A Pretty Kitty in Aloha Attire

www.cakelava.com

It's great to be back in the swing of things once again! Now that the hard part of the book writing is behind us, we are able to focus more of our time towards making cakes. In the past couple of months we've had an opportunity to make some amazing cakes, some of which have been posted on our Facebook page. Thank you to everyone who has left us comments and sent us emails of appreciation, and apologies to anyone we had to turn away due to other commitments.

It's been a while since Rick made a sculpted Hello Kitty cake and we've been looking forward to this super cute version wearing a Hawaiian print sundress for months. The cake was made for the baby daughter of a couple whose wedding cake Rick made a few years ago. It's always a treat when a couple returns to us for their children's cakes. To be able to do one of our favorite characters in a new way makes it even better! The couple selected our yummy Guava cake for the inside of their sculpted cake. Pretty in Pink inside and out! Thank you to Delphine and Ray for including us in your sweet girl's special day!

Apologies for the Silence

Apologies for the silence. Our blog has been much quieter these last several months because our book is commanding our attention at the moment. We are still posting new cake photos as time permits on our Facebook page. We have a vibrant community there and invite you to join us! Aloha! Sasha and Rick

3RD "Discover Your Inner Artist" Canada Class! - October 2012

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We are starting to get very excited about all the travelling we will be doing next year! Starting in June 2012 and continuing through the end of the year, Rick will be teaching his "Discover Your Inner Artist" series of classes in Canada, London, Pennsylvania (only U.S. class) and Australia. We are pleased to announce that we will be travelling to Ontario, Canada not just once, but twice, next year and have recently added on a 3rd "Discover Your Inner Artist 2" class at Icing Inspirations, located in Kitchener, Ontario. We had such a great time with our hosts and the students at Icing Inspirations this past March that Rick accepted an invitation to do a 3rd class there. This time we will return in October, and lucky for us and all of Rick's students, it is also during the week of Oktoberfest (October 7-14, 2012), which is a HUGE party in Kitchener. Kitchener-Waterloo is the home of the largest Oktoberfest celebration outside of Germany (750,000 to 1,000,000 people expected) and Icing Inspirations is located literally about a block away from the Concordia Club, one of the biggest Oktoberfest party venues. What all of this means is that the October Class 3 students are going to have an opportunity to not only learn Rick's tattoo/lotus and sushi platter designs, but a chance to experience a true Oktoberfest party in style!

In his "Discover Your Inner Artist 2" class, Rick uses the techniques taught in the the first "Discover Your Inner Artist" class and focuses on advanced airbrushing and painting. Students will learn how to make the tattoo/lotus cake start to finish, including airbrushing methods and handcrafting and painting the beautiful lotus flowers. The methods used to shape the unique tiers will also be demonstrated. The sculpted sushi platter is a design that we have offered at cakelava for many years. Rick will demonstrate the making and painting of the sushi platter components. As with all the "Discover Your Inner Artist" classes, enrollment is limited to give each student individualized attention.

Registration for the October class is handled directly through Icing Inspirations. If you are travelling to the class from outside Canada, it is strongly recommended to make your accommodations well in advance due to Oktoberfest. Don't wait to register. The first 2 June classes sold out in 48 hours!

Class information:

Location: Icing Inspirations in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Dates: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, October 10th, 11th and 12th, 2012.
Time: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm (lunch is included)
Register at: http://icinginspirations.ca/product_info.php?products_id=1759

Please contact Icing Inspirations directly for any questions about this class. We can't wait and hope to see you there! 

For more information on all our classes you can refer to our Classes page on the blog.

Phalaenopsis Orchids Wedding Cake

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The colors and style of Delanie and Joe's wedding cake couldn't be more different in style and color than the last cake we posted to the blog. Their cake was a modern elegant design with a very refined textural pattern on top, varied heights of the tiers, and phalaenopsis orchids on the front. The couple gave creative control to Rick to design their cake with their only input being the colors of crimson red and silver and to integrate one of the flowers from their invitation. The phalaenopsis orchids were done freehand without the use of any stencils. The shape of the cake was designed to emphasize the orchids on the front and a very tall bottom tier was used with two shorter tiers on top. The couple chose Roy's Restaurant for their wedding reception, which suited this cake with its distinct asian vibe beautifully! Congratulations to Delanie and Joe!

Wedding Cake for Julia and Mitch

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We haven't been able to blog as frequently these days because writing our book is keeping us very busy in-between fulfilling cake orders. This unusual cake was made last weekend for Julia and Mitch's wedding at the Bayer Estate. We've been working with Julia and Mitch since the beginning of the year and met the couple back in June when they flew in from their home state of Colorado to discuss their wedding cake design. The couple brought us an amazing and unique color palette to work with -- a kiwi green, a lavender thistle, and accents of brown. They were looking for a whimsical design with an organic quality to it that would incorporate one of the bride's favorite flowers, Sea Holly.  Rick designed their wedding cake in their colors and adorned it with a single large handcrafted flower that was inspired by a close-up of a Sea Holly. The petals are intricate and abundant and the center of the flower has a great amount of detail. Curly willow accents were added to the cake to further bring in the natural, organic feel that the bride was wanting. We were pleased when we arrived at the wedding site to see that Debbie Hemingway, the couple's florist used the Sea Holly flowers and curly willow in the gorgeous floral arrangements. For their destination wedding, Julia and Mitch served their guests tropical cake flavors and chose our Guava Lava and Broke da Mouth (mango). It was a beautiful wedding with top-notch vendors and a striking cake to Wow their guests! Congratulations to Julia and Mitch!

Italian Themed Wedding Cake

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The wedding cake was ordered 1 year in advance, giving Rick a good amount of time to discuss with our bride Kathy and plan for the design, which was inspired by Italian art and architecture. Rick was thrilled to make an Italian themed cake and Kathy shared with us her desired colors, orange, yellow, green and red, and gave Rick carte blanche to design the cake however he wanted. A lot of love was put into this cake. An estimated 20 hours was spent making the cake including all the handcrafted pieces, the sculpting of the cake, a cobblestone cake board, and the detailed handpainted artwork on the cake. It was the closest any of us would get to Italy without actually travelling there. Kathy and her (now husband) Ernie love Italy so much it was only appropriate that their wedding reception would take place at Cafe Sistina, a popular authentic Italian restaurant with incredible floor to ceiling frescoes painted by the Chef/Owner Sergio Mitrotti who is from Torino, Italy. The cake was a perfect match in that location! Not surprising also was their choice of cake flavors to serve their guests, Banana Blueberry Mascarpone and Banana Nutella, both of which have Italian ingredients. We were fortunate to have a chance to congratulate Kathy and Ernie when we delivered the cake. Their look said it all! They were touched and in awe of their cake, jaws dropped, and we started feeling emotional seeing how happy they were with their cake. Rick finished their cake on his birthday to prepare for their wedding the following day, and was thankful to have a beautiful piece of art to work on that day. A big Thank You and Congratulations to Kathy and Ernie!

Inspired by Betsey

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We apologize for our absence these past few weeks. Rick and I have been working long hours with cake orders and business as usual while simultaneously creating for and writing our book. We will be posting new cakes as time permits both on the blog and our Facebook page and hope you enjoy seeing some of our latest inspirations!

Rick designed the cake above as a surprise for a 21st birthday party. He was asked by our client to make a cake inspired by her daughter's favorite fashion designer, Betsey Johnson, known for her contrasting prints, sexy and wild clothing and accessories, and bold use of color.  The design was left up to Rick's wild imagination and he chose two animal prints in contrasting colors for the base, a checkerboard pattern for whimsy, and sexy hearts and lips. Lips are a recurring motif in many Betsey Johnson designs, including on her signature, and we both thought the lips would be a nice touch. Pulling it all together, Rick made a large handcrafted flower with gold detailing, and flirty ruffle on the bottom, giving the cake a touch of bling, and a sexy playful quality that any Betsey Johnson-adoring, 21-year old would go gaga over!