{fun} in the sun

Kudos to beautiful Abby for coming over last night and helping me with my latest cake project.

These are some fun summery cupcake-inis!  They're for a woman who's turning 4 - 2 this weekend and they just turned out so fun!

I love all the bright colors, the variety in the little swimsuits and just how fresh and fun they are.  They'd be really neat in a group of summer themed cupcakes with flip flops, sunshine, sunscreen bottles (Don't burn out there people!  Your skin will hate you later!), beach balls, and other little poolside toppers. 

I also enjoyed making someone else's creative vision reality and getting to do it alongside Abs!  She had some great ideas to help me out... and has some mad bikini cutting skills.

spring {bridal} showers

Last weekend included lots of grilling and enjoying the gorgeous weather for us.  It was a pretty wonderful weekend for a party... which is good news, because I'd been busy working on some fun purple cupcakes and a fresh spring-y cake for a couple of bridal showers all week!

The first was for a bride I knew from college.  Her summer wedding will feature a fresh green color, so naturally her cake did as well!  Anna, who requested the cake, said to just have fun with it, so this is what I came up with (daisies are probably a surprise to no one...).  The cake is a two layer 9" basic white cake with white butter cream and fondant.  Something I've really enjoyed the last few weeks is some new cardboard cake boxes and display plates.  Makes me feel official.  :)

Here it is:

Next up were 4 dozen cupcakes for a cupcake tower at a bridal shower my friend from work hosted.  The wedding's main color is a soft pink/purple, so we went with purple cupcakes in a variety of shades.  Cupcakes are fun, fresh, and just delightful to look at.  This was my first time using my new cupcake tip for the piles of frosting on top of these beautiful cakes, and I think I'm in love with it!  Decide for yourself...

I especially enjoy the hued frostings on these cupcakes and the variety of different toppers.  This is a technique I will definitely use again.  The pearled sprinkles are so simple and turn out very elegant.  Fun.

see {you} later

We had a goodbye party for a family from church last night, which was probably more of a "See You Later".  Their girls require a gluten-free diet, so that was a new challenge for me.  It was also a good excuse to get some practice with my new sheet cake pan, and I think it turned out pretty well!

I bought a few gluten-free mixes and made a marbled cake.  The mixes required butter, apple sauce, and water, so they stayed really moist, which was awesome since that's typically a challenge with gluten-free cakes.  I was NOT a fan of the gluten-free frosting (from a mix as well, it's the white frosting on the cake... it was too runny and I had to add a lot of extra powdered sugar), so after about an hour of frustration (mad props to the hubsters for being nice to me during my mini meltdown), I caved and made my traditional icing, which I thought was probably still okay.  The good news is that it passed the test!  So while I WILL be using the gluten-free starter mix for special dietary needs in the future, I'm relieved that I can stick with my tried and true Wilton butter cream to decorate.  :)

As an aside, I really enjoyed watching people celebrate a family that had given their lives away to their church family, friends, and community over the years.  I want to live that way.  We've been so blessed to meet some beautiful people during our time here that have added to our understanding of what it means to live with purpose.