Rainbow Birthday Cake!!!

*I shared this at my other blog - madebyACE but it is too great not to share here too*

So I've been plotting this cake for a year, maybe more...I can't remember when I first saw it here ~ at Almota Roses and here ~ at i am baker. I feel in love. I love rainbows. L.O.V.E them. Kind of (still) want a tattoo of one but I'm too chicken to do it. I've been known to pull over to take pictures of rainbows...okay, you get it :)

For some reason I was craving boxed cake, maybe it was because that's what I grew up on. More than likely it was the fact that my birthday was on a Wednesday and I didn't want to make a "from scratch" cake during the week. I also used canned frosting (gasp!) but I was CRAVING sugar...hum...weird.

Anyways, I had a blast making this cake. I used one boxed white cake in the 6 inch round cake pans from some Wilton decorating class I took. I'm not sure I'd readily make this for tons of other people but it certainly has that WOW! factor once it is opened.

Preparing the cake.

Tasty rainbow!

Teddy bear sprinkles!!!

It is GORGEOUS!!!

Taste the rainbow :)

love it.

happy first birthday Crissy (cake edition)!!!

One of my dearest friends Stacy had a baby girl about a year ago and this weekend we celebrated her first birthday! Stacy and I grew up two houses down from each other and I consider her more family than friend. I was honored to be invited to the celebration and even more honored to bake for it! Actually, Stacy baked and made the frosting for the cat cake and I did the rest!

The cat cake was chocolate with chocolate covered in vanilla fondant. The cupcakes were vanilla with Swiss meringue butter creme. The cakepops were vanilla/vanilla pop dipped in white chocolate.

This was my first real trial at cakepops. I had tried a few before cupcake camp because I knew that at camp I'd be meeting and learning from Bakerella - who 'invented' these little things, but they'd all been flubs! While at camp I learned about the real difference between melting chips, which is the coating on the outside of the cakepop. Then on Friday I visited my friend Megan who I made this farm cake for a few months ago, and she happens to live a few blocks from The Decorette Shop in Portland! There I bought too many just enough new supplies to make me happy :)

On to the pictures!!

Crissy's kitty cake!

The set up. Stacy did a wonderful job making it all look pretty!

Setting up the cakepop station! Please mind the mess.

Patting and Patting the cakepop!

Look at them!!

My favorite. Mrs. Purple cat cakepop.

My second favorite!

Pretty pretty cakepops.

Cupcakes! I always forget I have this stand :-)

Happy First Birthday Christine Elizabeth!!!

little Lizzy turns one...

I have successfuly made my first cake for someone else, as in, to show off at a family gathering. For Bree's cake it was for many many people I'd met before but for Little Lizzy, it was a different story.

Lizzy's Mom Megan and I went to college together! We were even roommates for a while. A few months back Megan and I had met up for a walk and lunch in downtown and were talking about Lizzy's first birthday. I said I would be honored if she'd let me make the cake and she agreed to it! Lizzy's favorite book is about farm animals so Megan had a farm animal themed birthday party. I googled a bunch of different cakes about farms and emailed them to Megan. She and her husband Bill decided they wanted the bottom tier to be a fence/pasture and the top tier to be a cow pattern. They also wanted a 'smash cake' that Lizzy could eat and so they decided on the form of a pig cupcake.

It was very interesting making something for someone else. Asking them what they wanted flavor wise, hue wise (bright, light, pastel, etc) but it was such a fun experience and Megan and Bill seemed very greatful. Now...on to the pictures!!!

WOW. Messy kitchen!!! Eek!

Pink Pig cupcake.

from the top.

from the side.

My first clients! Megan, Lizzy, and myself :)

Common mom!!!

going in for the kill...

Megan had to help her out...

Thanks Megan, Bill, and little Lizzy for letting me make the first birthday cake!!!

bree's home for summer!!

One of my other favorite friends Bree has been working at 'home' in Portland this summer. Though she currently resides in the OTHER Washington (DC that is) she convinced her job as part of her rotations to let her come home this summer. Its been great having her back! We've been over to her house for a couple camp fires as well as pool parties and sewing nights!!!

Before Bree came back she requested a cake, to which I was happy to oblige! Though I was certainly surprised to know she wanted a carrot cake but I was happy to try that out. I got the recipe I used from my Mom who'd tried it many times before so I had encouragement that between that cake recipe and Martha Stewart's creme cheese frosting recipe I'd be in good hands.

action icing shot! thanks hunny.

going for a 'tropical' theme. lemon yellow, pink, orange, and sky blue.

i used a cookie cutter to get the flowers 'about right'

Bree and her cake. This is the first cake I've ever made for anybody else :)

All the people at Bree's pool party. The kid in my arms is not mine, it is Bree's niece Maya.

Later that night...

...we went to Edgefield for their concerts on the lawn series. Thing is, we did it McLean style. This entertained getting there late (but really, we got there on time because Kathy mis-read the paper) which SHOCKED the older McLeans because they had to legally park to get into the concert. This Edgefield has an outdoor ampithiteather but the tickets are pretty costly...so in comes the McLean style. You bring your own chairs, blankets, and food. You sit behind the building so you can hear the music and you buy a beer from the place so you don't feel too bad about it :-) I loved McLean style. It was fun to hangout, listen to music and be with people I love!!!

Later that week we had a sewing party. Bree has been wanting to learn to sew for a while but has been wanting my mom to teach her. You see, Kathy and I are like-sewers. We eye everything, don't really measure...etc. My Mom and Bree are like-sewers. They measure everything twice and worryworryworry!

A funny thing happened though. My mom brought over a project for us to work on because she wasn't sure if Kathy and Bree would have anything. The project...a burp cloth. You know...for people who might be having babies some day. The razzing started there! Kathy and Bree had a HAYDAY teasing my Mom about being passive agressive about wanting grandchildren...and she did not deny it. Oh no, she did not admit it either. Not sure which is worse.

So my mom prefaced the project with "you can buy ribbon to customize it to who you are giving it to. You could buy basketballs for a sport fanatic, ABC letters for a teacher OR...AND THIS IS THE FUNNIEST PART...you could buy cupcake ribbon for someone who likes cupcakes". That brought on even MORE razzing!!! Bree decided to first make me an eventual baby shower gift of a burp cloth made out of a cloth diaper with cupcake ribbon sewn on. How thoughtful ;-)

My Mom teaching Bree (with her little helper Maya).

Bree and I sewing. I think our Mom's were very proud of this moment.

B hard at work. Making a reusable bag.

B and her bag. Now all she has to do is add handles. I taught her how to do this and my Mom had taught me. I love family :)

Bree is only home for one more weekend so hopefully I get to see her again!!!

the real update...

First of all I would like you to know the official countdown until the end of school. 13 school days. excited...just a bit!

The last few weeks have been crazy around here. So much so that I had to scroll through my iPhone to see what I'd been up too. I think technology is officially taking over my life.Our weekdays during May have been pretty uneventful. The weeks have been a bit more exciting - though (warning: shocker) I neglected to get very many pictures from these outings :(.

 May 1st we had our great friend Robyn and Joe up for a night of fun. We had some beers and played some games! We really enjoy their company and glad they were finally able to make it up to spend the night!

May 8th I headed to Seattle for the day to attend a friend from high school's bridal shower. It was a lot of driving but worth it, especially since I won't be able to attend her wedding since it falls on the same weekend that my wonderful family is heading to Wisconsin for family vacation! That weekend was Mother's Day and it was a very beautiful day in the PNW. We (Mom, Dad, Tony, Kellie, Jason and myself) headed up to Lewis River Golf course to enjoy a nice brunch and each other. We did manage to get a few pictures of this event...though I am still waiting for the rest from Tony and Kellie. Another shocker...i forgot my camera that day. Good thing for the iPhone :)

Me and Mom. Mother's Day 2010

Mom and her kids :)

Mom and Dad :) Love them!!!

I don't know if it is the secret hippie in me, the pacific-northwesterner in me, or the "trying new things in me" but I signed Jason and myself up to take a "how to make a rain barrel" class though Watershed Stewart's. Though we haven't hooked the barrel up yet...it is standing by. We're building a deck next weekend (if this ridiculous rain stops) and will but that in afterwards. Really, that means we're still debating where it should go...

Putting in the overflow spout.

Putting in the spigot.

The next weekend I went out with some of my favorite ladies in Vancouver. My mom, Liz, Stacy & baby Crissy, and myself have been trying to get together every other month. The "Shumaker" clan is one of our closest family friends around town and we feel that it is important to have purposeful and (somewhat) regular meetings to stay connected. We've done this 3 times in the last 6 months!!! It is very nice to have friends that are just like family! This time we went to Tommy O's in downtown Vancouver and then wandered through the Saturday Market at Ester Short park. It was a lovely Saturday morning! Though sadly, I have no pictures :(

I did do a little bit of cake decorating this month. After the hit of my last batch of mini cupcakes it was requested I make more for the Volunteer Tea my school puts on for all the volunteer parents. I happily obliged...with delicious and pretty results. Though next time I know not to put the fresh strawberries on top of white frosting too early...lesson learned. Also, this recipe was MUCH better than the batch I made for my own birthday. I'm sorry Martha but your recipe did not cut it. I got a recipe off OnDemand of the Sprinkles Capcakes show. It was AMAZING!!!

Mini Strawberry Cupcakes with chocolate and cream cheese frosting with fresh strawberries on top. I did cheat at use store bought frosting...next time I won't!!! I was in a time crunch!

One of the two trays. They were a huge hit. They've been requested again...

attack of the minis (cake version)...

Last week I made a good luck/good-bye cake for our two student teachers Katie & Kristin.

Here are the pictures :)

this is what a KitchenAid looks like with a double batch of icing!!!

this is what my husband does with the cake scraps!

a couple dozen mini cupcakes!

a mini 6 inch cake. covered in fondant and bordered with fondant circles.

the spread :)

cake and a peak at the cupcakes :)

mini goodness!