Cake Opera and Dulce Delight

Today, I'm taking a tiny break away from the world of beads to sweeten up your Wednesday. I've been a long-time fan of 'Cake Opera' since I first discovered their fondant operatic sculptures! Jessica Smith and Alexandria Pellegrino are the artistan bakers who bring their unique skills together - a fine arts degree and a master pastry chef. How about that for complimentary skills? Sometimes I'd love a partner in crime too; creative collaborations add up to magic sometimes.

 Jessica Smith and Alexandria Pellegrino of Cake Opera Company

It's their energy and passion for their business that I share though. They have found something that they are totally passionate about and it shows. I love reading interviews with fellow designers and hearing what inspires them. They were recently interviewed for Good Food Revolution and shared the story of their business. I was fascinated to hear that Dutch still-life paintings are one of their inspirations. TRÈS Cool!

Cakes by Cake Opera Company

Then on Friday, I discovered Raiza Costa - are you ready for a baking experience like you've never seen before?! Raiza is a Brazilian, self-taught cook. She has a 'Wow' blog and makes the most entertaining baking videos I have ever seen.

A pleasurable hour was lost watching Raiza in action. And 'Action' is the key word here. This girl made me laugh out loud. She's tempting me to believe that I could create these divine Pistachio French Macarons. If I just follow her step by step instructions and leave those egg whites overnight in the fridge :-) Watch this video, even for the first 20 seconds and let me know what you think...

 

 

Creativity and art come in all different forms and I for one love when I get to eat some of it! Are there any budding bride-to-be bakers out there that could share some of their tips and advice?

To follow up on these sugary delights:

Cake Opera Company

Dulce Delight blog

Interview and images of Cake Opera Co. via Good Food Revolution

Cake Pops!

Some of you probably know that my 'ickle sister Tara runs a cupcake business called Cupcake Me. Her cakes are truly gorgeous and I get to sample lots of them so I can say that hand on heart! The first I heard about her new cakes pops was when I saw her post on Facebook today...and I let out a mini-whoop because they look so cute!


Here's a few words from the Master Baker -

"As you know, I spend hours online checking out some seriously excellent UK and American cake websites and blogs. I came across the cake pops craze recently and thought to myself that I just had to get a bit of that action. So, armed with a book that I bought online and all the necessary bits, I set about putting some of these beauties together. Voila! The first batch that I made are featured in this picture - they are carrot and walnut with butter-cream bases, covered in a special type of candy coating and decorated...well, pretty much anyway you want!"

What's even better, we had a special home delivery of two cake pops this evening. Myself and Ben got to fight over which sprinkles toppings we preferred. (I went for the one which was ever so slightly larger). I'm delighted to say that I have now sampled my first, very delicious, cake pop. Can't wait to see the full range of colours and designs Tara!

For more info, visit Tara's website and Facebook page.

Lemon Daisy Cake

I'm back to work after a brilliant long weekend, filled with tasty food and good company. What a difference the sun makes!

My sister Tara made this gorgeous Easter cake...It's a pity she made it for her surfing friends and drove off with it in her camping van though :-( Aparently it was very tasty after an afternoon of surfing.

It's a lemon drizzle Madeira sponge with lemon fondant icing. I just love the pattern and big daisy flowers.

You can check out more of Tara's cakes on her CupCakeMe website or follow her latest creations via Facebook.

2011 Bridal trends

Whoooh - back to work and delighted to be sitting at my desk, surrounded by beads and full of ideas for new designs which I'll be sharing with you shortly.

Part of my design research involves keeping up to date with the latest in bridal trends so today I am sharing an idea that is going to be huge in 2011 weddings! Succulents - I love them for their crazy forms and variety of colours. They are sculptural yet simple and can be used in lots of creative ways.

This first photo is the one that wowed me - how about a headpiece made from a succulent that has been sprayed gold? This piece was designed by Clarissa Jones, who is an event planner in California. Her business is called JLDesigns - check out the other succulent ideas from this shoot.

This is a bouquet that I have featured before and was found via Style Me Pretty. I love the colour mix of soft greys and greens with yellow.

And here's a striking cake made by Erica O'Brien. The flower decorations are made from fondant sugar paste. I love when things are not what they appear to be. Totally scrumptious!

In the coming weeks, I'll be sharing 2011 bridal trends for everything from dresses to hairstyles. In the meantime, I need to get back to my design desk!

Cupcakes and Jewels

As some of you know, my sister Tara runs a cupcake business called Cupcake Me! We decided to collaborate on a sisterly project and were lucky enough to have our tasty designs photographed by Christina Brosnan.

Christina loves photographing lots of things from babies and curvy bumps to weddings and engagements! Her style is so modern and fresh. Thanks Christina - we had so much fun hanging out with you last week :-)

Tara and I came up with themes in the same way we would with real clients. We chose some classic and whimsical inspirations and let our imaginations carry us away. Cupcakes are like miniature pieces of art and Tara makes all of her floral decorations by hand. Yes, each of those flowers and butterflies are lovingly created from sugar paste to suit each design!

I love this Butterfly Garden cupcake with it's miniature flowers and delicate embossed flowers. *Almost* too pretty to eat...

Or how about this Black Flower cupcake with a very decorative wrapping?

For more inspiration visit Tara's website or Facebook page. Make sure to check out Christina's website and blog too.

Edible diamonds

I met my sister for a coffee and cake in the Phoenix Park today. She is just back from an amazing cake decoration course in the UK with celebrity cake maker Debbie Brown.

So, while we were sipping our lattes, she casually mentioned that Debbie had told her about edible diamond decorations for cakes. These two words have been spinning around inside my head ever since she told me this afternoon. Tara runs a cupcake company called Cupcake Me and we are working on a 'sister project' which will involve a photo shoot of my jewellery with her pretty cakes. You can see all of Tara's recent creations on her facebook page too -

Some of them will have *edible diamonds* Just remember, you heard it here first :-)

(Ok, I admit that the pic above is of real diamonds)

Esme's Ibiza wedding

Well girls, this is hot off the press...
Esme, the winner of my bridal hair accessories competition is just home from Ibiza. Congratulations to Esme and Keith! These are some images taken by family and friends and I also hope to share some of the official pics in a month or so.

You'll notice that Esme is looking suitably radiant and bronzed after her Mediterranean celebration! By all accounts, the holiday was amazing with family and friends benefiting from a relaxing holiday and amazing wedding party.

Here is Esme with her two bridesmaids. She chose their colour theme to contrast with the white and creams of the Mediterranean surroundings. I love how the sun makes these colours pop.

Above you can see Esme's headpiece which was made of fine gold crochet. I incorporated lots of gold-lined crystal, cream pearls, mat gold and silver-lined beading. This delicate crochet headband was woven around the back of the head, (although you can't see that in these images). Below are some of the crochet forms that Esme tried on before deciding on her own bespoke design.

I've been so looking forward to hearing all about this wedding and would like to thank Esme again for sharing her stories with us. Here are a few words from her -

Well I'm back - the wedding was amazing! Everyone was raving about my head piece; it really pulled my whole look together. The wedding was out of this world. The villa was decorated to perfection and everyone commented on the presentation and quality of the food, it was amazing. The wedding cake was cupcakes in carrot cake and lemon drizzle flavour. We had a Spanish guitarist playing during the reception and after the speeches we had fire dancers, which were spectacular. Thank you so much once again Aisling, my head piece really complemented my dress - I think you are just brilliant at what you do.

You're welcome Esme - thanks for your kind words; I really appreciate them. I know that your wedding will inspire so many people!

Lilac and Lily

Sometimes cakes can nearly be too beautiful to eat! How about floral displays that will get your mouth watering?

Helen Powell is a Warwickshire wedding and event florist and she created these dreamy floral confections. I love the idea of these as centre-pieces for a table setting. You could have different 'desserts' on each table.

Helen's company is the beautifully named Lilac and Lily and you can see more of her designs on her website and blog.

Some of you may know that my sister Tara owns her own cupcake company, Cupcake Me! Below are some of her flower-inspired cupcakes. You can also follow her recent news on her Facebook page.

Vintage Cake toppers

Amada Lebel creates whimsical one-of-a-kind cake toppers. Well, some are cake toppers and some are designed for those who don't feel the need to have a cake but still want a cake topper - I love this idea! If you look closely you will see that the base of the cake-topper is actually a box which you can open and store things in. And these can be used as a cake-topper for a cupcake stand too. Amanda describes this piece below -

“From This Day Forward” mini topper. A smaller version of one of my larger pieces. About 7” tall but with all the quality of it’s larger counterpart. This will look great on your large or small cake. I have many couples purchase this for on top of their cupcake tree.

See more of Amada's designs at her Etsy shop or visit her blog for more inspiration.

Cupcake Me

My sister Tara has recently set up a cupcake business called CupcakeMe.org and makes really delicious cakes for weddings, birthdays or any special occasion. I know I may sound biased but they are really tasty :-)

Tara is being interviwed by Ian Dempsey on Today FM next Monday 11th January at 8.30am so tune in if you'd like to hear all about her sweet business...

Sugar cookies

Ok, so cupcakes rock and are just so pretty but check out these amazing hand decorated sugar cookies from SweetAmbs. I came across this company on Etsy which is an amazing source for unusual hand-made objects.

SweetAmbs cookies are baked to order and Amber decorates each one by hand. Although the company is based in Chicago, the cookies are individually wrapped and heat sealed, giving them a shelf life of up to four weeks.

So what are you waiting for? Read more about Amber's cookie's on her blog or read other posts that I have written about cakes.

Cake Opera

Eating Eurovision cup-cakes got me thinking of the wonderful art of cake decoration and how popular individual cakes have become as an alternative to traditional tiered wedding cakes! I came across an amazing cake website called Cake Opera Company, (pictured above), and love how Alexandria Pellegrino is inspired by both her background in Fine Art and Pastry as well as a passion for all things Venetian!

Alexandria explains how she chose the name for her cake business -

"The name Cake Opera Co. came to me in two ways...Opera, the Italian word for "life work" or opus seemed fitting at the time I was developing my company. Designing and creating exquisite cakes was the perfect marriage of my life long passion for the art and baking. Also, the word "cake" is so unpretentious and lovely while the word "Opera" is so theatrical and vibrant. Together they seem to conjure up a beautiful synthesis of magic and enchantment."

Check out the wonderful Cake Opera website... and read my follow-up article about Cake Opera and the amazing Dulce Delight.