My mom's wedding

I am running a bit behind on updates. It has been a whirlwind over the past 4 or 5 months. We had a family vacation, relocated, started new jobs, and are trying to settle into life. This cake is from my very own mother's wedding reception, which was in May. It was a lovely small ceremony in a park. It was great to bring all of the family together to celebrate together.

My mom gave me free reign on her cake design. So I started gathering intel. Her cake combined the flowers used in her bouquet, lace details matching her mother's anniversary dress, and pearls which she wore. I wanted to duplicate my grandmother's wedding dress, but it turns out that her and my grandfather eloped.

The flowers are all handmade from gum paste. The middle photo shows my flowers next to my mom's bouquet. The sotas on the top layer are meant to replicate the lace and there is also a fondant lace detail on the middle layer. The bottom layer has a faux fabric swag and gold broach.

Birthdays and bunnies

My friend's daughter, Adria celebrated her 6th birthday last weekend and I had the privilege of making her cupcakes. In true little girl fashion, Adria wanted confetti cupcakes (vanilla cake with sprinkles in the batter) with vanilla frosting and I obliged. The kids gobbled them up and think a few mom wanted to! Unfortunately, there were only enough for the kiddos.

The party was great and very organized. The kids played games while the moms chatted. When it came to present time, Adria only opened one gift. It was a special gift from all of the attendees because the other gifts, Adria decided to donate to a family who lost everything in a fire. What an inspiring 6 year old. Great job Arlinda!

Roses

Since I was asked to make some flowers for Lori's wedding cake I figured it was a chance to learn a new technique. So I watched countless episodes of "Amazing Wedding Cakes" and surfed Youtube to learn something new. What I noticed was that not all buttercream roses are as hideous as they appear on grocery store cakes. So here are my attempts at some buttercream roses.

Lori

I made this all buttercream cake for Lori and her husband in January. The flowers are all handmade from gumpaste made to look like the flowers from her bouquet. The cake was alternating layers of vanilla and chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and raspberry mousse with vanilla buttercream.

Brittany and John

This past weekend I had the pleasure of making a wedding cake for a lovely couple, Brittany and John. The wedding was simple and understated, but beautiful so I tried to convey that in the cake as well. The cake was vanilla with strawberry mousse, covered in fondant and decorated with royal icing and gumpaste flowers.

Chloe's Spa Party

My 9 year old, Chloe had a spa birthday party at the end of July. My house was filled to the brim with 12 giggly girls. We soaked our feet in peppermint infused water baths, relaxed with yogurt cucumber face masks and cucumbers on our eyes! My good friend Christine and I also painted 24 sets of piggies. Whew, what a weekend!

Chloe requested a "Lemon Creme Cake" which is her favorite dessert from The Olive Garden. I did my best to replicate it, and no one spit it out so it must have been good. The design is simple, a mini Chloe soaking in tub overflowing with bubbles. She even has a towel covering her hair and cucumber slices on her eyes.

For my kids' parties I say easy does it. I find ways to maximize what I have around the house and choose simple cakes (well simple as compared to the ones I may make to others). For this party we made bath salts from Epsom salt, baby oil, food coloring, and essential oil. We also made lavender sachets to tuck into the girls pillows. I had a friend offer to give me Avon brochures, because she sells it, and all of that was their goody bag!

Thank heaven for little...kids!

I love doing kids birthday cakes and baby showers. The occasion is always filled with laughter and fun. From top to bottom you can see a red velvet fireman cake, a sleeping Snow White cake, and a gymnastics cake. The pictures cannot fully capture the essence of these adorable children's cakes. The fireman cake was complete with rising flames, a hose, and a hand molded fireman. In Snow White's cake she was lying in a bed next to a half eaten apple. The gymnast is surrounded by multi-colored flowers popping up out of the cake that were suspended with food safe floral wire. All of these cakes were designed to fit within budget requirements, proving that a great cake is well within your grasp.