Sweet!

Cute Cupcakes with Cute Cousins

Teak Ashford-Smith — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:37:04 +0000

Try and say THAT three times fast, whew!

Well, recently my cousins’ celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary… yes I said 50 as in 5-0! So naturally our family felt a celebration was in order to celebrate the FIVE DECADES they have been married!! So almost our whole family got together and stayed the weekend at the beach in these adorable cottages and enjoyed sun and surf and of course cupcakes were involved. Unfortunately we were not 100% on the stove situation at the cottages so we cheated…. did you know that Publix sells undecorated cupcakes and cakes as well as their buttercream icing?! Yea, I didn’t either but it took one call and about a 24 hr notice and we had our items ordered! Gotta love Publix! I wanted to at least decorate the cuppies and my Mom had a brilliant idea… to decorate the cupcakes with my younger girl cousins! Good idear Mom! So on the first full day of beach time we took the afternoon to have a decorating breaky… plus it was a welcome break from the hot sun! Whew!

Morgan's Cuppies

So my lovely cousin’s Morgan, Lauren and of course Miss Alyssa, got our decorating tips ready and our sprinkle shakers in hand and had a blast decorating!

Alyssa's Cuppies

The girl’s blasted through the four containers of 6 cupcakes pretty fast… but still make them festive and fun!

Lauren's Cuppies

SO I noticed something… creativity runs in my family! I am always amazed at Alyssa’s decorating eye but I was pleasantly surprised by Morgan and Lauren’s decorating abilities as well. I’m telling you… my future bakery will not need staff for years!! Keep it in the fam! I was able to fanaggle decorating the small cake we had bought to celebrate the anniversary as well as Morgan’s 15th birthday that was the day before. It pleasantly turned out a bit Cake Wrecky but everyone seemed to enjoy it!

Overall we had a blast and everyone loved the cupcakes… I don’t know about you but “Cupcake Cousins Bakery” has a great ring to it

Sweet Links

Teak Ashford-Smith — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:03:38 +0000

So hey there… long time no talkie! Well me and the Hubs are in the middle of move.. yup we’re moving to London.. oh wait! Thats in my dreams. Nevermind.. in reality we are moving about five minutes away from our current apt

Hehe well.. I feel bad neglecting you like that so here are a few links to tide you over till I can bloggy bloggy again… Wish me luck!

Fun sites I found on the internets…

Hilarious site with lots of cute boys.. can’t go wrong.

http://www.cuteboyswithcupcakes.com

Sylar from Heroes and cupcakes!? Win win!

http://quintocupcakesunderwater.tumblr.com

First Bake Sale… in the books!

Teak Ashford-Smith — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:42:38 +0000

Well… what can I say? The Bake Sale was an amazing experience to say the least. We had such an amazing outpouring of people wanting to bake that we had a plethora of baked goods for everyone to choose from.

Oreo Surprise!

I wound up baking four kinds of cuppies totaling around 138… yes I went a LITTLE overboard. I made my Pink Pina Colada, Oreo Surprise, Mint Choc Yums, and Chocolate Heaven !

I was proud and happy that so many of my family and friends came out to support our cause. We wound up raising over $500! WOW huh?! I know…. all that from selling some cuppies and cookies. So a little about the day…

First of all it was hot… no not like “oh my I am misting, I do need a mint julep to cool down.” NO… I mean “oh my god I need a swimming pool of ice water sitting on top of an iceberg while 4 industrial fans blow cool air on me”… kinda hot. Like 95 ish kids… while in a parking lot. mmm hmmm all for the cause… ps I have some fun tan lines.

Pink Pina Colada

BUT aside from melting all day.. we tried for the baked goods not to melt which was fun. But people didn’t seem to mind and came out just the same. A few friends helped us set up (Thanks Julie And Beth! you chicks are awesome) and we got our area together eventually… it looked so cute!! Ashley and her bf Alex were there all day along with our friend Dustin (who took the pics of the baked sale) which made it a fun day!

We had an array of fun items for Silent Auction inside with my mom, aka the Cashier. What was a huge surprise was people would give a donation on TOP of buying items! It was so cool! People never cease to amaze me.

A Big shout out to Tiny Token Designs that donated an AMAZING cupcake necklace!!

Also once again, my girl Kristina from Ink Wink Design came through with the cuteness and donated TWO DOZEN amazing customized cupcake flags! I like having creative friends

And now… your dose of adorableness for the year…

Yeah I know… she is the cutest kid in the world. Miss LeeAnn found her favorite “keeke” after only three tries… Mom had to buy the first two licked cupcakes that had the “no likeit” verdict

Overall it was rewarding and fulfilling to say the very least and every bit of work was worth it… it was a sweet day for all!

Yes Virginia… there are still nice people in the world.

Teak Ashford-Smith — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:20:32 +0000

I KNOW I’ve said before how much I enjoy Cupcakes Take The Cake. I know I have… but now I can safely say I LOVE them.. yes the L word. ”Then why don’t you marry them?” ”Maybe I will!” Sorry…Pee Wee sidetrack … ps that is one of my favorite clips from the show, ever.

Moving on… when we first started promoting the Great American Bake sale I approached CTTC on the off chance they would post something about the sale. Not thinking they would respond or have time to post about our little Bake Sale…not that they are meanies or anything, I just thought they would be too busy. So to my surprise I received an email back RIGHT away! Cool huh?! And even cooler… it was from Nichelle, one of the founders of the site! She said that they would gladly post something up about our sale… yep that easy. She was nice, delightful and even asked if I could send over a flyer to put on the site! So here it is. Proof there are still nice people in the world!

Spreading the Sweet Word!

Teak Ashford-Smith — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:38:41 +0000

We are so excited about the response for the Bake Sale… we’ve been promoting our tushes off and can’t wait for the big day! Locally we have hit many local event sites like Craig’s List and TBO! I can’t wait to see everyone out there.. now, all thats left is to bake my brains out!

Sweet Review: Duff’s Color Gels

Teak Ashford-Smith — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:18:57 +0000

So have I mentioned before I love Ace Of Cakes? And that I would eat carrots everyday for a month to get to work at Charm City Cakes with Duff and his crew? And have I mentioned I LOATH carrots? Ok… I love Ace of Cakes on Food Network… the talented people and what they do with cakes is amazing. I think it seems to be the ideal work environment… fun at work? what?!

Anyways, to my surprise I was browsing in Michaels Craft Store a few weeks ago and I stopped dead with a rather unattractive “whhhhhhaaaaa?” that scared a fellow shopper… yes it happens frequently. I found myself looking at a display of cake decorating supplies by none other than the Ace himself, Duff Goldman. Of course I wanted to buy everything but I opted for just the “Electric Colors” Gel Colors and a tub of white fondant..for now.

I have been desperately looking for coloring for icing that is SUPER bright. I love color and pastels just ain’t cuttin’ it. So when I saw these in my four absolute favorite colors… I had to own ‘em.

A recent birthday project came up (bloggy to come later) and I used the hot pink and green for the color scheme.

Ok so … I love them. And I also loved the fondant.. I know I’ll tell you about it later.

But I found the colors amazing and easy to work with. The color saturation is amazing with just a few drops. The pic at right is the coloring after three drops! Only three! The pink was a true hot pink and very rich in color… and the green was fantastically bright! I also colored some of the fondant and the color distribution was immediate and even. Loved them…. I can’t wait to use the purple and blue!! Guess who’s making cupcakes with purple and blue icing for the Bake Sale?! This girl!

I was pleasantly surprised by these products… and really happy Duff seems to care what he puts his name on… can’t wait to buy, well, ALL of his products

Cupcakes used with Duff's Gel Colors!

Super Sweet Flyer…

Teak Ashford-Smith — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:13:22 +0000

Sweets for a Sweet Cause…

Teak Ashford-Smith — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 18:45:29 +0000

So, guess what? I’m planning a Bake Sale!!!

Me and Ashley, you remember Ashley? Our cousin with the affinity for Barbie cakes? Well she is also an amazing baker and suggested we participate in the Great American Bake Sale !

You know, being a strong believer in Karma and b/c baking + good cause+ always wanting to have a bake sale + money to help needy kids + that warm fuzzy feeling that you are doing something for the greater good = Yes! Let’s do it!

SO after looking for a venue and finding one (Thanks to my other cousin Stephanie, who owns a flower shop in town) we are able to announce a time and place! HEY LOCAL TAMPA PEEPS LISTEN UP!

Please join us at The Flower Shop at Bayshore located at 3301 W Bay to Bay Blvd from 9am-3pm!

Click here for the official Facebook Event page!

For my non local peeps I will be posting our progress and eventually posting pictures of the hundreds of people that came out to support this amazing cause !

Heres to hoping… come out and buy some Sweets for a Sweet cause!

Heavens To Etsy!

Teak Ashford-Smith — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:32:07 +0000

So.. my love for Etsy isn’t new or unknown. I proudly cheerlead to anyone who will listen about the site because I feel it is an amazing outlet that everyone should know about. There really is no other place (that I’ve found) online that you can find such unique things for such reasonable prices! I also love the “mom and pop” feel of the whole site… I feel like I’m supporting a community of creatives when I shop there! And everyone that I have encountered are truly nice and amazingly talented!

Since I am a glutton for punishment I frequently look at Etsy for new jewelry pieces… because along with sprinkles I have a necklace addiction. I love necklaces… I love big necklaces the most. I love fun necklaces … like the current Love Robot I am wearing (I found at an AMISH gift shop no less! Who knew?). So Etsy is like my Necklace Dealer… I can’t get enough. I love putting in random search phrases… like “Vampire Necklace” (do it! I found some really cool tasteful pieces! Trust me!) just to see what I find! Sweet Tip: Etsy has this BOMB feature that when you search for something you can reduce that search more by setting a price range!! Nice!!

Since I am a lover of all things cupcakes (shut up! I love cupcakes? I thought you knew!) I recently put in a search for “Cupcake Jewelry.” And I found some ADORABLE… yes I used the caps…pieces that I think I may add to my collection.

Be still my heart! That is a ridiculously adorable Baker’s Muffin necklace! And wanna hear the best part? It’s $14! What?! I know amazing…. ::resisting add to cart button::

How fantastic is this pendant? The shape! The colors! The positioning of the yummy looking cuppie!

Couldn’t get ANY cuter you say? OH Wait! Flip it over! The back says I Love You More Than Cupcakes!! Which honestly I’ve said to the Hubs before!

Wow. Adorable in epic amounts. Price for the cuteness? $15!

Yes. That is a mini pastry bag frosting a cupcake. The mini pearls on the necklace? I’m dying… I’m dying of cuteness overload. $17! Ay!

Any outfit brightens up with a fun necklace and I mean honestly… don’t you feel a small bit of accomplishment when someone stops you and says “wow cute necklace!” No? Then I’m the weirdo! happy shopping!

Birthdays Are a Sweet Affair!

Teak Ashford-Smith — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:41:22 +0000

Yes! It’s me… already! None of this month in between blog entries nonsense anymore! I’m back to annoying you on a more regular basis!

Plus I find myself baking a lot… like… a lot! No complaints here! Baking=lurve! That’s right not love but lurve!

Birthdays. I mean, could one word conjure up more excitement? I can think of some but this is a PG blog, kids. But seriously, I remember growing up that my birthday was not only a day but a week of fun! A whole seven days to get away with murder and be a total brat! This concept I have carried over into adulthood (ew I said the A word) and even shared with the Hubs. I remember the first year we were together and I made a HUGE deal out of his birthday he was siked at the Birthday week tradition.

Birthdays hold a special place in my heart, so whenever I’m asked to bake for a birthday, especially a Kid’s birthday, I’m pumped!

I mean the possibilities are endless! The bright colors, the fun sprinkles! It’s an excuse to really go crazy with the funtasticness. (new word alert!)

Today I’m going to write about two birthday parties I was fortunate enough to be a part of… first is Emily! You remember Emily? I made Tink cupcakes for her birthday last year! Well this year Emily was having a fabulous Pop Star party and I had to go all Rock N Roll with her cuppies! I started looking and only found Hannah Montana items (gag)! Since when is THAT rock n roll? I’m old I guess.

Anywoozle, I went to my partner in cupcake flag adorableness Kristin from Ink Wink to help me out with some customized Rock n Roll fun suitable for Ms Emily!

The theme was pink rock n roll.. girly rock n roll/pop star fun! How can you go wrong? The cuppies turned out awesome and really pink! I’m LOVING Wilton’s rose icing coloring! The cupcakes were chocolate with creme cheese goodness icing… again with the smart choices!

Emily had a blast and sung her heart out at her Pop Star Rock n Roll Party where the cuppies were a huge hit! (get it? Pop star? songs…huge hit? nevermind)

Movvinng onnn…..

Next I baked for our friend’s son and another friend’s daughter combo party! Sean was turning 4 and Amber turning 5, so the group choice was a Backyardigans cupcake theme!

I don’t know who they are.. but they are bright and fun and cute! I found some finger puppets online and decided to go with the chocolate and yellow standard cuppies with varying icings. I decided to break away from my beloved 1M tip for the colored icing and tried a fun 5 tiered loop effect in the Backyardigan colors! Before I added the puppets it had a nice Dr Seuss effect! Hrm… future cupcakes? Maybbbeee!

Next time I think i’m going to use a more hardy icing, as some of the loops drooped (poet and I didn’t even know it) and I figure it was because of the consistency.

I was happy with the turn out and everyone seemed to love the cupcakes! The best part was seeing the kids with colored mouths and icing smeared EVERYWHERE! Sorry Moms and Dads!

I love birthdays and doesn’t ANY event seem better with cupcakes?

The answer is yes.