Cakes, Cakes, Glorious Cakes

It's been a busy few weeks.

Work has been zapping a lot of my energy...so much so that I've not spent nearly enough time dedicated to you wonderful readers. I have been so busy with life, working hard, celebrating the warm weather, baking and decorating that I've cut out some of my time in front of the computer (aka bringing tasty posts to a computer near you).

Even though the posts are not as regular, I promise you the baking is still going strong so they recipes will eventually be coming your way.

In addition to the personal baking, there also seems to be a correlation between warmer months and number of cakes decorated. I already have 5 wedding cakes lined up for the coming months (including my own!) and the orders keep coming in!

Speaking of which I also want to let everyone know that I've created a website dedicated strictly to my cakes: sweetsbye.weebly.com. It not only showcases the different cakes I've done, but I'm also hoping to increase my clientele, so if any of you out there know someone in need of a cake and they live in Central Texas send em my way please :) And let me know what you think of it!

Now back to this post! I thought I'd highlight a few of the cakes I've made recently.. the wedding cakes will be posts all their own.

Beiber Fever was made for a little girl through Free Cakes for Kids Killeen. She was so excited when I delivered the cake- not only did she fake a fainting spell, in true Beiber-dom, but I got 2 hugs out of the deal!

The next cake was one I made was actually for one of the volunteers for Free Cakes for Kids Killeen. She was in a pinch and asked if I could make a Monkey Mod cake for her daughter. Having never heard of Monkey Mod I had to do a little research, but after that is was a piece of cake ;)

This last cake was one of my favorites yet.. one of the girls at work wanted to surprise her boyfriend with a cake for their 1 year anniversary. Both avid sky divers, she somehow wanted to incorporate their hobby and together we came up with an idea to replicate them completing a skydiving formation together. The two colorful sky divers are actually replicas of them and the suits they skydive in.

(that's them!)

And before I forget!! As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program I recently received a coupon for a box of Magnum Ice Cream Bars..

We finally got around to digging into the chocolate and caramel variety and I don't even know where to begin! They're rich and creamy and super satisfying after a day in the hot Texas sun! The next time you're at Walmart I highly suggest running to the freezer section and buying a box! Thanks Foodbuzz!

As for Mountain Man and me.. we're off to Vegas for the weekend :) We're going to win big, I can feel it!

Happy Baking!

Free Cakes for Kids: a Non-Profit Organization

A few weeks ago I was contacted by the coordinator of our local Free Cakes for Kids chapter. Through some lucky strike of the keyboard, she found my blog and after admiring my cakes, sent me an email asking if I'd become a part of this fantastic organization.

Free Cakes for Kids is a non-profit organization developed for families who are going through financially hard times and can't necessarily afford to provide their child with a birthday cake. With over 30 talented volunteers in the Killeen chapter, we devote our time and talents so no child will have to be without a cake any time soon.

I've always believed that food has a special power; there's a reason why holidays revolve around food, that we look for comfort in treats and why the kitchen table is where happiness is shared. And so I feel blessed to be a part of a group that offers families a little bit of happiness during a tough time through a very special birthday cake.

My first volunteer job was a Blue's Clues themed cake for a little boy's birthday...

Even though I don't have my own children, I've spent my fair share of time babysitting and Blue just happens to be one of my favorite cartoon pup. I tried to stay true to the show and incorporated her clues around the base of the cake.

 

 

"You gotta find Blue's paw print, that's the first clue!

And we put 'em in our notebook, cuz they're who's clues?!"

 "Blue's Clues!"

For those of you out there that love to decorate cakes, I hope you'll look into local chapters of Free Cakes for Kids. Not only would you be a part of a great cause, but you get to practice your decorating as well! Practice or not, his mother's warm words of gratitude were enough for me.

Happy Baking!