Choo Choo Train

My neighbor ordered this one.  She just asked for a train theme for he grandson's birthday.  She needed more servings than the Wilton train pan would serve, and didn't want to pay as much as the train would cost.  

This design turned out to be pretty easy; just squares and circles, but with the color scheme, I think it turned out cute!

Rock 'n' Roll

My baby boy was turning 18, and he loves for his cakes to be a clue as to what he is getting for his birthday.  Well, we got him a new electric guitar!  Since he already had a "cheaper" guitar, and a drum set, he had to decide which one it was.

He also does not like to have birthday parties, so his girlfriend and I conspired to get a few friends together for cake and ice cream.  They were mostly all musicians as well, and loved the cake!

I love the technique of cutting the fondant, and making it look like an object is "bursting" out of the cake.  The guitar was gum paste.  I bought a large guitar shaped cookie cutter, and then added the accents.

Bad lighting, but this is a close up of the guitar

I had done a tiny 4" drum cake for his drum teacher as a gift one time, so this was not my first drum cake.

Amber's Quinceanera

I have known this beauty since she was about 8 years old.  This was her quinceanera, which is, of course, her fifteenth birthday.  I was happy to participate in her celebration.  

There were some language barriers, as her mom was the one to order the cake, but with Scott translating, I think I got what they were going for.

I wanted it to be slightly different from a traditional wedding cake, since it was not a wedding, but it also needed to be girly, and over the top!  So, I used the hexagon on the bottom tier, for interest.  The cake was strawberry cake.

On delivery, my son accidentally stuck his finger in to one of the corners of the bottom tier, as we set it on the table.  Fortunately, I was able to use paper towels to smooth the area out, and you couldn't even tell.

The cake looks so small next to that dress, but it was 16" tall!

As you can see from her gown, and the cloth on the table, lime green was the color of the evening!  I liked how the different shades of green played on the cake, without making it look like overkill.

Miles and Natasha

It is always so fun to see friends who have come through trials, triumph! 

This couple has had their share of troubles, but now, they have each other, and I couldn't be happier for them.  

I used a new tool for this cake; Marvelous Molds.  They are silicone mats with a design on them.  You just press the rolled out fondant on to the mat, remove the negative spaces, wet the back, and apply it to the cake, using the mat.  Voila!

Ok, it's not as easy as it sounds, but it is pretty slick, once you get the hang of it.  I found that using meringue buttercream worked better, because I was able to get the frosting hard in the fridge before applying the fondant; that kept the mold from leaving marks on the cake.

Marvelous Molds silicone mat

The cake, before delivery

I love it when the florist makes my pretty cake look amazing!  But this cute, happy couple outshine the cake altogether! 

The finished cake.  Beautiful colors!

Americana Baby Bottom Cake

Here are a few pictures of my latest project. It is another baby bottom cake, done in Americana colors. It is for a mom I have known for a little while, but I have known the dad since he was a teenager. As always, it is so much fun to be a part of these milestones in their lives, especially when I have seen them grow through so many others!

I learned a lot about mixing colors on this cake. I thought I could just darken some already red and blue fondant, but I was using the wrong colors to darken, so I just kept getting a brownish mess!  After a couple if trips to the cake supply store (thanks, Georgia!) I had the colors I needed.

I really love that she is using these colors for the nursery!  They wil be very versatile if she ever has a girl (did I mention she is having a boy?). They are just great, traditional colors all around!

Something I did differently on this cake was to make the core of the baby feet out of Rice Krispie treats. That made the feet much lighter, and made them easier to work with.

The cake stand was supplied by the mom-to-be. I think it turned out just perfect!

Draper open house

I was SO excited about doing this cake.  The mother of the groom brought me a picture months before the event.  The couple was getting married in Miami, in August, and not doing an open house here until September, and the mother of the groom had pretty much free reign for it.

I was so happy to have a client who wanted color on their wedding cake!

The bride had chosen a beautiful combination of oranges and purple for her colors, and the cake in the picture incorporated all of them.  

I am still learning to mix colors and get the shades I need.  To top that, I only had an image on my computer to go from.  For that reason, the colors did not seem exactly right to me, but I went with them anyway.  It turned out, they were a perfect match!  I really loved how the cake was displayed in front of a mirror, and loved that the orange flowers and lamp shades tied together the flowers on the cake.

The cake was a hit!  I have had comments and calls from people all week.  That always feels good!

Three Sisters

This was a simple, last minute cake for 3 sisters who all have Sept. birthdays. They always celebrate with extended family on Labor Day. Two of the sisters are twins who are in marching band with my son, Trevor.  One of the girls is on drumline with him, and the other is the drum major for the whole band.  

I had auctioned off a cake at the summer fund raiser, and their mom, who organized the event, got one of my cards, and called me on Wednesday, for a cake on Sunday.  Normally, I do not take last minute requests like that, but my whole family was out of town, and I had the opportunity to do a cake uninterrupted!

She said only that she wanted something like I had auctioned off, and that the girls' rooms were pinks, purples and lime green; a perfect color combination!

Here is the final result.

Mom and the younger daughter came to pick up the cake.  They were ga ga!  They just couldn't say enough good about it!

Later that night, I got a text from the mom.  She said that the entire family had loved it, and that when Natalie, the drum major, saw the cake, she exclaimed, "I always wanted a cake like this, and never thought I would get one!"

Those are the best texts to get!