25 years in love...

Last weekend I made three cakes.  The first one was Alexis' Pocoyo birthday cake, and the second one was my cousin Gabriel's 21st birthday cake & cupcakes tower.  The third and final cake I made was for my neighbours' parents 25th wedding anniversary, which is what I'm featuring today.  What a special and momentous occasion to celebrate!!  I remember when my hubs and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary last year!  It was such an amazing time for us!  So, being asked to make a cake for this special occasion was super exciting for me :-)

My friend Lisa didn't really have any ideas in terms of design, but she did know that the cake had to be chocolate, square, with the colours white and silver.  So, I had more than enough to start with, and after some brainstorming, I definitely wanted to create something elegant.  I hope you like it!!

And here are some instagram shots for your viewing pleasure...

I hope you enjoyed today's {second} cake feature!!  Looking forward to Feb, because that's one very busy cake month for me!!  And it's all for family, too!!  Including all three of my boys :-)

Have a fab Friday and enjoy your long weekend!!

xo,
Jackie

P.S. Kids start school next week!!  Eeek!!  Are you ready?

Happy 21st Gabriel!!

Last weekend we celebrated my cousin Gabriel's 21st birthday.  He usually resides in Dunedin, so having him here is such a special treat!!  I made him a classic red velvet cake {because that's his favourite} and a tower of mini chocolate cupcakes {for all the guests}.  I was so busy snapping pics with his camera that I only ended up with two on my phone...oops!  So, I took the liberty of grabbing one pic from Facebook {with Gabriel, his sister Pearl and me} to share with you.  Enjoy xo

From left to right: Me, my cousins Gabriel and Pearl

Simple, yet satisfying!  Hope you enjoyed today's cake feature!!  Will be posting another cake up later, so stay tuned!!

xo,
Jackie

Happy 2nd Birthday Alexis!!

Good morning peeps!!  Sorry I haven't been around much lately.  Just been enjoying my time with my boys that by the time they're tucked in bed, I'm super exhausted!!  Plus, I recently joined the gym...need I say more?  Haha.  No, but in all honesty I love it and although it feels like I'm dying each class I attend, I feel more energised and alert.   Maximus Fitness is amazing!  The trainers really push you to your limits, and are very friendly and encouraging.  It has a very family and community feel to it, too, which is not like your typical gym.  I know I've only just started, but I'm so excited for this new journey that I had to share it with you!!

Anyway, the main point of today is to share with you a really fun cake I got to make last weekend for a girl named Alexis.  She recently turned two and absolutely loves the cartoon POCOYO.  I actually wasn't familiar with Pocoyo, but it was definitely no excuse for me to turn this cake request down.  Thanks to Google I was able to learn about this cute li'l character and his friends.

So, without further ado, here's Pocoyo!!  Enjoy :-)

And here are some details...

My hand-crafted 'Alexis' stencil

 I hope you enjoyed today's cake feature!  Be sure to come back tomorrow for another one!!  Actually, another TWO!!  Have a terrific Thursday!!

See ya soon,
Jackie xo

Happy Birthday Dad xo

Last week we celebrated my Dad's birthday.  It was simple but filled with love.  I whipped up a mocha cake for him with a heart {as per Mum's request} and we surprised him when he arrived home from work {at 11pm}.  My youngest brother Jan cooked a beautiful carbonara, too, and man it was sooooooo goood!  Straight to the hips!!! :-D

Here are some highlights of the {late} night.  Enjoy x

I had these really cool {natural} blue heart sprinkles that I used for the first time.

Chocolate cake + coffee buttercream = Mocha cake :-) Nom nom nom...

And here we have Dad with some of his grandchildren...

My cute nephew Jaden blowing out Dad's birthday candle :-)

Hope you enjoyed today's post!  See you back here soon with more sweet creations!!  Have a fab day!!

xo,
Jackie

Happy 5th birthday Tyler!!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of making my first birthday cake of the year!!  It was for my friend Carissa's son Tyler who turned FIVE!  He specifically wanted a Transformers cake with both Optimus Prime and Bumblebee.  And he wanted "the same lady who made Caylan's cake" to make his birthday cake.  I thought that was too cute!!

So, I thought, what would be a cool way to incorporate these two characters on a cake?  After some thinking {on paper} I finally came up with a design that I really liked.  Honestly, it took a lot of thinking to get to this sketch...because I just had so many other ideas floating in my head.

So, without further ado, my first official cake for 2013, here is my Transformers cake!

I hope you enjoyed today's cake feature!!  Looking forward to sharing many more cakes with you this year!!  I have a feeling it's going to be a GREAT year!!

xo,
Jackie

Here's part of a message I received from Carissa...
A big thank you once again for another one of your awesome creations. Tyler was super impressed by his Optimus / bumble bee transformers cake  and as per usual all the cake was demolished. 

Jackie's Top Twelve in 2012...

I found it very difficult choosing only ONE favourite cake per month...I really enjoyed making all of them!!  That's why you'll see that there are actually thirteen here, hehe.  Hope you enjoy my top faves of 2012!!

JANUARY

Chanel's Doggy Bag birthday cake

FEBRUARY

My twins' Lightning-Mater 3rd birthday cake

MARCH

Xanda's iPod touch 18th birthday cake

APRIL

Rose wedding cake

MAY

My husband and I's 10 year wedding anniversary cake

JUNE

Mr. Fletcher's farewell cake

JULY

Kaati's 30th Timberland boot birthday cake

& my Cake Central Magazine feature OF COURSE!!!

AUGUST

Asa's 70th Pasifika birthday cake

SEPTEMBER

Seth Isaac's 1st Thor birthday cake

OCTOBER

Lauriana's 5th Wonder Woman birthday cake

NOVEMBER 

Hunter's 1st Lion King birthday cake

DECEMBER

Kathryn's Graduation cap & scroll cake

And just for fun, I checked out my audience stats and was surprised to see the following in their order {with the first as being my most popular audience}.

JACKIE'S TOP TEN AUDIENCE

1. United States
2. New Zealand
3. Russia
4. United Kingdom
5. Australia
6. Canada
7. India
8. France
9. Malaysia
10. Philippines

I wonder what 2013 will bring?  Can't wait!!

xo,
Jackie

December 2012 in a glimpse...

Happy new year peeps!!  It is officially the first day of 2013, can you believe it?  What a blasting 2012 we've had!!  Let's now take a moment to look back at what we got up to last month {or dare I say last year, hehe}

We kicked December off with some Christmas craftivities, making our very own baubles!!

Bauble Part One

Bauble Part Two

We farewelled my son's Primary school, Summerland...

 ...and gave teacher appreciation gifts to his teachers and also to my twins' daycare teachers...

Then we had the Golden Graduation cap and scroll to celebrate Kathryn's accomplishment...

Celebrated Joaquin's 6th birthday with a Pokemon Pikachu cake...

...and celebrated Carson's 9th birthday Ninjago styles!

Last but not least, we ended the month with Christmas cake and cupcakes!!  Nom nom nom...

What a deliciously creative month we had!!  I am sooo excited to face new challenges and learn new things this new year!!  So far, it's been a wonderful start to 2013!!  Looking forward to what comes next!!  Thanks for sticking with me, you're a true pal!!

xo,
Jackie