Hungy Caterpillar Party for Chuck Norris

My nephew Enrico and his wife Leslie moved back to the East Coast just in time to celebrate their baby's 1st birthday (Felix Orion aka Chuck Norris).  Leslie picked the Hungry Caterpillar theme for the party (thanks to Eric Carle for this all-time favorite children's book).  As usual,  I volunteered to make the cake/cupcakes.  But I won't take credit for this project.  My daughter Ana came home to help me and she practically made all the decorations on the cake and cupcakes.

Behold the artist's handiwork:

She was a little OCD'ish with the caterpillars.  They came out so perfect and cute!

Here they are assembled:

There are more pictures on Leslie's blog.  She did a great job with the decorations - all handmade from recycled cardboard and cereal boxes. 

I am so looking forward to doing more crafts and cakes with Leslie and Ana.

King of the Remote

For my husband's 50th birthday, I made this cake to depict how he unwinds at the end of a hard day at work.  I also made a flat screen tv set but it did not fit the 6 inch cake.  Honestly, we both fall asleep in front of the tv every night.

Here's the birthday boy... the king of my heart...

It was really scary lighting up 50 candles on a small cake.  We had to rush the candle-blowing before the smoke alarm went off.

Princess Party for Emma

I can't believe it... Emma is 4.  This year's party theme was Disney princesses and Emma requested a Princess Auwowa cake.  Despite the cake mishaps (2 failed batches of cupcakes, melting frosting and not enough cake and fondant for Princess Auwowa's skirt), the final outcome was good and the party was a success.

From this ...

to this ...

to this ...

to this ...

My niece did a great job with the decorations and the party games and craft activities and food.

Princess Emma had a great time ...

and so did the other princesses ...

And they all got to kiss the prince and princess frogs...

Noah's 1st Birthday

Noah is Emma's baby brother and he loves Elmo.  So for his 1st birthday party, his mom had to go with the Elmo theme.  

Below is the Elmo I made for the top of his cupcake tiers.

And here he is with all the cupcakes:

Oh I just wanted to show this picture my husband took.  Elmo had to stay in the fridge overnight because it was so humid.  So when my husband opened the fridge in the morning, he was greeted by this cute guest.

Happy Father's Day

I made this carrot cake for my husband for Father's Day with the help of my kids.  Here's to the master of the grill, a great dad and husband!  We love you very much!!!

The Nature of

My daughter Ana and her senior class had their final art show last Wednesday.  The title of the show was "The Nature of".  To go with their theme, I made this tree stump cake for their show opening.

Here are the graduating artists...

And here is one of Ana's installations "The Beach"...

Emma's Tangled birthday

For Emma's third birthday, she wanted a Rapunzel-themed cake (the Disney movie Tangled had just come out in the theaters and she loved it).  She loves all Disney princesses!  This was the most challenging cake I've made so far and I'm not totally proud of it.  It's too imperfect but Emma loved it! And that's all that matters to me.

And there's my dear Emma...

Legal Drinker

When my dear Ana turned 21, I made a beer mug cake to celebrate her reaching the legal drinking age... although she has probably consumed more alcohol than I have in my entire lifetime.

Oh the peanuts look fabulous, don't they?  Eric made them.  My kids are amazing.

Giant sushi for my sushi boy

My son Richie just loves sushi.  For his 19th birthday, I made this sushi cake and (as it has become a family tradition) brought it to his college.  We had a nice sushi dinner nearby and then had this sushi impostor for dessert.

Emma's 2nd birthday

My niece always insists on a theme.  For Emma's 2nd birthday, she picked Abby Cadabby (the Sesame Street fairy character).  It was not easy but I enjoyed making it anyway.

Ed and Ted

My oldest son Eric made up these cartoon characters, Ed and Ted (twin brothers), way back when he was in grade school.  For his 22nd birthday, I tried to make them come to life through this birthday cake.  I borrowed the concept of the transmogrifier from his favorite comics Calvin and Hobbes.

Harry Potter Mania

My daughter Ana practically grew up with Harry Potter.  After watching so many episodes of Ace of Cakes and Food Channel's Cake Challenge, I knew I had to make her a Harry Potter-themed cake for her 20th birthday.  No one's ever too old for Harry Potter.

Rubik's Cube Wiz

My youngest son Richie is a Rubik's cube wiz.  He turned 18 on the first week of freshman college.  So I made a rubik's cube cake for him and brought it to his dorm.  Richie claims this cake meant a lot to him - it helped him make a lot of new friends on his first week away from home.

Emma's first birthday

My niece's baby Emma was turning one and the theme was farm animals.  I had a ball making these fondant animals while watching a Monk (detective series) marathon.  I actually copied this design from another baker's blog.