men's designer cakes
Theses cakes were all done for some very dapper gentlemen! Whether the cake was designed for an item they already had, or a design or designer they were quite fond of, these guys all definitely have their own style. Who says men don't love to shop?!:D
prettysweet's MOST wonderful time of the year
It makes me giddy just thinking about it come the end of October. Every year I brainstorm and try to come up with something new and exciting to make out of gingerbread. You'd be surprised how many things you can make with this stuff!! In the past I've made traditional houses, candle holders, lanterns, wreathes, cake stands, you name it!By far the most popular has been the cookie boxes. Who doesn't love a box MADE of cookies FILLED with cookies?! I give them out and personalize them with names of friends and family. And this year, I'll be selling them to you! The boxes come in three sizes - small, medium and large and cost $10, $20, and $30 respectively. They also make a great hostess gifts or corporate gifts, since they can be personalized (in place of the coco & lowe). Contact me at adjoa@prettysweetboutique.com or 416.500.5652 to order yours and personalize! Pre-ordered boxes will be available for pick up on Sunday afternoons (time tba) at the newly re-opened Covet + Crave at 803 Queen Street West in Toronto. It's so exciting to be doing pick ups there, as they've just re-opened and share the space with one of prettysweet's favourite designers, Brazen Hussy.
beatles themed cakes and cupcakes
These Beatles themed cakes and cupcakes were a pleasure to do, as that meant listening to tunes to get me in the mood! The drum kit and cupcakes were to celebrate a 60th birthday for a hard core Beatles fan. The vintage record player was especially fun because it was for a former employer's step daughter Devon's sweet sixteen and he trusted me to come up with something fun for her. He told me she really wanted a record player for her birthday, so I suggested the vintage Beatles' player for the cake! Both record players were a hit, I was told a few days later.
:D
hello kitty cake & cupcakes
Hello Kitty themes are one of the most adorable to do. The cake was for a 21st birthday and the birthday girl wanted a princess theme as well as Hello Kitty. We decided on a having a mini Hello Kitty princess sitting on the cake. The cupcakes were for another Hello Kitty fan ordered as a surprise by a friend of hers. She requested one special cupcake with Teresa's name on it.
hobby & game cakes
These cakes are a lot of fun to do, especially because the details are really what count.The globetrotter cake was for one of my favourite people who loves to travel the world. Her sister sent me a list of the places she'd already been as well as a list of the places she hadn't been yet. I made a map on the globe and marked some one the places on it with little flags. I love that my friends let me play when it comes to cake. A client that lets a cake designer play is really a dream. What's also great is the amount of random research I get to do.
The nurse and squash racquet cake was for a double birthday. She's a nurse and he loves squash & has a Prince racquet. The camera was for another friend who is into photography. He had just gotten this Pentax camera. The cake also had to be gluten free. The piano cake was for a client's mother who had taken up piano and was getting really into it. All 88 keys! This one was especially close to my heart, as it's actually modeled after a piano we had when we were kids. I can't say I had many good memories of that piano, but I can say that I remember it well! Though, there was the time my sisters and I 'laundered' Monopoly money on the front of it..... Speaking of board games, when I was asked to do this Scrabble board cake, I was so excited, as it's one of my personal favourite games! I did Kurt's birthday cake (Sailor Moon cake pic to come...), and he had the brilliant idea of making the game pieces spell out HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAD. We had the leftover pieces on the tile holder spell out LOVE YOU and XOX KURT. A lot of detail and a lot of fun to do! I'm not a huge gamer, but the PS3 cake was an interesting one to do also. I didn't realize all the little details involved in the console, but the controller was a last minute add on that I enjoyed! The pink guitar cake (with whammy bar) is a 9 year old's birthday cake. :D
a cheesy wedding cake
This is probably the most unique wedding cake I've made so far. The bride and groom are foodies and big fans of cheese. When Sarah (the bride) first contacted me, she had a clear idea of what she wanted (which I thoroughly enjoy in a bride) right down to the types of cheeses! They decided on their favourites: goat, la sauvagine (my personal favourite), morbier ('ash' and all) and beemster (a bit of dutch for the groom, Hidde). Sarah also asked that I include some grapes and figs to make it a bit more complete.:D
prettysweet kicks
These kicks cakes are interesting ones to do. I used to be into basketballball when I was in high school, but was quickly distracted by cake and pastry (my first pastry job was while I was still in high school) and so never paid much attention to basketball shoes (though I did have my entire dream kitchen planned - the first draft). When I was asked to do my first shoe cake (the purple pigeons/dunks) I thought it'd be a breeze. Once I took a better look at the shoe's details, I realized they are quite a bit of work, but I was up for the challenge!While all of these are fun to do, I'd have to say my favourite was the cake for Karla (hit the link, you will be nothing less than amazed by the things this girl is doing and has done at just SEVENTEEN!!). We went over and over about her interests, and finally came up with putting a basketball under the shoe (she plays ball) and her website hustlegrl.com as well as DAY26's logo on the base of the cake (she had her birthday at CiRCA, where Day26 performed. The colour choice was a no brainer, as purple is her favourite. The best part of this cake is that not only was the cake a custom creation, the actual shoe itself was also custom made especially for the hustlegrl herself! She blogged about her birthday cake also here.
a few 09 weddings....
Okay, so I'm back with a few more pics! Wedding season (and summer in general) had me swamped a bit, but I live to tell! Here a a few of the wedding cake pics from this year. :D
baby cakes
These cakes were really a riot to make. The Elmo & Tigger cakes had me spending a little too much time 'researching' Winnie the Pooh & Sesame Street. It all really brought me back. As they were for two one year olds celebrating on the same day, I really wanted them to be equally adorable. The baby foot was a congrats/welcome to a friends' new little girl. There's also a baby shower cake below that was an office gift for a mom-to-be who was not yet sure about the sex of the baby. We simply incorporated a few baby items like a crib, stitched teddy & baby blocks.:D
wedding season 2008... whew!!
Summer 08 was a bit of a marathon for me. It was my first prettysweet summer. I absolutely love all things wedding (you'd be surprised how much random wedding knowledge one can acquire from making wedding cakes over the years) and last year quite a few people I know got married so I ended up doing their cakes. Doing friends' cakes are a lot of fun because I end up getting to play a bit. Included in these pics is Faith & Rainer's cake. They wanted something really simple and clean, so they had the dot trio with orchids. Kel & Eric had the purple cake. Kelly is and always has been a fan of purple, so it was pretty fitting that her wedding cake was as well. Lena had come in from out of town, so we did a bit of planning over email, and when she got to town we spent some time together picking out things she liked and didn't. I pretty much got to do what I wanted, she just really wanted a monogram. Shannon wanted a monogram as well, but she wanted it at the bottom and a bit more visible. Polly's cake is one of my favourites. She actually gave me a picture of the lace on her wedding gown and I brush embroidered the pattern onto the cake. :D
