Happy Cupcakes Week: CancerCare for Kids

Image from www.cupcakesforacause.org

September 21-27 is the fifth annual Cupcakes for a Cause Week! Cupcakes for a Cause was launched in 2004 by CancerCare, a national nonprofit organization that provides free, professional support services to anyone affected by cancer. Cupcakes for a Cause enlists bakeries to sell specially decorated cupcakes to raise funds for the CancerCare for Kids program.

So to help raise even more funds for this awesome program, here are some things you can do:

1) Design a FREE E-Cupcake and send it to a friend! Powered by 1-800-FLOWERS, they will donate $1 for each E-Cupcake sent.

2) Host a bake sale in your community anytime during the month of September and donate the proceeds to CancerCare for Kids.

2) Purchase cupcakes from participating bakeries around the country. Each bakery will donate a portion of the sales to CancerCare for Kids. Sweetest Whimsy is not a sponsor because we do not have a brick-and-mortar retail storefront, but we are happy to be a cheerleader for all of the other great local bakeries taking part in this!

3) Order a Cupcake in Bloom™, made entirely of flowers, from a participating florist. Each florist will donate 10% of the profits to CancerCare for Kids. Who says it has to have sugar to be sweet?!

So how is Sweetest Whimsy celebrating Cupcakes for a Cause Week? I am hosting a NO-BAKE BAKE SALE! That's right, you can purchase a virtual cupcake from my bake sale, and in return, you will have donated the full amount (tax-deductible) to CancerCare for Kids AND receive a coupon for a future purchase from Sweetest Whimsy! You can donate online at the Sweetest Whimsy website or by contacting me directly.

Calling All Princesses!

You are cordially invited to take part in a fairy tale Mother/Daughter event, My Princess & Me, at the elegant and historical Red Berry Mansion on the Lake on Sunday, October 11! For just a $30 donation, each little Princess will receive a professional hairstyle from top hairstylists in San Antonio, make-up application, a tea party, music, dancing and a keepsake photo with her Queen Mum – all while helping support the children of St. Peter – St. Joseph Children’s Home.



Princesses will arrive in their most royal finery with their Mothers (or Grandmothers, Aunts, Sisters, Friends). All Princesses will receive a magical treat of hair design and makeup from our very talented fairies.

And this year, my company, Sweetest Whimsy, invites all Princesses to decorate their own royal cookie treats and dine on special Princess Cake and punch with their Moms! I will provide all the sweet ingredients for each girl to let her inner sugar artist come out!

There will be time for a fairy tale photo to remember this special day. What could be more magical than seeing hundreds of girls of all ages enjoying time with their Mothers and new friends?

Of course, this Royal Event wouldn’t be complete without dancing! Princesses will gather together and dance to great music with girls from the Royal Court. Special appearances by San Antonio Fiesta 2010 Queen of the Vine, Hannah Montana and other special guests!

And the best part of all? 100% of the profits from this royal event go directly to St. Peter - St. Joseph's Children's Home! St. P-J's is a home for children who have suffered sexual and emotional abuse, neglect, poverty and broken homes, as well as a community counseling and service center for families in crisis. This event is made possible by the many companies and individuals who are providing funding, services and in-kind donations, and I am thrilled that Sweetest Whimsy is a sponsor this year! I hope everyone will join me at the Red Berry Mansion on the Lake!

Event Details:
Sunday, Oct.11th, 2009
12:00pm - 4:00pm
The Red Berry Mansion on the Lake
858 Gembler Road
San Antonio, Texas

Ticket Information: Order Your Tickets Online!
$30 donation per person ~ Your entire donation goes to help St P-J's Home
(Or call 210-408-0101 to purchase tickets)

All images from My Princess & Me website

Vacation's Over!

I have been on "vacation" mode for most of summer, taking just a few orders here and there. One notable exception was these cakes, created for the wedding of a lovely couple who happen to be Carys and Thalia's preschool teachers' parents:



The bride wanted a romantic, traditional cake with pillars, flowers and swirls and dots in ivory buttercream. I hope she liked the finish product!

The groom wanted chocolate cake with German's chocolate filling on the inside and a simple Dallas Cowboys motif on the outside.

Just transporting the cakes to the wedding site was quite a challenge! (Note to self: Avoid summer weddings on 100+ degree days.) The buttery buttercream was getting slightly soft on the ride to the reception, despite the A/C being on full blast and at the lowest temperature in my car. But it all came together in the end, as it always does.

And there were some "fun" cakes too, like these Transformers cupcakes and Optimus Prime shaped cake for a boy's birthday party that coincided with the release of the Transformers 2 movie:





I also revisited something I used to love to do, but haven't had time for in recent years--molding chocolate candies. I used to make these for all holidays and for parties. I took advantage of a combined birthday/baby shower order to mold candies shaped like white chocolate sea shells and roses for the birthday girl and tiny white chocolate baby bottles, rattles and teddy bears for baby-on-the-way:




Besides these few exceptions, I spent my summer baking time playing around with some new (to me) recipes culled from several new cake books I've recently acquired. My "taste testers", that is my family, my husband's co-workers, and the staff of my kids' summer camp, were busy trying new flavors or variations for me!

I also did research this summer on the "competition"-- that would be everyone and anyone who also sells cakes and cupcakes! My research was conducted during our family's trip to the Pacific Northwest and involved visiting cupcake and cake shops in Seattle, Vancouver and on Vancouver Island. Yum. And I got lots of new ideas!

School's back in session and temperatures are starting to drop oh-so-slowly, so my "vacation" really is over. Already the dates on my calendar are being filled in with orders, and it's with a very grateful heart that I look forward to each and every one!