July 28, 2013

  Shark and T-Rex cupcakes!

   When a little boy is having a pool party with a shark theme and wants T-Rex to join in the fun too we make it happen.  I love the fun combo and these cupcakes were just adorable.  The shark fin and T-Rex are made with my homemade butter cream fondant and then set out to harden.  I used a mold to make the T-Rex, too cute and also tasty!

4th of July

   Here are some fun firework shirts I made for my girls for the 4th of July.

  If you want an amazing fireworks display and a concert check out Independence Eve downtown Denver July 3rd each year.  We came to civic center park early to grab a lawn spot, packed a picnic dinner and enjoyed a great family evening with a performance by the Colorado Symphony and fireworks!

June 15, 2013

Lana's 4th Littlest Pet Shop Birthday

  This was a fun cake to make for my daughter.  I love using new toys as cake toppers.  They look great and a little toy with cake goes a long way, though Lana wanted to move these around.

  With lots of family and friends in town for the birthday I made this cake for everyone to enjoy.  The square 8 in cake was one layer of vanilla and one layer of chocolate cake.  The top 6 in cake was two layers of strawberry cake, Lana's choice.

   The cake base is covered with purple fondant imprinted with Happy Birthday.  This was my first time covering a square cake with fondant, but I think it turned out well.  The fondant paw prints are a cute touch and pull the cake together.

   Happy 4th Birthday Lana!  I can't wait to see what cake you decide on next year.  :)

Madelyn's Caterpillar to Butterfly 1st Birthday

What a 1st Birthday Madelyn had!  With over 60 guests this little girl put me to work baking up cookies, cupcakes, and cakes for all her guests to enjoy.  It was really great learning and applying new techniques to my cookies, making my first carved cake, and using imprinted fondant covered cake boards as serving platters.  Check out all of this cuteness!

The cakes and cupcakes.

Madelyn's smash cake and my first carved cake.  This Very Hungry Caterpillar was carved out of a 6 in round white cake and cut down to Madelyn's size.  The birthday banner is made with a gum paste fondant blend and royal icing so it is hardened and Madelyn can keep it as a decoration.

 

These adorable Very Hungry Caterpillar cupcakes were added  so we wouldn't run out of cake for everyone.  I think they were a great addition, and possibly my favorite.

Very Hungry Caterpillar smash cake and cupcakes.

When the birthday girl already has a cute butterfly dress for the party, she needs a Very Hungry Caterpillar bib to go with it.  I designed this bib myself using my new personal embroidery design software program.  

Here is a closer view of the butterfly cakes.  One white cake and one chocolate cake.

These butterfly and flower cookies were a hit.  I think the kids ate more than their parents wanted, oops!  The imprinted fondant covered cake board says Happy Birthday with balloons and confetti.  Another item my daughter wants for her birthday.  :)

Next to come, Lana's Littlest Pet Shop 4th Birthday!

  Sarah

Spring Flowers Cake

   Here is my final cake for my Wilton Gum Paste and Fondant class.  This class was a lot of fun and now I know how to work with a whole new medium.  Plus I love that I can make my own fondant from scratch.  The recipe makes butter cream fondant, but I can change a few ingredients to make coconut, white chocolate, and chocolate fondant.  Yum!

   For a fun spring cake I baked a strawberry cake.  It was a huge hit with everyone, especially my daughter who is requesting it for her birthday cake.  The cake is placed on a imprinted fondant covered cake board.  I just love the look!  

   Sarah

Abby's Princess Birthday

   Abby's Princess Birthday was a lot of fun to put together.  I got to try new things and share with everyone my wide range of talents.  Abby wanted a princess doll cake.  We went with a mini princess cake and put her on a 6 inch round floral inspired cake.

Mini mold white cake covered in butter cream fondant.   I used a large straw to remove some cake and added the mini princess doll.  She can be removed before cutting the cake and played with again.

I added a few details to the back.

 I made the birthday banner with a fondant and gum paste mix that dries hard and Abby can keep.

Fun candles added at the party.

When it comes to kids birthday parties it is great to have cupcakes.  I made these cupcakes with princes rings for all of Abby's friends.

   Adding just a little more personal touch I made tiara and crown cookies with each child's name.  These were added to the treat bags and placed at the table so everyone knew where to sit.

  What girl doesn't need a birthday shirt?  I made this cute applique castle shirt and embroidered Abby's name in the Disney Script.

This party was a lot of fun and a big hit with everyone.  I am looking forward to her little sister's Minnie Mouse party this June.  :)

Mother's Day

   What a fun day to celebrate and make treats all things girly!  I am currently taking a gum paste and fondant class and I wanted to try out a homemade fondant recipe.  It tastes like butter cream icing and it is really easy to work with.

 Here is my first cake covered in butter cream fondant.  It was easy to color this bright pink and I think I did a great job for my first try.  The top bow I made in my first gum paste and fondant class and I just love it.

 

Top view

  I keep seeing these high heel cupcakes on Pinterest and I had to make them for the Mother's Day party we attended.  These women love their high heel shoes.  :)  My favorite part about these cupcakes is everything is edible.  Cupcake, milano cookie, and a pirouette, yum!

  The coordinating sprinkles really made these heels sparkle.  Next time I want to add more details, definitely a fun and tasty treat.

Monster Truck Cake

   This monster truck themed cake was made for a friend's son's 3rd birthday. First I covered my cake board with checker board duct tape. Then I used the tape to make the flags and the pennant banner for Lincoln's name.  I made the tires by dipping Oreo cookies into a candy mold and added blue butter cream icing hub caps. I baked a 9x13 chocolate cake and covered it with lime green butter cream icing with blue and brown accent colors.This cake looks simple, but the Oreo cookie dirt was a little challenging to keep in the 3.  I added icing around the 3 to keep the dirt in place and added two mounds for the monster trucks.  What a fun boys cake to make and it can easily be modified for diggers, race cars, or tractors.

Top view of cake.

Close up view of cake before final decorations were added .

 
~Sarah

1st Birthday with Polka Dots

   I had the pleasure of making this number 1 shaped polka dot cake and small round polka dot cake for our friend's daughter's 1st birthday.  The colors matched Brooke's invitation and polka dot theme.  This was a big celebration with over 50 family members and friends.  I made 2 number 1 shaped chocolate cakes and stacked them with a butter cream filing.  Brooke's smash cake is a 6 in chocolate round cake that I cut with a 4 in round cookie cutter to make a smaller size.

Close up view of #1 cake.

Close up view of smash cake.

Brooke's gift, sweet owl applique shirt with bow embellishment. 

Baseball Birthday

   Last month a friend was looking for suggestions of a great baker for her son's first birthday.  I took a leap and suggested myself.  I have been wanting to start my home business and Megan gave me that opportunity.  This party was so much fun because I don't have any boys and I got to try out some new ideas.  Check out these great items, Jake loved them.

This personalized baseball cake is a two layer 8 inch round white cake filled with and decorated with buttercream icing.  It was a lot of fun to make.  

This is Jake's personal smash cake.  I baked a 6 inch round and then cut out a 3 inch circle to be just his size.  I decorated it to match his full size cake.  He really enjoyed eating this one and getting messy.  :)

These star and baseball cookies were personalized party favors.  They were individually bagged and tied with a  blue ribbon.

This baseball shirt was personalized just for Jake and I added the #1 for his age.  He wore this at his birthday party  and all the icing washed out!

This baseball jacket  was made as a gift for Jake to enjoy.

  It was a lot of fun working with this baseball theme and incorporating it into 2 cakes, cookies, applique shirt, and applique jacket.  

My First Cakes

   I have always wanted to decorate cakes like my Grandma Hart.  I loved just watching, smelling, and tasting everything she made.  It became a rare treat when we moved to Texas so I just had to learn for myself.

    If you have ever wanted to learn how to decorate cakes take a Wilton cake decorating class at Michael's. They will show you all the basics and how to use all the tools.  I really enjoyed taking these classes and they inspired me to try more on my own.  Here are the cakes I have made.

My first cake I made with my sister in-law, Marijane, for Lana's 1st birthday.

Mini butterfly smash cake.

This cupcake cake was the first cake I made in my cake decorating class.

 I made this basket weave cake with flowers in the flowers and cake design class.

This book cake I made for the school I taught at, what a tasty way to start the year. 

Raggedy Ann "Hannah" cake.  This cake was made for my DG after  5 alum group.  It was featured in our magazine,
 The Anchora.

  I made this Hawaii cake for fun while we were planning our family trip to Hawaii.

Pound cake with fresh berries.  

This monkey cake for made for a special boys' first birthday.

This 2011 cake was made just for fun.  New year, new cake.

I made this 2 tier Texas cake for our going away party.  We were moving to Colorado and this was my last easy cake to bake in Texas.

 This Valentine cake was one of my first successful cakes  made in Colorado.  I had to find all new recipes,  and it has taken lots of trial and error, but I finally got it.  So glad to be decorating cakes again.

When trying new recipes it's always fun to make a practice cake.  Game night anyone?

  I can't wait to see how I will be decorating my next cakes.  Looking forward to a monster truck cake next month.  :)

   ~Sarah