Little Man Baby Shower

I've dreamed of doing something "little man" themed ever since...well.... since pinterest came onto the scene. One of my favorite client families came to me several months ago when they started planning for a friend's baby shower. After a few theme changes and color swaps, they finally settled on the Little Man idea.  It was so fun to create cupcakes with tiny ties and moustaches- adorable!

 Oh yeah... and my new favorite Pick Your Plum purchase... pink box twine!

According to facebook the little man has made it healthfully into the world, and he is such a dream! Thanks Taryn and Dara!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Cayden!

                               



                                


One of my favorite customers is back!  I'm a bit overdue on this post but it's well worth it.  A few weeks ago Shannon asked me to make a cake for her Grandson's 2nd birthday. It's been such an honor to make things for Shannon's family because I've been able to watch them all grow (from wedding to baby birthdays)!

I'll admit, it's also been a really fun challenge.  Each member of her family has different requests, such as nothing on the cake inedible, or matching a specific photo... this one was no different! I realized how out of touch I am with the cartooning world when I got the images for this one... Jake and the Neverland Pirates struck gold!

I love pirates, especially for little guys' birthdays, and I only hope that all of the fondant work came out somewhat resembling Jake.

Thanks Shannon!

Introducing: the His and Hers Cupcake Display!

Don't get me wrong - I love each of the tiny cutting cakes I've created. They're simple, elegant, and a perfect topper for a cupcake display. The cutting cake also gives couples the chance to continue the tradition of "cutting the cake."

But.... I've been trying to convince brides and grooms for years to try out a His and Hers Cupcake.  It stems all the way back to the first cupcakes I made for a wedding. We decided on two jumbo cupcakes to sit on top of their display.  It was the coolest! I later documented it again for Kait and Tom's wedding. 

While shopping last weekend I stumbled upon the most perfectly lovely cake pedestals quite possibly... ever. I've had a recent fixation with birds and weddings, more specifically love birds.  Just one of these was darling, but TWO of them- my oh my.  So I snatched them up, and set to work creating my new marketing campaign.

Feast your eyes on the His and Hers Cupcake Display!

                                     

I had a blast decorating the cupcakes with love words that go together... and who knows? Maybe we'll be seeing these in next year's weddings.

Baby Shower at School

Put a bunch of teachers in one room to celebrate a new baby and the joy level increases exponentially.  I was so excited that the planning committee came to me to make some kid-friendly cupcakes for the shower.  As I've been reminded by the mom-to-be, "there are so few surprises in life," and they're waiting to find out the sex of the baby until it's born.  They've appropriately decorated the nursery with Noah's Ark and Jungle animals.

In order to keep the cupcakes simple on an already colorful tablescape, I topped them with sage green fondant leaves. Simple, yes, but I wanted the chocolate/peanut butter combination to speak up a bit.

Happy baby shower, Tara-Jeanne!



*Coming soon- the most exciting cake purchase I've ever made! (ok....maybe just the most exciting this year.)

Happy Labor Day!

This is a quick post to show some patriotism on the last holiday weekend of the summer.

Back in July I made some really fun cupcakes for one of the most patriotic people I know. My good friend Brynn asked me to bake something up for her boyfriend, who works for the House of Representatives AND has a birthday on July 4th. Due to the holiday/moving/etc. I was unable to post at the time, and I purposefully saved this post for today.

 I was so excited by his reaction to the surprise birthday cupcakes, and I'm thrilled to share them now.

Happy Labor Day, folks!

Sparkles and Hydrangeas

I need to give this next couple a huge Kudos. They came to me a few months ago with a low maintenance request for their wedding, and got a lot more than they bargained for! They stuck with me through the end of a school year, the packing/moving/unpacking of our new house, my own wedding plansand the craziness of summer schedules.  THANK YOU Jessica and Mark for being so flexible and enthusiastic. I'm finally back into my stride, just in time for the start of another school year, and my own wedding.

Jessica and Mark had the coolest rehearsal meal- it was lunch at a childhood hotspot of Mark's.  When we delivered the cupcakes we very seriously considered staying for lunch. If only we weren't within an hour of the other guests arriving :)  I was able to bake cupcakes for the rehearsal lunch, and then a cutting cake for the next day's reception.  I hope you enjoy as much as I did while I was baking and decorating!

Pictured: 

Yellow cupcakes with milk chocolate buttercream and fondant monogram buttons

Red Velvet 8" Cutting cake with silver dragees and pearl accents

Red Velvet "Hydrangea" cupcakes with cream cheese buttercream

Happy 2nd anniversary Melissa and Clayton!

I was so excited to re-open the file to one of my favorite wedding cakes of all time.

When I baked the 5-tiered cake for Melissa and Clayton's wedding 2 years ago, I had just moved into my first DC apartment.  This time around I'm still settling in our new townhouse! Whether Melissa knows it or not, her faith in me using a kitchen for the first time has meant a lot.

Although I was at home visiting family for the last week, I couldn't stand to say no to her anniversary cupcakes.  She requested 1 dozen of the recipe I used for her wedding cake.

Pictured: 6 spice and 6 yellow cupcakes with fresh orange buttercream.

I was eager to test out the toppers I'd been brainstorming- the number 2 in 12 different languages. See if you recognize any! Happy Anniversary Mel and Clayton!




*Be on the lookout for a MUCH overdue post from the 4th of July. I've decided to postpone it until Labor Day, since they'll still be relevant.

3 for the Price of 1

A grooms cake, wedding cupcakes, and a retirement party, Oh my!

The last week has been jam-packed with so many events, the end of a long school year, and all of the packing/moving that's taken place.  I've had a lot of fun doing three totally different events, and now I can take a breath for a few weeks!



Cake Number 1: Denver Broncos Cake

Event: Rehearsal Dinner

I had the honor of making cupcakes for Taryn's bridal shower, and I was so excited when I heard from her about a surprise groom's cake for her now-husband Toby.  He's a huge Denver Broncos fan so I had a fun time dreaming this one up.  I even caught sight of a picture of him holding the top tier, kissing it. Mission Accomplished :)

Cake Number 2: Cupcakes in Annapolis

Event: Wedding

Anna is a good friend from JMU who came to me right after she got engaged requesting cupcakes.  She was married in Annapolis in a beautiful ceremony, and when we arrived for setup the reception hall was so impressive!  Her uncle made the most incredible stand for the cupcakes, and her cutting cake had a handmade topper that was designed to look like Anna and Mike.  Definitely a wedding for the books!

Cake number 3: Beach Cake


Event: End of Year Luncheon

Last year I made a cake for Shannon, the Administrative Assistant at my school. I was so excited when she asked me to make the cake for the end of the year luncheon.  Even though the luncheon is a celebration of the end of our school year, we are also saying goodbye to a fabulous principal. Joanne, (who so kindly gave me my job!) is retiring this year so we've had a fun time celebrating her as our year comes to an end.  She loves the beach, and since it's a natural symbol for summer we decided to use it as our cake theme!

JMU cupcakes for a new alumni!

This post comes with a bit of history.

My dear friend and sorority sister, Lisa gave me one of the greatest gifts when I graduated. Her grandmother is a phenomenal quilter and collected all of my JMU shirts (and memories!) for a t-shirt quilt.  The final result was so stunning, and to this day it has been one of the most special gifts I've ever received!

Lisa recently became a JMU alum herself, and I knew I had to do something special for her.  Along with a few fun surprises, I thought I'd bake some JMU cupcakes for our celebratory dinner together. I was so excited to decorate cupcakes that were meaningful for both of us!