Peggy's 80th Bash #MyFirstCake

Hello hello!!
So I have something a little different to share with you today!!!
Yes there are still cookies... tons and tons of cookies...
BUT there's also cookie TOPPERS.... and cake... my first layered cake. 
I've made tiny layer cakes in the past... I made one for my own birthday one year but I've never taken on anything like this and for somebody else!! A very sweet family friend of ours.
This journey is super messy... most of the pictures are last minute because I was hustling let me tell you LOL. 
However, I'm still pretty happy with how everything turned out and she was thrilled so I couldn't really ask for more.
I hope you're ready because here we go LOL. 

Well I hit the ground running but was soon halted by the need for more icing.
Idk what I was thinking LOL. I don't even remember how many of those minis I did.
But there were A LOT. 
So I made more icing and continued on my way. 

Believe it or not, the poker chips were pretty fun to do and they went quick.
Just like with my previous set, the beer cans coulda benefitted from wet on wet but I was really nervous about it bleeding. The more I play with wet on wet the more I realize how beneficial it is in creating seamless designs. You will probably see that shift in my work in the future.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Bakell Luster Dusts... 
Add a little extract and you have paint. 

So that's basically it for the minis AND I actually got some decent pictures of them.
They are so cute!

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Photoshoot

Okay those are all done. 
​Onto the next!! 

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Cake Toppers & Icing Transfers

This was my first time making cookie toppers so I did them each kind of different just to see what held up the best.
I didn't have a single one fall apart so I guess it doesn't matter how you do them but I liked decorating ON TOP of the stick so you couldn't see it on the back of the cookie.
Not really a huge deal either way but that's how I would do them if I did cookie toppers or cookie pops. I also bought the sticks that could be baked in the oven.

Fun fact about me: I love the number 7. I was born on a 7th so naturally I favor it.
So did I love making a bunch of sparkly 7's???
Absolutely. 

Onto one of the star cookies of the show. 
"Queen of the Machine" was the entire theme, plus her beer. LOL.

So this first cookie was kind of my practice... 
I really liked how it came out but I wish it was centered better.
I went ahead and made that adjustment for the cookie topper.
​Same process. 

Cake topper process close ups:

And pause for more pretty purple 7's!!

And the last cake topper that seemed to miss all the photoshoots until it was put on the cake LOL.

And here they all are! Finished!
Well minus 1... Idk why the "Cheers and Beers" cookie didn't make it to the photoshoot but it's definitely around somewhere LOL. 

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CAKE!!!

I'm not a cakeologist by any means... remember this is my first real layer cake...
A whole 4 layers going on here.
They weren't perfect but nothing a little off the top won't fix.

*Also, shout out to my BFF Joyce, she got me those cooling racks for my birthday.
I love them bunches!!
If you need a Pampered Chef girl I highly recommend her! 
You can find her on FB HERE and her WEBSITE.

I don't understand why I took a picture with the cake toppers and they aren't even all there but here we are so LOL idk... I told you it was crazy... I was just trying to get whatever I could I suppose. Anyway-- yes the cakes. They all split LOL. No biggy though, not like anyone noticed because it's covered in buttercream LOL... cake decorating here we come!!

So first up is what the pros call the "crumb layer"... it creates a nice foundation for you to cover the cake in the finishing buttercream. So. Crumb layer and to the fridge so the icing can set.
Makes it effortless to put that last layer on.

Again... not perfect... but acceptable...

Now onto the black icing. Also buttercream.
Did y'all know homemade buttercream is freaking delicious??
​It is.
So naturally the chocolate buttercream was freaking phenomenal.

Hmm I don't know, I might have mentioned this, but I'm not a cakeologist LOL
I did not get that glorious smooth look like the pros do... I know some of them use fondant...
I've dabbled in fondant but I'm not a huge fan so "natural texture" it is....
Funny enough everybody loved it and thought that's what I was going for haha.
Now let's get the details on this baby...
Do y'all rememeber those lovely, sparkly, beautiful 7's??

I painted the flames individually with my Bakell Luster Dust and some vanilla extract.
I do love my paints.
I wasn't super jazzed about the sprinkles but it all came together.

Those were the last pictures I snapped as we walked out the door to transport all these goodies over to the birthday girl!!! 
I decided to put the cookie toppers on when I arrived. 
​Great decision. 

The table was setup soo cute when we got there!!
Everything was perfect! Every ounce of work I put in was totally worth it!! 

For my FIRST EVER full sized layer cake AND cake toppers, I think it came out freaking fantastic!! 
And it tasted amazing... I use the Hershey's chocolate cake recipe and it never fails. 
It is delicious every time. She actually requested that I use that recipe for her cake so I did!

My layers came out pretty decent!!! 
See.... nobody cares that my cakes were cracked LOL. 
It was delicious and beautiful, can't ask for much more.

This time I will be adding something different at the end.
BIRTHDAY PICTURES! 

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PHOTOSHOOT

What a special birthday for a special lady! 
She is probably the coolest 80 year old I know! I love chatting with her!
And I am super honored that I got to be so involved in her special day!! 

I hope you enjoyed this journey! I know it was a long one but I think we had fun... right??
Well I had fun LOL. 
Thank you so much for joining me and I hope to see you next time!
Much Love,
Amanda

*Some of these photographs were taken by a very awesome photographer friend of mine.
You can see more of his work HERE on his Instagram.