"Naughty Kitty", Naughty Puggies!

This week I had the pleasure of making a birthday cake for my Aunt Nesie.  She will forever be one of my very favorite people, and it tickles me that she loves my cakes so much.  Her daughter, Millicent, asked me to make a cake and decorate it however I pleased, so I had fun!
Nesie and her girls refer to leopard print as "naughty kitty," which I think it hilarious. I have been wanting to experiment with leopard print (I've got the zebra print down pat!), and decided to use my sweet family members as guinea pigs.
When Nesie was in high school, she was the pink and green  80s queen.  I brought that in, and decided to crown the cake with her two puggies, Ellie and Meaty.  Those are the silliest dogs you'll ever meet, but they sure love their mama.  Their mama sure loves them, too!
Thankfully, Nesie was quite pleased with this experiment of a cake.  Love you much!

Cream cheese pound cake, fudge filling, buttercream frosting.  Pugs are fondant.

Invitation Inspiration

After a long weekend spent recuperating from my trip to the emergency room (Back spasm.  Would not let go.  Yuck!), it's time to play catch up on the cake blog!

Last weekend, I delivered a cake for a baby shower that Bonnie was hosting. She had sent me the most beautiful invitation to use for ideas.

The cake itself needed to be fairly small, so I decided to bring the cakeboard into the design.  Bonnie ordered one of my "minis"- a little oval cake that feeds about 10-12.  I LOVED the medallion design in the corner of the invitation, so I replicated it on the cakeboard and kept the actual cake fairly simple.  I think it turned out great!  I hope Bonnie and her friends enjoyed it, as well.

Vanilla cake, raspberry filling.  All buttercream with a fondant disk in the middle.  Cakeboard covered in fondant and then piped with details.

Puppies, Penguins, and Panning for Gold

What do they all have in common, you might ask?
They are all the favorite things of Doug, for whom I created a birthday cake today.  His wife sent me that rather motley assortment of items, threw in UGA and the mountains for good measure, and asked if I could do something with it.
I had just recently seen a cake similar to this on CakeCentral (go there some day and try to not spend 3 hours.  Just try!  And then go to CakeWrecks and laugh until you cry!), and was dying to try it.  Wendy, Doug's wife, was up for anything, so I gave it a go.
I. LOVE. THIS. CAKE!

 A few of the details--

Puggies...

Black Lab....

Mr. Doug, panning for gold atop a mountain, decked out in his Georgia wear, with a penguin peeking in to say hello.

This cake is a surprise for Doug, and I hope he loves it!  Happy birthday!

Marble cake, cookies-and-cream filling, buttercream with fondant accents.  First time with a technique known as "spiral carving" to make the path.

A Puck, A Puck of Burning Love

Earlier this week, I delivered a bridal shower cake to my mother-in-law's middle school.  The shower was for a fellow teacher who, along with her hubs-to-be, LOVES hockey.  Peg asked me to do something that looked "wedding-ish" but also incorporated hockey paraphernalia, and this is what I came up with.  I love the look of scrollwork cakes, and I think the hockey puck mini-cake on top is a fun way to celebrate the union of two hockey nuts!

Sour cream pound cake, buttercream frosting and filling, fondant accents.

Sweet Caroline

I sang that song the whole time I made this cake!  One of my very favorite names!!

This cake was made for Caroline's 21st birthday.  Her mom, Cate, asked for something that "looked like a party," had the 21 and some sort of beverage glass on it.  She asked me to incorporate Caroline's favorite colors of pink and purple, and here's what we got!  I think it definitely fits the bill for a celebration of sorts, and I had such a good time making it.  I am crazy about zebra print cakes (have you seen my logo up there? No surprise!), and I loved how this one came out.  I hope that Caroline and her family enjoyed it, as well.  Happy happy birthday!!

Chocolate cake made with a hefty dose of Godiva liqueur, fudge filling made with MORE Godiva liqueur (hey-- she's legal!  Let's celebrate it!), buttercream frosting with fondant and gumpaste accents.

Whale of a Good Time!!

Saturday, we all ventured to my dear friend Ali's house for her little boy Cooper's first birthday bash.
It was a gigantic party full of gigantic splish splashy fun.  Love that sweet family and love that little boy!  He is blessed, indeed, to have so many who love him and who came to celebrate his life.
The theme was all about whales, and Ali asked me to do cupcakes and a smash cake.  The cupcakes had various toppers-- whale spouts, "C"s, and 1s.  The smash cake was a whale, which I think came out absolutely adorable.  It was such a fun day and I am glad I got to contribute in some small way.
Happy Birthday, SuperCoop!  We love you!

Baby Dedication

This weekend was Mother's Day, and at our church it was also Baby Dedication Day.  We got to dedicate our little boy on Mother's Day 3 years ago (THREE YEARS?  Say what???), and it was such a special time.
Treva contacted me to make a cake for the reception they were holding after dedicating Baby Reese.  Reese's big sister is in my 2 year old Sunday school class, and I just love her to pieces. I was happy to be able to help celebrate little Reese!

Strawberry cake, buttercream frosting and filling, fondant accents.

Pretty Pretty Princess

Over the weekend, I created a princess cake for Mariya's daughter's 3rd birthday.  I busted out Mom's old Wilton Wondermold pan, and took a trip down memory lane.  (Click HERE to read that story!)  I did go out and buy a new doll insert, as the one with my pan is so very dear to my heart.  She's got to be a genuine antique by now, and I hope she gets to see many more family birthdays.  I was just excited to know that I could actually find a new doll insert these days!
Mariya requested a princess dress cake, and her only requirement was PINK!  This design is actually a throwback to one that I had Mom make for me.  I chuckled to myself so many times while I was creating this cake.  Miss her every day!!

When I dropped off the cake for Imaan's party, Mariya was thrilled.  Imaan was too busy bouncing in the backyard (Who can blame her? I would have been out there if I could!), so I didn't see her reaction, but her mommy assured me she would love it.  I hope this princess cake made her birthday as magical as all my princess cakes made mine when I was a little girl.

Happy birthday, Imaan!!

Little Boy Blue

This weekend, I created this cake for a baby boy shower.  Carolann asked me for a "gingham" looking cake, which I had never done before.  I searched for inspiration, and there really wasn't too much that wasn't done with fondant.  Carolann prefers buttercream (as do I, quite frankly!), so this one took some finagling.
So. Many. Stars.
Still, I am thrilled with how it came out.  Clean, simple, elegant, and everyone loved it.
Success!

Cream cheese pound cake, raspberry filling, all buttercream except fondant footprints.