Just Like Gram's

I'M ON A BUDGET!!!

2012-02-01T06:59:00.000-08:00

"I'M ON A BUDGET!" I hear those words quite frequently when a bride comes to me to discuss her wedding cake. I do understand the whole budget issue, especially nowadays with the economy the way it is. Personally, I don't want to spend anymore than I have to either. I cringe everytime I fill up on gas or buy groceries at the store.

Remembering the time when I was getting married (has it been 13 years already?), I was one of those frugal, budget-conscious, do-it-yourself brides. I was a teacher-on-call and my husband-to-be was a student - IN FACT, he wrote his final exams the day before we got married. We paid about $5000 for our wedding (yes, I know that was 13 years ago, but there are ways to keep it simple and affordable). In fact, our move to Fort St John, was MORE expensive than our wedding once we added up all the moving expenses. To help trim costs, here are some of the things I did for my wedding

made my own wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses. Both my sister and I CAN sew, and I made them a year in advance. It's a great incentive to keep your weight down.
had a buffet dinner (it was a wild game meal so all our family chipped in with different types of meat)
had our wedding/reception all at the same location
was gifted the cost of the hall rental
used to work with my caterer who is also a dear friend, so she prepared all our food FREE- I just had to give her the money for the ingredients
purchased freeze dried flowers from a business going under, my sister did all the arrangements
made my own invitations/decorations
purchased my husband's wedding band from a business going under - which by the way, he doesn't wear anyway because of his job
had a family friend be the DJ - I just gathered CD's from family members for him to play
had a family friend who was a freelance photographer do our photography
I did have a small wedding cake, plus desserts made by my grandmother

Being in the wedding industry, I am in constant contact with lots of vendors and have come to learn lots of budget-friendly tips. So here's a few:

1) Guest List - Keep it under control! The sure way to keep costs down is trim your guest list. For example, if dinner costs $15/person, just by cutting down 10 people from your list, you save yourself: 1 less table rental, 10 fewer chair covers, 10 less people to feed, 10 fewer party favors to make, 10 less alcoholic drinks to buy... you get the idea. The rule of thumb I learned from a top wedding cake designer and caterer in Indianapolis is the 60% rule. You plan for 60% of your invited guests. Realistically, not EVERYONE is going to come. When I got married my guest list was appx 180, but just under 100 showed up.

2) Plated Dinner vs Buffet Dinner - Overall, choose a buffet dinner where everyone can help themselves. For a plated dinner, you have to pay someone to put everything on your plate and serve it you and your guests individually. Also, on the topic of buffet, think about your food. A simple buffet with one meat, one starch and 2 veggies is going to be cheaper than too many multiple choices.

3) DIY - Yes, I do believe there are some things that you can do your self and save money, i.e. organizing wedding favors, invitations. HOWEVER, I do firmly believe that there are some things that are better left to the professionals, such as your wedding dress, photographer, caterer and wedding cake. I believe that you get what you pay for. If you want good quality stuff, then you should be prepared to pay for it. I can't count how many brides have come to me at the last minute thinking that they could save money by having a sister, mom or auntie make the cake and then it didn't work out and had to have me do it for them. So, yes, I do believe that you can honestly save money and do some stuff yourself, but be realistic and honest with yourself what you can and can not do.

4) THE CAKE - One important piece of advice - a fake cake is NOT cheaper! No matter what the wedding magazines say (by the way, those articles are not written by someone who actually makes cakes, but someone in an office). A lot of people say, "well, you're not paying for the ingredients of the cake, so it should be cheaper." Wanna know something?? Those Styrofoam pieces cost just as much as the ingredients do, plus I have to pay for shipping too, since I can't get them here in Fort St John. Overall, you have the Styrofoam pieces (equal the price of the ingredients of the cake), plus the time for me to decorate them which would have been the same as if it was a real cake, plus sheet cakes you plan to serve sitting in the kitchen which is STILL cake that I have to bake and ice. SO, to save money, go with a smaller cake (see the advice of guest list above) and forget the fake cake idea.

My overall advice (which is also what I hear from other vendors too): spend the money on what is most important to you and what you want to remember the most. What I remember the most from my wedding was my dress, the beautiful location (we saved money by having the ceremony, reception and pictures all taken at the same location), the pictures and the food (we had a wild game buffet dinner). Save money on the little things that honestly no one will remember years from now (and neither will you....

A "Farming" We Will Go...

2012-01-28T21:19:00.000-08:00

This post is going to short and sweet. Why??? I am in a just a little bit of pain. I received this cake request over a month ago and "no problem" was looking forward to designing it. Fast forward to yesterday, when I went to work on it. I went out first in the early morning to shovel the snow off our deck, and only got to the first shovel full, when my back instantly froze in pain due to a pinched nerve. I was literally left motionless because I couldn't move. After what seemed an eternity I finally managed to hobble into the house and get into the pain meds. Great huh??? Suddenly it dawned on me, that I still have to do the cake. UGH!!! In between repeated intervals of laying on the couch for 30 min and 15 min of cake work time, I finally managed to get it done.

SO... for you cake business wannabees, this is an issue that you have to think about. Yes, designing cakes is a lot of fun and I ABSOLUTELY love my job, BUT there is also the flip side (the not-so-nice part of the business). In the rare case you get sick, injured or have to spend the evening in the hospital and then come home late at night and STILL have to work on cake, because there is no one else and JUST you (unless you have employees who can do the work for you).... just a ``little`` something to ponder on.

Anyway, I got the cake done, and was pretty happy with the results despite my situation. The top tier was classic white with Italian Meringue butter cream filling while the bottom tier was chocolate filled with cookies `n cream butter cream. The cake was covered in fondant with fondant accents. The little toy tractor topper was purchased for the little birthday boy to play with. When the mom came to pick up her son's cake she was so happy with it, she proceeded to order 3 more cakes from me. So... A "happy" customer, makes it all worthwhile in the end.

Share some love... with a cupcake!

2012-01-23T08:01:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is fast approaching! Check out these Valentine's Day cupcake specials:

Strawberry Passion - Strawberry Cupcake filled with strawberry preserves topped with Strawberry Buttercream

Red Velvet - Red Velvet Cupcake filled and topped with creamy White Chocolate Cream Cheese

Chocolate Truffle - Chocolate Cupcake filled and topped with decadent Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate Raspberry - Chocolate Raspberry Cupcake filled with our homemade Raspberry Filling and then topped with Raspberry Buttercream

Chocolate Brownie - Chocolate Cupcake filled with Chocolate Pudding and then finished with Pink Buttercream topped with a chocolate brownie heart

Cupcakes are $3.25/ea (minimum of 12). Cupcakes can be picked up between 9AM-2PM. Call today to book your Valentine Cupcake order!

FSJ Bridal Show 2012

2012-01-22T20:01:00.000-08:00

This weekend I attended the 15th Annual Bridal Show in Fort St John. I had an amazing time and met tons of new brides and got a chance to rekindle friendships with other vendors whom I hadn't seen awhile. Part of the fun of attending a bridal show is getting the chance to network with other vendors. Another first for me this year, was that I was accompanied by my 8 yr old daughter Elizabeth. She spent the entire day with me at the bridal show and then participated in the fashion show as one of the models. She was a great help to me setting up and taking down my booth. We had such a fun time that she wants to do it again next year.

Here is a pic of my booth

We created numerous cake designs for the bridal show. I like to try new techniques to display at the show. Here are just a few of them... For this cake, I covered the entire cake in fondant and then covered in sparkly sugar, tied with a sugarpaste bow complete with edible brooch.

Since August is a BIG month for weddings here in Fort St John, I get a lot of requests for autumn themed cakes. I created this cake in chocolate fondant complete with sugarpaste leaves with a bit of gold to add an elegant touch.

I wanted to experiment with different textures, so this cake was created with a stucco texture. I completed the overall design with sugarpaste dogwoods dusted with pink and green centers.

I actually created this cake last year for another show but I never felt completely happy with it. The design was inspired from a picture of a wedding dress I seen in a magazine. The cake originally had a dark blue ribbon with a star shaped sugarpaste brooch. Unhappy with the design, I ripped off the ribbon and brooch and created this sugarpaste bow with a softer shade of blue with a pearly white sugarpaste brooch to match the lacework applique on the cake. Needless to say, I loved the new look.

Going with an organic nature feel, this 3 tier cake was created using olive green and ivory shades with a branch going up the front. Two hand painted birds were added for a whimsical touch.

This pretty 5 tiered yellow cake was another design that underwent several changes during the design process. I originally was going to put yellow and green whimsical swirls going up the side of the cake with the addition of butterflies. BUT somehow I just couldn't get the feel of it. So, I ended up changing it midway the design process. I piped scroll work all over the cake and then added pearl dusted embossed fondant flowers and leaves. It looked so bright, summery and cheerful against the dreary winter weather we are having right now. If I had to change things, I would probably still add a few butterflies here or there, pink maybe???

Coffee Break Cupcakes

2011-10-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

New from Just Like Gram's starting Oct 11, 2011

Craving something sweet to go with your coffee, but can't get out of the office? Let Just Like Gram's "come to you" providing your office with delicious homemade gourmet cupcakes.

Your Coffee Break Selection Box ($48) includes:

4 Cappuccino Express Cupcakes

4 Chocolate Fantasy Cupcakes

4 Just Like Gram's "Cupcake of the Week"

Deliveries will be made Mondays between 9:00AM -10:00AM. To order your cupcakes, orders must be received by Friday 5:00PM for the following Monday. Call 250-827-3023 or email sales@justlikegrams.ca to order

Christmas Holiday Treats

2011-10-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

Have you started your Christmas baking yet? Are you too busy to bake? Let Santa's elves do the work for you!!! Just Like Gram's is once again offering their cookie packages!

1 doz Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
2 doz Whipped Shortbread
2 doz Thumbprints
2 doz Spritz
2 doz Buttons
1 doz Jewelled Cookies

ALL 120 COOKIES FOR $75.00. Cookies are baked fresh, so pre-order is required. Pick up dates: Dec 2nd, Dec 9th ,Dec 16th and Dec 19th.

Holiday Treats (Limited time only)

Custom Decorated Cookies $1.00/inch
Gingerbread Men $3.00/ea
Peppermint Chocolate Cupcakes $3.25/ea
Christmas Candy Cane Cupcakes $3.25/ea
Red Velvet Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream $3.25/ea (Please Note: Min of 1 dozen)

Back to School Cookies

2011-07-27T08:24:00.000-07:00

If you are like me, you absolutely DREAD the thought of making lunches. What a hassle?? right?? So every fall just before school starts, I bake up a ton of cookies and muffins for those quick breakfasts and lunch snacks.

Just Like Gram's is offering Back-to-School cookie specials. We are offering a package of 4 doz nut-free, wholesome homemade cookies to get your kid's lunches off to a great start.

Each package is $50 and includes:
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Oatmeal Raisin
Snickerdoodles
Chewy Brownie

Cookie are baked fresh, so pre-order is required. Cookie packages are available for pickup: Sept 6, Sept 12, Sept 19 and Sept 26. Just give us a call or email us to order your package today.

HAPPY 5TH ANNIVERSARY!!!

2011-04-24T16:24:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

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?

2011-04-16T08:20:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-04-13T17:50:00.000-07:00

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.

We've Been Nominated!

2011-02-21T07:20:00.000-08:00

That's right! Just Like Gram's has been nominated for Best Home Based Business award in Fort St John. We are soooo excited and honored to be nominated. To vote, all you have to do is click HERE and "LIKE" us.

FREE DELIVERY MONDAYS!

2011-02-16T07:15:00.000-08:00

We are excited to announce that we will be offering FREE DELIVERY every MONDAY. That's right! What a better way to start the week? Save money on delivery fees and save time by having your order delivered right to you. We will be delivering to Fort St John every Monday between 9AM-3PM.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T18:28:00.000-08:00

Here at Just Like Gram's we were busy creating all sorts of creations. This past weekend we received orders for 2 birthday cakes for 2 special people who happened to have their birthdays on Valentine's Day. The first cake was a created for a client who loved sail boating. So we created this nautical theme cake complete with anchor, sand and seashells.

Last week we received a phone call from a sweet gentleman who wanted to order a special birthday cake for his wife. He wanted to include her favorite color "purple" but coincide with Valentine's Day! He chose tuxedo cake filled with raspberry cheesecake filling iced in Italian Meringue buttercream and then covered in purple fondant.

Valentine Cupcake flavour this week: Chocolate Cupcakes with Pink Buttercream topped with a heart shaped chocolate brownies drizzled in chocolate.

This peach pie was a special request of my husband. He LOVES peach struesel pie and when I asked him if he wanted anything special for Valentine's Day, this is what he ordered. The only difference was that he ordered 2 pies, not 1. You see at Christmas he wanted peach pie for his birthday, but our 9 year old son got into it and by the time he was through eating it, my poor husband ended up only getting 1 piece of his birthday pie. SO, this time, he wanted to be prepared and asked for 2 pies.

Let's Go to the Hospital and Eat Cake

2011-02-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

This was DEFINITELY my biggest cake to date. I was asked a couple of weeks ago by Northern Health to create a cake to celebrate the construction process of the new hospital being built in Fort St John. I was really excited and honored to be asked to create this cake. After several meetings and looking at pictures and diagrams, I started to plan. I also sought the assistance of Kara of A Cake to Remember who constructed a large building cake recently. She gladly answered ALL my questions in regard to construction.

The cake was made from both chocolate and vanilla cake iced in Italian Meringue buttercream. I covered the walls, cut out small windows and and constructed the signs all from fondant. The trees were wired from floral wire and then dipped in chocolate. I then cut out over 1000 leaves and attached them to each tree with chocolate. Grey sugarpaste was laid out to resemble sidewalks and then green grass was piped all over the board. I have never done SO MUCH piping in my life before. My hand was so sore I couldn't even grip a pencil after that.

Overall, the cake took over 3 days to construct (if you added up all the hours), but I'm glad with the outcome.

Valentine's Day Specials

2011-02-01T07:23:00.000-08:00

Only available until February 14th - Order today and Reserve your sweet treats today!

Hand Decorated Custom Valentine Sugar Cookies - $2.75 each (min of 12)

Valentine Cupcakes: $2.50 each (min of 12)

Strawberry Passion - Strawberry cupcake with strawberry buttercream
Red Velvet - Red Velvet cupcake with cream cheese buttercream
Chocolate Truffle - Chocolate cupcake with chocolate ganache
Chocolate Raspberry - Chocolate raspberry cupcake with raspberry buttercream
Chocolate Brownie - Chocolate cupcake with pink buttercream finished with a chocolate brownie heart.

The "Patch"

2011-01-24T06:48:00.000-08:00

I created this cake this weekend for a lady who was ordering it for a client's birthday. NOW, by looking at the picture, I'm sure you can tell what this client does for a living. For those, who are a bit confused, up here in the North in Fort St. John, life basically revolves around the oil and gas industry, even other industries like farming, forestry and manufacturing, all seem to tie into the oil patch.
Cake flavours were vanilla with Italian Meringue buttercream filling, iced in traditional buttercream and then covered in fondant. I topped off the cake with black fondant to resemble oil. Completing the cake was a chocolate oil derrick with chocolate spewing from the top.

Mud Bogging Jeep

2011-01-20T12:00:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I received a call for a jeep cake from a lady for her boyfriend. She emailed me a picture of a cake and wanted something similar except she wanted lots of mud, rocks and their pet dog.

Sculpted cakes are always a challenge since I receive very few requests for these type of cakes. But, I was up to the challenge, and since I loved going 4x4ing myself, I found this cake lots of fun.

So I built up the hill from vanilla cake filled with raspberry buttercream iced and carved it and then covered it with a blend of green and brown fondant. The jeep was carved from chocolate cake filled with buttercream and then iced and covered with black fondant. All the rocks, jeep accents and the dog were molded from fondant. The mud was pretty easy to do just by spreading on brown royal icing. The jeep wouldn't be complete without mud splatters all over the front and tires. Lastly, cookie crumbs were sprinkled all over to resemble dirt.

2011 Fort St John Bridal Show Part A

2011-01-18T07:33:00.000-08:00

This month I participated in Fort St John's 14th annual bridal show. The bridal show was well attended with over 50 brides accompanied by their bridesmaids, moms, sisters and occasional reluctant groom.
Over the years I have been working on achieving a certain look and feel to my booth and I think I am finally getting there. It's hard to believe that this was my 5th bridal show and when I look back, I cringe because I still remember my first booth - 4 cakes with red and white balloons in the background. UGH!!! I really loved how my booth turned out this year complete with black skirting, lavender tablecloths and lavender draping. I even got a new sign made this fall too.
Overall the show went very well, I was busy answering questions and handing out tons of cupcake samples. I made over 400 samples consisting of red velvet with white chocolate cream cheese, chocolate with traditional buttercream, and vanilla with raspberry buttercream. I went home at the end of the night with about 2 doz samples to the delight of my family who quickly devoured them.

Part of this years bridal show, I handed out these great coffee mugs designed by Imagine That to all the brides who stopped by my booth. Each mug had a few pictures of my cakes complete with logo and contact information. The words "Bride" were written on each mug for that personal touch.

White Victorian

Since I have a soft touch for anything old, vintage and Victorian, I designed quite a few of my cakes for the show around this theme. The cake below featured white drop strings, piping and borders traditional of the 80's. To contrast the white look, I topped the cake off with deep red roses with a spray of pearl beads.

2011 Fort St John Bridal Show Part B

2011-01-18T07:01:00.000-08:00

Here are the rest of the cakes I created for the Fort St John Bridal show.

Vintage Suitcase Cake
I created this cake using an assortment of handmade gumpaste flowers overflowing the top. To create a vintage feel, I brushed a mixture of vodka and warm brown gel paste on numerous times in varying strengths. Adding to the charm, latches were created from molds from some of my treasured brooch collection.
Simply White
This simple cake was created just for the sake of simplicity. I wanted to show brides the option of having a simple, yet elegant cake. Flowers were silk and the cake was decorated with a simple ribbon and scroll work.

Redneck Wedding Cake

This cake was created with a very specific couple in mind: my niece and her boyfriend. We are always teasing them about "when they are going to tie the knot". I always have said that if they were to get married, I would do their wedding cake. So, I thought why not design it for fun for the bridal show and show brides how they can personalize their cake. Since my niece is into horses, I designed the middle tier for her going with a denim look complete with belt, buckle and gumpaste flowers for the added feminine touch. The bottom tier was created just for him. He is a total fan of John Deere machinery and loves working with dirt and rocks. The top tier was to combine their love of hunting and shooting. I topped the cake off with modeled figures of the couple holding guns in their arms.

Ivory Brooch
This cake I ABSOLUTELY love, it is my favorite to date. The whole world of molds opened up before me when I was designing this cake. First of all, I wanted the look and feel of ivory and gold. I just love how those two colors go together. I then got out my trusted brooch and button collection and started playing around making molds. After narrowing down my design, I got to work and put all the elements together. The overall design included quilting, gold swiss dots, gumpaste bow, gold painted scroll work and hand molded cameo brooch and buttons.

Black Victorian

I know it sounds weird, especially in today's cake world, BUT I still love the look of the traditional cakes from the 80's. You know the ones with all the piping and scroll work. So, I decided to go with the design but give it a modern twist and make the overall cake BLACK with contrasting piping. Out came the molds again, in which I added molded draping, cameos and buttons to the design. To add to the final look, I brushed pearl luster dust on all the adornments to give it a polished look.

Zebra Stripes & Black Diamonds

2011-01-17T06:11:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we created these 2 cakes for two lucky ladies. The first cake was created for a little girl turning 7. Her favorite color was pink and even though she was into the whole "girly" thing, she also wanted something modern and trendy. I designed this cake with pink fondant with the bottom tier draped like a dress with zebra stripes. I added black hearts for the top tier, wrapped a bow around it with a "bling" center. Lastly, a touch of lime green was added for contrast. The other cake created this weekend was for a sweet 16 party. The birthday girl chose one of my previous designs. Since I really don't like replicating my past designs "to a T", I changed it up a bit my adding a "Queen of Hearts" topper, some fondant rolled roses and some whimsical fondant cut outs at the base of the cake. The birthday girl chose red velvet with white chocolate cream cheese filling and chocolate cake with cappuccino buttercream filling. The entire cake was iced in Italian Meringue Buttercream and covered in fondant.

A Wedding Cake Revisited

2011-01-14T07:04:00.000-08:00

I love receiving customer feedback telling us how amazing their cake was. I created this beautiful scroll work cake for JD and Shelley for their wedding this past summer and Shelley sent me a wonderful letter expressing her gratitude. Fast forward 6 months later, and Shelly wrote on Facebook these kind words,

"The cake was perfect. I still dream about eating the delicious spice cake layers. Thank you Tara for exceeding my cake dreams!"

Resolutions: In with the New & Revisiting the Old

2011-01-12T19:03:00.000-08:00

I know this is a bit late, but I sometimes say "Better late, than never", but I wanted to wish everyone a belated "Happy New Year!" I can't believe 2010 has come and gone. I mean, was it just me or did it fly by WAY TOO FAST? Maybe, it was just me, cause I was so darn busy cak'n. By far, 2010 was the busiest year for Just Like Gram's. The number of wedding cakes we created this year more than doubled from previous years. I also got the chance to fly to Toronto and learn the art of sugar flowers from Ron Ben-Israel. Once I got past the first day of recovering from air sickness, I really enjoyed the course. I loved meeting so many people who shared the same addiction to cakes as I did. Not only did I learn about sugar flowers, I also got the chance to learn so many little tips just from talking to other cake designers.

So, looking back at our 2010 resolutions, how did we fare?

Resolution 1) Marketing:

This year we launched our new and updated website. I ABSOLUTELY love my new website. It so much more easier for me to maintain, plus the look is more sophisticated and elegant compared to my older more simpler version.

We also participated in some on-line marketing on Fort St John's community website http://www.energeticcity.ca/

plus we added a Facebook and Twitter page.

participated in several community trade shows

Resolution 2) Delivery

Well, I think this is going to be one of those issues that is going to be on-going for me and will never truly be resolved. Obtaining a store front is just not an option right now. Part of the reasons for this is my schedule is very eratic right now. My children moved to a new school which is in a rural area in the opposite direction from the school they used to attend. I am up at 5AM to get them ready for school and we leave at 6:45 to drive to catch their 1 1/2 hr bus ride. Combined with their after school activities, I sometimes have to pick them up at either 2:30 or 4:00 depending on the activity. So for now, I am just giving customers the option of picking up thier orders and if they want delivery, I charge a delivery fee. One exception is wedding cakes, delivery is included with all wedding cake orders within Fort St John and Taylor.

Resolution 3) Personal: Weight Loss

This year it was my goal to try to lose some unwanted lbs. So far, I have gone down 1 size and lost 9 lbs since Sept 2010. My goal is to lose 6 more lbs. by the end of February.

So what about 2011? What plans do I have for this year?

Marketing still.... I plan to continue various forms of on-line advertising, plus participate in various trade shows. I recently purchased these cute sticky note pads to hand out to clients. I really loved how they turned out.

2. Blog MORE, MORE and MORE.... I am absolutely terrible for keeping up with this, so this is my resolution to attend to my blog on a regular basis.

3. Try new recipes. Last year I did so much cak'n, the last thing I wanted to do was bake for my family. Well, I got some new recipe magazines with neat cookie recipes, so I plan to try at least 1 new recipe a month.

4. Lose those last few lbs by February.

Fort St John Annual Ladies Day Out Show

2010-11-10T07:33:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I attended the annual Ladies Day Out show in Fort St John. I have attended it for the past 4 years and every year it seems to get better and better with more people coming out to see local business' in the community. I prepared over 400 cake samples and they were all gone by the last hour of the show.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of my booth, because I forgot my camera. On this one occasion my husband was supposed to meet me and help me set up, so he was going to bring my camera. When I got to the venue, he phoned me to tell me that our son was sick with a 24hr flu, so I had to set up on my own. When I got home after the show I took some pictures of a few of the cakes that were on display.

Unlike bridal shows, I do an assortment of display cakes for people to see, because a lot of the people who come to these shows are moms, grandmas and aunts.

Baby Shower cake in pastel colors complete with modeled baby animals.

Now when I go to these shows I always ask my kids for ideas for cakes for boys and girls. My son who is in Taekwando asked me to make a taekwando cake. So I grabbed his uniform and used it for inspiration. Here is his Taekwando shirt complete with belt and tips.

I designed this cake over 3 years ago based on my own wedding dress design. My wedding dress was white cotton eyelet over baby blue satin. I have taken this cake to several trade shows over the years and I was about ready to retire it, but it seems every time the response is overwhelmingly positive. PEOPLE LOVE THIS CAKE! Hmmm, maybe I will keep it around for a while longer.

Sometimes when you come up with a design and you think it is SUPER, yet you get the oddest or more like, LACK of response from people, then you think hmm, maybe the design was so great after all. THEN, on the other hand, you do a design that you think is "way out there" and people love it. This was the story of the KISSING COUPLE design. I thought of this cute idea of putting red lips all over a cake with a heart and silhouette of a couple kissing on top. Neat idea, right? Let me tell you that cake was so frustrating. Working with red icing is totally non-negotiable when it comes to errors. THERE is no room for making a mistake. You screw up and it is very hard to remove that red stain. It was very frustrating and time consuming to stencil all those lips and then brush them to add some texture. I wasn't too sure on the final outcome, but at the show it was ONE of THE most popular cakes at my booth.

Lastly, for all you winter brides out there, I designed this Silver Snowflake wedding cake. The outer layer of each tier was embossed with a snowflake stamp and then I created gumpaste snowflakes which were dusted with silver too.

Christmas Baking Anyone?

2010-11-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it's only 8 weeks until Christmas? Before you know it, the holidays will be here and you will be rushing around getting your Christmas shopping done. What about all your Christmas baking? Can't be bothered or don't have time? Just Like Gram's offers Christmas baking packages suited for a variety of budgets. So, beat the rush and book your Christmas baking today!

Each package contains the following:
Butter Tarts, Christmas Sugar Cookies, Gingerbread Men, Chocolate Tartlets, Shortbread Snowflakes, Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods, Raspberry Ribbon Cookies, Chocolate Truffles, Chocolate Dipped Brownie Bites, Christmas Butter Cookies, Chocolate Dipped Almond Logs, Almond Cranberry Bark, Homemade Marshmallow Whoopie Pies

Select a Package that is JUST right for YOU!
1) Just A Nibble $35.00 - a random assortment of 2 dozen treats
2) Family's Coming $85.00 - receive half-dozen of each treat
3) Tis' the Season to Celebrate $175.00 - one dozen of each goody

Also Available: Beautifully hand decorated Christmas Sugar Cookies & Christmas Chocolate Caramel Dipped Apples. We can even package them individually! Just the perfect Christmas party favour!

Dates Available for Pick up: Dec 3, Dec 11, Dec 18 and Dec 21.

A Sweet 16 Birthday

2010-10-31T09:42:00.001-07:00

I received an email from a client over a month ago requesting a cake for her daughter's upcoming 16th birthday. She wanted something girly yet pink and fashionable. I suggested going with either polka dots or zebra print. We finally settled on the colors of pink and black with the top tier pink with black polka dots and the bottom tier pink with black zebra stripes. I added the bow with a sugarpaste brooch. We also added some whimsical pink sugarpaste roses sprinkled with black disco dust on top surrounding the 16. I also added some edible diamonds for some additional bling.
I received a lovely phone call from the mom a couple of hours after I delivered it. She said she loved the cake and thought it was absolutely beautiful. She also commented she didn't know how she was going to serve it since she felt it was too lovely to cut.

He Shoots! He Scores!

2010-10-18T21:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know there what you're thinking... "what's going on, you haven't posted anything in eons?" Yes, you are right, I haven't and I have no excuses. Life was so hectic this summer with wedding cakes, plus the normal business of birthdays. This summer was the busiest it has even been. We did more wedding cakes than ever before. So, now that wedding season has died down a bit, I have been just kinda playing a bit lazy and doing the mom/wife thing. Baking for my kids, taking them to their after school functions and spending time with my hubby doing our favorite pastime - "hunting". AND, yes, I am still doing cakes, but wedding season has slowed down so I have had a bit more time to breathe.

Here was recent order we did this past week. I love when I get calls from repeat customers wanting to order again and rave about our cakes. This customer ordered cupcakes and cake for her 3 year old son's birthday. The theme was tractors and hockey. Way to go, Canucks!

Tractor cupcakes were white with strawberry filling iced in traditional buttercream. Hockey stick cupcakes were decorated with fondant hockey sticks and pucks. These were vanilla filled with Boston cream pie filling and iced in traditional buttercream.

These cupcakes featured the hockey jersey of the Vancouver Canucks hockey team. One of my favorite flavours were vanilla with raspberry cheesecake filling iced in traditional buttercream.

For the birthday boy's cake, she chose a design featuring the Vancouver Canuck's logo complete with hockey puck, stick and skates. Cake flavour was red velvet (their favorite) with cream cheese filling, iced in traditional buttercream and covered in fondant.

Remember the Baby Shower Cake with the Cradle????

2010-08-08T08:59:00.001-07:00

A while back I was asked to create this baby shower cake for a friend of my husband's. Well, I received a sweet thank you note from proud MOM and DAD.

"Thank you so much for the wonderful cake you made for Danie. It was very kind of you, alot of work must have gone into it. It looked beautiful and tasted so good!"

It's Half Over... Just a Little Bit Longer

2010-08-08T08:07:00.000-07:00

Yup, wedding season is only half over and I still have August, September and October to go. Yes, I have wedding cakes even in October. Then a month to breathe and get ready for the Christmas rush.

RIGHT now, I am going to focus on this week, and then I'm outta here for a week off in Edmonton. When I say a "week off", it's just a week off from cak'n, but I'm going there to do my usual big FALL shopping trip and stock up on cake supplies, school stuff and do some early Christmas shopping.

Anyway, here are some of the recent cakes we have done here at JLG's.

I created this cake based on a design by a popular cake designer brought to me by the bride. Sorry, I don't know who it was. The bride opted for a 3 tier, instead of the original 4 tier design and we changed it to match her colors. My camera wasn't working properly, so Christina was kind enough to send me a picture of her wedding cake. Congratulations Christina and Tyrell!
She also sent me this lovely note:
Hi Tara! just wanted to say a huge thank you for doing such a great job on our cake! it looked amazing and everyone thought it was one of the best wedding cakes they'd ever seen.
and just so you know...all of it got eaten! I've never in my life seen a wedding cake get completely devoured. it was great!

This 3 tier square wedding cake was created this weekend. I loved the color combination of delphinuim blue and silver on this cake. The bride chose lfor her flavours: lemon cake filled with lemon curd and spice cake filled with white chocolate cream cheese.

This cake was created for a couple who were married abroad. They had a small reception when they got home and ordered this cute cake. The bride collects Mr and Mrs Potato Head stuff and asked if I could create a topper for her cake. Isn't that cute?

Lastly, we completed a cute baby shower cake for a baby girl. The client requested a "baby in a peapod" theme with polka dots. Butterflies were added as an extra touch.

Comments Anyone?

2010-07-27T17:30:00.000-07:00

I love receiving comments on my work: both constructive and flattering. Who doesn't? However, my BLOG has been under attack by those who seem to want to write comments that contain info that I can't even comprehend to understand. Basically, the content is largely filth in my opinion. SO, I have had to change the way comments are received. If you want to leave a comment, then you must FOLLOW my BLOG.

Black Wedding Cake

2010-07-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

I love it when the occasional bride walks through my door requesting a design that is "outside-the-box". When I met with Amanda last year, she presented me a picture of a wedding cake she liked but wanted me to use her colors: black, red and white. Her wedding dress even had black accents. So we opted for an all-black cake with white fondant stems and leaves accented with deep red roses. She chose carrot and red velvet cake for her flavours filled with white chocolate cream cheese. I absolutely loved how the cake turned out and is so far one of my favorites. Congratulations Amanda!

Wedding Cake Season is in Full Swing

2010-07-27T09:03:00.001-07:00

Well, it's that time of year again and wedding cake season is upon us in full swing. Can't you tell from the recent lack of post's lately? Sorry!!! Anyway, here is a quick run down of some of the few we have done recently here at Just Like Gram's.

3 Tier vanilla cake filled with raspberry buttercream and covered in fondant. We added sage green ribbon and artificial calla lilies and grass. Simple, yet beautiful.

This 4 tier wedding cake was delivered to a wedding in Tumbler Ridge last weekend. Cake was covered in pale ivory fondant wrapped in brown ribbon and filled with fresh pink roses.

Cupcakes are still in demand these days as an alternative to wedding cake. The bride chose vanilla and chocolate cupcakes iced in traditional buttercream and raspberry buttercream and then each one was topped with a fuchsia gumpaste flower. The top cake was iced in ivory fondant with a simple monogram topped with fresh flowers.

It's Time to Grow Up

2010-07-08T07:17:00.000-07:00

Just Like Gram's continues to grow. We decided that our website needed a brand new look to reflect that growth. So out with the old and in with new. We are excited to announce the launch of our brand new website. Check it out! WE LOVE IT!!!!!

It's time to step out into the BIG world now!

2010-07-03T22:26:00.000-07:00

This week was filled with creating graduation cakes. Here are just a few of them. First one was created for a client's nephew who was into sports. He loved baseball, fishing and his favorite hockey team was the Calgary Flames. He was also the lucky recipient of a wining a full scholarship for post-secondary education. Congradulations!

Here is another cake I created for a client's daughter. She played volleyball.

We created this 4 tier square wedding cake this weekend. Bride's colors were dark blue and deep pink. Since she was having gerber daisies on top of her cake, we created gumpaste daisies to adorn the ribbon.

Black Lace and Pink Ribbon Wedding Cake

2010-06-26T20:41:00.001-07:00

This weekend we created this 3 tier wedding cake covered in fondant wrapped with black lace and pink ribbon. Marie chose a design based on one created by Maisie Fantaisie. She wanted the top tier to be gluten-free vanilla since a member of her wedding party was sensitive to wheat with the other two tiers white velvet. All 3 cakes were filled with cream cheese and iced in Italian Meringue Buttercream and the covered in fondant.

In addition to her wedding cake, we created these wedding cake cookie favours to coordinate with her black and pink color scheme.

"I said you would make cookies for my class, MOM"

2010-06-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

I hear this quite frequently, now that I am in the cake business. My kids have become experts in "volunteering" me to make stuff for their class parties. And, OF COURSE, it always happens when I am the busiest, RIGHT? Nevertheless, I can't turn them down, and spend late nights creating cool treats for their classes. This week was one of them. So, here they are....

My son asked for sports ball cookies and happy face cupcakes. I couldn't resist and make some flower cookies for the girls in his class too.

My daughter requested cupcakes with pink butterflies and stars with "shiny sprinkles" on them.

Just Like Gram's is going back to SCHOOL!

2010-06-25T22:44:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right. I am going back to school. I am going to Ontario in November to attend a 3 day class on making lifelike sugar flowers from none other then Ron Ben Israel hosted by Flour Confections. I will be learning how to make flowers such as roses, peonies, callas, etc. I am SOOOO excited about this.

You see, up here in the north and basically, western Canada, there is absolutely NOTHING in the way of additional training in the art of cake design. Everything is basically offered in Eastern Canada and in the United States. So, I have been so envious of those taking some cool classes from some of the top cake designers in the field. So, when this one came up, I said "what the heck" I AM GOING! I booked my spot in the class. NOW, I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NOVEMBER. I don't know how I will that patient. I'm sure my family will go crazy in the meantime listening to me everyday. I'll definitely keep you posted and give you a full run-down on the class.

Green Sage Ribbon and Scrollwork Wedding Cake

2010-06-20T23:50:00.000-07:00

I created this 3 tier square wedding cake this weekend. Sorry, I don`t know who the original designer of this cake was since the bride brought me a picture she printed off the Internet. The bride chose green sage ribbon to go around the base of each tier and a whimsical playful cake topper. Cake flavours chosen were spice with cream cheese filling and lemon with raspberry Italian Meringue buttercream. I really loved how the scrollwork turned out on this particular design.

We were excited to receive this comment from the bride:

"Thank you for making our day special with your gorgeous creation of cake. It was everything we wanted. Our guests commented repetitively how delicious the cake was as well. Thank you very much. "

Been a Bit Busy!

2010-06-20T23:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know I haven't written anything for a couple of weeks now, BUT as the title says "I have been busy" lately. Now, as with most people, my life just doesn't revolve around cakes (my husband would disagree though). I help run my husband's environmental consulting business, run my business, help raise 2 kids and take care of an acreage. So with the coming of summer weather, comes with the usual yard work. Living on an acreage means for me growing a garden, 3 days mowing lawn, 1 day weed eating and weeding all my flowerbeds and all that other FUN stuff. One day I will write all about my life living on an acreage up here in northern BC, but right now it's 11:40 pm and I'm just kinda tired. So here has been just a few of the cakes we have completed here at JLG's (my short form for Just Like Gram's)...

Created this cute baby shower cake for a baby girl. Design was inspired by a cake created by Wild Cakes. Cradle was created from chocolate and all the other decorations were made from sugarpaste.

Client came to me and asked me to create a cake for her husband`s 39th birthday. Since she couldn't`t decide on a theme we decided to go with a fun and playful design yet including a clock ticking down to 40.

Ivory & Pink Butterfly Wedding Cake

2010-05-31T15:56:00.000-07:00

This weekend we created this 3 tier square cake for Kara. Her colors were ivory and pink. She wanted a pale ivory cake wrapped with soft pink ribbon adorned with silk butterflies. The butterflies were a personal touch since Kara loves tattoos, and all her tattoos are butterflies. For flavours, Kara chose chocolate and classic white tuxedo cake filled with rich chocolate truffle filling and iced in Italian Meringue Buttercream. Congratulations Kara!

Let's Take a Walk Down Memory Lane

2010-05-17T08:16:00.000-07:00

Back in December, I received a phone call from a former groom whose wedding cake I did 2 years ago. He phoned me to say that he was planning a surprise birthday party for his wife and if I could create a cake for her. He said that they loved their wedding cake so much (the bride cried for joy when she saw it) and if I could recreate a smaller version for her birthday. Oh my, I was so touched, plus, I LOVE it when guys phone and order cakes for their sweeties. Happy Birthday Mandy!

This week was my son's 9th birthday. Unlike my daughter who has a passion for creative things and is always asking me to make really "fancy" cakes for her birthday, my son really doesn't care. Much to my horror, he likes to pick out the cakes from the grocery store and says "I like that cake, can I have it?" So, when I asked him this year what he wanted for his birthday cake he said he wanted a picture of the movie character "BLADE" with lots of blood on it. Hmmm, okay not really what I wanted to create, but that's what he asked for so that's what he got.

I am often asked to create wedding display cakes for the bridal and florist shops here in Fort St John. Tasha from The Copper Moon Flowers and Rental asked me to create a "springy" themed pink cake for her store display. So I quickly came up with this design of pink daisies cascading down.

The beginning of another season...

2010-05-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

Well, another wedding season is open us, it officially began this weekend. Also, it was Mother's Day too. Here are just a few of the cakes we completed here at Just Like Gram's.

These adorable cupcakes were ordered all the way from Toronto. Darcey emailed me and wanted to do something special for his mom who lives here in Fort St. John, so he ordered some of our Gourmet Filled Cupcakes. Isn't that sweet? Flavours chosen were Icy Mint Blast and Autumn Twist.

This humorous moustache cake was requested by a client for her father-in-law's 65th birthday.

The wedding season started off this year with this simple 2 tier cake adorned with white and gold ribbon.

Carnival Cake

2010-04-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

I created this cute carnival cake for a little boy's first birthday this weekend. I had a lot of fun creating the clown from sugarpaste.

Fort St John Trade Show

2010-04-20T13:34:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I attended Fort St John's CKNL Trade show. It is the largest trade show in the Peace area with approximately 12,000 people attending. I had a wonderful time, even though my feet were getting pretty sore from standing by the third day. We handed out over 1200 cake samples. Our booth was so busy that we ran out of cake samples hours before the show closed for the day. I just want to say a BIG "Thank you" to all those who came by and visited our booth. I really enjoyed meeting you and look forward to working with you in the future.

Here are a couple of display cakes we took to the trade show.

Baby shower cake complete with butterflies and flowers.

My favorite - Red Dragon Wedding Cake.

A Rocketship cake - perfect for a boy who is into rocketships and outer space.

What little girl would love to have a fairy castle for her birthday!

Lastly, a Hard Hat cake with custom corporate logo ideal for promoting your business.

Just Like Gram's featured on The Sugar Cove Blog

2010-04-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

Just Like Gram's is proud to be featured on The Sugar Cove Blog Cake Shoe Diaries . Click HERE to read our feature.

Feast or Famine?

2010-04-09T19:55:00.000-07:00

One thing about the cake business is either it's really quiet and you go for a week or so having few orders and you wonder "HUH, What's going on?" and then all of a sudden, "WHAM!" you get hit with customers ordering cakes all at once and wanting them all on the SAME day. That's just the way it is! This week at Just Like Gram's we had one of those crazy weeks. We completed 2 wedding cakes, a whimsical tilted cake and a last minute "work farewell" cake. Enjoy!

"Alice in Wonderland" theme bridal shower cake done in colors of black, red and white. Cake was decorated with sugarpaste playing cards and clock.

We received only 48 hours notice for this last minute small wedding cake. Cake was adorned with gumpaste butterflies and gumpaste purple blossoms.

Another small wedding cake created for this weekend. Simple and elegant with the dark navy blue bow and gumpaste flowers.

Another last minute cake order. We completed this cake in 48 hours too. Cake was created for a work farewell party. Springtime yellow with gumpaste butterflies and blossoms.

Just Like Gram's on TV

2010-03-30T12:33:00.000-07:00

FINALLY!!!

If you remember in January, I blogged about an impromptu interview I had with a local reporter from CJDC-TV, our local news station. So, after all this time, I have finally managed to get a copy of the interview and upload it for all to see.

SO, (drumroll, please......) here is my claim to fame, my moment in the spotlight.... Enjoy!

Sometimes All It Takes...

2010-02-14T20:21:00.000-08:00

is a happy smile. I made these whimsical cupcakes swirled with vibrant shades of buttercream for a young girl's birthday. Each cupcake is topped with a fondant butterfly. When the young girl came with her dad to pick them up, her eyes lit up with joy. She was soooo happy! That's all it takes sometimes to make your day...a child's happy smile. Happy Birthday Victoria!

Charlie and the Flowers

2010-02-11T19:58:00.000-08:00

Every cake created here at Just Like Gram's is personalized for every client. This cake was created for a lady whose favorite color was lavender. The one thing that was requested that we include was her favorite dog, Charlie, a wee white Scottie dog.

Figure Skate Cookies

2010-02-11T19:54:00.000-08:00

Yes, we do cookies too. We can create any shape, size or theme of cookie for whatever the occasion may be. We were commissioned to create these figure skate cookies for the Fort St John Figure Skating Club Gala event this week.

Because You're So Special...

2010-02-01T20:05:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, we received a wonderful email from Kristy who wanted to do something special for her grandma who was turning 75. She wanted to order her a special birthday cake to celebrate. After talking to Kristy, I could definitely tell how strongly she felt about her grandma. It touched a personal note because I, too, care for my grandma. In fact, it was my grandma who taught me how to bake and has passed on her trusted recipes and her knowledge to me. No wonder, I named my business after her. Kristy chose a playful, whimsical design incorporating the February birthstone "amethyst" colors within the design.

I recently received a call all the way from the Northwest Territories. A lady wanted to order a birthday cake for her little girl. She explained that she was coming to Fort St John to do some shopping. Yes, larger business centers are a bit scarce north of Fort St John, and that her daughter would be celebrating her birthday while they were in the area. She chose a similar design I had completed in the past but with "girly" pink colors with lots of flowers and, of course, a chocolate "princess" crown.

Personalized Photo Cakes Now Available at Just Like Gram's

2010-01-27T15:31:00.000-08:00

Just Like Gram's is pleased to announce that it now offers personalized photo cakes to it's menu. Imagine your favorite picture or logo, now picture it on either a cake or a cookie. The possibilities are endless. Call 250-827-3023 or email us at sales@justlikegrams.ca for more information.

Valentine's Day Specials!

2010-01-27T15:13:00.000-08:00

Celebrate Valentine's Day with these sweet treats!

Cookies:

Brownie Bites $18.00/doz
Hand Decorated Sugar Cookies $2.50/ea
Monogrammed Heart Cookies $5.00/ea (Large) $3.00/ea (Small)
Send a message with our Valentine's Day Letter Cookies $2.50/ea

Cupcakes:

Rose Topped Cupcakes $2.75/ea
Valentine's Day Heart Cupcakes $2.25/ea
Monogrammed Red Velvet Cupcakes $2.50/ea
Hugs & Kisses Cupcakes $2.25/ea
Valentine's Day Cupcakes with either Chocolate Hearts or Chocolate Roses $2.50/ea

Call Just Like Gram's to book your order today at 250-827-3023 or email us at sales@justlikegrams.ca .

Fort St John Bridal Show

2010-01-10T11:28:00.000-08:00

I would like to say a big "THANK YOU" to all the brides who came out and attended the Fort St John's 13th annual bridal show. Over 70 brides from Dawson Creek, Fort St John and Tumbler Ridge came out to meet the various vendors and check out all the latest bridal gowns in the fashion show. I enjoyed meeting all the brides who came by my booth and networking with other vendors who came from both Dawson Creek and Fort St John. I had a wonderful time and am already looking forward to next year.

My Claim to Fame

2010-01-04T19:06:00.000-08:00

Well, not quite, but maybe... Today I was tinkering around getting ready for the upcoming bridal show this weekend in FSJ, when the phone rings. Guess what????? It was a reporter from our local TV station CJDC wanting to do a feature on ME later that day! I only had an hour to prepare - YIKES!!! Talk about a flurry of activity getting ready for it. Did I mention how nervous, stressed and freaked out I was? Anyway, Kathy arrived and totally made me feel at ease and made the interview rather fun. We talked about all the usual cake stuff and my past experience and what my goals are for the future. She said I did really well and, since I don't have cable, she would send me a copy of the interview! Yayy, I can hardly wait!!!!!!!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T15:48:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year from here at Just Like Gram's. I want to thank this year's newly married couples for allowing me to share in their special day by creating and designing the wedding cake of their dreams. I also would like to thank all my wonderful clients who have asked me to create such wonderful cakes this year.

So, how many of you have made New Year's resolutions? Most of the time I don't make resolutions since I can never seem to stick with them. BUT, this year, I thought I would be different. I decided that Just Like Gram's would make some New Year's resolutions.

First, there are so many "I want" cake toys out there that I thought I would pick just one and splurge this year. Last year, I purchased a new Professional Kitchen Aid. So, this year my goal is to buy a Edible Image printer. These machines are SOOOO cool. Imagine, being able to print out any picture or logo and put the image on paper (that is completely edible) and use it to decorate a cake. In the past, I have drawn so many logos and it is quite a pain, plus, my drawing skills are not always what they should be.

Secondly, is marketing. With both my kids now in school full-time, I can now devote more time to my business. So, it is my goal this year to spend considerable amount of time marketing my business to the community.

Thirdly, is a problem I have been facing for the past 3 years since opening my business AND I vow it will be resolved this year. This is the issue of DELIVERY and PICK UP. My studio is presently located outside of town and is attached to the side of our home. Presently, I run 2 businesses - my Cake Design and my husband's Environmental Consulting from our residence. SO there isn't really an option of moving to a storefront in town. Most of my husband's business does not take place in town, but out in the field, so there's that factor. Problem is that I have found, unlike the areas around Vancouver and the rest of the Lower Mainland where people EXPECT to drive anywhere to get anything, I have found quite the opposite up north. For some reason, and I haven't found out yet in the 11 years I have been up here, is that some people are uncomfortable driving outside the city limits. Soooo, I am looking into some ideas in order to resolve this issue. I am toying with the idea of sharing an office space or a small corner of a business where I can meet with clients for those times when I happen to be in town. I don't really like meeting clients in a parking lot or going to their homes. I feel it gives a somewhat unprofessional appearance. There you have it, that is one of my most important goals for this year. I'm hoping it won't take too long though to resolve.

Finally, my last resolution is a personal one. See this year, I turn the big 40. It is my goal (which, I'm sure you hear all the time) is to reach my ideal weight (which was before my 2 kids were born) by Feb 28th (my birthday). I read once that once you reach 40 that things seem to be different and you should aim to be in good physical shape by that time. Well, I don't know about you, but I have been noticing those differences for quite a while, especially in the past 5 years. To be honest, I have been working on this since last summer and have been steadily shedding the pounds, but it's now crunchtime. I have 2 months to lose 3 more lbs. So let's go!!!

Here Comes the Bride!

2009-12-29T20:59:00.000-08:00

I would like to invite all you brides-to-be to attend the upcoming Bridal Trade Fair in Fort St John on January 9, 2010 at the Pomeroy Hotel. I am really excited be a part of this trade show. There will be fashion shows and lots of draws. I will even be handing out cupcakes to sample. So, come out and check out the show! Come see all the latest wedding trends and meet all the exhibitors. I am looking forward to meeting you. See ya there!

Let's Wrap Things Up!

2009-12-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas baking season for Just Like Gram's wrapped up this week with the usual last minute baking orders and another "horse-themed" birthday cake. This cake was created for a former bride who I had designed her wedding cake. Her husband phoned me a while back wanting to order a birthday cake for her. Isn't that sweet? Anyway, he left most of the cake details up to me, only just make it with something to do with horses. So this is what I came up with.

Horseshoe, flowers and boot are made from gumpaste. Horses are cut from fondant. The cake flavours were similar to their wedding cake - chocolate cake with chocolate pudding, Italian Meringue buttercream and fondant. Happy Birthday Lisa!

We Have a Winner!

2009-12-16T15:27:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Roberta, winner of our Facebook Group contest. She won a dozen FREE cupcakes. Roberta chose lemon flavoured cupcakes with traditional buttercream.

And It Keeps Going, and Going and Going...

2009-12-11T15:03:00.000-08:00

Right now, I feel like the Energizer Bunny. It's Christmas baking season right now, and I never seem to get a chance to sit down and take a breather. I just keep going, and going and going. Baking all those wonderful goodies means early mornings and late nights. I am usually up by 6 and don't crawl (literally) into bed until after 1AM. Yup, I'm exhausted. But, you know what, I love baking. There is something soothing and peaceful baking christmas cookies while listening to Burl Ives and Frank Sinatra singing those Christmas classics that we all grew up with. In addition with all the Christmas baking, there is the usual orders for cakes. People don't stop having a birthday just because it's Christmas. Here are a few of the orders we put out this week.

We designed this surprise birthday cake for a guy who loves hunting with his favorite dog and pack horses.

Lynette from Unforgettable Memories ordered these adorable mini-cupcakes for their Christmas party. Cupcakes were topped with white chocolate snowflakes. Yummy!

Here is one of MANY Christmas baking platters we have sent out this week.

That's Alot of Belts!

2009-12-05T13:56:00.001-08:00

The Red Dragon Taekwando club in Fort St John celebrated their annual Christmas dinner this weekend. Just Like Gram's donated 150 little taekwando boy and girl sugar cookies for the event. Each cookie featured a different belt illustrating the different levels of expertise.

Recent Cakes

2009-12-04T23:04:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent cakes created here at Just Like Gram's.

When I attended the Ladies Day Out show here in Fort St John, I had a draw for a FREE cake. Gail was our lucky winner. She chose a simple vanilla cake with Italian Meringue Buttercream featuring a shoe and purse theme for her daughter's birthday. Her daughter's favorite colors were pink, black and green.

Cupcakes with funky retro flowers were the choice for a young girl's 9th birthday. Cupcakes were chocolate with chocolate buttercream and vanilla with orange creamsicle buttercream. I loved making these and thought they looked so funky.

This last cake was created for a very special person, my daughter Elizabeth. She celebrated her 6th birthday this weekend. She chose a picture of a cake she wanted from a cake magazine and I added a purple brooch, purple ribbon and flowers. I even topped the cake with a purple chocolate crown. The cake was tuxedo flavour with chocolate truffle filling, and Italian Meringue buttercream. Happy Birthday Missie!

No Excuses!

2009-12-04T22:58:00.000-08:00

Yes, I haven't written on here for a month now and I have absolutely no excuse. So much for my well-laid plans to write on here once a week. Anyway, the beginning of the month of November was relatively quiet in the cake world. Halloween was just over with and people weren't quite ready to start thinking about Christmas. SO, I decided to do some much-needed fall cleaning and clean out that unnecessary clutter that we ALL seem to accumulate over the years. Why do we do this to ourselves? With dumpster in hand, I went to town and just chucked junk, junk and more junk. I couldn't believe how much space I opened up in our basement. Yahoo! Now, I guess I have the next 10 years to fill up on junk once again and then start cleaning it all over again. SIGH...

We Got PICKED!!!

2009-11-04T07:15:00.000-08:00

What a great way to start the month of November than to share some exciting news! Just Like Gram's is excited to announce that our Wedding Cupcakes were featured in the Wedding Cupcake Gallery on bride.ca . Check it out!

Christmas Baking Ready to Order

2009-10-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know we still have Thanksgiving and Halloween to make it through, BUT, before we know it Christmas will be here, and if you're like me, you'll be rushing around to get everything done at the last minute. Well, why not get a head start on the rush...

Our Christmas Baking Packages are now available for booking!

Each package contains:
Butter Tarts, Christmas Sugar Cookies, Gingerbread Men, Almond Shortbread, Jeweled Cookie Slices, Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods, Thimble Cookies, Chocolate Truffles, Gift Wrapped Brownies, Chocolate Dipped Crescent Logs, Snowflake Chocolate Sugar Cookies, and Almond Cranberry Bark

Select a package that is right for you:
1) Just a Nibble $25.00 - 24 random assortment of treats
2) Family's Coming $75.00 - receive a half-dozen of each treat
3) Tis' the Season to Celebrate $150.00 - one dozen each of all 12 goodies

Packages are available for pickup: Nov 28, Dec 5, Dec 12 and Dec 19

Please call or email us to book your holiday baking today.

Facebook Contest!

2009-10-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

Let's Celebrate - Just Like Gram's is on Facebook!!! What better way to celebrate than to give away FREE cupcakes!!!

The contest requires YOUR help. What you need to do is invite your friends to join our Facebook group by November 30, 2009. I will draw (1) lucky member's name from the group and they will WIN a dozen FREE cupcakes of their choice.

Now, who doesn't LOVE free cupcakes!!! Let the contest BEGIN!

NOW on Facebook!

2009-09-24T12:58:00.000-07:00

Just Like Gram's is excited to announce we are now on Facebook. Come check us out!

"Quack, Quack", says Baby Ducky

2009-09-13T07:38:00.000-07:00

Another recent cake created here at Just Like Gram's. I really enjoy making baby shower cakes. What a fun way to celebrate a baby's birth than to create something cute and adorable. Now what could be more adorable than a cake with a rubber ducky swimming in a rain barrel. Add some baby clothes hanging on a clothes line. Awww!!!

Whimsical Princess

2009-09-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of designing and creating this whimsical and tilted Princess-style birthday cake for a friend's little girl. She absolutely loves the color purple. Adorned with a flowing fondant dress, pale pink rose buds, ruffles and a chocolate crown, the perfect cake for a little "princess". Happy Birthday Sarah!

Cupcakes and More

2009-09-09T21:27:00.000-07:00

This past week was full of cupcakes (200 and counting) with the usual wedding cake orders to boot. I was busy baking 240 chocolate and vanilla cupcakes topped with our newest frosting, Orange Cream Cheese. Yummy! This frosting has been so popular this year that over 1/3 of my brides have requested it as filling for their wedding cakes. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture since the bride picked up all the cupcakes the day before her wedding.

To make it short and sweet, here are the recent round of wedding cakes:

A small and simple wedding cake for a bride getting married at home. Sweet and simple...

Another Camoflauge wedding cake created at Just Like Gram's this summer. This was for a created for a couple from Tumbler Ridge, BC who enjoyed the outdoors, hunting and fishing and all that fun stuff! Congratulations, Stephanie and Roger!

Caramel Apples Anyone?

2009-09-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

Just Like Gram's is proud to introduce a new product to our list of goodies - "Caramel Apples".

This past weekend I was asked to create some caramel apple wedding favours. Now, having never made these before, I thought why not and played around for a week searching and perfecting recipes. Came up and created these "OMG, so delicious" Chocolate Caramel Apples. Now, I must confess, I don't like raw apples (yes, call me weird), only cooked apples. Plus, I don't like caramel - I hate how it sticks to my teeth. BUT, since I had to try out these first, WOW, I couldn't stop eating them. I absolutely LOVE them. I think I found a new addiction!

Chocolate Carmel Apples are NOW FOR SALE! We'll drizzle them in chocolate, dip them in nuts or even put your choice of sprinkles or whatever topping you desire. Hey, we'll even package them for you too!

"Is that for People or for Us?"

2009-09-07T07:51:00.000-07:00

That's a question asked far too often here at Just Like Gram's. Whenever my kids see me baking something, they always ask who it's for. Well, I'm sad to say, but 9 out of 10 times, it's for a customer. To be quite honest, after baking and decorating cakes all day, the last thing I want to do, is come home and bake - even it's for my family.

Well, seeing how school is fast approaching. OMG, is it tomorrow already? I had thought I had better whip up some goodies for school lunches. So, I actually spent some of the day baking for my family. I made some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and used up some bananas and made some banana bread.

What - NO CAKE? Yep, my family doesn't really like cake anymore. After trying out so many recipes on my family, they are sick of cake. So if I have to try something new, I usually wait until we have company over and I make a new cake flavour and then send the rest home with them.

So, there my guilt trip is over and I actually did some baking for "us". I got my daughter into helping me and she stirred, poured and mixed - my son though preferred to be taster, trying to steal cookie dough. We had a fun and relaxing afternoon.

Now, back to "baking for people". Hapy Labour Day!

Free Cookie Giveway Winner!

2009-09-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Kim of Fort St John who won 2 dozen free oatmeal cookies!

The Quiet Before the Storm

2009-09-02T07:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I decided a much-needed break was in store for me and I went to Edmonton to visit my sister and her family for a week. I did lots of shopping, stayed up and drank tea with my sister and had lots of "girl-talk" and played with my nephews. THEN, I came back home and the STORM hit - the storm of cakes, that is.

Been craaazzy buzy with cakes, so I'll just make it quick and give you a quick peek of a few of the cakes we have completed so lately.

Red Cherry Blossoms with Black branches winding gracefully up the sides of this cake.

Baby shower cake for a couple who were avid hunters.

Suitcase cake decorated with whimsical purple flowers for a young lady travelling abroad.

A simple white fondant covered cake with orange tiger lilies.

ENTER to WIN FREE COOKIES!!!

2009-08-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

That's right - here's your chance to enter to win 2 dozen delicious homemade oatmeal chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookies from Just Like Gram's. All you have to do to ENTER is email us at justlikegrams@xplornet.com and tell us (1) thing you love about the season FALL. Contest is open to residents of Fort St. John, BC only. Contest deadline is August 31, 2009.

Recent Cakes

2009-08-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry, it's been a couple of weeks since my last post, but I have BEEN BUSY with cakes. Let's not forget it's summer vacation and the kids are STILL at home. Cakin' can be, well, a bit challenging when you have kids hanging around, cause their bored, or it's too hot to do anything.... and the list goes on. Anyway, here some of the recent cakes we have created recently here at Just Like Gram's

This cake was created for another couple who had a hunting and outdoor theme to their wedding.

This brown and fuchsia wedding cake was created for a small wedding. The bride and groom also chose to have their monogram on the cake.

This simple cake was created for a couple of ladies who were celebrating their birthday together. Cake was lemon with raspberry cheesecake filling, traditional buttercream covered in light green fondant. The cake was adorned with sugarpaste flowers and butterflies.

This past weekend I created this wedding cake. It was made to replicate the bride's aunt's wedding cake. The bride chose fresh Gerber daisies to adorn her cake.

Just Like Gram's finished off the week with this traditional wedding cake. The bride chose a design based on one of Martha Stewart's wedding cakes. She, however, changed the colors to black to match her wedding colors.

I said I have been busy lately, didn't I?

Black & White Camoflauge

2009-07-18T22:00:00.000-07:00

I created this cake for a couple who were married this weekend. The groom was an avid hunter and they planned a wedding with a hunting twist to it. Since their colors were black and white, we decided to do a black and white camouflage wedding cake.

When I went to set up the cake, the banquet room was set up in very formal black and white colors, but on each table surrounding the centerpieces was a small antler. It looked very elegant, yet keeping in with their theme. Congratulations!

Retro Blue

2009-07-18T21:52:00.000-07:00

A simple 2-tier cake requested by a customer who wanted to surprise his girlfriend on her 30th birthday. He wanted to get her an "extra-special" birthday cake to celebrate the occasion. Isn't that sweet? I love it when I get men who call and order a celebration cake for that "special" woman in their lives.

A Western Wedding

2009-07-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

This weekend I created this Western theme wedding cake. The bride had seen a cake I created earlier based on my own wedding dress and wanted a similar design. She had pink roses adorn the cake with straw flowers she had grown and dried herself. A western bride and groom topper completed the overall look of the cake. Congratulations Robyn.

Jet Bound

2009-07-11T13:15:00.000-07:00

A simple cake for a regular client of mine. She wanted a birthday cake for a friend who liked to travel the world and a was a connoisseur of wine.

Cupcake Giveaway Winner

2009-06-30T18:17:00.001-07:00

The winner of our Cupcake Giveaway was Arlene of Fort St.John, BC. She won a dozen free cupcakes just by subscribing to our newsletter. Congratulations, Arlene!

Stay tuned for our next giveway! Details will be posted soon.

Animal Cupcakes

2009-06-28T19:41:00.000-07:00

These cute and whimsical cupcakes were created for a baby shower. The theme, based on the baby's room decor, was Noah's Ark. All decorations were made from fondant. I had fun creating these.

Shades of Purple

2009-06-28T15:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the weekend for the color "Purple". I created these cupcakes for Chantel whose wedding colors were green and purple. All the daisies were created from purple gumpaste and then were dusted with additional purple petal dust. Chantel chose classic white and red velvet flavoured cupakes with green traditional buttercream for her guests.

The other purple wedding I did this weekend was this cupcake tower for Sarah. Sarah didn't want fondant on her cake rather going with the traditional buttercream. On each cupcake, I created a small gumpaste flower dusted with purple dust. Sarah also wanted a light scattering of small flowers on the top cake that was to be shared among her bridal party.

The last "purple" cake I created this weekend was a volleyball graduation cake for a young lady who just graduated from high school. The love of purple must run in this family because I did her sister's graduation cake last year which was a purple purse. I really enjoyed making this cake.

Just Like Gram's Makes the List

2009-06-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

Bride.ca created a list of Interior Cake Designers and Just Like Gram's was at the top of the list. Click HERE to see the complete article.

Our First Official Newsletter

2009-05-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

Just Like Gram's is excited to announce it's first official newsletter. This newsletter (which will run on a quarterly basis) will include lots of great ideas for new and fun cakes, helpful hints and tips, upcoming specials, recipes and most importantly, a chance to win FREE cupcakes.
Subscribe to Just Like Gram's newsletter and enter to win a dozen delicious homemade cupcakes (your choice of Chocolate or Old Fashioned Vanilla) valued at $27.00. All you have to do to enter the draw is to subscribe to our newsletter. Just email us at justlikegrams@xplornet.com and let us know that you would like to subscribe. Your name will be then entered into our draw. Cupcake offer is open to residents of Fort St. John BC only. Winner will be drawn June 30, 2009

"A Shopping We Will Go"

2009-05-04T07:46:00.000-07:00

After the trade show, I headed to Edmonton for a much needed break and to do all my spring shopping for the upcoming wedding season. It also gave me a chance to visit my sister and her family. I also got the opportunity to be there to celebrate my nephew's 1st birthday. Of course, Auntie Tara made the cupcakes with all the trimmings.

With so few supplies in Fort St. John, I have to order most of my supplies from either Edmonton, Vancouver, Ontario and even sometimes overseas. I try not to order too much from the US since duties can be quite costly. Plus, you can find such a better selection in the big cities. So my vehicle was packed to top with cake boards, drums, colors, chocolate moulds, chocolates, a new turntable, a few new cake pans, plus a trip to Costco to stock up on baking supplies. My most treasured purchase was 3 silver plated scroll work cake stands. I have been wanting some for so long, but couldn't find any locally. I did the happy dance when I saw them and had to buy them on the spot.

Now, not only did I buy cake supplies, but I also did the usual spring shopping for my family, like shorts, t shirts, sandals and stuff. I even managed to snag myself some cool new jeans, capris, a brand new purse and some really cool new Cake books.

So now my cupboards (and closets) are bulging and ready for the upcoming wedding season!

Trade Show Weekend

2009-04-29T07:55:00.000-07:00

On April 17-19, I had the opportunity to attend the annual CKNL Trade Show in Fort St. John. It was the first time I attended and I had a wonderful time. I shared a booth with my friend Tammy from TLS Wedding Designs. She is an amazing decorator and event planner. She was the brains behind decorating our booth, and, well, I was the "holder" of this and that while she put the decorations up. In fact, our booth won Honorable Mention for Best Decorated Booth. We both had a wonderful time and complimented each other well. We are already planning our booth for next year, BIGGER and BETTER.

We had lots of visitors who stopped by and visited our booth. Around 15,000 people attended the fair that weekend. I made over 1100 cupcakes for sampling and over 75% of them were gone by the end of the weekend. It was also neat to meet so many vendors from the community and also those who attended from Alberta and to do some networking. I even got the chance to do some Father's Day shopping. Sorry, can't say, since my hubby likes to "surf" and do some sneaking.

I want to say THANK YOU to all those who came by and visited our booth and had a chance to have a cupcake. I really enjoyed meeting and talking with you and I look forward to working with you in the future.

Scissors Cake

2009-03-29T15:26:00.000-07:00

Last week I was approached by Chelsey, the owner of our local bridal store, The Glass Slipper, to design a cake for her. She wanted to present a cake and cupcakes to the girls of the local high school hair dressing program. The girls had helped out at the bridal shows by doing all the hair styling for the fashion show.

Chelsey wanted the colors to be black and pink with a pair of scissors on top of the cake. I really enjoyed designing the cake and loved the colors she chose. It looks whimisical, yet trendy. The top cake is vanilla filled with Raspberry Italian Meringue Buttercream, iced in Italian Meringue Buttercream and covered in fondant. The cupcakes were both vanilla and chocolate iced in Italian Meringue Buttercream and then covered in fondant. Scissors were gumpaste and dusted with silver luster dust.

Black Wedding Cake

2009-03-22T19:52:00.000-07:00

Last fall, Ashley came to see me about making her wedding cake for this past weekend. She emailed me a picture of a cake she liked, saying her colors included black. She seemed quite settled on her cake, that is, UNTIL, she walked into my studio. She took one look at one of my display cakes for an upcoming bridal show and decided right there and then that she wanted an all black wedding cake. Over the past couple of months, I happened to see Ashley at the bridal shows and she was very excited at the thought of having an all black wedding cake. So was I. I absolutely love doing cakes that are out of the ordinary. I'm sure she had the only BLACK wedding cake in Fort St. John.

She chose alternating tiers of chocolate and classic white cake with homemade raspberry filling (picked from my very own raspberry bushes in my garden) mixed with raspberry liquor, iced in traditional buttercream and covered in fondant. Cake is airbrushed black with silver scroll work and sugar diamonds. The crown is made from a mixture of fondant and gumpaste with clear beads. Ashley chose to have her initials with her fiancee on the crown.

Congratulations Ashley! I wish you all the best.

Easter Special!

2009-03-10T05:55:00.000-07:00

Now that Valentine's is past us, it's time to focus on the next holiday Easter. Sometimes, I think I'm going a bit too fast, but when I walked into the stores the day after Valentine's all the Easter stuff was out and on the shelves.

This month we are offering an Easter basket full of goodies. I thought about going away from the tradtional chocolate bunnies and Easter eggs and focus on some good old-fashioned baking. So, each basket will contain a loaf of freshly baked Easter Lemon Bread, Hot Cross Buns and a dozen hand-decorated sugar cookies.

We are also offering Easter cupcakes and Decorated Egg-shaped Brownies too. Check out our website for current pricing.

Recent Cakes

2009-03-09T18:18:00.000-07:00

I have been soooo busy lately. Funny, usually during the non-wedding season, most cake designers use the slow period to catch up on stuff, like inventory, cleaning, learning new techniques and such, BUT, I have been so busy I haven't had the chance to do this. Right now, I am cooking dinner, so while it cooks, I thought I would write a bit about what I have been up to.

First, wedding season started early this year with a wedding on Valentine's Day. This particular cake was for Krystal and Danny. Her colors were gold and ivory, so we came up with this design based on one of Peggy Porschen's designs. I absolutely LOVE her work. Cake was covered in fondant with scrollwork painted in gold luster dust with gumpaste flowers.

I was approached by one of my regular clients, Diane who asked me to design her son's birthday cake. He loved bowling and requested an orange creamsicle flavored cake. Little did Diane know, but I was also asked to design her birthday cake at the same time by a close friend. Diane loves to shop at IKEA (who doesn't???), so I came up with an IKEA shopping bag cake for her. Happy Birthday Diane!!!

Another birthday cake I did for a little boy who turned 1. I guess he loved Curious George, because his mom requested a cake with a modeled monkey sitting on some building blocks surrounded by palm trees and bananas.

A Busy January

2009-02-01T14:45:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. January has been a busy month with the usual cake and cookie orders. I also attended 2 bridal fairs within a two week span. Both bridal fairs in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John were well attended by lots of brides from all over the Peace River region. I also got to meet lots of new vendors and see all the new and latest wedding fashions. I want to thank all the brides who visited my booth. I really enjoyed meeting you and getting the chance to talk all about your upcoming wedding plans. If you are getting married and would like to book a consultation, feel free to email me at justlikegrams@xplornet.com.

Let's Talk about Truffles

2008-12-28T11:25:00.000-08:00

It was my husband's birthday Christmas Eve, and I always try to do something special for him. He has always loved my homemade chocolate truffles and I am constantly catching him sneaking a few from my kitchen. So this year, he requested instead of a birthday cake, an order of Chocolate Truffles. I decided to make him a Truffle "Cake". I had seen this idea in a bridal magazine a while ago, so I thought I would replicate it. I made over 100 truffles in hazelnut, rum, amaretto, and raspberry flavours and then attached them with white chocolate to 2 Styrofoam cake forms. My husband couldn't believe all the work I put into making all those truffles.Needless to say, I am little "truffled-out" after this one.

A New Look

2008-12-19T10:44:00.001-08:00

If you haven't noticed yet, you will see a far different look between my website and my blog. When I first started out in business, I was providing a lot of custom home baking and a few cakes on the side, however, in the past 2 years, the demand for my cakes have increased substantially. So, I decided since my business has grown, so should my look. After much contemplation, I figured that the red gingham and the baking girl had to go, and a more sophisticated, "grown-up" elegant look was needed. I contracted this company in Grande Prairie, nine10inc., to produce a fabulous new logo and business cards for me. They were awesome to work with and I would strongly recommend them to anyone. I'm still in the process of changing everything around. I still have to get new signage(which is on order) and my website "look" should be completed by January.

Christmas Cakes

2008-12-18T20:27:00.000-08:00

In the past, I have always made up gift baskets of assorted goodies. But, this year I decided to be different. I decided to give little 6" cakes as Christmas gifts to my children's teachers and bus driver. Each cake was chocolate and vanilla layered with chocolate truffle filling, covered in buttercream and fondant. I also gave a large 10" vanilla cake with raspberry filling to the staff at their school too. It was a chance for me to try some new designs and also a really, neat snowflake cutter I recently purchased.

January 2009 Bridal Trade Fairs

2008-12-17T19:35:00.000-08:00

For all you brides out there, I would like to invite you to attend the bridal fairs in both Dawson Creek and Fort St. John. I am very excited to be a part of both of these trade fairs. On January 18, 2009, TLS Wedding Designs is hosting the Divine Designs Bridal Expo in Dawson Creek. Just Like Gram's is proud to be both an exhibitor and one of the sponsors of the trade show. There will be Fashion Shows, Guest Speakers, Early Bird Prizes and the Divine Designs Ultimate Wedding Giveaway. The other bridal trade show being held is on January 31, 2009 in Fort St. John and the North Peace Cultural Center. I encourage all brides to come out and attend these fairs. Check out the latest wedding trends and meet all the exhibitors. I am looking forward to meeting you. See ya there!

Music Birthday Cake

2008-12-17T19:25:00.000-08:00

A wonderful group of ladies meet every so often to have celebrate one of their birthdays and have a "Ladies Night Out". I love making cakes for them since they give me creative license to usually do whatever I feel like that coincides with their hobbies or interests. The birthday "girl" this time loved music and crafts, so I came up with the idea of incorporating sheet music. Cake is traditional white with raspberry cheesecake filling, traditional buttercream and covered in fondant. Decorations are fondant accents. Happy Birthday Cora!!!

Mariposa Birthday Cake

2008-12-06T14:16:00.000-08:00

Today was my daughter's 5th birthday party. She just loves playing with her barbie dolls and her favorite colors are pink and purple. Of course!!! This year she really wanted a Mariposa cake, so I decided to make her a doll cake with wings and butterflies. Cake is chocolate with vanilla pudding and Italian Meringue Buttercream with fondant flowers. The wings and butterflies were made out of gumpaste and then dusted with luster dust to make them shiny.

RCMP Red Serge Cake

2008-11-23T09:06:00.000-08:00

This weekend I also had the pleasure of creating a surprise groom's cake. When the bride and groom had originally booked their wedding cake, we had planned to do an additional cake just for extra servings. When I found out the groom was a RCMP member, I asked the bride about doing a surprise groom's cake and replicate the red serge uniform. She was ecstatic about the idea.

I had so much fun designing this cake. A big THANK YOU to Kelly of Little Birdie Designer Cakes in Regina for all her help and inspiration and letting me use elements of her design. Cake is chai spice with cream cheese filling, covered in fondant. Decorations were made out of fondant and gum paste and then dusted in gold dust.

Congratulations Tim! I hope you enjoyed your cake.

Silver Snowflake Wedding

2008-11-23T08:54:00.001-08:00

This weekend I had the pleasure of creating this 4 tier silver snowflake wedding cake. The cake was lemon poppy seed with raspberry filling and red velvet with white chocolate cream cheese covered in fondant. Snowflakes were piped out of royal icing and painted with silver dust. When I went to set up the cake, the hall was beautifully decorated with silver balloons, red carnation centerpieces and white glistening snowflakes. The day was sunny and the snow glistened in the sunshine. A beautiful day for a winter wedding. Congratulations Niomi and Tim!