I have officially been decorating cakes for a year now and marked the occasion by making this wedding cake for one of my cousins. As she requested, we kept the colors to a summery blue and green and topped the cake with the star fleet symbol. The cake was assembled on location, outdoors on a porch during a summer hail storm! Cake decorating to an extreme level!

On the occasion of presenting my first cake to the in-laws, I tried to go chic.  Annette was given this Red Velvet cake with cheesecake filling and cream cheese frosting. 

Interested in learning how to do a classy chevron stripe around your cake?  I followed this tutorial:
http://ericaobrien.com/blog/2012/08/diy-chevron-cake.html

Since I took up cake decorating my Alan has been requesting a Steampunk themed cake.  Between school, work, and raising a toddler, his request always seemed to take the back seat.  I finally gave it a try!  Definitely the biggest cake to date, and we are definitely still trying to eat through it.

Sometimes I have grand dreams for a cake, and when the finished product doesn't live up to my dreams I get quite discouraged.  This Steampunk cake is one such cake.  What's the best cure for such a situation?  Make another cake!  Only next time, keep the project a bit simpler and a little extra effort so it becomes extraordinary!

Once upon a time I came across this fabulous set of ice cube trays knowing full well they were inefficient to use as ice cube trays.  Next thought, Fondant Mold!   I sprinkled a bit of cornstarch/powdered sugar mix into the mold, squished in my prepared fondant, then popped the tray into the freezer.  About five minutes later I pulled the tray back out, pulled out my perfectly molded dinosaur skeleton, trimmed off the edges, and gum glued it to my cake.

Love the final result!  what better way to say thank you than with dinosaurs and cake?

This past week my family participated in the Dino Half Marathon in Vernal.  Since my Dad went by Dino (think Dino from the Flinstones) we made it a family affair and even got the in-laws involved.   This was the first half for my sister's husband, Ryan, and for my sister-in-law, Camille.  They both did so well, I'm am still so proud and excited for both of them.

As a congratulations both Ryan and Camille got a cake!  A fun and colorful Dinosaur cake for Ryan and a classy, chocolate ruffle cake for Camille.  Well done, you two!

As promised to my brother, Reed, I finally made him a Pokemon cake!  Or, rather, a Pokeball cake.  Rather than sculpting a sphere, I used the Wilton Sport Ball Cake Pan set.  Loved it!  I find myself searching for a reason to use the ball pans again!

Interested in purchasing a set for yourself?  Here's a link to make your search a bit easier:

http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=2105-6506

I love these giant fondant bows!  They add such class and a nice finishing touch to cakes.  Learn how to make one in Wilton's Course 3: Fondant and Gum Paste at your local Hobby Lobby.

What you need:

• Wax paper or a smooth, Crisco-ed surface
• Extra Crisco
• Toothpicks
• Red fondant
• Black fondant
• Gum Glue (Not Pictured)
  

Portion off the red fondant into small balls.

Squish into round or oval discs, whichever you prefer.  These will form the bodies for your ladybugs.  I flipped back and forth between the two, making ladybug a bit unique.

Portion out the black fondant into much smaller pieces.  Flatten the black fondant into half sphere or oval disks.  Dab a bit of gum glue on an end of the body and attach the black disk to make the head.

Once the head is attached, use a toothpick to make a grove down the back of the ladybug's body to make the "wings"

After making the wings, attach smaller black dots to make the ladybug's spots.  Once your ladybugs are complete, place them on your cake, or cupcakes, for some added spring fun!

Paige requested for her birthday a cake decorated with sunflowers, teal, and purple.  It was fun to have an excuse to create gum paste flowers, which is always good to practice, as well as to tier a cake. 

Lemon cake with lemon cream cheese frosting and topped with gum-paste daisies.  Happy Birthday, Myrna! 

My favorite part of delivering cakes is getting to see the reaction of the recipient.  I love these two!