Fulfilling a Wish: Elmo Cuppycakes

Hot on the tails of my Avengers graduation cake, an order came in for personalized desserts for a Make-A-Wish child's Wish Day.

Only 3 years old, "Bells" had wished for a playground that she could play on (since her physical condition limits her from playing in public parks). The day of her Wish, dozens of volunteers arrived to her home with hypoallergenic padding and specially-sealed plastic slides in tow to make her wish come to life! The unveiling deserved a bit of pomp - and of course, with any ceremony comes loads of cake.

Since the 3-year-old's favorite television character is the ever-lovable Elmo, I was asked to come up with a red-velvet dessert of the Elmo variety; and since there would be loads of people with potentially not-too-clean hands, I decided that cupcakes would be the best form in which to create her favorite Sesame Street resident.

The cupcakes were homemade from a red velvet recipe with a very special homemade cream cheese frosting. The googly eyes were crafted from flattened marshmallows and the noses were formed from tinted gum paste.

I have to admit, while they turned out looking so deliciously adorable, I worried that a 3-year-old may have a bit of difficulty scarfing down a cupcake made in the likeness of her favorite character. I was told the next day that, while she did talk to her "Elmo" and carry him around with her for awhile, she did finally scarf him down after tasting a little bit of the frosting! Success!

Doodle On!

 


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Carnival of Cakes: 1 Grad Party, 2 Great Cakes

These cakes were lovingly crafted for graduating seniors Amanda & her "brother," Sharp, a foreign exchange student from Thailand. The hours of sleep I lost completing these cakes were proven well worth it when I delivered them to the excited recipients!

The cakes were yellow and chocolate marble with nothing-but-buttercream frosting and decor. Rich, moist, and deliciously decadent, these cakes tasted twice as good as they turned out! However, while I favor the flavor of buttercream over fondant, I have to admit that smoothing the frosting and all of the decorations posed a special challenge for this particular baking project.

The sheet cake featured an American flag, representing Sharp's year abroad; his native Thai flag, a symbol of his roots; a letterman 'M' for their alma mater; and a royal icing panda for Amanda, whose nickname is Fire Panda.

 The tiered cake was a personalized extravaganza celebrating Amanda's inner comic book nerd! Think "groom's cake," only much, MUCH cooler! With the release of the Avengers movie and Amanda's favorite color combination (purple, green, and black), a tiered Avengers cake seemed the only viable option.

The top tier featured the Avengers symbol and a city "sky-scape" against a deep purple sky. Captain America stood regally atop the masterpiece, at the head of the symbol. Nick Fury (aboard a stealthy fighter jet) and Hawkeye were perched ceremoniously among the sky scrapers.The middle tier employed a "Hulk Green" frosting as the canvas for the graduate's name, complete with an Avengers 'A'. Hulk, Black Widow, Iron Man, and a very mischievous Loki were scattered across the bottom tier, with Thor at the bottom, exclaiming, "Congratulations, Midgardian!"

 

These cakes were SUCH a joy to make and by far the most extravagant I've attempted to date. I'm hoping I get more excuses to make awesome cakes like these in the near future!

Doodle On, Midgardians

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Springtime Monogram Wreath

Spring always makes me feel super crafty! So yesterday, I went to Hobby Lobby, got some supplies, and made this wreath for our front door. A few of the flowers I already had in the attic, a few were on sale at HL. I painted the wood monogram 'D' white and distressed it a little with some sandpaper before hot gluing it to the wreath. It may be a little "girly" for my husband's tastes, but I think it's perfect for Spring!

Jayme Taylor | Senior Portraits

Jayme's senior portraits were actually taken in two separate shoots one week apart from each other since we had so many ideas and so much ground to cover. From pictures with her horse Danny and captures in and around Downtown Peoria to some fun "zombie" and "high fashion" shots, we ran all around Central Illinois taking frame after frame of flawless captures; Jayme was a natural model and so easy to shoot! Not even a renegade bat, rain clouds, some spooky, random, wrought iron furniture in the woods or some very interesting graffiti could derail Jayme's confidence and beauty.*

These are just a few of the photos from my senior sessions with Jayme!

*Well...okay, the bat may have scared both of us a little, but not her Mom, who moseyed right on up to it for a closer look!

Inspired by the much-loved "cows" road trip game. If you see cows, 

say "my cows" and you own them; if you see a cemetery, "kill" 

other people's cows by exclaiming "your cows are dead!"
My husband asserts that players' cows should also be 

"dead" any time you drive past a fast food joint!

We also did some fun, "high-fashion zombie" shots, since we had the hair 

& makeup for it. I personally loved the combat boots + prom dress combo!!

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Police Public Call Box

After 5+ years with the same cell phone, hubby finally decided it was time to step out of the dark ages and upgrade to a phone that actually allows him to text efficiently (unbelievable, I know!). In addition, my old phone had been acting up, not holding a charge for more than half a day, so we decided we'd kill two birds with one stone and upgrade both of the phones on our plan at the same time.

The only problem we ran into was that we both decided on purchasing the same phone, one that did not offer interchangeable faceplates; so, how would we tell our phones apart? The only logical solution is that one of our phones needed to have an easily identifiable case. More specifically, MY phone needed to have an easily identifiable case...and it needed to be The Doctor's TARDIS. OBVIOUSLY.

 

Rachel S. | Senior Portraits

In a word, "adventurous" would be the best way to describe Rachel - so, it was only fitting that our photo shoot should embody that same fun spirit! From Eureka to Washington and Dunlap and all the dusty roads in between, we had so much fun hopping from place to place with props and outfits in tow!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visit the FAQ page for more information about the photography services I provide!