cake-ology

test

2011-12-22T15:56:00.001-06:00

2011-11-23T01:02:00.000-06:00

more holiday gift ideas!

2011-11-21T15:44:00.002-06:00

In the shop starting today we have holiday packaging ready for your cakette giving needs! Two sizes to accommodate 3 cakettes or 6 and at $5 or $10 price points.

Perfect for all the little add on's and hard to buy people.

Perfect for teachers. Doctors. Your mailman. Your daycare provider. Podiatrists. Chiropractors. Your lawyer. Your neighbour. Or your friendly neighborhood baker :)

Just for the record, please don't buy me cakettes.

Please.

One baker can only eat them for so long before they become not so cute and fun.

Thanks for thinking of me though :)

who doesn't want cakettes?!

2011-11-17T11:27:00.002-06:00

Well it's that lovely gift giving time of year again. We did dainty platters last year and while we specialize in cakes; the cookies and treats drove us to drink (just eggnogg of course :)

So this year we figured, let's give them what they want.

Cakettes.

Perfect for your customers, friends or family, we haven't had someone yet who doesn't like these darn things.

They come in two sizes and will be packaged up in this lovely box. We have a large one of 30 pieces (for $45) and the small with 15 pieces ($25).

They will both come with chocolate cakettes, vanilla cakettes and red velvet cakettes. The flavours can be swapped out with some of our inhouse varieties if you want to change them up. No custom flavours though please, just the choices we have in house.

24 hours needed for ordering, give us a shout at 612-9866!

sweet.

2011-11-16T19:36:00.003-06:00

Since getting an iphone a couple months ago, I have become obsessed with playing on instagram. A photo editing and posting app that lets you easily make your pictures awesome. I'm loving it. The only problem is I can't adjust the light....

This cake was one of my favorites. I mention the lack of light because you can't really see the detailing of the second tier, just around the flowers you can.

Sweet and pretty to fit their vintage garden theme.

monkey's monkey's

2011-11-16T19:10:00.003-06:00

Next to Lightening McQueen, I think the most requested thing we make are cakes with monkey's on them. Fortunate for us. They are cute and relatively simple.

Add in some other cutey jungle characters and you've got yourself a jungle party. Popular theme this year, we're done a number of cakes.

wedding favour ideas

2011-11-08T16:02:00.003-06:00

You can tell the wedding season is over and we're back into the cycle of wedding planning when I go and check on my emails in the morning. I have gotten a lot of emails lately asking about favours and ideas so I thought I would do a quick blog post about some things we've done. I will continue to photograph the wedding set ups so you guys can see the favour in action too :)

Here are some cakettes in action. There are three delicious balls of goodness in these bags, yes, the bride and groom were fanatics. And I heard some rave reviews from guests who popped in after that wedding. We've done the cakettes as singles wrapped in cellophane (or done in a little box) two wrapped up and even three. We tie them up for you too, because we love.

We've done a whole ton of cake pops this year as favours too. We're currently working on some for a wedding this weekend so I'll be sure to take shots for you all. Cake pops are cakettes done on a stick. We wrap these up individually as well and then tie them with matching ribbon.

One of my favorite favours are imperial cookies. Personally, I would be ecstatic if I were a guest at a wedding and sitting at my plate was a delicious cookie. I don't know about you but the hours before dinner is served at a wedding feel like days and I'm always starving. We can do them in a variety of simple cutouts, usually letters or hearts. We've also done flowers, wedding cakes and circles. Done up with a little design, usually a little sparkling sanding sugar. Again we bag these up in clear cellophane and tie with some pretty ribbon.

Heather & Paul!

2011-10-04T22:17:00.007-05:00

Finally! One of my biggest events of the year for me has come and gone, and man, did we have a blast. My husbands sister Heather was married to her dear Paul last weekend. So many things to do! my girls were flowers girls, and quite frankly, the cutest ever. Great age for them to be involved in a wedding too, they had a great time. My dear hubby was the m.c., and naturally, I was in charge of sweets :)

Of what we could provide for a wedding, well, we did. From seat placing cookies, each custom iced with all of the guests names, to the wedding cake, the grooms cake (the Pug!) pics of him will follow, and a dessert buffet. Cupcakes, cakettes, brownies, lemon slice, and candy. great late night snacks!

We did up a four tier cake, the bottom half is not real, but I wanted to show off with a big cake :) Nice deep brown colour a little different from the traditional white, but was so fitting for this time of year and for their colour scheme. The day was gorgeous and we were able to have the appetizers and cocktails on the patio at Breezy Bend.

One of my favorite things to do for weddings is a dessert buffet. Candy buffets have popped up like crazy, and we added some candy to ours too but the sweets are where we excel. Four kinds of cakettes, four kinds of cupcakes, most gluten free, brownies, lemon slice. The guests were saited!

the groupon experiment

2011-09-26T18:42:00.004-05:00

If you follow my blog, then odds are you already follow us on twitter and facebook, so you'll know today was our 2nd bat at running a Groupon coupon. I had commented throughout the day and got a lot of feedback about what my experience with it was and I wanted to share. I have also read a lot of negative comments on Groupon so I wanted to share some thoughts about that too.

I'll start though, with the disclaimer. No one from Groupon has asked me to write, I am not an expert on, well, anything really, and by no way is my word law. My experience and business is based and has grown on trial and error, and lately a lot of book reading. I don't have a masters in baking nor do I in business management. It's just me, Pam.

Our first Groupon was run about a year ago and was one of the first in the Winnipeg market. It went well. We tracked everything we could really, the date they redeemed, what else was purchased. Other than that not a lot of info could be derived from it. I can't say I know how many people are ordering cakes now because they bought a Groupon, but if I had to guess, I would say very few. Our promo is 50% off a dozen cupcakes, with a little list of restrictions and rules. We've been up for about 10 hours and we're over 500. We capped it at 1000, so we're well on our way. Last years coupons were good for one year and we're just at about 50% redemption. This one will be good for 6 months only. Those are the bones of it, now onto the feelings...

Groupon has gone from a pretty fun-feeling advertising/marketing group, to one that is taking quite a bit of flack. I've been forwarded countless links to articles written online about Groupon and how they're hurting small biz, how people have fallen to ruin because of it and how it's just a plain old bad idea. These articles have made me think quite a bit, thus the need to write. I feel as though I also need to defend myself for running the promo, so I wanted to share how I came to doing it. They received media attention twice earlier this year, once for a poorly timed/badly tasting ad they ran during the Superbowl (really poor taste guys) and then later when Google tried to buy them for like, $3 million and they said NO. Not the wisest decision.

(again, just my humble opinions).

My approach to advertising is to proceed with great caution. I don't run ads in magazines, I don't use billboards, bus stops or ads on the radio. My theory is, I need to know that this money spent will result in an action, the action being people coming in and buying things from me. I could run an ad in a magazine, and I would need to make it trackable (like adding a "mention this add an receive 10% off!) kind of thing to know what that ad is bringing in for me. Otherwise how do you know? I really don't do those kinds of advertising's though because they are SO expensive. I don't have cash. I need to make decisions that are smart and worth my time and energy and the little money I can invest. The other thing for us is that we are already pretty busy. Good thing and bad thing, but mostly good. So when we advertise, it's pointed and intentional. I know who can take the extra pressure and where we can apply it at the shop. Example...I can't run an ad or promo for custom cakes. Siew-Chiing and I decorate and we are at our max each weekend. Adding a discounted promo to this area would literally kill me. I also know what I can afford to discount. Mathing is not my strong point, but I have a good calculator so we get by. (Jenn, along with being a master baker is also a whiz at long division. True story.) So I know what it costs us to make a dozen cupcakes. This is key. You cannot discount something that will end up costing you more in the end. That's bad for everyone. Mostly you.

Here are some of the pros and cons and how I think groupon can work for us (and other small biz's) based on the articles and negative comments I've heard about groupon in general. Bottom line, though, it's not for everyone. Especially very specific jobs and business's that are based in custom things and have few resources (like family members who can ice cupcakes)...

Timing- September brings fewer walk in customers to the shop and people are busy with their back to school routines and evening classes that start up again. Wedding season is slowing down and our order book is slim. It is timely for us to run this right now. You have to know how much more business you can take on, how it will impact your day and how it will impact your staff's days.

Product-You can't discount until you know the worth behind the item. What is your discount truly worth? What is your product worth? We chose cupcakes with great intention, and we will not lose money on this promo because of it.

Customers- If I had to guess, I would put my regular customers at about 30-50% of the make-up of who bought the groupon. The other 50% are the couponers. The discount seekers, the ones wanting great deals. They will be new to us and hitting up this demographic may or may not lead to repeat business. Our product is not cheap. It's not an everyday kind of item either (in terms of birthdays and wedding cakes). But through great service we can widen our base to include these new guys and turn them into new regulars. If not, and if they've bought this simply because of the deal, that's fine too. Winnipeg is notorious for bargains and our goal thru groupon is exposure. The grouponers have to literally come to my store to get my product. They must step foot in here, and that's big. We are in a neighborhood that is notorious for bad parking, specific boutiques and art galleries. This is not the mall. I hope to win them over with our quaint little shop and have them bring their friends back to show off the little gem they found downtown.

Discounting your product often is a bad move, and has to be done carefully. People don't trust when discounts are deep and often, they will wonder why they should pay the full price on a regular visit. It also leads to the cheapening of your product. So we do them, but infrequently.

So I will keep you posted, dear readers. Mind you, this kind of thing takes time, years really, I'll continue to analyse it and comment on it. Small businesses are often built around a person loving something they're doing and not a business degree in entreprenuralism (is that even a major?) And like I said above, I don't hold a commerce degree nor will I ever. I'm a baker. I will share what I can and what I have learned to all you other crafty folk so you don't make the mistakes I have and we can all grow together. Aww...warm fuzzies.

Thanks for reading. And if you're new to my blog because of the groupon, please know I'm not always this long winded :) I added pictures just for you.

Under the sea...

2011-09-26T18:19:00.002-05:00

Found some over sized aquatic cakes we did over the summer. Fun stuff! As we plan for a little vacation this coming winter I am struggling with the idea of scuba diving and potentially running into these creatures. The ocean scares me. A lot. I'm a lake girl, born and raised. but the ocean? Man, there's weird stuff out there. Octopuses scare me the most.

I know, I'm odd...

Mobile blogging

2011-09-21T22:48:00.001-05:00

Recently I switched over from my trusty blackberry to an iphone. The major reason? Photos. I thought this topic would go nicely with my last post about having good quality photos taken of my cakes. One of my best friends is a tattoo artist and he would post fantastic quick shots of works in progress and freshly completed tattoos. I was finding it quite onerous to take pictures, upload them, edit them, then sort them so I could later post them and write about them. With my handy dandy little phone, suddenly I found myself uploading pics right after taking them and instantly sharing them on twitter, facebook and instagram. Then it dawned on me. I'll get the blogger app.

Look out, posts will be almost daily now :) Enjoy!

This shot is of our new front doors. A little sad that you can't see the panels of the frencj doors, but it makes for a much better work environment, the number of wasps in the bakery were out of control!

shameless bragging!

2011-09-21T14:52:00.003-05:00

Hi again! Wanted to show off a little to explain why I am as busy as I am. The shop, slowly but surely has gotten to a happy place. We have become very systematic in our procedures, routines and job roles. That, as a small business was really hard to achieve. One really needs the right people in the right spots and finding those people can be hard. We have some really dedicated staff who are helping me get better at what I do and helping the store become a better, more consistent and more organized place. I am also at the point now of meeting with an advisor once a month to review and work on my business. Now that is fun times! Looking at numbers and learning about the fundamentals of my business is down right fascinating. I'm not even lying a little bit :)

Like did you know we sold 32,541 cakettes last year?!

That's fascinating!

And crazy....it also explains Jenn's carpal tunnel issues...

Anyway, the photos are of my little girls on their first day of school. They keep me most busy but have also come to love playing at the shop with me and helping when I do deliveries. Have to train them young!

(That's Claire with her bestie Anthony in the top photo, and Cameron (Wren) on the bottom left with her bestie Isabelle.)

hello hello hello...is there anybody out there...

2011-09-20T13:04:00.002-05:00

Hello all my blog readers! I have taken the summer off from the blog world to focus on gathering my bearings, thanks for joining me again! This summer flew by and we had a really great couple of months. I have a whole pantload of photos to show off, lots of fun stuff!

One of the perks about the wedding industry are the photographers. It's not often that I have access to great settings, equipment, and expertise when it comes to photos. I'd love to learn more and get some backdrops and such but really, I'm afraid I have enough on my plate right now.

So instead, I try to make friends and connections with those who have the expertise, and when they are already friends then I get really excited. Case in point, Victoria Anne Photography. Since Aly has been doing weddings, we have run into each other countless times, Winnipeg is truly a small city. I was able to recommend her to one of my couples (which never seems to happen!) and she took these fantastic shots of one of my favorite cakes from the summer. Why one of my favorite? A couple of reasons. This cake is completely gluten free. No wheat. None. Possibly the most requested thing this summer. Second, there is no fondant (short of the little flowers). It's all butter cream :)

Stay tuned! Lots of fun photos and such coming your way, including a new site!

xo-pam

Fathers Day!

2011-06-16T18:41:00.002-05:00

Available at the shop on Saturday!

limited supply...

Guest Post!

2011-06-09T15:29:00.001-05:00

Madeline’s Weddings & Event s – Winnipeg Décor Design & Planning

Are you looking for Décor, Linen Rentals, Wedding Day Coordination or Planning? Look no further!

Madeline’s Weddings offer complete décor design and rentals for your special day! If you are looking for chair covers, floor length linens, head table décor, ceiling décor, a backdrop or just want to WOW your guests, contact Madeline’s Weddings. With Manitoba’s largest linen supply and over 7 years of business this IS the place you want to go to for your wedding day needs.

The MWs Team has hundreds of rave reviews behind them and our gorgeous weddings have been featured all over North America. We are proven leaders in the Wedding Industry, Winnipeg and beyond.

Complete décor packages starting at $1349!

Complete décor & wedding day coordination starting at $1999!

*** Pricing INCLUDES design, set up, take down etc.

Set up a complimentary consultation to meet with our wedding planners to discuss all the options for your wedding day!

Looking for Daily Inspiration for your wedding? Check out our blog where we feature several great segments including Signature Drinks, Sweet Indulgences, Celebrity Weddings, Tips, Trends and everything DIY! http://madelinesweddings.com/blog/

Top 5 DIY Stationery Projects

We love diy projects! Here’s our picks for the top 5 best diy projects!

1. Candy Bar Wrappers: If you’re thinking of having chocolate bars as your wedding favor but not crazy about the packaging they come in, you can easily change that by making your very own wrappers right at home!

2. Cupcake Toppers: These fun little toppers are a great way to dress up your cupcakes! You can create almost anything you like and customize them to suite your wedding style!

3. Edible Favours: There’s nothing better than leaving with a bag of goodies! If you’re skilled at baking then whip up your favourite cookies, homemade fudge or caramel corn! Homemade edible wedding favors are a great way to say thank you!

4. Mason Jars: Cluster several jars together on a table and fill them with flowers! Fill them with candles and hang them from tree branches – how amazing would they look all lit up at night! Or use them along a pathway and have the candles light the way for guests.

5. Save The Date Cards: Take pictures of yourselves either on your own or during your engagement session with your photographer. You can even hold up numbers or a blank poster board and fill in the date in a photo editing software!

Tons of ides, tips, DIY projects and more!

Check out our website for real weddings, all of our services and much more! www.madelinesweddings.com

Come and check out our wedding show at Delta Winnipeg June 12^th. Get all the details and your FREE tickets http://madelinesweddings-eorg.eventbrite.com/

*Mention this blog post when booking any décor package and receive 100 FREE Custom Designed Thank you Cards. Expires July 31, 2011.

Madeline's Wedding Show!

2011-06-07T09:46:00.000-05:00

Calling all couples!! Madeline’s Weddings & Events is hosting a fabulous show for all brides and grooms to be! You will be able to interact with quality vendors one on one, see gorgeous table and linen designs and sample some delicious treats!

Every bride or groom attending will have a chance to win the Grand Prize Give Away full of free services and discounts for your big day!

There is no charge to attend this event, but we ask that each person attending bring a non-perishable food item that Madeline’s Weddings & Events will donate to Winnipeg Harvest.

All brides and grooms are welcome to attend but you MUST register for your FREE tickets herehttp://madelinesweddings.eventbrite.com/

Here is a preview of some of the vendors participating in this years show!

Joining Hearts Wedding Services
A Moving Pictures Studios
Luxury Plus Limos
King Cole Catering
Michelle Zerr Photgraphy
Fine Eyes Makeup
The Floral Fixx
Cake-Ology
The Sugar Cookie Shoppe
Sun Life Financial
Afterglow
dconstruct jewelry
Madeline’s Weddings & Events
Delta Winnipeg

We hope to see you there!!

Here’s a look back at one of our previous shows at the Delta!

above photos: Michelle Zerr Photography

mother's day 2011

2011-04-28T17:26:00.001-05:00

call the shop at 612-9866 to order yours today!

ONE YEAR!

2011-04-12T14:44:00.002-05:00

It's our birthday! We are turning one.

One!

Seriously, this little shop has been like having another little baby. Lots of work and it seems to get a little easier with each stage. Each stage is new mind you, uncharted territory, new people, new ideas, but the basis (the baby) is here. Puttering along.

If you are able, we would love to see you Saturday, we are having an open house kind of day, cake, balloons, party hats. All the things typical of a first birthday. We'd love to see you!

Thanks for the love, support, and kind (and sometimes not kind) words. It's been quite the endeavor and I'm very pleased to say we are all still having fun doing it :)

destination weddings

2011-03-30T15:03:00.002-05:00

Our good friend Jaime, over at My Way With Style, planned an afternoon of helping brides plan their destination wedding. She got us to do the treats :)

We have had a lot of requests for our cakettes to make appearances a weddings as favors for guests. How great is that?! No more stale mints or trinkets, why not give your guests a sweet little treat! Jaime has some great packaging ideas, as shown above, but they can even be as simple as cello wrapped with some pretty ribbon.

They are also showing up more and more often on dessert spreads and nestled into cupcake towers. Even plated as they are above, simple and so pretty.

We can do them in chocolate and white chocolate and the design on the tops have lots of options. Sprinkles, sparkling sugar, matching coloured chocolate, or even little flowers.

empty promises

2011-03-21T16:27:00.008-05:00

Alright, back to the wordy blogging. I've veered away from chatting too much as we've been really swamped. My poor little blog has really taken a back seat and as I'm writing this, I know I've written that same line over and over. Time gets tight, the blog seems to be the first thing to go. Weeks later, I write an apology blog post and promise I'll do more, promise I'll do it weekly, promise I will stay on top of it. My game plan this time is to get help with it and have our shop girl, Jaime post pics too. I'll do the wordy thoughts-in-my-head posts, she can do the pics. Fair trade. I'll sprinkle in some cake pics too for you, as I can't imagine you're just here to read about the life of Pam....

Business has been booming like mad over here at the shop, and we are super thankful for that. It's also a nice problem to have when it comes to advertising and people wanting us to put ads out. I can simply say "no thanks", and that's not a usually easy thing for me to say. We did do a couple promo's though and I have to say there is nothing quite as satisfying as seeing your work in print. I'm making a scrapbook :)

And it's not just print. We've done a couple cakes for wedding planners, event coordinators and the like and seeing them on blogs and twitter feeds and websites is also super exciting. Just yesterday a wedding shoot was featured on a blog down in California. Fancy.

Signing off now, but we will chat soon! Thanks for following us!

cats and dogs and cats and dogs

2011-03-03T12:26:00.002-06:00

I like making dog cakes. I really do. Fortunately I've never been invited to a birthday party where there has been a giant dog MADE from cake though, as I'm not sure that I'd be able to actually eat the poor thing...

This one I could probably eat. I wouldn't be jumping for the dog part, like I do for butter cream roses. Or cake corners, that one was heavily fought over at our house. Those heavily coated Jeanies cake corners....extra chocolate shavings...

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think this thing is a dog. Come to think of it, I have no idea what it is.

Any of them.

I'm so out of touch....

This one is super sweet. I especially love the little terrier on her back waiting for a belly rub.

holy giant cupcake batman!

2011-02-21T10:30:00.002-06:00

One gigantic cupcake, coming right up!

dedicated to Mr. Sheldon Cooper

2011-02-20T22:34:00.003-06:00

I'm trying to make a book to help when it comes to ordering cakes at the shop. A nice little picture book; step by step questions, examples, photos. Have been wanting to do so for months. The problem is selecting pictures of cakes for the book, we've amassed quite a number of them, and sometimes I've even forgotten about them.

Not sure how I could forget this one.

Really.

I don't even know what it is. But I have seen it in the background of Big Bang Theory. So it's at least nerdy-cool.

I think.

2011-02-10T20:56:00.002-06:00

We were asked earlier in the month if we were interested in submitting some photos to Chatelaine for their 14 days of cupcakes. what did we say? Well heck yes, of course!

Who doesn't want to be featured?!

After taking shot after shot i reread the email where it (clearly) states- one shot looking down, one looking straight ahead.

Boo.

Jenn went to town with her artistic creativity and her fancy camera.

So here are just a few of the shots we took that we couldn't submit.

Yum!

Check it all out here!

2011-02-03T18:08:00.002-06:00

Ever have the urge to eat your purse?

I haven't.

Often I've wished for better snacks to be IN my purse, but even that's a little risky with my kids :)