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Thursday, November 18, 2010

We're Running Our Race!

So, we mentioned in our last blog that we fell behind in posting....so this week you get the joy of TWO blog posts that should bring us up to date on the state of Plum Crazy Cake Company.

We've mentioned before that we have a little problem with taking on more than we should because we dream big and then have to execute things to make it happen. We never have a problem with ideas...what we lack is enough available time.

And, so, we signed on in the late summer to provide the dessert for our running team's pasta dinner almost two weeks ago -- which was the night before the actual race on Sunday, 11/7....a half marathon of 13.1 miles.

And, yes, we were both on the team and running that 13.1. So, the last thing we should have been doing on that Thursday night was mixing up cake, fondant and buttercream and staying up until after 2 a.m. to finish the cake...but that's what we do! I think we'd both say it was gratifying work and a labor of love for our teammates, whom alongside, we have worked so hard with over the past 6 months.

So, we made a replica of our race day shirt. We did a yellow cake torted with buttercream and topped with blue fondant and white fondant lettering. We topped it off with a "finisher's" medal.
Our team name is Team Run Your Race
We think it turned out pretty amazing. Launa posted a quick snap of it on Facebook and one of our teammates commented that she didn't understand why she was posting a pic of our shirt and how did she get a medal already? She couldn't believe it was a cake. (That's what we like to hear.) We also some red velvet and carrot cupcakes for the kids...





...however, most of those were eaten by adults! We even were "official sponsors" of our running team -- and thus, got logo rights on the back of our race day shirt.

We're on the lower right hand side
(Shirt modeled by Heather's sister)
And by the way, we both ran the half-marathon that Sunday.

Heather, teammate Robin & Launa
(We ran our first half-marathon together two years ago!)
And Launa is even planning on training for a full marathon (26.2 miles) for her 30th birthday in the Spring. (Heather, who has zero aspirations of running a full marathon, will be there cheering from the sidelines.)

After our muscles stopped protesting in agony, it was back to work for two Star Wars themed cakes for our friend (and running teammate), Stephanie and her son's 9th birthday. Back in August, we asked Stephanie and her husband Peter, who own the local sign company, ProSigns, to make a decal for the back of Launa's Plum Crazy PT Cruiser. They did a beautiful job.


They graciously agreed to help us out with our new business by trading our decal for cake (which btw, is a great thing to try to do for new businesses. Just ask to swap what you do, for something else you want. It's a win-win!). So, the time had come for us to deliver and we wanted to wow the Murphy's...and especially little Tyler. So, Launa made a small R2D2 cake for Tyler's slumber party on Saturday night...


...which, reportedly, the boys loved! And then she created an Obi Wan cake with a laminated photo of Tyler's face for a larger family party on Tuesday.

Tyler's photo used with his parent's permission

And, Tyler gave his Obi Wan cake rave reviews as well!

We hope as you see the cakes we are posting here, that you realize that pretty much anything is possible to do with cake. All you need is the vision and the drive to execute something that brings so much joy (and tummy satisifaction) to others.

Next up, we are taking orders for gourmet cupcakes for Thanksgiving. (For ordering info, click here.) And after that, we have our first wedding cake, a company party cake and a cake-themed party for a sweet 8-year-old girl. Busy, busy!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Three Birthdays & A Holiday

The past month has been a whirlwind for the gals at Plum Crazy Cake Company. Between the two of us, we've had two children's birthday parties to plan (and cakes to make), one of our own birthdays to celebrate (and no, we didn't make that cake), one women's retreat to sing at, Halloween cupcakes to make and deliver to our kids' classrooms, and finally, quarterly taxes to file.

At long last we've been able to catch our breath and now we can catch you up on where we left off. The middle of October had us doing our first cake-themed party. We tried out the concept on Heather's 8-year-old daughter, Hayden. She wanted a "Cake Boss" party...which inspired the idea of doing cake parties in the first place. Heather entitled it a "Cake Diva" party and made cut-out cake invitations for a few guests...which turned into 13 kids at two different tables.

Heather whipped up several batches of buttercream frosting and mixed up several color of fondant, keeping her KitchenAid mixed, "Mabel" humming.


Each child created their own tiered cake masterpiece, covered in buttercream and topped with fondant. It was messy, but the kids enjoyed it. Hayden picked her two favorites and they each received a prize.


The birthday girl received a special "decorating kit" with tools and recipes to use in her future baking endeavors, and the party goers received a similiar "favor" bag to take home.


It ended up being fun, tasty and pretty darn cute. So much so, that we've booked our next one in a few weeks. Good thing we had more bags printed up from our friends at Pro Signs.

After Hayden's birthday, it was time to start thinking about Launa's daughter, Autumn. Her first birthday was quickly approaching and of course, Launa was plotting something spectacular...a gradually shaded buttercream 4-tiered cake, adorned with autumn candy melt leaves.


I promise...those leaves were really made out of candy and were completely edible. I think everyone at the party was a little afraid to take that first taste to make sure.


After Autumn's birthday, Heather celebrated hers....ironically with no cake in sight!  But Launa did come up with a pretty awesome birthday gift: Starbucks gift card and a decal to make "Mabel" official.


And then it was time for Halloween parties at the kids' schools. Heather went for the easy mini cupcake topped with a swirl of buttercream.


And, here's what Launa made...



...and she didn't stop at cupcakes either. She made cake pops...ghostly cake pops with sheets of fondant.





Whew...so October is done and November is halfway there. Be on the lookout for the next chapter of our saga featuring Star Wars cakes and a very special t-shirt cake.