Christmas cake & cupcakes!!

So, remember the Christmas cupcakes sale I had last week?  Well, I just wanna say a big fat THANK YOU to everyone who ordered!!  Your love and support means sooo much to me and I wish each and every one of you a wonderful and blessed new year!!

Here are the highlights xo

Seven flavours...

9 boxes have already been collected when this shot was taken...

 And then we had one cake request from my friends Mia and Terence...classic red velvet!!

Christmas-fied with sprinkles!!

Woohoo!!  I managed to post all my cakes and cupcakes before the new year, hehehe!!  Feels good!!

I truly wish you all a safe and happy new year!!  See you all back here for our December highlights and a special 'Best of 2012' post!!

Blessings to you all!!

xo,
Jackie

Happy 9th Birthday Carson!!

Today I get to share a special birthday cake I made on Christmas Day!!  Carson's 9th birthday cake!!  His Mum Lisa wanted a lego-themed birthday cake, and I thought what nine year old boy isn't into Ninjago?  I know my ten year old is, and so are all my nephews!!  So, I decided to go with the character Kai, because he's the main one.  I made him before over here, but I really wanted to try and create a more 'simplified' version of him on a round cake {without all the carving and shaping}.  I think he turned out better than I imagined, so yay!!  Hope ya like it!!

Hope you enjoyed today's *second* cake feature!!

Happy new year guys!!  Hope 2013 is full of blessings for you and your family!!

xo,

Jackie

Pika Pika Pikachu!!

{continuation from my last post on 19/12/2012...sorry about the delay!!}

Third sleepless night...

Worked on a fun cake for a very sweet boy who celebrated his 6th birthday on the weekend - Joaquin.  Now, I've had the pleasure of making Joaquin's birthday cake since he was 4.  The very first one I made for him was Bumblebee and this has got to be one of my favourite cakes of all time!!  Then I made a Ben 10 themed one for that same year {for his daycare).  His 5th birthday I made an iPad - I actually had very little time to work on this cake, but still pleased with the way it turned out!  And this year, Joaquin decided he wanted a Pokemon Pikachu cake.  This boy just loves giving me cake challenges I swear!!  But I love him to bits!!  And ultimately all that matters really is the glee that resides in a child's face when they see their birthday cake :-)  It's the best and most precious moment for me!!

Now, I didn't get to take proper photos of the final product...I simply ran outta time!!  While I had the cake {and cupcakes} to make, I was also busy putting together a candy buffet, sorting out games, loot bags and prizes!  I was almost like a headless chicken running around hehe!!  Anyway, I hope ya like the cake!!  Enjoy!!

{Pikachu progress}

{Pokemon ball progress}

{On our way to the party}

{Finally, at the party!!}

{Joaquin blowing out his birthday candles x}

I hope you all enjoyed this {very late} cake feature!!!  I have one more cake to share with you before the year ends, so fingers crossed I get it done soon!!  Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends and have a BLESSED & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

xo,
Jackie

Golden graduation!!

So, last week I made a gold graduation cap for a young lady named Kathryn.  Her lovely Mum Arieta contacted me regarding this special cake that she wanted to surprise her daughter with a few weeks back.  I was excited to make this cake because the last graduation cap I made was over a year ago, and that one was not covered in fondant like this one.  And this cap was ALL GOLD!!  So I had fun painting and creating a beautiful vintage look to it to give it some character {to represent the hard work and time Kathryn invested in her studies in order to make it to the end!}.

Now, this cake was a huge challenge for me.  It's been extremely hot lately, and while I'm not complaining about the beautiful weather we've been getting, it just makes cake decorating that much more challenging.  For the first time I had something horrible happen to my cake.  It was pretty devastating actually...and I remember crying so much last week when it happened.  Crying more because I felt helpless because it was beyond my control...and I felt bad for Arieta who drove a very long way to collect the cake.  Oh, and plus the fact that it took sooo looong to put together :-(  To cut a long story short, the chocolate ganache melted underneath the fondant and caused it to shift.  Gravity then took over and the fondant cracked in two places then drooped down.  It was pretty ugly.  Thankfully Arieta was very understanding and allowed me to work on it that night {second sleepless night in a row}.  My family and I dropped the cake off the following morning, after I stripped everything off and started over, adding necessary reinforcements to ensure it didn't happen again.

This experience was a blessing in disguise.  It taught me a few things about myself, cakes, and people, and most importantly reminded me to lean on the Lord's strength instead of my own.  Sometimes we just have to go through unpleasant circumstances in order to come out on top.

Congratulations on your accomplishment Kathryn!!  And all the best for your future!!

I hope you enjoyed today's cake feature!!  Come back tomorrow for a fun kids cake that I made on the weekend {making it my third sleepless night in a row - yikes!!}  Can't wait to share it with you!!

Have a blessed day!!

xo,
Jackie

Farewell Summerland!!

It's been a wonderful journey!

My oldest son has farewelled his school last week as he will be going to intermediate next year.  It was a very emotional time for him.  Summerland was and is an amazing school!  He grew up there, with all the wonderful teachers and awesome friends he got to meet along his journey from a new entrant to a Year 6 student.  Javaughn has touched the lives of many and will be missed by his teachers and peers.

To show his love to his classroom and teacher this year, he asked me to put together a Summerland themed cake with cupcakes.  Although I was pressed for time, I still wanted to create something very special because it was very important to my son.  So here's how it went down...enjoy x

Chocolate cake and Vanilla bean cupcakes xo

It was a fun afternoon, especially when we all played NINJA TAG!!

Yup!  That's my boy with the yellow arrow...on his broken leg!!  I don't know eh...

And here are some home-made sugar cookies and candy canes packaged for his classmates to take with them as a Christmas/Goodbye present!

And some for his teachers...

These were individual cupcakes for my twins Javier and Carlyle's teachers - teacher appreciation gifts...

Hope you enjoyed today's post!  Come back tomorrow for another really cool cake!!  Can't wait to share this one with you!!

xo,
Jackie

Baubles baubles {Part Two}

What a crazy week we had last week, huh?  With tornadoes and all!  So sad to hear about the lives lost from that scary day, but also from all the wrecked homes that families couldn't go home to.  My thoughts and prayers are with all of you.  Let's hope for continued beautiful sunny days like today from here on in!

Remember, last week I shared Part One of my bauble series?  Well, today, I'd like to share Part Two with you.  I know, I know, I was supposed to share this with you last Friday...so sorry!!  This project is my favourite because it's so simple, unique, and you can get your kiddies involved!!  Plus it's sooo much fun and adds such a different look and feel to your Christmas tree!  {Note: just be careful with the glass bauble if getting little kids involved, because they will break if dropped on hard flooring - speaking from experience here, hehe}.

Depending on how thick your paint is, allow at least a couple of days to dry.  If you want to be safe, leave it for about a week to ensure complete dryness!

Now, feel free to give this project a go with your family and don't forget to share your final projects with me here!  Can't wait to see what you all come up with!!

Have a blessed day and week!!  See you back here tomorrow!!

xo,
Jackie

Baubles baubles {Part One}

Today I am excited to share some craftivities with you perfect for Christmas!!  They are simple to do and sooo much fun to make!  Plus, they look awesomely great!!

First, you'll need clear glass bauble tree ornaments.  Now, if you're in NZ these babies may be a little hard to find.  I found mine over a month ago at our local Spotlight.  You may be able to find them elsewhere, but where I am that's pretty much the only place I could get them.

There were plenty of things I wanted to try out, but decided on just a couple that would look best with our origami themed Christmas tree this year.  My oldest son {Jubs} has really been into making all sorts of origami {thanks to his Tita Kat who helped rekindle his love for it} and so that's how our origami themed tree came about.

Today, I'd like to share with you Part One of our Bauble series!

Here are three glass baubles with my boys' initials -
{Javaughn Canaan, Javier Stanley & Carlyle Micah}

Fill'em with stars, giv'em a li'l shake, and you've got yourself your very own personalised starry bauble!!

I made six of these in total - Nesi {our family name}, Mum, Dad, Jc, Js and Cm.  Just a little something personal and special to go on our tree.  Hope you liked today's DIY feature!  Feel free to use this idea for your own family and be sure to send me a pic when you're done!!  I can't wait to share with you Part Two tomorrow!!

Stay safe out there on the roads guys!  Praying that this stormy weather will come to pass soon.

xo,
Jackie

November 2012 in a glimpse...

Whoa!!!  It is now December!!!  How crazy is that?  I can't believe this year is almost over!!  Just reflecting back on the year I am grateful to the Lord for keeping my family and I safe and happy.  Even through all the challenges we faced this year {and trust me, there were heaps} we are still smiling :-)  Challenges are great because you know God is working through you, moulding you to a better person.  So, don't think you're unlucky if you haven't had a great year, just think you are blessed that God loves you enough to help you work through some things that need to be addressed to help you with your tomorrow.

Anyway, let us take a quick look at what fun we got up to last month, shall we?

Caylan's 2nd Birthday

Fabulous Fifty

Hunter's 1st Birthday

Pinkalicious Winners xo

Eleanor's 5th Birthday {Part One}

Sebastian's 12th Birthday

Eleanor's 5th Birthday {Part Two}

Cupcakes

What a delightfully sweet month we've had, huh?  Hoping that December will be one awesome month, too!!  Hope you've had fun looking back at our November together!  See you back here soon with some fun Christmas craftivities!!  Can't wait!!

xo,
Jackie

Cupcakes

Keepin' it short and sweet today guys!!  Just wanted to share some cupcakes with you that I've made recently...vanilla with {fresh} strawberry buttercream and red velvet with whipped cream cheese!  Two of my personal favourites xo  And they are both available at my Christmas Cupcakes Special!!  So, if you live in Auckland, or have loved ones that live here, then be sure to grab a box {or two} to add something sweet this Christmas!!  Just a reminder that I only use cage-free SPCA approved eggs in all my baking, so you're also making a difference when buying any of my baked goods!!  How awesome is that?

Have a fantastic Friday guys!!  See you back here next week!!  {Can you believe it's December tomorrow??  Exciting!!!}

xo,
Jackie

Happy 5th Birthday Eleanor {part 2}

Good Monday Thursday everyone!!  {Yes, I originally planned for this post to go out Monday morning, but due to a few technical problems, it was delayed to today}.  Anyway!!  I am excited to share with you the third cake {within two weeks} I got to make for the lovely Moka.  This cake is for her {very lucky} niece, Eleanor.  You're probably thinking, didn't she already make that Fifi cake for this girl last week?  Well, yes I did, but Moka wanted a second cake for their second celebration {this time with Eleanor's friends}.  I really loved making this cake!!  I hope you like it, too x

                 
Although you can't see it clearly on the photos, this cake is very sparkly, because what's a Tinkerbell cake without her fairy dust, right?

Hope you enjoyed today's cake feature!!  Have a wonderful Thursday!!

xo,
Jackie

P.S. They are filming {again} on our street today!  The last time we had deers walking along our street, today we have cars.  I swear this street is so famous!!  If you've been to my place, you can agree it looks just like Desperate Housewives' Wisteria Lane.  Don't think I'm allowed to reveal what they're filming for, but it's pretty cool!!  Whole street is blocked off from 7am-6pm. :-D 

Happy 12th Birthday Sebastian!!

Yesterday was my cousin Sebastian's twelfth birthday.  A big group of us {pretty much the whole family} went to see Madagascar at the movies, then had BK for dinner afterwards.  The movie was so cool and the fact that we had the whole theatre to ourselves made it even cooler!!

Because everything was kind of planned in the last minute, I only {and barely} had time to whip up a simple birthday cake.  Seb loves Call of Duty {it's a game} and so I asked his older sister Criselda for some ideas and links to different images I could use as inspiration to get started.  Time was very limited, so I decided to just make the logo "MW3" {which stands for Modern Warfare 3}.  Even this took too much time {lol}!!  But I am glad I included it anyway because it was something  Seb happily recognised immediately :-)

A very simple last-minute cake that got sniffed within seconds after Seb blew out his birthday candles {as in actually!!!}

And here's Javs "in action" as soon as he discovered the birthday cake...lol...

Our fambam at the movies!  That's not everyone by the way! :-)

Well, there you have it!  A simple but still-pretty-cool birthday cake!!  Hope you enjoyed this post!!  Be sure to come back tomorrow for some cupcakes!!  Nom nom nom...

xo,

Jackie