Farewell isn't Good Bye

With a lot of thought I have decided to abandon the business aspect of making cake creations.  The decision has come in part due to the need to spend more time with my family and friends, especially my husband and two-year-old son.  It also stems from the fact that I have another full time job that requires a lot of my time and attention.  Other then making cakes, I am a full time teacher, my first love being an educator to approximately one hundred and ten teenagers!  Although I will no longer make cakes to sell, I am not entirely walking away from creating sweet confections.  I enjoy the creativity of these special cakes as well as the smiles that these cakes bring.  Therefore, I will continue this artistic outlet as a hobby for my family members only. 

I will continue updating this blog as I make each additional one-of-a-kind cakes for those of you who enjoy viewing the pictures and reading the inspirational stories behind them.  For all of you who have placed an order with me prior to today, I will be honoring your order and fulfilling it as I would have prior to making the decision to walk away from this business, however I will not be accepting any new cake orders from this point on.  Thank you to all who have been loyal followers of my cakes from the moment I started this adventure a year ago.  It has been an amazing experience and the wonderful people and places I have been as a result, will stay with me always. 

"Goodbyes are not forever.

Goodbyes are not the end.

They simply mean I'll miss you

Until we meet again!"

~Author Unknown

Sincerely,

Angela

A Stunning Country Wedding in the Heart of the Ozarks

Nestled in the heart of the most beautiful Ozark country is the quaint town of Owensville, Missouri.  Expansive views in every direction of towering hills covered in the most majestic oak trees was the setting for this beautiful country wedding. 

Ozark Mountains, Missouri

The wedding took place in a beautiful Catholic church with large, aged wooden beams lining the pitched cathedral ceiling.  ....and the dress!  Who could help but be in awe of an ethereal goddess wearing a roman inspired imperial waisted gown encrusted with radiant crystals.  Simply stunning! 

I had the daunting task of creating a wedding cake that would be a perfect blend of country and elegance infused with elements of nature.  The cake evolved over many meetings with the bride and groom.  The final design was absolutely perfect for this amazing wedding! 

The tiers were alternating designs of quilted fondant infused with sugar pearls and two simple, understated clean fondant tiers.  The layers were wrapped in a deep, midnight purple fondant ribbon with an additional dot detail just above.  Cascading down the tower of cake were beautiful sugar flowers including deep purple tiger lilies, white calla lilies, roses, daisies, and draping stephanotis. 

The elegant monogram "J" cake topper is made from gum paste and is drizzled with Austrian crystals.

The stunning wedding cake rested on a custom designed cake stand made by Couture Cakes to coordinate beautifully with the cake design.  The stand is covered in pure white Dutch satin and finished with a pleated satin ribbon, crystal ribbon, and three pearl and crystal circle broaches.  The three satellite cakes surrounding the cake stand included coordinating satin ribbons and pearl and crystal broaches.  This cake is one that combined country and elegance in a way that is both stunning and understated! 

Congratulations Shawn and Whitney on a spectacular wedding!

Oh, I can't forget the grooms cake! Designed in collaboration with the bride and Couture Cakes as a surprise for the groom who is an avid hunter.  The cake incorporated his love of deer hunting with both guns and bows.  Deer antlers made of gum paste rest on top of a tier that has an arrow shot through the cake.  This tier is surrounded by hand painted fondant shot gun shells and has the logo of his favorite bow hunting brand printed on edible paper front and center.

Monster's Inc. Celebration for Brock!

This extra special cake was an absolute blast to make!  Little Brock is turning 2 and what could be more fitting for a little "monster" then to have his very own Monster's Inc. cake with Sully and Mike.  The main body of the cake is inspired by the monsters from the movie.  The body was orange with green spots to coordinate with the colors of this birthday celebration. 

Sitting on top of the monster is a scene from the movie.  Mike and Sully are watching t.v. while celebrating Brock's birthday.  Each character has their very own party hat with balloons between them and a star (2) candle for the birthday boy.  The t.v. reads ,"Brock is 2" and has Mike and Sully so excited!  We also included a tablet and pencil for the main monster cake to write the birthday boy a special message. 

The french vanilla cake layers were colored to match the color scheme of the party....and we absolutely LOVE how it turned out!  Surrounding the cake boards are bright blue and green ribbons with googly eyes, for that extra Monster touch!  This cake was a MONSTER of a cake but one that we love!! 

Happy 2nd Birthday Brocky!!


"Boys are found everywhere...
on top of, underneath, inside of,
climbing on, swinging from,
running around, or jumping to.
A boy is truth with dirt on his face,
beauty with a cut on his finger,
wisdom with bubble gum in his hair,
and the hope of the future with a frog in his pocket."


~Alan Marshall Beck

Sailing Away to a Brand New Baby Boy!

I am going to deviate from cakes for this entry and talk about what inspired my new creative outlet.  A few months ago I was asked to design a nautical cake for my cousin's first baby shower.   Unfortunately she was unable to make the trip from Dallas, TX to Missouri due to the pregnancy, so I was not able to design a spectacular cake for her to celebrate this momentous occasion.  It was then that my mind began turning, and I thought, why not design a baby's quilt for the nautical room she was designing for little Cooper?  I found a picture online of a sailboat I LOVED and that became the inspiration around the entire quilt design. 

Inspiration

I made some changes until I had it just the way I liked it and delivered my box of materials to a wonderful lady who is a MASTER of the needle and thread.  She took my original sketch, the fabric pieces I purchased, and my pages of notes and turned it into a breathtaking baby's quilt I immediately fell in love with!  The quilt design would have translated beautifully into a cake design.  ...perhaps I shall save this idea for another day. 

Custom anchor satin stitched into each corner of the quilt.
(notice the stars and waves stitching pattern all over!!)

Front and Back

Back of Quilt "old world" map fabric in a nautical design

Finished Baby's Quilt

Congratulations Melissa on the new little man in your life,

Captain Cooper!   

Retro Cake Pops for Graduation!

This weekend we were excited to create cake pops for a young lady who is celebrating the end of a long road of higher education.   These pops were made with our mouth watering margarita lime cake and lime infused cream cheese frosting.  The combination of the tart cake with the sweet candy coating is simply divine!  The design of the cake pops is a polka-dot pattern with a twist.  We used colored candy coating in pink to add another dimension to a few of the polka-dots.  Then we added a personal touch to these lovely pops with a "Congrats Ashley" message written on fondant disks with melted candy coating letters and edible pink pearls.  Best wishes to the new PhD, Ashley!!

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

                                      

                                                                                   ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Poppy Cake Pops for Mother's Day!

Love, love, LOVE these adorable Poppy Flower cake pops created especially for Mother's Day!  Colors range from light golden-oranges to bright pinks and reds!  We placed the cake pops in decorative tin pots with a floral pattern punched out along the top rim.  And to "tie" it all together, we added decorative ribbons in three coordinating styles!  The cake is our delicious margarita (lime) cake with vanilla butter cream frosting.  The flower petals were formed from fondant with chocolate sprinkles as the stamens.  Perfect for this very special occasion!

Happy Mother's Day!

(to all the lucky mom's out there!!)

"Happy Mother's Day" means more

Than have a happy day.

Within those words lie lots of things

We never get to say.

It means I love you first of all,

Then thanks for all you do.

It means you mean a lot to me,

And that I honor you.

But most of all, I guess it means

That I am thinking of

Your happiness on this, your day,

With pleasure and with love.

  

                     ~Nicholas Gordon

Celebrating a Fashionista!

How cute are these little cakes?!  I had the opportunity to design cupcakes for a lady who LOVES everything "girly".  She adores purses, jewelry, make-up......I could go on, and on, and....   

To celebrate her 50th birthday, we created in miniature, a couture purse (about 1 1/2 inches tall) made entirely of fondant, an edible pearl necklace, and fondant accent flowers.  The teal blue, lemon yellow, and red corals were chosen to highlight this birthday girl's love of bright colors.  The large, center piece cupcake is German chocolate with coordinating mini-cupcakes in German chocolate as well as yellow mini-cupcakes with rich, chocolate butter cream frosting.  We hope that she loved her couture designed fashion cupcakes as much as we did making them!!

Viva Las Vegas!

Vegas Birthday Cake!

Hand-painted playing cards

Roulette Wheel Top of Cake

Hand-painted casino chips

Vegas Skyline highlighting the Bellagio and Eiffel Tower

"Vegas" sign for the birthday girl, Judy

Fondant Dice

This cake was a blast to make.  There is so much going on, just like in Vegas, there is a party at every angle!  Starting in the front, the show steeler is the Vegas Welcome sign that welcomes guests to this special event, Judy's 50th Birthday Celebration!  Judy is a regular visitor of Las Vegas and to capture her love of the "oasis in the desert", we included much of what Vegas is famous for...CASINO's!! 

The top of the cake resembles a roulette wheel and what would Vegas be without dice, poker chips (of every color), and playing cards!?  This cake is loaded with all that and more!  We also had to throw in the Lucky 7's you would be lucky to hit while playing there famous slot machines.  A special request from her family was to include the skyline of vegas.....and what would that be without highlighting some of their amazing concrete and steel structures of wonder.  The Eiffel tower was added to bring that "worldly" feel that Vegas now has along with the master of fountains, the Bellagio.  Absolutely Stunning!!  We hope Judy's birthday was as much fun as it was to make this special cake for her!! 

Victorian Cake Pops for Easter

When I was thinking of creating an elegant cake pop for Easter, I thought Victorian!  These scrumptious treats are made from blueberry cake and cream cheese frosting.  The blueberry cake inspired the violet color candy coating, and the simple white floral decorations made of fondant add the perfect Victorian touch.