Jubs' Quest party!!

Sing it with me...

Party rock is in the house tonight
Everybody just have a good time
And we gonna make you lose your mind
We just wanna see ya...shake that!

Now shuffle!!

Okay, so, on the weekend we had a very special birthday party for my oldest son's10th birthday!  He absolutely loves Quest Crew from America (who also won America's Best Dance Crew).  That's what he wanted his party to be about.  So, secretly, I had been thinking about it since last December.  I emailed their manager and requested for the crew to do a birthday video shout out to Jubs...and guess what?  They did!!  How awesome is that?!  Jubs was over the moon elated and so were Lui and I!  We couldn't believe they actually did it, considering their manager actually turned down other requests for the same thing.  Wow, talk about special!  Quest Crew you guys seriously ROCK!!!

Now, back to the party.  I wanted to really transform the house to make it feel like a Quest party.  But of course, on a budget :-)  I found yellow and purple helium quality balloons at a clearance bin at Spotlight for $5 (for 100 balloons per pack), as well as $1 silver ribbon for the balloon ends.  I reused the 'celebrate' banner that I bought for $1 (also from a clearance bin at Spotlight) last December for hubby's birthday.  I cut out some black cardboard/paper that I already had and made it into a 'birthday' bunting, which I then painted the letters on with aged silver paint.  I found some unused blank DVDs, which was purple on one side (perfect for the Quest theme), so I used some of that to make the 'J' monogram on the feature wall.  Here are the preparation pics for you to see...

A Quest birthday badge I made for Jubs

Now, excuse the blurry photo...

Jubs after opening his Quest pack from America along with his new hair cut :-)

As much as I would love to say I hired a helium tank for the party, it never made it to our budget lol (especially with all three of our boys' birthdays on the same month).  So, my helium balloons were 'faux', hehe.  I simply taped the balloons to the ceiling.  It's an old trick I've had for a while, and nobody every notices (except when they pull one from the ceiling then my secret's revealed!).  I think it's a very clever idea and I heart it!!

Now, you have to click 'READ MORE' below to see the cake and some more highlights from the party!! Including Jubs dancing with his Uncle Jan (from Prestige dance crew).

To our Jubs...

Dear Jubs,

What an incredible young man you turned out to be! Not only are you an awesome son and big brother, you are also a wonderful friend. You never fail to amaze us at the things you do - your drawing, your dancing, your determination and love of learning. We are so blessed to have you in our lives. You fill our home with joy and laughter, and even when it's gray, you make it feel sunny! We are very proud of you and love you beyond comprehension! And like I used to read to you when you were just a little boy, "I love you to the moon and back". Happy 10th birthday son! May God bless you abundantly this day and the days to come.

Lots of love,
Mum, Dad, Javier and Carlyle
xo

P.S. I found this super cute old video of you...:-)

Happy 80th birthday Lola Pacita!

Last weekend, not only did I make this Alvin cake for Cylah's 3rd birthday, I also had to make a special birthday cake for my sister-in-law Kat's Grandma.  Two cakes in one long day!  It was a mission, but by God's grace it wasn't impossible.  Kat's Lola (which means Grandma in our language) turned 80.  How awesome is that?  She is a funny lady, and very strong for her age.  I didn't know what kind of cake to make so I asked Kat to give me a list of some of her favourite things.

So, in no particular order we have:

• walking
• gardening
• cigarettes
• wine
• red

I used some of the things on the list as inspiration to get thinking, then sketched a few ideas on my diary that led me to the following three:

1. wine bottle in crate
2. planter box with flowers 
3. gift box with red bow

I really wanted to try the wine bottle in crate.  Time wasn't on my side (when is it ever? lol) but I didn't let that phase me.  Sure, I would have paid even more attention to detail with more time in my hands, but I think what I ended up with was still pretty cool.  Here are some pics for you all to enjoy!  I even gave the pics an old school feel, hope you like it!

Hope you liked today's post!  Sure, there's plenty of room for improvement, but with the time I had to work with, I am darn proud of what I accomplished!  Can't wait to give this cake another go!  

xo

Happy 3rd Birthday Cylah!!

On the weekend I had the pleasure of making (yet another) cake for Cylah.  Cylah is my sister's nephew (her husband's brother's son).  Last year I made him a Woody cake (from Toy Story).  I don't think I've ever shared this cake with you (not on this blog anyway), but this is what it looked like...

This year, Cylah wanted Alvin (y'know, one of the chipmunks).  His family actually approached a local cake shop (that I referred them to) for this cake as I had to turn down the order because I was already committed with my twins' cakes that weekend.  But for some reason the cake shop declined their order as they didn't have an Alvin cake tin.  I understand character shaped tins are ideal because it makes life so much simpler, but I thought they would have offered an alternative.  I, for one, have never used a character tin before.  A lot of my cakes are carved to their desired shape.  I don't own any fancy tins, just your basic rounds and squares.  I definitely plan on investing in more equipment and tools, but for now this is it.  Just as well, they had to move the party to the following weekend (which was the weekend that just passed), so I was free to make Cylah's cake.

I didn't really know what I was going to do, so I brainstormed some ideas and did a few sketches.  After some deep thought, I decided to create a 2D Alvin.  This was a fun cake to do because I got to paint (like I would on canvas).  I really miss painting!  I used to paint a lot.  One of these days I'm sure I will feel inspired to pick up the paintbrush again.  For now, it is cake!

So before I go off onto another tangent, I think it's about time I show you the cake!  Enjoy!!

Hope you liked my Alvin cake!  Come back tomorrow for more goodies!  Can't wait!

xo

Happy 3rd Birthday to my twins!!!

A couple of weekends ago, my family and I celebrated a very special third birthday - our twins' Javier Stanley and Carlyle Micah.  We partied it up at our house Cars styles!

Each year our boys have their birthdays, we take the time to watch this video I made for them.  It's a nice reminder of where they began, and how much they've grown wonderfully since then.  It's also a great testament to our awesome God, who answers prayers and is a miracle worker!  I cry every time I watch this because it brings back very challenging memories during a very surreal time of our lives.  I smile, too, because it is also a reminder of the great joy we experienced throughout this extraordinary journey.

So, without further ado, here are some highlights from their third birthday!  Enjoy!!

The dessert table with all its handmade decor and edible goodies.

Thanks to my sister-in-law Gaile for helping me set this up.  I was running outta time!!

Best buds Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater

Now I experienced a bit of grief with this cake.  I didn't plan on spending too long on it to be honest, until things turned to custard!  And I ended up having to strip the fondant off and start over.  Not really what you wanna do past midnight.  But I'm glad I did, because it looked a whole lot better after the strip.  Sure, it's a bit rough here and there, but overall I was pleased.  The fondant for Tow Mater, for some reason, was cracking and doing all sorts of weird stuff, but after I stepped back to take a look, I thought it looked quite cool with all its flaws.  Definitely suited Mater because he's supposed to be worn and rusty anyway.  Don't you just love it when things work out?!

Thanks to Andrea Sullivan for the inspiration.  Her version of this cake is amazing!

Some decor I made to add some colour to the party.

This is by the entrance, where guests take their party hats from.
I pixelated the mirror so you can't see me taking the photo, hehe.

Jubs copying Tow Mater lol

Click 'read more' below to see more highlights from my boys' party...

BMX Birthday for Tristan!!

First of all, belated Happy Valentine's for yesterday!  I didn't post anything because I was busy spending quality time with my boys in the day, and my man in the night.  I hope your day was filled with sweet laughter and lotsa hugs and kisses!  xo

Ok, so a couple of weeks ago we celebrated my nephew Tristan's 10th birthday.  He wanted a BMX track cake for his birthday, so that's what he got :-)  I'm like the cake fairy that grants cake wishes (within reason, of course, hehe).  So this is what I came up with, after googling real track images (because there were hardly any track cakes I really liked online).

So, here it is, my very first BMX track cake.  Enjoy!!

One of the best things about this cake was that it didn't have to be perfect.  It's supposed to be rough and 'dirty'.  Another great thing about this cake was, there was no fondant involved!  What a nice break from that stuff I tell ya!  No smoothing!

This cake was gone within seconds, literally!  There were a few guests that didn't even get to taste the cake at all.  Well, at least there was no cake wasted :-)

Click after the break to see the birthday boy and some highlights on the BMX track...

Bakery Story...

One thing you probably don't know about me is...

 I own my own bakery.  It's called Jax Cakery.

Well, it's a virtual bakery, so I guess it doesn't really count as 'real'.  It's a game on my hubby's android called Bakery Story.

It's as close to a bakery as I'm gonna get...for now anyway.  It's more of a patience game than anything.  You have to wait for something to bake, or for coffee to brew.  Some take as little as a minute, while others can take up to 2 days.  What do you do in between?  Well, you transform your bakery about a million times, or visit other bakeries and tip them and invite them to be your friend.  I'll share with you some progress pics of my bakery for fun.

So, you will notice some (subtle) changes starting from top left to right.  I wish I had known I could take pics when I first started, then you'd be able to see how basic it was to begin with.  The coins on the tables are tips others have left behind.  You can collect them and earn $ (sadly, even this is virtual...if only...hehe).  You unlock more appliances as you get to a higher level.  You also get to expand your menu, from brownies to red velvet cakes!  And speaking of expansion, you also get the option to expand your bakery - this usually requires gems, which you earn as you master a recipe or reach the next level, but you can also purchase this if you can't wait (but that requires real $).

If you want to play this game, it's free on androids and iphones (well, when we got it it was anyway).  It's highly addictive, so don't say I didn't warn you!

Well, that is all from me today!  Have an awesome day!!  I'll try to give you updates on my bakery more regularly from now on (lol).

xo

January 2012 in a glimpse...

Whoa!!  Hold up!!  It's already February?!  Where did January go?  That was quick!  Oh no, it's almost my boys' birthdays!!  Yes, all THREE of them are on this month - the 12th and 23rd.  Yup, that means busy caking for me :-)  I'm actually pretty excited because we have two really fun themes this year - Cars (for Javier and Carlyle) and Dance (for Javaughn).  Plus Javaughn wants to help with his cake, so it's going to be a collaboration :-)  That boy is pretty gifted when it comes to art, so I'm sure he'd be able to transfer those skills into cake decorating easily.  He is very excited and so am I.  This will be a mother-son bonding time :-)

Anyway, before we jump into February fully, let's take time to reflect on what we did this past month.  I know I started bloggin' late because of the holidays, but we still managed to squeeze in a bit of fun in our short time together I'm sure :-)  Let's take a look shall we?

First I shared with you some Christmas highlights...

Followed by my first cake for the year 2012 - a Chanel cake for Chanel...

Then another cake for another Chanel...

A simple yet tasty birthday cake for my Dad...

Then I changed my blog appearance and a few other bits and bobs...

And remember when I joined the bandwagon of blogdom and posted the Popular Posts of 2011?

And finally, I shared with you my addiction to Retro...

Short and sweet January!  Can't say it'll be the same for February because this month is literally jam-packed with birthdays!  My sons and nephews!  In total, six of them!  Fun, fun, fun!  Speaking of nephews, today is Tristan's 10th birthday and Josiah's 1st birthday!!  Happy birthday my nephews!!  Hope you have a wonderful day!!  Love yaz!!

Well, see you guys later for more sweet treats!!

xo

Somethin' small & sweet...

A couple of days ago I whipped up a small (6") chocolate cake for my sister-in-law Kat's dad's birthday.  It was a last minute request, so I had to keep it simple.  Of course, I also wanted to make it special, so I made a white chocolate round topper for it that covered the top of the cake and piped their personalised message with chocolate.  I also added a sprinkle of edible gold stars and my fringe border around the bottom of the cake to make it more festive because, after all, it is for a birthday celebration :-)  Here are some pics for you all to enjoy!

Have a safe and fun long weekend guys!!  Hopefully the sun will be with us :-)

xo

Happy Birthday Josiah!

On the weekend we celebrated my nephew/godson's first birthday!  We had a safari theme and all the guests came as rangers (y'know, the late Steve Irwin styles).  It was sooo much fun!!  Hubby and I (being the godparents) came as Tarzan and Jane (don't ask how they ended up in the safari...lol) and hosted the whole she-bang.  I must say, I was very impressed with Lui being game enough to wear nothing but a little leopard material wrapped around him like a very small towel.  Some doubted he would actually do it, but he did and he looked awesome!  Here's a pic of us that my sister-in-law Kat took at the party :-)

Tarzan and Jane (or as my hubby calls it 'cave woman' lol)

Now, because I was busy hosting with Tarzan, I didn't get to take many photos.  It was weird not having the camera around my neck.  I'm usually the one with the camera capturing all the precious candid moments, so it was hard to take a step back and just let others do the snapping.  So, to the very few shots I did take during the party, enjoy!

 The following photo includes my dad's arm (that's him attempting to pin back the tree that kept falling, and the 'I' in Josiah's name, too).

And now, here's one with me and my creation...

I will post more highlights of the actual birthday next week once I get hold of the pics others took at the party.  And for tomorrow, I have a sweet little cake to share with you that I made yesterday for a last minute request...see you soon!!

xo

Hitched!

A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure of making a sweet cake for my first-wedding-cake 'client' Deepana.  I was so happy to hear from her and everything she's been up to.  She's one super busy woman I tell ya!  And that's without kids!  She was busy organising a friend's hens night and wanted to order the exact same cake as her wedding (because apparently it was the cake everyone raved about) - woot woot!  That's sooo awesome to hear!!

She wanted this cake to be simple but sweet.  She saw a cake I made for my hubby last year, and wanted the same cake for the hens night.  I must say, I don't think I've ever recreated a cake I've made.  I'm like a designer that creates one-off pieces, as opposed to mass-production, lol.  But it was actually quite nice because as I was making it it reminded me of the feeling I got when I was making it for my hubby - that "lovin' feelin'" hehe.  Definitely suited the occasion!

So, without further ado, here's the LOVE cake (but a more polished version to the first one I made)...

Hope you enjoyed this post guys!  I'll be back some time this week to show you the cake I made for my nephew/godson Josiah's first birthday!!  Stay tuned!!

xo