Friday, April 22, 2011

Bridal Blue

Yesterday I returned to my old stomping grounds.  I delivered a cake for a bridal shower at the middle school where I used to teach, and where I still have so many dear friends.  The shower was for Betsy, who is acting as technology coordinator for the school this year.  In a school as large as that one (~2500 kids!!  Hundreds of teachers!!), she has a gigantic job.  I know all the staff wanted to shower her with love and well wishes for her life as an old married lady! :-)

Because it was a school-wide shower, this cake needed to serve a lot of people.  It wound up looking quite like (and weighing as much as!  Mercy!) a wedding cake, but if I know one thing about teachers, it's that cake never survives more than 24 hours in a school.  Hopefully they all enjoyed it.  Congrats, Betsy!!

Sour cream pound cake, buttercream filling and frosting, fondant ribbons.  "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" written around base tier.



Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Princess Madi

Final delivery of the weekend-- Madison's 16th Birthday party!
Madi is my sweet sweet little cousin who is so dear to my heart.  We are told at least 10 times a day that we look exactly alike, and we have extremely similar personalities.  When my aunt Nesie asked me to help with her party, I think Madi knew she would have an ally in the "the sparklier, the better!" party philosophy. :-)
Thankfully, after all was said and done, Madi was THRILLED TO PIECES with her party, and her cake.  A gumpaste tiara, sitting atop a pillow, sitting atop a zebra printed base.  I built a cake table backdrop to make a focal point for the room, and I'm pleased with how everything came out.  Nesie knows how to throw a GREAT party, and Madi knows how to work it like the princess she is. 
Love love love them both!

Happy Birthday, Madi!

Bottom tier is pink sour cream cake with fresh strawberry filling, top tier is marble with fudge filling.  Buttercream with fondant accents.

2 Princesses in a Pod

Second delivery for the weekend-- a baby shower cake for my teacher friend Sabriya. She was giving a shower for a mommy-to-be of twin girls, and asked me to replicate a Pink Cake Box cake for her.  We switched it up a little and turned the peas in a pod to princesses in a pod, and I think it is adorable!
Sabriya had gone ALL OUT for this shower-- crafty queen made all sorts of adorable things, including a tricycle made entirely of diapers. I  have heard of cakes, I have heard of wreaths, but never a tricycle!  It was adorable!  It looked like they were set to shower the mommy with lots of love, and lots of diapers.  Bless her, with twins, I think she will be most grateful!
Congratulations!!!

Bottom tier is cream cheese pound cake, top tier is strawberry.  Buttercream frosting and filling, fondant accents.  Pea pod is rice krispie treats covered in gumpaste and fondant. 

**APOLOGIES FOR YUCKINESS OF PHOTO.  Ack!**

Sonic the Hedgehog

Busy weekend here at Loulu's!  This is the first of three deliveries for this weekend... a Sonic the Hedgehog cake for Chases' 7th birthday.
I thought this was the cutest idea for a cake-- a big old slice of cake missing that the sneaky Sonic gobbled up.  This was my first experience attempting to sculpt a Sonic the Hedgehog (or any character, really) out of fondant, but I am pleased with how he came out.  I used to LOVE to play the Sonic game on Sega (do these crazy kids today even know what Sega is??) and this cake brought back so many memories.
I hope it helped make some new memories for Chase on his special day!  Happy Birthday!

Chocolate cake, fudge filling, buttercream with fondant accents.



Sunday, April 10, 2011

A Captain for All Seasons

Last night, we had the greatest time giving my daddy a surprise 60th birthday party.  He had NO IDEA it was coming, and his reaction was priceless!  About 30 of us met for dinner, followed by Whirly Ball (if you don't know about Whirly Ball, you should.  It is the most hilarious thing ever created!).  We had a blast, and Daddy was very happy with it all.
I was asked to make a cake for him, and I immediately knew I wanted to try to replicate his sailboat.  My whole life, we have been "boat people," but the sailboat is a recent addition.  Dad is happiest when out on the water, and I wanted to try to bring that to his cake.  Enter... Fondant Ed!

































Complete with wee little boat shoes and Dad's trademark "lake hair" that he gets after a day on the water.  The "EE" on his shirt is what his grandkids call him.  Except for the time that Emma Jean quite randomly said, while on his boat, "EE, you are a captain for all seasons."  It stuck!

Dad was thrilled with his party and especially with his cake.
Love you, Daddy!  I hope you had a wonderful birthday celebration.  Now you HAVE to take me out on the Constellation.  :-)

Tie Dye Guitar

I do not love anything more than experimenting with strange and usual cake techniques, and today was no exception!  Courtney (a repeat customer, LOVE those!) asked for a guitar cake for her husband, Wayne, and she asked if it could look tie-dyed.  "Hmmmmmm...." I thought, "A new adventure!"  After much research and trial and error, I am quite pleased with how this little cake turned out.  I am also pleased that all six of the strings piped with no breaks!  Small victories in the life of a cake decorator!
Wayne is a rock star (really, he is.  Go learn about his band The ISSUES HERE), and I hope he enjoys this cake.  Happy Birthday, and "Party on, Wayne!"  (couldn't resist. :-))

Chocolate cake, buttercream frosting, fondant accents.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Jackson's Big Day

This morning I delivered a cake for Jackson's first birthday party.  His mommy, Kenna, and I met earlier this week to discuss the design, and we arrived at this.
Jackson is his mommy's little monkey, so that was the starting point.  Kenna quite smartly decided to combine his first birthday party with his baby dedication service, done by her father, so she wanted to incorporate the cross.   It's a mixture of several different ideas, but I just love it!
Everyone will have twice the reason to celebrate sweet Jackson's life (and his cheeks.  My goodness he has the sweetest cheeks I  have ever seen!) today.  Happy birthday!!

Bottom tier is chocolate cake with cookies and cream filling.  Top tier is sour cream pound cake with fresh strawberry filling.  Buttercream frosting with fondant accents.