Wafer paper flowers and finding beauty in slow growth

The other day, one of my best friends — who’s an amazing baker — enthusiastically texted me saying she’d been wanting to learn how to make wafer paper flowers. It would be her first time making them and she invited me to join her.

As someone who loves artsy, crafty things, of course I said yes!

If you are new to the world of wafer paper flowers (like I was a few days ago), these delicate creations are made out of edible wafer paper and are used to decorate cakes and other confections.

Think of paper slightly thicker than tissue paper, but cracks easily. And us being the friends we are had to taste-test the paper, too.

I ripped a teeny tiny piece and let it melt on my tongue, and laughed, “Yep, it’s exactly what I thought it would be. It kinda tastes like a communion wafer.”

We got started by watching a video tutorial in real-time by an amazingly talented cake decorator as we tried our best to carefully create flower petals and attach them to the stem one by one. Using the tiniest bit of water and food coloring, and with the help of some molds, we somehow turned fragile wafer paper into lovely flowers.

But this journey wasn’t without a lot of laughs and experimenting along the way.

We created wafer paper glue — something we started making by using our gut instincts for the recipe — while we watched in awe of the talented cake decorator flawlessly whipping up cosmos one by one.

As our petals would bend and crack, we wondered to ourselves, “we must not have the wafer paper glue right.” So then we turned to YouTube to find a wafer paper glue recipe.

Throughout the process, we acknowledged we were learning something new.

We also now understood why this baker sells her cakes for thousands of dollars.

These flowers are worth their weight in gold!

And the best part of all, my friend made the encouraging comment that if she sticks with learning how to make these wafer paper flowers, she will eventually have something really special and unique to offer for her cakes.

And she’s absolutely right!

Not many people out there create wafer paper flowers for their cakes.

Just like not many people take the time to slow down and try something new. I know I’ve been there. And it’s probably one of the reasons why I don’t create as much as I want to.

I have a hard time being patient with the feeling of being a “newbie” or “not getting it right the first time.”

Trying something new is hard. It takes time and a lot of patience. Even if something isn’t new, getting better takes time, too. I remember the days in high school where I stayed after school almost every day to practice the marimba for two hours. Some days were fun and others were tedious and discouraging, but the journey and final performance was rewarding.

Making wafer paper flowers reminded me about my own growth as a writer. I have missed writing for myself for years, and only once in a while would I tap out a blog post or essay.

It’s been my daydream for over a decade to write. To get published. To do my own thing.

So I get started. Then I take a break or step away. I don’t give up, but I think someday I will try again.

And then start the entire process all over again.

And again.

And again.

The wafer paper flowers we made were super delicate. The wafer paper could easily tear or melt away into nothing. We could have given up as soon as we started but we didn’t.

Instead, we laughed our way through the process and it resulted in two beautiful cosmos turned into yellow daffodils that brought us pure joy.

We imagined with practice how beautiful a cake covered in wafer paper wildflowers would be.

Beautiful growth takes time.

We also know it takes time to become good at something.

But do we stick with it and follow through? We do, but not without mistakes and starting over from time to time.

Since I’ve started my career, I’ve been writing for other people. I’ve written for businesses, CEOs, and thought leaders.

But I’m long overdue to write for me, and for you.

I haven’t used my voice in a while and now I’m dusting it off. It’s time to write again. If you’re reading this, you’re getting a front row seat to me figuring it out word by word.

I’m reminded that we all start somewhere — and starting somewhere is even better when you share that journey with others. Just like my friend brought me along for the adventure of learning how to make wafer paper flowers, I’m bringing all of you along as I turn these words into something meaningful.

If you are thinking about trying something, try it. And keep trying. Even if you feel like giving up. That’s okay. You can always try again.

This time around, though, I hope my lifelong mantra of “try, try again” takes me to where I’m meant to be.