Sometimes A Girl Just Needs... Some Cupcakes!

Cupcakes for a friend's daughter's 6th Birthday!  Pink and Zebra, Peace Signs and Flowers, a splash of sparkly stars... Oh my!

A "Despicable" First Birthday Minion!

 

Yay for Despicable Me!

 

Who doesn't absolutely love this movie and those darn Minions!  I haven't been taking cakes lately, but I couldn't say no to this one!  I love Minions!  Bonus (buttercream) smash cake for the first birthday boy.  This was a fun cake to do. 

Cupcake, Anyone?

 

 

 

Cupcake, Anyone?

 

Lately, I had been taking a hiatus from cakes in order to free up my evenings and weekends to spend that with my family.  (You cake peeps know how much of your precious time custom cakes really eat up.  You have to sleep, eat and breath cake.  Especially, if you're in the Wedding Cake arena, too.)   

 

My whole beliefs in the importance and my reasoning for the decision to be a SAHM and being there for my family in the first place seemed to be flying right out the window when the cakes started taking over our home and our lives.  So, I re-evaluated, reset and went back to a place of calm before the cake storm.  It's been a happy and wonderful place to be and I couldn't have enjoyed it more.  However, I did kinda miss cakes from time to time and it was hard turning cool ones down.  So, I found myself a happy medium.   Cupcakes! 

 

I still do the occasional cake for a family member, but that's about it.  And, since most of my previous cake clients know this, they'll sometimes ask for cupcakes instead.  I will almost always say yes to cupcakes!  Cupcakes are fun and easy and don't require all the steps and time and long drawn out processes that cakes do.  So, if I am available, I am always happy to do some cupcakes!  (Plus, Goo loves them and always has a blast helping Mommy where she can and playing alongside with fondant and making her own "cupcakes".   So, I don't have to feel like I'm stealing any of her time away from her as I do with cakes.  It's actually a fun activity and bonding time we can enjoy together.)

 

Here are a few laid back, casual, kiddie ones done for some friends over the summer:

 

Swim Party Cupcakes!  Little snorkels, beach balls, and life preservers!  Heeee!

 

 Some Angry Birds Space!

 

 Angry Birds Space Continued...

 

 Super Mario Party!

 

 Another Swim Party!  This time, sunglasses, fishies and flipflops...

Little Pirate Cake!

Little 4th Birthday Pirate Cake!

Cake by Sarah Jane Bowman

Photo by Kristi Hollowell

This turned out to be one of my faves!  It just kept getting more and more fun as I was making all the little things.  When I first got the order and the client sent me a couple of example pics of what she was looking for, it was like, "ho hum, yeah yeah, pirate cake, that's what you want?  Okay.  Easy Peasy.  Nothing crazy.  No moving parts or anything.  Not quite EXACTLY sure what I'm gonna do about that chain, but I'm sure I'll figure it out...no problem...I'll get you an awesome little pirate cake"

  Then, as I was in the midst of execution, it just got more and more exciting!  The chain was only a small bit of a nightmare.  You cake peeps know what I mean.  Fondant chain, draping on a cake, plus gravity equals a little bit of finesse and magic, but I finally got it going my way. 

One of best parts of this assignment, was the fact that I did this cake for a professional photographer and ended up getting a real professional pic of one of my cakes!  Instead of the usual point and shoot crappy pics I always take of them on my kitchen counter.  We both got to combine our artist's talents to produce this happy little masterpiece.  I thought we made a great little team!  Thank you Kristi Hollowell Photography!  Love you!  Kristi is an amazing children and family portrait photographer.  Go visit her site here! 

Another Little Owl Cake

Another Little Owl Cake...

I've done this cake before.  A couple years back.  It was a replica of a certain Owl birthday party theme.  Since then, I can't believe how many requests and questions I get about this cake!  I get more emails and comments about this cake than any other cake, ever.  Also, I just figured out the other day that you can see how much of your own stuff gets pinned on Pinterest and I couldn't believe how many times the first Owl cake I did was pinned (or really any of my stuff for that matter)!  Pinned more than any other cake on my blog.  It's kinda weird to see people pinning your stuff.  I guess owls are a pretty popular party theme these days.  Anyway, it was a fun and cute cake to do the first time and that's why I had absolutely no problem agreeing to do it again.  I admit, I have a little thing for owls, too.  So, I couldn't resist.

Little Minnie Mouse Princess Cake

Cute Little Minnie Mouse theme cake for a cute little 3 year old!  Awwww, how fun it is to get to make a little tiara!

Okay, so...

I know I'm supposed to be on a break, or cake retirement, or whatever.  And, I was!  And, it was nice!  I only did a couple of cakes over the past year for family, and it was really nice to have the rest of that time to enjoy spending it with my Goo and Husby and not so busy with cakes every weekend.  But, you know how it goes...  someone asks you for one, and for some reason you can't really say no, and it's been a while and I kinda missed it a little, so I took a little break from my break to do this cute little one for a friend. 

The only thing I wished I would have done different.... GREEN!  Her birthday is ON St. Patricks Day. Everyone at the party was dressed in green! Even thought I knew this, I never really thought about it beforehand and put the two together until the party.  Then, I realized how cute it would have been had we changed the pink to green!  The green, black, white and silver would have been cute!  A little St. Patrick's Day version!  I hate when I miss a fun, different, and creative opportunity like that!  Dangit!

5th Birthday Superhero Cake!

Batman, Spiderman, Superman, Hulk...  Oh My! 

This cake was for my nephew's 5th birthday.  I hadn't done one in a while since my break (though, my break doesn't include family)  and so it was a real treat to get to do this one.  I realized I hadn't gotten a chance to do a superhero themed one yet and was totally stoked for this one.  I really had a lot of fun with it and was pretty happy with the turnout.  I'd say the only change I would have made in hindsight would have been the Batman Tier.  Like, why didn't I totally make that an OVAL!  (The batsymbol is an oval...)  I was a little dissapointed in myself for not realizing sooner.  ;)  Darnit!  It would have been even cooler as an oval!

Okay, So... Sorry, But I Just Couldn't Say No To This One! WARNING! DON'T LOOK!

Warning!  Don't Look!  Warning!  Don't Look!  Warning!  Don't Look!

A "Dirty Thirty" Naughty Birthday Cake:

Okay, so I know I was technically supposed to be on a cake hiatus and all....  But, I just couldn't resist.  A friend asked me for a "naughty cake" and I had to take it.  I always wanted to do a cute little cheeky naughty cake, but the opportunity had never presented itself before.  So, when she asked, I immediately agreed to do it and took a break from my cake break to do this one. 

To be quite honest, this wasn't immediately what popped into my head when I first thought of what kind of naughty cakes we could do.  I had something a little different in mind when she first asked me, but this is what she had picked out and asked for.  I was actually a little bummed at first. I was kinda looking forward to doing just a cute "pair of boobs cake" or maybe a even a "butt cake", but after it was all done I was so glad this was what I got to do.  It was way more fun!  It's a bummer that I'm not a photographer or don't even own a nice camera.  The little details on this cake are what really made it so cute to me.  Her little toes and fingers on her little hands and feet.  Many people who sculpt figures out of fondant or gumpaste always get the porportions of the limbs and digits and neck and stuff so totally off.  It really kind of drives me crazy. So, I make sure to get them all so cute and perfect.  Even her little nails were painted.  It was just too bad they were all kind of hidden by all the bubbles.  You really had to get down and look at the cake and check out everything to get to see all these little details.  Her little figure was quite cute.  I almost wish she wasn't in the bathtub!  Plus, you can't tell by the pics, but the bubbles were shimmery.  They were all painted with shimmer dust and it just gave them that added special-ness that I couldn't convey with my poopy photog skills.  The client had requested the color scheme to accomodate the cake recipient and I love how well her being a red-head complimented the Mexico flag style colors she had asked for.  It all tied in perfect.  Such a fun little cake to do.  I was glad that I agreed to do it.  (Oh, and don't forget you can click on the pics to zoom in and make them bigger)

Now, back to my cake break!  Maybe I could use this time to improve on my photography skills!  ;)

Some Thank You Cupcakes

Mmmmmm....These were just a simple box of yummy Thank You cupcakes I was asked to whip up this last October for some school teachers.  Vanilla with Vanilla Buttercream, Chocolate with Cream Cheese Buttercream and Pumpkin Spice with Cream Cheese Buttercream.