Amberlea Cake

It's only taken me 7 months....

2009-08-01T13:33:00.005-04:00

and some self-induced downtime to get to this post. I have been busy, trust me! Here are some new lovelies to add to my collection- a lemon-lovers dream with daisies for a bridal shower; cute beachy flip-flop cupcakes for my daughter's pool party birthday; a gold medal-worthy creation for Mary's olympic-themed bridal shower complete with bride-and groom-to-be cake topper; and finally a cuter-than
cute rubber-ducky themed baby shower. Next up: a rainbow connection for Carolyn's upcoming summer party. Can't wait to show you!

Catch-up Mode!

2009-01-07T14:26:00.001-05:00

Okay, here we go with a brand new year, and I'm all set to catch up on missed posts. I have a lot to cover, so bear with me! First off, let me say Happy New Year to everyone, and I hope you had a wonderful holiday with your loved ones. I know I did, and now that the kids are back to school (whew!) I can focus on a few areas that I've been neglecting-namely my blog.

I am going back to about October here, and my first order of business is my good friend Arlene's 40th birthday. She amazes me in so many areas- she's a wonderful mother, a soon-to-be first-time novelist, an athlete, and a caring friend. She also writes a column in a local newspaper, and so I drew my inspiration for her birthday cake from that. Joel and I had fun thinking up some headlines and article titles for the "newspaper"- that was fun!!

Next, I had been asked to do some first birthday cookies for little Keaton, and his mom is a talented graphic artist who designed a very cool invite-so naturally I copied her design for the cookies. I think they came out very nicely.

My last post was about Halloween cookies, and I had so much fun making these for all of you who ordered from me-big thanks to you all! The jack-o-lanterns and ghosts were a big hit, and I plan on doing seasonal cookies from now on...I'll keep you posted!

Lastly, my neighbour and best friend Tanja ordered this cake for her friend's baby shower in December. I have to say it's one of my favourite cakes to date...love.

Jack O'Lantern Cookies

2008-10-19T10:09:00.002-04:00

For those of you interested in a cute cookie favour for your children or co-workers for Halloween, I will have Jack O'Lantern or Spooky Ghost sugar cookies available for order with pick-ups on October 30th. Please contact me with your orders no later than Friday October 24th. They will be $2.50 each packaged in cellophane bags with Halloween ribbon.

Michelle's birthday girls

2008-07-10T14:28:00.003-04:00

My friend Michelle has the cutest girls, and their birthdays are close together (mine are too, and I feel her pain!) so she was brave enough to have 2 birthday parties on the same day...brave is the operative word here!! Her oldest, Avery, had a "Wizard of Oz" themed party, and Meredith had a "Penguin Beach Party" theme. She asked if I could make cookies to give as party favours, and we did Ruby Slippers for Avery's friends, and Penguin Hula Girls for Meredith's. How fun!! You are so creative, Michelle. And did I mention brave???

April and Mike's Wedding

2008-07-10T14:18:00.003-04:00

How heavenly does a wedding on a vineyard in Niagara-on-the-Lake sound?? April and Mike celebrated their wedding in June, and I created a pink and chocolate brown mini-cake for them to enjoy. We also decided that wine bottle-shaped cookies would be appropriate favours for their guests. Congratulations to the both of you, with many more wonderful years ahead! Oh, and did I mention that Jason Priestley was in attendance?!? How cool.

Fairy Princess

2008-05-28T22:14:00.002-04:00

Sydney is a fairy princess herself, and needed a fairy princess cake to match her personality! I created a "princess cushion" cake with a lovely little fairy in Sydney's image to rest sweetly on top, almost as if she had landed there to take a brief rest from her fairy duties. Hope your birthday was magical, Sydney!

60 Years Together

2008-05-28T21:49:00.004-04:00

Our beloved Nana and Papa celebrated their 60th Anniversary on May 18th...can you imagine? I can only hope that Joel and I see our 60th one day (mind you we'll be A LOT older than they are!!). Joel and I are celebrating our 10th this year, so this really puts things into perspective for me. They had a fantastic party held at my father-in-law's home, and it was all about family, friends, memories and food. We all pitched in to help, and our cousin Melisa and her husband Javier the Chef made the AMAZING food, and if you've ever seen our family eat, you'll know that we don't use plates- we just stand at the buffet table and stuff our faces. So, we were like pigs at the trough just feeding ourselves, not a care for any of the bewildered friends who just wanted to fill their plates before all the food was gone! I exaggerate, sort of. Anyway, I volunteered to make the cake, not only because I love my Nana and Papa, but because I also wanted to experiment a little. I came up with this creation, which I absolutely LOVE, and would SO love to make for someone's wedding...any takers?? We had a wonderful time celebrating with you, Nana and Papa, and we wish you all the love in the world, now and always. XOXO

Connie's Movin' On Up!

2008-05-28T21:29:00.003-04:00

Well, she's movin' on up...movin' on up, to the East side, erm, I mean Edmonton! Hee, hee! I've been part of a weekly playgroup for about 6 years now, and I have to say that it's my favourite day of the week because I get to spend some time with some really wonderful and inspiring women. I've formed many a bond with these girls, and we've shed many a tear and had a million laughs as well together. Well, one of our founding members, Connie is moving to Edmonton next month, and she will be sorely missed. She's been a great friend and fellow mom, and we'll miss her humour, her warmth and her willingness to open up her home to 10-odd hopped-up-on-chocolate-chip-cookies children who will surely make a hurricane-like mess out of her attic and subsequent main floor! We had a gathering a couple of weeks ago to say farewell to our friend at Arlene's house, and had munchies and photos on a purple velvet couch on Arlene's dirt road out front of her house(sounds weird, but looks awesome!). I made her a farewell Stilletto shoe and shoebox cake-so cool!! I've been dying to try this, but it took the right occasion. We wish you the best, Connie, and hope that someday you'll pop into playgroup when you're in town. (photo courtesy of Click Photography!)

My Beautiful Big Girl's First Communion

2008-05-28T21:14:00.002-04:00

Our oldest daughter celebrated her First Communion early in May, and she was so beautiful in her little white dress and her fancy tiara and up-do. We had a lovely party with family and close friends after the service, and we had to have cake, of course! She chose the flavour, chocolate of course, and we put pretty purple roses on top of the cross-shaped cake. She wanted the first rose off the top, and how could I not indulge my beautiful growing-up-too-fast sweetheart?!

Come to Camelot

2008-04-23T13:23:00.003-04:00

My apologies go out to Jodi for taking FOREVER in putting this up...SORRY!! Brothers Jack and Dylan are born two years and 1 day apart, so Jodi had a joint "Medieval" themed birthday party for their family and friends. Jodi asked me to create a cake for their special occasion, and I chose a Medieval Castle to fit the bill. This was so much fun to put together, and since it was really the first "boy cake" I'd done, I wanted to do it even more! I think Jodi accessorized the final product with some Playmobil knights and princes-apparently her son Jack wasn't sure if it was an edible cake, and kept asking "how did she do that?!" I understand it was a hit, and I'm grateful to be able to have done this for you, Jack and Dylan. I hope Dave didn't mind the "some assembly required" too much!!

Travelling Bride

2008-03-30T14:58:00.003-04:00

Travel was the theme for this bridal shower cake, with two suitcases stacked on top of one another. The bride-to-be met her future husband on a trip to Australia, and the two have travelled to some other exciting locations together as well. Reagan, her sister-in-law, had her own bridal shower cake done by me last summer, and apparently it was a big hit! I've been super excited to do this one for some time now, as I knew it would be a challenge, as well as being something far from the ordinary. Can't wait to hear how it went over, Reagan-please let me know!!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-24T09:03:00.002-04:00

Hockey Girl

2008-03-17T21:10:00.002-04:00

Madison is a young lady with a passion for hockey. Apparently, she "lives, eats and breathes hockey" according to her mom, Kelly. So, for her 9th birthday, Kelly asked me to make her a hockey rink cake, complete with hockey player, stick, nets and puck. Okay, the nets are a little on the small side (as in mini-stick size!), but this was definitely my first attempt at a hockey rink! I hope it helped to make Maddie's birthday special. It was a lot of fun to make!

My New Favourite Cookie

2008-03-17T21:06:00.002-04:00

All that needs to be said is "AWWWW!!!"

topsy turvy

2008-03-10T15:47:00.002-04:00

I told you I'd be using that lime and pink scheme again, didn't I? Well, here it is again, on a topsy turvy cake for a 30th birthday. If you aren't sure what a topsy turvy cake is, it's one which looks like it's about to take a nosedive onto the table, but somehow manages to stay upright! It's a tricky little bugger too, but a lot of fun to manipulate the angles to give it that very top-heavy look.

On another note, this week (March Break) happens to be one of my busiest weeks so far, thanks to all of you who have been kind enough to ask me to whip something up for you! I appreciate all of your business, and it's been so much fun to really spread my wings creatively. I look forward to all of my future jobs and working with people who have such amazing ideas that get to be cake-ified!

Candy Stripes and Polka Dots

2008-02-27T11:38:00.004-05:00

Lilly with two "L"'s turned 2 last week, and her mom asked me to create a cake for her. This was inspired by a wonderful book I turn to often for ideas, called Pretty Party Cakes by Peggy Porschen. She is a fabulous cake designer in the UK, and I find her cakes to be very much "my style". The top tier is a candy striped two-tone pink and white cake, while inside it is dark chocolate with rich chocolate ganache filling. The bottom tier is a bit whimsical, using polka dots in the pink and lime scheme, with tiny dots surrounding the bigger polka dots. It is a banana cake filled with chocolate buttercream-yum! I also did some cookie favors in the shape of birthday presents-two tone pink for the girls, and blue and lime green for the boys. I think it is so fresh and pretty for a little girl's birthday, and I loved it! I think it's one of my favourite colour combos, and I know it's going to get used again...

Fairies, Butterflies and all things Girly

2008-02-19T22:05:00.002-05:00

What 4 year-old little girl isn't obsessed with all things magical? When my girls saw the birthday cake and the cute little cookies I made for my friend Anne's daughter Britt, they couldn't stop talking about their own birthdays. I have a feeling it will be a fairy birthday theme for my girls this year! Fairies must represent all things mysterious and enchanted in little girls' imaginations, and I was happy to create something really cute and special for Britt's birthday. I have an inkling this won't be the last fairy cake that will magically appear in our house(and magically disappear too!)!

Playmobil for Luke

2008-02-17T20:28:00.002-05:00

My nephew Luke turned 5 on Valentine's Day, and his parents threw him a "theatre-style" birthday. They had rented out an old church that had been converted to a theatre, and invited lots of kids to come and play on stage. The kids brought their dress-up stuff and had a blast dressing up and dancing on stage to fun kiddie music-I even found myself singing along to "Wonder Pets"! Nadine and I had planned to make him a theatre-themed cake, perhaps some tickets with the name of his play on them, but a few weeks ago Luke called me to ask if he could have a Playmobil cake instead. Apparently, he's addicted to Playmobil, as are so many other kids his age, mine included. So, how could I resist the opportunity to indulge his birthday fantasy? I used our own Playmobil animals to decorate this safari-themed cake, and the kids could hardly contain themselves while waiting for him to blow out his candles-hands were reaching for animals, and I feared it may not stay a safari for long!

Seafood

2008-01-30T10:58:00.000-05:00

I had fun with another cookie experiment the other day, and came up with my version of "seafood". How fun are these?! The kids from playgroup loved these yesterday. My favourite? The purple octopus. How about you?

Mavis and Jim Renew their Vows

2008-01-25T19:03:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I had the honor of creating a cake for Mavis and Jim's Vow Renewal. Mavis found my blog online and liked the simplicity and elegance of a wedding cake that I'd done for another bride and groom. We created this cake for them incorporating the clean lines and the simplistic beauty of the calla lily. I loved the end result, and my friend Christine at Click Photography captured it beautifully. Congratulations, Mavis and Jim. I know this will be just one of many wonderful milestones for the two of you!

For the Fashionista

2008-01-21T09:37:00.000-05:00

As much as I love cake, I am also CRAZY for cookies. So much so, in fact, that I had wedding cake cookie favors at each place setting at our wedding. They were so "Martha", and everyone loved them! I thought I'd experiment a little with cookies, and here are my newest creations- Stiletto and Handbag cookies. How cute are these?! What a great idea for a bridal shower favor, or a Girl's Day Out with your girlfriends...or in my case, my favourite day of the week, Tuesday, for playgroup with my favourite ladies! Get ready, ladies, for a real treat tomorrow! And by the way, I can do pretty much any shape, including wedding cakes. So, you can have mini cakes to match your wedding cake...too adorable for words.

Sugary Sweet Confections

2007-12-07T14:12:00.001-05:00

Last night I spent a wonderful evening with my mom's group friends at the Sugar Factory making a beautiful Sugar Spring bracelet- you've gotta check out this amazing place! Gay Isber, the owner and hostess with the mostest, was so welcoming, and opened her shop and home to us to host our annual Mom's Group Christmas. She led us on a journey of artistic creations, and we all had such a blast creating our own bracelets to take home. She has the most unbelievable beads to choose from, and led us step by step in the creation of our bracelet. Her shop is a work of art, with gorgeous beaded confections everywhere to purchase, as well as chandeliers and artwork hand painted by her. I can't wait to take my girls there during the Christmas holidays to make a bracelet and have some girly time together! Thanks Gay, for a wonderful evening of food, wine and art. Here is a picture of the bracelet I made, as well as the wonderful little mini Snowflake Cakes I made for the party. They originally started out in my head as a petit four, which traditionally is a one-bite pastry, but ended up a "grand four", as they were about 3 inches in diameter and about 3 inches high! They were delicious little personal cakes filled with apricot preserves and milk chocolate ganache....yummy! I piped the snowflake design on the top, and embellished with a silver dragee in the centre. A sugary sweet confection to enjoy with our Sugary Sweet experience!

Happy 3rd Birthday, sweet Harriet!

2007-11-20T14:23:00.001-05:00

Today is our youngest daughter Harriet's 3rd Birthday! We wish you the best birthday ever, sweetheart, and we are so proud of you and amazed by everything you do! We love your sweet little personality, and we can't wait to see what's in store for you for the future...we love you so much, darling. Happy Birthday.

Scent Association

2007-11-08T11:27:00.000-05:00

I just pulled a lovely white cake out of the oven, and the fragrance OVERWHELMED me. Freshly baked cake has got to be one of my all-time favourite smells in the kitchen, right up there with chocolate chip cookies, freshly brewed espresso, or a loaf of homemade bread. It just evokes such wonderful childhood memories for me, ones in which I arrive home from school to find that my mom had been baking for someone's birthday, or maybe just because she craved something sweet (I think I inherited that gene-thanks, mom). Now, don't get me wrong, we didn't eat cake all the time, it was definitely a special treat to have a yummy cake once in a while, but I guess we tend to associate the smell of a delicious baked good with a happy memory or two. I think maybe my desire to bake has something to do with reliving happy memories...wow, I think I just had a Freudian moment!

History and Landscape

2007-11-04T07:51:00.001-05:00

I know that this has nothing to do with CakeChic, however, I said I'd post some pictures of my trip for those of you who are interested. (for those who aren't, you can wait for some cake-related posts, alright?!?) We stayed just outside of a beautiful fortified town called Carcassonne, which has been recently restored to it's former glory. It was constructed in the 1200's, so I'm sure you can appreciate how amazing this structure really is. It was the home to the Trencavel family, a noble family and his entourage. We also visited many wineries and vineyards, including the Ligniere family winery, who welcomed us most graciously into their vineyard and wine-making facility to taste their most exquisite wines. I will certainly make a concerted effort to get some of their wine shipped here, as I have found a wine I truly enjoy while sampling their wines!

Joel and I travelled independently from the group we were with, and discovered so many amazing places I never knew existed in France. For me, this trip was entirely about the landscape and the history, and not about the shopping (for once in my life!). We scaled mountains, valleys, and gorges. We sampled the local goods. We enjoyed our surroundings to the fullest. What a great trip it was, indeed.

What time is it in France???

2007-11-01T16:53:00.000-04:00

We're home, and we're tired...sooooo tired! What a difference 7 hours can make to a person's internal time clock! We had a WONDERFUL trip, and I will certainly post some pictures and blog a little about our trip very soon. I need to recoup first, though. Sleep is good...

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to France I go!

2007-10-18T14:37:00.001-04:00

This time tomorrow I'll be leaving for the southwest region of France, known as the Languedoc-Roussillon region for a lovely holiday with my husband. I'm SO excited, I can hardly contain myself!! We have a lot on our agenda, and we look forward to seeing many beautiful places. Oh, did I mention the food?? I think I'm a little TOO excited about the food... I love French food... I'll be certain to post a picture or two when we return. Well, bon voyage, and a bientot! (I have to warm up my French, it's a little rusty!)

My own personal Cheerleader

2007-10-16T14:46:00.000-04:00

I have to say that my biggest supporter in this new endeavour has been my wonderful friend, Christine. Not only has she gone out of her way on several occasions to photograph my cakes (did I mention she's an amazing photographer with her own business? Check out www.clickphotography.ca) but she's published my cake photos on her own blog. How awesome is that?? I feel like she's been my own personal cheerleader for about a year now, encouraging me right from the get-go when I had the hair-brained idea that I wanted to design cakes. She's always had an encouraging word for me, and has allowed me to use her as a guinea pig for several of her special occasions-brave girl! I wanted to acknowledge Christine, because I don't think I could have accomplished what I have without her amazing support. You're inspiring to me, Chris. I thank-you for all you've done.

I am thankful for my friends

2007-10-14T14:04:00.001-04:00

I would like to send out a HUGE thank-you to my friend Holly, who created my beautiful banner for my blog, and also helped me set up my blog. For those who know me well, you know that I'm not all that computer-savvy. Apparently, she makes up for my lack of computer skills in spades, because my blog is looking REALLY amazing, thanks to her! Thank-you, my friend, for the beautiful job you've done. I appreciate it SO much, and I am in your debt. By the way, the cake featured in the banner was the cake I made for Holly's sweet little daughter, Sam, for her first birthday. It is my all-time favourite cake, and I'm glad she gave me the opportunity to create it for her special day. I should also mention that Holly is a great artistic collaborator, as she helped me with the design for it. She has been very supportive of my new endeavour, and has, more than once, given me a "plug" on her own blog. So, I owe her a big thank-you.

THANK-YOU, HOLLY!

Channelling Martha Stewart

2007-10-12T14:56:00.001-04:00

My dear friend Cheryl is expecting her first baby at the end of this month, and when I heard she based her nursery design on a layout in a Martha Stewart Baby magazine it got me thinking about a cake design I could make her for her shower. I prompted her for pics of her nursery, and when she sent them to me, I realized that I had that issue in my own archive and whipped it out. It really inspired me to create something classic and pretty, without being "babyish" or typical for a baby shower theme. Her nursery colour scheme was a very sophisticated palette of pale turquoisey-green and off-white, so I incorporated that into the base colours of the cake. The upper portion of her walls were stencilled with tree branches and leaves in white, which is where my piped design came from. She painted all the trim and chair rail white, and I used white royal icing to pipe a bead border around the base of each cake. I think it's classic, and very Martha! Check out the finished product, along with a pic of Cheryl looking gorgeous cutting the cake at the shower. Best wishes, Cheryl!

Inspirations

2007-10-10T20:51:00.000-04:00

I certainly enjoy a new challenge, and coming up with a new design or theme is especially exciting to me. I love the brainstorming involved in creating a cake for a special occasion, be it a birthday, a homecoming or a wedding. It gets my creative juices flowing when I see a beautiful piece of wrapping or scrapbooking paper, a party invitation or a cute fabric pattern. Needless to say, this blog is intended to help bring in new business, and I relish the idea of making you or someone you love the perfect cake. So if you need some inspiration for your next special occasion, you now know who to contact!

My Addiction

2007-10-10T16:21:00.000-04:00

My name is Amberlea. I'm a wife and mother of 3 beautiful girls, and I have a passion for cake. I admit that I have an addiction. But, as a result, I think I've finally found my calling in life. I love everything about cake. I love to eat cake, I love to make cake, and I love to design cake. I have a background in Interior Design, which I attribute my love of colour, form and composition to. I've always loved to bake and try new recipes, so when I was looking for a fun hobby I happened upon a cake decorating class at my local Michael's craft store. Ding, Ding! The bell went off and I signed up. Now, I get to combine my love of baking with my passion for design and create some fun and exciting things that I think people enjoy as much as I do. There's nothing better in life than sinking your teeth into a yummy, moist piece of cake, is there?? I think not. Especially when it looks as good as it tastes!