Lorna's 70th

Lorna's hobbies are gardening and painting.

Olive's Jungle

A fitting cake for a little girl who was having her party at the zoo.

Rachel's Presents - $120

What a week! I had FOUR cakes to do for this weekend and not one of them was straightforward. This is probably the easiest of the lot and what a beauty. I absolutely loved the way it turned out, especially the bow and the little twirly gold ball thingies on the top. The colours are wonderful too. I sprayed the whole cake with a pearl shine just to finish it off, and you can see that a bit on the edges of the bow. Love, love, love. I have a couple of cakes to make for twins next week and I think I might just do a version of this for them.

Rob's Shoe - $110

Oh, oh, look at this. It's the first shoe cake I have ever made and I am in love. The cake is just the shoe box and the shoe is all made with fondant. If I saw this pair of shoes in a shop and thought they would fit me, I would buy them. Tons of gold glitter and some gold balls on the flower. So decadent and feminine. I hope I get more shoe cakes to design.

Catrina's Stars - $120

Another version of the ever popular Star Cake. I was very happy with this one and the colours all came together nicely. The funky candles suit it perfectly.

Konnah's Stars - $120

Wow, what a couple of weeks this has been. At the moment I am rushed off my feet and it doesn't look like it's easing off any time soon (what recession?). First for this update is this one. It is in the ever popular 'star' style but this time it was for a boy so I tried to make it a bit more boyish. This was done by, of course, colour - blue, teal, black and silver. I also made the lettering and numbers a bit more solid than usual. I think it turned out rather fetching in the end and not too girly.

Sam's Spotty - $100

Love the colours on this one. This was made as a rush job for a friend but I think it still turned out beautiful. It could be done in just one tier as in the picture, or a two-tier one would have also looked spectacular. Maybe I'll try that one later when I have free rein in creating a cake for someone.

Winnie the Pooh - $130

A really cute cake. This was for a little one-year-old who loves Winnie the Pooh and friends. I did the bottom tier like the 100-acre wood. It was completely covered in trees and had little hedgehogs, ladybirds and butterflies on it. The second tier was just a beautiful blue and then a picnic scene. I had made the usual four characters but also had a go at making Kanga and Roo and Rabbit. I was especially pleased with the honey pot with honey dribbling out of it. Another touch I liked was the bees on wire around the cake. A very satisfying cake to make and I hope to make another one day.

Sophia's Kitten & Butterfly - $110

I was invited to the first birthday party for my great-niece last weekend (makes me feel old). She loves cats and her favourite colour is purple, so this is what I came up with. The cute little ginger cat is stalking up on the fondant butterfly which is perched on top of the sparkling #1. The whole cake was covered in a delicate mauve with white daisys scattered around, and then Sophia's name in purple glitter on the front. Just to finish it off I placed a purple flower candle for something to light and blow out.

Lashania's Stars - $120

I did this one three weeks ago but am only just posting it because I had to do an emergency dash across the ditch to mind my three little grandchildren for a couple of weeks. The panic is now over and I am home again. To those customers I had to cancel at the last minute, I am very, very sorry. Here is another version of the star cake which is so popular. This time is is in hot pink and black and white and it turned out really nice - brighter than the photo shows. It's fun doing these cakes as they always seem to end up looking good.

Courtney's Stars - $120

Isn't this one beautiful! It is around the same lines as Red, Black and White Stars with a couple of tweeks. First of all lime green is Courtney's favourite colour, so all the stars were lime green and silver with glitter on them, making them sparkle. The cake is chocolate on the bottom and banana on the top. Both tiers have a black ribbon around them and a line of silver beads (inedible). The stars are 'pouring' out of the top of the cake. Usually I would also have the number coming out of the top, but this cake had to travel to Ohakune (a long way) and I didn't think the numbers would survive the trip. Love it! Love the colours!

Harsha's Stars - $120

I loved how this cake turned out. The instructions I had for it was that the birthday girl (lady) loved the colour gold and also liked jewellery, so I suggested gold accessories with just a few touches of glittery gem colours - blue, red, green and purple. The design of butterfly was something new I was trying and they turned out quite nice. Normally butterflies come out a bit heavy looking, but with punching the holes into the wings it has made them look lacier. Of course all the glitter is edible, though the ribbon and stringed beads are not.

Perez's Blue Stars - $120

This was a bit of a rush job but it turned out really great. The turnaround time from baking to finished product was just 24 hours - a record. The cake was for a one-year-old and was wanted in boyish colours with stars. I made the bottom tier a very pale blue with a darker blue top tier. Though it looks yellow, the circles around the bottom of the cakes and the flowers are actually a lime green. The lettering is dark green, heavily covered with emerald edible glitter. The stars are in three shades of blue and all have a light blue glitter on them. Just as a finishing touch I put a little plastic train on the top and it all came together beautifully.

Heidi's Stars - $120

I was asked to make a 30th birthday cake only using the colours white, black and red. I cheated a wee bit and added a touch of silver and it all looks lovely. I made the '30' explode out of the cake by splitting the top of the cake and peeling it back. Also I put a cascade of different sized stars pouring down the side. It has turned out well and looks like a 'party in a cake', which is what the customer wanted.

Brayden's Farm - $130

Oh dear, now I am in a bit of a quandry. The no.1 Farm Cake had been my favourite up until now, but I think this one might have just nudged it out of first place. This cake was made for a little boy so the colours had to be changed a bit and I do like the clouds going around the top tier. The name is in cut-out letters dusted with holographic glitter which just makes it special. Love it!

Pink Farm - $130

Finally! The farm cake. This would have to be one of my favourite cakes so far. I just love the little animals. The colours go beautifully together and I am so pleased with the final result - as was the customer. I already have an order for another farm cake, just from this photo. The next one I make is for a boy so I will have to change the colours a bit. I will be posting a picture of that one in a couple of weeks.

Wizard of Oz - $110

I was rapt with the result of this cake. The four little characters were difficult - hence the higher price of the cake - but I was pleased with the end result, especially the little Toto sitting on Dorothy's lap. The cake is covered in buttercream icing, except for the yellow brick road, which is fondant icing, dusted with a gold glitter. The Emerald City is also fondant and has been heavily covered in gold and emerald glitter. I especially loved the grass (thanks to my daughter Anna for that icing tip) with the varying sizes of poppies. This is a beautiful cake with a definite 'wow' factor.

Funky Explosion - $120

The colours in the photo don't do this cake justice. The instructions I was given for this cake was 'make it funky'. I'm not sure what funky meant but everyone was ecstatic about the results so I must have got something right. The bottom layer I covered in lime green fondant and decorated it with a paisley pattern in hot pink, purple and orange. The next layer was in hot pink with silver stars and hearts stuck around it. Both layers were divided by a ring of silver balls of varying sizes. Then I decided to make the '13' look as though it was exploding out of the top of the cake so did a split top as you can see in the photo. The '13' is emerging from a pile of silver balls and there are balls, hearts and stars on wires also shooting out of the top. All in all, I was very pleased with the effect and the colours.

Matt & Alex's Kiwi Party - $110

I loved making the little extras for this cake. Though the main cake is the base the little kiwi were also made from cupcakes, as were the miniature birthday cakes and the presents. This cake was commissioned for twins, hence the two cakes in the decoration. The tiny candles were real and were lit when it came time to sing Happy Birthday. Normally this cake would have only one little birthday cake, three presents and three kiwi. The cake went down a treat at the party, as my special chocolate cake usually does, and since then I have also been making the little kiwi, cakes and presents out of fondant and selling them on their own for people who want to do their own decorating.