The Sound of 19

My nephew Josh turned 19! It's a surefire reminder of how old I am with the only consolation that my brother (his father) is even older! (oops sorry, brother) You see, it doesn't seem so long ago that I was somewhat living the carefree days of being a student and enjoying a social life revolving around music. Has it really been 19 years?

Where I used to hang out with friends who formed bands and played at gigs, I'm now making a cake in the shape of a guitar, for a 19-year-old. Thank you Josh for reminding me of my youth, it was a good time indeed.

Josh has made a conscious choice to pursue music and thanks to his supportive parents, he is bucking the usual academic trend to create a future hopefully based on passion. And he will be the better for it.

Happy Birthday Josh

This little blue ukelele (Harvest) is actually a replica of something he has in his impressive collection of guitars. I figured it's easier to make this than Taylor, Fender or Gibson.

Back to the cake, it's 2 different sized round cakes combined with a long rectangular strip cake for the fretboard. It's actually really fun to make and covering it in fondant really brought the instrument to life. My little boy actually wanted to pick it up and pluck the strings!

The trick was crafting the tuning pegs and strings. The tuning machine heads and pegs are all moulded from fondant. I made them stiff enough so I could actually string it like a real guitar to the bridge with fishing line. For someone who doesn't play the guitar, I sure know the anatomy of one.

Some people have lives, some people have music. Josh I wish you have a fulfilling life of music.


Music is perpetual, and only the hearing is intermittent.
- Henry David Thoreau