Liam's 3rd birthday

Liam's birthday was pretty laid back this year. With renovating and living at my family's house it just had to be. He requested to make and decorate his birthday cake, so that's just what we did. Sprinkles, fondant confetti and Flynn the firetruck were just what he wanted!!! We also got to go to the crayola factory with my family to help celebrate his special day. We all had a fun time making crayons, spin art,  and exploring all the fun, hands on exhibits. We had hot dogs and corn on the cob per Liam's request for dinner and enjoyed cake and presents back at our house, so that Daddy could be there too!

A very special garden cake for a very special 90th Birthday!

 

My grandfather turned 90 this August, so my Mom brought the family together to celebrate this grand occasion. It's pretty remarkable to be 90 and in pretty good health, I'd imagine. So many birthdays gone past, so much life lived, so many generations you have as a legacy. This cake pictured above is for his life long love of gardening. So, in making this cake, I think I made up a version of my dream garden. I, as well as my Father and Grandfather have a love of gardening. While our yard may not have a big garden yet, my mind is filled with images of what that will some day look like. This cake garden is one of those images!

Happy Birthday Pop-Pop!

Gumpaste Lilac Cake!

Lilacs! They are probably the most inspirational flower I could make this long, cold, snowy winter. So you can imagine how delighted I was to find out they were the favorite flower of this birthday girl. I'm just starting to dive into the world of do it yourself gum-paste flowers. It really intimidated me, until recently, when I was asked to do some hydrangeas for a wedding cake. I couldn't find what I was looking for, so I decided to try my hand at making some. That was my first experience making my own gum-paste flowers. 

 Lilacs were a little different story. Each little flower you see is made by hand, no cutter necessary. This tutorial was amazing! Yes, they were time consuming and yes you need to make way more than you think you'll need for a bunch and yes each flower is wired individually, but it was really great to learn a new technique and I couldn't believe how true to the real deal lilacs they actually turned out when I put them all together! 

For this 60th birthday I also made a couple dozen lilac frosted cupcakes to go with.

Thanks also to Optika for this shot of the cake and cupcakes! Go check out their new website! They do good work!

Arts and Crafts Cake

 This was my Thanksgiving project. Along with some rolls and cranberry sauce, of course. My niece turned 13 and so we celebrated over Thanksgiving with my family. My niece is an artist. Skilled in drawing, sculpture ( she helped me make this cake ) and almost anything she touches! So to go along with her creative side I decided to make her a cake displaying some of her favorite "tools".

Liam's 1st Birthday Party!

 July 21st!

A day most dear to our hearts!

This year marked one year for our baby boy!

Our friend's Optika Photography beautifully captured the day for us!

Gumpaste Hydrangeas Wedding Cake

 I'm still trying to catch up a bit, with posting all the cakes from this spring. This is a wedding cake I did for a coworker of mine. I made the hydrangeas myself. The gumpaste is a pale blue/ purple and then I painted them with luster dust in blue and purple and a shimmery white. It was my first time making gumpaste flowers! I can't wait to make some more soon. This could get addicting!

 Oh yes, I forgot to mention I was at the wedding! It was a grand celebration!

Shooting my Best Friend's Wedding

 This dear lady, is a close friend since childhood. She got married to a wonderful man back in May! Jason and I were asked to shoot her wedding. We were a little nervous because we are far from professional photographers, but we made the most of it and I think they turned out just fine. The wedding was at her parents house. A casual family and close friends affair. They walked in with both of their parents on their arms as the guests sat in a circle around them. After the couple greeted each other, the parents shared a sweet sentiment and then they opened up for the guests in the circle to share a meaningful word, memory, blessing or story about the couple. It was such an intimate affair. Probably one of the most beautiful weddings I've been to. And being behind the camera lens I noticed a lot more of the little details that I normally would at a wedding. Here's a few pictures from the day!