Forest themed Yule Log Cake

This is the 3rd Yule Log I've made for this awesome family and I LOVED the theme this year.  In the past I did a Celtic Yule Log and a Christmas Yule Log so it was really fun to do a new theme.  The colors were perfect and I LOVED the mushrooms!

 Little story about the mushrooms.  I was thinking I'd do brown ones to make them look very realistic, but then I found out my friend wanted the red and white ones.  So, I googled the REAL red and white mushrooms and tried to figure out how to make the brown ones I'd made into red ones.  I thought of making red fondant and covering the brown ones but I didn't have red gel coloring.  When I went to the craft store I was enlightened when I saw the Wilton red melting discs.  DUH!  How easy!  I melted it, I dipped them, they dried and TA-DA!  I had red mushrooms!  I was so happy it was that simple for me!  Then I just piped on the little dots.

 I really love doing the texture for wood cakes!  It's just chocolate frosting and I like to do some spots where white frosting shows through a little.  Makes it have a lot of texture.

 I loved the pine needles, but there were SOOOO much work!  I almost gave up on them, but I stuck to my picture in my mind.  I would have done more but they took so much time.

The best part about this cake?!  The TASTE!  Every year when I make this pumpkin roll I have to make one for my family because it's like torture smelling the cake cook and tasting the cream cheese frosting.  Oh, this is a delicious cake!  Merry Christmas, Cottam family!  And Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our friends and family!

Minecraft Sword Cake

Another cake that I had to research!  I've never in my life played Minecraft.  I've never even seen anyone else play the game!  So when I had a request for a Minecraft birthday cake I was totally lost with what to do!  When I looked online for ideas every single cake I saw was the green and brown square made with hundreds of tiny squares.  Well, I like to do something different when I can, so when I came upon this picture, which is done with CHALK, I knew I had found what I wanted to do!  I actually would like to do this cake again sometime and make it look even more like the picture and add all the stuff around that middle square.  Someday....

 I did all those little squares on one large, very thin piece of fondant, then stuck the whole piece on at once.  Kind of like back splash tiles.  MUCH easier than trying to put each individual square directly on the cake and hoping they'll turn out right!

 My son kept saying how cool the sword was and that the blue sword is the most powerful!  Little did I know!

It was fun doing a boy cake and even writing differently on the little tag.  Happy birthday Xander and Quentin.  Two very lucky boys!

Birdcage Birthday Cake

This cake was so fun to make.  I know.  I say that with most cakes, but this was really such a fun idea.  The roses were my favorite part!  This was the 3rd birthday cake I've made for this pretty young lady and this year we did it gluten free.  My kids all claim that they like the gluten free cake better than 'regular' cake, and so does this birthday girl.  It's so rewarding to be able to not only make something pretty, but to make something that people with special diet needs can eat!

 Don't you LOVE the scrolling on the cage?!  It took forever but I loved how it looked when it was done!

 Tiny white bird and rose.

 This gorgeous cake stand was made with a scrolled plate that my sweet friend gave to me and a candle stick glass that I found at a random craft store.

 Cute little flowers, and see....the stand even has a handle.  Totally unique!

 Sorry, but for some reason I just can't get over the flowers.  They were so much fun to make!

Happy Birthday Brynlee girl!  We sure love you tons!

Eagle Scout Cupcake Cake

These cupcakes were made for two very deserving young men who earned their Eagle Scout award.  One of the boys left for a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints just days after the Eagle Scout presentation.  What a wonderful example he has been to all the young boys in our neighborhood.  He will be missed while he is gone, but what a blessing he is to his family and what an exciting reunion they'll have when his two years is up!  Both young men are fantastic examples of what young men should be these days!

Steampunk. Disney Pirates. Halloween. Ya, it's a lot to take in!

My son's 8th birthday cake!  Really random themes all put together.  Halloween.  Disney.  Pirates of the Caribbean.  Steampunk.  I know.  I know.  It's a lot to take in.  So, let's just sit back and enjoy the beauty of this little cake!  Oh, and a big shout out to my friend Brandi Teuscher who took the pictures for me!  You can check out her site to see more of her amazing work.

The Jack Sparrow compass in Steampunk form!

Gears and pirate ship steering wheel.  Classic Jack Sparrow beads.

Gears and metals and even an octopus this time around!  How fun is that?!

"Aye, here there be monsters..."  or something like that.  Pirates, monsters, whatever.

Yep, I did each individual suction cup on those octopus tentacles!  Thanks to my beloved sister who insisted. But, I'm glad she did!

Back of the cake with the tied bandanna and more gears.

The octopus in all it's glory!  You'd never know it was green fondant under all that brass glory!

Edible thread for the compass.  So fun to make!

I even did a tiny little loop for the bead.  That took some doing, but so worth it!

I've always wanted to do a pumpkin cake, and I know it's an odd mix of ideas, but it was so worth it!  My cute son loved his cake and we all enjoyed eating it.  Layers of chocolate and pumpkin spice cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting.  Oh it was so yummy!  Happy birthday Jarrett boy.  We love you tons!!

Magnolia Shimmery White Wedding Cake

Another beautiful wedding cake!  I know I've said I like making birthday cakes better, but when I get a fun order like this one then it's not so bad.  I loved doing a new design and adding little tiny details to make it extra special.

 All sugar flower.  I had to look at pictures of a real magnolia flower to figure out that detailed middle part!

 I'm so glad you can see the sparkles in this cake.  It really added that extra something.

 My awesome sister took these pictures with our big brother's camera.  She had fun with it!

 I love how the cake stand mimics the balls on the cake.  So delicate and perfect.

 My sister also helped me roll all the tiny balls for the top.  And yes, all those other, larger balls, hand rolled.  Took forever, but so worth it in the end!

I really enjoyed making this cake.  The flower was a little bit of a headache at some points, but I loved how it turned out.  This cake was a lot of firsts.  My first magnolia flower and ball pattern.  First carrot flavored cake, which was super yummy by the way. (Thanks to my friend for her secret family recipe!)  First gorgeous cake stand.  And.... my first French bride!  She's from Paris and has been here in the states for a year.  She was so sweet and fun to work with.  I hope she and her new groom have a happy eternity together!!!  Congratulations John and Gen!

Woodland Fairy Birthday Cake

A woodland fairy cake for a sweet little girl birthday party!  The coloring is a little weird in these pictures, so sorry.  But it's all edible.  Down to the fairy wings and flowers.  I really don't like making people, but this fairy was pretty easy, and I loved her little shoes and hair!

 See, these two pictures are the same cake, but the coloring is so different.  Oh well.  Say la vie...

 Isn't the snail adorable?!  The mushrooms were pretty fun to make as well.

Oh, and the flavor of this cake?!  White velvet cake with fresh strawberries in between the layers with rich chocolate frosting.  Oh  my goodness, now I need one for me!!!  Happy Birthday Ashlyn!!

Ninja Birthday Cake

I absolutely loved this cake!  I looked online for ideas and everything looked the same.  Then my hubby suggested the bonsai tree and the Japanese arch.  It was exactly what I needed for the cake to stand out!  Everything is edible, minus the wires holding up the little ninja stars.

 My favorite part?  The cute little ties coming off the back of the Ninja's head!

 Although, I really loved the bonsai tree as well!

Although it's not a 'karate' cake, making this cake really made me think of the movie Karate Kid!  I loved that movie and still do!  Happy birthday Kevin!!

Rose Swirl 1st Birthday Smash Cake

Cute little smash cake for a one year old photo session.  My friend and neighbor took the pictures and did a fabulous job!  You can check out her other photos here.  

This was so fun to make and so easy!  I decided I want to make a cake like this for me.  Only me!