Oh, December.. Busiest month of the year!

This month has been incredibly busy for me, both on the business and home front! Cookies and cupcakes galore! Here are a few photos of goodies that went out this month.

Snowflake Cookies

Christmas Cookies

"Peace, Love, & Stacey" Mini Cupcakes

Christmas Mini Cupcakes

Just one of our many Christmas Gift boxes!

All I Want for Christmas is...

Christmas Gift Specials have arrived! If your shopping list is long, let us help you slim it down. We will be offering fudge, gourmet marshmallows, decorated cookies, chocolate covered oreos, and truffles! Also available are hand-decorated gingerbread houses that will smell delectable and taste even better! To order, you can use the Contact Storybook Bakery tab on our Facebook page, send us an email at admin@storybookbakery.com, or use the Contact Us page on our website. Orders are pick-up only and tax is included in price.

Price Increases

Policy and price minimum changes coming soon. Starting November 1st, 2011, our minimum for party cakes will increase from $50 to $100 and our 3D minimum price will increase from $100 to $200. Our wedding cake prices will remain the same for the time being. We have been slammed with orders lately and it is now time to focus on our passion--complex, challenging, and intricate cakes! We will continue to offer our normal prices for military commands only. This will NOT apply to cakes that are booked and paid for before November 1st, even if the event date is after. Feel free to send us an email at admin@storybookbakery.com, or use the Contact Us page on our website if you have any questions!

Themed Dessert Tables, Updates, & more!

Finally! I have been working on this for days, and here it is.. all NEW--Themed Dessert Table Packages! Each package includes a cake, cupcakes, cookies, desserts, party favors, and most importantly--setup and table decorating is included! For a full list of themes available and package pricing, check out the Dessert Table page on the website, or click here!

I have also made a few changes to the website. Social media icons are now on every page, photos have been updated on pages and in galleries, and a few tweaks have been made here and there.

Also, check us out on Facebook for new photos, events we are attending, and more!

Honey, Art, Golf, & a '67 GTO!

This week there were two completely different birthday cakes for the same customer! His wife loves Winnie the Pooh, so we made a honeypot filled with Honey Buttercream and surrounded by bees!















He also wanted a cake for both of his parents birthdays so we made a square cake and decorated the front two sides to reflect his parents' interests or hobbies. His mother is an artist and his father is a golfer who has restored a '67 GTO.

Storybook Bakery featured in Macaroni Kid!

Storybook Bakery was featured in Macaroni Kid Virginia Beach: Mamas & Papas today! It includes a brief Q&A about me and the bakery! Check out the article here!

(If link above is not working, copy-and-paste the following into your browser: http://virginiabeach.macaronikid.com/article/184526/macaroni-mamas-papas)

Anchors, Stripes, and a Cupcake Tower!

It has been longer than I hoped to put these photos on the blog, but I have finally found a moment to do so! Here are the cakes that have kept me so busy lately!

First Birthday cake designed to match the Sailor theme party decor.

My husband's ship requested this cake for this year's Chief Selectees. I decided at the last minute to put chocolate Navy emblems on the top corners to fill in space and later found out that the chocolate mold that is being sold as a "Navy Emblem" is in fact an Officer's Emblem. I should have know this, being Navy myself, however, the details of the mold are so small and hard to see, that I didn't realize this. The chiefs who received the cake sure did! I feel terrible that I put an officer's emblem on an enlisted service member's cake! But now that I am aware, I will not make that mistake again!

The Foster-McCammon wedding had to be postponed because of Hurricane Irene, and happened to be rescheduled for the weekend of our kids' birthday party (photos of that to come next!). I was able to do a lot ahead of time so after the party was over I finished them up and delivered them to their wedding at the Virginia Beach Contemporary Arts Center. I am waiting on some professional photos from the wedding photographers, so more to come!

This was for a Baby's 1st Birthday party. The mother took a few different photos she liked and combined them into this cake. I love the way the zebra print turned out and I would love to do another one!

This Tea Set cake was for a bridal shower that had to be rescheduled due to Hurricane Irene. The tea set is edible and hand painted. Tea pot made of rice cereal treats and rest of pieces made entirely from fondant except for flower, which was a gumpaste fantasy orchid. The bride-to-be's name was on the tea pot, her mother and soon to be mother-in-law's names were on the sugar and cream, and the bridesmaids names were on the tea cups.

A very special soon to be 15 year old contacted me about a zebra birthday cake. She chose every detail on her own and I was very impressed with her knowledge of cake! Not many 15 year old girls even know what fondant is! She wanted a purse on top so we personalized it to say "Caitlyn Couture".

Choo-Choo! 2nd Birthday Train Cake!

It was a super busy week! My two girls started preschool at our church, Oak Grove UMC, my husband bought a truck (to replace his lost in an accident last week), and I had 3 orders for this weekend! One Ruffle cake, a black forest cake, and a 2nd birthday train cake. I didn't take a photo of the Ruffle cake because I have made it before. The black forest cake was covered in Ghirardelli chocolate shavings, so I did not take photos of it either because it was generically decorated. The train cake, however, was completely new! Here are a few photos.

Pink & Green Baby Shower Dessert Table

It has taken a while to post this because of Hurricane Irene. Here are photos of the dessert table from last weekend. The theme was pink & green. Except for the cake squares in the center, all other desserts were made by Storybook Bakery.

Personalized baby bucket from Kurlz & Swirls held the chocolate covered oreo party favors. Mommy-to-be got to keep the bucket.

Right side of the table.

Left side of the table.

Center of table.

Cake was banana with cream cheese frosting.

Whoopie pies!

Dipped strawberries in Ghiradelli chocolate.

Cream puffs with fresh whipped cream.

Cupcakes were Strawberry Buttercream and Chocolate Fudge with Chocolate Buttercream. Cupcake wrappers from Bella Cupcake Couture.

My mother-in-law, Kellie, snapped a quick photo of me with the table!

I had a great time putting this table together. I developed a love of all desserts during pastry school, and enjoy when I get the opportunity to do an array of sweets, rather than only cakes. I can't wait until my next dessert table!

Proposal in the Cake Gallery!

I mentioned the proposal that happened in the Cake Gallery while I happened to be volunteering for the Icing Smiles table during the convention. I have pictures!

We made the poor couple stand there for a few moments so we could all get pictures. They were very accommodating. Congratulations to them both!

Here is a close up of the engagement cake with a sugar engagement ring. I don't know who made it, but I assume it was someone around Charlotte.

Here is another shot, this time without the horse's head in the way!

ICES 2011!

Since the convention was put together by both North Carolina and South Carolina, ICES had 2 show cakes this year! One was of Charlotte. They did a great replica of the buildings, even with correct heights, Bank of America being the tallest, followed by Duke Energy, Vue, Hearst, and so on.. There was a race track going around the city with cars that actually moved around it. The cars were not set up when I took this picture.

Below is the second show cake that definitely shows everything North Carolina is known for..

My husband's favorite.. We have "House Divided: NC State & UNC" flags and decorations in our home because my husband is for NC State and I, of course, am for UNC.

Full car shot. It had a radio that played throughout the day.

My favorite.. Cheerwine! I definitely missed the heck out of some Cheerwine while we lived in California. I had family that was kind enough to bring me some when they came to visit!

That is all for now. I will post more later! I had a wonderful time and cannot wait to do it all over again next year. I was so sad to see it end. Hopefully I will see you all next year in Reno!

Closed for the Convention!

We are CLOSED today through Sunday for the ICES (International Cake Exploration Society) annual cake convention in Charlotte, NC! We are making a short stop on the way, as I type. If you would like to place an order for next weekend, there is still space available. The weekend of the 20-21 is not available, and there is only room for one more order on the 27th. During the next few days, however, return emails and calls may be delayed. Email or the Contact Us page on our site is the best way to reach us. Hope everyone has a great weekend. See you next week!

Baby Gender Reveal Cake -- UPDATE!

A month or so ago I made my first baby gender reveal cake. I got a call from a wonderful woman whose daughter is expecting and was about to have her ultrasound. They chose a design and flavors, then when the day came for the ultrasound, I got a call from the technician who performed the ultrasound telling me to make the filling BLUE!

Then I got to work! I had the cakes prepped and uncolored frosting made ahead of time. I only had about 4 hours to color, fill, frost, and decorate the cake before they came to pick it up. The reveal party was that evening. They didn't want to wait any longer then they had to--I don't blame them! The cake was finished on time and picked up. Here is what the cake looked like:

A couple weeks later, they sent me an email letting me know how it went and included pictures! Here are a few of them:

Here is a photo of their table set-up.

Here is the mother-to-be with her revealing slice! Funny how her lei is the same color.. Could her intuition have told her what it would be?

 The cake after it was cut.

I had a blast making this cake! I hope to do many more in the future. I have also recently seen gender reveal cupcakes with revealing filling used inside them. It was exciting knowing the gender before my clients did and I was careful not to have any blue on my uniform or hands when they came to pick it up. Didn't want to give anything away! I look forward to the next one!

Last Minute Orders!

We have had a large increase of last minute orders over the past few weeks. Most of these orders have given us less than 3 days to fulfill, and that doesn't include time to fill out the paperwork or take payment. We have had to, unfortunately, turn down orders that we would have loved to fulfill, due to short notice. We hate to do that! Not only does it sadden us by having to refuse orders, but it also forces you to go somewhere that may not be your first choice, or worse, leaves you without a cake!

So if you have an event coming up: birthday party, baby or bridal shower, anniversary, or any other special occasion, give us a call at 757-436-1249, or shoot us an email at admin@storybookbakery.com as soon as possible to get your event in our calendar! An ideal time to place your order is 2 weeks prior to your event. Get your order in, and off your To-Do list!

We look forward to hearing from you, and better yet -- creating your fantastic cake!

Police Academy, Military Birthday, & A Raffle!

The first half of the week was super busy! We had a graduation cake for a recruit of the Virginia Beach Police Department's 51st class from the Police Academy. Here is his celebration cake!

Also this week was the birthday of a Senior Chief working at the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. His office wanted to surprise him with a cake! This is the second cake we have done for this hospital. We hope to do more!

Last thing on our list this week was a set of Sweet Boxes for a raffle at a local event. The two boxes contained a 6-inch cake and a dozen cupcakes, as well as a gift certificate. Here are the boxes all wrapped up and ready to go. Below are pictures of the cake and cupcakes. Congratulations to the winner! We hope to get pictures or video of the raffle soon.