If you weren’t there….YOU MISSED OUT!

Yesterday, we attended the 2009 Arthritis Walk and it was AMAZING! A little while back I found out about a little girl named Faith who was 9 years old and suffered from Juvenille Arthritis. Her story was so inspirational I decided we had to get involved. We started team “one part Faith, two parts sugar” and we committed to donating cupcakes to the Arthritis kick off dinner as well as the Walk itself. Well, the walk has come and gone and we could be happier with the outcome.

I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing this event was. I was flying solo on this event (one sister had to work, the other is pregnant and on bed rest), but knew I could handle it. I arrived at the Irvine Great Park at about 6:00 am, 1,000 cupcakes in hand! As I walked through the event grounds I was just amazed. There were all kinds of booths and fun activities being set up. I had no idea how big this event was. I made my way to my booth and began to set up. I was done early (my display was nothing elaborate), so I went to see where I could help. I found Isella and she gave me the job of posting pictures onto this GIANT folding picture board. First, we had to stand this thing up….wish someone could have taken pictures of us doing so, cause it was a riot. Picture 2 little women lifting a giant folding contraption that was a good 8′ x8′ and weighed at least ….well I don’t know how much it weighed, but it was HEAVY!  I asked her who the pictures were of and she told me they were all people who suffer from arthritis. After she told me that, as I pinned each picture on to the board (especially the ones of the children) my heart sank a little more. I pulled myself together and completed my task. I was really starting to feel pretty good about joining this great cause. 

After posting hundreds of pictures, I headed off to my booth to display the cupcakes we had made for the day. Before I knew it, people were piling in through the gates! There were SO MANY teams and smiling faces. 

Along with the actual walk (3 mile and also a 1 mile for those who suffered from Arthritis and couldn’t do the full 3) then were tons of festivities. The morning started off with made to order omelets, doughnuts, bagels, fresh fruit, breakfast bars, coffee, juice, and water…..all complimentary! There was a stage for daily announcements and a live band, who played music all day long!  

There was a kids zone with bouncers, hockey, crafts, tattoos (temporary of course), face painting, clowns, balloon animals, bubbles, raffles, cotton candy, popcorn, candy, ice cream, and a fire truck…again, all complimentary! 

Walmart and Coca-Cola were sponsors for the event….so, there were hot dogs, chips, and soda for lunch! There were also tables with all kinds of goodies! Snacks, candy, popsicles,  banners to sign, crafts, raffles, and CUPCAKES….all FREE!

There really was something for  EVERYONE…

…it was a great event for family, friends and lots of FUN! Here are a few of the attendies enjoying some of our cupcakes:

It was so great to see such a huge turnout and everyone coming together for such a good cause. We will definitely be participating again next year and will have a huge team joining us!

Preparing for the big day!

 With the Arthritis Walk just days ahead of us, we were preparing and nailing down every last detail. About a week leading up to the event, we were contacted by Faith’s mother to see if we wanted to combine teams. I explained to her that we had failed miserably at getting a team together, but that we’d still be there cupcakes in hand. She asked if we had any extra t-shirts that we could give to her team (Faith signed up 30 people!!!). I told her we hadn’t ordered any, but that I would see if I could get some ordered in time. She didn’t want me to have to order any, she just thought if I had some extras lying around they could use them. So, I made the call to my t-shirt guy. I gave him the date, May 16, and explained I need them by that evening because the Walk was early Sunday morning. We talked business and came up with a fair price and I placed the order for 35 team t-shirts. I contacted Faith’s mom and let her know it was a done deal!

I followed up with our t-shirt guy throughout the week, updating sizes and confirming pick up location. Well, Saturday afternoon rolled around before I knew it ( I had worked on a wedding cake and Strawberry Shortcake cake and cupcakes all morning) it was about 4:30. I asked my husband if he had picked up the shirts for me yet. He said he hadn’t heard back from our t-shirt guy. So, he called him and asked when he could pick up the shirts. The t-shirt guy sounded confused and asked when we needed them…my husband told him tonight…t-shirt guy  thought they were for next weekend. This is where my heart sinks into my stomach and my jaw drops to the floor! And, go figure, t-shirt guy is on vacation and can’t get a hold of his partner to do them last minute for us!

Now, I am totally one of those people who, when experiencing poor customer service or receives a less than satisfactory product bypasses any employee at the store level and goes straight to the top with my complaints. So, I discussed things over with my husband and confirmed I had e-mailed our t-shirt guy the date (which I clearly had). I was so upset, no, SO DISAPPOINTED and I had no idea how I was going to tell Faith and her team of 30+ that I didn’t have the t-shirts they were all promised. I thought I am going to call this person, and send a letter to that person, and I’m going to post a blog about this company…I thought, what if someone ordered a wedding cake from me and I got the dates mixed up. What if one of my customers ended up having a wedding with no cake because I thought it was “next weekend”!

Then, I calmed down. I realized that one, people make mistakes. Although I was in contact with our t-shirt guy daily, maybe I should have set a specific time on Saturday and specifically clarified (twice, maybe 3 times even) the date. Two, I know he felt bad about the situation and I know he will make it up to us at a later date (wink, wink). Finally, it’s not about the t-shirts (but it would’ve been pretty cool). While yes, it would have been nice to have everyone coordinating and see the excitement on Faith’s face as she watched everyone change into HER teams shirts, we were there for something bigger. 

Check back with us soon to find out how the Arthritis Walk of 2009 went down!

About 6 months ago we placed an order through BRP Box Shop for a variety of cupcake boxes. BRP Box Shop has everything from business card boxes, to cake pads, and of course CUPCAKE BOXES! They have just recently added a page on their site dedicated to happy customers and their uses of the products they ordered from them. Our pictures are up! Click on this link to see some of our work in the BRP boxes! 

We were so happy with the products we received and the service was great! I have to say though, the boxes we ordered for the mini cupcakes did not meet our needs. Our cupcakes just slid around underneath the insert. In the defense of BRP Box Shop, our minis are really mini (the bottom of our liners measure 1 1/4″). Over all we were very happy with what we ordered and will continue to do business with BRP!

A big thank you to Kip of BRP for posting some of our pictures!

If you have any questions, comments, or would like to place an order from the Two Parts Sugar kitchen you can contact us here!

Friday we were contacted by a loving mother who was interested in having some cupcakes made for her daughter. She wanted to surprise her at school the following Monday with some princess themed cupcakes. We talked about some different options and finally came up with a selection of crowns, magic wands, flowers, Ava’s name, and swords (didn’t want the boys left out completely). She decided on our award winning Raspberry Red Velvet cupcakes with Raspberry Cream Cheese frosting.

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY AVA!

If you have any questions, comments or would like to place an order from the Two Parts Sugar kitchen you can contact us here.

About two weeks ago I was contacted to do a last minute order of 4 dozen mini cupcakes for a teenage girls birthday. She was planning to take them to her ASB class. Nothing fancy, just some of our Raspberry Red Velvet’s with pink, silver and white sprinkles. So, Lillian (mom) picked them up and later that night sent me an e-mail stating that 

The cupcakes for my daughters ASB class were a hit!!  We have all had a nibble and were very happy.

-Lillian

She also asked if I could do a Star Wars cake and cupcakes for her son Quinton who would be turning 7. I jumped at the opportunity. Growing up my big brother was a huge Star Wars fan, so I took a special interest in this project. This wasn’t just any Star Wars project, oh no, specifically it was Star Wars Clone Wars…The Animated Series! Totally unfamiliar with how this might be different from the Star Wars I knew, I  began my research….starting with big brother. He immediately suggested lightsabers that actually lit up! OOOOHHHH YYYAAA! Then he started in with a stand that had hidden speakers and would play themed music…..I had to stop him there.

I got back to Lillian with a few ideas and we got all the details down. While doing so, she let me know that her son corrected me when I mistook Luke for Anakin! HA! Then I knew I had my work cut out for me. Among the requests was a cake topper of General Grievous…..have you seen that thing?!?! I wasn’t sure where to go with that one. I couldn’t wait to start this order! One hiccup we encountered was our first order for some lightsabers to use. they came in waaaaaay to big (6″ instead of 2″) and they were the wrong color! Slight set back, but with only 1 day before Quinton’s party we were able to find something that would work. Here’s what we came up with:

Chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream. General Grievous, Yoda, Anakin cake toppers, complete with light sabers that light up!…..Millennium Falcon and Spider Droid flying……Storm Trooper and Battle Droid at base of cake, also with light sabers that light up! Wish we could’ve gotten a picture of them lit…but they were glow sticks and once activated only last so long.

4 dozen marble cupcakes with alternating vanilla buttercream and chocolate mousse buttercream. Storm Troopers, Yoda, lightsabers, R2-D2, C-3PO.

Let us know what you think! Or, if you have any questions or would like to place an order you can contact us here.

So, we haven’t posted too many blogs lately (there’s just been a lot going on!) As you may have heard, I just recently quit my job (which was fun at times, but really….who wants to work for someone else, right?) So, it’s cupcakes full force! Because I have an almost 3 year old and 1 1/2 year old daughters, with one on the way (due Nov 29) I am limited to my kitchen time. I usually leave the girls with Poppa (thank God for him…he is my hero!) at night and head to the Two Parts Sugar kitchen for some baking and decorating.

We have been taking on as many orders as we possibly can and loving every minute of the madness! Now that summer is right around the corner, weddings and birthday parties are popping up everywhere you turn. So, here’s what we are working on in the upcoming weeks:

Star Wars birthday cake and cupcakes, Wrestling birthday cupcakes, White wedding cake, Strawberry Shortcake birthday cake and cupcakes, Mini cupcakes for the Arthritis Walk, Fashion show cupcakes for Rancho Santa Margarita’s Senior Fashion Show, My Little Pony cupcakes, Jungle cake and cupcakes, Baby shower flower cupcakes, 2 sets of Lingerie bridal shower cupcakes, Engagement party cakes and cupcakes, Graduation cupcakes, Dinosaur cupcakes and Roller Derby fundraiser cupcakes!

We can’t wait to get started on these fun designs and share them with all of you!

If you have any questions or would like to place an order, you can contact us here! Don’t forget to check back with us for pictures of our creations! You can see some of our previous work on Flickr!

We just finished some football cupcakes and one of the photos was posted on recipeBODEGA.com’s featured photos! RecipeBODEGA.com is site dedicated to all things FOOD! They list recipes for it all, including healthy recipes, vegetarian recipes, and the ever so intriguing secret recipes. They have a slide show type posting of different photos they post, and we were one! 

These particular football cupcakes were made for a soon to be bride and groom’s wedding shower. The favorite teams of the two were the Denver Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons. We wish the soon to be couple the best of luck in their future together and want to send a big thank you to recipeBODEGA.com for the post!

If you have any questions or comments, or would like to place an order to can reach us here!

Zen Cupcake…You ROCK!

I have to say, this is one of our favorite posts yet! If you haven’t seen it you need to check it out! Zen Cupcake has just posted the results for the 2009 LA Cupcake Challenge. And, while we did not sweep the competition, or even take first were honored with the cutest edit to one of our photos (which even included a crown).

We are quite happy with our 2nd place victory and appreciate anyone who is as thrilled about it as we are! Zen Cupcake, your blog is awesome and your support is greatly appreciated. Thanks again for the post and especially the crown…LOVE IT!l

The Cupcake Activist has just posted the results from the 2009 LA Cupcake Challenge. We sent The Cupcake Activist some of our cupcakes back in December and she said

On Christmas morning I received a special gift–two dozen mini cupcakes! I can honestly say this was my yummiest present!

Well, she sums up the event (that she unfortunately missed out on) by saying

I have tried Two Parts Sugar’s Raspberry Red Velvet and it was very good. I’m so happy to hear that they received second place in the Best Traditional category.

Thanks Cupcake Activist for the thumbs up! As always, we appreciate the support! We’ll have to send you some of our new flavors soon!

l

Yes, votes have been tallied and the results are in! We were awarded 2nd place in the best traditional category….Woooooohoooooo!

Again, we want to give a big congrats to the others who came out on top, as well as all the entrants. Baking 1,000 mini cupcakes, and making them taste and look good is no easy feat! You can check out another post about the competition here at the LAist. Thanks LAist for the picture post!