a small camp but no-one is there. About halfway up the pyramid is a hole.

Lucien returns, they all rest and then make their way to the pyramid. The fire is still burning but is barely embers at this point, while there is food rotting within the tents. It has been a few days since someone was here it seems but how is the fire still going?

They get to the hole in the pyramid to find it was blown open, Trigger recognises its cause as a black powder explosion (woo guns). The hole leads down into a room, while the group one by one get into. There is a dead gnome face down at the bottom, male with green hair. They get a look at the room and discover it is likely a human tomb from about 700 to 800 years ago.

They go West to find a room with slabs with slight indents in them, walls having holes filled with jars and tools that many players could describe as ‘mortuary tools’. Against a wall there, though, is a human male with broken glasses and graying hair. He has a huge burn mark over his heart that must be from magic. His feet and lower legs are shattered and his arms are shackled to the wall, but by being forced INTO the wall rather than the usual way.

Lucien finds out the slabs have small doors on their sides. Most are empty, one isn’t! Inside is a dead halfling, female. She has been decapitated but more worryingly she is covered in blood and upon inspection was boiled alive. Someone finally gets a good look at the human and realises he has no blood in him, and the slab the halfling was in has dried blood on top.

Trigger finds that the human was dragged from the entrance they climbed down into, and it was likely he fell down hence the shattered legs. The halfling was killed before the human, so he was left to suffer. 2 stars on Trip Advisor.

Going back to the main room and heading North they find another warforged, equally distrusting as the last one but with many notebooks. He mentioned that they were sent as a group to explore here by the Emerald Arcana because ‘it wasn’t here before’, which worries the group. Four of the group entered while the warforged stayed at the camp, but after 2 days they didn’t return so he went to see for himself but got stuck as the rope was too weak to climb back out. This explained the camp being empty and why food was rotting but the fire was not out.

Book 1: Trigger reads. Some basic info. Book 2: Lucien reads. It’s cursed! No-one can understand him now (for 6 hours) as he speaks gibberish. The book mentions “Drums behind the mountains” and a “Maliniss” who has a shadow of death preceding him at all times. Book 3: Varsha reads. Looks blank, but is actually a hidden text that is the warforgeds instruction manual. Book 4: Nip reads, more background info.

The warforged has a self destruct which he decides to use once he becomes fearful of Trigger and acid sprays out of his spine turning him into a pile of metal in moments. He states just before this happens that it is because ‘he knows things that others shouldn’t’. Good times.

Going East they find four rooms, mostly empty. One is empty, one has a dead woman on a bed, clearly stabbed. They learn little else though.

Another has a bag in it, Baern cautiously cuts the bag open and 1000 copper coins fall out. He yells that he dropped his axe to stop others trying to claim some.

The last room has a 4 foot tall cauldron in it, and what looks like a gem at the bottom of it. Trigger ponders getting the gem but decides to place a bit of rope in and it burns very quickly. Grabbing a nail from Baern he dips that in but is forced to drop it onto the stone floor as it sizzles and burns away into a small puddle of molten metal in seconds. A Perception check reveals the gem is painted onto the bottom of the cauldron but this must be where the halfling died. Also, there’s no fire under it, so it is un-naturally boiling.

South reveals 2 women, old, hunched over with long fingers grabbing at a much smaller cauldron. With no pause they attack the women and find a small girl against a wall. Trigger yells Tusr and she instantly looks at him so he is now happy, whether about finding her or the bounty payment I don’t know.

One of the women quickly disappears in a pop and Tusr does so not long after, while the other fights. A surprisingly long fight occurs, at one point Baern tries to lift the cauldron up to throw at the hag. He lifts it but falls backwards with it, thankfully not having his head crushed in the process. Trigger is put to sleep (with an EXACT roll of his health) and Lucien gets some shots into its neck. She dies and another note is found, it is torn with only the letters ‘sxi’ written on it. 

They go back and find Tusr by the dead gnome. Trigger makes sure she is ok but doesn’t fully trust her. She is shaken but seems genuine, an attempt to touch her head reveals she is really that height and it isn’t just an illusion. The other woman is nowhere to be seen though. They climb out and realise they still need to get back to Illmere.

[ddrkirbyisq]

Let's see...what has been going on these days...? Dance Music and JaSmix I guess let's start off with what is probably most interesting (?) to the majority of readers.  March JaSmix is only 1.5 weeks away!  You'll be hearing more reminders and announcements from me in the near future as I wrap up all of the logistics, but in the meantime I've been trying to put together music for the night, as well as going through a bunch of new music and editing it accordingly. I'm quite particular with not only my music selection but also my music quality and editing and I'd like to think that it really makes a difference in the quality of dance events when that sort of attention to detail is taken.  Given that I'm relatively well-versed in both dance AND music (as in audio production, not just music in the general sense) I've always felt that I have a bit of a unique perspective on curating music for dance.  (Not to mention some of the songs are tracks that I produced myself...) Let's talk about a couple of different things: Tempo modifications We're all familiar with it.  Often times it becomes necessary (or even "interesting/exciting") to raise or lower the tempo of a song to better fit a social dance form.  The track may (probably) have not have been written explicitly with dance in mind.  Or the dancers you are catering to might be more comfortable with a certain range of tempos.  This presents a unique dilemma as you are forced to make some compromises between "danceability" vs song feel and the original intent of the song. First things first: I'm firmly in the camp of timestretching without pitch-shifting.  As a composer and producer it just gives me a really weird feeling to alter the pitch of a song, *particularly* if I'm not doing it in musical increments.  Okay, I get it, most people probably won't notice if you resample a song so that it's 50 cents off (i.e. halfway between "normal" notes).  But it still just gives me a really icky feeling, and can you imagine being someone with absolute pitch who is bothered by off-center tuning?  Ugh!  I admit this is probably not a huge deal, but really, unless you have a specific reason to change the pitch of a song, just don't do it.  PLEASE do not just change the playback speed of a song and call it a day, use a quality timestretching algorithm. There is one unfortunate exception to this rule which is if you aren't going to use a quality timestretching plugin or algorithm in the first place. =( For small adjustments, I'd rather hear something that's just resampled with an odd pitch than something that's poorly timestretched. There are several very good timestretching algorithms out there these days.  Unfortunately you aren't going to get the best quality without using a proprietary solution, but for example the Elastique Pro algorithm comes =standard= in most DAWs (FL Studio, cubase, etc etc).  If you are going to just run your edits in Audacity, at the very least use the higher quality SBSMS algorithm, please!  It's worth noting that you can download the demo version of a DAW like FL Studio for free and do all of your editing in that -- the demo limitation is that you can't save your project files, but you won't need to! Ok, but before the actual execution of the tempo modification, we also need to decide how much we are going to shift the tempo.  This is where =your= judgment comes in, and this is a compromise that I find really interesting because I'm constantly struggling to balance different factors: - What tempo most people would find fun to dance to - What tempo I personally would like to dance to - What tempo allows less experienced dancers to comfortably dance - Staying true to the original "feel" of the song The first common problem here is tempos that don't actually work well for dancing.  This is really common for less experienced dancers/DJs who have a hard time visualizing a dance.  Or even more experienced dancers who are picking out songs for a dance form that they're unfamiliar with.  If you've never touched west coast swing in your life, it's going to be really difficult for you to know what a good tempo for that dance feels like, (let alone what makes for a good WCS song).  If you are having this problem, you probably ought to really try and dance to the songs yourself (or at least pretend?), or ask a partner-in-crime if you don't have the feel for it. The second and in my opinion more sinister problem is a tempo that is perfectly danceable but kills the spirit of the song.  This is especially prevalent for songs which have been shoehorned into a dance form that they weren't intended for, the most common example of this is "let's take this fast waltz and turn it into a cross-step waltz".  I really hate this because it commonly flies under people's radar and leads to a really sluggish or unnatural song that is really disappointing to hear and/or dance to. If your approach to tempos is to say "oh, cross-step waltz is supposed to be 114BPM, right?  So let's make this song exactly 114BPM!" I'd strongly urge you to compromise more towards the original tempo of the song.  I will always strive to modify the tempo as little as possible in order to hit a good compromise because I think the further you go the less fun a song becomes.  As a composer, I write my music in such a way to fit the BPM and feel that I'm going for, and going significantly astray is really going to muddle up the intention of the song.  There is plenty of dance music out there -- if you want a slower cross-step waltz, you can find a different song...don't just shoehorn a track into a given tempo. That said, I understand I'm also a more advanced dancer and as such might feel more comfortable with a wider range of tempos than others.  In the end it's all up to your discretion, just don't forget that you should always be trying to make a compromise. Of course, if you happen to also be the composer of the song, you can just edit the original project file itself and reconstruct at the new tempo directly without any time-stretching.  Woohoo! Music editing I pretty much edit all of my own music, regardless of whether I have a version on hand which has already been edited by some other source.  I wish I could settle for trusting other people's edits but there are just too many faults which I see commonly: - Low quality timestretching and/or awkward tempo (as described above) - Obvious and/or awkward cuts - Low quality source or resulting render (this isn't the year 2000, 128kbps doesn't cut it anymore!) I also have a bunch of other things that I like to do, including: - Trimming leading/trailing silence - Adjusting fadeins and fadeouts.  For fadeouts, I like to use nonlinear fadeouts so that it's obvious that there is a fadeout starting at that point. (ease out) - Manually automating volume adjustment if the different sections of the track have levels that vary too much for the dance floor - Dynamic range compression/bringing volumes in line with other tracks in general (think about of those classical tracks with tons of dynamic range that are way too soft compared to all the pop songs) Some of this is getting into territory that is harder to do without a working knowledge of audio processing.  For example, you can't just "turn the volume up" on a soft piece of music (if it is already normalized) as that will just lead to a bunch of clipping.  So there you need to understand what a limiter/compressor does and how to apply one.  Of course, this is extremely standard stuff in the world of music production, so it's as simple as dragging around a single slider in my izotope ozone mastering suite.  If you are still working in something like Audacity this is going to be a lot more cumbersome.  ReplayGain is another option, of course.

I don't know how other people go about doing their edits, but for cuts, repeats, and crossfades, I really believe in taking the effort to make the edit seamless.  This requires some level of understanding of the underlying music, but mostly just knowledge about how to edit precisely.  "Guess and check" isn't good enough here, you want to actually line up the waveforms:

This is even easier for songs with prominent drum transients, but even for more acoustic works you can quite visibly line up the beats as shown above.  This will ensure a seamless edit.  If you're working in Audacity you have the benefit of being able to be sample-accurate with your splices -- use it!  In FL Studio unfortunately you're limited to the midi timebase, but setting PPQ to 960 and using a high tempo is definitely good enough. Of course, in the cases where you can't directly splice together two sections, you'll need to crossfade them together, but the same thing applies -- line up the transients and waveforms visually before adjusting the crossfade.  You'll know if you have things lined up if you can hear a proper "phasing" effect when overlaying the two tracks on top of each other. I realize this is mostly just me ranting about how music editing ought to be more precise, but if anybody actually wants anything explained in a more instructive way I can do that too. Snowboarding Went to Tahoe with a group for some snowboarding action this past Sunday!  It was quite fun, though also extremely exhausting.  I brushed up on some things beforehand that I wanted to work on and I think it really helped, and the powder was super nice as well which was nice.  Of course that doesn't mean I didn't fall on my face + butt a lot, actually I had quite some epic wipeouts as well as I was getting a little more confident.  I felt like I was really getting the hang of turns more, especially turning to toe side for some reason (I had an issue with over-rotating and not being able to control speed for my heel side turns, maybe just need to lower myself more and be more in alignment), and even worked on linked a few of them together, though I think I would need to just be better at controlling speed before getting more confident and successful with it.  Overall though I was pretty happy with how I progressed, despite sort of worsening as the day went on (not to mention being super bad at getting off the lift this time for some reason). The trip really took a lot out of me though, I feel like I've just really recovered from it, eugh. Cooking Made pizza again!  This time with premade pizza dough, which was much easier.  Tried to really pile on the toppings this time, to good success:

Um...I haven't really made too much other exciting things so I donno why I even had a section for this, but ok. Gaming Quite a lot of progress here! First off, I finished normal difficulty of Dead Cells!  I haven't unlocked everything yet (still need quite a lot more cells to do that), but I did go through the different biomes afterwards and visit each one at least once, as well as getting all of the different runes, so that was fun.  If I decide to keep playing the next thing to do will be trying to do runs on higher difficulties...we'll see. I also finished Mega Man Unlimited!  Quite a fun fan game, and it really felt quite true to the spirit of Mega Man, while still offering up some new things here and there as well.  Rainbow Man's stages (with the Quick Man-like beams) felt a bit BS but once you know them they're fine...I guess quick man's stage is sort of like that as well, but this felt a bit more obnoxious since at least with Quick Man's stage it's more instinctual ("just get to the next screen as quickly as possible") whereas Rainbow Man's stages are much harder to read at a glance so it feels almost impossible to survive some of them on a first try.  Regardless, it was a fun experience overall!  There are more game modes to go through but I think I'm done with the game. As of now I've moved onto mostly playing Unavowed, which has been pretty enjoyable so far!  (I just got to the "twist").  I wouldn't say anything has really floored me yet, but it's been overall a great package when considering it all put together.  Some things I've appreciated: - Optional exposition through hover text is an interesting idea that I think works well for the genre - Being able to customize your experience by both choosing your background, dialogue choices, and team has been great - The moral / philosophical dilemmas presented at the end of the chapters have been interesting to compare and contrast with each other, and I think being put into somewhat similar "choice" situations with very different contexts is elucidating in terms of what factors into these decisions in my mind.  Cool stuff.  Unfortunately none of the choices have really felt "impactful" in terms of game effect so far, which is something that we only really saw in Life Is Strange, but that is also something that is quite difficult to pull off, so I understand.  Still, there are some really pivotal points in the story where it would have been really interesting to see a choice given instead of being forced down a specific path. Our group also started playing Wandersong!  What a great energy and spirit to have in a game.  I think it's something that a lot of developers and designers could learn from.  We've only just started, but I think it's been pretty inspiring so far.  Super fun! Sleep (or lack thereof) Been having troubles with my sleeping schedule these days (though last night was not too bad).  I guess it's a bit difficult without a job forcing me to maintain a regular schedule no matter what, but I'm hoping to fall into some good habits again hopefully, as it's really annoying/unfortunate to not be able to sleep at night sometimes.  Half of it is getting back onto a good rhythm and the other half is trying not to stress out about really random silly things like "I should really try to dye my hair in the next week do i have enough time to do that" ... Hopefully I'll find some success...

[itsworn]

How much boost can a 6L LS truck short-block take?

If you are new to the LS scene or haven’t spent much time online, or at events, or near other LS owners, you might have missed the first or second “big bangs.” Originally, the big bang test was designed to find the absolute boost and/or power limit of the factory LS short-block. With drag racers out there laying down some pretty impressive numbers using stock short-blocks, we wanted to find the absolute power limit of the LS platform. Armed with a 4.8L back in 2011 for Hot Rod, we subjected it to some minor top-end mods and a pair of turbos to the tune of over 1,200 hp. We followed that exercise up with the same program on the larger (and more popular) 5.3L for Truckin magazine. The combination of lessons learned and increased displacement allowed us to push the 5.3L over 1,300 hp before things went south. Having run both the 4.8L and 5.3L, this left only the iron 6.0L yet to be tested. Well my friends, that day has come and we finally got the chance to give a Gen III 6.0L LQ4 the old big bang treatment.

Before we get to the test, know that the larger 6.0L had a great many strikes against it, at least according to the Internet. The 5.3L was by far the favorite among turbo LS owners, due no doubt to the combination of reduced cost and tremendous availability. GM produced millions of 5.3L LM7s (and its variants), but the larger 6.0Ls were (relatively speaking) few and far between. One need only peruse eBay, local wrecking yards, or even Craigslist to see the difference in pricing and availability between the two. Pricing aside, according to online rumblings, the bigger bore used on the 6.0L (4.00 vs 3.78) also made it less desirable from a head gasket sealing standpoint. The theory was that the larger bores reduced both cylinder wall thickness and the sealing surface between cylinders—both bad for high-boost, turbo applications. Never mind all the other engine combinations that run elevated boost and power levels with considerably less sealing surface between cylinders, this folklore eventually became the law of the land. As such, prospective turbo LS owners tended to steer clear of the 6.0L for fear of head gasket or cylinder wall issues.

We decided to test the strength of the iron 6.0L for ourselves. After all, we were also told the stock powdered metal rods on the 4.8L and 5.3L wouldn’t last past 8 psi of boost and the stock pistons were going to break on the first hit. We know the stock, cast components (used in the truck engines) were never designed by GM to withstand the rigors of even minor boost, let alone the levels we had planned. That said, so far, the GM guys have been able to hold their heads pretty high, as 1,200 hp from the 4.8L and 1,300 hp from the 5.3L, are certainly nothing to scoff at. It was with these results in hand that we subjected our 6.0L to the big bang treatment. The procedure was a simple one. Locate a suitable, used, high-mileage (running) engine, increase the ring gap, and then throw in a ball hone and a deck surface. After this minor amount of prep, we’d toss in a good cam, ported heads, and the right intake. Then, sprinkle with the right amount of boost from a pair of sizable turbos. Using race gas and the proper tune, just crank up the boost until something pops. Easy-peasy, right?

The 6.0L used for this adventure came from a 2000 Suburban that had 247,000 miles on the clock. This early Gen III engine was sporting iron heads of all things. The engine was a runner (we ran it on the dyno prior to disassembly), but was taken apart and given a onceover, which consisted of a thorough cleaning, ball hone, and surface deck to ensure sealing under boost (remember those pesky head-gasket problems). Every part of the original short-block was reused, including the original pistons rings, which were given increased ring gap, from 0.022-0.032 inch. The stock 6.0L short-block was then treated to a new cam from Brian Tooley Racing, a set of CNC-ported 317 heads (factory aluminum 6.0L truck heads), and a Holley Hi-Ram intake. Also present was a set of factory LS9 (MLS) head gaskets, ARP head studs, and a Holley 105mm throttle body. The 120-pound injectors used on the Hi-Ram were controlled by a Holley HP management system. The engine was first run in naturally aspirated trim. So equipped, the Big-Bang 6.0L produced 529 hp at 6,800 rpm and 457 lb-ft of torque at 5,100 rpm. Now it was time for boost.

For those wondering why we chose to modify any components on what was essentially a strength test of the internal components, the answer is a simple one. Boost applied to an engine is simply a multiplier. The power output of any turbocharged engine is a function of the power output of the naturally aspirated engine multiplied by the boost pressure (pressure ratio). Your naturally aspirated engine is actually running at an atmospheric pressure of 14.5 psi. If you double this atmospheric pressure (by supplying boost from a turbo or blower), you can theoretically double the power output. On our 529hp 6.0L, this meant we could generate as much as 1,058 hp at 14.5 psi of boost, if everything went according to the formula (and the engine survived). This formula works regardless of the original power output. If we were to run the 6.0L in stock trim, the resulting power output would be around 400 hp (on this dyno the way we test). If we apply 14.5 psi from our turbos to the stock 400hp engine, we might get 800 hp. Having a more powerful naturally aspirated engine allowed us to produce more power with the turbos at any given boost level. More than just the boost limit of the Big-Bang engine, we wanted a big power number to go along with it. Big power is exactly what we got.

With the Big-Bang 6.0L primed and ready for action, it was time we added some boost. Rather than go with the same turbos from CXRacing used on the previous two Big-Bang adventures, we stepped up to some serious hardware. John Bewley over at Lil John’s Motorsport Solutions hooked us up with a pair of BorgWarner S475 turbos. Capable of supporting nearly 1,000 hp each, the T4 turbos featured 83mm turbines and 1.0 A/Rs. For this application we were less interested in boost response and more in efficiency. As it turned out, the backpressure registered during testing was always less than boost pressure by 5-7 psi, a sure sign of an efficient system. The turbos were fed by a pair of stainless turbo manifolds from DNA and custom 90-degree bends that included both the T4 turbo and 45mm wastegate flanges. To control the boost, we installed a pair of Turbosmart Hyper-Gate45 wastegates along with one of their manual wastegate controllers and a variety of springs. The turbo system also featured a dual-core, air-to-water intercooler from CXRacing (used on the two previous Big-Bang tests). For the higher boost levels, we plumbed the system for ice water using a Meziere electric water pump. Fuel was supplied to the 120-pound injectors from an Aeromotive Eliminator pump augmented by a 17V Kenne Bell Boost-a-Pump. Using this system and a boost-referenced fuel-pressure regulator (from Aeromotive), the fuel pressure was rock steady and increased in relation to boost. All testing was run on 118-octane Rockett Brand race fuel.

The Big Bang 6.0L started out life as a Gen III iron block from a 2000 Chevy Suburban. The block was surfaced to ensure proper head gasket sealing and given a light ball hone.

The stock Gen III rods and LQ4 dished pistons were reused. After all, with only 247,000 miles logged, they were still mint.

The one change we did make was to substantially increase the ring gap on the factory rings (yes, we reused the 247,000-mile rings) from 0.022 to 0.032 inch. We gapped the rings using this trick ring-gap tool from Total Seal Rings.

Looking to make a big number along with the big boost, we installed a Stage 3 Turbo camshaft from Brian Tooley Racing. The dedicated turbo cam featured a 0.609/0.610-inch lift split, a 230/235-degree duration split, and 114+4-degree LSA. The right cam can yield huge power gains, especially once you crank the boost up.

Once cammed up with extra ring gap, the short-block was prepped with a set of LS9 head gaskets and ARP head studs.

Topping the 6.0L short-block was a set of Stage 2, CNC-ported heads from Total Engine Airflow (TEA). The CNC program was applied to the intake and exhaust ports (shown), as well as the all-important bowl area.

Only minor work was performed to the combustion chambers, but the already sizable chambers helped keep the static compression ratio in the safety zone.

The TEA heads were assembled with a dual valvespring package that provided both adequate coil-bind clearance and plenty of pressure for the combination of rpm and boost we planned to run.

To optimize power production higher in the rev range we enlisted the aid of a Holley Hi-Ram intake manifold combined with a 105mm Holley throttle body.

To ensure adequate fuel delivery, we installed a set of 120-pound Holley injectors fed by an Aeromotive fuel pump. The pump was augmented by a 17-volt Kenne Bell Boost-a-Pump.

Since the proper air/fuel ratio and timing values were critical on a twin-turbo combination, we relied on a Holley HP management system.

Before adding boost, we ran the modified 6.0L LQ4 engine on the dyno in naturally aspirated trim. The 6.0L produced 529 hp at 6,800 rpm and 457 lb-ft of torque at 5,100 rpm.

After the initial dyno test, we replaced the long-tube headers with the turbo components. The stainless turbo headers were used to feed a pair of 90-degree bends that included the T4 turbo and wastegate flanges. We relied on 4-inch sections of tubing to allow exhaust to escape. Note the oxygen sensor and stainless steel fitting with coiled aluminum tubing used to measure backpressure before the turbo.

Boost was supplied by a pair of BorgWarner S475 turbos from John Bewley at Lil John’s Motorsport Solutions. Capable of supporting nearly 1,000 hp each, the turbos were plenty capable of putting the big bang on our 6.0L.

Though available with a larger T6 housing, we elected to run a pair of smaller T4 housings (1.0 A/R) in conjunction with our 83mm turbine wheels.

Boost is useless without control, especially when you have the ability to easily overwhelm the combination. Keeping the boost in check was a pair of 45mm Turbosmart Hyper-Gate45 wastegates. We also relied on one of their manual wastegate controllers and additional wastegate springs to dial up the boost pressure.

Since elevated boost was in the cards, we installed an air-to-water intercooler in the mix. At the higher boost levels, we ran ice water through the system using a 10-gallon cell and Meziere electric water pump.

The intercooler was plumbed for both temperature and pressure measurements. This allowed us to compare the boost pressure to the backpressure and the pressure before and after the intercooler core. It also allowed us to log the drop in inlet air temps using the dual-core cooler from CXRacing.

After the turbo system was up and running, we snuck up on the terminal boost pressure. The twin-turbo 6.0L made multiple passes near the 1,000hp mark, but we eventually started cranking up the boost. At 14.6 psi it produced 1,054 hp, while 20 psi pushed things up to 1,277 hp. At 25.3 psi it was up to 1,435 hp, but the big bang came at 28.5 psi and 1,482.7 hp. The engine was on track to easily exceed 1,500 hp, but one of the sissy Gen III connecting rods called it quits.

The cracked oil pan and blown-out windage tray only hinted at the carnage within the dearly departed 6.0L block. Still, making 1,483 hp at 28.5 psi is pretty damn impressive. Now we’re curious how far we could take a set of Gen IV LS rods.

Before we cranked up the boost to a big bang level, we made pulls at lower boost levels. Equipped with the TEA Stage 2 317 heads, BTR Stage 3 turbo cam, and Holley Hi-Ram intake, the naturally aspirated 6.0L produced 529 hp and 457 lb-ft of torque. After the application of boost from the twin BorgWarner S475s, the power jumped to 914 hp at 10.8 psi, 974 hp at 12.9 psi, and 1,054 hp at 14.6 psi. Making these numbers all the more impressive was the fact that they came without the use of ice water in the intercooler.

Things got serious once we plumbed the system for ice water. Cranking up the boost to an even 20 psi brought 1,277 hp, while 22 psi brought 1,343 hp. After dialing in another 3.3 psi for a total of 25.3 psi, the twin-turbo 6.0L produced 1,435 hp and 1,240 lb-ft of torque. The final step up to 28.5 psi brought 1,482.7 hp, 1,330 lb-ft, and the end of the Big-Bang 6.0L. In the end, it was a Gen III connecting rod that let go, which begs the question, shouldn’t we now run the same test on a Gen IV 6.0L with the stronger rods?

Sources:

 ARP

800.826.3045

arp-bolts.com

Brian Tooley Racing

888.959.8865

briantooleyracing.com

Comp Cams

901.795.2400

compcams.com

CXRacing

626.575.3288

cxracing.com

DNA Motoring

626.965.8898

dnamotoring.com

FAST

877.334.8355

fuelairspark.com

Holley/Hooker

270.782.2900

holley.com

Kenne Bell

909.941.6646

kennebell.net

Lil John’s Motorsport Solutions

888.583.4408

liljohnsmotorsports.com

Total Engine Airflow

330.634.2155

totalengineairflow.com

Total Seal Rings

800.874.2753

totalseal.com

Turbosmart

909.476.2570

turbosmartusa.com

The post How much boost can a 6L LS truck short-block take? appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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[wrinklepaws-blog]

Cake Decorating Pro

dorty For some, cake decorating is a interest, and for others, it is a occupation. The amateurs are all those who locate it pleasurable and gratifying to bake the cakes and then enhance them for their family and good friends, saving income by doing it themselves. With specialist coaching together with great decorating ideas and suggestions, any individual can grasp this art. With this artwork sort you will be ready to stretch your creativity. If you keep on building your abilities, you will encounter the pleasure of building other individuals pleased with your experience. The art of decorating cakes requires position when a man or female has turned the kitchen area into an artwork studio. When a cake is decorated in an inventive design it is satisfying to equally the creator and the receiver. Making a cake does not have to be a stressful experience, you just want to get imaginative. Don't be frightened to test new concepts and strategies. For the amateur, it is the easy cake decorating recommendations, which are the finest methods to enable you get started. Decorating can be as uncomplicated as employing a stencil and dusting confectioner's sugar or cocoa powder on the top rated of a cake. Cakes can be iced with butter cream, royal fondant, or cooked icing. Including to the icing cakes can be topped with bouquets, spun sugar, or candy. Cakes can be made to glance like a scorching dog, pizza, or just about anything at all you have the imagination to create. If you want to be an novice cake decorator, you will need to have to learn the basic principles and select up as many of the ideas you can. There are quite a few guidelines and tips broadly accessible. You might come to a decision to proceed generating and decorating cakes as a pastime or you may well decide to appear into creating a job out of decorating and baking cakes. Whatsoever your wishes or your goals when it arrives to cake decorating, now that you are armed with this tutorial devoted to cake decorating mastery, you will grow to be a pressure to be reckoned with and gain the envy and admiration and praise of these all around you... all while getting amazing entertaining as you go! Receiving Started out... To get started decorating, you will need to have to assure that you have all of the decorating applications needed. Tips (usually referred to as tubes) are an integral part of decorating cakes. Recommendations are uncomplicated steel cones, which you squeeze icing or a medium through to type distinct shapes and types. The sizing and condition of the opening on a decorating tube determines the kind of decorations the idea will create. There are seven standard decorating suggestion groups: round, star, leaf, fall flower, rose, basket-weave and specialised. A new decorator need to have at minimum one or two tips from the initial 5 suggestion groups. Then, as you turn out to be a lot more proficient in your decorating you will want to develop your selection with tips from other teams. Currently, we will walk you via the course of action of trimming and splitting a cake into levels, icing it, and then finishing it with a couple of simple decorating methods. Do not fear you won't will need a pastry bag or tips, just a small patience. We propose that you equip on your own with a few equipment that can make all the variation in the completed visual appeal of the cake and reduce your disappointment: - a extended serrated knife for trimming and reducing - a ten-inch versatile icing spatula - cardboard rounds, and, ideally, a rotating cake stand. For an different to the rotating cake stand, improvise by setting a dinner plate upside down on prime of an upside- down cake pan. The cake would not spin freely, as it does on a rotating cake stand, but this arrangement does elevate the cake and provides you an edge to grip and spin. LEVELING AND SPLITTING THE CAKE A cake can be minimize into levels, or cakes baked independently can be layered jointly. Possibly way, degree cakes are substantially less difficult to ice than mounded kinds that should be supplemented with an overabundance of icing. Use a long serrated knife to amount an uneven cake and/or to lower it into layers. When the cake has cooled completely, set it on a cardboard round that is lower about 1⁄8 inch larger than the cake. Position the cake close to the edge of the counter for far more clearance when cutting. 1st, ascertain the cake's least expensive stage. Constant the cake by gently pressing an outstretched hand on its floor. Holding the knife parallel to the operate floor and making use of a regular sawing motion, begin slicing at the exact same level as the cake's lowest level, slicing off the mound. Eliminate the trimmed location. If you are cutting the cake into layers, measure the peak of the cake (that has been levelled, if needed) and reduce a little incision into the side with a paring knife to mark the preferred thickness of your layers. Repeat each and every 3 or four inches all around the circumference of the cake. With a serrated knife held parallel to the perform surface area, reduce superficially into the cake. Then, with an outstretched palm gently pressed on the surface, little by little spin the cake absent from you although pulling the knife towards you. The purpose is to link the incisions and score the cake, not slice it, to make a clearly described midpoint. Subsequent the midpoint-marking, reduce deeper and deeper in the exact same method. Gradually go the knife closer to the cake's center with just about every rotation. When the knife progresses previous the cake's centre, the slice is complete. Thoroughly slide the knife out then clear away the cake from the cardboard spherical. ICING THE CAKE When filling and icing a cake with a butter-product frosting, the problem is to avert crumbs from catching in the icing. To help frosting unfold far more smoothly, get rid of free crumbs with a pastry brush. Chilly icing is challenging to spread and pulls on the surface area of the cake, so if you've got created the icing forward and chilled it, give it enough time to warm and soften. Also, putting the cake's durable bottom crust encounter-up on the top layer minimizes crumbs and provides distinctive, clean edges that are simple to ice. Spreading a slender coating of frosting on the sides can help seal in any crumbs, letting for a smoother over-all appear. Finally, implementing a base coat, or "crumb coat," of icing seals in unfastened crumbs so that they do not mar the cake's appearance. To anchor the cake, unfold a dab of frosting in the center of a cardboard spherical reduce a bit greater than the cake. Centre the higher layer of a break up cake crust-facet up or one cake of individually baked levels base-side up on the cardboard round. Distribute a dab of frosting on the centre of the cake stand, then set the cardboard round with the cake on the stand. Place a huge blob in the center of the cake and unfold it to the edges with an icing spatula. Envision that you are pushing the filling into location rather than scraping it on as if it had been peanut butter on a slice of toast. Don't be concerned if crumbs are noticeable in the icing because the filling will be sandwiched between levels, these crumbs will not be visible. To degree the icing and get rid of any surplus, maintain the spatula at a forty five diploma angle to the cake and, if employing a rotating cake stand, switch the cake. If you are not working with a rotating stand, keep the spatula at the very same angle, and, beginning at the edge farthest absent from you, carefully drag the spatula toward you. It will just take a couple of sweeps to amount the icing. Using a second cardboard spherical, slide the best cake layer crust-side up on top of the frosted base layer, producing absolutely sure that the layers are aligned. Press the cake firmly into position. A slender foundation coat of icing aids seal in crumbs. To coat the leading, location a blob of icing in the center of the cake and unfold it out to the edges, allowing any extra hang over the edge. Really don't be concerned if it is imperfect. Scoop up a massive dab of icing on the spatula's idea: Keeping the spatula perpendicular to the cake distribute the icing on the facet of the cake with quick side-to-facet strokes. Repeat until the entire side is included with a thin coating. Refrigerate the cake until the icing sets, about 10 minutes. Implement a remaining thick coat of icing to the top and the sides, next the methods earlier mentioned, making certain that the coat is even and clean. When icing the sides, use a coat thick adequate to go over and conceal the cardboard round. Dipping the spatula into very hot water will enable develop a clean coat. As you ice the prime and sides, a ridge will variety alongside the edge where they satisfy. Immediately after you've completed icing, hold the spatula at an angle, and, with a quite light-weight hand, beginning at the farthest edge of the cake, smooth the ridge towards the center. Rotate the cake and repeat until finally the ridge no longer exists. SOME Finishing TOUCHES With a correctly coated cake, you've obtained a base on which to apply some finishing touches to give the cake a polished search. You can just increase straightforward elements like flaked coconut or almonds, or chocolate shards, or sprinkles or what have you, and this can look truly lovely and uncomplicated... BUT if you genuinely want to acquire your cake decorating and all these ending touches and thrives to the up coming amount, then you actually will need to devote your self to a fantastic decorating manual or street map. And I have just the guidebook for you! It truly is referred to as Cake Decorating Genius, and all the wonderful details and tips offered previously mentioned was gleaned from this outstanding book. I genuinely required to uncover all the insider secrets and techniques and guidelines in the region of cake decorating for you, and so we've created and compiled the most thorough handbook that you will at any time read through! We labored with all the top gurus and pros in the subject to carry all this incredible information collectively, and think me, this is info that will genuinely take your cake decorating techniques to an impressively high amount!

[wolfgangsblokes-blog]

Cake Decorating Professional

dort mimoň For some, cake decorating is a hobby, and for other individuals, it is a job. The amateurs are people who find it entertaining and gratifying to bake the cakes and then decorate them for their family and buddies, conserving money by carrying out it them selves. With skilled coaching along with great decorating tips and ideas, anybody can grasp this artwork. With this artwork kind you will be ready to stretch your imagination. If you continue on making your techniques, you will experience the joy of generating other people satisfied with your expertise. The artwork of decorating cakes will take position when a guy or lady has turned the kitchen area into an art studio. When a cake is adorned in an artistic design and style it is satisfying to both the creator and the recipient. Generating a cake does not have to be a stress filled practical experience, you just need to get creative. Don't be fearful to try new ideas and techniques. For the novice, it is the easy cake decorating tips, which are the ideal techniques to enable you get commenced. Decorating can be as easy as making use of a stencil and dusting confectioner's sugar or cocoa powder on the top rated of a cake. Cakes can be iced with butter cream, royal fondant, or cooked icing. Including to the icing cakes can be topped with flowers, spun sugar, or sweet. Cakes can be created to appear like a incredibly hot dog, pizza, or just about nearly anything you have the creativity to produce. If you want to be an novice cake decorator, you will need to have to understand the basics and decide on up as quite a few of the guidelines you can. There are a lot of ideas and concepts greatly offered. You could decide to proceed generating and decorating cakes as a pastime or you may possibly decide to search into making a vocation out of decorating and baking cakes. No matter what your dreams or your targets when it arrives to cake decorating, now that you are armed with this manual dedicated to cake decorating mastery, you will become a power to be reckoned with and earn the envy and admiration and praise of those about you... all although acquiring amazing enjoyable as you go! Receiving Started off... To get started decorating, you will need to have to make certain that you have all of the decorating tools wanted. Tips (or else referred to as tubes) are an integral element of decorating cakes. Ideas are uncomplicated metal cones, which you squeeze icing or a medium by way of to kind various designs and types. The measurement and form of the opening on a decorating tube establishes the type of decorations the tip will make. There are 7 basic decorating tip groups: round, star, leaf, drop flower, rose, basket-weave and specialized. A new decorator ought to have at minimum one particular or two recommendations from the initially 5 idea teams. Then, as you become more proficient in your decorating you will want to broaden your assortment with suggestions from other teams. Nowadays, we will walk you by way of the course of action of trimming and splitting a cake into layers, icing it, and then ending it with a handful of straightforward decorating approaches. Do not stress you will not need a pastry bag or recommendations, just a tiny endurance. We recommend that you equip on your own with a handful of equipment that can make all the variation in the finished visual appeal of the cake and reduce your annoyance: - a very long serrated knife for trimming and chopping - a ten-inch flexible icing spatula - cardboard rounds, and, preferably, a rotating cake stand. For an choice to the rotating cake stand, improvise by location a meal plate upside down on prime of an upside- down cake pan. The cake will not spin freely, as it does on a rotating cake stand, but this arrangement does elevate the cake and provides you an edge to grip and spin. LEVELING AND SPLITTING THE CAKE A cake can be slice into levels, or cakes baked independently can be layered alongside one another. Either way, amount cakes are a lot easier to ice than mounded kinds that have to be supplemented with an overabundance of icing. Use a extended serrated knife to level an uneven cake and/or to reduce it into levels. When the cake has cooled entirely, established it on a cardboard round that is reduce about 1⁄8 inch much larger than the cake. Area the cake shut to the edge of the counter for additional clearance when chopping. Initial, establish the cake's lowest point. Steady the cake by gently pressing an outstretched hand on its surface. Holding the knife parallel to the get the job done surface and making use of a continual sawing movement, get started reducing at the exact same degree as the cake's lowest point, slicing off the mound. Remove the trimmed area. If you are slicing the cake into layers, measure the top of the cake (that has been levelled, if required) and reduce a little incision into the side with a paring knife to mark the wanted thickness of your layers. Repeat just about every 3 or 4 inches all around the circumference of the cake. With a serrated knife held parallel to the work floor, cut superficially into the cake. Then, with an outstretched palm carefully pressed on the floor, little by little spin the cake absent from you when pulling the knife toward you. The purpose is to join the incisions and rating the cake, not slice it, to produce a evidently defined midpoint. Adhering to the midpoint-marking, reduce further and further in the same fashion. Little by little move the knife closer to the cake's centre with each and every rotation. When the knife progresses earlier the cake's center, the minimize is total. Meticulously slide the knife out then clear away the cake from the cardboard spherical. ICING THE CAKE When filling and icing a cake with a butter-cream frosting, the problem is to protect against crumbs from catching in the icing. To aid frosting spread additional effortlessly, get rid of unfastened crumbs with a pastry brush. Chilly icing is challenging to distribute and pulls on the surface area of the cake, so if you've made the icing ahead and chilled it, give it ample time to warm and soften. Also, putting the cake's sturdy base crust face-up on the top rated layer minimizes crumbs and offers distinctive, clean up edges that are easy to ice. Spreading a skinny coating of frosting on the sides aids seal in any crumbs, allowing for a smoother general appear. Last but not least, applying a base coat, or "crumb coat," of icing seals in free crumbs so that they do not mar the cake's visual appeal. To anchor the cake, distribute a dab of frosting in the heart of a cardboard round lower marginally greater than the cake. Heart the upper layer of a split cake crust-aspect up or one cake of separately baked levels bottom-aspect up on the cardboard round. Unfold a dab of frosting on the center of the cake stand, then set the cardboard spherical with the cake on the stand. Place a large blob in the middle of the cake and spread it to the edges with an icing spatula. Consider that you are pushing the filling into place rather than scraping it on as if it had been peanut butter on a slice of toast. Never be concerned if crumbs are visible in the icing due to the fact the filling will be sandwiched between layers, these crumbs will not be obvious. To level the icing and eliminate any surplus, hold the spatula at a forty five degree angle to the cake and, if working with a rotating cake stand, convert the cake. If you might be not working with a rotating stand, hold the spatula at the similar angle, and, starting up at the edge farthest away from you, carefully drag the spatula towards you. It will consider a handful of sweeps to amount the icing. Working with a 2nd cardboard spherical, slide the top rated cake layer crust-side up on leading of the frosted bottom layer, creating absolutely sure that the layers are aligned. Push the cake firmly into place. A thin base coat of icing aids seal in crumbs. To coat the top rated, area a blob of icing in the center of the cake and spread it out to the edges, permitting any excess hang more than the edge. Never stress if it is imperfect. Scoop up a massive dab of icing on the spatula's suggestion: Keeping the spatula perpendicular to the cake unfold the icing on the aspect of the cake with quick facet-to-facet strokes. Repeat until finally the overall aspect is included with a thin coating. Refrigerate the cake until finally the icing sets, about ten minutes. Utilize a remaining thick coat of icing to the top rated and the sides, next the steps higher than, building certain that the coat is even and sleek. When icing the sides, implement a coat thick plenty of to go over and conceal the cardboard round. Dipping the spatula into scorching water will enable generate a sleek coat. As you ice the leading and sides, a ridge will sort along the edge where they fulfill. Following you've got concluded icing, maintain the spatula at an angle, and, with a extremely mild hand, commencing at the farthest edge of the cake, easy the ridge toward the centre. Rotate the cake and repeat till the ridge no lengthier exists. SOME Ending TOUCHES With a correctly coated cake, you've got obtained a foundation on which to implement some ending touches to give the cake a polished look. You can just insert uncomplicated elements like flaked coconut or almonds, or chocolate shards, or sprinkles or what have you, and this can search truly beautiful and easy... BUT if you truly want to consider your cake decorating and all all those finishing touches and thrives to the subsequent degree, then you truly need to devote yourself to a good decorating tutorial or highway map. And I have just the tutorial for you! It can be known as Cake Decorating Genius, and all the wonderful info and assistance presented higher than was gleaned from this extraordinary e-book. I truly desired to uncover all the insider secrets and techniques and recommendations in the location of cake decorating for you, and so we have produced and compiled the most extensive manual that you will at any time read through! We labored with all the best authorities and industry experts in the field to deliver all this amazing articles together, and imagine me, this is data that will definitely take your cake decorating techniques to an impressively substantial stage!