Gatsby-inspired 21st Birthday Cupcakes

Before I wrote this post, I wanted to get into the right head space...in this case, I needed to bust out some moves to Fergie's "A little party never killed nobody {all we got}".  Fun times...hehehe.

Anyway, today I am excited to share with you a Gatsby-inspired cupcake tower I created earlier this month for the beautiful Amber-rose.  I think it's such a fun 21st birthday theme, definitely a great way to go crazy on pearls and bling and anything glam!!  Maybe an idea for my 30th next year?  We'll see...

Amber-rose's Mum was actually the one who contacted me and told me about the birthday theme, so I was so excited to get working!  I created everything from the cupcakes to the toppers.  It was labour-some but fun, and the end result - so worth it!  Here's how she looked!  Enjoy xo

Let's check her out from the top, shall we?

I just love how the acrylic tier stand makes this whole thing look classy!  So worth investing in one!

Some of the cupcake had toppers with Amber-rose's initials and age...and some had fun tassle flags.

Here are the cupcakes packed up and ready to go...

Cupcakes were chocolate with chocolate ganache center and fluffy vanilla bean buttercream frosting, and red velvet with a light whipped cream cheese frosting.  Nom nom nom!!

I hope you enjoyed today's SECOND post!  And, nothing related, but just cute to share.  Since I started writing this up this morning I had my boy Carlyle on my lap.  He is very clingy to Mummy today.  I love it but my leg is dead...hahaha.  And now enters Javier.  Definitely not gonna be able to use my legs today.  LOL.

Have an awesome day guys!!  See you back here tomorrow with maybe another double post!

xo,
Jackie

Manuia lou aso fanau Cynthia!

Talofa!  To those of you who have no clue what that title is all about, it says 'Happy birthday Cynthia!' {in Samoan}.  Let me tell you, I was beyond excited when I received this cake request a month ago.  My friend Lupe emailed me requesting a cake like the Pasifika one I made for the lovely Asa's 70th birthday last year.  That cake was truly one of my proudest and most defining moments as a self-taught cake artist.  It's something that I haven't seen before and I'm just so proud to call it my own.  

This cake is very similar, but with more of a Samoan twist.  What makes my Pasifika cake so special is 

the woven basket and hibiscus flowers {all handmade and edible}, which I definitely had to include in this cake.  Having to work with two tiers, I needed another design element to bring this cake to full life.  So, I decided to include some Samoan patterns in the mix, and my inspiration came from the 'taulima' {which is the Samoan tattoo} and 'tapa cloth'.  I also included a Samoan necklace that I draped on the side of the bottom tier.  I own this particular one {being married to a Samoan I was bound to have one in my jewellery collection hehe}, so it was really great to have on hand to work off.  

Cynthia actually went to my high school, so I know her, which makes this cake that much more special.  So much heart went into the creative process of this cake, so I really hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed bringing it to life! xo

I also made a dozen chocolate cupcakes and decorated them with edible images.  Now, I don't print on edible sheets {I don't have the equipment for that}, so I had to order these in {and Lupe provided me with the photos}.  What I did have to do was cut the pictures out individually then adhere them onto a piece of white fondant so that they don't just melt into my chocolate buttercream.  Please excuse the blurry photo below :-/

Here is a collage of the cake's progress for those of you who like to see these sort of details...

Well, I hope you enjoyed today's second post!  I'm so happy to have finally shared these two cakes with you before the weekend!  I've been so busy with my own family that trying to get these two posts out today were a real mish.  But, never mind that!  The important thing is we got there in the end and I hope it was worth the wait!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  Stay warm and dry and keep smilin'!  God bless you all!

xo,

Jackie

Happy 5th Birthday Selah!

So, as promised, I was going to feature two big cakes today that I made recently.  The first one I want to share with you is Selah's 5th birthday cake with a Spiderman theme.  The lovely Shaye {who I made the Sesame Street themed 'Elmo Cookie' cake for a year ago} contacted me again from Oz for another big and fun cake order.  I was so excited to work with this theme because, strangely enough, I have NEVER made a Spiderman cake before!  It's strange because I know a lot of my nephews {and trust me I have PLENTY} love this character, but when it comes to making their cakes they choose a different theme!  Now, I'm not gonna lie, I experienced some challenges with this cake, but this I absolutely LOVE because that means there's opportunity for me to learn and grow :-)  In case you're wondering what I'm talking about, let's just say there was supposed to be a big spider where the number '5' is.  It took me ages to cut it out of fondant, then I had to wait for it to dry for a couple of days, and when it was finally time to apply onto the cake, the {brittle} legs broke to what looked like a million pieces :-(.

Anyway, 'nuff said.  Time to meet SPIDERMAN!  Enjoy xo

I just realised that some of the pics on the gif below was cut :-/ so you won't get to see the whole thing...oops!

Oh, and before I forget!  I also made a dozen Spiderman themed cupcakes to surround the cake.  I had fun making these fondant toppers...however, my hubby wasn't too keen on the spiders {they totally freak him out!}.

And underneath the fondant toppers were delicious chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream in blue.

I hope you enjoyed today's {very late but oh-so-worth-it} cake and cupcakes feature!  I'll be quickly working on the second big cake I wanted to share with you, so hopefully it'll be up before midnight! LOL

Have an awesome Friday guys!!  See you soon!!

xo,
Jackie

Designer cupcakes

A couple of weekends ago I made a batch of Coco Chanel themed cupcakes for a joint birthday celebration.  The lovely Angela emailed me what she wanted and asked if I could take on her last minute request.  Funnily enough, I actually have met her a couple of times through my awesome neighbours, and she is so wonderful!  Of course, I wanted to do her this favour.

She wanted red velvet cupcakes with whipped cream cheese frosting, topped with fondant CC cake toppers in black and white.  I made white circles with a quilting impression and black CCs, but I also made two black versions with white CCs for the two birthday celebrants {just to make theirs stand out from the rest}.  I had a fun putting these together!  I hope to get the opportunity to make them again but with even more details, such as flowers and pearls, and even cute little bags and makeup :-)  Maybe when my niece Chanel hits her teens ;-P

Well, here they are, my very first designer cupcakes!  Enjoy xo

And here are some progress shots of these delicious cupcakes...

Red Velvet with whipped cream cheese frosting...simply heaven in your mouth!

I hope you enjoyed today's cupcake feature!  See you back here for even more yummy creations soon!!

xo,
Jackie

Mini cupcakes

Hey guys!  I hope you've all been keeping well!  As you may have noticed I've been MIA for a while, but that's what happens when life happens :-)  Just so you know, I am well and happy and feel blessed each new day :-)

I have some cupcakes to share with you today that I made a couple of weeks ago.  These mini cupcakes were made for my friend Tamara at Photobooth Auckland.  She featured my Cake Central Magazine wedding cake and mini cupcakes at this year's 'The Grand Wedding Expo' held at Sky City.  I must admit, that was pretty darn exciting for me because it was my very first time to be involved in such a popular event :-)  Thanks again Tamara and your team for your love and support xo

I didn't get to take photos at the actual expo because I got sidetracked with all the other beautiful and yummy things over there, hehe.  So, here are a couple I took the night before.  Simple yet scrumptious!  Enjoy xo

I hope you enjoyed today's cupcake feature!  See you back here this week for more cupcakes!

Have a blessed day!!

xo,
Jackie

Happy 16th Criselda!!

Last weekend my dear cousin Criselda turned sweet sixteen!!  She is addicted to KPop and Anime, more specifically BIG BANG {Korean boy group} and Sword Art Online character Kirito.  This cake had to incorporate these two things that play such a big part in her life right now.  After watching countless music video clips of Big Bang, and browsing through images of Kirito, I came up with a mash of shapes and colours that I felt best portrayed these two things.  It was such a fun cake to put together!!  Hope you like it just as much as the birthday girl did :-P

Rainbow batter paint :-P

Baked rainbow layers

Sketch of Kirito

And now, the FUNKY SIXTEEN cake!!

My gorgeous cousin Criselda with her birthday cake xo

Family photo :-)

Let's not forget our fluffy Mango to complete this family photo :-)

Inside the top tier...rainbow goodness!!

Click 'Read More' after the break to see the rainbow cupcakes I made {and forgot to bring to the party} lol...

Oh Girl!!

Shux!!  It's been a while, huh?  I hope you've been well and life has been nothing but amazing for ya!  If not, I pray that it gets better :-)

Today, I am excited to share with you some cute mini girly cupcakes I made a few weeks ago for my friend Kaleena.  It was her sister's baby shower and she wanted girly cupcakes to serve to her guests!  I had such a fun time putting these wee cuties together because of the fun vibrant colours!  I've been meaning to share these with ya since I made them, but y'know how wonderfully busy life can get for a stay-at-home Momma!!  :-)

Enjoy xo

Aren't they cute?  Kaleena said everyone enjoyed them so yay!!

And here's a quick batch of kid-friendly monster cupcakes I made for my nephew Addy's 4th birthday that same weekend...

He absolutely LOVED them!!  Happy nephew, happy aunty :-D

Well, I hope you enjoyed today's cupcake feature!!  Can't wait to get back into more baking and creating and share them with you!!

Have a fab day!!

xo,

Jackie

Happy 11th birthday to my Jubs!!

Is it March already?  I can't believe it!!  I've decided I won't be doing a February monthly glimpse, because my posts are running behind schedule, so I'll be combining Feb with March instead :-)  Hope you don't mind :-P

Today, I get to share with you my oldest boy's birthday highlights!  Javaughn {aka Jubs} turned 11 on the 23rd of Feb, and this year his birthday landed on a Saturday which was great!!  We kicked the day off at Megazone {Mt. Wellington}, where we played laser tag, dodgem cars, laser web missions, and arcade games.  It was awesome!!  

BEFORE laser tag...nice and dry :-)

Laser web mission - The yellow arrow is pointing to my cousin Criselda...you can see her legs and that's about it lol

Dodgem cars

AFTER laser tag...nice and sweaty :-)

The very happy 11 year old xo

Soon after we went to my sister's place for a feed and of course, some cake!  Now, this cake/cupcakes/brownies were only baked that very same day, as in, while we were at my sister's place with everyone around.  I was feeling run down days leading up to his birthday so I really couldn't work on it in advance.  Let's just say I prefer baking alone, lol.  I forgot to add a couple of things, like baking powder and baking soda, but did my best to rectify the situation {I mixed it in the batter after it had already been baking for 15 minutes...eek!}  These are the things you SHOULD NOT DO by the way.  Just as well, it turned out ok...that's the best word I can come up with.  Nobody seemed to notice...either that or they were too polite to say anything, haha!

This cake was super simple to make!  All you need are three {square} layers of your favourite chocolate cake, fill with chocolate buttercream {or ganache}, then frost with {green} vanilla buttercream {use a 'grass' tip}.  And that's it!!  I made Jubs' favourite vanilla cupcakes to surround the cake, and that was also frosted with 'grass' {I even ran out of green icing so I ended up using the remaining chocolate buttercream I used to fill the cake with for a couple of the cupcakes}.  So simple, yet effective!!  And best of all, the birthday boy LOVED it!!  That's all the matters in the end :-)

Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure, enjoy xo

{posterised version}

Minecraft cupcakes

The very happy birthday boy :-)

Jubs blowing out his candles with some of his cousins

Minecraft cake all cut up and ready to serve...

Minecraft dirt brownies...thanks to my helper Trisha :-)

 Click on 'read more' to see more pics...

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