The Birthday Artist...

I have a faithful blog follower, Carmen, who turned 11 this week! Her mom called me and said that Carmen really wanted to place an order for a brithday cake. She decided on an "artist" cake with a palate and paintbrush and wanted neon paint colors. Also, she really wanted to help decorate! Of course I always like my clients to be involved in their cake designs but I rarly have this much involvment. And as a surprise to Carmen I am posting her creation on my blog...thanks for being a faithful blog reader, Carmen!

We covered the cake with a drop cloth covered in paint. I made a little easel with a canvas that Carmen painted.

On top we placed the palate with paints and a gumpaste paintbrush. Carmen thought it was real, but, no, it is edible...



My budding artist, Carmen painting her canvas...Happy 11th Birthday, Carmen!!

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Tea Party!

This unique cake was made as a gift for a very special person who loves Polish pottery. Dessert plates, serving dishes, teapots...and bubble mugs. So round, to fit perfectly warm and snug in your hand. The hand painted designs range from very traditional stamped patterns to this type of free painted floral design.  This pattern happens to be her very favorite design.

A "lace" table cloth was pressed into the fondant base to add an elegant touch to this mini-cake. The floating tea bag has a tag that reads "Sugar & Spice", which my clients promptly picked up to see, forgetting that it was made of gumpaste!

The Tea Party cake is joined by another Polish poppy bubble mug and a traditional design teapot. I also had a silver tea spoon that sat right in front of the bubble mug but it did not make it into the pictures.

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Wedding in a Vineyard

Last weekend I delivered a cake to wedding reception at vineyard about an hour away. The grounds were beautiful, with the ceremony overlooking the lake and the reception in a nearby hall. The sides of the hall opened up so that the guests could enjoy the vineyards out one side and yards and the lake out the other. This cake fit right into the scene among the rustic grape vines and fabulous views.

The cake was a moist lemon cake filled with natural strawberry meringue buttercream and covered with ivory fondant. 

The vines started at the bottom and kind of sprouted up at a diagonal. Clusters of grapes draped off of each tier while little pearls mirrored them all around the cake. The bride and groom had their own topper which they added at the reception hall. Congratulations, Doug and Crystal!

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Little Ladybug

This sweet little cake was made for my client as a gift for a friend. It is a 6 in white cake filled with a thick layer of chocolate ganache. Yum! Simple but a favorite combination of many.

One of my absolute favorite things about making cakes is being able to share the fun with my family. I love the times when my kids sit on their little stools and work on their own "cakes". Sometimes with play-doh and sometimes with leftover fondant and gum paste. Yesterday, my oldest son sat and made a little ladybug on a leaf. He said, "I just love copying your cakes to make my own creations!"

I love it, too!

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A Beautiful Day at the Race

We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather to be out on the Peoria riverfront! Add to that lots of people and lots of cake and we ended up with a pretty sweet event. We received valuable feedback on our four favorite flavors...which was wonderful because I don't usually have to opportunity to be with my clients as they eat their cakes. Everything ran smoothly and all in all we had a great day!

Flavors: Chocolate Hazelnut, Raspberry Lemonade, Vanilla Vanilla Bean, & Coconut Macaroon

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Off To The Races...

I am always inspired by unique elements I find, whether in nature, architecture or fashion. And, I have an affinity toward feather hats. I don't know if it comes from the memories of my great grandma's hats in the dress-up closet or my love of the movie "Swing Kids". So, I have had this idea floating around in my head for some time with out a reason to pull it together. Bremer Jeweler's Race for the Ring is tomorrow and I thought that this would be a fantastic time for a new display cake. Here it is, ready for the races...

 Delicate anemones with vibrant blue dusted centers, peacock feathers wrapping around the side, and a platinum nouveau swirl gracing the top.

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Ahoy, Matey!

I loved working on this cake because my client had so many good ideas to throw into the design process. The colors and patterns were designed to match the invitations and other party elements. A little boy only turns one once! It turned out great and I am sure it was everything this precious little boy hoped for for his first birthday!

 Argh!!! The sweetest looking toddler pirate ever...

I made a smash cake to match the theme as well. This was buttercream with fondant accents. My client had a picture of a cake like this from somewhere, so this was not my design. Still super cute...a perfect way to celebrate turning one!

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