Getting Back in the Saddle

I'm baaaaack!!! You did notice I was gone, right??? Ok, let's just pretend you missed me. *wink*

My last post was on Wednesday, September 14th. Some of you may already know this, but I actually went into labor late Thursday night and had my baby at 5:19am on Friday, September 16th! So, it has taken me a little over a month to get used to our new schedule & lifestyle. But I'm back and ready to start blogging and caking again!!

First, I've got a few things to follow up on:

I recently had the pleasure of virtually (we've only talked through email) meeting a diaper cake designer. A diaper cake is something that looks like a 2-3 tiered cake, but is actually made of rolled up diapers! It's so cute and makes really amazing party decorations and centerpieces (next to the real cake, of course). Anyway, Holli at Shower Cakez & Glitz made a Minnie Mouse diaper cake that would go perfectly with the Minnie Mouse cake I last posted.


So cute, right?! So if you're throwing a party (baby shower, bridal shower, birthday party, graduation party, etc), consider ordering something like this - and it doesn't have to be made of diapers! Check out Holli's website for more info but these things make GREAT gifts!

Going back a few more days, I posted another Sneak Peek on our Facebook Fan Page! Did you see it?! Are you a fan? I only post these Sneak Peeks to the Fan Page so you must be a fan to see them and have a chance to win the prizes.


This Sneak Peek really threw people for a loop. I got guesses like a Mighty Mouse, Stitch, a Pokemon character, Lemmings, Winnie the Pooh, etc. For this contest, I allowed entrants to guess as many times as they wanted. Each correct guess would count as an "entry" into a drawing for something sweet and hand made from me! But after 6 hours of guessing, I finally had to give a hint and I still only got TWO correct guesses!


The cookies are puppies! French Bulldogs, to be specific. Kate ordered these cookies to send to her brand new hubby overseas! She wanted the cookies to be something to remind him of home and something that made him really happy - their French Bulldog Munster! Here is the picture she sent me to base the cookies on:


So who won the goodies from me? I put Kristin's and Jane's names in a hat and the winner is....Jane! I will contact you through Facebook to get your mailing address. Congrats and thanks to everyone who guessed. That was the most fun Sneak Peek yet!

Ok, and the last thing I have to update you on is...my baby! One week after she was born, we had a newborn photography shoot at the beach with my good friend Elise Kersey of Elise Kersey Photography. Here's a sneak peek that she gave us from the shoot:


I am in LOVE with that photo, and of course our little girl too! Now, since this is a cake bog, I'll try to resist posting picture after picture of our baby...but forgive me if one slips through every now and then. *wink*

Minnie Mouse 1st Birthday Cake

I love this Minnie Mouse-themed first birthday cake. The soft pink buttercream makes it the perfect cake for a sweet little girl.


The cake was iced in buttercream and decorated with fondant polka dots & daisies. The bow and ears topper was created out of gum paste.



Happy 1st Birthday, Khamari!

Pastel Wedding Cupcakes

It's Friday! I'll keep the post today short and sweet. Here are some cupcakes we decorated for an outdoor wedding. The cupcakes were displayed on a stand made by the bride & groom and the top of the stand held their anniversary cake.


4 different cupcake flavors with 4 different pastel-colored icing swirls!


Stay tuned to our Facebook Fan Page for a sneak peak of something special we're working on today!!! They're may even be a prize involved!

Orange & Blue Daisy Wedding Cake

It's traditional for wedding cakes to be white cake with white filling and white decorations. But, more and more, brides & grooms are choosing to incorporate nontraditional fillings (like guava, Bavarian cream, or raspberry) and using...*gasp*...COLOR on the cakes!

Of course, there is such a thing as too much color (think fluorescent green, orange, etc)...but bringing in touches of your wedding accent colors can really help decorate your reception.

Here's a cake we made for a bride and groom who were having an orange and blue wedding:


The cake was iced in white buttercream, and we wrapped real ribbon around the base of each cake tier.


The daisies were all hand-made from gum paste and attached to the cake. Then, we added a sprinkling of orange and blue polka dots around the daisies.


It's just enough color to bring the cake to life and still keep it elegant and formal. I love color on cakes, don't you?!

Purple Bat Mitzvah Cake

Today is Day 2 of cake catch-up week! Here's a cake created for a fun bat mitzvah party in Gainesville, FL.


Emily's entire party was centered around different shades of purple, and they gave these purple lollipops as favors to all the party-goers.


The cake tiers were covered in white fondant and decorated with purple fondant accents. And, as usual, the purple bow on top was created with fondant!

Leopard & Zebra Print Birthday Cake

I've got some cake catching up to do so I promise to post 1 cake each day this week! And, stay tuned for another sneak peak on Facebook! This one may actually accompany a PRIZE!!!

Here's a cake I made while still working at Ms Debbie's Sugar Art in Newberry. It was designed by the birthday girl herself. She wanted Tiffany blue zebra print, leopard print, a glitzy topper, the word "Diva" on there somewhere, some purple quilted pattern, and a beauty queen-like sash across the front. Wow, that's a lot! Luckily, it all come together in one cohesive design.


Now, that's what I call a custom, personalized cake!

Chic Designer Print Cupcake Cookies - Online Auction #AFundForJennie

Tragedy - an event in which one or more losses, usually of human life, occurs that is viewed as mournful; a disastrous event.

We all know the definition of a tragedy, and yet when one blindsides us, we are left speechless. Who do we turn to for comfort? How do we comfort those experiencing the loss the most? How do we calm ourselves enough to sleep at night and then wake up the next morning to face the day?

I don't have the answers to those questions, and that's not the point of this blog post. The focus of this post is to hold an online auction for hand-decorated cookies to raise money for a fellow food blogger, Jennie, whose family has recently been struck by a tragedy.

But I would like to pause right here and pay some respect to 2 other tragedies that have touched my life this week. First of all, my Grandpa, who was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2007 and has fought a long, hard battle, is finally fading away. His body just has no strength left. He is primarily unconscious due to pain medications, but I pray that the Lord takes him soon so he experiences ultimate relief. I also pray for my Grandma and family members who are standing by watching him slowly slip away. Is it harder to cope with death when you have time to say goodbye or when you don't? I think they're equally painful...but very different...

The other tragedy is for someone I didn't get a chance to know very well. A woman in the Ocala Cake Club and her husband were recently struck by a head-on collision, leaving behind 3 children. Again, I'm speechless. I don't even know how to begin to help...or wait, can anything I do really help??? Still, my thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved.

And now back to the blog post at hand. Jennie's husband was recently killed by a massive heart attack while he was outside playing with his daughters. Members of the food blogging world immediately stepped up to comfort her, sending her Tweets, Facebook messages, emails, and comments on her blog. The outpouring of love was simply amazing.

But, now reality hits. Words of encouragement will only go so far. Jennie's husband's insurance coverage expires in December and the new insurance coverage will cost more than her mortgage. And let's not forget all the other month-to-month bills she'll have to cover on her own. In response to this news, the food bloggers have formed Bloggers Without Borders and are holding many, many online auctions to raise funds for her and her daughters. I won't go into details here, but just do a search for #AFundForJennie or check out Jennie's blog if you want to see what everyone is doing for her.

Now, it's my turn. I am auctioning off 2 dozen decorated sugar cookies. These cookies are made from scratch and hand-decorated with chic, designer prints and royal icing (pictured below, although colors and patterns may vary).

My friend Julie just auctioned off some decorated cookies on her blog. She got $65 for 2 dozen. But I'm competitive - let's beat that! How high can we go? And let's just say that if the bidding goes beyond $100, I'll do something extra special for the winner! So help spread the word about the auction and let's raise some moo-la for Jennie and her girls.


Action Details: I'll start the bidding at $40! Leave a comment below with your bid. (Please be sure your bid is at least $1 more than the previous bid.) 2 dozen cupcake-shaped decorated sugar cookies will be shipped to the highest bidder within 2-4 weeks donation is received. Donation will be made directly to Bloggers without Borders for the #AFundForJennie fund with 100% of the donation going directly to Jennie and her girls.

Bidding will end at 11:59 PM EST on Wednesday, September 7th. At the conclusion of the auction, I will contact the winner to assist with his/her donation to Bloggers Without Borders.

*If you'd like to donate via the Bloggers Without Borders button above and use PayPal, Bloggers without Borders is asking you to use the instant transfer via your bank account. This will allow them to avoid the PayPal fees and will allow your entire donation to go directly to Jennie and her girls.

Chic Designer Print Cookies

I've been experimenting with combining edible prints with cookies lately. Here's a sneak peak at some of my successful attempts. Warning: These cookies are a bit racy, and may give a new meaning to Wednesday (today) being "hump day." *wink*


For these bustier cookies, I used blue polka dot, leopard print, and pink polka dot edible prints from my PhotoFrost printing system. The rest of the decorations were done with royal icing.


Stay tuned for more edible print cookies coming soon!

Masquerade 50th Birthday Cake!

You may remember in March 2011, I helped plan the 2011 Florida ICED Cake Competition with my friend Lisa. Well, Lisa turned 50 in April and her hubby (and some amazing friends) planned a surprise party for her! When they asked me to make her birthday cake, I was thrilled! ...and then very nervous... How do you make a birthday cake for someone who makes cakes for a living?! It's only natural for her to notice all the flaws...The pressure was on!

Lisa loves all things masquerade so that was the theme of the party.


I carved each of the 3 cake tiers so they had a bit more of a whimsical, playful feel than simple straight edges. The whole cake was covered in white fondant, and I used Mardis Gras colors (green, purple, black, and gold) to decorate it.


The mask on top was created out of gum paste, and the feathers (sorry, not edible) were purchased at craft & party stores around town. A word of warning: If you're creating a cake that needs feathers after Mardis Gras, start your search early! It took forever for me to find enough feathers for this cake!


And Lisa's name and the "50" at the bottom of the cake were also created out of gum paste and glued in place with royal icing.


Coincidentally, Masquerade is also the theme of the 2012 Florida ICED Cake Competition on March 31 and April 1, 2012! I will be there as one of the judges and will be doing two demos, one on Saturday and one on Sunday (topics TBD). Check out the photos from this year's competition and start making your plans to be there next year! Want to enter? Be sure to read the rules carefully and consider my tips for successfully entering and WINNING cake decorating competitions!

Anniversary Cookie Bouquet

My Aunt Debbie recently shared a photo of a cookie bouquet she ordered for my cousin's birthday and it reminded me that I never showed you this bouquet!


I made this one for my in-laws' 30th wedding anniversary a few weeks ago. The bouquet featured 2 champagne glasses, 3 red roses, 1 "Happy Anniversary" heart, and 1 bottle of champagne displaying the year 1981.

Then, my mother-in-law Leona wanted me to take a good picture of the 2 of them. Before you see the pictures, it's important for you to know that we were eating at Malio's Prime Steakhouse in Tampa. It's a fancy restaurant with spectacular food!

Ok, ignore my lack of camera skills in less than ideal photography conditions...

But I picked up the camera, counted to 3, and this is the shot I get:


Ok...let's try again...


Not a horrible shot, but why must we always pose with our alcoholic beverages? And J-Dawg (that's what I call my father-in-law) looks less than thrilled to be there. Third time's the charm, right?


Hm...maybe not...Ok, let's try ONE more time. We give Leona a little pep talk about calming down and looking "normal." I pick up the camera again, assured that this will be a good photo!


But, now we've lost J-Dawg...

I give up.