All you need is Love :)

I LOVE Valentines Day! It's always been one of my favorite days. I was that kid in middle school.... ok, maybe even high school, that would be handing out handmade valentines to everyone I knew. I would stay up to 1..2..3am in the morning finishing all of them. I love making other people smile and I know how wonderful it feels to have someone do something special for you, just because they care :). It's not about the fancy flowers or decadent chocolates...although, very nice (and always appreciated!)... it's about L-O-V-E. And I am blessed that I am loved and have a lot of love to give! 

 I got some fancy new cupcake cups to help make my cupcakes a little more festive for Valentines Day (bought at AC Moore).

I decided to try FUN da-middles box mix. It was easy, fast and surprisingly delicious. It is a yellow cake with a chocolate filling. I used vanilla buttercream for the frosting with edible pearls and clear sugar sprinkles.

 

 

 

 

Much love and sweet days ahead! xoxo Jess

Lazy Daisy

I didn't realize how long it has been since I updated...I am a little low on time, so I'm gonna be a slacker and post all of my creations at once.. Holidays are like time warps! Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, there is a long list of things to do... and Birthdays to celebrate! I don't know about you, but so many of my wonderful friends and family happen to have their birthdays within a few weeks of each other. Yikes! I wish I had time to bake everyone a cake... but sadly, around the holidays I am short on cash and time. But trust me, my I.O.U's are redeemable at any other time of the year ;).

 

Happy Birthday Chris! This was a yellow cake with a raspberry filling and buttercream frosting. Soooo delicious! I had no idea what to do for a cake... so, I went with polka dots. I promise I'll be more creative next year baby! xoxo

Pretty as Pie!

Normally, I decorate cakes or cupcakes... but I was baking for Thanksgiving and I thought to myself, "hey! why not decorate my pumpkin pie?"A strange thought, probably brought on by delirium that comes with the exhaustion of preparing for the holidays.... but I am pleased with my pretty pumpkin pie!

Zebra Cake

So, as I've mentioned before, I am in love with Ace of Cakes, Cake Boss and Cupcake Wars. I was super excited to see some new cake mixes made by Duff from Ace of Cakes- including this awesome Zebra Cake Mix!! So, the box mix consisted of a white cake and a chocolate cake mix. After preparing each separately, all you have to do is take a scoop of chocolate and put a scoop of the white mix on top and repeat this until all of the batter is gone. Each scoop pushes out the layers underneath and creates zebra stripes! So awesome!

I covered the cake in fondant and then painted black icing dye onto the cake by hand. The yellow roses are made with fondant as well. 

(By the way, it's covered and filled with chocolate frosting!) Happy 21st Birthday Melanie!
 
My Family's Christmas Swedish Rice :) I figured I'd share this with you. Every year, My Mom makes the rice pudding. This year, she wanted to teach my nieces about our family traditions, so we all got a turn at stirring the rice! A lot of rice, milk, sugar and several hours of stirring later... you can dig in and enjoy!

Thundercat Logo Birthday Cake!

Happy Birthday Aaron!
 

 

Chocolate Cake with vanilla frosting, covered in red colored white chocolate