Nursery Rhymes Baby Shower

There is something in the water...that's for sure.  The last 45 days have brought me more baby showers than I know what to do with!  A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of making a baby shower cake and coordinating cookie favors for an old friend's best friend. 

The theme was Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes.

She wanted to do a stack of books cake and incorporate the nursery rhymes theme throughout.  So, we added some hand modeled sugar figures representing various well known nursery rhymes.  We have:

The Cow jumping over the Moon (Hickory Dickory Dock)
Three Blind Mice
Mother Goose herself
and of course....

Humpty Dumpty (before he fell off his wall!)

The cookies we decided on were:

The Cow Jumping over the moon

Mary's little lamb

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary's Garden

The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe

and my favorite...

Humpty Dumpty



Thanks for looking!

Flour Girl

Progress....

In general, if given a choice, I don't prefer to repeat designs.  I certainly will if requested, but I truly enjoy the creative process involved in creating a new or tweaked design.  Of course, when a repeat is requested, I feel a sense of validation in that the original design had great appeal, but a part of me feels a slight sense of disappointment that there will be no new creative energy in that project.  In short, I feel like I should constantly be looking forward rather than looking back.

This being said, I have to also acknowledge the value in looking back at my work.  Trying to not obsess about the flaws, what I could have, should have done differently or better, but to see my progress.  To really let that sink in.

Last week afforded me this very opportunity.  I created a wedding cake which was a repeat of an old design.  My very first wedding cake for that matter.  A part of me cringed a tad when the request was made mostly because my personal design style and aesthetic has changed drastically.  Not that I cannot appreciate the appeal, but just that I probably would not choose to create this design at this point.  But, of course the wedding cake is not about me....right? ;o)

So, here is the first photo, my very first wedding cake, my very first cake of this size overall....no giggles please...

So, looking at this photo, and looking at the new version....the differences that I note are vast.  My personal preferences of basic cake construction have changed, my techniques have improved, and I have slightly de-cluttered the design to both appease my aesthetic a bit more without altering the overall feel of the look for the bride.

You will notice (I hope) a cleaner finish, taller tiers, better piping and artistry, and an overall improvement in presentation.  Also, I think my photos have improved notably, which  makes a big difference as well in my opinion.

What a difference 18 months of caking can make!  Progress....

Thanks for looking.

Flour Girl

Ruffles and a Rag Doll

Okay, okay, I know it may be getting old to some...but here I go again posting a ruffle cake. 



This little gem was a first birthday cake for a sweet baby girl named Ayla.  Ayla's mom sent me a photo of her favorite rag doll to replicate as the cake topper. 

I thought she was super cute.  I stayed as true to the actual doll as possible, only losing small details due to scale.  She was fun to mold.

I loved the hand cut and detailed name plaque too...if I do say so myself ;o)



This ruffle cake was made with the oh so silky, oh so lovely Swiss Meringue Buttercream.  I don't have the occasion to work with this buttercream very often, but every time I do, I wonder how it is that I don't use it exclusively.  So much more sophisticated than your average American Buttercream.  We'll see.....maybe I will just make the switch!

Hope you like this rendition of the oh so sweet ruffle cake.

Flour Girl

Bunting for a Baby Boy

You would think that a rough finish on a buttercream cake would be super simple, that it would be a very natural thing to do, actually.  Really, it is NOT.  I really pride myself on my straight smooth sides and sharp corners.  It took a while to find the techniques that worked best for me, and once I did...it became, well...obsessive.  Doing a rough finish is very time consuming and takes a surprising amount of effort to get the right look.

I have also been wanting to do a cake for some time now that involved bunting.  It seems to be all the rage all over the place online, and also goes well with many different occassions.  I have to say, I loved it.

I was asked to make a baby shower cake for a baby boy with no specific theme involved.  Just a color scheme which mirrored the chosen linens for the nursery and the sweet baby's name.  This is what I did:



I did a rough, rustic finish on the buttercream, let it set, then went back over and semi-smoothed the peaks to end up with a different look.  I have seen several rustic buttercream cakes that had an almost plaster-like finish that really appealed to me.  This was my first attempt, and I liked the look.

I made fondant pendants and strung them on navy blue ribbon and added the baby's name for a vinatge-y fun look, as well as uneven random drapings and buttons.  A fabric rose was added to soften the look a touch.

Hope you like it as much as I do.

Flour Girl

Favorite Things

In general Men's cakes are a challenge.  So many design elements to avoid.....flowers, bows, pink, purple, glitter, polka dots, you catch my drift?

So, unless there is some sort of theme to follow, it is TOUGH.  At least when you are trying to create something a little more unique and original that your run of the mill cake.

Then, there are also your super themey cakes.  I have had my share of super themey men's cakes.  Like Call of Duty especially.

This 40th birthday cake was a welcomed departure from the super themey, but had just enough theme element to make it fun and interesting.  Love that!

It was a simple tiered cake meant to pull in several of the birthday guy's favorite things. 
A USC alum, Kansas City Chiefs fan, and iphone and ipad gadget lover.....this was the end result.



Fun stuff.

Flour Girl

Sweet Baby Shower Dots

So, recently I made a baby shower cake that I really liked.  I liked that it was a little different than the normal babt shower cake and a bit less "themey" ....that it actually could have easily been a birthday cake....

I was given a photo to emulate with changes to the color scheme.  Here is the photo provided created by the talented Mandotts on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amandascakes/3376550819/in/photostream/

The color scheme for this baby shower cake was to be pink, teal and black which was fun!  For a baby shower, this is not a common request.  I liked that.  It is still a really sweet design, but is a departure from the standard baby pinks, blues and yellows you see most often. I tried to stay fairly true to the photo provided, except that this cake was a bit smaller, so I made a couple slight adjustments for that.  All in all, I hope Mandotts would approve.  Entire design credit to her.

Thanks for stopping by!

Flour Girl