Miss Bella Cupcake's new addition!

A child's room is always changing and a sign that they are growing up way to fast!! We decided we needed to add a new addition to Miss BC's room.  She started primary school this year and now has homework so I really wanted to create a space for her where she can do homework and other crafty things.

I wanted to create a space that was pretty and represented Miss BC.  My munchkin is a girly girl so a space that would inspire her would have to be girly!

This is her new workspace! She absolutely LOVES its and will spend most afternoon in her room now! Either doing her homework or drawing something for either myself of Mr BC.

Everything I brought I got for a bargain!! Always working with a budget in mind!  I absolutely love her desk which I found on Trademe!! The best buy though would have to be her very cool desk lamp which I scored for $50 and they retail for $245 in stores!

Love this little wall shelf which I got for $10 at the Takapuna markets last year!  This was meant to be for her playhouse but there wasn't any room for it.  I think it works perfectly in her room!! I give it a coat of paint and I love the finished look!

I also love the small cabinet that sits on the desk! It was gorgeous in it's natural state but really wanted some colour in Miss BC's space so decided to give it coat of pastel teal/green paint.  The paper used for the back wall of the cabinet I just LOVE and a great find at my local Spotlight store!

Crayons, felt tip pens, color pencils and scissors now all have their place in vintage agee jars! I am a perfectionist so love that everything now has its place and I think this perfectionist trait is rubbing off on Miss BC!! Hmmmm .... :)

It really is lovely to see Miss BC enjoying using her new space!! It brings me a warm and fuzzy feeling!

Have a wonderful day lovelies!!

Afternoon tea at ours!

Ok, I haven't been blogging for a while and I have some much to share.  This was an afternoon tea I put together last year for some friends of ours who visited us from Canada.  I wanted to put on something a little special for Sonya and Kelly.  We don't get to see them very offer because they live so far away.  I've know Sonya since we were in kindergarden and we're been friends ever since.

Welcome to Sonya & Kelly's Afternoon Tea!

I wanted to create something that was a little classy but simple as well.  

On the menu we had the following:

Mini trifle pots

American fudge brownies with chocolate ganache & raspberries

Passionfruit tartlets with strawberries

Chocolate macarons

White chocolate & raspberry mini cupcakes

Date scones with cream & jam {not shown}

Finger sandwiches {not shown}

Love these little trifle pots!

I decided on a black and white cake with handcrafted flowers.  The cake was a coconut cake filled with chocolate ganache.  Pretty much like a bounty bar!! YUUMMOOO!

Mini cupcakes with large blooms

The selection of sweets.  I decided to match the serving boards with the patten of the cake just so everything tied in together.

We had such a fabulous afternoon!! Nothing beats great company with some yummy food!!

Isabella's Birthday Dinner Party!

As you all know back in December my little munchkin turned the big 5! We put together a special fairy party for her & her friends and we had a second party for our close friends and family.  We had a lovely dinner party and this is the dessert table I put together for her.

Welcome to Isabella's Dinner Party!

The birthday Girl!

Miss Isabella's party dress.

The birthday cake was inspired by Isabella's party dress.

Cake pops with sprinkles and chocolate macarons for the guest to enjoy.

White chocolate mini cupcakes with soft pink ribbon roses.

We all had a wonderful evening celebrating with Isabella! We feel very blessed to have such wonderful friends and family!!

Styling & Catering by Bella Cupcakes

Backdrop by Serendipity Soiree

Photography by Vanessa Iti

Dress from Lizzy Love

Paper fans from Lilybel Studio
Topper by Tiny Blossom

It's my BIRTHDAY!!!

It's my birthday! It's my birthday! and I do love birthdays.  I however don't usually celebrate my birthday because it means I'm getting older! hehe but this year I thought I'd break with tradition and celebrate ... why not! Life is to short not to right?

I decided to host a lovely lunch with some of my lovely girlfriends.  We had a wonderful day at my studio enjoying each others company ... lots of girly chat and a huge amount of laughing.  A great way to spend a sunny afternoon.

I used my hutch dresser as my dessert table | Soft shades of green, peach & pink

 Gorgeous white chrysanthemum in vintage jars as the centerpiece

Please take a seat

A simple pastel green lace fondant cupcake topped with a peach handmade rose for each of my lovely friends.

All my favorite things | vintage jars | gorgeous frames | pretty teacups | beautiful flowers 

 My birthday cake 

A coconut cake filled with homemade raspberry coulis and white chocolate ganache

This was such a decadent sweet.  

Homemade caramel slice = Devine!

White chocolate & raspberry macarons

Simple & Sweet

My friends describe this as heaven on a plate and I would have to agree with them!

A coconut base with a tarty but sweet passionfruit filling topped with a coconut meringue.

A homemade Passionfuit & Coconut slice

A sweet chocolate ganache tartlet topped with raspberry coulis & boysenberry

A lovely little set up for our refreshments

With all these lovely sweet treats something refreshing was in need!

A chilled jar of pink lemonade was just the right touch

I also made a few savoury treats for my friends.  First course was a Chicken & leek mini pie, these were so moreish the girls had to have a second helping.

Second course was a Bacon & vege slice which sat on a bed of baby spinach and topped with avocado & some sweet chilli sauce.

After all that delicious feed, the girls were officially stuff {hehe} We all had such a wonderful day and I have to say it was nice to celebrate my birthday.  Maybe I'll do it all again next year?

Happy Baking!

Holiday Mode!

Good Morning Lovelies,

Well I am currently on holiday and it has been so lovely.  Life has been so busy over the last couple of years that I haven't had a chance to stop and smell the roses.  Bella Cupcakes has just consumed my life and I was eating, breathing, dreaming cakes and cupcakes.  I think I got to a point where I was just in cruise mode.  And  well I don't think it is a good place to be! I'm just so glad that my darling husband could see that I was just existing instead of living my life.  He literally told me to STOP!! Took my diary and booked me in for a good long holiday.  I have to say thank you to my hubby for doing that for me.  Everyone who knows me knows that I'm a giver and I will just keep going and going so, YES it was nice to be finally told that it is alright to stop and take a break.

It has been so lovely to spend some much need time with my gorgeous family.  My little girl is growing up so fast and well to be frank ... I don't want to miss out! I want to be there for her with my mind clear and happy.  I don't want to be the grumpy mum who is always tired.  Another wonderful thing I've rediscovered is my sleep.  Oh sleep!! How I have missed you!! I did not know how much I had missed my sleep till now.  It has been so wonderful to be able to go to sleep every night at the same time as my husband.  I feel hubby and I have a better relationship again {Yes no more grumpy and tired wife either} I just feel that my little family is better now.  And I think that the little munchkin and hubby are glad to have me back.

It is a hard thing to juggle : Family life and business especially being a mum.  I've learnt so much over the last month.  I just have to remember to take the time to breathe.  Maybe not to work SO hard and enjoy my life.  Don't get me wrong cakes and cupcakes are my passion and I still love what I do ... I think I may have just gone to the extreme a little bit. hehe I'm still learning to balance life and work.  Maybe more life and slightly less work? I'll let you know how I get on .

I think today I'll enjoy a lovely cup of tea, a few macarons and sit in the sun and breathe.  And of course smile.

Enjoy your day lovelies, because that's what I will be do.

It's an Angry Birds cake!

Well it was my little cousin's 21st birthday yesterday!  I can't believe that my little cousin is 21!! I still see him as a little kid but he's not anymore.

He said to me ages ago that I should make an angry birds cake, he thought it would be a happy kind of cake and that I would do an awesome job {I heart my cousin} I told him that I would make him one for his 21st birthday ... he just laughed.

Anyhow, the day came and what kind of cake did I make him? An Angry Birds cake of course!  He absolutely LOVED his cake and I absolutely love creating it for him.

Introducing Kevin's Angry Birds 21st birthday cake

I made caramel cake filled with chocolate ganache for the bottom tier as this is my aunts favorite flavor and the top tier was a chocolate orange filled with chocolate ganache.  The cake was a huge hit and I got lots of wonderful comments.

All the youngins were fighting over all the characters!! 

ANGRY BIRDS!!!!

I love my little cousin! {Yes I'm still going to call him my little cousin!} He's more like a little brother to me then a cousin.  The sweetest guy you will ever meet.  I love him to bits!!

Happy 21st birthday Kevin!!

Happy Baking!!

Happy Easter!

Wishing all your lovelies a very Happy Easter!!

I hope you all get to spend time with your love ones and eat yourselves silly with yummy hot cross buns and delicious chocolate easter eggs.

Happy Easter!

For a good cause!

Isabella's preschool had a fun gala evening the other week to fundraise money for Auckland's Children's starship hospital. I had a pretty busy week but really wanted to donate something for the gala.  We cleaned out the house and donated books and some of Isabella's old toys that she no longer plays with.  I also really wanted to make some cupcakes for the bake sale they were also having.

With such a busy work schedule I was really push for time and quickly whipped up these cupcakes.  Some sweet and simple swirl cupcakes with a cute blossom and lavender sprinkling sugar.

I also quickly made some cute teddy bear toppers for some cupcakes too.  I have never worked so fast in my life!! I made 10 teddy bears in about 2 hours!! I know that is insane!! I was working like a crazy women!! Here is how they turned out:

All the teachers were amazing at how the cupcakes looked and were so excited to have them at the bake sale.  It is always so nice to do something for a great cause!!  The gala was a huge hit and Isabella had a great evening out.

Happy Baking!

Happy Valentines Day!

Aahhh I feel love is in the air today! I hope whatever all you lovelies are doing today, it's something that fills your heart with love and joy!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Isabella turns 4!

My little munchkin turned 4 years old over the holidays! We celebrated with a quiet dinner with my best friends who also are Isabella's godparents and Isabella's best friend Katherine and her mummy & daddy.  I  didn't get the chance to make her a "fancy" cake because of the hectic week of prepping for our friends wedding.  I felt so bad!! The best I could do was make her a super tasty cake and OMG it tasted so good!  The best thing was Isabella got to help me make it.  I always love spending time in the kitchen with her.  We get up to some pretty cool stuff.

I decided I would make her a vanilla sponge cake filled with jam, strawberries and cream! It went down a treat with everyone and Isabella thought it was the best cake ever!! I guest sometimes it's nice to keep it simple and if the smile on Isabella's face says anything ... I think she was pretty happy too.

Happy Birthday Isabella!

I'm so excited to see what this year holds for Miss B ... I sure there will be alot of fun adventures, a few tears and a whole lot of giggles!  It's going to be an awesome year for being FOUR!

Happy Baking!