Moving, babies and birthdays!

The past few weeks have been super hectic! So much going on in our lives right now, which is why I'm behind on the blogs. At the beginning of August my husband accepted a job to Pastor at a church in Sudbury On. which is about 7.5 ish hours away from our current location. So we began a journey of prepping our house, and making arrangements for the next few months. Even though his first official day in the office wasn't till Nov.1st we had a lot to do, and the time ended up going by so much faster that I thought. But we have safely landed in Sudbury and are enjoying it tremendously. Expect for the drivers..drivers in Sudbury scare me, just saying. Since I only had 3 months left of my pregnancy there is no point in looking for a job so I am currently unemployed and waiting for my sweet baby to show up! We have 10 weeks left and I'm getting anxious...

Back to cakes! At the end of August our niece Norah had her first birthday! They had quite the party for her. When we were discussing ideas my sister in law mentioned that she would like their family dog to be included in this cake. Cause Norah loves her dog. So after looking around and getting ideas, I thought I would try my hand at little figurines again. I decided to make a little girl and her dog sitting outside. It was a two tier cake, so I covered it in yellow and pipped green grass along the bottoms, and even drew on some paw prints. I'm hoping I get better at the little figurines because I wasn't entirely happy with how they turned out. But hopefully practice makes perfect! The pictures aren't the greatest quality, since I had to take them from my phone.

So that has been our story for the last few months. Sad to no longer serving Essex County but hoping to serve the Greater Sudbury area in the near future!

A black dress affair

Back in August my cousin was celebrating her upcoming wedding with a bridal shower. It was a very different shower. She had it at night, cocktail style, where all guest were to wear little black dresses. It was a cute idea. They had asked me to make some cupcakes that would suit the night. So naturally I made cupcakes with little martini glasses with olives and some with little black dresses. I have these plastic molds that when pressed on fondant give it a textured look, so to make the dress ones a little fancier I used the molds on the white background and put the dresses on top. I also made some with just basic whipped butter cream icing with silver edible glitter. I love making cupcakes, but they are tedious little things. Overall I was super pleased with how they turned out.

The pictures aren't the greatest, but I forgot to take one at the actual event.

Can we fix it??...

I can not believe that summer is already over! It has been a crazy busy one for us, but also an exciting one. With so many friends and family getting married, and others preparing to have babies, it has been a blast. But very exhausting. So much in fact that I am SO behind on my blog posts.
The week after my brothers wedding back in July, I made another cake. My cousin asked if I could make a cake for her boyfriends nephew who was turning two! He loves bob the builder, so I got another chance at a character cake. This one was just a basic two tiered cake, with Bob on it. It was my first character made entirely out of fondant. It went alright, I found it was hard to keep it proportionate. In the end it looked like bob could afford to lose a few pounds lol. But he found his spot at the front of the cake. Since he was the main attraction I made sure that the rest wasn't too busy. I gotta say thank goodness for internet cause this would have looked like a totally different bob! lol

Mr. & Mrs. Cousineau!!!

They're Married! It's crazy to think that this whole journey started to prepare for this day, and now it has come and gone! It was such a beautiful and HOT day, but we all had a blast. It was pretty much a week of festivities. Starting on Monday when my husband and I went to the dr. and saw our Baby for the first time. We are super excited. Tuesday I was finishing the last baking that was needed for the cake, Wednesday was mani pedi day. Thursday was the rehearsal, Friday I decorated the cake and Saturday was the Wedding! It was a long week, so Sunday we spent it all day doing nothing. It was fabulous!
As for the cake, their colors were pink and green and they picked a cute and simple design. I got to work decorating the cake Friday morning. The only stressful part about it was finding a green ribbon to match the green flowers on the cake. We found it and all was well. We then had to bring it to the hall about 20 min away, and this is one of those moments where I am so thankful my husband is a safe and slow driver lol. There was some frustration with the management at the hall, they wouldn't listen at all to my concerns. Finally the guy in charge listened, understood my concerns and agreed with me! About time! So I got my way and the cake was safe for Saturday. Here is the final product!
Photo taken by the talented Lazarus Palanacki

Tow Mater

Back when I was at the Tracks for the food show, I was approached by another lady who asked if I could make a Mater cake for her grandson's 4th birthday. I have never seen the movie cars so I stared at her blankly and asked what the heck is a mater cake lol. She then had to explain, and then thanks to smart phones and our technology a picture was brought up instantly and I then understood who he was. I said yes, even though it was by far the trickiest one to date. I was so pumped about it, cause this was my first 3D character cake. My husbands Aunt so nicely lent me her little tow mater car model that I could use as a reference. It was 10x better than looking at a picture, cause that way I was able to get all those little details. My husband also helped with the carving cause anything he touches looks amazing, so collectively we were able to carve out the perfect shape. And since I don't have an airbrush...yet lol I had to be a little creative. I loved this cake!

Mortgage Free!!!

Bahhhh ...I'm getting behind on my posts! Sorry!
The same weekend as the confirmation cake I had another cake to make for our church BBQ. We were celebrating the fact that we are mortgage free! Which is such an accomplishment. So the senior Pastor had asked if I could make a cake for the event. I thought it would be neat to make a cake that looked like the church. The church is a very basic rectangle so there was minimal carving, and I just used rice krispies treats for the roof. I decided to use buttercream instead of fondant so that it would be easier to decorate. It was already a stressful weekend, but had some help from my mother-in law which made things go a lot smoother. It was by far the heaviest cake I have made, and it was also a super hot day so getting the cake to the church without much damage was stressful, but it got there is one piece, and enjoyed by many. Unfortunately my camera decided to stop working after only one picture...so it's not the greatest but what can ya do?

This weather is not my friend

This was a busy week for me. I had two cakes to make for Sunday one which was a massive cake (I'll save it for the next blog). So there was tons of cake to bake this week. The first one was for a young girls confirmation. When I was doing the food show in Essex the owner of an Italian restaurant approached me and asked if I would make a cake for her granddaughters confirmation that was a week away. At first I didn't think I would have enough time, but in the end it worked out. She wanted it to have her name and a cross on it but other than that she said the design was up to me. I wanted to try something different, so I tried fondant draping for the first time. Was really excited how easy and well it turned out. Also it was my first time making fondant calalilies.
The only frustrating thing was the weather, it was so humid that the trip from Amherstburg to Essex was extremely stressful, hoping that the fondant would make it in one piece. I think we did alright.
What do you think?

Superheros, real and make believe

My brother and his fiance have their birthday's within a day of each other. I have been planning and telling my brother his birthday cake was gonna be the coolest to date. I had all these grand plans and was really excited about them. But then Friday morning I was informed that the birthday dinner was being moved from Sunday to Saturday. ...this was also the first Friday that I have had to work in months so that also was a bummer. So I no longer had time to bake and decorate a cake for Saturday. So it had to be cupcakes. Which isn't all that bad, I love cupcakes but still a slight let down, after I have building up this awesome cake. I wanted to make some special for both of them, so I made superhero cupcakes for my bro cause he is still a kid at heart, and nurse cupcakes for miss Nancy because she is one.
I also had a little help from my little sister on this one. She did a pretty good job, she did the heart, the band-aids and x-men. Check them out! ;)

I think I can...I think I can

On Thursday May 19th, there was a little food show in Essex, Ont. called Treats of the tracks. Held at the train station. The restaurants in Essex all came together and had booths where they displayed delicious morsels that their restaurants offered. My in-laws own a diner in town, called Main Street Diner. They had a booth at the show and offered me another opportunity to make a cake and advertise to those in town. Since it was at the train station and called treats of the tracks, I decided to make a two tiered cake that looked like a mountain with a tunnels and train tracks around it, as well as a little train on top. I was going back and forth of how to display it so that everyone would see it. Since it was from 6:30-9 I was afraid that the only people would see it would be the first few guests and by the end it would be all cut up. So I decided to make a dummy cake, it was all Styrofoam. I made two other cakes to serve, so they could also taste my creations. I made a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, (which is quickly becoming my favorite cake, and was a hit with those in attendance) and a new flavor which was Pink Lemonade. That was a delicious cake that I will definitely have to try again. It was a fun show, met lots of really cool people and it was also successful cause I walked away with two orders!!
So stay tuned in the next couple of weeks, lot's to check out! :)

Happy Easter

I'm a week late, but Happy Easter everyone. Hope you all had a good holiday. We spent the whole weekend with family, which was a blast. Love spending time with everyone. What a weekend though, among all the things that go on this holiday, we always have to stop and remember why we are celebrating in the first place. What incredible Love and sacrifice took place thousands of years ago. But Jesus is alive, death could not defeat him! He did it all for us! Now that is a reason to celebrate!


Sunday we spent with my parents, and to help out I brought some dessert. Cupcakes!
I also made a little gift for some friends, and another couple (who are also great friends) who have young kids that love cake, Cake pops!. It was my first attempt at them, and I will definitely need more practice. I think my problem was I was way too impatient. I didn't wait long enough between steps, so they didn't look as flawless as the could have, but I was told they were tasted good, so I guess that's all that matters. ;) Check them out.

Sweetest by far!

Today was a busy but special day.
First it was the second shower for my future sister in law, and second it was the dedication of my sweet niece Norah Jayne!
At our church instead of baby baptism, they dedicate babies to God, where parents promise to lead and guide their child towards a relationship with Jesus Christ. So today was that day for Norah. The service was at 6:30pm, so we had a dinner before hand. My mother in law txted me Friday saying that even though it was last minute, was there anyway I could make a cake for Sunday. I definitely wanted to make something special for her so I said yes. Even though that meant a limitation on what I could create. There was gonna be around 15 people so I was afraid to make a smaller cake just in case it wouldn't be enough, so I just make a 12'' one tiered cake. But I probably could have gotten away with a two tiered 9'' and 6'' cakes. This is the first cake were I would have to fill such a large surface. Again with limited time I tried to think of a few specific things that would make it special.
My husband wrote a beautiful lullaby as a gift for Norah, taken out of the scripture Psalm 121. So I wanted to include part of that on the cake, with also the meaning of her name. The day before I was asked to make the cake I finally got in my edible markers that I ordered, so I thought this would be a perfect time to try them out. So I made a sleeping baby (my first) and then used melted white chocolate to make a design at the top of the cake, and added some small fondant flowers. I then wanted to use the marker to write the scripture on the cake. I was so nervous that I was gonna screw it up that I made it too small, and while it didn't look bad, it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. So after I had already dropped the cake off I went home and make a book and wrote the scripture on that, and covered up the other scripture the next day. I used the last verse of the passage which reads
"the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."
And when I researched her name it meant Women of Honor, and shining light. So I just simply wrote Honor and Light.
So this cake was simple, but I tried a couple new things so I was pretty happy how it turned out.

And the fun begins!

In November, my older brother and his girlfriend got engaged! The wedding is July 16th, 2011. When we were discussing their wedding plans, I offered to make their wedding cake and they accepted. Which is kind of why this cake adventure has taken place. I wanted to make sure that when the day arrived that my skills where up to par and that they didn't have a lumpy, sinking cake.

On April 16th, my Mom threw the first of Nancy's showers for our side of the family and friends. My mom asked me to make the shower cake. My mom is one of the most talented florists and decorators. I knew she was going to make the place look amazing, so I wanted a cake that would fit right in. Her wedding colors are bright pink and green. I wanted something simple and pretty.

I made a two tiered cake, the bottom tier was red velvet and the top was lemon almond. The top was originally chocolate, but at 12:30 Am the night before the shower I had to bake another cake! When I went to cover it, it started to crumple and topple. It looked like a lumpy mess. I was not putting that on top of the cake for everyone to see. So I stayed up till 3AM making another cake. It turned out a million times better.

So both tiers were covered in white fondant and had a pink ribbon and bow tied around them. I wanted to do some white piping on it, to give it a more elegant look, but for whatever reason, the buttercream I was using didn't stick to the cake properly. I'm not sure if there is a better icing to use, when piping on fondant but I plan on finding out for next time. So I did some minimal piping on the bottom, and then the top I put some dots. Then when I got to the shower I used the remaining flowers from the decorations to make a topper.

Here is the beautiful bride cutting the cake! ;)

Sleepless nights and sunken treasure!

My sister in-law works for the Welcome Wagon in essex. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's an organization that arranges greetings for people who are undergoing lifestyle changes such as new homes, family member or career changes.On March 27th She held a baby shower for all the pregnant women in the area. She worked so hard to make this event possible. There were a lot of different booths where each mom could go visit and get some ideas and win some awesome prizes.
She asked if I would make some cakes for the even and I said of course!This was a big challenge for me. This is the first time I have baked 2 three tiered cakes and decorated them for one event. There is so much cake batter and icing involved that I thought at one point I was in over my head. But I kept trucking through, and had the help of a good friend. So I started early in the week baking and planning out what these cakes would look like. I wanted to show how diverse I could be. So one I made simple and girly and the other was a little more complicated and playful.It was an exhausting week to say the least and a little stressful. I was able to take off both Friday and Saturday to prepare. On Friday I started cake number one, it was gonna be all white, the top tier I wanted to do so delicate piping, and made some vines and flowers. The second tier I wanted to try my hand at making a large bow. I also just picked up these cool things made by my favorite baker Duff (from Ace of Cakes) they are these plastic embossed pieces that you place and press over fondant and it makes a pattern. So the ribbon and bow would be embossed with a flower pattern. And finally the bottom tier I just wanted it to simply read Congrats. Well everything went well Friday, but come Sunday it was a different story. The cake started to sink!! Are you kidding me?? my first show and this has to happen. I just took a deep breathe and reminded my self it happens to professionals all the time. But still I was fighting the urge not to cry. So I took the tiers off and when I got to the location I had to run out again get some more support dowels and try and lift it up. I ran into a friend who is an amazing cake decorator (She made my wedding cake) and asked her what I can do, she said nothing. :( there was no time to bake another so I just had to make due. So I went back and tried to make the best of it. Because the front was sinking and not the back I was forced to turn it around and make the bottom tier plain white, with some simple white fondant dots. I found I liked that look better.
Cake # 2
This one I wanted to be super cute. So I knew my good friend Mandy would be able to help me that day so I designed the cake with her amazing figure making abilities in mind. I made all three tiers blue, with white spots to look like clouds and then stars around the tops. Mandy then made me four sleeping babies with blankets. Such a tedious and time consuming job but she did great. It just added the sweetest touch to the cake. My favorite so far.
It was a good experience to have a taste of how busy and hectic the cake industry can be. But I can say I thoroughly enjoyed my first show and hope there are many more to come!

19?!?! Look out! ;)

Birthday party number....at this point I don't even remember. But I do know this it's my baby sister's 19th birthday!! Crazy I know! And of course she wanted it to be fantastic, so off to the casino buffet we went. She was pretty proud to be i.d that day.
When I asked her what she wanted for her cake she said she wanted it to be two tiered and really pretty. .... oh ya, anything else princess? (just teasing I enjoyed every minute of it.)
So now faced with a big daunting task I kinda panicked for a bit but then, I got an idea from an Ace of Cakes episode I was watching. I wanted it to be cute but simple. I love simple classic designs. So here it is.

Happy Birthday Lady!

I'm not sure how it started, but at some point mom took on the nickname Lady. Not sure if you remember the show Animaniacs, but there was this little segment called Buttons and Mindy, she was a little girl who always got in trouble and only called her mom lady. Not that interesting I know, but that's where it came from and it sticks. Even though I am the only one who calls her that. :) So the Saturday following my dad's is my mother's birthday. Not sure she wants me to disclose her age, so you can guess instead. Mom is a brilliant florist. She does some pretty amazing things. So for her birthday cake, I want something pretty and elegant. A simple clean and classic design.So i tried my hand at some fondant roses, and piping. I was really excited about this one. The only thing that didn't work out was, I was hoping to have some crystallized rose petals to put on and around the cake but they flopped. I really like that look so I will probably try again at a later date.
What do you think?
Ok I love you bye bye.

52?...53??...it's all the same

February 27th is a big deal for two reasons. One it's my daddy's birthday, a great time to celebrate 52 years of a great man! :)
Also it is the beginning of what will be a ton of birthday party's. Not gonna lie, I can't remember the last time I went to so many in such a short period of time. But we had a blast, and I had an awesome excuse to practice more.So back to daddy. It was his 52 birthday, even though when you asked him he would proudly say 53...I guess it's the old age ;) His birthday fell on a Sunday and unfortunately we were unable to make the birthday party due to a previous commitment that night, so we went the night before and had a nice dinner with him. Even though I wasn't able to be there Sunday I still wanted to bring a special cake for him. I wasn't exactly sure what to make, so I google image search ideas, nothing helpful came up. In fact a lot of really inappropriate cake pictures surfaced, some of which I would be embarrassed to make let alone show people. I asked family their thoughts and ideas and due to my dad's amazing carpentry skills and that he works at Home Hardware I decided to make a red tool box. Had a little difficulty covering this cake because the cake was so moist it was shifting, creating an awkward looking shape. I was able to make it straight eventually but it took some time. I put as many details as possible, including hinges in the back, a screw driver, tape measure and (thanks to my husbands creative thinking,) ground up brown sugar to give the look of sawdust. Since we weren't there when they cut it I don't have a picture of him blowing out the candles unfortunately , but here is the finished product.

What's up cupcake!

When I first lived on my own, one of my favorite things to do was make a batch of cupcakes at the beginning of the week and snack on them all week long, plus share some with my fellow co-workers. I could eat cupcakes everyday, no joke. After while of eating plain boring cupcakes I tried a few different things. Like putting little chocolate bar pieces in them, and even decorating them differently. I was making some cupcakes for a friends shower, it was a daisy and bumble bee theme. So to make some cute and easy Bee's i found an outline for the "Winny the Poo" bee, melted some chocolate in a baggie and then outlined it on some wax paper. I froze them for a little while then stuck them in the icing. They looked so cute.
Just this past February my good friend Mandy had a birthday. She is a Gleek, so I wanted to make something Glee themed. I was looking online and saw that some girls made Big Quench Slushy cupcakes. They were adorable and super simple to make. The only difficult thing was finding and printing the labels, even that wasn't so hard. But you just cut a plastic cup and tape the label around in and drop the cupcake in. The girls online used twizzlers for the straws, but I hate licorice, so I wrapped some skewers in fondant and painted red stripes on them. Ta-da instant straws!
I have included other cupcakes I have done recently as well.