Ironman

Today was Ty's 5th birthday, and he needed an IronMan cake to celebrate!  Ty's grandmommy, Beth, is one of the best and most amazing teachers I have ever had the pleasure of working with.  The most laughable moment of my teaching career was when they made ME her "mentor" during her first year at our school (she had been an elementary school teacher prior).  She brought so much experience, fresh perspective, and dedication to our school that it was downright nutty for me to be in the "teaching a teacher" role.  Anyone who passes through Beth's classroom, adult or child, should realize how lucky they are.
I felt lucky to help her family celebrate Ty's big day today, and I hope they all enjoyed his IronMan cake.  Happy birthday, Ty!

Sour cream pound cake, vanilla buttercream.  Hand carved and hand piped IronMan mask.

"Cub"Cakes

Heehee.

This week, I created some tractor cupcakes for my Daddy... he is on his way to the Cub TractorFest in Sneads, FL.  You might be asking the same questions I did-- 1) Where on earth is Sneads, FL? and 2) There is an actual "Fest" for Cub Tractor fans?
Allow me to impart some of my newly acquired knowledge-- 1) Sneads is just over the southwestern Georgia state line. 2) You better believe it, these people love their tractors and they love being with other people who love tractors.
For a city girl like me, it sounds somewhat puzzling.  However, when Dad explained that several people had volunteered to help him repair his beloved Buttercup (a bright yellow 60s era Cub tractor, who suffered a fatal injury a few years ago), simply for the love of it, I knew this would be a pretty awesome bunch of people.  If you go to the web page above, sure enough on the "To Do List" Clipboard, there's my Daddy, Ed, on the agenda.

Dad figured that some Loulu's cupcakes might be welcome whilst working, and I hope they are!  Enjoy them and enjoy CubFest 2011!

"We gon' riiiiide..... The Dinosaur Train!"

Any mom of a child under 8 can probably sing that little theme song with me.  It is a staple program over here!

I was excited to do this cake for Sabrina, a high school friend of my sister's.  It was her little Preston's 5th birthday, and due to unforeseen circumstances, their cake plans didn't pan out.  She contacted me last week to see if I could step in, and I am so glad I was able to help!  She had some designs already chosen, so I pulled elements of each and came up with this.  Hubs says it's one of his favorites, and one of mine too, I think!
 I loved delivering it this morning-- one of my favorite things about doing cakes is getting to see little "clients" and their reactions.  Priceless!

Tiny and Buddy (the dinos) are piped buttercream, and I am pleased with how they came out.  Train, birthday banner, palm trees, and topper are fondant.  Sour cream pound cake with vanilla buttercream.

The Need for Speed

Today I delivered a fun racecar cake for Will's 8th birthday party tomorrow.  He is having a racing party, and his mom found a cake she asked me to recreate.  This has to be one of my favorites-- it's so personalized!
The first place car is black and silver (Will's favorites) and is a #8 since he will be turning 8.
The second-place #6 car is his second-place brother, who is 6 years old and loves blue.
The poor guy who has crashed is Will's little brother, who is 4 and likes green.  When I dropped off the cake today, he wanted to know why his car had crashed.  I told him it was just because he's too young to drive!  I love that Will's mom, Jeanne, made the cake so fitting for her family.  So cute!
Will loved seeing his cake today, which makes me very happy.  I hope he and his pals have a wonderful time tomorrow!  Happy Birthday!

Sour cream pound cake, fudge filling, buttercream with fondant accents.

"The Fun Bus is Here!"

Click HERE, and sing along.  The song will haunt you in your sleepless hours!

Today, Jeremiah and I went to Liam's 3rd Birthday party, which had the services of a big, green, Fun Bus.  It was the cutest thing!  The two people who drove/staffed it were fantastic with the kids, and the whole bus was packed to the gills with mats to crawl on, slides to swoosh down, and basketballs to dunk.  The kids had a ball!
Liam's mommy, my college roomie and very dear friend Abby, had asked if I could create a green bus cake.  Bring it on, says Loulu's!
The kids had a blast, and Liam seemed quite happy with his cake.  Mission accomplished!

Chocolate cake, fudge filling, almost all buttercream except the fondant windows and tires.

"Coopie Cakes"

Today I made a batch of monogrammed cupcakes for my dear friend Ali to take to a baby shower.  I think this makes the third batch of such cupcakes I have made for her, and they will forever be known to Loulu's Bake Shop as "Coopie Cakes."  I made the first batch for her baby boy Cooper's baby dedication over the summer, and each time I make them I think of what a special day that was.  Love that sweet baby Cooper and I love his momma. I hope THIS little baby, Hayden, and his mommy have a wonderful time celebrating his soon-to-be-arrival today!

Chocolate cupcakes, vanilla and fudge frosting, fondant monogram disks.

"Vevet Jones" (that's for you, Uncle Greg!)

February's Flavor of the Month is....
Red velvet, of course!
I have loved red velvet cake since I was a little girl, and I have had some truly wonderful and some truly terrible recipes.  To me, dye-ing chocolate cake red doesn't cut it-- it's got to have the tang of the buttermilk and vinegar to be REAL red velvet.  And nothing goes better with it than a creamy cream cheese frosting-- I have one that I use for cupcakes and filling between cake layers and a sturdier one I use for decorating the outside.  Regardless, red velvet is one of my most popular flavors,  and I hope my customers love it as much as I do!