St. Patricks Day: Rainbows and Shamrocks

Colorful rainbows, lucky shamrocks, and a glittering pot o' gold could only mean one thing,.... It's Macy's birthday! I was so thrilled to be asked to create such a fun cake, for such a special occassion as a first birthday. Let's start at the top,... which happens to be my very favorite part of this cake,... the rainbow. I took the liberty to add a little whimsy to the traditional shape, which really gave character and interest to the overall piece. It's hand sculpted out of fontant, with 3 wooden dowels standing it up in the cake. The fondant number 1 and Macy's name plaque are made of fondant as well, and painted with edible gold. I decorated the middle tier with rainbow colored, striped icing. Using the white icing as a canvas, allowed the colors to really pop. Green fondant shamrocks, on wires, "floated" around the sides. The bottom tier is iced in green with shamrocks seeming to "dance" around in a circle. Of course, we couldn't forget the pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow! I sculpted it fron fondant, and added fondant yellow circles to mimic gold coins. As for the perfect finishing touch, a light dusting of edible rainbow glitter.

Then, for Macy, her own individual "smash" cake. This always creates the perfect photo moments. It's decorated to perfectly coordinate with the party cake. Some might say "It's the luck of the Irish",... but with these fun creations, "It's the luck of the birthday girl!" Happy Birthday Macy!

Buck Hunting

The story of this cake began 8 years ago,.... or was it just "2". Let me explain. Back in 2004, I went into labor with our oldest son, a week before his due date. Thinking of nothing but "GIVE ME AN EPIDURAL!", we (by that I really mean "ME") delivered a healthy baby on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Shortly after, the nurse thanked me for giving them something to do that day, saying I was the only one in Labor and Delivery. Lucky me, I thought, until she said anyone close to giving birth on February 29th, came in to be induced a few days earlier. Then it hit me,... it's LEAP DAY! What,... no official birthday for 4 years?! Yeah,... we're going to have to do something about that : )

So with countless birthdays celebrated on random days in February, Michael finally gets a real birthday,... his "2nd", officially. Several years ago we told him this particular birthday he could do whatever he wanted, within reason of course. So although I didn't particularly think "hunting" was "within reason",... his father did, and quickly approved the theme. I have to admit, it was such a fun evening with some target practice and then dinner and smores around the bonfire. Might I add that no animals were harmed,... just my pride when I missed the bullseye. Heaven help me for what he's going to come up with on his next birthday, in 2016!

Okay, about the cake. Both layers are iced with 4 different colors to look like camouflage. This technique takes a lot of time, but I love the way it turns out. I sculpted a fondant "8" and buck antler to stand on the very top. I diluted a little brown icing color and painted the antlers to give it a realistic look. I also had to use some wires inside to support each point, since the fondant was simply too heavy to stay together on its own. Icing was piped to look like grass on top of both tiers. Then I placed a fondant "target" front and center. My favorite part of the cake is the sculpted fondant arrow going straight through the cake. I made it identical to his real one, enough so that when Michael saw it for the first time, he said "That's so cool that you shot my cake with my bow and arrow!". I painted the "razor" tips with edible silver. Around the base stood two fondant silhouettes of trophy bucks,... my son's one request. Crazy thing, I finished the cake, and then remembered the request just 30 minutes before Michael's arrival home from school. PANIC! I quickly rolled out some fondant and cut the images using an exacto knife. Completed it just in time to enjoy seeing the biggest, best smile on my little guys face. Happy 2nd, I mean 8th, Birthday Michael!

Leap Frog Cupcakes

"Time flies when you're having fun",..... but when you're enjoying this cupcake creation, "Time's fun when you're having flies!". My oldest son was born on Leap Day 2004. To help celebrate his 2nd official birthday, we brought these cute frog cupcakes to class. Michael's only request was that the frog had to be catching a fly,.... fondant, that is. : ) The eyes are made from a large marshmallow, cut in thirds, and dotted with black icing. Yummmmm!

Welcome!

Finally,.... I've got everything working to make my blog more user friendly. You can now find a particular creation by searching key words, finding it in the "Archive" by date, viewing by "Category", or simply scrolling down the "Home" page. All new posts will be displayed on the "Home" page, as well as labeled for a specific "Category".

Hope you get as much enjoyment seeing them, as I've had creating them!

Have a fabulous day! --Trisha

I'm BACK!

(Posted Dec. 2011)

If you've been checking my blog over the last five months ,

you've noticed nothing has changed.

Although that's the case here,... it couldn't be further from the truth in my personal life.

Long story short, my hubby is finally able to realize his dream of living on a small farm,.... and "raising men, not just boys." I jumped on board after negotiating a complete kitchen remodel, with an island of my dreams, and the agreement that "he owes me" for the rest of eternity.

It didn't take long to realize that fixing up an older home

is going to be a work in progress.

So,... my first priority became the kitchen,

before my husband could change his mind and allocate those funds to

build a chicken coupe,

fencing to keep the deer out of the garden,

farm equipment (apparently he thinks a riding lawn mower with some sort of tractor attachment is a necessity),....

well, you get the point.

So, just 2 miles from our old home, a dream kitchen remodel complete, and cake pans unpacked.... I'm ready to start baking!

Welcome back everyone!

Mickey Mouse Shoes

The perfect cake, for the perfect 1st Birthday, for a little guy who adores Mickey Mouse. Let's start at the top! The feature on this cake is the hand sculpted, fondant Mickey Mouse Ears. With a "1" on the front, and the birthday boy's name on the back,... it's the perfect keepsake for this special celebration. The top tier is iced in yellow with red, black, and white icing polka dots. The middle tier is iced in white with colored icing stripes. The bottom tier, my favorite, is iced in red to resemble Mickey's shorts, with the cutest yellow shoes attached. I hand sculpted these from fondant, careful to make them the same size : ). Being solid fondant, they were quite heavy and not able to stand up on their own,... so I pushed them onto dowels I'd drilled into the cake board. For one last finishing touch, I placed fondant starts, dusted with a little sparkle, floating around the cake on wires. The birthday boy received his own Jumbo cupcake, with a little sculpted Mickey ears. Happy Birthday Hudson!