Oscar Bat Mitzvah Party Cake

We love a good Bat Mitzvah!  We were lucky enough to make a Hollywood style cake for this great birthday event.  We decided to make a simple cake stand just to make the cake a little more festive.  We used a couple of  24" covered cake drums.  We spray painted the area that were going to show with silver spray paint to cover some of the embossed print.  We would have recovered them but there isn't a material that I know that is 26" wide, so we would have had a seam and I thought that was worse than the little bit of a pattern.  The cake was on another board, so it never touched the spray paint.  We used a large circle punch from the scrapbook department and cut black contact paper.   We used a 5" tall Styrofoam cake dummy and covered it with a printed film strip (on cardstock, but paper would have worked).  We used spray adhesive to attach this to the dummy.  We hot glued a couple of strips of rhinestones to the top and bottom cake boards and the boards to the dummy.  Be sure to line up the back sides (where things start/stop) all together like you would a tiered cake.  

Enough about the stand, look at this cake! We love the way it came out.  Lots of dripping sparkles, glitter and lights!  We did use a few more rhinestone on the cake for the borders here and there because you can't get to much sparkle!  We attach ours with acrylic/diamond topped pins. 

Lastly, I did want to share how we did the "spotlights".  Very simply, we used those lights that twist to turn on and made a large hunk of modeling chocolate that would house them.  We then cut off a piece on the bottom so they would angle in the right direction.  Lastly we made a square frame to make them look more finished.  We did not twist on and insert the lights until the last minute as they are hard to get out once they are inserted.  Make sure to leave enough wiggle room to get them in but not enough that they are loose. 

The "best" part of this cake?  We found out later that they never cut it!!!!  We did have some kitchen cakes for the back of house, so there was cake served along with every other dessert know to man.  The family had the cake moved to the hotel's restaurant for Sunday brunch with their family.  They ate a little of it and gave the rest away to the hotel staff (that love us now!). 

Super Bling Rhinestone Wedding Cake w/ Stand

2012 is continuing to bring in the bling, and I have to tell you, I really like it!  The more it sparkles, the bigger I smile!  I think there's just something about that sparkle, that brilliant jeweled fire that just catches a woman's eye and warms her heart!

With that being said, it's no wonder it's a popular design for wedding cakes.  In this cake we used rhinestones, as well as brooches and the topper that the bride provided to bring some extra pizazz and bling to this cake.  The rest of the cake we kept understated, with tone-on-tone bows, pearls, and fondant swags.

A few months ago I got a tremendous deal on some 24-row rhinestones from Bead & Trim.  I finally decide that they would malke for a beautiful cake stand!  So I called up my brother at My Woodworking Solutions and we set out to design a stand.  Luckily, he finished it just days before this cake was to be delivered .  I know this picture doesn't do it justice, but it really does sparkle!  It's like sitting your cake on top of a disco ball!  And it is designed really well also.  The stand as you see it is in 3 pieces; a top, the main middle bling piece, and the bottom.  Since the rhinestones are expensive this gives you the opportunity to use the stand with multiple (lower cost) tops and bottoms to get a variety of effects.  He came up with the idea and I really liked it!  I'm not sure if he offering this stand for sale, but if you're interested, hit him up on Etsy!

Grandview Cupcake Tree

I have talked about my brother the master woodworker in the past and about the incredibly awesome cake stands he makes for me.  When I called him up and asked for another cupcake stand he certainly didn't disappoint with this one!

This was my first square cake stand, and I really liked the way the cupcakes looked on it.  On the top, we placed a small 6 inch square cake.  Anytime I do a cupcake tree, I like to include some sort of small cake so that the couple can still get the traditional "cake cutting" photo opportunities if they really want them.

When I arrived at the Grandview, the florist had left us some beautiful hydrangea leaves and clusters so I used every last leaf to adorn the tree.

Over the past few weeks, I have been really scouring the Internet for some new design ideas and some new "mentors" to help me grow my craft.  I read an article about Jim Smeal and I was really blown away by his workmanship.  He did a border that reminded me of bamboo that I really, really liked.  I did my own version of it on the small 6" cake topper.

Vendor Spolight: Imagine That! Playhouses

I have blogged about my brother the woodworker before and all of the creative cake stands he makes.  He has his shop setup in a mini warehouse close to his home.  It's nice for him to have all his tools and materials in one place. The new news I have about him is that he is now offering cake boards as part of his product line.  Check out his Etsy Shop, you may be able to save some money!

I stopped by his shop the other day to pick up some cake boards and he wanted to introduce me to his shop neighbor, Joshua Bartlett.  Joshua owns Imagine That! Playhouses and More.  They make uber cool playhouses like the one to the left.  They also make playhouses like pirate ships too.  And while most children's playhouses are built rather shoddily, Joshua builds his playhouses to the same specs as real houses!  While this product certainly isn't cake or even wedding related, I was so smitten with these playhouses that I just had to feature them here on my blog!

Rose and Lace Display Cake

It seems nowadays I don't get to do smaller cakes anymore, even though I do enjoy doing them.

So when I needed to do some new display cakes for the shop, I opted to do some smaller ones.  Smaller cakes still showcase my skills while taking up a lot less space (and that's a good thing!)

This cake is pretty simple, but I loved the way it turned out!  I must be honest here - I did not make those roses.  I only wish I could make roses that looked that good!  I got them on clearance from Cal Java.  The lace is from a new mold I got at Earlene's Cakes, and every time I use it, I am amazed by their detail.  Not to mention how easy they are to use!

Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you have a great weekend!!

Lace Recreation Wedding Cake

I did this cake a few weeks ago and I really enjoyed doing it.  So much so that I am planning on doing a display cake in a similar fashion.

This bride wanted the ornate lacework on her dress recreated on her cake. She provided me with a scan of the lace pattern.  We printed it out and then traced it on copy paper.  From that black and white drawing, we could scan it in and resize it to fit the cake.

Once it was the right size, I went to work with my Sugar Veil icing tracing that lacework over and over.

My brother even made a new custom cake stand to place this cake on!  The bride liked it so much, she just decided that she would purchase it as a keepsake.  How sweet is that?

Custom Cake Stands Now Available!

For a while now I have been regaling you with tales of the cakes I do and some of the awesome custom cake stands that my awesome brother has been making for me!

And since he made the first one I have been nagging him to start a blog and start selling his wares.  I am so proud to announce that I have infected my brother with the blogging bug!  Not only that, but he also setup an Etsy shop to sell some of his cake stands!!

His Etsy Shop:
My Woodworking Solutions

His Blog:
MyWoodWorkingSolutions Blog

Please check out his site and check out some of his great designs.  I'm SO proud of him!!

Rock City Daisy Wedding Cake

This little buttercream number took a drive up Lookout Mountain recently and settled in at the Rock City Pavilion.  It was out first trip there and it is a very nice venue.  Cheryl Hyland with Blissful Moments was the wedding coordinator and she had everything setup perfectly when we arrived.  That was a very good thing - it was hot as blazes and it was an outdoor wedding so we showed up moments before the guests arrived.

With the exception of quite a bit of piping, this was a simple but elegant wedding cake.  The florist left some Gerber daisies for me to place on the cake.  Once I had them on there, I thought that little splash of color really made the cake pop!

Everyone have a great week now, OK?  Let's meet back here on Friday for another installment!!

Tennesee Aquarium Butterfly Wedding

This weekend we did our very first Chattanooga Aquarium wedding.  The staff there were wonderful and the venue was spectacular!  The wedding was held on the fourth floor in the Tropical Rainforest / Butterfly Sanctuary section of the aquarium.

In keeping with that theme, the bride wanted some butterfly accents on her bridal cake.  I put my brother to work building us another custom cake stand out of a Baby Bio Orb fish tank.  Inside the tank we put moss, twigs, and some mechanical butterflies that I bought from Etsy.  They are so thin and delicate, but their wings move like a real butterfly!  Lots of people at the event thought they were real!!

The wedding cake itself is all buttercream, with each tier getting gradually lighter.The white swirls were then piped on.  I was very happy with the cake and the natural background the Tennessee Aquarium provided made it pop even more.

Stay tuned next time for the accompanying groom's cake... a scale model Martin guitar.  Have a great week!!

Do Not Adjust Your Sets...

This post weekend I visited the fine folks at the Chattanoogan. This time my bride and groom had a very clear idea of what they wanted for their extreme groom's cake.

They wanted an upside-down cake!

Luckily, I had a whole year to plan and get ready for this one. Did I use it all? Of course I did!! I had my brother make another of his soon to be famous cake stands. A rod screws into the base and runs through the center of the entire cake. Small clamps attach just above tier 1 and tier 2 to provide about an inch of clearance, as well as supporting the weight of tier above.

The topper was made using triangles cut from modeling chocolate and dusted with various luster dusts. I think it turned out really cute, don't you?

Beautiful Cakes, Beautiful Pictures

Last December, Chad and I made a New Year's Resolution to learn more about photography and to take better pictures of our cakes. We bought a better camera (a Nikon D60), watched several Magic Lantern instructional DVDs, and practiced by taking hundreds and hundreds of shots, sometimes of just one cake!

But sometimes things just work out, the planets just line up perfectly... beautiful cake, great location, and ideal camera settings. When we went back to look at these pictures on the camera we were very pleasantly surprised with the results.

This cake was all buttercream, decorated with just the couple's monogram and a fresh flower bouquet. My awesome brother made another of his soon-to-be-famous stands (since I couldn't find any hexagonal stands) and the location, the mother of the bride's house, was very elegant.

Have a wonderful weekend!

The World is in your Grasp, Kaben!

I met Kaben's Mom at a bridal show recently and the first words out of her mouth was that "her son was a rock star!". Man, she wasn't kidding either! Kaben was turning one and her Mom, Tara (owner of A Silverware Affair), was very specific about the cake she wanted for her son. She wanted a cake that reflected the feeling that the world was within his reach and that all the world was his oyster (lower left hand corner of the cake).


I must admit that my "globe" is non-edible... it's a styromfoam ball covered with fondant with royal icing continents.

This cake also features another of my brother's awesome cake stands. This stand features acrylic walls and is waterproof, so it's the perfect fish tank that also holds your cake. There is a battery operated LED light in the lid that lights the whole thing up. It's very cool and Kaben seems to really enjoy it.

Bridal Show Goodness

Wednesday already? Where has the week went? I must still be reeling from the wonderful Premier Bridal Show we were a part of on Sunday. This is the first time we have had a 20x10 booth and we had to scramble to get our layout just right. We brought all of our new faux cakes and they were a big hit, as we hoped they would be. I haven't got the final tally back from the show producers yet, but we met hundreds of brides and most knew exactly what they wanted; something very contemporary that matched their style and personalities. We have already had brides contacting us and we have a whole pile of names that we will start scheduling consultations with today.

In the last 2 pictures, pay particular attention to the AWESOME columns and cake stands that my talented big brother made for me! Aren't they just great?!? He made all the cake stands except the silver and glass ones. I keep telling him he needs to setup a website and sell these professionally. I'll keep on until I get him talked into it - that's what bratty baby sisters do!