July 9, 2011 · 2:50 pm

Hawaiian Barbie Cake

It’s about time for me to shelf my Wilton Doll cake mold.  My little girl is getting “too old” for Barbie cakes, but at least I did get some chances to make a few. My Hawaiian – Luau – Hula Girl Barbie cake was by far the easiest to decorate all thanks to one little grass piping tip, Wilton multi-opening tip #233.

Hula Girl Barbie was the center piece to my daughters 8th birthday party, Dont miss the rest of the Hawaiian Luau Party here.

Macy’s Hawaiian Barbie Cake

Hawaiian Barbie sits on a cake plate just a half an inch larger than the dress.  I sprinkled brown sugar around the edges before any icing to give the hem of the dress a resolved finishing point.  I gave the cake a crumb coat layer of green icing so any holes in the piped grass don’t stand out and then I went to town with the grass piping tip.  You couldn’t get it wrong, but I started with all the lines radiating out from her waist before i filled in with shorter strokes in between.  It’s easy to hide any flaws around the waist with layered ruffles of icing with tip #104  Her coconut shells are fondant and the flowered lei gives her a modest coverage without a need to give more detail to the bikini top.

Hawaiian Barbie Cake

Barbie Cake Tips

If you google around looking for Barbie cakes you can see some amazing cakes, you can also see some flops.  Most of the unsuccessful looking cakes definitely have something to do with the dress form and balance of doll parts to cake parts.  I do not suggest using a Bundt pan or Pyrex bowl or carving a stack of rounds.  Just get the Wilton Doll cake pan, it is the perfect ball gown shape.  There are a few problems with it, but I have figured out some ways to make it better.  The first problem is the cake size was obviously meant to deter you from sticking a real Mattel Barbie in it.  Second, the doll pick is hideous, the design of the doll pick is great, its a doll down to the torso with a long toothpick coming out of the bottom.  But what little girl wants a fake?   There’s only one real Barbie and she can’t be replaced!
So I have two different remedies for making a real Barbie work.  I either take the Wilton Doll head off and stick on a Barbie head or I bake an additional 10″ round cake to give the dress extra height..  Sometimes the Barbie head on the Wilton pick just doesnt look right together and I have no choice but to do the other way, so I core out about 2″diameter place for her to be inserted.  The hole has to be deep enough to for her to be submerged to the waist, after she is inserted I in fill all the gaps around her with a stiff icing.  She tends to slump and lean if you make the hole too wide.  As with any cake, there’s a level of sensitivity to movement that you just have to treat with the utmost care.   One of the nice things about using the Wilton doll pick is the tailored look you can achieve around the bodice waist.

So now that my doll pan is retired from my daughters birthdays I have to figure out if there are any ways to reuse it as something boyish for my son?  Any creative suggestions?

Looking for more Barbie cake ideas?  Then you’ll love to see my other Barbie cakes!

Mermaid Barbie and Mermaid Kelly in the Under the Sea Birthday Party

Rose Petal Barbie

Perfectly Pink Barbie and the Perfectly Pink Pool Party (coming soon)

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July 4, 2011 · 5:40 pm

Happy 4th of July!

4th of July cake and icecream

Tonight we are going to see “Macy’s fireworks over the Hudson”!  My 8 year old daughter is ecstatic!  In case you didnt know my children’s names are Macy and Hudson!  Have a safe and happy holiday evening!

 

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June 24, 2011 · 12:56 am

Eames LCW

 
 The first Chair 101 class is starting, quiet please everyone.   Now pay attention because there will be a pop quiz at the end of the series!
 

LCW in Ash

LCW in Palisander

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Today we will be learning about the LCW – Low Chair Wood by Charles and Ray Eames.  In my opinion this is the most iconic chair and a great place to start this series.  Besides it being  first in my personal collection, its my favorite and there are rules to even sit in it at my house: no eating, drinking or writing (seriously, its my baby)!   The LCW chair works just about anywhere—from homes and offices to schools and public areas.  It continues to be an icon of Modern Design and is valued for its comfort as well as a status symbol. The Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair (1946) has been referred to as the “most famous chair of the century” and was hailed “Design of the Century” in 1999 by Time Magazine.
 
 

Ray and Charles Eames

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During the postwar Good Design movement husband and wife team, often just refered to as The Eames, sought to create inexpensive, comfortable, and modern furniture that could be mass-produced and  consistently used plywood in their work.  They have been a huge name in the design world since then, 70+ years later.  Many of my future lessons will feature Eames designed chairs.  The LCW was not a one hit wonder for them but it was the chair that started them all.

Eames Plywood Leg Splint

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In 1937, Charles had become head of the department of experimental design at Cranbrook Academy in Michigan and worked with friend and architect Eero Saarinen (you’ll hear more about him in future lessons!)  investigating plastics and furniture. The original concept for the molded plywood chairs was conceived in 1940 when Charles and Eero entered a line of furniture into an “Organic Furniture Competition” held by the Museum of Modern Art.  They won the competition but production of the initially designed chairs was canceled due to America entering WWII.   Charles continued on with plywood experiments and was awarded a contact with the US Air Force for Plywood molded leg splints.  It was this same technology that he used to create the LCW in 1946.  The chairs were manufactured by the Evans Products Company (Eames’ wartime employer) company in California and distrubuted by the Herman Miller Furniture Company in Michigan (another BIG name in the the mid centure furniture movement)  In 1949 Herman Miller took over production completely and is still the only licenced manufacture of the chair in the US.  Vitra (remember them for later) presently manufactures for Europe.
 

Production line in California

  

Furniture Brochure

Sales Catalog

 

Vintage Ad for LCW

 
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The LCW is composed of  plywood made by molding thin sheets of lightweight maple vaneers into gently curved shapes, giving the material a soft and inviting appearance.  Its uninterupted smooth form is contributed to the rubber shocks that are glued, not screwed into the backrest and seat.  These shock mounts give flexibility to the chair, making it more responsive to the human body.  This made the LCW one of the first chair to have a responsive backrest.  The molded plywood family has many other chairs and tables that are also still sought after today.  The chair has a sister LCM – Low Chair Metal, with metal legs and cousins DCM and DCW, “D” standing for Dining.  The dining chair has a narrower seat, longer legs and doesnt slope back as much as the LCW.  Have you ever sat in a LCW?  It is amazing that a chair without any padding or upholstery can be that darn comfortable.  The seat is higher at the knees and reminds me of sitting in an Adirondack chair.  There is no lumbar suport but its not needed with the ergonomic placement of the backrest.  Its not a really a lounge chair (just wait they did that too) but its definately a chair that you can sit in for a long time. 
 
So what makes bent ply or molded plywood a good material choice? The cross grain lamination technique create sheets of wood that are extradordinarily strong and can perform in ways that natural solid woods cannot. In the forward of Bent Plywood  by Dung Ngo & Eric Pfeiffer, (a book I gave my husband that actually has a plywood cover) Rob Forbes, founder of Design Within Reach, speaks of plywood furniture (and an Eames leg splint and LCW is pictured), “The very heart of modernism is embodied by the processes that evolved from this combination of human art and industrial woodforming technology, and we have made it the heart of our business”.
 

Starbucks art

BR ad September 2006 in Dwell mag

 

Martha Stewart Living featuring LCW

Being an icon nearly since its introduction you can only imagine how many are around.  Chances are that you have run across this little chair a few times and didn’t even know it.  A few years ago it was on wall murals and art work of every Starbucks.  It is constantly used by stylists in magazine articles and in store displays.  The LCM is in all fitting rooms in the Gaps in Manhattan and I often see it in window displays at Banana Republic (sorry Old Navy its out of your price range)  In doing my research I remembered this BR ad that I had from a Dwell magazine in 2006, it’s so important they made the model get out of her seat for the picture, ha!   

MoMa exhibit archives

 

Macy seeing "mommy's chair" at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC

It’s on the permenant collection of the MoMA and I don’t doubt in countless other museums (I know it was in the Mint Museum in Charlotte,NC)  My daughter takes great pride when we run across it and always says “Mommy its your chair!”  

Eames Chair coasters from MoMA

Inhabit pillow

There are also many products that pay homage to is famous form. I have the Eames chair coaster from the MoMA store  which feature 4 of their famous chairs, the LCM being one of them. If you see a book or poster graphically featuring famous chairs it is never left out and Inhabit makes awesome pillows featuring mid-century chair silhouettes.

Molded Plywood Order Form

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According to this order sheet, the original price of the LCW was $20.95!! I did a little searching and the vintage ad pictured above from 1952 the prices went up to $25.  DWR currently sales the LCW in one of its 4 basic colors for $780, in 2008 it was $650 and 2007, $630.  When I bought mine in 2006 it was $600!  Wow that’s a price increase of 30% in just 5 years!  My history of furniture teacher in design school gave us some wise advice:  “Don’t buy fancy cars, invest in furniture”, now I really know what he means! Of course if you really want to have this chair but don’t have the space or quite enough cash for it you can buy it in a scaled down miniature at 4.5 inches tall and $200  from Vitra. But for that price, I think that you might as well save up a little more money for the real thing.
 

My living room

 
 

Hudson enjoys relaxing in the LCW!

Lastly, my beloved little chair may live by a lot of rules in my house but that doesn’t mean its off limits.  I believe that you should teach children to respect furniture no matter its cost or design status.  Hudson has found the LCW to be a perfect chair to lounge in while he’s watching Yo Gabba Gabba!

Thanks for joining me!  Tune in again next week to learn about: the Barcelona chair

 

Thanks to Avital Gertner for contributing her flickr photo of the starbucks art.

Informational links:

http://www.eamesoffice.com/

http://www.hermanmiller.com/

http://www.industrialdesignhistory.com/

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June 18, 2011 · 7:10 am

Embroidery fit for a Little Queen

 

Little Queen Sunburst 2010

Emma wears her shirt from Aunt Nikki!

I have a dear little niece named Emma that is like one of my own mice.  She is only three but has already been the recipient of many of the creative works that will be featured on NikkiikkiN.  Last year this little cutie won her first beauty pageant at the age of 2!  She was the Little Queen Sunsburst of Michigan!  To commemorate her title I made her an embellished shirt that would announce it to all.  This shirt was made with a few different crafting techniques: iron-ons, embroidery and appliques.

Commemorative shirt for my pageant queen niece

The back of Little Queen Sunburst's shirt

The state of Michigan is one of the most recognizable states in America with its mitten hand shape.  As preschoolers we were all taught how to point out on our own hand where in Michigan we lived, ask any Michigander what part they’re from and they’ll probably still do it, lol! 

I wanted to incorporate that mitten shape with a crown and came up with an applique design of the mitten being crowned.  I didnt need to purchase many supplies for this project. Being a crafter and interior designer you can only imagine all the fabric I have access to, fabric samples and embroidery thread are both staples in my crafting boxes.  I used Wonder Under fusible web on all the appliques to give them staying power and then did a blanket stitch around the upper and lower portions of the state.  The crown was made from a wool felt that wasnt going to unravel so I only did a straight stitch around it.  For the front of the shirt I wanted the word “queen” to stand out and used glitter iron-on letters from Michael’s craft store.  The rest of the words were hand embroidered in a rope stitch, which didn take that long after I lightly drew the words in pencil. 

I used a great online site Stitch School  to refer to for instructions and tips.  I also have the The Embroidery Stitch Bible by Betty Barnden to look at while I work.  An embroidery hoop is a must for embroidery work and luckily they are still an inexpensive craft tool.  I have a small one from childhood and a larger one that I bought to work on Hudson’s Owl quilt.  (I recently have seen the wooden embroidery hoops being used to display fabric as art on walls, what an innovative and economic gallery wall that makes, maybe ill try it one day!)

Of course Emma loved her shirt, my sister was excited about it too and she proudly saved it as a keepsake with all of Emmas trophies and crowns from her big day.

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June 17, 2011 · 10:26 am

Chairs 101

Entanglement of Chairs by James Nizam

 

 source

I am working on my new design series called Chairs 101.  I am crazy about chairs, my obsession started in design school and was awarded at my graduation when my husband gave me my first designer chair, the Eames LCW.  Since then I have added a few others and will be excited to show off my collection as well as other important chairs during this series!

Why do I love designer chairs?  There are several reasons, one is that out of all the many ways that a person can collect important pieces in design, whether it be a work of art or a whole house, one little chair is by far one of the most affordable and obtainable.   A splurge on a single chair doesn’t require much space or special installation to make a whole room feel styled and complete. 

The other reasons for my love are deeper in design theory thoughts.   The evolution of chair design has always paralleled the development of architectural styles and eras. During the last century chair designs have had a lasting impact on furniture design because of their innovative materials and the advance in construction technologies.  A multitude of chairs have been designed simply because of the fact that there is no idea form for a chair and that there can be many solutions to perform its function.  When I study a chair I see so much: a sculpture, a voice, a time period.  The mood it can create and its purpose in social society are all part of the package, wrapped up on four little legs and using only 2 square feet of floor space!  It’s a compact design that makes a serious impact in the design world.

Modern Chair Eye Exam from Blue Art Studio

 

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A chair can be a beautiful work of art that is well designed, studied, and written about.  It can become a celebrated icon. Some of the most iconic chairs have emotional persuasion that speak as loudly as well noted architecture and are often designed by architectural masterminds.   I run across designer chairs in department store displays, hotels, restaurants, advertisements and magazine spreads.   When I find one in person I take my picture in it ( I told you I was obsessed)!  There are many products that feature designer chairs like pillows, posters, coasters and miniatures, they are an easy way to bring a piece of a icon into your home or office. I dont collect the miniatures myself, I’d rather save up for the full size chair and I also have no problem obtaining just one of each, who says that you have to have a matching set?

The Bible of Designer Chairs

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One of my required books in design school was the bible of chairs: 1000 Chairs by Charlotte and Peter Feill.  I will be referring to it myself while writing my posts to get my facts straight.  (Dont worry, Im not going to talk about all 1000!)  I will be writing about not just the history and importance of the chairs but showing you some of the places designer chairs are used and some of the products that celebrate their form.  In my series I intend to share the worlds most influential and celebrated chairs with you.  If you aren’t a design-ish person, you will be surprised at how many chairs you can recognize but have never known the story behind. 

In the tradition of a blog series I will be making these posts on Fridays so check them out as you wind down for the weekend.

Cheers! Nikki

Tune into class next week to learn about: Eames LCW and LCM chair

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June 8, 2011 · 11:32 pm

Newspaper Tree Canvas

 

Recently my Oliver the Owl Nursery picture was used on a Pinterest.com pin board.  (How exciting!)  The author of the pin board commented “love these easy to make trees!”    Yes, thank you, they were easy to create and you can see the rest of the room right here!

I love graphic trees!  Symbolic representations of almost anything make me swoon.  Hudson’s nursery had a Owl theme, sorta, I wanted to throw in trees too.  Over his bed I created a triptych (thats a work of art which is divided into three sections) and in it I incorporated newspaper to play off of his gray bed.  My tree shapes were inspired from different sources that I sketched out and changed to suit me.  I used a custom acrylic paint as the back ground and created the decoupage newspaper shapes before adhering them to the canvas.  This gave them a look different than if I had placed the newspaper directly on the canvas to decoupage.  After the tree tops were in place (and this took a while because I always take a lot longer than most people to do what looks simple.  But thats okay, size, shape and balance are very important to my eye) I penciled in the trunks and then painted it a dark graphite.  That was it.  A spray sealant or thick layer of Mod Podge could have been added afterwards but I didnt think it needed it.

If you havent heard of  Pinterest.com, check it out.  “Pinterest is a place to catalog the things you love”.   So save some file space on your hard drive and gather those inspiring internet pictures over there.  The best part: the website is set up for users to give credit and link back to where they discovered the photo.  I really appreciate that, not only because I myself, am guilty of not knowing where I borrowed some pics from, but because it gives other users the opportunity to check out the owner of the pic too.  The down side to this site: you must have an invite to play!  So even though I have a photo showcased on a  pin board, I am on the waiting list to have an account!

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June 8, 2011 · 7:38 pm

Hawaiian Birthday Party

Aloha Macy!

Its HOT!  Its summer here in the city and as we begin planning Macy’s 9th birthday party I thought it would be a great time to post her 8th birthday party, Aloha! A Luau Pool Party.  I bet there is alot of people planing a luau party this time of year, its the perfect summer theme and I hope you find ours inspiring!  We had her party at our community pool and it was a such beautiful venue that it didnt take much to decorate.

Macy's 8th Birthday Celebration

Hawaiian Party Table

There are a few consistent elements in Macy’s birthday parties, I always make the cake and the invitations are handmade.  This year was no exception,  hand cut hibiscus flowers were the front of the invites and the party info was on a medallion on the back. In her earlier years, our parties included a lot of  friends and family & I had to make about 5o invites.  But now that she’s older and we dont live near friends and family anymore her party guests are school friends and total less than 20 guests.  This years cake was a Hula Girl Barbie and she was so easy to make!  (I’ll talk more on her in a future SugarCoated post)

Luau Party Invataion

Hula Girl Barbie Cake

When it comes to buying party supplies, there are a lot of Luau and Hawaiian themes to choose from.  I tried to keep ours simple and I was very careful to not go overboard or cheesy. Lots of color is a given when you are do a luau, but since this was a girl’s party it was easy to add in more pink and orange to give it a focus. A few plain white tablecloths were a great investment I made a few years back and this was another party that I was glad we were able to use them.  The grass table skirt was safety pined to it and because it was cloth I didnt have to worry about the weight of it tearing a plastic tablecloth.  The party and favors included a lei and hibiscus hair clip and a flower printed tote to stuff with candy & treats from the pull string (the only kind I do) pink flamingo pinata. Cool treats like fresh fruit served in a half pineapple and Hawaiian Punch in a coconut shell cup was all that was needed to entertain these girls.  I could hardly keep them at the table long enough to even sing happy birthday, because they were very anxious to get in the pool and just have fun.

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May 31, 2011 · 10:20 am

Modern Moroccan Nursery

Moroccan style is very trendy right now. It’s a visually stimulating style with an abundance of detail.  Vibrant colors, delicate wood carvings and intricate mosaics all give it a dramatic, mysterious and luxurious feel.  With the right combinations and restraint, the seemingly endless layers of fabric and busy ornate accessories that are the traditional Moroccan can to be reinterpreted as Modern.  A vein of unity such as a main color or repetition of an element can streamline it to become more Modern. 

Making a whole room have a Moroccan style can be as easy as adding  a few of the elements that are a must for creating a Moroccan design: the arch, a pouf or floor pillows, a painted or inlaid table, representations of animails, lanterns of colored glass and a mixture of patterns and jewel tone colors.  The best part in creating a  Moroccan style is that it’s not meant to match, it’s an eclectic style that is global and well traveled.  

I was asked to do a Modern Moroccan Nursery and it was educating for me to source the products as well as fun.  This was an eDesign project in which all of my suggestions needed to be readily available at national or online stores. This design was for a baby boy and the client definitely wanted to have blue in the room.  My inspiration boards paired blue with orange, green or multiple colors to give it a modern restraint.  In the end the client went with Scheme A and ordered nearly the entire inspiration board.  Besides the 3 schemes I compiled, I also prepared individual boards showcasing just accessories, art, rugs, pillows or tables in case she wanted to swap out for an item she liked better.  I am including the Tables board in this post because it had the most beautiful examples of traditional Moroccan furniture.    

Baby Gavin Moroccan Nursery Scheme A

 

Baby Gavin Modern Moroccan Nursery Scheme B

 
 

Baby Gavin Modern Moroccan Nursery Scheme C

 
 

Table options board

 
 
 
 
 

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May 27, 2011 · 12:05 pm

Hudson’s Elmo Cake

Elmo First Birthday Cake

I have such spoiled little mice!  They often get two fabulous birthday cakes each year.  Its because their birthday parties and their actually birthday don’t always fall on the same day.  If this happens, we still celebrate on their birthday even if it’s just for us.

Elmo First Birthday Cake

 

The day Hudson turned one we celebrated his birthday at home, just us, his big birthday party  with friends and family happened a few weeks later ( and 900 miles away ) and it was an entirely different theme, “Arctic ONEderland”.    Hudson loves Elmo and I wanted to make him happy for his first cake.  Elmo’s fur was easy to create by piping out a thinned squiggly line of icing in a furry pattern.  But before I got going with that I had to make a few pieces of his face in fondant.  It was super important to me to get the shape of his eyes and nose perfect or he would look like a knock-off.  I often shy away from doing well known characters if I don’t think I can make them exact.  What made this Elmo more special was the 3D feeling of his eyes and nose coming forward and his mouth beneath the fur piping.  As I’ve said before when I do cakes that are just for us at home I usually do some experimenting. Sometimes I like to color my cakes as a surprise when they are cut & served. (you can see my white snow flake cake in red velvet in a future post)  I used a white cake mix and mixed a few of my blue gels to see if I could get an exact shade of blue that I use in his room.  It worked perfectly, but Hudson wasnt worried about it either way.  He was very excited to dig his hands in that yummy Elmo, no matter the color inside.

Inside the Elmo Cake

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May 25, 2011 · 4:27 pm

Gallery Walls

Doing gallery walls are like working a puzzle to me.  It’s very satisfying when the pieces fit together just right, with a balance of scale and an aesthetic relationship. I have a huge assortment of tear sheets and photographs of gallery walls.  Retail stores and hotels are great resources to find them.  I often look to them for ideas but mine never end up exactly like what I’ve seen.  Thats what makes them an inspiration, they just get my creative juices going!  With several moves in the last few years, I’ve had the opportunity to do several gallery walls.  Sometimes when I do one, it begins as a starting point that I know I will be adding to or swapping out pieces later.  Other times I put it together with no intentions to make any changes.   

Macy's Manhattan bedroom gallery wall

 
 

NC children's bedroom gallery wall

 
Nikki Berry Nikkiikkin

Bklyn childrens room grouping

 
My first wall was Macy’s bedroom in Manhattan. We had 13 foot ceiling, so I had a huge space to work with.  Luckily I had enough floor space too because I laid all the frames out on the floor and moved them around until it was right before I attempted to put any on the wall.  This was the same technique I used for Macy and Hudson’s combined wall in NC and Brooklyn.  Our Brooklyn apartment also has 13 foot ceilings and the children’s room has two full walls of windows, so it was hard to find a good space for a gallery wall.  I ended up disbursing most of what we previously used to other areas and putting a small grouping over the closet doors.
 
Nikki Berry Nikkiikkin

Bklyn living room grouping

  In our Brooklyn living room I was unsure of what art or pictures I wanted to use on a huge 12 foot wide x 12 foot tall wall.  This ended up with me procrastinating for a few months until I broke down, photographed all the pieces and the wall, put them in Photoshop and worked and edited the space just as I would have (and have done) for an interior design client.  This was just the way to do it and it made complete sense to me. But it had my husband and friends rolling with laughter that I would go to this length and put so much effort into it.   My effort will pay off again because on this wall I already have two large portraits to add,  so it will be tweaked in few months and I plan on doing it using Photoshop again!  It is my intentions that this wall will always be changing and growing as we wish to start collecting local art.

Bklyn bedroom grouping

For the next gallery wall in our Brooklyn bedroom, I told my husband that I didn’t want anything to do with it, that he should take a stab at it  as punishment for laughing at me!  And he did, but the way a man would.  He just started nailing and hanging it all up without a plan.  Of course he showed me up because it worked perfectly and it looks just a good as mine with a lot less fretting.   
 
 

 

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May 24, 2011 · 9:10 am

A cake for ME!

 

Cake by Nikki Berry

My 29th birthday cake

 

 

Cake by Nikki Berry

Butterfly Cake

 

 

Cake by Nikki Berry

Swirling rainbow of butterflies

I love the month of May!  And it’s not just for the fantastic weather it usually brings, it’s a month of celebrations for me. Besides Mother’s Day I also have my wedding anniversary and birthday.  A couple of years ago I was itching to create a cake with butterflies, I found my birthday a perfect excuse to indulge in this.   My three-tiered cake of  buttercream cream frosting was the backdrop for a rainbow of swirling fondant butterflies and fondant letters that were inspired by paper quilling.  I had to allow time for the butterflies and letters to harden overnight, but other than that it was a piece of cake to create.  I even did a shortcut (that I would never do for someone else) and iced the layers all stacked together instead of individually before assembly.  I am often less of a perfectionist when I make cakes for myself or my husband.  I use these opportunities to experiment on flavors or techniques.  

So I have no problem making my own birthday cake, but Macy does have a problem with it.  She says that “you shouldnt make your own birthday cake” and has given me a hard time about it ever since I made that butterfly cake.  Last year I got lucky and attended a wedding on my birthday,  I had my fill of cake that day and didn’t need another.  This year I wanted to try a cake combo that I’d never made before, I found it a perfect time to create a cake anyway. Devils food cake with cream cheese icing, yummy! Cream cheese is my favorite icing, I love it with many different cake flavors besides carrot and red velvet.  Its delicious with a strawberry or a chocolate cake and it sets up firm in the fridge, so when it’s served it makes the perfect cut piece of cake. I made a point not to overdo the decoration on, I didnt want to make Macy angry with me. It work, she didn’t have a problem with the plain little pink cake, (that took me no time to make) that sparkled so prettily with just a coarse sugar topping.    

 

Cake by Nikki Berry

My 31st birthday cake

Cake by Nikki Berry

Devils food cake with cream cheese icing and coarse sugar topping

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May 23, 2011 · 1:06 am

A wedding to remember

My favorite wedding picture

 

 This week I celebrated my tenth wedding anniversary! As I reminisce of my wedding and the planning that went into it, I think fondly about the excitement I found in researching and sourcing the details.  I guess it was my first Celebration to plan, as it probably is for most young brides.  This was before every product you can imagine was on the internet, I actually had to buy books and magazines to find inspiration.  Most of mine came from Martha Stewart Weddings, which I still adore today.  Theknot.com had just launched and I was chosen to receive one of their planning kits in the mail.  I filled it with clippings, articles and brochures that I pulled or found at bridal shops.  I made a real scrapbook of things that I liked, as the digital inspiration boards that anyone can do today was only done by graphic designers in the magazines. I still have all of those scrapbooks and keepsakes but not in a location that I can pull them out and look through today. 

 So I thought it would be a fantastic idea to recreate my wedding dreams, ten years later, in the medium I would do today.  Some of the pictures I found online are similar to what I choose & some are the same item (thank goodness MS website has archives!) Overall this is the feeling of my wedding I created ten years ago at the tender age of twenty!

My recreated inspiration board

For my dress I was smitten with ballerinas and a favorite picture of Marilyn Monroe.  Mine had to be a tulle ball gown and the bigger the better!  Madonna had just worn this tiara to wed Guy and I sourced one nearly identical for myself.  Our color started as a dark purple but since it was a spring outdoor wedding I lightened it to lilac.  My bridesmaids wore a dress of organza overlay with a satin sash and carried my favorite flower, the hydrangea.  My hand tied bouquet was made of sweet peas, purple tulips and white roses.  Jacob and his groomsmen wore white stephanotis.  Many of our decorations were in a spherical shape such as the paper lanterns that hung from the trees over the reception tables, the vases filled with hydrangea and the topiaries that were scattered about. We were married in our home town, on the front steps of Elm Springs, an Antebellum home built in 1837 and our reception was also in the home and on the property.  For favors, we discovered candied violets to order from France in a MS Weddings issue, they were packaged in a gift box with a purple ribbon.  This is our invatation, it is square vellum with silver dots and silver envelope lining.  My cake was also out of a MS Weddings issue and the baker did a fabulous job!  It looked exactly like this!  We did a sparkler farewell and by luck a photo was captured that has been our most favorite from the start.  My wedding portrait was done a few days before the wedding, with a photographer that has been photographing Jacob’s family for more than 50 years!  This black and white proof is now a full oiled portrait on my wall and it is breathtakingly romantic! (you can see  the portrait on my living room gallery wall here). 

Nikki (Brown) Berry by Orman Photo Shop Columbia Tennessee

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May 12, 2011 · 7:06 pm

Chrysanthemum Invatation

Invatation, favor tags and vintage table cloth as the inspiration

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May 9, 2011 · 1:26 pm

Chocolate & Strawberry Tallcake

 

For Jake’s birthday I thought up a delish cake that rivals the classic strawberry shortcake.  3 layers of devils food chocolate cake, homemade chocolate mousse whipped icing and fresh strawberry filing all covered in smooth dark chocolate ganache.  Its was so grand that it didn’t even need decorated, just fresh strawberries on top.  And it was so good that I had to make it twice within a week.

Jacob's 31st birthday cake

Assembling the cake

3 layered tallcake

 

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May 7, 2011 · 3:59 pm

My Mice

Easter 2011

Bklyn GirlIn Dumbo

 
 

Although she looks like a City Girl, Macy is my Country Mouse.  She loves nature and animals.  Give her a stick and she’s happy.  She tells us that she will move back to the country when she grows up but right now she appreciates the culture and beat of the city.  While we were away, it was her asking, “where’s the dinosaur museum?’ and to do other activities that only exist in NYC that made us realize that if she missed it too then it’s where we belonged.

Hudson @ 12 months
Blue Eyes
Hudson & Jack Skellington

Hudson is my City Mousebut he doesn’t really know the difference yet.  Because he never lived in Tennessee he only has us to introduce him to country life on our visits back home. He was named for the river becasue we could see it from our rooftop when we were expecting him.  He also loves the beat of the city, he will grab his coat and climb up in his stroller to ask me to go for a walk or to our courtyard.  He constantly carries around his bouncy ball and is just as full of energy just as Macy.

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May 5, 2011 · 4:44 pm

The Initial Canvas

Madeline & Whitney

I’ve been experimenting with canvases for about a year, for this project I did a complete decopauge with scrapbook paper and acrylic paint.   These canvases were birthday gifts for the daughters of friends.  I used their existing bedroom bedding, pictured to the right, as my inspiration for style and color.  The initial is hand drawn and painted, but I enlarged and traced embroidery patterns to make the letters look more unique.. 

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May 4, 2011 · 11:28 pm

It’s Yo Gabba Gabba Cupcake Time!

50 cupcake masterpieces take a long time to make!  But they were a labor of love and passion that I put into all of my cake creations. Each character was individually crafted with fondant and icing faces.  This set also included a simple boom box cake that was a snap to make. For the display, I duplicated a set up I used for Emma’s cupcake party a few years ago.  Bakery boxes that are used to transport the cupcakes are given some interior support by books and some exterior style with paper.  I wasnt very familiar with Yo Gabba Gabba before this order, they debuted after Macy’s preschool years.  But I’m a fan now and so is Hudson!

50 cupcake masterpieces and one little boombox cake

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May 4, 2011 · 6:31 pm

Hudson’s First Celebration

Hudson gets his first Celebration!

Hudson turned one in February.  I initially decided that he would have the same circus theme as Macy’s first birthday, “Under the Big Top”.  But Macy made the suggestion to do a winter theme with animals instead, so “Arctic ONEderland” was conceived!  I choose the color palette: black, white, blue and orange first, then  I created the Arctic Friends characters: penguin and polar bear in an acrylic painting to make the theme completely original.   Inspired by the new trendy and lavish dessert tables, I focused with much excitement on creating my first one in that style. I made sketches for the table layout, sourced colored candy, made all the treats and designed printables in photoshop to unite the colors and characters.  Keeping the background and vessels white was perfect for the winter theme and simplified the task of finding and matching pieces during set up.  And I have to add that I packed up the entire collection and flew 900 miles to set it up!

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