Frog Birthday Cake

Well, this year, it is all the rage to "go green"! This birthday cake was for a frog-lovin' four year old who was having a frog themed party. The cake was vanilla with chocolate filling and was made from a square and round layer cake. I decided to cover the whole cake with regular frosting (rather than fondant) because I like the texture when creating "water". Around the outside of the cake, I pressed graham cracker crumbs along the bottom to create a base for the "pond". I added fondant rocks and some plants piped with frosting. I frosted the top of the round cake with green frosting to look like a lily pad. The tall plants, purple flowers, and cat tails were all made with fondant. For the frog, I started by baking a mini cake in a small glass bowl (about the size of 2 cupcakes batter-wise). I turned the cake upside down and covered it with green fondant. Then I molded the head, legs and arms with additional fondant. To tie the cake in with the invitation that Mom sent me, I added some yellow spots on Mr. Frog and a long tongue, complete with a fly at the end. Let's just say I was "hoppy" with the results. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Porsche Cupcakes

I think my friend Robin really thought she'd stumped me this time when she asked me to do cupcakes for her Dad that were "masculine" with the Porsche emblem on them. She just wanted "something close" and told me that I didn't have to do "the horse part in the middle". I had to giggle to myself. Maybe she knew that once you throw down with me, I have to come through! So I got cutting with my fondant and created these embems. The I painted the gold parts with luster dust to add some sparkle, and all the black was also luster dust that I hand-painted on. The cupcakes were vanilla cake with chocolate frosting (one of my personal favorite combinations) and I topped the frosting with gold sparkle sugar. Robin was blown away, and I hope that the cupcakes were a fun surprise for her Dad. Bring on the challenges, girls! ;)

Pink or Blue? Baby Shower Cupcakes

I am such a planner that I can't imagine not finding out the sex of your baby until its birthday! I admire people who still want to be surprised. I may not understand it, but I got to do some fun cupcakes anyway! These cupcakes were lemon with vanilla frosting and chocolate chocolate chip with chocolate frosting. The colors of the shower were ivory, chocolate brown, baby pink and baby blue, with a polka dot theme. So I made different sizes of polka dots out of fondant and also cut out pink and blue question marks (can you believe I actually had a question mark cookie cutter? I think I have a problem...) I layered the cutouts on the ivory and chocolate swirls of frosting, and gave everything a dusting of edible glitter to finish them off. Hope the shower is a lot of fun, girls! (And Sam, I've got my fingers crossed for a girl this time! Good luck!)

Baby Boy Mini Cupcakes

Aren't the mini cupcakes adorable? These were a mixture of chocolate and vanilla cake with chocolate and vanilla frosting. They got a simple swirl of homemade icing and a sprinkle of pretty sugars. They complemented the colors of the baby shower of chocolate brown, lime green and baby blue. Simple and not too theme-y. And a fun alternative to big cupcakes...everyone likes a sampler platter!

Valentine Conversation Heart Cupcakes

It's a sad day when opening a bag of candy conversation hearts can make you feel old. I had no idea that the little sugar hearts had gotten a 2010 makeover. My favorite of the new sayings..."Tweet Me". So I incorporated some new (and some old) Valentine greetings for these cupcakes. The cupcakes were chocolate chocolate chip and vanilla with my signature vanilla icing. Each one got a fondant heart with a message piped on top, plus a sprinkle of color- coordinating sugar. Happy Valentine's Day all!

Woodland Animal Baby Shower Cupcakes

So it turns out that when you give me a theme that I personally think is so adorable, I go a little crazy! When my client said she was having a baby shower for a boy that was a "woodland animal" theme, I thought, "I'd better check Babies R Us and see if there's an inspiration for this idea". And I was right. Carters has a darling line of nursery decor right now called the "Tree Top" collection. So I found some pictures online (of sheets, wall hangings, lamps and such) and I sketched the little animals to match. Once I had my design sketches, I re-drew them to the right size for cupcakes. Then I cut them out and used them as templates to cut out the animals out of fondant. I admit that it was a very time-consuming process, but I think the results were worth it. I even dressed up the sprinkled cupcakes with some flowers, leaves and acorns. The cupcakes were chocolate chocolate chip, coconut, and lemon, all with vanilla icing. So cute! Makes me want to have another baby...(JUST KIDDING HONEY!) Maybe a birthday party or something...