New Year... New Blog... and a Ballerina!

Happy 2012!! 

Ya, ya, I know it is almost February and I have been a bit absent on the blogging scene these past few months.

But I have been hard at work!! Somewhere over the winter break I found myself rested and ambitious. So, what better way to pass the time than with a crash course in blog design and HTML? I found a couple of really helpful DIY blogs, purchased a digital scrapbooking kit {thank you, thank you, thank you Shawna Clingerman and Melissa Bennett of Sweet Shoppe Designs for all images used on this blog!} and was on my way! The original plan was to have my newly redesigned, fancy blog up and running before January. However...who knew {ahem} that designing your own blog would be quite the undertaking??! Well, it definitely took me awhile {and a lot of research} to get things just the way I like them! Still not everything is finished - pages really will be coming soon! It's a work in progress, much like my creations, always planning, creating, changing and planning again. So please bear with me as I tie up the loose ends on my blog. I am so excited to have a new, fun place to share my baking stories and couldn't possibly wait any longer to unveil the fruits of my {hours and hours of} labour!

Two months of being a delinquent blogger has left me with plenty to share! The perfect way to start off 2012 is with a party, a dance party! My sweetheart Hannah turned 7 {yikes!} this month and she had a big request for her dance studio birthday party.... a ballet slipper cake, of course! Hannah and I made ballet slipper cupcakes a few months back so I knew it was coming! I decided on a pink cake with white polka dots and sparkly pink ballet slippers on top. It was a success with the birthday girl and I had to laugh as she immediately dragged all of her friends over to "see her cake" the second they arrived at her party!

Hannah's cake was three layers of cake {red velvet and vanilla mixed together} with buttercream icing and covered in yummy marshmallow fondant. The perfect amount of sugary goodness for a bunch of giggly girls!

I loved making each layer a different shade of pink - a surprise for Hannah! 

Thank you pinterest for this idea!

The beautiful birthday girl with her cake and matching headband!

Happy birthday Hannah Banana... I can't wait to hear the request for #8!

congrats christina & chris!!

A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure of creating cupcakes for Christina and Chris' wedding. Truly, the best part of my baking adventure is meeting new people... Christina was a delight to get to know!! I love sitting down with brides and discussing all things wedding... brings me back to my own day of {super stressful!} wedded bliss. The set up for this wedding was particularly enjoyable - their reception venue was a quick 5 minute drive from my house and the hubby helped out! It is always way more fun with two {although my slight perfectionism sometimes gets in the way ;)}. I hope I wasn't too annoying!! Ha!

Christina and Chris' cupcakes were vanilla and chocolate with almond icing. Their "cutting" cake was red velvet with almond icing and fondant.

Congratulations Christina and Chris!! Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your special day!

...and this is what happens when the hubby ventures into the kitchen... :s

Good thing they were extras!!

strike a pose!

This past summer...yes, back in August.... I had the extreme pleasure of being a part (well, my creations atleast!) of a fun little photo shoot put on by the wonderful Aimee of Devoted to Decorating. This was the first time we worked together on a photo shoot and it was a blast! The theme was red and purple so of course red velvet cupcakes were in order! This was the first time I have had my goodies professionally photographed and now I wish I had a better camera... haha! They look so yummy!!

A HUGE thanks to:

Photography... Christa Dawn Photography

Flowers... Norwood Florist

Linens... Bel-Ayre Rentals

'lil cutie!

Back in August I had the pleasure of creating gnome, owl and toadstool cupcakes for the too-adorable-for-words Carson's 1st birthday! His mom Tristan sent me a few pictures from the day and I simply couldn't resist sharing!

Thanks again Tristan! Check out my gnome sweet gnome post to see Carson's cupcakes.

fondant stamping 101

I created these cupcakes for Aimee for an engagement party a couple months back. I can't believe that I am only getting these pictures up now! I suppose there is something to be said for being so busy that the blog gets neglected!! Haha!! Regardless, here they are now...better late than never!

I made the decorations by stamping the couples initials onto fondant hearts with food colouring. It was a bit tricky to find the right amount of food colouring to get the look I was after. But, after a few tries, some failed attempts and a bit of a learning curve I think they turned out really nice. The cupcakes themselves were lemon and strawberry with buttercream icing - delicious!

I hope you enjoyed them Aimee!

feelin' a little blue

Check out this super duper cool effect!!! I think I'm in love! These cupcakes were made for Navi, a dream customer! Navi tells me how many cupcakes she needs and what flavour she wants and the rest is up to me :) Last week I went for blue on blue swirl and it turned out super cool! To achieve this effect you simply paint the sides of the piping bag with a food colouring of your choice, fill the bag with icing and pipe away. A word of caution though...the first few cupcakes will have quite a bit of colouring. Its best to squeeze out a little bit before attacking the cupcakes. Hopefully Navi didn't have too many blue lips on her hands!

I hope you enjoyed your blue cupcakes Navi!

teeny weeny polka-dot undies :)

These cutie cookies were made for my uni friend Dayna for a bachelorette party. The girls were heading out of town for the weekend for one last hurrah before their friend tied the knot. And what girls weekend would be complete without some yummy treats??!! Each undie had a matching bra...wonder if they found the pairs before they disappeared?! Haha!

Hope you had a great weekend Dayna!!! Have fun at school tomorrow!!! Yikes :s