Pink Flip Flop Cookies

I had a request to make chewy sugar cookies for a spa day. The client wanted flip flops with LOTS of pink in different patterns. I decided to use two different shades of pink to make it more varied. I didn't have a flip flop cutter, so each one was traced by hand (had to work fast because the dough was getting softer the longer they were at room temperature). Here they are in their glittery glory (you can't really tell from the photos, but I did brush some disco dust on):

Wedding Cake Showcase

I have been working on these dummy cakes for quite a while now; only when I have free time or when the boys are asleep. That's the bonus of the cakes being fake, you don't have to worry about it spoiling. I will be having them photographed professionally, so it will look better than what I have here. The purpose of this exercise is to show some of the techniques I can do for future orders and to give inspiration. Enjoy! :)

Embroidered flowers

(4" high dummies in 6", 8" and 10" rounds)

This style is relatively simple. Royal icing is piped on, then brushed inward for dimension. The marshmallow fondant (MMF) leaves were cut and overlapped to finish the borders, and I made them in the three sizes from smallest to biggest; they were also highlighted in white. The cake board was covered in thinned royal icing and sanding sugar was sprinkled on. Royal icing dots were piped randomly on. The fondant was made from marshmallows with strawberry J-ello and a bit of leftover orange MMF.

Sea elements

(carved 4" dummies in 6", 8" and 10" rounds)

I decided to make it topsy turvy. For the bottom tier, I folded strips of berry J-ello MMF and had it wrapped around. Royal icing items: dots, netting, and coral topper (using a grape stem as a base!). Other items were MMF: lily and lily pad, pearls, plants, and coral. The sand is made with light brown sugar.

Vintage pearls and roses

(4" high dummies in 6" and two 8" rounds)

This cake was the most time consuming: each ribbon rose was rolled and formed by hand. I really like how it looks vintage yet unique with the 8" high bottom tier. The purple MMF was made using grape J-ello, but it wasn't dark enough, so I painted all the roses with a violet/almond extract mixture. Of course, a pearl collar had to be a part of this creation, topped with little blossoms to add interest.

Block Bake Sale

Earlier in the week, my neighbour sent out flyers to neighbouring houses to hold a yard sale today. We don't have much stuff (I try to avoid stockpiling items that we won't use. Sidenote: if you have tons of things collecting dust, I can help you decide what to get rid of so you can also enjoy reclaiming your space). Instead, I wanted to have a few baked items to sell: cupcakes, sugar cookies and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I sold them at a discount (it was a yard sale, after all).

 Caterpillars on the move

 Snowy bunnies

 Spotty trains

 Plaid power

 Blue blossoms

 Pink blossoms

 Band of butterflies

 Cute, eh?

 Happy hearts

Race on!

30 Years Young!

2011 marks the end of an era... we 1981-er's are going to turn 30 this year! To celebrate this momentous occasion, a couple of my fellow '81 girlfriends and I will be going to Ste. Anne's Spa on Monday. It's a whole-day thing, so for the first time, I won't see my boys from 9am to 9pm!  Hopefully, James can survive. I wanted to bring along some sweets, so I'm bringing oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (not pictured), sugar cookies, and cupcakes.

 Lemon-flavoured sugar cookies with "30" and butterfly chocolate transfers

Top left: chocolate banana cupcake topped with peanut butter SMBC icing

Right: chocolate sour cream cupcake topped with chocolate SMBC icing

Bottom left: vanilla sour cream cupcake topped with vanilla SMBC icing

All cupcakes have a flower made with dark and white chocolate

Happy Birthday, 1981 Babies!

Backyard Bugs Cookies

Spring is almost over (hard to tell with all the rain we're getting). These lemon-flavoured sugar cookies are not only gifts, but they are in honour of our little friends that are a part of our ecosystem.

Sign Up and Receive a Sweet Offer!

If you live in the Durham Region, Toronto or in the surrounding areas, send me an e-mail and request to be on my client list at carrie@carriescreations.ca!  In return, I will give you timely updates and promotions PLUS you will receive $5 off your first order (minimum $25 purchase). The e-mail addresses are used solely for Carrie's Creations and will never be released to another party. I want to keep you as customers, after all! :)

A Rough Guide for Basic Pricing:
I was on the fence whether to release a pricing list online, especially when each order is custom, it will be different. If you follow this guide, it will let you know what to budget for. I will not turn away orders; we can work around your budget and come to a compromise. :)

COOKIES

Starting at $25 for a batch of sugar cookies decorated with royal icing (yields are approximate depending on shape):
2" cookies yield 20
3" cookies yield 12
4" cookies yield 8

CAKES

Wedding serving sizes (1.5"x2"x4")
6" round or square = 8 or 12 servings
8" round or square = 16 or 24 servings
9" round or square = 22 or 27 servings
10" round or square = 30 or 40 servings
12" round or square = 45 or 60 servings
14" round or square = 60 or 80 servings

Party serving sizes (2"x2"x4")
6" round or square = 6 or 10 servings
8" round or square = 11 or 20 servings
9" round or square = 18 or 26 servings
10" round or square = 22 or 30 servings
12" round or square = 32 or 48 servings

Basic cakes (meringue buttercream icing and limited fondant decorations)... starting at $3/serving

Fondant cakes (fondant covering cake and/or fondant/gumpaste decorations)... starting at $4/serving

All extra toppers and embellishments are additional charges and it will vary depending on the level of details... starting at $10

CUPCAKES AND MORE

Standard Cupcakes (minimum order 12)... starting at $2.50 each

Mini Cupcakes (minimum order 24)... starting at $1.75 each

Truffle Cake Balls or Pops (minimum order 12)... starting at $1.50 each

Order pick-ups... free (by appointment only)

Delivery to Durham Region... free

Delivery to Toronto and GTA... $10 to $20 (depending on the gas prices!)

Red Velvet Cupcakes, Gnome Cake, and Fun Fair Sugar Cookies

This past week has been quite busy for me.

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I made some red velvet cupcakes for my aunt-in-law's belated birthday for Saturday. This is my standard recipe for orders with a cream cheese icing (not Swiss meringue buttercream) because it just fits. You can't tell in the photo, but the cake is SUPER red with a hint of chocolate flavour. 

Happy Birthday, Auntie Heather!

Red velvet cupcakes with fondant ribbon rose toppers

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Next up, my father-in-law is turning 70 later this month, but since we were in town, we decided to deliver his cake the same day as the red velvet cupcakes (unfortunately, baby Owen was sick, so we only stayed for 5 minutes and then we drove back home).

The request was for a garden gnome cake. I made all the decorations out of marshmallow fondant, Italian meringue buttercream and a few dabs of royal icing. The tree stump cake itself is a 6-inch gluten-free banana chocolate chip 3-layer cake with Italian meringue buttercream filling, covered with chocolate ganache to resemble bark. I loved how this cake came to life when it was assembled. My only hiccups: the tall mushroom fell over because the grass icing was at room temperature for a while; during transit, the snail fell over because the base wasn't sticking to the curve of the mushroom top; and, also during transit, the gnome fell over because I used spaghettini to stick him into the cake (not strong enough - I will be using maybe linguine for supports in the future).

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

* * *

I decided to donate a gift certificate of a dozen sugar cookies to an upcoming fun fair at the closest elementary school to me. I wanted to create a basket of goodies to show what I can do. Here are a few:

 Fondant apple on sugar cookie

 Royal icing transfer with sprinkles on sugar cookie

Royal icing transfer Brobee from Yo Gabba Gabba on sugar cookie

 Painted butterfly design with icing colour mix sprinkled with disco dust on sugar cookie

 Milk chocolate chip cookies drizzled with dark chocolate

 Royal icing transfer of Cookie Monster on sugar cookie

 Royal icing transfer of Elmo on sugar cookie

White chocolate and dark chocolate transfers of soccer ball on sugar cookies

* * *

I am looking forward to this little break for the rest of this month, only having to work on a few upcoming projects for June. Stay tuned! :)