Wedding Cakes | Ideas | Pictures

Figure It Out

Wed, 23 Sep 2015 13:00:18 +0000

Wrecky minion Jennifer T. is no dummy; she knows that sometimes you just can't trust a bakery to decorate your kid's birthday cake properly.

So this year, Jennifer asked the decorator to not even try. "Please just leave room so I can add my own toy figures," she asked, confident that this plan would FINALLY foil the wreckerators.

OR WOULD IT?

"Leave room to figure!!!"

Ahhh, those wily wreckerators.

...and now there is no room. The irony. IT BURNS.

*****

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With This Wreck, I Thee Wed

Tue, 22 Sep 2015 13:00:37 +0000

It seems I never fail to underestimate your insatiable desire for wedding wreckage. And sprinkles. You guys always want sprinkles.

Two birds? Meet your stone:

Sha-POW!

Not crumby enough for you? Try this:

Because naked wedding cakes have more Funfetti.

"Ooh, you guys, I've got it! Ok, picture this: we have the happy couple, in their wedding finery, scaling a giant turd. Eh? EH?!"

Bam. Nailed it.

"People, I know we can fit a few more pieces of plastic on here! WE JUST AREN'T TRYING HARD ENOUGH."

"Barb, you fetch the curling ribbon while Sam and I open another bag of aquarium greenery. Move, move, move!"

We all know there's a lot of crying at weddings. Fortunately, this couple decided to put all the used tissues to good use:

You might think it's icing holding all those together, but I'm here to tell you: it's not.

Thanks to Heather B., Sarah L., Brittany P., Lesley W., & Danielle N. for the tear-jerkers.

*****

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Tell Me What You Want, What You Literally Want...

Mon, 21 Sep 2015 13:00:54 +0000

They asked for a big number 8.

They got it.

And this one was to be ready by Wednesday:

(Think if they'd had 'til Friday they could have used a decorator who WASN'T colorblind?)
(Naaaah.)

Remember last week's "Happy Birthday in Chinese" snafu? Well, for this next one they asked a French bakery to write "Happy Anniversary" in Polish.

And now, proof that you can literally wreck a cake in any language:

What's Polish for "facepalm"? Hang on, lemme go look.
[googlegoogle]
Aha! K, here we go:

::twarzPalma::

You'll never guess what color the NSC Sweethearts wanted:

In fact, I bet they wanted blue icing almost as much as they didn't want to be called the "Sweathart's."

While we're hypothesizing, I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess it WILL fit:

And finally, for the days when you're just tired of trying:

YOU GOT IT.

Thanks to Gretchen L., Renae F., Armelle B., Jennifer T., Carmin B., & Audrey L. for inspiring every minimalist's next birthday cake.

*****

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Sunday Sweets Goes Art Deco... Again!

Sun, 20 Sep 2015 13:00:43 +0000

From Flapper dresses to Big Band jazz to Art Deco architecture, nothing says "style" quite like the Roaring Twenties.

(By Sarah Jones)

Look at that gilded perfection! LOOK AT IT.

And check out this sweet flapper girl!

(By Kidacity)

Love that feathered headband topper.

This one reminds me of delicate chandelier earrings:

(By Gia's Cakes)

And this one, sleek silk gowns from Downton Abbey:

(By Sugarpot)

Here's a mod silhouette style:

(By Cake Lovers, but I can't find the right website for them. Help?)

I actually have a hat like that, and could never quite pull it off. Maybe if I paired it with long pearls...

You know those fancy Deco dinner clubs in the movies, the kind with full jazz bands and dance floors? That's what I see here:

(By Diane Custom Cake Studios)

You can almost hear the brass section announcing dessert. :)

Another gilded beauty:

(By Sara Elizabeth Cakes)

And a simple, clean style with some stunning Art Deco imagery:

(By Zahari)

I'm already swooning over the art, but those 3D rolled flowers in her skirt? GENIUS.

Another clever mix of 2D and 3D on this handpainted flapper girl:

(By Crumbs)

Check out the fringe on her dress! And the hand piped pearls!

Some incredible techniques in this next one:

(By Sweet Heather Anne, featured here)

From the delicate petals at the base, to the baffling hexagonal pink ombre (how DID they do that??) to those swags of lace near the top, this cake is a true showcase of Things Jen Could Never Do.

Here's a more modern, subtle homage to the flapper dress... with FEATHERS.

(By Zoe Clark Cakes)

Oooooh. Aaaaaah.
I want to pet it.

And finally, a Great Gatsby inspired beauty with too many fab details to mention:

(By Three Women and an Oven)

That creamy palette is just lovely, and I'm digging the bunches of pearls. So Sweet!

Happy Sunday, everyone!

(P.S. Can't get enough Art Deco goodness? Then see more Deco Sweets I've featured here.)

*****

Thank you for using our Amazon links to shop! USA, UK, Canada.

Friday Favs 9/18/15

Fri, 18 Sep 2015 13:00:50 +0000

Some of my favorite new submissions this week.

They asked for Happy Birthday, with a drawing of a sun.

That's some stellar work.

Remember the days of "paper or plastic?"
Now we just have to guess which it is:

Either way, you're getting plenty of fiber!

(To be washed down with bitter, bitter tears.)

These are supposed to be pencils:

And this was supposed to bid farewell to summer.

And now, just to get us REALLY depressed:

The Future Of Cake Decorating, summed up in a single image:

(Read the box, my friends. Read it, AND WEEP.)

You scream, I scream, we all just keep screaming.

No, no, I won't leave you like that! Here's one last giggle to make it all better:

Jack really likes football, which is what his parents explained to the bakery. More specifically, he's a big fan of the Colts.

Ahh, but GUESS WHAT THE BAKERY HEARD.

Thanks to Kelly L., Emily B., Robert K., Karla C., Claire W., & Sarah B. for proving cats really DO make everything better.

*****

Thank you for using our Amazon links to shop! USA, UK, Canada.

Mini Desserts ~ Weddings Cakes~ Wedding Dessert Bars~

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Sat, 14 May 2011 13:51:00 +0000

Dessert Bars Wed ding Treats

Trendy Brides love to make their wedding fit their passions regardless to the size of the wedding party. At Sedona Sweet Arts we are seeing all kinds of wedding desserts from napoleons, eclairs, macarons, dipped strawberries, and candy including dessert bars with an assortment of yummy treats. Sedona Sweet Arts loves creating these custom dessert bars for all size wedding parties. Below is a example of an Elopement size wedding party, 15 guests that we created for Sedona’s Amara Resort.

Here is a sweet petite four style wedding dessert display. These tasty bites are all made from scratch including the hand molded chocolate mousse cups which were filled with a bittersweet chocolate chanity style mousse. The zesty tarts are filled with Pastry Chef Donna Joy’s homemade lemon curd adorned with a fresh raspberry nestled on a flaky homemade tart shell. The last dessert on this mini dessert bar wedding is a classic creamy vanilla cheesecake.

Don’t be fooled with the frozen selection! Everyone can buy in frozen bites to serve. The rare jewel of homemade pastries like this can not be match. One bite and you know! The dessert bar style wedding treats are custom created to fit your wedding needs. From Flourless chocolate bites to decorated peppermint patties.

In addition to classic desserts Donna Joy can make you desserts for those with dietary issues. Such as Gluten Free, Casein Free, Dairy Free to name a few. Check out Sedona Sweet Arts for more ideas and to connect with Donna Joy.

Looking for the perfect wedding venue? Check out Sedona Wedding Professionals. Award winning, fabulous group of Arizona's finest formed to make your wedding perfect for you.

Sugar Succulent Wedding Cake Sedona

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:36:00 +0000

Sugar Succulent Wedding Cake

Leanna & James incorporated succulents into their wedding floral arrangements for their Sedona wedding. Keeping the theme going Donna Joy of Sedona Sweet Arts created a variety of hand sculpted sugar succulents for the wedding cake. How sweet is this?

Congratulations to Leanna & James! Check out more of Donna Joy's creations at Sedona Wedding Cakes.com or Sedona Sweet Arts.com

White on White Wedding Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 14:05:00 +0000

This Bride was soo adorable. She wanted a look of clean, simple with a splash of silver. White fondant, white flowers then trimmed in silver beads. Heather's cake turned out just like her simply beautiful.

Check out Sedona Sweet Arts for more Cake ideas.

Southwest Jewerly cake

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:06:00 +0000

Southwest Jewerly Cake

How much fun was this cake....... All about the accenting. Earings, necklace, shawl, even the lipstick is made from sugar. How sweet it is......

Check out Sedona Sweet Arts for more creative cakes.

White Chocolate Cigar Wedding Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:53:00 +0000

Simply a wonderful couple. Jessy & Kevin planned their wedding in Sedona well in advance.The have the ceremony and reception at L'Auberge de Sedona.
It was a pleasure working with this couple. They new exactly what they wanted. A hand rolled white chocolate cigar cake.

The colors of the fresh flowers looked so pretty with the white chocolate.
Ohh I love the way they look but making those cigars is noting but a labor of love! Congratulations to Jessy & Kevin.

Sugar Ranunculus Wedding Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 19:00:00 +0000

Gayelle first contacted me about doing a wedding cake for her son, Nickolas and Melissa. They had been on the web site www.SedonaWeddingCakes.com.

They wanted a simply classy cake with sugar flowers. Gayelle mailed in color swatches. Melissa and I spoke over the phone walking through her design and cake flavors.
Melissa favorite flower is ranunculus. The last time I tried to make sugar ranunculus I wasn't to pleased. I wanted a more natural look. This is what I came up with.

I wasn't sure until I put the sugar flowers on the cake if I could capture the beauty of ranunculus in sugar. I did hear back that a few people thought they were fresh flowers.

I enjoyed the challenge.

Dreamy Rust Sugar Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:25:00 +0000

Rust, reds, and black are the bridal couples colors. Donna Joy created these rust flowers from sugar along with deep red sugar roses. The three tier fondant cake is trimmed with black ribbon and adorned with random ivory swirls. The couple married in beautiful Tlaquepaque

Nicole's Tlaquepaque Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:09:00 +0000

Wow does time fly. I met with this adorable couple in August 2008 for their June 19 wedding in Tlaquepaque. They were both so creative and knew what they wanted. Brides favorite flower on top done with a pink center to match their colors. Groom love for blackberries created the side accents. They both loved a smooth buttercream finish. They were having a very intimate Sedona wedding so the cake was designed to have a single handmade sugar flower on top with blackberry accents on sides of cake.

We time flies and before they knew it their intimate wedding grew and grew. Since the cake was ordered in August 08 ten months before the wedding it slipped everyone mind that the cake was to small. Then the week of wedding it hit them. The cake ordered would not come even close to serve their guests. So the called the week of wedding and Sedona Sweet Arts quickly pulled a larger cake with similar ideas together. The Bride and I had spoken a few times on the ideas that may work well.
Quickly Dana & I brain stormed. I had already made her sugar flower. Now I had to create something else as one flower alone would not be look good for this size cake. Dana suggested me to made quite a few of them that could be clustered on the top. I wasn't sure I could make these were a cluster would work. Since I had only two days to pull it together I came back that night and created these beauties. I made green sugar leaves which I used to tie the sugar flowers and berries together. The cake ended up being one of my favorites. The cake is simple and reflects the love of a wonderful couple.

The process of creating Becky & Gregs Sedona Wedding Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:40:00 +0000

I met with Becky & Greg in September 2008 to design their wedding cake for the end of May 2009.
They were a lovely couple with classic colors, ivory (cream), chocolate brown and sky blue. They wanted cream ivory calla lilies with yellow centers gentle clusters creating a cascade.
They told me the elements they wanted in the cake and I sketched it out. Here is the drawing done at the time of meeting.

We walked through so options with two size cakes, one larger one and one smaller one. they smaller one would have a sheet cake in order to save some money.

Rebecca then sent an email requesting a change initial they wanted pastillage Sugar Calla lilies on their cake but then switch to roses as the cost of fresh calla lilies in their bouquet were costly. The cost of the sugar calla lilies was 40.00 even though hand scultped sugar roses are usually more I kept the price of the same. Here is a photo of the hand scuplted roses for Becky and Gregs cake.
As in all our wedding cakes a detailed cake profile was generated ans sent to the couple. Here is portion of their profile.

Party- Becky & Greg Wedding Date Saturday May 30, 2009

Reception Start Time 6:00 Delivery Time 5:30

Please be sure your cake is not being delivered too early. The food safety standard of the industry is to have the cake no sooner than 30-45 minutes prior to your reception.

Delivery times are subject to a fifteen minute plus or minus on the targeted delivery time.

Cake Delivery Location Sedona Golf Resort

The cake table needs to be set and level before your delivery time. It should be placed out of sun and in a cool environment.

Expected Guests

Wedding Cake

Tiers- Three plus side Cake Type- Stacked

Cake Flavors- White Velvet Cake Fillings- 50% Strawberries 50% Raspberry

Frosting Type & color

Type- Fondant Color-Ivory-Cream

Colors are subject to interpretation. Please send color swatches. Certain colors are not obtainable in sugar. Heat, UV rays and cold may change the color.

Cake Shape & Servings

Total Servings-may serve up to83+56=140

Shape-Square Wedding cake, Round side Sizing-5s/7s/10s+9r

The following are based on the Wilton Wedding Charts.

The standard in the industry is to cut wedding cake servings 1”x1.5”.

Topper - Cake Accents

Topper Type-Pastillage Sugar Flowers Provided by- Bakery

Sugar Flower /Item Type-Roses, Blue Bells- Hydrandras Colors- Cream colored Rose, Blue accent flowers

Any and all cake toppers or accents need to be delivered to the bakery. Toppers are reinforced but not attached to cake. The bakery is not responsible if they are knocked off the cake during the reception. It is advised that only Cake toppers are used, statues and other non cake items should not be used. Out of size items will be used in the best way possible. Accents include Fresh Flowers. Sedona Sweet Arts will not apply any topper not delivered to the Bakery Location to a cake If Item is provided by bakery it will be listed below in the detail of pricing. Sugar Colors are made as close as possible, some colors are not obtainable. Color Swatches are highly recommended. Some sugar flowers may have non edible stems. Please remove all accents before serving the cake.

Cake Design

Finish-Smooth Pattern-no Color- Ivory-Cream

Borders- Ribbon and Pearls Color-Brown Ribbon- Ivory Pearls

Sizing a cake up or down, changing the frosting may change the appearance of cake. Cake art is a unique talent. Artistic impression applies to all cakes.

Accent Design

Location of Accents Light C cascade

Fresh Floral Requirements no

All fresh flowers are adorned to cake by the cake artist only. The completion of cake is included in your price. Fresh Flowers need to be delivered to bakery prior to weddings.

Florist- na

Cake Bases Stands

Stand Type- Board Color-Ivory Shape

Rental-no Rental Return-no

Rentals have a $200.00 refundable deposit. The deposit is refunded after the item is returned in same condition.

The couple reviewed it and Rebecca sign it and fax it back on October 3, 2009

Two weeks before their wedding I started hand sculpting their sugar roses. I had to create anchors on them as the edges or lips of the cake were small.
To create a gentle cascade they would need anchors or they fall off. I was afraid I would have enough of certain sizes so I did another production run of the roses. This worked out well as I ended up needing many more roses than I thought.

Colorful Fondant Wedding Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:06:00 +0000

Some Brides love to incorporation the wedding colors into the cake.
Katherine & Jonathan both played a role in selecting this colorful cake.

Pink & Turquoise Custom sugar flowers by Donna Joy of Sedona Sweet Arts.

The wedding party celebrated at Rosalies of Sedona.

Deep Pink & Green Wedding cake

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:45:00 +0000

The fondant was made to match colors swatches provided by Bride to create this two colored Fondant Wedding cake.

The hand made sugar flowers by Donna Joy of Sedona Sweet Arts

Three tier Elopement Wedding Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:50:00 +0000

Check out this sweet three tier elopement cake. Chocolate swirls and dots are adorned on the sides of wedding cake with the wedding cake accents being hand created by Donna Joy.

Sugar Orchid Wedding Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:19:00 +0000

Sugar Orchids and lace created this custom wedding cake.

The brides lace from her bridal gown created the champagne colored brush embroidery lace. The orchids were hand created by Donna Joy of Sedona Sweet Arts.

Sarah & Mike's Sedona Wedding Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:35:00 +0000

Such a nice couple. Sweet Sarah and Mike wanted a classic square fondant wedding cake.

Their wedding cake captured the elegance of their wedding. Blue trim at the base of cake, square offset and adorned with Donna Joy's hand sculpted pastillage sugar lilies and leaves.

Sweet Tlaquepaque Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:06:00 +0000

Sweet Strawberry and Chocolate Square wedding Cake.

Smooth Buttercream frosting accented with Chocolate swirls and adorned with dipped strawberries. Held in the beautiful & romantic Tlaquepaque Chapel and courtyard. This cake was made for a Bride who Mom worked in Tlaquepaque. Check out the beauty of Tlaquepaque

Porsche car cake

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:21:00 +0000

Porsche Gluten Free Car Cake

Now we know why no one does carved car cakes. You see jeeps and trucks as the lines are fairly straight. This cake is a scaled Porche race car. Wanted to try it but do it in Gluten free chocolate Cake? Well we did. Hand carved porche car cake in Gluten Free! It was so moist hard to carve, yes are we nuts. No faux anywhere on cake. It is all edible. The cake was done to match it owners real race car. Color , number model.
We love a challenge at Sedona Sweet Arts.

The hand carved ones are always a two man job. What an eye Dana has.

Thank you Dana, couldn't do it with out you.

Boo & Napoleon

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:00:00 +0000

Words can not express how beautiful these puppies are.

Football Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:11:00 +0000

Check out this 3 d Grooms football cake. Chocolate on the inside frosted in chocolate fondant. Check out www.sedonaweddingcakes.com for more cakes!

Simply Classic White Wedding Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:33:00 +0000

Simply classic white wedding cake, Today 20-30ish Brides are dreaming of the classic all white wedding cake. This cake was custom created for the bride with a white on white scroll each tier having a different pattern.

Simply adorned with hand sculptured sugar roses by Donna Joy.

The Bride and Groom had a carve football as a Grooms cake. The wedding and reception was at Creekside Los Abrigados.

Happy Birthday Jill & Mike

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:46:00 +0000

How much fun! Jill and Mike's Birthday Cakes.

Jill loves Egyptian arts, history and artifacts. So Jill birthday cake is a Pyramid adorned with a Gold seal in Old Egyptian writing HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Then Jill's cake is accented in two gold old Egyptian flowers. Love you Jill.

Mike is a great professional Photographer. What a fit a hand carved camera cake. Check out Mike incredible photos at Taltos. Happy Birthday Mike!

Sedona Sweet Arts wins 2009 Bride's Choice Award

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:27:00 +0000

Sedona Sweet Arts receives a 2009 Bride’s Choice Award! This award recognizes the top 3% of vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellent quality of service, responsiveness, professionalism, value of cost and flexibility.

Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the company, the Bride’s Choice Awards are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds through surveys and reviews. That means Sedona Sweet Arts past clients have spoken on their behalf and chosen them for this honor!

Thank you Brides!

The winners are on the Wedding Wire.

Sugar Hybiscus Wedding Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:13:00 +0000

Ericka McCristen & Robert Muir had a beautiful reception at Sedona Golf Resort. Ericka favorite flowers are Hybiscus. She wanted them made in blue. So I used a color swatch to create these beauties.

Had so much fun trying to fiqure out how to make Sugar Hybiscus.

The couple wanted a wonderful tasting buttercream canvas for their cake but wanted a fondant flair with draping. I combined the two.

European Wedding cake

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 22:05:00 +0000

European Style wedding cake.

Check out any European wedding and you'll see the style are very different from US. the cake is a good example.
White chocolate Cigarettes with marbleized white chocolate panels. Handmade Pastillage Sugar orchids floating down the front of cake.

Red Sugar Rose Wedding Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:34:00 +0000

Hand made Sugar Roses by Donna Joy Sedona Sweet Arts.

Sugar Fall Acorn Leaves Wedding Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Joy) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:28:00 +0000

Check out the Fall Leaves and Acorn made in sugar By Donna Joy

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noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:56:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 07:02:00 +0000

more holiday gift ideas!

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:44:00 +0000

In the shop starting today we have holiday packaging ready for your cakette giving needs! Two sizes to accommodate 3 cakettes or 6 and at $5 or $10 price points.

Perfect for all the little add on's and hard to buy people.

Perfect for teachers. Doctors. Your mailman. Your daycare provider. Podiatrists. Chiropractors. Your lawyer. Your neighbour. Or your friendly neighborhood baker :)

Just for the record, please don't buy me cakettes.

Please.

One baker can only eat them for so long before they become not so cute and fun.

Thanks for thinking of me though :)

who doesn't want cakettes?!

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:27:00 +0000

Well it's that lovely gift giving time of year again. We did dainty platters last year and while we specialize in cakes; the cookies and treats drove us to drink (just eggnogg of course :)

So this year we figured, let's give them what they want.

Cakettes.

Perfect for your customers, friends or family, we haven't had someone yet who doesn't like these darn things.

They come in two sizes and will be packaged up in this lovely box. We have a large one of 30 pieces (for $45) and the small with 15 pieces ($25).

They will both come with chocolate cakettes, vanilla cakettes and red velvet cakettes. The flavours can be swapped out with some of our inhouse varieties if you want to change them up. No custom flavours though please, just the choices we have in house.

24 hours needed for ordering, give us a shout at 612-9866!

sweet.

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 01:36:00 +0000

Since getting an iphone a couple months ago, I have become obsessed with playing on instagram. A photo editing and posting app that lets you easily make your pictures awesome. I'm loving it. The only problem is I can't adjust the light....

This cake was one of my favorites. I mention the lack of light because you can't really see the detailing of the second tier, just around the flowers you can.

Sweet and pretty to fit their vintage garden theme.

monkey's monkey's

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 01:10:00 +0000

Next to Lightening McQueen, I think the most requested thing we make are cakes with monkey's on them. Fortunate for us. They are cute and relatively simple.

Add in some other cutey jungle characters and you've got yourself a jungle party. Popular theme this year, we're done a number of cakes.

wedding favour ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:02:00 +0000

You can tell the wedding season is over and we're back into the cycle of wedding planning when I go and check on my emails in the morning. I have gotten a lot of emails lately asking about favours and ideas so I thought I would do a quick blog post about some things we've done. I will continue to photograph the wedding set ups so you guys can see the favour in action too :)

Here are some cakettes in action. There are three delicious balls of goodness in these bags, yes, the bride and groom were fanatics. And I heard some rave reviews from guests who popped in after that wedding. We've done the cakettes as singles wrapped in cellophane (or done in a little box) two wrapped up and even three. We tie them up for you too, because we love.

We've done a whole ton of cake pops this year as favours too. We're currently working on some for a wedding this weekend so I'll be sure to take shots for you all. Cake pops are cakettes done on a stick. We wrap these up individually as well and then tie them with matching ribbon.

One of my favorite favours are imperial cookies. Personally, I would be ecstatic if I were a guest at a wedding and sitting at my plate was a delicious cookie. I don't know about you but the hours before dinner is served at a wedding feel like days and I'm always starving. We can do them in a variety of simple cutouts, usually letters or hearts. We've also done flowers, wedding cakes and circles. Done up with a little design, usually a little sparkling sanding sugar. Again we bag these up in clear cellophane and tie with some pretty ribbon.

Heather & Paul!

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 03:17:00 +0000

Finally! One of my biggest events of the year for me has come and gone, and man, did we have a blast. My husbands sister Heather was married to her dear Paul last weekend. So many things to do! my girls were flowers girls, and quite frankly, the cutest ever. Great age for them to be involved in a wedding too, they had a great time. My dear hubby was the m.c., and naturally, I was in charge of sweets :)

Of what we could provide for a wedding, well, we did. From seat placing cookies, each custom iced with all of the guests names, to the wedding cake, the grooms cake (the Pug!) pics of him will follow, and a dessert buffet. Cupcakes, cakettes, brownies, lemon slice, and candy. great late night snacks!

We did up a four tier cake, the bottom half is not real, but I wanted to show off with a big cake :) Nice deep brown colour a little different from the traditional white, but was so fitting for this time of year and for their colour scheme. The day was gorgeous and we were able to have the appetizers and cocktails on the patio at Breezy Bend.

One of my favorite things to do for weddings is a dessert buffet. Candy buffets have popped up like crazy, and we added some candy to ours too but the sweets are where we excel. Four kinds of cakettes, four kinds of cupcakes, most gluten free, brownies, lemon slice. The guests were saited!

the groupon experiment

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:42:00 +0000

If you follow my blog, then odds are you already follow us on twitter and facebook, so you'll know today was our 2nd bat at running a Groupon coupon. I had commented throughout the day and got a lot of feedback about what my experience with it was and I wanted to share. I have also read a lot of negative comments on Groupon so I wanted to share some thoughts about that too.

I'll start though, with the disclaimer. No one from Groupon has asked me to write, I am not an expert on, well, anything really, and by no way is my word law. My experience and business is based and has grown on trial and error, and lately a lot of book reading. I don't have a masters in baking nor do I in business management. It's just me, Pam.

Our first Groupon was run about a year ago and was one of the first in the Winnipeg market. It went well. We tracked everything we could really, the date they redeemed, what else was purchased. Other than that not a lot of info could be derived from it. I can't say I know how many people are ordering cakes now because they bought a Groupon, but if I had to guess, I would say very few. Our promo is 50% off a dozen cupcakes, with a little list of restrictions and rules. We've been up for about 10 hours and we're over 500. We capped it at 1000, so we're well on our way. Last years coupons were good for one year and we're just at about 50% redemption. This one will be good for 6 months only. Those are the bones of it, now onto the feelings...

Groupon has gone from a pretty fun-feeling advertising/marketing group, to one that is taking quite a bit of flack. I've been forwarded countless links to articles written online about Groupon and how they're hurting small biz, how people have fallen to ruin because of it and how it's just a plain old bad idea. These articles have made me think quite a bit, thus the need to write. I feel as though I also need to defend myself for running the promo, so I wanted to share how I came to doing it. They received media attention twice earlier this year, once for a poorly timed/badly tasting ad they ran during the Superbowl (really poor taste guys) and then later when Google tried to buy them for like, $3 million and they said NO. Not the wisest decision.

(again, just my humble opinions).

My approach to advertising is to proceed with great caution. I don't run ads in magazines, I don't use billboards, bus stops or ads on the radio. My theory is, I need to know that this money spent will result in an action, the action being people coming in and buying things from me. I could run an ad in a magazine, and I would need to make it trackable (like adding a "mention this add an receive 10% off!) kind of thing to know what that ad is bringing in for me. Otherwise how do you know? I really don't do those kinds of advertising's though because they are SO expensive. I don't have cash. I need to make decisions that are smart and worth my time and energy and the little money I can invest. The other thing for us is that we are already pretty busy. Good thing and bad thing, but mostly good. So when we advertise, it's pointed and intentional. I know who can take the extra pressure and where we can apply it at the shop. Example...I can't run an ad or promo for custom cakes. Siew-Chiing and I decorate and we are at our max each weekend. Adding a discounted promo to this area would literally kill me. I also know what I can afford to discount. Mathing is not my strong point, but I have a good calculator so we get by. (Jenn, along with being a master baker is also a whiz at long division. True story.) So I know what it costs us to make a dozen cupcakes. This is key. You cannot discount something that will end up costing you more in the end. That's bad for everyone. Mostly you.

Here are some of the pros and cons and how I think groupon can work for us (and other small biz's) based on the articles and negative comments I've heard about groupon in general. Bottom line, though, it's not for everyone. Especially very specific jobs and business's that are based in custom things and have few resources (like family members who can ice cupcakes)...

Timing- September brings fewer walk in customers to the shop and people are busy with their back to school routines and evening classes that start up again. Wedding season is slowing down and our order book is slim. It is timely for us to run this right now. You have to know how much more business you can take on, how it will impact your day and how it will impact your staff's days.

Product-You can't discount until you know the worth behind the item. What is your discount truly worth? What is your product worth? We chose cupcakes with great intention, and we will not lose money on this promo because of it.

Customers- If I had to guess, I would put my regular customers at about 30-50% of the make-up of who bought the groupon. The other 50% are the couponers. The discount seekers, the ones wanting great deals. They will be new to us and hitting up this demographic may or may not lead to repeat business. Our product is not cheap. It's not an everyday kind of item either (in terms of birthdays and wedding cakes). But through great service we can widen our base to include these new guys and turn them into new regulars. If not, and if they've bought this simply because of the deal, that's fine too. Winnipeg is notorious for bargains and our goal thru groupon is exposure. The grouponers have to literally come to my store to get my product. They must step foot in here, and that's big. We are in a neighborhood that is notorious for bad parking, specific boutiques and art galleries. This is not the mall. I hope to win them over with our quaint little shop and have them bring their friends back to show off the little gem they found downtown.

Discounting your product often is a bad move, and has to be done carefully. People don't trust when discounts are deep and often, they will wonder why they should pay the full price on a regular visit. It also leads to the cheapening of your product. So we do them, but infrequently.

So I will keep you posted, dear readers. Mind you, this kind of thing takes time, years really, I'll continue to analyse it and comment on it. Small businesses are often built around a person loving something they're doing and not a business degree in entreprenuralism (is that even a major?) And like I said above, I don't hold a commerce degree nor will I ever. I'm a baker. I will share what I can and what I have learned to all you other crafty folk so you don't make the mistakes I have and we can all grow together. Aww...warm fuzzies.

Thanks for reading. And if you're new to my blog because of the groupon, please know I'm not always this long winded :) I added pictures just for you.

Under the sea...

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:19:00 +0000

Found some over sized aquatic cakes we did over the summer. Fun stuff! As we plan for a little vacation this coming winter I am struggling with the idea of scuba diving and potentially running into these creatures. The ocean scares me. A lot. I'm a lake girl, born and raised. but the ocean? Man, there's weird stuff out there. Octopuses scare me the most.

I know, I'm odd...

Mobile blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 03:48:00 +0000

Recently I switched over from my trusty blackberry to an iphone. The major reason? Photos. I thought this topic would go nicely with my last post about having good quality photos taken of my cakes. One of my best friends is a tattoo artist and he would post fantastic quick shots of works in progress and freshly completed tattoos. I was finding it quite onerous to take pictures, upload them, edit them, then sort them so I could later post them and write about them. With my handy dandy little phone, suddenly I found myself uploading pics right after taking them and instantly sharing them on twitter, facebook and instagram. Then it dawned on me. I'll get the blogger app.

Look out, posts will be almost daily now :) Enjoy!

This shot is of our new front doors. A little sad that you can't see the panels of the frencj doors, but it makes for a much better work environment, the number of wasps in the bakery were out of control!

shameless bragging!

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:52:00 +0000

Hi again! Wanted to show off a little to explain why I am as busy as I am. The shop, slowly but surely has gotten to a happy place. We have become very systematic in our procedures, routines and job roles. That, as a small business was really hard to achieve. One really needs the right people in the right spots and finding those people can be hard. We have some really dedicated staff who are helping me get better at what I do and helping the store become a better, more consistent and more organized place. I am also at the point now of meeting with an advisor once a month to review and work on my business. Now that is fun times! Looking at numbers and learning about the fundamentals of my business is down right fascinating. I'm not even lying a little bit :)

Like did you know we sold 32,541 cakettes last year?!

That's fascinating!

And crazy....it also explains Jenn's carpal tunnel issues...

Anyway, the photos are of my little girls on their first day of school. They keep me most busy but have also come to love playing at the shop with me and helping when I do deliveries. Have to train them young!

(That's Claire with her bestie Anthony in the top photo, and Cameron (Wren) on the bottom left with her bestie Isabelle.)

hello hello hello...is there anybody out there...

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 18:04:00 +0000

Hello all my blog readers! I have taken the summer off from the blog world to focus on gathering my bearings, thanks for joining me again! This summer flew by and we had a really great couple of months. I have a whole pantload of photos to show off, lots of fun stuff!

One of the perks about the wedding industry are the photographers. It's not often that I have access to great settings, equipment, and expertise when it comes to photos. I'd love to learn more and get some backdrops and such but really, I'm afraid I have enough on my plate right now.

So instead, I try to make friends and connections with those who have the expertise, and when they are already friends then I get really excited. Case in point, Victoria Anne Photography. Since Aly has been doing weddings, we have run into each other countless times, Winnipeg is truly a small city. I was able to recommend her to one of my couples (which never seems to happen!) and she took these fantastic shots of one of my favorite cakes from the summer. Why one of my favorite? A couple of reasons. This cake is completely gluten free. No wheat. None. Possibly the most requested thing this summer. Second, there is no fondant (short of the little flowers). It's all butter cream :)

Stay tuned! Lots of fun photos and such coming your way, including a new site!

xo-pam

Fathers Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 23:41:00 +0000

Available at the shop on Saturday!

limited supply...

Guest Post!

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:29:00 +0000

Madeline’s Weddings & Event s – Winnipeg Décor Design & Planning

Are you looking for Décor, Linen Rentals, Wedding Day Coordination or Planning? Look no further!

Madeline’s Weddings offer complete décor design and rentals for your special day! If you are looking for chair covers, floor length linens, head table décor, ceiling décor, a backdrop or just want to WOW your guests, contact Madeline’s Weddings. With Manitoba’s largest linen supply and over 7 years of business this IS the place you want to go to for your wedding day needs.

The MWs Team has hundreds of rave reviews behind them and our gorgeous weddings have been featured all over North America. We are proven leaders in the Wedding Industry, Winnipeg and beyond.

Complete décor packages starting at $1349!

Complete décor & wedding day coordination starting at $1999!

*** Pricing INCLUDES design, set up, take down etc.

Set up a complimentary consultation to meet with our wedding planners to discuss all the options for your wedding day!

Looking for Daily Inspiration for your wedding? Check out our blog where we feature several great segments including Signature Drinks, Sweet Indulgences, Celebrity Weddings, Tips, Trends and everything DIY! http://madelinesweddings.com/blog/

Top 5 DIY Stationery Projects

We love diy projects! Here’s our picks for the top 5 best diy projects!

1. Candy Bar Wrappers: If you’re thinking of having chocolate bars as your wedding favor but not crazy about the packaging they come in, you can easily change that by making your very own wrappers right at home!

2. Cupcake Toppers: These fun little toppers are a great way to dress up your cupcakes! You can create almost anything you like and customize them to suite your wedding style!

3. Edible Favours: There’s nothing better than leaving with a bag of goodies! If you’re skilled at baking then whip up your favourite cookies, homemade fudge or caramel corn! Homemade edible wedding favors are a great way to say thank you!

4. Mason Jars: Cluster several jars together on a table and fill them with flowers! Fill them with candles and hang them from tree branches – how amazing would they look all lit up at night! Or use them along a pathway and have the candles light the way for guests.

5. Save The Date Cards: Take pictures of yourselves either on your own or during your engagement session with your photographer. You can even hold up numbers or a blank poster board and fill in the date in a photo editing software!

Tons of ides, tips, DIY projects and more!

Check out our website for real weddings, all of our services and much more! www.madelinesweddings.com

Come and check out our wedding show at Delta Winnipeg June 12^th. Get all the details and your FREE tickets http://madelinesweddings-eorg.eventbrite.com/

*Mention this blog post when booking any décor package and receive 100 FREE Custom Designed Thank you Cards. Expires July 31, 2011.

Madeline's Wedding Show!

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:46:00 +0000

Calling all couples!! Madeline’s Weddings & Events is hosting a fabulous show for all brides and grooms to be! You will be able to interact with quality vendors one on one, see gorgeous table and linen designs and sample some delicious treats!

Every bride or groom attending will have a chance to win the Grand Prize Give Away full of free services and discounts for your big day!

There is no charge to attend this event, but we ask that each person attending bring a non-perishable food item that Madeline’s Weddings & Events will donate to Winnipeg Harvest.

All brides and grooms are welcome to attend but you MUST register for your FREE tickets herehttp://madelinesweddings.eventbrite.com/

Here is a preview of some of the vendors participating in this years show!

Joining Hearts Wedding Services
A Moving Pictures Studios
Luxury Plus Limos
King Cole Catering
Michelle Zerr Photgraphy
Fine Eyes Makeup
The Floral Fixx
Cake-Ology
The Sugar Cookie Shoppe
Sun Life Financial
Afterglow
dconstruct jewelry
Madeline’s Weddings & Events
Delta Winnipeg

We hope to see you there!!

Here’s a look back at one of our previous shows at the Delta!

above photos: Michelle Zerr Photography

mother's day 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:26:00 +0000

call the shop at 612-9866 to order yours today!

ONE YEAR!

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 19:44:00 +0000

It's our birthday! We are turning one.

One!

Seriously, this little shop has been like having another little baby. Lots of work and it seems to get a little easier with each stage. Each stage is new mind you, uncharted territory, new people, new ideas, but the basis (the baby) is here. Puttering along.

If you are able, we would love to see you Saturday, we are having an open house kind of day, cake, balloons, party hats. All the things typical of a first birthday. We'd love to see you!

Thanks for the love, support, and kind (and sometimes not kind) words. It's been quite the endeavor and I'm very pleased to say we are all still having fun doing it :)

destination weddings

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 20:03:00 +0000

Our good friend Jaime, over at My Way With Style, planned an afternoon of helping brides plan their destination wedding. She got us to do the treats :)

We have had a lot of requests for our cakettes to make appearances a weddings as favors for guests. How great is that?! No more stale mints or trinkets, why not give your guests a sweet little treat! Jaime has some great packaging ideas, as shown above, but they can even be as simple as cello wrapped with some pretty ribbon.

They are also showing up more and more often on dessert spreads and nestled into cupcake towers. Even plated as they are above, simple and so pretty.

We can do them in chocolate and white chocolate and the design on the tops have lots of options. Sprinkles, sparkling sugar, matching coloured chocolate, or even little flowers.

empty promises

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 21:27:00 +0000

Alright, back to the wordy blogging. I've veered away from chatting too much as we've been really swamped. My poor little blog has really taken a back seat and as I'm writing this, I know I've written that same line over and over. Time gets tight, the blog seems to be the first thing to go. Weeks later, I write an apology blog post and promise I'll do more, promise I'll do it weekly, promise I will stay on top of it. My game plan this time is to get help with it and have our shop girl, Jaime post pics too. I'll do the wordy thoughts-in-my-head posts, she can do the pics. Fair trade. I'll sprinkle in some cake pics too for you, as I can't imagine you're just here to read about the life of Pam....

Business has been booming like mad over here at the shop, and we are super thankful for that. It's also a nice problem to have when it comes to advertising and people wanting us to put ads out. I can simply say "no thanks", and that's not a usually easy thing for me to say. We did do a couple promo's though and I have to say there is nothing quite as satisfying as seeing your work in print. I'm making a scrapbook :)

And it's not just print. We've done a couple cakes for wedding planners, event coordinators and the like and seeing them on blogs and twitter feeds and websites is also super exciting. Just yesterday a wedding shoot was featured on a blog down in California. Fancy.

Signing off now, but we will chat soon! Thanks for following us!

cats and dogs and cats and dogs

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 18:26:00 +0000

I like making dog cakes. I really do. Fortunately I've never been invited to a birthday party where there has been a giant dog MADE from cake though, as I'm not sure that I'd be able to actually eat the poor thing...

This one I could probably eat. I wouldn't be jumping for the dog part, like I do for butter cream roses. Or cake corners, that one was heavily fought over at our house. Those heavily coated Jeanies cake corners....extra chocolate shavings...

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think this thing is a dog. Come to think of it, I have no idea what it is.

Any of them.

I'm so out of touch....

This one is super sweet. I especially love the little terrier on her back waiting for a belly rub.

holy giant cupcake batman!

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:30:00 +0000

One gigantic cupcake, coming right up!

dedicated to Mr. Sheldon Cooper

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 04:34:00 +0000

I'm trying to make a book to help when it comes to ordering cakes at the shop. A nice little picture book; step by step questions, examples, photos. Have been wanting to do so for months. The problem is selecting pictures of cakes for the book, we've amassed quite a number of them, and sometimes I've even forgotten about them.

Not sure how I could forget this one.

Really.

I don't even know what it is. But I have seen it in the background of Big Bang Theory. So it's at least nerdy-cool.

I think.

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 02:56:00 +0000

We were asked earlier in the month if we were interested in submitting some photos to Chatelaine for their 14 days of cupcakes. what did we say? Well heck yes, of course!
Who doesn't want to be featured?!

After taking shot after shot i reread the email where it (clearly) states- one shot looking down, one looking straight ahead.
Boo.
Jenn went to town with her artistic creativity and her fancy camera.

So here are just a few of the shots we took that we couldn't submit.
Yum!
Check it all out here!

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 00:08:00 +0000

Ever have the urge to eat your purse?
I haven't.
Often I've wished for better snacks to be IN my purse, but even that's a little risky with my kids :)

Wedding Cakes | Ideas | Pictures

Figure It Out

With This Wreck, I Thee Wed

Tell Me What You Want, What You Literally Want...

Sunday Sweets Goes Art Deco... Again!

Friday Favs 9/18/15

Mini Desserts ~ Weddings Cakes~ Wedding Dessert Bars~

Sugar Succulent Wedding Cake Sedona

White on White Wedding Cake

Southwest Jewerly cake

White Chocolate Cigar Wedding Cake

Sugar Ranunculus Wedding Cake

Dreamy Rust Sugar Flowers

Nicole's Tlaquepaque Wedding

The process of creating Becky & Gregs Sedona Wedding Cake

Colorful Fondant Wedding Cake

Deep Pink & Green Wedding cake

Three tier Elopement Wedding Cake

Sugar Orchid Wedding Cake

Sarah & Mike's Sedona Wedding Cake

Sweet Tlaquepaque Wedding

Porsche car cake

Boo & Napoleon

Football Cake

Simply Classic White Wedding Cake

Happy Birthday Jill & Mike

Sedona Sweet Arts wins 2009 Bride's Choice Award

Sugar Hybiscus Wedding Cake

European Wedding cake

Red Sugar Rose Wedding Cake

Sugar Fall Acorn Leaves Wedding Cake

test

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 07:02:00 +0000

more holiday gift ideas!

who doesn't want cakettes?!

sweet.

monkey's monkey's

wedding favour ideas

Heather & Paul!

the groupon experiment

Under the sea...

Mobile blogging

shameless bragging!

hello hello hello...is there anybody out there...

Fathers Day!

Guest Post!

Madeline's Wedding Show!

mother's day 2011

ONE YEAR!

destination weddings

empty promises

cats and dogs and cats and dogs

holy giant cupcake batman!

dedicated to Mr. Sheldon Cooper

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 00:08:00 +0000 Ever have the urge to eat your purse? I haven't. Often I've wished for better snacks to be IN my purse, but even that's a little risky with my kids :)

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Kirkpatrick) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 00:08:00 +0000

Ever have the urge to eat your purse?
I haven't.
Often I've wished for better snacks to be IN my purse, but even that's a little risky with my kids :)