Since I started posting pictures of my cakes and other treats on my facebook page, I've gotten a few requests from friends that I haven't seen in a while, which is so fun. This one came from Alissa, a wonderful now-mom-of-two who I totally looked up to at summer camp every year when I was a kid. She was the super mature Junior Counselor when I was an impressionable young camper, and I just thought Alissa was the coolest. We haven't seen each other much in the intervening years, but we've kept in touch via facebook and I was so happy when she asked me to do a cake for her son Nate's 2nd birthday. Kids' cakes are always so fun to do.
Nate is a big fan of trucks. Dump trucks, garbage trucks, fire trucks, you name it, if it has a bunch of wheels and is kinda big and noisy, he loves it. Alissa gave me free reign to decide what kind of truck to feature, and since I am a fan myself of firetrucks (well...maybe I'm more interested in the firemen, but their trucks are cool too), I decided to go with that. I found a few great inspirational pictures on the internet, Alissa and I decided on one to base the cake on, and here is the result!! It was one of the funnest cakes I've worked on so far. The skills I learned playing with FIMO clay as a kid came in handy for making the fireman, hydrant and the truck. So fun. I delivered the cake this morning and Nate loved it!! He kept pointing at the cake and saying "Firetruck!" and "Look, the man!" I was thrilled with his reaction. Here are some more pictures...
Here's a good view of the whole thing. I liked using a big cake board to set the scene.
This cutie-patootie fireman is squelching those flames!
Look at this stud. Maybe I should have made him wink.
Fire hydrant. Can't fight a fire without one!
The firetruck= the star of the show!
Side view
And don't forget about the ladder!
All in all I think this is one of my best cakes ever, and it was also one of the most fun to make. Thanks, Alissa, for the project, and Happy Birthday, Nate!!
I know that as I write this post, back-to-school sales are in full
everywhere are relishing the last few weeks of freedom before heading back to their desks. But I'm waaaaay behind on my blogging, so let me take you back to a happier time, when 8 weeks of sun, sand and relaxation were ahead of us...ahhhh, the memories.
Jessica baked these adorable cupcakes to go along with the cake. Yum!
Here's the birthday boy with his mom. Looks like they had a great day celebrating his first year on Earth. Here's to 100 more, Sam!!
Here's a view of the saloon and general store. I named them after Dave and all things related to him and his birthday.
Here is the "40 Bottles Saloon." I love the curtains ;)
Dave's General Store.
Emerson Stables was my favorite part. I love horses! Making horse bodies out of anything edible is basically impossible (unless they're lying down, but who's ever seen a horse lying down in the middle of a bustling Western town?), so I opted to have their heads poking out of their stables. Coincidentally, this is also how I used to draw horses as a kid, because I can't draw! I'd draw their heads peaking out from the edge of the paper. Full circle moment.
Close up on Mr. Ed.
The town was celebrating Dave's birthday too ;)
And what Western Town would be complete without some Cacti??
Dave was excited to see the cake when he picked it up, and says that it was a big hit at the party!
So my cousin's daughter Kallie loves her birthdays almost as much as I love mine. She started planning this, her third birthday party, as soon as her second birthday had passed. We are definitely related. This year, Kallie decided to have a Strawberry Shortcake birthday. I thought, "oh yay! I loved Strawberry Shortcake as a kid. This will be fun." So I went online to get some inspiration and was surprised by what I found. My old friend Strawberry Shortcake was...different. It's been 20 years, and I guess SSC wasn't loving the way she was aging, so she had some work done. For a reminder, this is what she used to look like:
Remember her trip to the Big Apple to compete in a baking competition? Ahhh...childhood. Well, the new Strawberry Shortcake might be more likely to compete in a beauty competition. Take a look:
Oh Strawberry! How you've changed. I'm really not ok with this. I could write a whole other post about what this says about the over sexualization of young girls in America or the media's ideas of what beauty is...but let's just get back to the cake for now. Kallie is more familiar with this new Strawberry Shortcake, so that's what I based the cake on.
Here's a view of the front. Love the bright colors.
She got comfortable on a patch of strawberries.
She brought her pets Pupcake and Custard to the party. While she's always had Custard, she must have adopted Pupcake after her facelift.
While it's definitely not a traditional cake decorating method, I used a sticker for her face ;) I couldn't get it right when I tried making it out of gumpaste and I decided it would be more important to Kallie that it looked like Strawberry than that I'd made it totally edible.
Close up on Pupcake and Custard!
Here's a good view of the whole thing. I liked using a big cake board to set the scene.
This cutie-patootie fireman is squelching those flames!
Look at this stud. Maybe I should have made him wink.
Fire hydrant. Can't fight a fire without one!
The firetruck= the star of the show!
Side view
And don't forget about the ladder!
