Butterfly Dreams

 On my siblings' birthdays, I usually let them choose the theme for their cake. This cake, which I titled "Butterfly Dreams," was requested by my little sister. She had it all thought out way ahead of time. The little girl and her net was top on the list. Immediately I sketched this cake out on a sticky note.

The cake is a two tiered chocolate, made with the wonderful Pillsbury cake mix. An 8 in. round cake pan was used for the bottom, and a 6 in. round pan was used for the top. The frosting is pale green and flavored with vanilla. I used white edging to border the cake, which helped bring out the pale green. (I'm planning on posting the frosting recipe that I use soon.)

The daises, butterflies, and drop flowers are all made out of fondant. (Eventually I plan to post more detailed directions for beginners on how to make fondant butterflies and flowers. It's super easy!) To add to the girly theme, I added edible sparkles to my butterflies. These butterflies also look elegant on cupcakes. I've had people actually believe the butterflies were plastic and throw them away because they thought they weren't edible.

Finally, I formed the little girl out of fondant and piped on frosting hair. I used edible marker to create her smiling face. The butterfly net is also made of fondant. Although, the handle I piped on since I was out of brown fondant. My sister loved the cake, my mom decorated according to the theme of the cake, and the party went well. Of course, it ended quickly; but it was well worth the work for that special person.

No New Posts For Awhile

I'm am getting ready to leave on vacation and will not have time to write for about a week, but please come back. I'll have lots of new posts to share then.

Dragon's Treasure

This cake I created for one of my cousins who is a big fan of the Dragons in Our Midst book series by Bryan Davis. At first I wasn't quite sure how I was going to tackle the project; but with some helpful tips from my Grandma, I made it. The dragon itself is made of rice crispy treat formed to look like the body. Next I covered it with fondant and attached all of the dots, wings, eyes, etc. which I had previously made. He was also going to be breathing fire, but unfortunately I left the materials I needed at Grandma's.

The mountains in the background are simply waffle cones covered in frosting, with a little bit of powdered sugar sprinkled on top for snow. Crushed jolly ranchers made perfect gemstones. Excalibur in the stone was not planned, but since I had leftover cake I went ahead and added it. The poor plastic knight was originally planned to be a more important part of the cake. However, the monstrous dragon kicked him out.

Simply Sweet Suggestions Blog Introduction

        I love art. It's always thrilling to create something new and feel the satisfaction of finishing. Drawing, painting, and jewelry making are all fun; but my favorite type of art by far is cake decorating. There is just something about making an edible masterpiece for that one special day. Not only does it taste good, but it looks wonderful. Sometimes the masterpiece is gone in less than a day, but the smiles I get from it are worth it all.

Creating smiles and telling a story is the purpose of my cakes. Kids especially love having a cake decorated just for them. Making cakes that show their personalities and interests can be challenging. However, that one cake can set the entire mood for the party. I want to make it a fun one.

I'm always looking for new ideas that are cute but simple. Extravagant wedding cakes may never be my thing. I would like to share some of my ideas with you, in hopes that they will be helpful to you. As a beginner cake artist, they won't be anything fancy, but I still hope they may be of use to you.