Lady Bug 1st Birthday Cake & Cookies

Last week, we had some pretty fun cakes!  This was one of my favorites because the design was just so darn cute!

This birthday girl's Mommy found a Pink Cake Box cake she liked and we adapted it from there.

Since it was her first birthday, we gave her a "smash" cake to match the party cake.

And, they also ordered ladybug cookies that matched both the party invitations and the cake.

Cake Spotlight - The Cake Engineer

I just have to share this cake with you all.

It was created by a friend blogger, Roxanne, who calls herself the Cake Engineer.  Funny thing is...she discovered her talent and passion for cakes while pursuing her Ph.D. in engineering.  Sound familiar?

Anyway, she created this cake for her entry into the Threadcakes online cake competition.  You can't tell from this picture, but there was a LOT of work behind this gargantuan cake!  Check out her full process and be sure to vote for her entry!

Great job, Roxanne!

Cupcake Cookies - Birthday Party Favors

Besides wedding favors, cookies are often ordered as birthday party favors.  We usually decorate the cookies in the same colors/styles as the birthday cake so everyone at the party feels like they are really part of the fun and festivities!

We made this cake for Kylie's 13th Birthday party:

The party colors were blue, hot pink, and lime green!  This cake is a perfect example of a typical 13-year-old's cake because zebra print, polka dots, and ribbon roses are SO popular!

The birthday girl got a large cookie that resembled a whimiscal, topsy turvy cake.

And all the party guests got cupcake-shaped cookies decorated with the party's colors!

Lemon & Orange Cookies - Wedding Favors

Last week, a bride ordered individually packaged cookies to give to her wedding guests as favors.  They were getting married at the Sweetwater Branch Inn, and her wedding colors were yellow and orange.  Sweetwater really looks fabulous with bright, bold wedding colors.  Remember the fruit cake?  So we knew this wedding would be beautiful too. 

The bride requested that half of the cookies look like oranges...

And the other half look like lemons...

 Debbie decorated the wedding cake, and I think they really complimented each other!

Bustier & Monogram Cookies

These are cookies we made for a bridal shower.

 The guests received 1 each of the bustier cookies and the monogram cookies.

Both cookies were made with royal icing in teal, white, and black.  Love them!

Cookie Week Kick-off!

Over the last few weeks, cookie orders have really picked up at Ms. Debbie's.  Of course, I want to share them all with you so I've decided to designate this week as "Cookie Week!"


First up, here are some cookies I made this week to be donated to a Ronald McDonald House Open House (ooo, those 5 words together look funny...House Open House...) in Pensacola, FL.  If you know Florida geography at all, you know Pensacola is no where near Gainesville.  But, that's the beauty of cookies - they can be shipped!

The Panhandle Cake C.R.U.M.B.S. coordinate on a lot of events with their local Ronald McDonald House.  Since I competed in their competition in February, I am now included on their club emails!  So when I saw that the Ronald McDonald House needed sugary goodies for their open house, I was excited to be able to contribute!

I originally made some cookies to resemble the Ronald McDonald House Charities logo...but they just weren't as fun as I had planned...

So, I baked up some more sugar cookies and decorated them to send along with the originals!
 

We're on Cake Mom AGAIN!

The pink roller skate cake has been featured on the Cake Mom's Birthday Cake Month!  Be sure to check out her post.

And, as a side note, I'm trying to talk Adam into going to the roller derby with me.  He thinks it sounds boring, but it's only $5 each so if it's boring, we can just leave, right?!  Other things on my to-see list: the Monster Truck Rally and an official rodeo! 

Vegetarian Fail

Ok, if my last post didn't make you smile today, this one should do the trick.  This sign was seen hanging outside of an Asian food market in Gainesville:

I'm not kidding!  Adam spotted it and snapped the photo with his iPhone on Monday.  This place is definitely a vegetarian and vegan paradise!

Cute Duckies and a Weird Bug

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a lake in Gainesville on some official business.  There were a lot of ducks there, and they assumed that every visitor was there merely to feed them!  Since we were not aware of these ducks before the visit, we didn't have any food, but that didn't stop them from following our every move. 

There were ducks of all sizes, and they were just adorable!  I thought I'd share a few photos with you today:

And I can't resist sharing this photo with you too!  

 I walked outside one day to find this perched next to our front door.  I took a lot of pictures of him there, but the lighting was really poor so I carefully carried him into the sunlight.  Now, if you know me, you know I do NOT do bugs.  I carried him on a piece of scrapbooking paper (it was the fastest piece of paper I could find).   Every time he moved, I practically dropped him because I jumped so high!  But, he finally made it safely to a small area of bricks and I got a couple of pictures of him.  Then...he flew off and REALLY freaked me out!  You know how you see a bug...and then you lose him...and you constantly feel it crawling in your hair or on your arm for the rest of your day, but it's just your imagination?  Yea, that was me...

But look at that thing!  The body was so huge, and it seemed like his fragile little wings wouldn't be able to lift him.  And those little black eyes...so cute!  Um...well, maybe not cute...but you know what I mean...

Happy Friday!

Suitcases Wedding Cake

I am in love with this wedding cake.


This bride gave us a full sketch of the cake she wanted. All the details were there - the styles, colors, swirls, buckles, luggage tags...everything. What creativity!


So it was up to us to bring it to life and give it the little details like textures and seams that make the suitcases seem so realistic.


The top suitcase was covered with white fondant and decorated with a quilted pattern. At each of the intersection points, we piped a blue dot.

The second suitcase was covered with chocolate fondant and decorated with hand-piped buttercream scrolls & swirls. I got a little creative on the handle and made it ergonomic - see the grooves for the fingers? I'm pretty proud of the handle because it's practically the only detail that wasn't in the bride's sketch!


And the bottom suitcase was covered with white fondant and decorated with a textured blue band mid-way up.

The wedding colors were blue and pink, and I think the pink luggage tags add just the right amount of "pop" to the suitcases!