Under the Sea Little Mermaid Birthday Cake

Okay, I know, I know, there is no Little Mermaid on this cake, but there was one eventually.  My adorable little 4 year old customer had a cute little toy Ariel that we put on the top of her cake, but I didn't have it when we took the pictures.  It was still fun to capture all the colors and details of this super fun cake!!  And yes, Brandi Teuscher took these awesomely vibrant pictures!

 How fun is that pink, sugar coral?!  I used the technique I've seen Buddy do on Cake Boss where he pours the boiled sugar over ice.  HOW FUN!!!  It's so neat to do new things with my cakes!

The little starfish were just made with flower cutters then I used a small round decorating tip to make the texture.  Then I brushed on pink petal dust to give it even more texture. 

 I struggled with these bubbles.  I didn't want them to look cheesy, so I tried to make them kind of curvy and I added pearl dust to them to make them shiny.  I was pretty happy with how they turned out.

 I had to look at one of my kids little seashells so make sure I got this right.  Marbled fondant and different little Wilton tools created this fun little shell.

I really did love how colorful this cake turned out and it was such a happy cake.  What a lucky little girl to have such loving parents to get her her very own Under the Sea magical cake for her birthday!  I hope it made her day super special!!!  Happy Birthday, Summer!!

Hunger Games: Katniss Everdeen's Mockingjay Wedding Dress Cake

There may or may not be a lot of photos of this cake because it was INSANELY COOL......I'm just going to put that out there.  When my daughter suggested doing a Hunger Games birthday party I was pretty hesitant.  I mean, she's only 12 and Hunger Games is a pretty intense theme.  "But," she said, "you can do a really simple cake.  Like the reaping bowl or something."  Famous last words.....

I've gotten into this horrible habit of looking at ideas for cakes and thinking, "make it cooler."  It's kind of my motto for cake making.  But sometimes it gets me into trouble.  Like this cake for instance.  I could have made things really easy for myself, but I just couldn't quit thinking of ideas to make it super cool.  Plus, my sweet daughter kept telling me she was tired of people always thinking her sister's cake was so cool.  (You can see that one here.)

So this is what happened!  We love Hunger Games, and we love Katniss, and we LOVED the idea of making her dress as a cake.  I spent so many nights struggling to get to sleep because I just couldn't quit thinking of what to do for this cake.

These gum paste feathers were made shiny by painting them with vanilla and brown food gel mixed together.  It gave them so much dimension. 

The white feathers and lacy detail were done with gum paste as well.

My favorite part of this cake?  My daughter and her adorable friend actually helped me with the flames.  She's always asking if she can help with my cakes and I NEVER say yes, but I wanted her to be involved with her cake.  I boiled the sugar and poured it onto tin foil then she and her friend shaped the flames then painted the flames with red food coloring to give them this super cool effect!  I LOVE THEM!

No fondant on this cake because my girl hates fondant.  Just yummy butter cream frosting and then the sugar details on this bad boy!

Oh, and did I mention that it IS LIT UP FROM INSIDE?!  It was such a pain getting those tiny little battery operated tea lights into the cake, but it was so worth it in the end!

You can't see in these amazing pictures, but the lights actually flickered like a real flame.

See, aren't those flames so cool?!  Way to go my brilliant daughter!

Aren't these photos INCREDIBLE?!?!  My friend Brandi took them for me again, she's becoming a staple for my photos!  Her site is here if you want to see her other work.  You can also check out her stuff on Facebook here.  She's so incredibly talented!!!

I know I say I love making all my cakes, but his one was super fun for me.  And I couldn't have been happier with the results.  It was also very very fun trying out the boiled sugar trick.  I'll be doing more stuff with that in the future!  I love you, Ali girl!  Happy 12th birthday, we love you so much!

Purple Zebra Print Smash Cake

So for a long time now I have had a hard time with the color purple when it comes to cakes.  There are just so many shades and tints of purple that it can be difficult to really get the color I want.  Especially in pictures.  This cake was different.  I was able to see the purple fabrics I needed to match and my friend took the amazing pictures that show the stunning purple color beautifully!  My friend, Brandi Teuscher, took the pictures and here is her site if you want to see more of her talent!

These zebra stripes were done with butter cream frosting that I piped on then smoothed over with my frosting spatula.  It took forever but I LOVED the end result!  No fondant for smash cakes, so I had to be super detailed and careful!

 This gorgeous platter was one that Brandi had and I LOVE it!  So dainty and perfect for a little girl!

Isn't this little sweetie adorable?!  She just doesn't even know what to do with this big cake sitting in front of her!  What you can't see is the purple cake inside.  Such a fun cake to make for a milestone in this little angel's life!