50th Birthday Party for an outdoors-man!

Tractors and fishing boats and black jack and beaches.... theses are a few of his favorite things!
The sculpted fishing boat was modeled after his own boat, named "Never Say Never" made of Pina Colada Cake (coconut cake iwth a rum glaze and pineapple buttercream). The gentleman is a salt water fisherman, so we had to include a Blue Marlin caught at the back of the boat. His prized tractor, complete with steering wheel, controls and a comfy seat, was sculpted from amaretto cake with chocolate and raspberry filling. This gentleman also enjoys gambling, so we included a handpainted"21" spread along with some dice (I heard that "7" was a good number in dice). My favorite part of this cake was the little sculpture of him holding a "50." I wanted to make sure that the pose was celebratory and masculine.... hope I pulled it off for this outdoors-man!

The Knot!

I am a huge fan of The Knot (aka Knottie) and its founder Carley Roney. In fact, I have an entire blog post brewing about how much I love her and her company.... even before they posted one of my cakes on their inspiration board! Tuesday This post went up on The Knot ... I thought that people submitted cakes to the bloggers, and that was how you got your work posted.... but i guess not! Thanks to Stacey Kane (the photographer) there is a whole new group of brides I can share my work with!

The Knot Post

Chinese Take-out

This project made me hungry, but not for cake! This Chinese take-out themed birthday wouldn't have been complete with out a pagoda pail of cake and fortune cookies that predict a very happy birthday.

Simple Red Poppy Buttercream Cake

As many of you know, I love poppies! The bride chose a large red-ish orange poppy and for a dramatic effect we placed it on a hyper-simple cake, with a simple gold satin ribbon. Normally when a bride suggests using real ribbon my fears of butter stained satin creep up..... but I thought I would take the challenge headon this time! I lined the back of the ribbon with a white tape, and gently brushed the ribbon with a damp cloth, so it wouldn't absorb the buttercream.... and it worked great! PS, these flowers were silk! It goes to show you that as long as you choose tasteful flowers, it all works out (no hibiscus with plastic stamens, please!)

Planes, Trains and Automobiles!

These cakes were created for the 2nd birthday of THE sweetest little boy I know! He can't get enough of planes, trains and trucks..... clearly, all boy!

Ladybug Cupcakes

Ladybugs must be the cutest little bug in the world! These black and red ladybugs were made of fondant and royal icing, and sat atop the cupcakes. I enjoy making a little disc to adorn the cupcakes as opposed to incorporating the theme into the entire cupcake, because it leaves the cupcakes in their true colors/flavors. Client can choose whichever flavor they like best, rather than working within their color palette, and there is always ample buttercream regardless of the design.