Inspired by Betsey

www.cakelava.com

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!

Tomi's Birthday Cake

This super funky, topsy turvy animal print birthday cake was made for Tomi's 27th birthday. She requested to have both zebra and leopard prints integrated into her cake and also a "POP" of pink. She loved Rick's leopard print "Cake gone wild" design, and she wanted her cake to have a similar feel with lots of contrast. Rick handcrafted giant pink lillies with bright green leaves for her cake and put her name "Tomi" on wires playfully on the top of the cake. A chocolate lover, Tomi chose our Hot Fudge Sundae and Kona Toffee Crunch (with chocolate cake, naturally). We're not sure whether we should say "Rrrrowwww" or "Yummmm!"

Aloha, 'til next time!

Birthday Cake Gone Wild

If this weekend had a theme, it would be "ecclectic". We couldn't have dreamed up a more diverse selection of cakes than these past few days, and we're hard pressed to choose a favorite, so we'll start with this super fab birthday cake with leopard print and bright pink daisies number. We're totally wild about this funky cake and it was a purrr-fect match when we arrived on site. The ballroom was decked out in bright pinks, black and white, and of course, the leopard print was everywhere, from the centerpices, to the candy bar, to the guests favor bags. Clearly a lot of thought was put into the decor of this party. Aside from the colors and pattern involved, Rick was given free reign on the design. The cake was placed on black and pink satin linens in the front of the room, where it instantly had a crowd of admirers. It looked like the several hundred guests were in for a real sweet time. The smell of sugar was everywhere, from the cake to the Godiva chocolates in some of the centerpieces and if that wasn't enough sugar, guests could get their fill at the birthday girl's candy bar. This was one sweet and wild event and we were happy to be a part of it!








Get in touch with your inner animal. Go to cakelava.com and see our selection of animal print cakes.

Next Featured Wedding Sneak Peek - Christie and Patton

All images courtesy of Visionari

Christie and Patton were married on August 15, 2008 and have the right recipe for our next Featured Wedding on cakelava.com. Take two of the sweetest people around (who happen to be extremely easy on the eyes). Add The Bayer Estate, a beautiful tropical ceremony and reception location. Mix-in the following A-list vendors – Visionari for photography, Designs by Hemingway for floral design, linens, lighting and crystal accents, Angel De Armas for cinematography, Ginniberries for catering, Jacque Rojas for Hair and Makeup, Accel Rentals, Showtime Djs, and yours truly on cake. Add a heaping tablespoon of black and white throughout, and a fabulous chic wedding cake gone animalistic and it’s a recipe for an incredible wedding!

This wasn’t the first time we are featuring Christie and Patton on our blog. We wrote about the couple in a post called “From Destination i do to … I Do”. They were the photogenic cover and featured couple of Destination i Do magazine. Christie is no stranger to the wedding industry, as she works for one of the best cinematographers in Hawaii, the fantastic Angel De Armas. Patton is in the Army’s Special Forces division and the couple chose to have a military wedding, which we thought was a really nice touch.

Christie and Patton’s cake, like our current Featured Wedding couple, Robyn and Barry, had an involved delivery. Since you don’t know exactly what the cake looks like yet, it may not be evident why it would require extra special attention. It was one of those deliveries where one of us was in the back with the cake (in this case, me) making sure nothing happened to it while the other one drove. There were many adornments on the cake that required TLC, and we weren’t about to let anything happen to Christie and Patton’s special cake. Although their color palette was black, white and accents of green, Christie and Patton went va-va-voom for the inside of their cake, choosing our signature Rainbowlicious flavor and the Hawaii Five-0.

Christie sent us an amazing testimonial that is on cakelava.com, and also wanted us to express the following on her behalf:

I'd love people to know that I've witnessed the hard work of all of the talented people in the industry in Hawaii and it was a pleasure to have them the day of my wedding. It was kind of a different I think compared to most brides....I didn't worry at all about anyone (vendors) being late or not doing the work I expected - I completely trusted them 100% - and gave almost everyone free reign in design - especially you guys and Debbie Hemingway :) I have seen what everyone is capable of and wanted each vendor to be able to shine in whatever way they were capable.....and it all meshed very well :) I just feel so blessed to have had my handpick in vendors - I never had a dream wedding growing up but once I started working with Angel (De Armas) I had my dream vendors....and I got them all on August 15th!

-- Christie N -- August 2008

Christie and Patton, we feel honored to have worked with you and had so much fun making your cake. You are two of the most warm spirited, upbeat people around. We wish you many years of happiness!

-- Sasha & Rick






See more of Visionari's incredible images of Christie and Patton's wedding on cakelava.com this week!