mother's day 2011

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

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!

oh little princess

One of most requested themes.....princess's.

And who can blame you all? Our darling ladies in our lives are all princesses, no?

Some queens...

you know who you are...

short and sweet

Monkey's and banana's.

'Nuff said.... now back to work.

Here are some pretty shots care of Bond over at BLF Studios, one of Winnipeg's talented photographers. Man, we've got talent in this city, let me tell you...

Thought it was pretty silly to post summer pictures, so to counteract it here are some seasonal favs. Hope you are all ready for the gathering of friends and family.

Take some time to enjoy it all!

happy movember!

doing our part to help save the boys we love!

grow a stash to help raise awareness, or buy a Guinness stout cupcake with Irish cream butter cream to show you REALLY care.

everyone we sell we will donate $1 to Prostate Cancer Canada

check out movember.com to see what you can do

(should growing a stash not be your cup of tea...)

Knitty friends

My other favorite time of the year?....
Autumn.
Oh man alive, this cold snap over the past weekend had me pining for a cozy blanket, my scarves, hot coffee and knitting.
Over the past couple of years we've formed a nice little group of crafty ladies and I can't wait to see them all again in a creative context as we have stitch'n'bitch nights.
My new friend Mariver from Where the Wool Things Are also hosts a weekly knit night. It's a great opportunity to learn from other knitters, see what everyone is working on and of course, eat. If you've ever thought about starting, fall is the perfect time too, you can make something by Christmas for your sweet baboo :)

the best of both worlds

Here are a couple great examples of how cake and cupcakes are able to live together in harmony.
(you'd be surprised at how much attention seeking there is between these two)
(like sisters really, the older (cake) being bossy, I'm bigger than you...blah blah blah)
(and then the little sister...but I'm cute! mom said you have to play with me!)

anyhoo...

I firmly believe that cupcakes and cake should live together. When you have a large event, the cake at the top of a cupcake stand gives that special guest(s) of honor a special treat, just for them. They'll think, "aww. so and so think so highly of me, I get my very own cake" and you walk away the winner.
Or if the cupcakes accompany a larger cake, they're the perfect add on for the "just in case" crowd who hasn't rsvp'ed.
(you know who they are...they never tell you, they just show up...wanting cake...)
So voila.
A cake for the estimated crowd and extras in cupcake form for them.
(or for you later when you need a snack :)

Pupcakes

Mmmm...edible dogs.
And edible chocolate rocks. Probably my favorite snack item when raiding the sprinkle cupboard. Seriously my dentist is a rich rich man...

'bout damn time lady....

Well well well.
Look who it is....
That girl who used to blog her little heart out and then got all "big-shot" on ya....
Too busy for the little old blog eh?
Well, not anymore my dear blog-reading friends. I have folders chock full of beautiful pics that I need to share with you all!
And of course, I need to also offer up an apology for neglecting this poor little blog.
My sincerest of apologies.
Things seem to get done when they are part of a schedule, so this will become part of my schedule, make it routine. Make sure I'm keeping you coming back for more :)

As I am sure that the guests of this beautiful wedding must have been doing all night to the dessert table. Really, I mean I would. Who doesn't love candy hearts AND cupcakes AND gingham?

Such a beautifully cute, simple and charming wedding. Outdoors, beautiful weather, beautiful setting, awesome couple :)

busy little bee's

Hi everyone!
Meet Ted.
He's an artist extraordinaire and our little do-bee.
Whether it's painting antique yellow roses on cake (nice eh?), assembling orders and folding boxes or making ridiculously cute little cupcakes....

nothing Ted can't do....pop in and say "hi".
And then tell him that you read about him on the blog.
(he likes to feel famous :)

local love

Anyone who knows me or that has seen me in the last couple of weeks has either seen me completely stressed out or gushing about our locals.

I prefer the latter, obviously...

Whether it's been Brian from the Exchange Biz getting his hands on anything chocolate, or Bryson from the Line Up, Bonnie from My Secret Garden or Mariver from Where the Wool Things Are; I love the familiar faces and smiles everyday. And you all are so darn nice and supportive! It's so great to work in an area full of hustle and bustle. There are literally hundreds of you already. The couple of young ladies who come in everyday with shiny loonie in hand for their one cakette, the shy guy with what seems to be quite a daily cupcake habit.

One night I even found this...
how's that for awesome? thanks Jessica :)

And then there's the imperialists. I think we may need to start a frequent buyer card.
Or perhaps a support group...
or both...

Anyway, the photo above is a bit of an order I did for the Craft Councils AGM (who are close by, thanks gang!) Super cute little balls of wool (Mariver those were for you :) I've seen all kinds of crafty cupcakes and cakes on line and was itching to do my own and it seemed like the perfect fit.

you gonna eat that baby?

I was honored to be asked to help celebrate the Women's Health Clinics celebrations for funding that our government has finally granted. Winnipeg will finally get a designated birthing facility! Very exciting times and much reason to celebrate.

How cute is she with her little Mary Jane's and gigantic belly. The new birthing center sounds so lovely.
Kinda makes me want to have another one....

And a "ta-da" to my newest cupcake stand. It's so versatile and nice, I just love it. I put 100 cupcakes on this set-up, using only half of the tiers that came with it.

that's extra...

Just wanted to toot the shop horn for a sec. Promise I won't get too wordy on ya Mike :)
(mike thinks I chat too much...)
anyway!
Wanted to point out that one of my philosophies about the shop is to go a little further than the average guy.
"extras" make me crazy.
When I was shopping around and searching for wedding things for my own wedding it was infuriating to be quoted one price, then see a total with half a dozen "extras" added on.
I don't do that.
Price quoted is the price.
Period.
I don't charge extra to deliver your wedding cake. I do it. I set it up. Do you really want your soon to be hubby's old buddy from college picking up a four tiered cake and driving it across town?

Have you seen the hangover??

p.s. this cake plate is unreal. Picked it up from Urban Barn a couple of weeks ago and have used it like everyday. I think it's about 12" and I even eat my toast off it for crying out loud...

Morning!
This weather is outstanding and I think the colours of this cake feel the same way.

Lego!
Who doesn't like lego?
Well, perhaps stepping on the tiny one blocks barefoot in the middle of the night. Then I don't like lego. But it's going to be 8 degrees today! No amount of lego stepping will hamper this nice weather for me.

Mmmmm...marble cupcakes with vanilla butter cream. The outside of the cake and the lego blocks on the cupcakes are done in fondant.
Happy Saturday to you!

random tuesday musings and confessions....

Confession one.
I am up to my ears in paper work and the more I get, the more I don't want to do it. It is a strange and vicious cycle. I think I would make a most interesting case study on a number of things...procrastination, fear, and mostly my impostor complex...
but lets save the psycho babble for another night, shall we?...

(above- princess castle cake replicated from her party napkins, done in fondant. later that day, the stand smashed. I cried. the cake was long gone to the party. thank god.)

Confession two. Opening my own bakery makes me so nervous I want to throw up. Seriously. I have no idea what I am doing. I mean, I have an idea...clearly, I like to bake cake and I will facilitate that by creating a space to do it in. But business and all that jazz? Boy oh boy, I'm pretty green around the edges. And as I've said to my staff, please don't worry of my insecurities, they are just that. I have far too much invested for this to fail and it simply won't.
But sometimes it keeps me up at night.
Not that the business will fail, per se, but rather how busy will we be, what items should we sell, what if ...what about... what if...

(above - camping scene with and Old Town red canoe, all done in fondant)

Confession three. I don't eat cake. Do I really need to say anything here? I'm sure you can appreciate how much I've seen and made....no? I do, however, have a salt problem.
is that two confessions in one?

(above- 6"/9" fondant. this wasn't the end product, it turned into a flowery butter fly one, but I keep finding these ridiculously cute sets of birds. I think I have like 5 sets now. Just was playing with them to see how ridiculously cute they would look.)



Confession four. My favorite movie isn't based around the story or the show itself, but just one character. One picture perfect girl who owns a bakeshop, listens to awesome music and is really smart but would rather just make cookies. And is beautiful. And I've watched it one zillion times, and subsequently can recite it end to end....you know the ones....
Figured I'd end with a light one, as to not scare off those simply wanting to look at pretty cakes.
Hi to you! Thanks for getting this far!

(above-office baby shower cupcakes for my awesome sister-in-law Heather.)
(movie reference was "Stranger Than Fiction" by the way...)
(or did you already know that....? no one ever seems to know what I'm talking about)

what I like to look at

Hi.Me again.

I've neglected you all and I'm sorry. Life has gotten hectic!
When I unwind here are some of the pretty things I like to look at. Thought I would share them with you, they are often inspiration for designs and ideas...I like to look a lot. Bit of a voyeur I suppose....Not all are cake, often I'm really inspired by designs outside of the baking world. My first favorite is print and pattern. Oh god, that one is good. Poppytalk is nice too, Canadian blog featuring handmade. Love their vintage stuff. 100 Layer cake is fun. I love looking at all the elements of weddings and parties. Seating, tables, lighting.

Lately I've taken to some of the southern cali ladies that have been popping up all over the place. Amy Atlas is simply lovely. As is the works of Melody Brandon at My Sweet and Saucy, and the folks at green wedding shoes. Love them all. Such a unique style and oh so pretty details.
Thoughtful details.
I love that.