Olivia's 4th birthday cake....a challenge to say the least, but in the least expected way. For the first time since I've ventured into this cake world, I had a cake fall apart, a cake that sunk in the center while cooling, a "valley" cut out of a cake while leveling, three cakes bubble over the pan while cooking, and on and on it went. I was so prepared for this cake, but it turned on me every step of the way! Although tears came twice, I did get in the groove of things just in time to have fun decorating and making it a success. As usual, my dad came to my rescue and helped out a lot with the construction of the castle and keeping me calm. He also was my voice of reason when my obsessiveness kicked in and there was no time for it! Olivia loved it and everyone seemed to enjoy eating it (which is truly my ultimate goal with every cake). So, here are a few pics from the party:








All the girls kept asking if they could eat the princesses or have a "green" piece...God love them! Moment of honesty...I had a tear come to my eye when I started to take apart the cake and cut it. All that hard work about to be devoured!


A few of the princesses. Haley Grace as Christmas Belle, Sara as Sleeping Beauty, Helen as Belle (original), and Olivia as the Little Mermaid.



Yes, all the girls wore their dress ups in the jumping castle. As you can tell, Olivia loved it!



Ever so the princess, Olivia opening her presents. A huge THANK YOU to my wonderful, wise sister who let Olivia sit on her "throne" to open her presents. I don't think I could have handled another repeat from last year with all the kids "helping" open the presents!



Awe, Olivia is just like her Aunt Rae Rae...eating only the icing! After most of the kids left and we were cleaning up, Olivia said she needed more icing....so I gave her the top of the castle. I think Michelle really didn't approve, but she's the birthday girl and this was her cake (and icing)!




All that was left :)

Another cars cake....






Valentine's Day cake for a co-worker...as you can tell I had fun making the hearts. It was for two boys and I promised it wouldn't have too many hearts or be too "girly"....oops!

Olivia's Princess practice cake

Olivia is having a princess party for her fourth birthday in two weeks and has requested a castle cake with princesses on it. I've never "built" anything, so I was unsure how to go about making a square castle on top of a round cake with correct deminsions, proportions, and support. I made a practice cake this weekend to make sure I was prepared and had an action plan for the big day. Here are few step-by-step pictures...let me know what you think! P.S. I didn't really decorate it but trying to make sure it was stable and proportionate.

More cakes...

This was for my boss' son who wanted his fourth birthday party theme to be his daddy's new boat...I found out about the cake on Friday for a Saturday party that started at 11:00! No time to plan or make a mistake, so I played it safe and kept it simple.

Our family tradition is to go to my grandparent's house (on my dad's side) for Christmas Eve. My grandmother sings Happy Birthday to Jesus every year, so I decided to make a cake for her/Jesus. As usual, my writing is off-centered!

This cake was for one of my co-worker's son who plays city league football and is on the Redskins team. I was asked to make a birthday cake with the football theme for a 13-year-old boy and not make it look too birthday like...you know he has to be cool in front of his friends! He really liked it!!!! Please note that although my writing is not perfectly centered, the font is very boy-friendly and almost the same size!

Jackson's First Birthday

Here are a few pictures from my nephew's 3 tier cowboy cake!