Giveaway at Mimi Marie Design!

You must go check out this fun giveaway! Mimi Marie Design is giving away a $25 shop credit to Finley and Oliver! They have some really cute custom clothes for kids! I am loving those cupcake shirts! I love supporting local moms running their own businesses as well. Please go to Mimi Marie Design, another local mom owned business and see how to enter! Tell her I sent ya!

Come and See!! The 2011 Brides Give Back Event!!

I am so honored and blessed to be able to participate in this years Brides Give Back Event. I love being able to give back myself and help out the community we live in. Some of the Valleys Best Wedding Vendors will be donating their services and products and it's all for a GREAT cause. Proceeds from the event benefit Save The Family, a local non-profit that assists homeless families. I have donated a wedding cake valued at $450 which would be a cake for 100 people! Check out all the details below! I hope to see you there!

PHOENIX – January 3, 2011 – Engaged couples have yet another reason to celebrate. Tickets
are now on sale for the February 23rd, 2011 Brides Give Back event. Brides and grooms are invited
to save big on their wedding day expenses by bidding on services donated by the Valley’s top
wedding professionals. The big day soiree will take place at the Historic Icehouse in downtown
Phoenix and will benefit Save the Family Foundation of Arizona, a local charity helping homeless
families get back on their feet.

The cocktail party auction will offer brides and grooms the opportunity to sip champagne, mingle
with Phoenix’s luxury wedding professionals, and bid on everything from photography to florals.
Couples who attended the last Brides Give Back event secured wedding day essentials at as little
as 30 percent of retail value, with all proceeds directly benefiting families in need. The event will
feature musical entertainment, silent and live auctions, and cake samples galore.
For more details or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.bridesgiveback.com/. Following the social
entrepreneurship trend, all ticket sales and 100% of net proceeds benefit Save the Family.

Brides Give Back began in 2009. In it’s first year, the auction of more than $30,000 worth of
donated goods and services helped to provide a night of shelter for 77 victims of domestic abuse.


About Save the Family
Save the Family has been serving homeless families with children for more than 20 years.
Founded in 1988, Save the Family was created to help homeless families become self-sufficient.
On the net: http://www.savethefamily.org/

Contacts
Event Chair
Cicely Rocha-Miller
480.219.8067
cicely@lifedesignevents.com

Event Founder
Sarah Hubbell
480.280.4402
sarahmhubbell@gmail.com


www.bridesgiveback.com •480.219.8067 •info@bridesgiveback.com

Free Book

It's a book.... about a baker! And it's free. Could be a good read so I had to share. Mostly because it's about a baker. :)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00436EZYO?tag=frugir-20&camp=213381&creative=390973&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=B00436EZYO&adid=0QWWX2TN2A1JQN4CJMP2

How to Make a Cupcake Stand

Skip to my Lou is one of my favorite blogs. :) I like crafty stuff. Here is a fun post about making your own Cupcake Stand.

Special Chocolate

These chocolates are a family recipe. They are our coconut balls and we also make a peanut butter version. They are most popular at Christmas time and Valentines day. They are also great for wedding favors.

My Newest Cupcake!

I wanted to share the newest gourmet cupcake flavor I have been working on. This is the Key Lime Cupcake with a key lime drizzle and cream cheese frosting. So yummy!

As a reminder we also have a fabulous Smore's Cupcake and a Margarita Cupcake. What are some cupcake flavors you would be interested in seeing here?

So sweet!

A sweet 16 cake! The checkerboard was all put on with a stencil. The bow is sugar and the ribbon is real.

Oh Christmas Tree!

I created this Christmas tree based on a design by Bronwen Weber. I love her cakes! It was for the Hope Kids Birthday Celebration this month. I love donating cakes to them, they are always so happy and appreciative and it's one way I can help out. Each tier was a different flavor of cake and filling.

Pizza Party!

A one year anniversary celebration. Nothing real detailed but look at the little tomato!

6th birthday

A cake for a very cute 6 year old. :) I made her mom's wedding cake years ago and have been blessed to keep in touch and make other special occasion cakes for her. This one was designed to match the party ware. I loved it and all it's glittery-ness.

Christmas Specials!!

Get those orders in quick before they are gone!

Gift Box Cakes in Christmas Colors- $50 (serve 15-20)
Two Tiered cake in Christmas colors- $85 (servings 30-35)
Decorated Christmas Cookies $30 for 1 dozen (minimum)
Holiday Pies $10

Christmas is a time to give back.

Christmas is a great time to give back and a great time to teach our kids about helping others. I believe that if we all helped each other more we wouldn't have so many issues. There are so many charities and causes; these are just a few that I like.


Something we have always done is the Christmas Angel Tree. These are set up everywhere, the mall, grocery stores and we have them at our church.

Operation Christmas Child is another I like. This is something you can plan for all year as well. Back to school time is a great time to get a lot of the items for the boxes and of course save those boxes all year. :)

Now this one is one that has really been on my heart this year, Hope Kids. They are local, in Arizona. I donate cakes to their special occasions when they need one. They plan and create events and parties for the kids and families of kids with major illness. When children are that sick it is really hard for their parents to plan outings just for fun. They spend a lot of time at the hospital or doctors offices having tests and treatments and just don't have the time and I would assume the energy for those things. There are also often other children in the family too and they all need that time to just try to relax and have a good time. That is where Hope Kids comes in and they do an amazing job. I love working with them. You can donate on the website.

Another awesome cause is http://reecesrainbow.org/. They are there to help children who need to be adopted. Most are from other countries and are in orphanages and institutions. The children need homes! So they get the word out and if you aren't called to adopt you can donate towards a child's adoption fees. It is so expensive to take all the trips there and then going through the process. Everything helps.


Have a Merry and Blessed Christmas!

Homemade Oreo Recipe

This recipe was shared with me recently at a holiday cookie exchange. They are soooo yummy. I have to make more soon!

Oh-R-E-Oh's

2 Boxes Devil's Food Cake Mix
1 1/2 C Shortening
4 Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla

Mix all ingredients (batter will be thick). Roll into quarter sized balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.


Filling

3 oz Cream Cheese (room temp)
1/2 C Butter ( room temp)
4 C Confectioners Sugar
1/2 tsp. Vanilla

Mix filling ingredients and spread desired amount between cookies.

That's it! Enjoy!!

Some of our past Christmas cakes and treats

                                    Here are some fun ideas for your holiday get together!

This was created for a Christmas themed bridal shower.

A Christmas gift box cake!

Snowflake cookies with lots of glitter. These were actually covered in white chocolate. So good!

Milk and white chocolate dipped pretzels with Christmas sprinkles.

Christmas gift basket- contains chocolate dipped pretzel rods, truffles, coconut candy drops, chocolate dipped cookies and our special cream wafer cookies.

A Christmas themed groom's cake...

... and the wedding cake.

A snowflake wedding cake!

Gold chocolate coins for favors at a holiday party.

Just a few of the custom creations we can create for your Christmas or other holiday party!

One of many gift ideas!

I wanted to share our Cocoa Cones! They are a great gift for just about anyone but are GREAT for employees, teachers, the mailman, :) kids stockings stuffers... You get the idea. Each cone contains 2 servings of yummy hot cocoa fixings, including chocolate chips (also can get white chocolate chips, Andes pieces or other flavor), marshmallows and Christmas Sprinkles. The candy canes are pretty decorations but are also to stir your cocoa. We add a pretty Christmas tag with directions as well. Each cone is $4.00 each.

Let's Talk Filling

Filling seems to be a personal reference. Some people don't even think of having filling in a cake until I ask. It seems it is very uncommon in some parts of the country. I know that as a kid my mom just put buttercream between layers of a cake. Now though we can fill them with just about everything and anything you can think of. I think it adds a lot of flavor and fun to a cake.

I have a list of fillings on my website and a few of them came about because someone asked about them. I love that because then I have a reason to test recipes and come up with new cake fillings, (works for cakes too!). One of my most popular fillings is the Whipped Strawberry filling which is made with fresh whipped cream and strawberry preserves. A lot of people like to also layer fresh strawberry slices on top of that. YUM

Get creative when you are looking at those fillings! I think layering them in fun. How about Chocolate Mousse with Ganache drizzled over it? Or White Chocolate Mousse with fresh strawberry slices? Let me know what your favorite combinations are or maybe one you would like to try.

Be Sweet!

Special!!!!

Order any of our Halloween treats by Tuesday and get 10% off your entire order!!! This includes cakes, truffles, cupcakes, cake pops, pretzels, marshmallow pops, chocolate suckers and more. Email or call me with your order. Here are just a few of the items we have done for Halloween.

And don't forget the fall weddings... :)

A Cake for Addy!

On October 4th I was able to make a very special 2nd birthday cake for Addy through Icing Smiles.
Her mom, Beth, explained to me Addy's situation and I want to share it with you here.

"She was a 28 week preemie and was 3 lbs 3 oz. She had issues with her airway collapsing and needed a trach to breathe when she was 2 months old. She was in the NICU until 3 months. She has had her share of hospital visits- so many that registration knew who we are and the nurses were all excited with how big she was since her last visit. I once asked them if they had a punch card like the do at the coffee shop. In April of this year, she got her trach out. She also graduated from feeding therapy, but is still working on walking and talking. She really is an awesome little kid."

               She sounds like she has made amazing progress to me! Great Job Addy! (and Mom!)

Some newborn pictures of Addy

It was the first birthday that she has had without a trach and the first birthday that she was able to eat cake.
She is such a sweet little girl and I was excited to make this cake for her.

She loves dogs and that was the theme for her party. Her mom told me that she loved the cake and was barking at it. :) Music to my ears! Here is the cake!

Happy 2nd Birthday Addy!

If I get to see some pictures of her ripping into it I will share those later. I love to see messy cake face kiddo's!

If you don't know about Icing Smiles please check out their website. It is a great organization that helps sick kids have an amazing birthday. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time and was very excited to join. If you are a baker you can donate your time and skills, (you do not have to be a professional or own a business) and if you know of someone that might benefit from the group please pass on the information!

Be Blessed!

Pet Shop Cupcakes

Aren't these cute? I am loving the paw prints! These were created for a Littlest Pet Shop Themed party at Bounce Jungle. We used purple, white, pink and hot pink, (the birthday girls favorite color) for the bones and paw prints. Each cupcake is also sprinkled with very sparkly edible glitter. So cute!

Here is a photo from the birthday mom after set up. We created the doggy bowl top cake for the family to take home and enjoy later. There are 6 bones in the bowl to represent the birthday girls age.

Note from birthday mom;

Here is a picture of the cake. Katelyn LOVED it! and so did we. It was very yummy too!

Here is another of the cakes we have created for Katelyn. A Strawberry Shortcake Theme for her first birthday with a free matching smash. So cute!

First Birthday!

Who doesn't love planning a first birthday party? OK so it might be a party more for the parents than the child. The little one won't remember it... or so I hear. ;) I love planning parties for my kids and first birthdays are extra fun because well, it's the first.

I like to celebrate first birthdays with my custumers too. I provide a free smash cake when a first birthday cake is ordered. I love getting to provide my own special gift for the birthday kiddo. I like to create them to match the main cake and I love to see pictures after the party of the smashing. (hint hint)

Here are a few pictures of some of my cakes with their matching smash cakes.