Hoot! Kalli's Twooooo!

Kalli turned two this last week and her mom Angie, ordered a Cake Mama cake for the special occasion. Angie wanted the cake to coordinate with the invites, but left the design up to me.   Aren't these invites the cutest?

I opted to make the top owl on the invite for the cake and I tried my best to color match the frosting.

A fun challenge on this cake was creating the gingham look on the owl.  I used Wilton's food spray and prayed for the best.  Lucky for me, I think she turned out cute!

I used the same gingham pink to top the cupcakes and topped each with either a K for Kalli or a 2.

Angie sent over these pictures of the cake at the party.  Phew!  I think the color match was right-on!!

 

Happiest of birthdays to you, dear Kalli!  

Jodi's Owl Cake

Jodi and I used to work together - back when I was "Professional Ann," a Human Resources professional.  Oh, those were the days!  I miss the people (Jodi included) but I don't miss the job too much.  Cake decorating and stay-at-home "momming" is a lot more fun for me!  

Jodi requested a cake for her own birthday a few weeks ago.  She wanted to "treat" herself to a Cake Mama cake and I was so excited!!!  She wanted me to do an owl cake and sent over this picture: 

She liked the first two in the top row but was incredibly open to whatever I had in mind.  

I got such a kick out of the second one and thought it would look so cute on a cake so I stuck with that one. 

And I love the way he turned out!!!

Jodi told me she was a fan of chocolate so that's exactly what she got.  A chocolate cake with buttercream filling.  The owl is made out of a gum paste/fondant mix and I frosting the cake with more buttercream.  

Jodi - I hope the Brewers win today and I hope you have a fantastic birthday!

Callie's Owl-stravaganza!!!

One of my very best friends in the whole wide world, Stacy, was planning a 1st birthday party for her beautiful daughter, Callie.  She asked me to do Callie's cake and gave me PLENTY of notice (which I always appreciate), and Stacy included me in her brainstorming ideas for the party (which was also super fun).  It was neat to listen to all of Stacy's fantastic ideas and her amazing vision turn into such a beautiful party.  

She decided to go with an owl theme for Callie's party.  The colors she found herself drawn to were bright pink and orange.  She researched high and low to find the "right" items for the party, which included making her own items (the masks and the owl pillows seen below) and ordering banners and signs from an artist on etsty.com.  Here's the picture she gave me for inspiration for the cake. 

Stacy wanted an two-tiered cake and we discussed ideas and exchanged thoughts back and forth.  She ultimately gave me creative freedom and I took it.  In the final hour, I decided to make the two-tiered cake a topsy-turvy cake, just for fun!  The owls and the color-schemed screamed "whimsical" to me and the topsy-turvy was then justified. 

But first came the owl topper.  Sculpted out of rice krispies and covered in gum paste and fondant. 

I wanted the owl to look as though it was sitting in a nest on top of a tree.  The nest was designed to be Callie's smash cake (but we decided on a cupcake at the party...more on that later).

The top tier of the cake was a yellow cake with buttercream and strawberry preserve filling.  The bottom tier of the cake was a chocolate cake with chocolate fudge, buttercream and Oreo filling.  (Best.Flavor.Combination.Ever!  Totally MY favorite!)

Stacy also requested soy, dairy and gluten-free cupcakes for the party due to some dietary restrictions.  She provided the cupcake mix and I baked them and decorated them with 7-minute frosting; a very marshmallow-y, light and sweet topping!

 And here's what the cake and cupcakes looked like at their destination. 

We're getting ready to sing Happy Birthday to Callie.  Here's her smash cake. 

And here's the adorable Callie!  A cute little princess, indeed!

After Callie's adventure, I carved up the cake.  A rare moment when I actually get to see the cake cut and served.  Here's what it looked like on the inside.  YUM!

Dear Callie - I hope you had a wonderful birthday celebration!  I'm so thankful I got to be a part of your special day!  I look forward to celebrating many more with you!