Disney Haunted Mansion Birthday Cake

When I first got this cake order I think I squealed in excitement!  I am kind of weird and I really like Halloween cakes.  I don't really get to do them, though.  I've done the zombie cake but it wasn't for Halloween, and I did my son's Steampunk Pumpkin cake but not much else.  Not many people have Halloween themed birthday parties.  Now, that being said, I don't like creepy, gross, bloody Halloween stuff, the zombie nearly killed me!  I like stuff like this.....  Clean, crisp, tidy Haunted Mansion cake!

 My teenage daughters have a special love of this Disneyland attraction ride, so they gave me some great pointers as I worked on this cake.  I knew I didn't want it to look like any other Haunted Mansion cake out there so I spent WAY too many hours stewing over what I was going to do to make this cake special and unique!

 I happened to come across a picture of the fortune telling crystal ball and candles.  I knew I'd hit my inspiration!

 I kind of had a different direction I was going to go with this black drapery, but once I had the wall paper framed in, I knew this had to be done!

 Hand painted 'wall paper' based on the wall paper in the ride.  I rolled out the gum paste and let it dry on a 9" round styrofoam.  Once it was dry I drew on the design with an edible marker.  Took some time, but it turned out pretty fun!

 I'm working on my photography skills to get good shots of my cakes.  I'm not perfect yet, but we'll get there.  

 I'm so bummed I didn't get a good shot with the lighting behind the candles!  They really light up!

 Madame Leota is made with gum paste then painted with edible markers, luster dust and cocoa butter.  It's the same process I used for the Elsa Frozen cake.

All in all I LOVED making this cake!  It's always fun to see my thoughts come to life in a cake!  Happy birthday Anya, and thank you for the opportunity to make such a fun cake!

Deer Hunting Birthday Cake

I honestly don't know how this cake turned out so well!  I made it with two days notice but it came out just like I imagined!  The deer were a little tricky to get just right, but with a freezer and lots of patience they came out nicely.

 Sunset frosting fade is one of my favorite things in the world!  The 'Wicked' cake was one of my favorites because of that!

 I didn't have any chocolate cookies, or cocoa, so that 'dirt' is hot chocolate mix. He he!  Improvising is always a must with cakes!!

 These birch trees are all over our mountains!  And that buck would be a terrific prize!

 So, I wasn't going to make a gun.  I though, "It's for a 7 year old, I shouldn't do a gun."  But my husband and daughter convinced me it was essential!  I'm really glad I added it, though.  Every boy loves his guns!

 Modeling chocolate decorations.  I really love not using fondant.  Is that bad of me?!

Happy birthday, Austin!!!  I'm glad your day was special!!

50th Birthday Outdoors Man Cake

I'm just going to begin this post by saying thank you so much to Brandi!!  She is always so great to take fabulous pictures of my cakes!  I'm so thankful for her friendship and kindness!  Please go see how amazing she is with family photos and newborns and, well everything!  Check out her site by clicking on her name, or check her out on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrandiTeuscherPhotography?fref=ts  

On to the cake.... the requirements were: Vintage Dude, red, black and brown, tractors, golf, boating, and horses.  This sweet lady wanted her fiance's 50th birthday cake to show that things get better with age.  His interests were all included in a subtle, vintage way.

 Vintage tractor made of fruity pebbles treat covered with modeling chocolate.

 See!  Look how great Brandi is!!  The crates are covered in a mixture of modeling chocolate and fondant.  Hand made texture and shading to make that wood look real.

Rope made of fondant, anchor made of gum paste

 Nails and texture

 Golf club and ball.  Both made out of gum paste

 Gum paste horseshoe. 

 Had to get that "Vintage Dude" in there!

 Life preserver made of gum paste.

This was such a fun cake to make with all the elements and variety!  I really love taking an idea and bringing it to life!  Happy birthday, Rick!

"Wicked" Steampunk Smash Cake

Smash cakes are always so  much fun to make.  Sometimes, though, I have to tell myself, "It's okay.  It's okay."  Even though this beautiful cake is going to be smashed, it's still worth making it as pretty as possible!  This photo shoot was a super fun theme!  "Wicked" the broadway musical was our inspiration  If you want to see all the adorable images from the session go here: https://www.facebook.com/BrandiTeuscherPhotography?fref=ts

 Steam punk clock and gold sparkle letters.  Gears and letters all made with modeling chocolate.

 Look how cute!!!  Isn't that setup adorable?!

You can barely see her, but there's a cute little witch to dot the 'i' in Maggie.  It's always fun to try and capture the essence of something very specific!  I think Brandi and I make a great team!  And if you want to check out her other skills please go check out her site.  She's incredible!

CTR Shield and Cupcakes

I really love  making CTR cakes for cute little 8 year olds!  For those who don't know what I'm talking about; in my Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) when a child turns 8 they are given the opportunity to be baptized.  It's a very special time for family and friends.  And the CTR (Choose The Right) shield represents their commitment to live the commandments once they are baptized.  That's why these cakes are so special!

 For this 8 year old boy's birthday his mom did a 'Great to be 8" party with his friends.  So I made little cupcakes to go along with the big cake.

Happy birthday Madden, and congrats on your big day of being baptized!!

Minecraft Box Birthday Cake

This was a rush cake, but it's one of my favorite cakes.  A simple Minecraft box cake for a super cute little boy!  Decorated with modeling chocolate.  A chocolate fudge cake with dark chocolate frosting.

Happy birthday Carson!!  Your cake made my boys jealous!

'97 Chevy Truck Cake

Every time I do a shaped cake I tell myself I never want to do another one!  This cake actually wasn't as hard as the last truck cake I made.  Probably because I used a sturdier cake to start with.  This cake was made to look like the birthday 'boy's' first truck.  His sweet wife knew how much it meant to him and wanted to recreate it in cake form.  I always love when wives want to give their husband something so special and individualized.  

 Covered in a mixture of modeling chocolate and fondant.

 Tires were made of fruity pebble treats and covered in modeling chocolate.

 This is the first time I made an extra stand on the cake board to hold up the truck.  That way you could see all the way under the truck!  With a little extra work it gave it just the look it needed!

Add a little 'dirt' and 'mud'!!  The license plate read DRTY30.  It's the little details.  

Happy birthday, Bryce!

Poppy Seed Cake with Fresh Berries

This was my son's request: poppy seed cake, whipped cream, strawberries, blueberries, kiwis, black berries.....  He is always so specific when it comes to his cakes!  So, we did an almond poppy seed fruit 'pizza' cake.  It was so delicious!  The whipped topping was a mix of freshly made whipped cream, and lemon cream cheese frosting.  Add the fresh fruit and it's done.

Close up of all that yumminess!  It was one of our all time favorite flavors of cake!  Happy birthday Ronny boy!  We love you tons!!!

Little Girl Beach Party Birthday Cake

Super cute little cake for a beach party birthday!  Just modeling chocolate and frosting to decorate this one.  The sand is just regular sugar with some ivory food coloring mixed into it.  The 'wet' sand is brown sugar; thanks to my 5 year old for that idea!  Vanilla cake with strawberry frosting, YUM!

 Little girl made to look like the birthday girl

 Beach sign with Addie's name

 The birthday girl was turning 5.  'Sand' castle, cup, towel and bucked all done with modeling chocolate

The 'waves' were piped on butter cream frosting then swept out with a wet paint brush.  Happy birthday, Addie!

LDS Reno, Nevada Missionary Homecoming Cake

It's been a while since I've updated this blog!  I have to apologize.  Life is just busy with kids and a household to keep up!  But, back to cakes....

This cake was so specialized for a very deserving LDS missonary.  Elder Twitchell served in Reno, Nevada and had some fun stories to tell.  Thus, the little details on the cake.

 I like doing the state flag as the main cake decoration then I add to it.

 This Elder accidentally fell asleep on a drive and his companion ended up getting them lost.  So, no....the scriptures did NOT put him to sleep!

 Set of scriptures with his name.

 Another element of the Nevada state flag, specialized to say the name of his mission.

 He liked to wear pink ties!

And he lived on a street named, "Hells Bells."  Haha!  Too  much fun!  Welcome home Elder Twitchell!!!  I know your family is so happy to have you back!