Happy Birthday Ruby

This is a special blog post for a very special, dear friend, and sister in my life. She is my longest friend, and one of my truest friends ever. Over the past 17 years of our friendship, you can only imagine what we have been through together. Lots of ups and downs, but memories to last a lifetime. I am so glad I have her by my side after all these years. So it was an honour and privilege to make a special cake for her birthday.

Ruby, is slightly delusional though. Somewhere along the years she had this misconception that she was a princess. Wherever we go, somehow she got her way into doing what she wanted to do. I don't even know why or how she gets away with it, she just does. She takes forever to get ready. I mean, we should have learned this by now, but when she says she'll be ready in 15 minutes, why are we arriving at her house in 15 minutes knowing she is going to make us wait another 15 to 30 minutes while she gets ready? I don't know! But we still do it. Why does Tanya always need to peel the shell off the shrimp before Ruby can eat it? Can't she do it herself? Yet we still never argue. Because it's Ruby. And Ruby is a princess.

I really wanted to give the Chevron pattern a go. It's such a unique pattern, and I saw a tutorial from MyCakeSchool.com which I wanted to try. As time consuming as I knew it would be, I figured, why not for Ruby. I really enjoyed that tutorial, but boy was that a lot of work! Getting these lines to match up with the other is not an easy task but when it's on the cake, it's just gorgeous! I needed something for the top tier and already knew what it would be. I chose to do a silhouette of a princess, crown and all. Nothing less would do for her.

And do top it off, I added a beautiful open peony flower.

It turned out just beautifully!! And perfect for one of my besties. It made her so happy which made all that hard work worth it. She is a gem :)

Here we are. Ruby I love you to death, I feel like we're married to each other. For better or worse is what I always remind myself with you lol! Even tho sometimes I really would like to take my head and bang in against a wall after a long conversation with you, I still wouldn't change it for the world. You're a great woman and mother and I love you so much.

 

BFF: Tanya's Birthday

There are some friends you know are just for a season. They come, serve a purpose whether good or bad, and then they leave. I've had so many of those come and go in my life. You learn something new through each new friendship you make. Valuable lessons for sure. However I believe there are some friends God has placed in our lives to last a lifetime. This girl is one of them.

This post is dedicated to Tanya. She and I met when we were 15 years old in high school. Grade 9 History to be exact! We connected right away. And throughout the years we've had so many ups and downs, but nothing big enough to separate us. Our friendship has only grown with each new day.

So, I got to thinking what to make as her birthday cake. I already knew it had to be chocolate. This girl is a chocolate nut. Sorry, DARK chocolate nut. Can't give her anything else. So I whipped up my ultra moist chocolate cake and frosted it with my rich creamy chocolate frosting. HEAVEN!

Another first for this cake is the Damask stencil. Ok so I was pacing up and down my kitchen for at least 10 minutes before actually putting this stencil on. I was totally freaking out because, I was putting black on white! One mistake and there will be a stain for sure, and I wasn't about to present her a cake with any stain. Finally I mustered the courage to approach my cake with spatula in one hand, stencil in the other and said "Let's do this."

I think I nearly cried when I saw the finished look.

The damask design is my favourite pattern (hence why it's in my logo). I had to do something unique and special for this girl. Stuck with her for life! So I won't hear the end of it if it sucked lol!

I made the blue dahlia out of gumpaste. Super easy to do! I hope to do a tutorial on that very soon :)

Happy Birthday Tanya. Thanks for being so awesome and putting up with all the lovely nonsense I throw your way. <3

Here we are, she's on the right. Isn't she gorg? Love you girl xoxo

The Royal Purple Musical Themed Birthday Cake

I can say pretty confidently that music is my life. I need music in my life, at all times of the day and during the many different things I do. And it's been this way for as long as I can remember. Maybe this is due to the forced piano lessons my mom would drag me to every week. However through my learning to play the piano, I really began to appreciate music. I listen to music at work everywhere. 

I was so pleased to be able to make this cake for another girl who is just into music as I am. For her, her love was the piano. And really, I just love the beautiful melodies a piano makes. I really enjoyed making this cake for her, I made sure I captured the art of the instrument as best as I could.

Not only was this my first piano inspired cake, it was also my first topsy turvy cake! Was I nervous? Heck yeah! But after watching too many youtube videos and reading all about to construct this cake, I was ready for the challenge. And boy was I ever happy! It turned out great, and it was stable. It met all the check points!

And for her Sweet 16th, I added them as her topper, kinda sorta shaped as musical notes.

Happy Birthday Deborah! 

Happy Birthday Denise!

Happy Birthday to a good friend of mine, Denise! I was honoured to play a small role in celebrating her first year as a non-teen! Yep, the big 2-0! So she ordered cupcakes from me first for a small get together with her girlfriends. Her favourite, red velvet with cream cheese frosting. Seriously, who hasn't marked this cake down as their favourite? And I added a “20” topper to each, all bedazzled! Love the way it turned out.

AND THEN…

Her boyfriend ordered this cake from me, too cute right?? I know! Love when a man orders for his lady. He requested something special for her 20^th, and asked to include 20 flowers to this cake. So this is a different spin on your traditional zebra striped cake, with flowers surrounding her name. It looks quite lovely, and she deserves nothing less. 

Happy Birthday baby girl. I know you’re not such a baby anymore but you’ll always be my baby girl :)

Sara's Bridal Shower!

This day is fast approaching. Honestly, I didn't think this day would come THIS fast! But the days are zooming by and it's happening. My little brother is getting married *tear*.

I couldn't be more happy for him. He is a wonderful man who has his head on straight. He is seriously one of a kind so I know the girl he chose for him would have to be equally as good or better (but I didn't think she'd actually BE better you know)?

I was wrong.

I love Sara. This girl is already part of our family and I couldn't be more happy for the BOTH of them. They truly fit each other like two pieces of a puzzle. They fit perfectly together. Why am I tearing up writing this? Gah! But seriously, isn't she a beauty? This is her on her bridal shower day, after the gifts were opened. Her bridesmaids had the greatest idea of collecting all the tissue paper from the gifts, stringing them together and making a cute skirt for her. She is lovely!

Moving on. I had the honour of making her bridal shower cake. They are simple, but their taste is exquisite. She wanted cherry blossoms but let me have free reign on the actual design (which I love by the way) I'm glad she trusted me! 

After I had finished making this cake, it just didn't seem complete to me. Something was missing and I was trying to figure out what it was. And then it came to me, I added the two blue love birds to the cake, which matched the birds on their wedding invitation. Right away I fell in love! I was really pleased with the way it turned out.

Not only was this an honour, but I have the honour of making their wedding cake this year! Oh I can't wait! So stay tuned for those pictures, I'm sure there will be plenty!

Congratulations Danny & Sara! I love you both so much :)

The Zebra Surprise!

A very cool request was made from one of my customers, and I can't wait to share it with you here! So we all know that zebra print is so in, in fashion, wallpaper, and in cakes! We've seen hundreds of zebra print designs all over the web, and I too have made a few myself. But the cool request about this particular order was, she wanted zebra print INSIDE the cake. WHAT? I know! I was like, that is so totally awesome! After a quick search on achieving that, I excitedly called her back letting her know this can be done! I was so excited to get started :D

The outside of the cake was the black and white zebra print with a beautiful bow to match and some bling. But I knew the real 'wow' factor would be when the guest cut inside the cake. I asked for her to please send me pictures once they do!

However, I know myself. My patience, although tested and true, could not wait that long to see the end result. So what did I do? This...

And I don't regret it one bit! This was a money shot and I'm glad I took it. Look how gorgeous those stripes turned out? So I learned this technique from an online school I'm enrolled in, called MyCakeSchool.com. There are so many helpful tips tricks and tutorials to learn and really improve your cake decorating skills, and clearly, it's top notch advice! I'm really glad I enrolled.

Happy Birthday Sabrina!

Happy 60th Anniversary!

60 years? That's like, unheard of these days. My grandparents are truly a one of a kind couple though. I am not surprised that they have lasted this long. They were made for each other, and their love truly does grow more and more with each passing day. They still wake up early in the morning every single day and pray together. My heart just sinks into my chest thinking about how pure they are. We had family fly in from all over to surprise them for their anniversary. It was a beautiful celebration, and one I am so glad to have been a part of. I gave a special speech letting them know how much we as grandchildren appreciated them in our lives.

This was a simple two tiered cake, lilac with white accents, topped with a beautiful sugar peony flower.

and here are my beautiful Grandparents. We love you oh so much! Congratulations on 60 years of wedded bliss!

First Wedding Cake!

What a journey and a truly exciting one! All year I have been making tons of cakes for birthdays, baptisms, baby showers, etc., and had yet to make a wedding cake, until now! Had my first order to make a wedding cake, and it was far from simple! This was a 5 tier wedding cake! Needless to say, my nerves were racing! You just never know what to expect with these sort of things, and it being my first time I didn't know what hurdles I would have to face. Oh, there were hurdles! But with every one of them was a solution and the end result is one that I am proud of. The couple who ordered this cake were actually renewing their vows. They've been married for years and have children and grandchildren, but after lots of ups and downs in their marriage they decided to recommit their love to God and to the world. Honestly, that is so romantic!

The bottom two tiers of this cake were real cake. Vanilla on the bottom, and chocolate above. The rest of the tiers were fake per the couples request, and decked out with real roses. Royal icing was used for the piping on each tier except for the middle tier, which received a beautiful grid pattern accented with pearls. 

All in all, best experience I've had so far, and looking forward to many many more!

Happy Birthday Micah!

I had the privilege of making my best friend's son's 1st birthday cake. With Cars being the theme of his birthday, I wanted to create something fun for him. The cars are actually toys, because what kid wouldn't want to just snatch those cars up and play with them? I thought it best to buy the toys instead of modelling them for this cake. He was just thrilled to see his cake.

and it was this look on his face that truly melted my heart. it's smiles like these that make my job and all the hard work worth it all. 

Happy Birthday my sweet little boy!

The Bugatti

The Bugatti!

Ever heard of it? I didn't until my friend approached me asking me to make her this cake.

This is a cake I made for my friend's son who is a HUGE fanatic over the beautiful vintage Bugatti cars. This is some high taste for an 8 year old boy! His mama has made him promise her that she will have one of these parked outside when he makes $$$. That's a big promise to keep! But no doubt he'll do it for his mama! However in the meantime, this car will have to do. 

I modelled the Bugatti using RKT which was a first for me. Learned a lot and enjoyed working with it. The cake is chocolate cake with rich chocolate cream cheese frosting. 

I love when I receive pictures of them with their cakes! So thanks Sharm for this picture! Makes my day, and makes all the work put into it worth it all :)

Tiffany's Gift Box Cake

Which lady isn’t familiar with the ultimate jewellery store for that one of a kind diamond ring? I remember walking in the Yorkville area in Toronto with my then fiancé, and coming across this store. We had already been looking for engagement rings, but I just wanted to take a small peak at their selection. Just a peak! “I promise, I won’t fall in love with any of them” is what I said to Richie. Yeah right! I walked in and was jaw smacked at a few of their selections. However I could tell from the look on Richie’s face, he wanted to get outta there lol! I don’t blame him, the price tag on those beauties was well beyond our budget. So we walked out and he got me another engagement ring which was equally as beautiful, and I treasure deeply.

Tiffany’s has a signature box for all their jewellery which is pretty much world knows as this beautiful teal box with a shiny white bow on top. It’s quite gorg! My boss had asked me to make his wife a birthday cake for her 50^th birthday. As she is a true lover of Tiffany’s, it was only fitting to make this cake for her. I don’t think anything else would sufficed.

The bow was from a tutorial I learned from Lesley at RoyalBakery. This cake is fluffy vanilla with a raspberry jam filling and buttercream frosting inside, and a whoooole lotta goodness!

Last Fling Before The Ring

Corset Bachelorette Cake "Last fling before the ring". Chocolate cake with rich creamy chocolate frosting.

Anniversary Cake

Happy 4th wedding anniversary to Tharshan and Tania. They are a very sweet couple and dear friends of mine so I thoroughly enjoyed making this cake for them. Once again, free reign on the design - thank you! This cake was 3 layers of chocolate with rich creamy chocolate frosting. 

Birthday Cake

I love it when I have free reign to create something special for someone. And she is someone very special to me. I had the honour of making a good friend of mine's birthday cake and wanted it to pop with colour. She just asked for bright and beautiful so I hope I captured exactly that. I wanted to incorporate fabric and pearls because she is so into fashion. Bottom tier is red velvet and top tier is strawberry shortcake.

Happy Birthday Summer Time!

This cake was inspired by Cakes by Elisa https://www.facebook.com/CakesbyElisa.

I just loved the design and had to try it out myself! The colours being so bright and summery made this fit the season we're in.

This was a strawberry shortcake with fresh strawberries inside the cake.

And a quick look inside to see the strawberry goodness...

Baby Shower Cake (Surprise Inside!)

Baby shower cake for a little girl who they have already named. There would be a cool surprise for when they cut into this cake. I learned this technique of the Leopard Print by MyCakeSchool.com. It was such a hit! A lovely surprise for the mother to be and her guests. And a delightful treat to share. I am as always, honoured to be a part of such special occasions. 

And here is a look inside at the leopard print, isn't it awesome! It's the perfect surprise for just any occasion! 

Guitar Themed Cupcakes

Guitar themed cupcakes for a cool bass guitar player's birthday! His dear wife sent me a picture of the guitar he plays and I was able to work off from that. She is such a sweetheart to plan such a lovely surprise gathering for him! Needless to say, he was thrilled at his surprise. It was so sweet! 

Two flavors here, chocolate mania and cookies and cream.

And the birthday boy blowing out his candles. Happy Birthday Keith!!

1st Birthday Cake

One year old birthday cake for a beautiful little girl. It was a pure joy to deliver this cake today. Her face was so precious and so happy. It is times like these when I realize how much I love my job :) both tiers were fluffy vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream frosting.

Graduation Cake

Graduation cake made with 3 layers of fluffy vanilla cake, custard filling with fresh strawberries. That Tiffany blue is by far one of my favorite colors :)

DJ Turntable

Pioneer DJ Turntable Cake! This cake was marble cake with white chocolate ganache filling. Inspired by the actual board this DJ works off of.

Nurse Cake

Ah! I love nurses! I think they deserve so much respect and recognition for all their hard work. They are anyway the doctor's sidekicks and doctor's do rely on them so much. So once again as always, I was honoured to make this cake for a nurse turning the big 5-0! I shaped this cake using a 9x13" pan and baked a separate 8" cake to cut the sleeves from. The Stethoscope was made from fondant. Those are supposed to be Tylenol pills. Cake was chocolate cake with a rich creamy chocolate frosting.

Pink Zebra Baby Shower Cake

This cake was made for a very dear friend of mine Dianne. It was an honour to be able to play a part in her baby shower. She and Ben knew they were having a little girl so it was fun making this zebra themed baby shower cake. It fit perfectly well with the rest of the decor. This cake was her favourite, of course, chocolate.

3D Panda Bear Cake

The customer requested this cake with bamboo sticks. Grass leaves are made from fondant. After he was done I took a second glance at him and went Awwww! What a cutie!

Graduation Cake

I made this Graduation Cake for my mama's boss at work. He reached the highest level in his studies and so the whole department was so proud of him they organized to have this cake made by me. The topper is Joel, the graduate. This cake is red velvet with cream cheese frosting layered with chocolate fondant.

Sheep Themed Baby Shower Cake

I made this sheep baby shower cake for a beautiful mommy to be. They don’t know the sex of the baby which is why they chose a sheep theme. The sheeps were made with fondant mixed with tylose. I learned the barn with the sheep sticking out through MyCakeSchool.com. Bottom tier was vanilla and top tier was chocolate. Along with this order I made 100 cupcakes with a sheep face which was given out as favours to the guests

Mother's Day Cake

"Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:"
Proverbs 31:28
Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there! You are loved and appreciated!
Mother’s Day sheet cake, made ribbon roses for the first time.

Gift Box Birthday Cake

A gift box cake I made for a special birthday. I made the lid out of RKT. It was an 8" square vanilla butter cake with vanilla buttercream frosting.

Birthday Cake

A simple birthday cake for a 1 year old. They requested a more mature theme with a touch of elegance to it rather than the normal baby cakes you see.

Pink Baby Shower Cake

Pink Baby Shower cake I made this past weekend. Made the booties myself with gumpaste. Blanket was also done out of gumpaste and the baby blocks were done using fondant mixed with tylose to stiffen them a bit more.