Star Wars, Unicorns, Glitter, Feathers and Cooking

Sometimes I get the coolest orders! This client was bringing the dessert to a combined birthday party. The two guests of honor were friends with different tastes. One, a chef who was very much into Star Wars (you can see the cupcakes I did for his baby shower HERE) the other a girlie girl who loves unicorns, glitter, feathers and all things girlie. She does have a flair for the interesting (check out the cupcakes I did for her past birthday HERE). When I was offered the chance to make cupcakes for this duo, I had to try it! Check out the mix!

 
I think the little unicorn is my favorite! What a fun mix of ideas to do, I really enjoyed this order!

Bright Jungle Baby Shower Cupcakes

I've done the jungle theme a few times before (Here and here, and here) but I think these animals have become my favorite yet!

 

Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes!

I feel like every time I write a blog post I'm starting it off with "Sorry I've been MIA". Sooo, ummmm....sorry? But I've had a lot of changes going on these days. One of those changes involves my Facebook status going from "In a relationship" to "single."
I have a new roommate, coincidentally also named Jessica! Here we are on a roomie date night!

In addition to having a new roomie, I've become somewhat of a dog hoarder. Shortly before Jess moved in, I signed up with Underdog Rescue to be a foster mom! Currently, I am fostering a little Chihuahua named Sausage. He's actually been dubbed Sausage McMuffin, or Muffin for short. He's a spunky little guy and has been a complete joy to have in my home! He is a puppy mill survivor and to see the changes in him over the last month or so, gosh, I am so blessed! He went from being this shy, scared little guy to a spunky fun loving pup! And in such a short time! Muffin has a family interested in adopting him now, so I am crossing my fingers he finds his forever home!

Why am I a dog hoarder then? Well, as it turns out, I have 2 dogs, plus 1 foster, and Jess has 2 dogs. So, here we are, a couple of single dog hoarding ladies. You know they say that dogs are good judges of character, so all of our future dates will have a panel of dogs to answer to!

 

So, now that I have a roommate and a bunch of dogs, I had to rethink that teenie tiny kitchen. There was a coat closet by my backdoor that sometime ago I asked my stepdad to change into a "baking supply closet". Here are a couple of "before" shots of the disorganized closet.

 

Yeah. It was desperate for revamping. I managed to downsize some supplies, and find some more practical storage for stuff so that I could turn it into a useable pantry for us.

Here is the "in progress" photo.

 Here are the final shots. I used some storage bins I had on hand and a few bins from the Dollar Store. I put up post-it notes to designate how to organize things. Thats temporary until we see how things work. Then I'll design some more permanent labels. I also plan to upgrade to some better organizers but for now, this seems to be working!

Total Cost of this revamp: $15

Paint: On hand

Lights: On hand

Bins: $4 at Dollar Store

Chevron Contact Paper: $11 from Amazon

Its a work in progress, but I am proud of the results!

Does spring fever have you doing any spring cleaning or organizing projects?

Glass Bottom Tiki Hut Cupcake

I have some serious spring fever. Tomorrow we are expected to get another 6 inches of snow, and I cant help but day dream about a beach vacation, gardening in my backyard and simple bright sunlight!  Have you ever seen these tiki huts, with the glass floors, over the water?

Wouldn't it be just a dream to stay in one of these?! These are most definitely on my bucket list!
I was recently talking with a friend of mine about these huts, and some how our emails became obsessed with them! When there is that kind of obsession what else can you do about it but make a cupcake!
Behold, a Glass Bottom Tiki Hut Cupcake!!

 

I made blue sugar glass for the bottom, fondant flowers, and a fondant roof. The only thing not edible on this cupcake are the legs holding up the roof.  I tried to make them from fondant, but bamboo skewers worked out better.

 What do you think? Does this cupcake make you want to take a tropical vacation? Am I the only one with spring fever?!

Sparkle Safari

I apologize friends, I have been MIA for longer than I planned. Somehow the whole first month of the year got away from me! January is always a busy month, there is a birthday celebration every week in January, including my own.
This year I turned 32, and I wanted to have a theme that represented all of the changes that have recently gone on in my life. I also am budget minded. You may recall this fun Jungle Baby Shower I did a few years back. I still had much of the decorations in storage so I thought, why not go with a Safari theme?
However, plain old safari is not my style. Recently a friend said to me "You're so easy to please! Give you some wine, glitter and twinkle lights and you're set!" Ha! Its so true! With that quote in mind I came up with the Sparkle Safari!

 

Of course I had to get in on the glittered animal trend!

 

I picked up some fun animal drink charms and rimmed all of the glasses in edible glitter!

 

I had to have my signature glitter champagne bottle 

(click HERE, HERE and HERE for a few more examples!)

 

The classic rosette cake has become my birthday signature too! This was lemon cake with champagne buttercream.

 

I made the centerpiece tree with some paper and PVC pipe.

 

Thanks for checking out my birthday party!!

Star Wars Baby Shower Cupcakes

Believe it or not, I have not actually watched all of the Star Wars movies. I know, its like some kind of horrible crime against being an American, but its true. However, that didnt stop me from creating some Star Wars cupcakes for a couple celebrating their new bundle of joy! One of my favorite clients planned a Star Wars themed baby shower for her friends who are big enthusiasts of the films and I did the dessert!

 

I would say some witty quote from the movie like "May the force be with you new parents" but that doesnt really make sense since I've already admitted my ignorance to the films.

Either way, best of luck!

The Ugly Side Of Sharing

It seems the time has come for me to write a post about use of content on my blog.  

This morning I received an email tip that another website was using a photo of my work without my permission. This website belonged to a bakery in another state and had some of my work featured without credit to me. This is misleading to clients because it looks as though it is their own work.

I emailed the website and asked that they remove my photo. I was greeted with a very nasty email from what I presume was the owner. She insulted my intelligence and indicated that it was OK to use the photo because there was a disclaimer about it not being their work.
I returned to the site where there was, in very small print, a mention that they use photos from other bakers to inspire their clients.
This, however, did not make amends in my book. (I've still insisted on them removing my work)

I spend countless hours not to mention my own money making the items I feature on this blog. At this time, I do not have sponsors for my posts so my work is paid for out of my own pocket. Yes, I do have some paying clients and I sell my cupcake toppers on Etsy, but that income does not compensate for all of the dedication I've put into this blog and creative passion of mine.
For some other bakery to use my photo, my creation, and mislead clients into believing its their work (lets face it, what clients really read that fine print...not to mention, there wasn't credit given to me if they had!) they are profiting off of my hard work.
This is not acceptable.

I hope that you visit my blog, Twitter and Facebook page and find inspiration. Maybe even order some items from me too! However, if you are inspired, create your own work, your own version of it.  Do not steal my content and my photos that I painstakingly take the time to create.

With that said, I love my readers, I hope you enjoy my content. If you would like to feature my work on your own blog or website, I will consider it on a case by case basis and only if proper credit is given. Please contact me at fairytalefrosting at gmail dot com before posting on your site. (the email address is spelled out to reduce spammers)