Birthday cake-arama!

I have made many birthday cakes. Many different themes for various ages with a multitude of flavors.  This sushi cake was one of my favorites. 

I was inspired to post a bunch of birthday cake pictures, because we just celebrated one of my daughter's birthday.  I give you...birthday cake-arama!!

My oldest is now a teenager (tears falling and fear ensues). I can't believe she is not that pudgy, sweet, smiley little girl anymore.  She is really growing up and doing it with grace and beauty. Ok, don't judge what I said by this picture:) This was for a dance performance at a fashion show in Minneapolis. An award winning dance with outrageous hair and make-up.

Peanut butter cup arama was the request for this year. (Thanks Bakerella!)

This is a friend of the family, Grandpa Gyle.  He is a fisherman who also loves a pretty girl.  So, for his 78th birthday, we combined the two. Presenting... Miss Walleye. Funny, he ate the bikini first!

Even yoga instructors must eat cake.  This is my favorite yogi/torturer.  Wayne was so thrilled with this lime chiffon cake.  He said it was by far the most beautiful cake he had ever received. He has brought the beauty of yoga into my life, so I think it is a good trade. Although, I was hoping it would garner me a little leeway for when he comes around to raise up that leg in the bird of paradise. Not so much. Yowchhh. 

This one was for a client's 40th.  She likes to golf.  Must not have kids, is all I could think of.

A sweet 16 cake for a girlie girl.

My favorite C.W.'s daughter's cake.  Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting and red velvet cupcake pops on top.  Seriously, can anyone get enough of the RV? Not me.

This one was for my daughter's BFF.  My Lou, designed it and I made it.  It was very fun to work on this with her and her friend loved it. A 13y/o girl can be tough to buy for.  Cake always works.  

Way better than another Aero shirt, right?

A special dancer we know, was turning 11 and her mom hadn't got a chance to get her a phone yet, but one was coming.  We thought this would hold her off a bit. Thank goodness my Livi was on hand to help me with the specs on this one.  She regularly searches for a phone of her own.  Poor delusional child. 

Not happening.

Our neighbor wanted a little something to do with golf for her son's 11th birthday. Golf theme, check.  Little, not so much.

Rock climbing party.  Gotta have a rock climbing cake, with a likeness of the birthday boy.  

An avid Twins fan.

This birthday girl was lucky to have a grandpa who wanted to surprise her with a sweet Hello Kitty cake.  Apparently, it was the hit of the party. 

(I must again apologize for my poor photography skills.  I am learning and Wendy B is helping me.  One tip to share with you- turn off the flash. Didn't do that on this one. Sorry if the glare is blinding you.)

This was for a darling little green eyed boy.  His mom gave me the invite, which inspired this one. The picture doesn't do it justice.  I don't often applaud myself, but this one was Super cute. 

Pun intended :)

This one was for a 2 year old who loves Sesame Street. Is there any 2 year old who doesn't? Or anyone any age that doesn't? The cupcake bites were the perfect companion to the cake.  The mom said the cake was for the child to dig into and destroy.  She knew the other party goers wouldn't want to eat the remnants, so we made the cupcake bites for the adults, err the other kids, yeah, it's all about the kids.

This is my little bubby.  He just wanted to decorate his own cupcakes for his birthday this year.  He said he would like us all to decorate the cupcakes as a family after his birthday dinner.  Instead of me being too busy in the kitchen and staying up all night working on a crazy custom cake.  He said spending time with me was really what he wanted that day. 

The guilt, oh, the guilt.

Actually, he gave me a gift that day.  I had 4 helpers making the cupcakes (that would be 4 more than usual) and then I just sat and watched them have so much fun decorating them.  

It was almost like a night off, almost.

Happy birthday to all of you out there that have just had a birthday or have one coming up. Hmm, well, I guess that means "Happy birthday to all and to all a good night!"

Christmas was a blur...

You may have noticed my previous post- hence the title for this post.  Before all the sadness ensued, we did make lots of sweets for the holidays.  I had so many orders between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I dreamed of sleep and well, a nice relaxing evening with a glass of wine in hand! To kick off the holidays we did a Holiday Open House at Angelina's Kitchen.  Here are some of the pictures of the holiday treats we had available to our customers. 

Cupcake bites, red velvet- of course.

 We cleared out the kitchen and turned it into a holiday boutique.  Everything looked so fun and festive! Angela and her staff made some of her delicious food for everyone to sample.  I am pretty sure my family ate most if it! Spinach lasagna, Tuscan chicken medley, spicy meatballs.  Don't get me started!

I set up various tables with displays and tastings.

This one had the Romen Chocolate Cake, Lime Chiffon with cranberries, Carrot cake and decorated sugar cookies.

Close up of those cute little cookies! Please, don't ask how long each one took me.  My husband already thinks I am crazy.

We were lucky enough to have my oldest daughter and Angela's youngest, as helpers for the event.  They loved to be in the "shopping area".  It was filled with handmade clothes, belts, Stella Dot jewelry, Southern Living dishes, etc.  Oh sure, they helped- eating the samples and trying on jewelry!

The breads are always a hit and available most weeks at Angelina's Kitchen. People love them all 

wrapped up in pretty ribbons.  As for me, cut up on my plate is how I like to eat see them.  At home I make them for my kids.  I will cut the loaves in thick slices, wrap them in plastic wrap then put them in the freezer.  When I am sending them off to school, I take a slice out and pack it in their lunch.  By the time they eat, the slice is all thawed out and fresh.  A little taste of home while they are away from me.  I have been known to send many extra slices or cookies for their friends.  I get many requests :)

Just a little lunch tip.  Never run out of things to say, do I?

We also did many catered orders, for office parties, and holiday get togethers. The lemon bread and chocolate brownie torte tray is always a winner.

So, there it was, and now it is February. Hmm. Guess you would like to see what I did for Valentine's.  Next up.  I promise .  I also promise to get better at posting (for the two of you who happen by this blog).  I may have some exciting news soon.  I will give you a hint...nahh. Not yet :)

I will tell you that I can see a better year ahead for us.  Last year really hit us hard in many ways.  We are so thankful for our loving family and good friends who stuck by us and held us up when we needed it.  Hugs and sweet kisses to all of you, you know who you are!

A Dear Man

It has been a while since I posted and I will get you caught up with my sweets soon. First, I need to post about my father-in-law, Jim. He passed away from tongue cancer on Dec. 27, 2009. So this is really about sweetness and sadness.

Jim and Buffy (hubbie's parents) renewed their vows at the beginning of November. The picture above is at that ceremony with all the clan. It was a joyful day and bittersweet. We had found out in late September, that the treatment and surgery didn't get rid of the cancer and Jim only had about 6 months left. I wish we would have had six months.

I was honored to make a full dessert table for their celebration. We had a Romen chocolate cake, lime chiffon, carrot cake, decorated sugar cookies and red velvet cupcake bites.

Beautiful color scheme, huh?

Jim went through more than anyone should. He never complained and showed such grace and strength. Here are three of my favorite guys just a few months ago. One more handsome than the next. They all shared quite an amazing bond.
The picture below was just before Christmas. Grandpa Jim had a very special place in his heart for little girls. These two meant the world to him. He loved to watch them dance at their competitions. One of the only times I ever saw him cry was when he saw them perform on stage.
This one warms my heart as much as it breaks it. My little guy adored his Grandpa and taught him so much about love. Jim could be in pain, exhausted, sad, upset and when Cam walked in the room, he lightened right up. This is how Cam spent most of our visits with Jim.
We were there with Jim when he took his last breath. I can't explain properly how amazing it was. It was such a privilege and gift to be with him at that moment.

Buffy asked me if I would say the words of farewell at his funeral mass. As much as I wanted to, I just thought it would be too hard. One night I sat and just wrote my heart out, called Buffy when I was done and told her I would do it. Somehow, someway, I made it through the words at the mass. This is the last paragraph of my words of farewell~

"Jim was the dearest man. As the angels carried him up to paradise after his last gentle breath, we all looked around at each other and smiled. We felt so blessed to have loved and been loved by this wonderful man before us. It is our duty to keep his memory alive and we will do it with pride. He will remain in our hearts forever. A dear man."

Love you Jimmer

Gobble gobble and all that! How did I miss posting this holiday?

This turkey day, as far as sweets go, was a busy one and one mixed in with birthdays.

One of our family friends has a son, who is allergic to dairy. Poor guy! Yes, that means no ice cream. I know! Not fair, what is life without a little scoop now and then. Anyway, I set out to make him a cake that looked like sushi, tasted decent, didn't have any dairy, but was pleasing to everyone else.

Here he is with his little cousin. I adore the look on his cousin's face! It looks like the little guy is in a trance and all he can hear in his head is "eat cake, eat cake, eat cake". (Been there!)

Next up, buttercream dream cake. It is certainly not going to win any prizes for photography or overly exciting cake, but it was sure to be tasty and bring a little something different than pie to the holiday dessert table.
This one was for a Thanksgiving day birthday. The customer wanted me to play with the turkey theme. And play I did! What's he looking at?
I meant to make a small cake for just a family of four, but then I thought about turkeys. Does small come to mind? I also think they carry a bit of attitude. They certainly aren't the best looking animal, so he needed to be "charactered up" (I know, not a word) a little.

He started off a little bare. But then came the feathers...
I think he looks much better like this. The feathers were all made from fondant. I think they gave the cake great texture and color. I will be making more of these next year. Get your orders in now! I had so many people love this and think it would be a great, edible centerpiece for their Thanksgiving table. Turkey for dinner, turkey for dessert. Works for me :)
We shared a lovely holiday with many family and friends. One of my dear friend's father passed away just before Thanksgiving. A great reminder of how precious life is and all that we have to be thankful for. My heart is with her and her family.

I hope he is enjoying his pasta and JB up there with the big guy and his parents. Here's to you Johnny Stripes. You will not soon be forgotten.

Not as Creepy as they are Cute!

I don't know about you, but I love the "sweets" part of Halloween much more the the creepy, scary, gory part. So try as I might to make scary Halloween treats, I still think they just end up looking adorable rather than icky. I made these for a customer's annual Halloween party. She gave me free rein, which I was super excited about. But she knew it should be cupcake bites, she is one smart woman!

My little guy was such a big help when I was making these. He had great ideas and helped me push the styling a bit further than I may have. The eyeball ones where all him. I cut bigger white circles and smaller blue circles out of fondant for the eyeballs. I then used a food marker to make the red blood shot look. The spiders were m&m's with candy melt legs attached. The spiderwebs were just some Halloween quinns topped off by string of melted chocolate. The pumpkins came together when I tried using a chocolate covered sunflower seed for the stem. Perfect!

They were everywhere! I will take that kind of scary table setting anytime. Turns out my customer said that they were a bit hit and everyone enjoyed them. Kids and adults!

Here are a few more not so scary, but oh so cute parts of my Halloween.

My girls made their costumes all by themselves. We bought the wings at Joann's. Thanks to a sale and a coupon, we got both for only $6. They then spent another $6 on the black t-shirts, which they cut and tied and decorated with paints and jewels, as they did their masks. A few old dance costume skirts, and they were set. Camden used his Harry Potter cape and a lovely black ensemble with a mask and a light up sword from Nani. The swash buckling Zorro in him came out quite effortlessly!

Hope you all enjoyed Halloween and don't forget to save that extra candy (ha ha , I know what extra candy?). If you do have any extra, use it to make a gingerbread house this holiday season.

We had a great time trick or treating in Deforest with Uncle Jim, Aunt Kris and referee Mikey.

No boo hoo's to be heard!

It's Breast Cancer Awareness month, think pink!

Aren't they cute?! I made these for a breast cancer event. Pink, white and dark chocolate cupcake pops were everywhere!

Turns out one of my high school classmates and I reconnected on facebook. No big story there, right? Well, I had just posted some of my sweets pictures and this friend told me his twin sister lived in my area and she would love to reconnect. So, within a day, I had reconnected with two friends, realized one lived by me, found out that she had an event coming up and wanted me to do something sweet for her. She was having it at a restaurant and they did not allow you to bring in dessert. I decided it would be clever to make centerpieces that were edible and looked good. Then her guests could take them home as well if they didn't gobble them up at their tables and the restaurant wouldn't be offended.

I made a variety of red velvet, white and pink cupcake pops covered in colored white chocolate or dark chocolate. Then I added some details, including some BC symbols I made out of some of the melted pink chocolate. I found some vases at Joann's and I cut out a styrofoam cube and placed it in the vase. I filled a couple with white and pink sugar. For the others I scrunched up hot pink tulle and wrapped bows around each one. Then it was just a matter of putting the pops in and there you have it- centerpieces ;)

I also donated pink ribbon (touch o'lemon) sugar cookies. They gave each guest a bag filled with information on their charity and these went right in there. I was very happy to help out with something so special and yet saddened that another friend had been affected by breast cancer.

Three very special women in my life have had breast cancer and I am so happy that each of them had the courage and strength to fight it. My beloved Auntie Kris, my husband's second mom, Tante (Aunt Pat) and my dear mother, Gerry.

My mom is a director for the Wisconsin Breast Cancer Coalition and has lobbied in Washington D.C. for the cause. Check out their site www.standupandspeakout.org. Last weekend, she helped to organize the WBCC's annual charity event. It is called the Rare Chair Affair. They have people going through treatment or survivors work with artist to create unique, wonderful chairs and then they are auctioned off , along with a host of many other wonderful things, at the event. I was lucky enough to be there and help out along with my three sisters and my mom and dad. It is tough to hear some of the stories, but mostly inspirational. I couldn't help but think that maybe someday, the efforts of some of those wonderful people could help save me, one of my sisters or one of my daughters.

My mom is going on 10 years of survival. It has made her a better, stronger woman. I am very proud of how she handled her battle and continues to support the cause every chance she gets.

Here she is with my middle one who was just a baby when she was diagnosed.

Cupcake pops and sugar cookies are the least I can do for some of the sweet things in my life. What else can we all do?

From first birthdays to graduation, cakes always enhance the celebration!

I really can't think of an event (or day if the week for that matter!) where a cake or sweet treat doesn't make it that much more special. These cupcakes were for little Lucy's first birthday. The fondant touches made them seem that much more petite and special for the birthday girl.

I think cupcakes are so perfect for a first birthday. That way the birthday baby can dig into their own little cake and the adults can chow down on the rest, without worrying about drool and goober in their dessert! Priorities, right?

Next up is a cake I made for a bowling party to celebrate another little cutie. Madison is a fun girl who I had the pleasure of watching perform a musical number in the kids school talent show. Let me just say that everyone should go to watch a first grade talent show tryout. It was 2 hours of sheer bliss. I laughed and smiled so much it hurt! Anyway, it was time for her birthday and her mom mentioned that they were having a bowling party and she liked pink. The pins and bowling ball were made out of rice krispie treats that I molded and covered with frosting, then fondant. I have watched my share of cake challenges and they always use rice krispie treats for parts of their structures, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Turned out great because then the decorations weren't too heavy for the cake and they just sat right on top. It was also an added treat for the party goers! (That's a word, right?)

This one was for a graduation party. The mother contacted me and said that she thought a sheet cake with some flowers would do fine. Hmm, fine? That didn't sound like a cake I would love to make. So, I emailed back and forth with her about what her child was like, interest, colors or anything to help make it better than , fine. I first found out it was a male, okay no flowers. Next she mentioned that he had a passion for cars, especially his black mustang. Once again, the ding ding went off in my head. I encouraged her to let me put in some elements of a car into the cake. Well, I think I got her to put her thinking cap on too. She came back asking if we could really do it up and maybe make the car on top of the cake, and then she forwarded me pictures of his car. Now we had something! I chose to make it look like the car was coming out of the cake. Thank goodness my husband was around to point out the specific details of the car and remind me to add the exhaust system to the bottom of the car (seriously!). Okay, so this one took some extra work and patience. One final touch, the license plate.

Crusin' through life with cakes around every corner...

Now, that is fine!