wordless Wednesday...modern day pen pals...

(Jaden using FaceTime to chat with our friends in San Diego)

xoxo,
sharon

the mysterious box of fun...

right around Christmas, we came home to find a mysterious box on our front porch...inside, was a bunch of goodies for the kiddos...& a note...

it simply said...

To the Skates children:

I am a blog reader & I know this will keep you all busy while your mom makes those cakes. Also, ask mom to post your finished gingerbread house. I will be looking to see how wonderful it comes out! Have a Merry Christmas! Remember, Jesus is the reason for the season!

God Bless – your blog reader from VA

inside, was a family calendar, little stockings for the kiddos with fun bath gel inside, hats/gloves for all 3 punks, & a gingerbread house kit!

we're still totally puzzled as to who could be the generous blog reader...but we THANK YOU! the kiddos LOVED their cool hats & gloves! (which by the way, shows me this person is a blog reader - the girls stuff was Zhu Zhu pet gear & their gloves are fingerless!) & putting the gingerbread house together was a ton of fun! :0)

Gabby had a friend come stay the night during Christmas break...it seemed like the perfect time to let the kiddos go town on the gingerbread house...

the finished product...

thx again - whoever you are! it feels really good to know that there are folks out there thinking of us...& doing nice things for others...your package definitely brought a smile to all our faces!!!

xoxo,
sharon

weekend cakes...

first up was a dirtbike cake for Keller...4yo Keller was getting a dirtbike as his birthday present this year, so his parents wanted him riding on his cake...his dad sent me pics of both Keller & his new bike & i created them out of fondant...the cake is fudge chip on the bottom layer & strawberry up top...all filled in regular buttercream & iced in chocolate buttercream...the little rocks are chocolates & the trees are sugar cones

here's a note from Keller's mom:
"Keller loved his cake! He thought it was really cool. All the kids wanted to eat the motorcycle and the trees. As usual you did a fabulous job!"

next was a special cheerleading cake for Alexis...she actually designed her own cake - & had her dad email me her sketch...i hope that i helped create what she envisioned...it was a really great design! Alexis parents might have a future cake artist on their hands! ;0)

it was all wedding white cake, filled & iced in buttercream...i made all the decorations from fondant & handpainted Alexis' cheerleading group's logo on the front fondant circle

the little cheerleaders on top had wire support inside, but were made of fondant as well...of course, the flyer was supposed to be Alexis herself ;0)

here's a comment i got from Alexis' mom on Facebook...
"Thank you so much for making her design come alive. She loved her cake!!"

last, came this fun cake for Gavin...Gavin's future aunt delivered this cake 2hrs to get it to his party! (thx Tammy!)

it was all fudge chip cake, filled & iced in buttercream...i made all the decoration & trains from fondant...the sun is rice krispie treats inside

thx for looking!

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& now, to announce the winner of this weekend's giveaway...
~lol~

well, since Jennifer was the ONLY one to enter, she's the big winner! congrats Jenn...we'll hook up & get those cupcakes to you soon ;0)

i guess i need to remember that just like me, folks can't check in every day...i should have left the comments open for a week or so to give everyone a chance...& i didn't announce this giveaway on my Facebook page, so that my regular blog readers would have a better chance to win (when i host a giveaway there, i have around 150 people enter)...plus i'm not all about blowing up my blog reader numbers - i like having my friends & family as readers...& i look at this blog as more of a journal, not really something i'm crazy about all my cake peeps reading...i guess maybe i need to get over that - sort of combine everything...because i'm also finding that since i update my FB pages & Twitter accounts often, i'm repeating a lot of stuff here - things my friends have already heard about somewhere else

anyway...regardless of the fact that this giveaway was a total bust, i still see my visitor numbers going up every day - so i know my regular folks keep coming back...& i thank u guys for that! :0)

wordless Wednesday...happy birthday Misty!

i ♥ u!

this week's cakes...

u might remember Cindy? well, Miss Cindy put the petal to the metal after the wedding, & scored herself a bun in the oven right away! ;0) because i love this girl so much, i took it upon myself to throw her an office shower this past Tuesday...oh yeah, if i haven't mentioned it before - we are not only friends & cake cohorts, but we also work for the same software company

another thing we have in common? we both LOVE Cake Wrecks!!! so, i had to honor that by giving her what else, but...carrot jockeys! unfortunately, mine did not have mohawks :0( but they still were pretty cute ;0)

in case u've been hiding under a rock, & aren't in on the Cake Wrecks fun - here's some info on the three wrecks i included on Cindy's cake above

i think she had fun...& she left with a lot of loot! ;0) i can't wait for October to get here, so i can squeeze that little booger!

my weekend of cakes started early this time around...on Friday, i had to deliver two - one was this fun tiki for Becca's 14th, luau-themed, birthday...it was 2 tiers of fudge cake, iced in buttercream & decorated with fondant bamboo & palm trees, sugar flowers, & a tiki on top (sculpted styrofoam, covered in fondant & painted with food gels)

the 2nd was sort of a follow-up cake...Alyx celebrated her 9th birthday last month, by having a joint party with her big sis - remember the plaid cupcakes? this cake was to celebrate her actual birthday - today! she wanted to combine her 2 favorite teams - so i decorated the cake in VA Tech & Pittsburgh Steelers colored fondant...inside was confetti cake, iced in buttercream :0)

then today, i delivered 2 more cakes...1st was this sweet ladybug cake - for a little one, just as sweet...Miss Grace was super excited when i showed up to the party - her mom told me that all she's said she wanted for her birthday was cake! my kinda girl! ;0)

this cake was all yellow, filled with lemon buttercream & iced in light pink buttercream...i decorated the cake with pink & black fondant, & made the topper from styrofoam, decorated with fondant

& i've already gotten a note from Grace's mom...gotta love Facebook! ;0)
"Thank You so much for making Grace's birthday cake, not only was it adorable the cake itself was soooo good. :) You truly are really talented!"

& look - she matched her cake! :0)

and last, came yet another cake for Cindy! she didn't know about this one though...her mom secretly contacted me to also make Cindy a cake for her family shower ;0)

it was yellow cake, iced in buttercream...i made my famous fondant baby to top the cake, & little fondant baby laundry to decorate the sides

& now...i'm done for the weekend!
by 1pm on a Saturday?!

unheard of! ;0)

weekend cakes...

Saturday, i delivered this Twilight cake to Alexia...she actually designed this cake...giving me the specifics on color & design...she knew exactly what she wanted! ;0)

it was 3 small tiers of fudge cake...all iced in buttercream & covered in my dark chocolate fondant...all accents are made from fondant, & i hand painted the Eclipse moon logos...the #11 topper was not edible...pics never pic up the shimmer when i use luster dusts - u can't tell, but this one was quite sparkly & pretty!

when i showed up & the birthday girl spotted her cake, she squealed a little...then as all her friends came in the room, the noise level went up...then the cell phones & DSi's popped out for pics...it was quite entertaining...also, very rewarding ;0)

last Friday, baby Jake turned 1! Jake is the son of a friend...and about the cutest baby ever!

because i was a little pre-occupied on Sunday, i totally forgot to take pics of these cakes before sending em out the door (Curtis delivered them in the pouring rain for me...thx hun!)...thx to Steph (Jake's aunt - the girls' old daycare provider) for taking these pics for me!!!

the top monkey cake was a 2-layer 9x13" marble cake...iced in buttercream & topped with a big chocolate fondant monkey face :0)

i also made a matching "smash" cake for Jake...also in marble...at first, Jake gently began eating fingers full of icing

but within a few minutes, that "smash" cake earned it's name...it was too funny!

thx for looking!

weekend cakes...

Saturday, i got to meet up with a chick i graduated high school with...haven't seen her since then (13 yrs - yikes!), but we've been in touch via good ol Facebook for the last year or so...anyway, she wanted some cupcakes for her youngest's 4th birthday - he's in love with all things construction...she planned to add little toy dozers, dump trucks & movers at the party

24 yellow cupcakes, iced in buttercream...i used crushed chocolate cookies & graham crackers for dirt, & made the cones & rocks from fondant

later that evening, we attended the birthday party of brother/sister duo, Jailyn (10) & Hayden (5)...i've been making cakes for the joint bday parties of these 2 since Hayden was 1!

they had a pool party this year...complete with a sand castle cake! it was all yellow, iced & filled with buttercream & covered in graham cracker/brown sugar sand

i used cardboard tubes & different types of ice cream cones to create the turrets/towers...& the seashells are artificial (non edible)

the party-goers gobbled this cake down...they flew through the pieces faster than i could cut em! that's always a good sign ;0)

happy birthday Jailyn & Hayden...i look forward to creating many more birthday cakes for u guys!

then today, i had this one picked up...it was for THE cake sister herself...Miss Jennifer is responsible for so many people coming to me for cakes, that it's not even funny! (including the sand castle duo above) & she herself, is responsible for probably 7 or more of the cakes i create each year...this girl keeps me busy! ;0)

Jennifer is big into Fantasy Football...& i hear she does pretty well! ;0) her team is called Victorious Secret & she's all about her pink mojo ~lol~

her sister (another very busy cake customer herself!) requested this cake for Jennifer's 31st birthday (yesterday)...it was fudge chip cake, iced in buttercream...i made the helmet out of rice krispie treats...the facemask is not edible

random Wednesday...

campfires are in full effect out this way...although, the sweltering daytime heat is making it very difficult to enjoy having them too often...

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Sunday, i took the kiddos to a fireworks stand...a fond memory i have as a kid...i'm loving being able to pass along the tradition...

daddy had to work, but the kiddos & i (& my bro, my sis, & her son) sat at our usual spot for the New Market show...the Shenvalee golf course!

the kiddos have a great time playing on the greens & looking for frogs in the water hazards while we wait for the fun to begin...

the show was a little disappointing for me...especially when the field caught on fire & they had to stop for a break half way thru (yikes!)...but the kiddos are easy to please & thought the fireworks were great...then we went home & set off the ones we picked up earlier, plus a few my sister had recently gotten in TN...they may or may not have been illegal ;0)

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Monday, my BFF & her family were passing thru (both Curtis & i had the day off too!)...they were on their way back to NC, after visiting family in MD...we were so glad they could swing by - not only to visit & play for a sec, but to stay for grilled burgers & dogs for dinner! we miss them so much!

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i worked from home yesterday...stayed inside pretty much the whole time, only stopping to take the dog out for a quick break...but i kept seeing my weather channel desktop update with the current temp...it got up to 101 (with a heat index of 105)!! when i went out to go pick up the kiddos from daycare, this is what the thermostat in my vehicle read...

whew!
it was so hot, my chewing gum (that had been sitting in my truck) couldn't be chewed...it would just dissolve & crumble in my mouth! is summer over yet?

i get up & walk the dog at 6am every morning...then wait & do it again as the sun is going down (between 8 & 9pm)...that's about the only time it feels somewhat comfortable outside

i had a walking buddy last night...she's my little tag-a-long these days ;0)

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get this...Friday, Jaden turns 10!
i know...that's double digits people!

we're having a low-key party on Saturday (complete with the sand castle cake he's been planning since last year)...then after, we're taking the fam to see Despicable Me (it opens on his actual birthday...there's 2 more countdowns that have been happening in our home lately ~lol~)...the question is, do we go 3D or not?

i've heard both good & bad feedback regarding 3D movies..all 5 of us sat thru a 3D show (Spongebob at Kings Dominion) - but it was only about 10-15 minutes long (Despicable Me is 1.5hrs)

i have a friend who's 2 small kiddos got sick during the movie...& my sis suffered a headache the entire day after watching a 3D flick...any of u have motion sickness issues?

or were u not affected in any way & totally enjoyed it?

i worry that i may even be sensory overload for Jaden...was sitting thru a full feature in 3D annoying/overwhelming for u or ur kiddos?

or was it worth the xtra $ for tickets?
cause u know i'm cheap! ;0)

let me know what u think...