HAPPY 5TH ANNIVERSARY!!!

Just Like Gram's is celebrating it's 5Th year anniversary this May! WOW! I can hardly believe it's been that long. The time has flown by so quickly.

I still remember the day when I started to envision my business and what I was going to name it. I was driving through the Pine Pass with my sister on my way back from Vancouver. We were discussing all sorts of name possibilities. We got off topic talking about doing some baking and hoping to have it "just like our Gram's". I then said. "HEY, THAT'S IT! What about Just Like Gram's?" My sister wholeheartedly supported the idea, knowing how much we loved our Gram's baking and the importance it has held in our lives.

We have grown from just baking the occasional muffins, cookies and pies for school teachers to a custom cake design business providing top quality cakes and cupcakes. We have been featured on on-line blogs, wedding websites and even on local televsion. I am pleased with the growth we have seen and am excited at what the future holds for us.

TO CELEBRATE ....

We will be giving away (i.e.FREE) ONE (1) dozen of our Gourmet-flavoured cupcakes each week in May.

We will be announcing the flavour of the week on both Facebook and Twitter each Monday morning (if you don't TWEET, then check Energetic City since our Tweets are listed there).

All you have to do is email us to enter to win. The FIRST person to email us wins the cupcakes.

Contest runs: May 2, 9, 16 and 23.

* Delivery is not included. Cupcakes must be picked up by Friday of each week. Additional decoration is not included. Cannot be combined with any other offer. We do not ship our cupcakes.

SMASH Cakes

About a month ago, we were approached by Fort St John local photographer Lana Hamilton, of Lana Hamilton Photography. She explained that she offers her clients "smash cake" photo shoots. She said she was looking for an exclusive cake designer to make all her smash cakes and was wondering if we would be interested in working with her. Excited over the prospect, we eagerly embraced the idea, PLUS, Lana graciously offered to give us a professional photo of our cakes (which we don't get very often!!!). Lana is great to work with, making you feel comfortable and at ease, yet being professional at all times. If you get a chance, make sure you check out her website for all her latest work.

Here are a couple of SMASH cakes we have created for her so far.

"Naughty Cakes" - Yay or Nay?

I get asked quite frequently if I do cakes that would be considered "adult-only" or "naughty". The answer "IT DEPENDS". You see, I will only do certain types of naughty cakes. I WILL NOT do cakes that feature outright nudity or what I deem "disgusting and lewd". You see, I have kids who see my cakes ALL the time and I don't want them exposed to that type of material. Also, it's a matter of my reputation. I have over the years built up a reputation of offering a classy, high-quality product and I don't want to mar that image.

NOW, what I do offer is "suggestively, tasteful" naughty cakes. For example, I will do a bra, corset, bums, etc. you get the idea. But the bottom line, is I decide on the overall design of each and every cake. So, if I get a phone call for a cake showing certain graphic body parts, the answer is "SORRY".

Now that I got that out of the way... I did receive a call last week from a former groom asking me to make a naughty "boob" cake. I suggested a corset cake. I heard later that everyone LOVED the cake and all the "GUYS" were busy taking snapshots and emailing them to their buddies.

It's Trade Show Time Again!

Well it's that time of year again....the largest trade show in the Peace was held in Fort St. John this past weekend. We attended the show once more displaying our newest cake designs and handing out cupcake and cookie samples. Over 14,000 people attended the show this past weekend, so needless to say it was a LITTLE crazy. We prepared just over 1000 samples and ran out every day. A good thing, right? Our booth was kept hopping answering questions and handing out samples. In fact, it was so busy that I sometimes had to stand in the aisle to allow room for people to come inside my booth. WOW!!! In the past, I have largely run my booth by myself and had my sweet husband come and help me set up and take down, BUT this year, he unfortunately dislocated his knee snowmobiling a few day prior to the show, so I was out of help. So, I turned to my good friend Eleanor and she came to my rescue. She not only helped me load my vehicle and set up my booth, but she also came during the show to give me a break. Trust me, it's REALLY exhausting standing in your booth for 3 days with no breaks to go get something to eat and also having to rush to the bathroom after 8 hours. She also came to help me take down my booth and transport my stuff back home. I couldn't have done it without her. I would really like to thank everyone who attended the show and who came to visit our booth. I really loved meeting everyone and listening to their stories. All your thoughtful and kind comments were well-received. For those who were unable to attend the show, check out the pictures of our booth and a few of the cakes we designed. Here are a few of the latest cake designs we took to the trade show. Orange & Purple with Orange Gumpaste Peonies

5 tier white cake covered in lace applique and silver dragee balls. Silk roses divided each tier with tiny gumpaste butterflies inserted between the blossoms.

I saw an adorable knee-length wedding dress on-line and loved the design. I replicated the design in this cake. Cake was peach in color with lace applique complete with a "paper" flower I found in our local scrap-booking store.

A whimsical tilted Brown and Ivory Square Cake complete with vintage buttons, ruffles, quilting and gumpaste flowers.

This is another example of a wedding dress design I found recently. This 4 tier round cake is covered in lace applique complete with a blue ribbon and "bling-like" star-shaped brooch I created from gumpaste.