sweet.

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.

Heather & Paul!

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!

cats and dogs and cats and dogs

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.

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...

variations on a theme

These guys aren't terribly exciting, but wanted to get them up as an example for a couple who would like something clean and modern, but pretty.

I love the whole theory of "less is more", and I love doing cakes that way.

My favorite one at the shop right now is similar, black and white, 1 large flower cluster.

Anyway, off to caking, we have one of our busiest weekends since the summer wedding fest.

Seems this is the weekend to have Christmas parties so have a safe and happy holiday weekend!

45 years

I get really nostalgic whenever I do cakes for anniversaries. I love making wedding cakes as well and I look forward to doing cakes 30, 40, 50 years down the road for them.

Wait...

That'll make me like 80...

Well shoot. That won't work at all. I plan on retiring soon.

Very soon.

Not going to happen, but hey, a girl can dream...

wordless friday anyone?....

Up to my ears in cake and fondant, but wanted to keep at the ole' blog.

Thanks for all the wonderful feedback, thanks for coming by!

wordless wednesday....almost...

In lieu of it *not* being Wednesday yet, I'll do a couple posts for ya ;)

quicky

I have come to a realization. I find myself not blogging because I find I don't have the time to come up with a whole blurb about something clever. So I think what I shall do is something I've seen on other sites, blogs, facebooks and twitters; and start the ritual of

"Wordless Wednesday".

I've already ruined it. Said too much.

I'll just describe the cake for you, that part won't count.

4 lovely tiers, pumpkin cake and red velvet I believe.

Finished in chocolate brown fondant and fresh flowers.

Stunning fall wedding!

the variety cake show

Here's a couple of cakes that were ordered for various parties, a wedding, a wedding shower...you get the idea. Nice sophisticated cakes suitable for any event really...

All three are very different as well. The first is finished in chocolate ganache. Ganache is some nice dark chocolate, melted and whisked with whip cream. You let it set up in the cooler then when you are ready to use it you whip it up.

So divine....

The second and third are both done in fondant, the first showing off some spectacular gum paste roses, the last showing off some lacy cutouts.

Snap, crackle pop I do!

How cute is this?
An entire wedding cake made from rice krispie cake.
When my delightful bride and groom asked me if I would consider doing this I jumped at the chance. I love rice krispies! And how fun to be a guest at this wedding...I could so easily bribe my kids to eat their dinners knowing this was for dessert.
We did one trial run with the bottom layer to work out the glitches and it was as easy as we hoped. We used a ten inch pan, the one we would have used for the cake layer, made three batches then stacked them up together. We put some weight on it and let them set, using the extra bits to fill in any holes or gaps. Repeat three times, stack them all up and voila!
A rice krispie wedding cake.
I want to mention as well the custom cake topper they had made, in the likeness of themselves and all their furry family. So sweet!

castles in the sky...no wait, sand?...no wait...

How's this for fancy pants...the castle LIGHTS UP. One step closer to that ever fateful day where we will be setting off explosives in cakes, lighting them on fire and using fireworks.
It will happen...trust me, in due time...

Here's a close up of the pretties.
Oodles of tiny little flowers, roses and leaves...
Crystal path leading to the castle...
Very pretty I think.
This cake came together so wonderfully, each flower and leaf we added seemed to make it better and better.
And the best part? The thank-you from the happy couple...

Hi Pam... wow was that the best cake I have ever eaten!!!!!! I just want to thank you for all your hard work, and to let you know that my caked looked great and tasted even better. Thank you for the amazing cake.
Melissa and Dan

Our pleasure!

my most wonderful time of the year....

Ahhh...weddings...
My most favorite time of the year. This year so far we've (personally) only had one wedding. Which is sad. I love weddings as a guest. I like to look at it as a custom date night, we dress up nice, dinner is already planned out for us, there's a bar, music, dancing and the best part is that there are friends and family there too. We have no other agenda but to take in the evening.
Love it.
And now with our girls getting bigger comes the fun of fancy shoes, pretty dresses and spinning with daddy on the dance floor <3 aww...

sophisticated birdys

Here's a cutey of a wedding cake that was inspired by the couples stationary they used (invites and such). Two sweet birds; monocle and top hat on the sir and her with her little pearls, so classy they are.
This is a 6" and an 8" cake and perfect for the smaller wedding reception, serving 15-25 people.

Sweet 16

Here is a great example (in my very humble and modest opinion :) on how to do bold, bright colours without looking childish. Very basic colours, but done in deep jewel tones, that get punched up with some simple bright white flowers.
Another thing this cake is a good example of is size. It's a 6" cake and an 8" cake, only serving about 20 people. That's it! So if you think a cake like this would be too much for a small family gathering, don't! It's a great way to make the birthday person feel super special.

Besides, leftover cake makes the best breakfast...

fall flowers

A sweet dedication cake for what will probably be one of the sweetest little girls I know. Well, next to my own darlings of course :D

halloween done right

Oh the topsy-turvy cake. How I feared you.
I made practice ones. I watched youtube videos. Consulted books. Consulted architects.
All in all?
You're not so bad.
We might even be friends.
One day...

I attended the "Grand Wedding" show this weekend at the Hotel Fort Gary. Contemplated entering as a vendor and opted to go and pretend to be a bride instead.
Love playing dress-up :D
Anyway, my point was directing your attention to that peacock feather up above. I am in love with where decorating for weddings is going. Gone are the days of candles in rose bowls, behold the bold look of peacocks, dogwood branches, and my personal favorite, the "homemade" wedding. Those bringing in vintage dresses or homemade ones. Clusters of beautiful flowers with real personal meaning. Dessert buffets with a lovely collection of tasty treats.

Not haute couture, not stuffy. Not dressing up your best friends in sea foam green and expecting them to smile nicely at you. No sateen shinyness and plastic crap. Instead ones that are meaningful. Decorated with a sense of purpose and with an eye for art instead of disposable fluff. Things you get together with your girlfriends and family to craft up in anticipation of your big day.

This wedding was a good example of that. The thought of halloween often brings about oranges and pumpkins, witch's hats and candy. Instead, this lovely and creative couple went with black and purple. Raven's. Peacock feathers. And the piece de resistance? Dia de los muertos sugar skulls. Lovely :D
Congrats you two!

As the official, fancy, ever-so-formal website is under construction and being made it's brought me to thinking about what to keep posting. My little blog should go from showing off my latest cakes, to more of what a blog should be.

What does that mean?

Well, in a nutshell, it means more ramblings from me. Sure, I'll tell you all the details about the cakes, but I've been missing the writing. The ongoings' of starting up a business...
my lovely children...
(and their attempts at making me certifiably insane...)
my trials and tribulations of making cakes...
and chocolates...
and robots...
and chocolate robot cakes...

you get the idea.

Those of you looking just for some pics, you're excused. Please scroll thru....

This lovely cake was a take on one I had done previous (adam, the groom, referred to it as "kinda like a parkade" then made arm motions back and forth) (sorry adam). I suppose it's not really the image one wants to associate with their cake. Wedding or not.

Let's get back to the cake. This was a cake for an engagement party, a charming soiree at Terrace 55. Three tiers, all chocolate with various butter creams. Mixed it up a little. Ivory and burgundy fondant finishes it off; scrolls and initials also in fondant.

There's something about this picture that reminds me of the pictures from Sear's or Eaton's photo studios in the '80s. The S&B are looking up to the left in a little haze.
Misty really.
Should be on a black velvet backdrop...
sorry...
rambling too far...

join the handmade revolution...

So many things to touch on with this post...where to begin...

Let's start with the owls. Am feeling the owly love around these parts lately. Owls to me, remind me of fall, and fall has certainly arrived. I haven't seen the sidewalk for a couple of days now.

I had the prestigious opportunity to be in my first wedding show this weekend, and with none other than Madeline of Madeline's Wedding's herself. It's been a real honour to work with her and her team as their "cake girl" and appreciate the lovely couples they send my way. Knowing their cake will be in a stunningly decorated room makes me even happier.

Madeline's hosted her very own wedding show, with her hand selected vendors at the St. Boniface Golf Course this past Sunday. I did up two cakes for the event and this is one of them.

So pretty.

Back to the owls...

In my excitement to do up some demo cakes with no limits to the design, I hit up etsy for some topper inspiration. I knew I wanted some cuties for the top and cuties I found. The world of handmade has exploded and places like etsy are a treasure trove of fun. I like to look through the "shop local" category and find some local artists. That's how I came across Heather Bays. I contacted her with some pictures and asked if she would consider making me these adorable owls for this show and away she went. These little guys arrived in the mail a couple weeks later and the rest is history. To see what else she makes and some other fabulous cake toppers, go here. Isn't she great? Just lovely work :)
Thanks Heather!

How much cuter can one cake get. Seriously.
Little curling rocks, signifying how the lovely couple met, on the ice. How very Manitoban :)