"Back-to-School" Cookies

It's that time of year again, and if you are like me, you absolutely dread the thought of making lunches. What a hassle??? right??? 

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


Each package is $55.00 and includes:
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Oatmeal Raisin
Snickerdoodle
Chewy Brownie

Cookies are baked fresh, so pre-order is required. Delivery is included, or save 10% and pick them up your self.  Packages are available: Sept 7, Sept 14, Sept 21, Sept 28.

READ ALL ABOUT IT......

Just Like Gram's is exicted to announce that it was recently featured in an on-line magazine article in the Northern Groove. You can read the full article here...

Taking a moment to breathe...

Well, the month of June is now behind us and we can now catch our breath! It was SUPER busy here at Just Like Gram's.  We were so busy that I didn't get a chance to take pics of every cake that went out our door, but here are just a few.

Clifford the Big Red Dog Smash Cake created for Lana Hamilton Photography. Love the paw prints going up the side of the cake!

We created this hockey theme cake for a young man graduating from high school. It featured the colors and logo of his favorite hockey team... the Edmonton Oilers. Sugarpaste accents included hockey sticks, hockey skates, puck and a grad cap.

Here is another high school graduation cake we created for a young lady.  This cake was centered around the theme of music. The bottom tier was designed to look like piano keys, with scroll work and musical notes on the second tier. Topping it off was the grad cap with a gold tassel.

 I absolutely love the simplicity of this wedding cake. This 4 tier square wedding cake featured white sugarpaste blossoms at the corners of each tier which were wrapped with a green and overlapping black ribbon. Later I received this message from the bride,  "Thank you again Tara! It was perfect, delicious, and exactly what we wanted."

Another wedding cake that went out our door was this 3 tier square wedding cake. It featured simple scroll work  with a yellow and orange ribbon wrapped around each tier.

Received a call from a lady out of town who wanted to order some cupcakes for some friends. She chose a variety of theme, such as these Golfing Cupcakes. She later sent me a message saying, "LOVE them!! Thanks soo much!!"

Beer Mug Cupcakes

"Don't send Flowers, Send Dessert!"

"Don't send flowers, send Dessert!" For years, flowers have been the traditional gift delivered for a special occasion, sympathy, thank you, or when you want to express a feeling.

Just Like Gram's is now offering an alternative. Instead of flowers, we bring dessert… always considered special, uplifting the spirits of the lucky recipient.

 Just Like Gram's offers freshly baked custom decorated cakes, cupcakes and cookies. We will even deliver them for you. Delivery is included in the price of all our baked goods within the Fort St John area.

Check out our Delivery Vehicle!

June...and We're only Half-Way Through....

One thing I have noticed over the years is that some years, June is quiet and some months June can be completely insane. You can never predict from year to year, what it's going to be like. In the past, I have had a ton of weddings in May with few in June, but this year.. the EXACT opposite. June seems to be THE month to get married. Let's also add in the fact that it is also graduation season and people don't stop having birthday's either. We are only half-way through June so I thought I would post some pics of the cakes we have completed so far.

Buttercream piped basket weave flower basket with all hand made sugar flowers.

The following three cakes were created for a client (and upcoming bride of mine) who planned a "ladybug" theme party for her little girl turning 1. We created a ladybug smash cake, ladybug birthday cake for the guests and additional ladybug cupcakes.

 














One week later, I created this wedding cake for the mom "the bride". She had a destination wedding and then came back to hold her reception. We chose a bold blue color her wedding cake with some simple white scroll work. Chocolate seashells and fresh orchids were added at the end to complete the overall look.

Another wedding cake created last weekend was the this ruffled cake complete with yellow ruffled gumpaste flowers. The bride requested a design by Maisie Fantaisie. The original design had pink flowers which we changed to lemon yellow. I also added additional ruffles than the original design.

It's been a while...

I know I haven't posted in a while, so now that we are halfway through June, I sit back and look at the previous couple of months. After taking off most of April, my husband and I took our children to Disneyland and then after being home for a week, I headed back east to Kitchener, ON to attend a course taught by Karen Portaleo, of the Highland Bakery, hosted by Chrissie Boon of Icing Inspirations.  I was only there for one night and came down with the flu. Running a fever of 102, I wasn't about to quit. I gritted my teeth, filled up on meds,  and somehow got through the course. I spent lots of money just to attend with airfare, hotel costs, etc so I wanted to get my money's worth.  We learned a ton of stuff about modelling and working with chocolate. It was too bad being so sick with the flu that I didn't really have a the chance to thoroughly enjoy it. Hopefully, I will have the opportunity to take another course by Karen. Unfortunately, I never finished my cake (I WONDER WHY???), so ONE day when I have some spare time, I will finish it.

After my course was done, I headed to my sister's in Alberta for some R&R, shopping and visiting family.

May brought a whirlwind of cake orders.  Here are just a few of those completed...

I work closely with the wonderful Lana Hamilton of Lana Hamilton Photography. She specializes in family and children photography. She also does Smash Cake photography too. Her work is AMAZING, plus she is fun to work with.

Set of two Smash Cupcakes  for a set of twin girls.

Smash Cupcake for a little boy who was into Dr. Seuss  (who isn't... "Big A, Little a. A, A, A", yes I read that book to my son a ZILLION times)

Smash Cupcake featuring purple polka dots and matching bow.

Sculpted Martini Glass Cake for a young woman's birthday.

In addition, to the sculpted Martini Glass cake, we also created this pink cake with black zebra stripes. Matching fondant martini glass applique was applied to the top.

I received a lovely phone call from Mary Anne on Vancouver Island who wanted to order some cupcakes for a young lady's birthday (she had just moved up here). Isn't that sweet?  I created some Red Velvet cupcakes with Italian Meringue Buttercream sprinkled with silver dragees and purple gumpaste blossoms.

Let's talk about "DEPOSITS".

What do I have to pay a "DEPOSIT"?

An excellent question!

Yes, we require a 50% non-refundable deposit on all our orders payable at the time of ordering.

Why?

First, we are a custom design cake studio AND if the order is cancelled, we cannot sell the cake to someone else since it was made for a specific client. We are not a walk-in bakery or large scale grocery store where we have ready made cakes to sell. All our cakes are made-to-order to the customer's specifications.

Secondly, when we take a deposit, we book that day and commit ourselves to your order. Many times we turn down business because we are booked already. Should an order be cancelled, we have lost business since we have turned away clients in order to design a particular cake.The non-refundable deposit covers the lost opportunities and the costs incurred by the vendor based on your commitment. In the past, we have ordered specialty items or started production on specialty cakes, only to be called a few days prior to completion to have the order cancelled. For example, one time I had an order for an "adult oriented" cake, and after having the cake baked and started working on the decorations, I received a call needing to cancel. There is no way I could have resold the cake since 1) it was adult oriented 2) it had some very specific custom designs requested by the client. You know the saying, "...it only takes once".

So requesting a "deposit" does 2 things:

1) It protects the customer. When you place an order and pay the 50% non-refundable deposit,  you are guaranteed that your order is booked with us. The deposit  protects the client and assures the client that the vendor will be there. No worries! and
2) It protects us against cancelled orders and lost business.