My Mom's 60th Birthday

My mom back in the day

So this past weekend was my mom's birthday and I put together a very small surprise gathering at a restaurant.  I think she had a hunch that I was planning something but nevertheless, it turned out great! She had a blast!

I got my good friend Kendra of Keshajo Bakes to make the cake.  This is my friend who was on TLC's Next Great Baker reality show.  She does really awesome work and you guys didn't even get a taste on the show of what she is really capable of doing!  I told her my mom loves to sing. She's been in numerous bands when she was younger but now she sings in the church choir so I wanted something with music notes and a microphone. So this is what she came up with:

 

My mom and everyone loved it!! 

I also put together some little favor bags which included some of my mom's favorite snacks.  I decided to use a throwback picture for the bag label. Check it out:

Close up of pic

Group Shot

We had a blast and most importantly, my mom had a great time!! Love ya mama! :)

The Next Great Baker!!!

I'm so happy and excited to announce my good friend, Kendra Jordan's national television debut on TLC's The Next Great Baker hosted by the Cake Boss himself, Buddy Valastro!! You may remember when I featured some of her cakes here on my blog awhile ago.  Kendra and I have been friends since college and we have always bonded creatively! Like me, she loves all things creative. She sews, draws, paints, writes, bakes, and the list goes on and on.  When I tell you she only took one class at Micheal's last year around this time and now is absolutely AMAZING with cakes, its true!!  Each cake just gets better and better!  She's an artist too so it was only natural she'd do awesome cakes! Did I mention she free-hands most of her cakes! Pure talent! :) The show airs Dec 6 so make sure you tune in and support her! Yayyy Kendra!! :) Check out her website: www.keshajobakes.com

 

 Check out some of the amazing cakes she has done to date:

Upside down wedding cakes?!?

So here's one sure way to make your wedding cake stand out and maybe shock your guests a little.... try getting one upside down! As I was browsing the net, I came across a few cakes and noticed that some brides are throwing tradition to the wind and opting for these unique cakes.  Sometimes they are even hung and called chandelier cakes.   I just love how pretty much anything can be done with cakes these days! Its truly amazing!  Check out a few pics I found of some upside down cakes. 

 

Photos found on various sites.

Wedding Trend: Mini Wedding Cakes

One big wedding trend right now is having mini wedding cakes for each of your guests instead of opting for a traditional big cake. Some people actually do both!! I think its such a cute idea...but I would imagine its pricey! I've seen them range anywhere from $7 to $12 a piece or more!! If it's in your budget, it isn't a bad idea to do this at a baby shower too!

Check out some of the mini cakes I've found:

The Cakery - Cakes by Keshajo

Today's vendor feature is on my good friend, Kendra better know as KeShajo! She is beyond talented and designing cakes are just one of the many many things she excels at. She also sews and makes clothing, draws, paints, dabbles in graphic design, writes, I mean seriously the list goes on and on. We are soooo much alike in that we both always have our hands in so many different buckets. We are truly creative beings! So today I am featuring my 'sister in creativity'! Check out some of her cakes... and please remember she JUST started doing this a few months ago literally! She took one class at Micheals when she first started and everything else is pure talent!! Just imagine how awesome she is going to be in cake design by this time next year!!! :)















Check her out at www.keshajo.wordpress.com

Cake Stickers - Gogocake.com

I came across cake stickers after my friend, Christina, whose kid birthday parties I featured awhile ago, told me about this website she ordered them from. Pretty much you send them your design/picture or use one of thier already made designs and they print it up for you on edible paper. Its about half the size of a 1/2 sheet cake so if you want to cover the entire cake, then you have to order two. Once you recieve them in the mail, just sit them out room temperature until you are ready to use. Right before using, place them in the freezer for about 30 to 45 seconds. If you try to peel the sticker off sheet without putting it in freezer first, they will tear. Trust me I attempted to do it! lol

You may say "well I can get my local grocery store to do the same thing", but alot of grocery stores limit what they will print out for you so I guess thats the benefit. You can send them whatever you like!

I created this logo and ordered two sheets for my husband's graduation party and here is how it came out!


Photo by www.girl-photography.com

This is the cake sticker my friend got for her daughter's party. She also ordered two and put them together on the cake.


The only downside when you use two sheets is the line in the middle...but its barely noticeable. Overall, I think its a cool thing and pretty inexpensive!

My Wedding Cakes

With so many options and creative ways to do cakes out here these days, its hard to choose what to go with! Not to mention, depending on who you get to make your cake, it could really break the budget. Most bakeries charge by the slice and that can range anywhere from $2.50 per slice up to $10.00 per slice (or more) depending on the detail involved in your cake design. I didnt want to spend a huge amount of money on a wedding cake. One way I cut costs on this was by finding a baker that charges by the tier instead of by the slice. That saved me alot especially since we had over 200 people at the wedding. My cake only ended up costing a little over $300 which is a STEAL for a wedding cake (and it served up to 250 people). A friend of mine (shout out to Candice H) recommended the lady I ended up using. Remember, recommendations from friends and/or former brides will really help out alot when planning.

Fondant is used for alot of wedding cakes. Its very pretty and certain designs require its use, however, it taste awful! Most people dont eat it anyway though. But since I love buttercream frosting, I opted to go with that for my wedding cake.

After hunting around for months for cake pictures online, I came across the design I wanted to go with. I gave this pic to my cake lady..see below.

My INSPIRATION wedding cake pic:


My ACTUAL wedding cake:

Top tier - 6 inches
2 tier - 10 inches
3rd tier - 12 inches
Bottom tier - 16 inches

As you can see, it didnt come out exactly the same but it was pretty similar! And unlike alot of wedding cakes that look pretty on outside, it tasted GREAT!! The top tier was butter cake, second tier was strawberry, the third tier was lemon, and the bottom tier was butter.

*Cake done by Angela's Sweets N Treats Pastries in Chester, VA

GROOMS CAKE
Grooms cakes have been growing in popularity for awhile now. Since everyone usually makes the wedding day all about the bride mostly, its a nice way to honor the groom with something he likes. So for example, if your man likes cars, then you could get him a cake made into the shape of a car or if he has a favorite sports team, you could get a cake made into the team logo.

A friend of mine, DeAndrea, who does GREAT cakes out of Richmond, VA helped me come up with an idea. Since he is apart of a fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, she created the Alpha shield and instead of the three heads normally on it, she replaced them with a football (since he loves football), a pen & pad (since he loves to write), and a mike and podium (since he is also a speaker). It turned out GREAT!

Check it out:


With table decor:


P.S. The grooms cake was placed beside the candy buffet.

If you are in the Richmond, Va area and want more info on DeAndrea and to see some of her great work, check out her website: http://soosweetconfections.shutterfly.com/

Cakes!

Cakes have always been something Ive been facinated by. Some of them are truly works of art. From wedding cakes to birthday cakes to cupcakes, I am in awe of all of the different styles, shapes, and creative ways people decorate them! Fondant cakes alone can probably have a blog all to itself. Although, fondant doesnt taste the greatest.....it's sure pretty to look at! Im more of a buttercream girl. And cake-nistas are starting to get very creative with buttercream too. Needless to say, Im having a buttercream wedding cake! :)

Ive actually thought about getting into cakes myself at one time....but I just dont have the time. So I'll just continue to admire them from afar and continue to dabble with my Duncin Hines box mix and frosting whenever Im in the mood to bake! :)

I actually have a few friends who do cakes and they are really talented too! (shout out to Karee, Candace, & Dee)

Check out some of the great cake designs Ive come across! Enjoy!



Cake by DeAndrea