Starting over...

Starting over is something I hadn't envisioned in my business plan. When I first started Happy Cakes it was in a town where I knew people, I had friends and those friends had friends and even connections. It wasn't easy starting, but it was easier than I had thought. I made a cake for a friend, who's friends saw it and one of them wanted a cake and then their friends saw it and well you know how it goes. It was a smallish town where it wasn't hard to know who was who and in the zoo. Now I find myself in a situation where I know absolutely no one and no one knows who I am or who Happy Cakes is. I don't know who is who and in the zoo any more. I don't know which expo's to go to, who the photographers are or the venues are. And I mean the good ones to. There's so many that it just seems so hard.

I thought I had a business, but it would seem that I don't anymore. Not only are all my existing customers in another state, my 17,000+ followers on Facebook, count for nothing, no offense. Facebook is no longer a place where you can create or establish a business. Which is pretty much how Happy Cakes started other than word of mouth, Facebook played a huge part in exposing my business. But now that Facebook limits your posts to a very very small percentage of your liker's, it's hardly worth anything. Whether you like my page or not, there is no guarantee I'll show up in your news feed unless I pay the big bucks. As a small business their fees are quite high to sustain on an ongoing basis. I can't complain it was good while it lasted!!

I can no longer rely on my wit, charm and good looks to get me through either. I have to create this business from scratch all over again. Which is not only a little disheartening but daunting at the same time. I worked pretty damn hard for the past 7 years getting it to a point where I could leave my full time job, to a part time job to a no time job and cake full time. I no longer had to cake at night and work a "real" paying job during the day to sustain the cake business. The cake business was able to sustain itself and my family without me having to work anther job. Does this mean I have to go back to working and caking at night?? Gosh they were hard times.

I also wonder if my old tricks will work this time around? Or will I have to sell my soul for cake hehehehe. Are my cakes good enough for this market? Are my prices competitive? Who are the wholesalers? These are just few of the things that I need to work on, all over again. Starting a business is hard. Do I have the energy to do it all again...For the love of cake can't I just bake already!! Running a business would be so much easier if all I had to do was make cakes and turn them into pretty little master pieces. Oh the joy that use to bring me. For some reason it's worth it, so I suppose it's back to the drawing board for me.

Leoni.
Happy caking
xx

Introducing Jenna and Luke...

Last year I had the privilege of creating a beautiful wedding cake for a beautiful couple. Jenna was a gorgeous bride to work with and Luke was the perfect groom. She knew what she wanted but was comfortable enough to leave me do the hard work!! I love that. I was thrilled to make this cake. I loved every minute of it. Delivery was a nerve wracking event though hehehe. Congratulations Luke and Jenna. And thank you for allowing me create for you on your very special day.

The Ingredients!
Photographer - Andrew Rankin
Styled by - Jenna & Wedding Works
Ceremony - Queens Gardens|Rainforest Lawns
Reception - Banquet Centre
Wedding Dress - 'Willow' in the Mori Lee Collection by Madeline Gardner
Hair & Make Up - Jenna says, "Very fortunate to have amazing dancing friends Shaughn Pegoraro and Melissa Prince who understood exactly what I wanted for my special day".
Suits - Black fitted dinner suit with satin trim
Flowers - Townsville Flower Market
Cake - Me of course!

Lately on Instagram...

In the beginning.....the start of some pretty cakes at layering stage.

A random picture of an elderly couple that made my heart smile! So in love and so caring of each other.

The start of a flower cascading cake. I loved making this cake for the beautiful Jenna and Luke. First time I'd ever made one of these. All tiers were uneven height which made for such a dramatic look. 

Ahhh a boy cake. I do love making boys cakes. It's a rare occurrence. I'm not sure why. Boys eat cake don't they?? A WWE cake for one of lovely customers. 

Flashback Friday. This still goes down as one of my most favourite and memorable cakes. I made this back in 2011 for Kelli and Les who's wedding was Dr Seuss themed!! I saw the happily married couple only a couple of weeks ago and their expecting twins!! Girls to. Mmmmm I wonder what themed wedding they might have hehehehe. 

Some pretty little pastel baby shower cakes for one of my previous brides expecting her second child. I feel kind of lucky to remain a part of their lives if only in the form of cake!! PS Congratulations Mark and Allysha on the safe arrival of your beautiful little girl Sienna xx 

One of my clever students made this cake at the Big Cakes 101 course. I love seeing the end results of their work. 

Big Cakes 102 brought a bit of stress to all involved......Square cakes can be a little frustrating, but the end results were amazing. I do love teaching! 

Naked hot vanilla cakes. Sounds kind of sexy when you say it out loud!!! 

Said bye to my gorgeous nephew "Jacobean" who leaves us to start his new adventure in Brisbane :-( I miss you already xx 

It's been such a roller coaster time lately both personally and professionally. Instagram is a way for me to capture both these moments. I love capturing the little things and big things that go on in my life.

Leoni xo

PS You can find me @happylittlecakes

A special cake...

Sometimes people come into your life that you'll never forgot or in this instance your child will never forget. They've managed to leave a lasting impression so positive that it's sure to stay with them forever. I'm talking about her first teacher. We were extremely blessed when my daughter started school to have been given the most beautiful, caring, friendly and loving teacher. Her name was Ms Bus. She was gorgeous, in every possible way. My Paigey just adored her and till today, she still talks about Ms Bus. We were so fortunate to have her as Paigey's prep teacher. She has the gift of being an amazing teacher. So when Ms Bus asked me to make her cake I was so excited. Paigey was a little more excited I think!! I know I say this a lot, but I truly loved making this cake. Paige was thrilled when I asked Ms Bus if we could come down to the gardens and watch the ceremony. I had to smile, as Ms Bus walked down the isle Paige looked at me and said, "Mum she hasn't changed, she's still beautiful as she was in Prep". Bless. She's right though, there's just something about her.....Congratulations Kellie and of course Moppy :-) From us to you xx

Happy caking.

Leoni.

xx

Ben The Ring Man Marries His Gal!!

I just have to share with you this cake I made recently for the gorgeous Prue who said yes to our beloved Ben The Ring Man!! If you want to know the story, click here!
I was absolutely delighted when they asked me to make their wedding cake, such a lovely couple. Prue is an absolute delight, and was just a dream bride! Congratulations to you both, I hope you had an amazing day. Thank you so much for allowing me to play a small part in your day ;-)

Happy caking.

Leoni.

xo

Two little blue birds.....

This cake was for the lovely Terese and her now new husband Lucas who were married recently. I had a lot of fun with this cake, a little variation to a traditional plain wedding cake but still very elegant. Had fun with the two tones, you could seriously go to town with this technique!! Hint Hint Brides ;-) Toppers were provided by Terese. Congratulations to you both.

Happy caking.

Leoni.

xo

A wedding cake with a difference.

A while back I made a mexican themed cake for my SIL which had some calaveras on it. At the time, I thought I'd never make them again, not generally something you have, especially on wedding cakes. Well lucky for me, Simone wanted to incorporate some calaveras on her wedding cake this week for her husband to be Stuart, who is a professional air brush artist. He's always drawing them and she wanted to include them on the cake, keeping with the colours of the wedding. Congratulations to you both, hope you had a lovely day and enjoyed your cake ;-)

Happy caking.
Leoni.
xo

A last minute cake order....

Here's a last minute wedding cake I created this week for a somewhat distressed MOB (mother of the bride). I received a phone call Monday evening from a lady asking if I could possibly make her daughter a cake for Saturday! She filled me in on her runaway/missing in action cake decorator and was at her wits end trying to organise another decorator. With an already hectic week, I said yes, eeek, I think she caught me at a weak moment! All good though, I was happy to help out.

Happy caking.
Leoni.
xo

Hot Tub Wedding Cake!

I made was for Kate and Clint married in Airlie Beach. What a spectacular location for a wedding, gorgeous. Kate came to me with a picture of what she wanted, she told me that no one new what style the wedding cake would be as it was going to be a little surprise for her guests! I love making new cake designs, it's good for the soul hehehehe. Congratulations to you both, hope you had an amazing day.

Happy caking.
Leoni.
xo

Something simple!

This wedding cake was for the lovely Natalie who married Joel over the weekend. Love the colour combination, something so simple, but gives the wow factor! And the fabulous bow, from non other than Chris at 4 Li'l Darlins!! Thanks luv. Congratulations Natalie & Joel, I hope you both had a lovely day.

Happy caking.
Leoni.
xo

Libby & Wayne's Cake.

Since making a wedding cake for Klara a little while back, I've been asked by quite a few people to replicate this, especially the bow look!! If you already know of my drama with the bow, then you can skip the next part, but for those of you who don't, do you know how hard it is to tie a nice looking bow??!! I spent over 45mins trying to do the one for Klara, thinking to myself & cursing to myself that how ridiculous is it that I can't tie a stoopid bow!! I can make one out of fondant, but not tie one. Anyway luckily for me I have friends in high places and the lovely Chris from 4 Li'l Darlins is my secret to nice looking bows ;-) I don't even try now, I just call her hehehe. Thanks luv. This cake was for Libby & Wayne who were married on the weekend in a lovely backyard reception down on the river. All white cake and no where to hide, love the finish on this.

Happy caking.
Leoni.
xo

Dr Seuss Wedding Cake

Hi,

There are some types of cakes that you'll probably only get to make once and I think this is one of them!! When I first met Kelly-Louise I immediately thought this girl is fun, then when she handed me a copy of her wedding invite, I thought maybe a little wacky too hehehehehe. Kelly-Louise wanted me to create a Dr Suess inspired wedding cake, but not just a subtle hint of Dr Seuss but full blown Dr Seuss all the way. Kelly-Louise & Les were having a Dr Seuss themed wedding!! Wow, I was so in my element, this was going to be fun. But would I succeed? "Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed." Fun it was. I had the most funnest time creating this cake and was just lovin the end result sick hehehehe. This cake required me to get in touch with my inner Dr Seuss and "Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!" Kelly-Louise & Les THANK YOU for chosing an amazing theme and THANK YOU for allowing me to create this cake for you. I was sad to see this one go, but Dr Seuss once said "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." Congratulations to you both I hope you had an amazing day xo.
A big thankyou to Stephen & Hayley from STEPHEN LANE PHOTOGRAPHY for the amazing photos of this cake. Somehow they've managed to make my cake look awesome hehehehe. Thank you both.

Happy caking.
Leoni.
xo

Angela & Dave's Wedding Cake

Last week a very cute & lovely couple were married, Angela & Dave. I never forget the first time I met them, they walked in & the only thing I could see was this massive oversized scrap book that Angela was holding. In my head I'm thinking "here we go"!! But contrary to "the book", Angela & Dave, will be a couple that I won't forget in a hurry, just beautiful. They new exactly what they wanted, without being over the top about it, so nice. When I saw the venue, I was oh my godding, simply elegant, loved it all. I even got a glimpse of her as she was getting into the car, so pretty. Congratulations Angela & Dave, I hope you had an amazing day & enjoyed that cake. Thank you so much for allowing me to create for you xo

Happy Caking.
Leoni.xo

Stephanie & Mick's Wedding Cake.

So I got to do my first 4 tier the other week! I've always wanted to do one. It was massive weighing in at a whopping 17.8kg & was just over 16" heigh!! Each tier is made up of a layer of fruit cake & a layer of chocolate cake, at the Brides request ;-) I can't take credit for the baking or ganaching process my big old sis did that part, she completely rocks the ganache process, makes me sick!! I did get the fun part of covering, stacking, & making it look pretty hehehe. Congratulations to Stephanie & Mick, hope you both had a lovely day yesterday. P.S Hands up who thinks my sis should come over to the cake side full time!! ME ME ME ME ME.

Happy caking.
Leoni.
xo

Kim & Mark's Cupcake Tower

So it's been a while since I've made cupcakes! Nothing like 100 of them to get you back into the swing of things hehehe. Please excuse the photo, two weekends in a row I've fogotten the camera, so silly. Hopefully Kim will see this and forward through a nicer photo so that I can share with you all ;-) Kim, I hope you've had a lovely day, congratulations to both you and Mark.

Happy Caking.
Leoni.
xo

Allysha & Mark's Wedding Cake

I just love seeing the name changes on facebook of all my lovely brides, so cute! Yes I'm talking about you Mrs Watson hehehe. Here's a cake I made for Allysha & Mark who were married over the weekend. I matched the lace around the cake to tie in with their invitations. I do love the dramatic effect of the lace, how it takes over the cake, but not really! Gees that makes a lot of sense hehehe. Congratuations Allysha & Mark.

Happy Caking.
Leoni.
xo

Tegan & Matthew's Wedding Cake

Well that was a crazy weekend last week! Nothing like a long weekend in the middle of peak season to spice things up hehehe. Here's a cake I made for Tegan who was married over the weekend. She wanted something very simple in black and white. I was excited to when she told me she wanted a round, square, round tiered cake. super cool. I love it, so different. Toppers were provided by Tegan. P.S Excuse the photo, I forgot to take pictures of all my cakes this weekend with the real camera ;-)

Happy caking.
Leoni.
xo

My First Topsy Turvey Cake.

Ok, well we all know I love a challenge, but I was seriously starting to doubt my ability with this cake. My stress & anxiety levels have been peaking and them some over the last few weeks with this cake. Bride, Nicole came to me with a picture of a Planet Cake cake and basically asked me to replicate it. Which is not possible, for obvious reasons. Everyone has their own style, and no matter how you try to replicate something it will never be exact. This was no ordinary cake, rather a topsy turvey cake. Don't get this confused with a madhatter, two different styles. A topsy turvey cake is different in the sense that the individual tiers are elevated on an angle, quite a technical cake. I learnt soooo much from doing this cake. I'm thrilled with the end result. I'm proud of this achievement and I'm proud of this cake. I hope I've done the Planet Cake version proud. Not bad for a self taught cake decorator I think!!

Happy Caking.
Leoni.
xo