The youngest pixie turned 9 this weekend and her cake truly showed the imagination she possesses.  She has wild dreams of owning a bakery and calling it the Pastry Penguin.  I am honestly not sure where she got that name but we flew with the concept this birthday.  We started off sketching on the iPad.

We talked about a few more details after the sketch and brought it all together in time for her birthday.

This year, like every year, has been a whirlwind of life.  I took a moment this morning and took a count of how many orders I had over this past year.  It came out to 154 cakes and 50 dozen cupcakes.  

I've had wedding cakes, birthday cupcakes, grand opening celebrations, and more on the book.

Thank you for your continued support and I can't wait to see what 2023 holds. 

I recently was invited by my friend and neighbor, Grier Rubeling, to attend the National Gingerbread Competition in Asheville NC.  Grier has entered in the past and placed 2nd overall last year in the adult category.  Her submission piece last year consisted of 12 nutcrackers and a reindeer!

This year she entered a fire breathing dragon defending her eggs against a Santa knight and his elves.

The 3 days we were there were filled amazing people, immense talent, and was chocked full of Christmas spirit staged by the Omni Grove Park Inn.  Below are some of the top 10 finalists and some of my favorite pieces. 

It's time to slow down thank goodness.  I only have a handful of orders for November so that means I get to have lunch with my daughter at school and fight with my middle schooler over homework more.  Yay!

Fresh flowers and edible images really took this cake over the top!  Seriously, Trader Joes has the best selection and prices of flowers hands down.

I also got another ramen bowl under my belt.  This one was based on the bowls in the cartoon, Naruto.

I have a slew of kitchen pictures lately because the I still don't have the greatest light/camera setup in the house.  Here are a few quick shots that I was able to get of some of the orders that have recently gone out!

And I have been working with a photographer the last couple of months supplying smash cakes.  Check out www.instagram.com/lucianagalucciphotography/ to  see her adorable setups and pictures!!!

I have made it halfway through September! 

​I have my fall pumpkins sitting out in front of the fireplace just waiting on the day the temperature decides to stay a little cooler.  I am staying busy over here with the kids back in school and maintaining a few orders a week.  This month we have gone girly with pink and gold all the way to the world of Mario with a cake large enough it needed to be assembled on site.  

I have a middle schooler on my hands!!  Where did all the time go?!?

After much debate, my oldest decided he wanted the Monster Book of Monsters from Harry Potter.  My kids have been on another round of Harry Potter kicks lately with the books, movies, and even audiobooks at night.

So I took a half sheet of almond cardamom cake and split it in half.  I got the base color in with fondant and modeling chocolate and got the basics shapes down first. 

Next phase was breaking out the food coloring and vodka.  I mainly used Americolor Warm Brown, Dark Brown, and Super Black for this cake.  The gums and tongue got a mix of Super Red and Electric Purple because I ran out of Magenta.

And voila.  One really creepy Monster Book of Monsters for the oldest pixie.

What do those two have in common?  Nothing!  But somehow we made it work for an adorable 4 year old named Winnie whose parents have managed to incorporate the iconic bear into every cake she has had.  This year's combination was Pooh and the University of North Carolina.

It's almost time for the kids to head back to school!!  And I am purposely slowing myself down.  I have two more CRAZY weekends in September and the rest of my year is just 2-3 cakes a week.  

These past two weeks have seen Peter Rabbit, Jurassic Park, fidget toys, and even a Christmas nutcracker in AUGUST!

My favorite thing in the whole wide world is delivering buttercream cakes when the heat index is over 100.  NOT!  I can not wait till fall weather is here.  Let me count.  I only have...ugh.  That's too long.  

In the meantime, I got to do a really simple octopus cake for a smash photo session.  And below, and I can't believe it has taken this long, I got to try a fault line cake for the first time ever.  I am really happy with how it turned out.