From the outside, this book looks pretty unassuming. But to my sister Arica and her friend, the title and the contents it will hold mean everything.

Arica’s dear friend is headed off to flight school and Arica is going to miss her terribly. When trying to come up with a good parting gift, Arica found this book, which I repurposed into a journal for her friend.

Not only was the title perfect, but Arica wrote a very sweet inscription that I included in a fluffy cloud inside the front cover.

Sister, I hope this journal blesses your friend as she starts a new chapter in her journey of life. May the distance not separate your kindred spirits.

My uncle Gary asked me to make a journal for a co-worker of his…a gal that’s expecting her first baby around the same time as me, in fact!

I was excited to try an idea I’d had brewing for a while: a paper-wrapped cover with a bookbinding paper spine. Here is the result:

The cover paper was specifically “baby boy” themed, while the spine was covered in flocked (fuzzy) brown paper. I also added a white satin ribbon to be used as a bookmark.

The inside paste pages were a blue and white polka dot pattern that coordinated with the cover paper.

Congratulations Mindy, on your soon-to-be-here son! May this journal bless both of you as you record the memories and milestones of your pregnancy and his first chapter in life!

Some of the most important women in my life are gardeners. I am not. In fact, you might say I have a black thumb. I bet if you gave me enough time, I could even find a way to kill an artificial plant. But then again, that’s not what this post is about.

No, this post is about celebrating the green-thumbs in my life. Though I originally made the following cupcakes for the back-to-back birthdays of my sister-in-law, Ali, and mother-in-law, Robin, I cannot continue this post without offering up a shout out to my sister Arica, who is turning 25 today!

Happy Birthday, Seester! I LOVE YOU!

Now, Arica is a gardener for sure. She gets it from my Grandpa. I, however, get cupcake baking skills from my Grandma (and the book Hello, Cupcake).

This set is meant to resemble garden rows, complete with veggies, tools, and cookie crumb dirt!

The shovels were made from pretzel sticks and candy melts. The “seeds” were candy-coated sunflower seeds.

Heads of lettuce were made using green Tootsie Rolls and icing-covered corn flakes.

The peas were made from green Tootsie Rolls and M&Ms.

Radishes were made from red and white Tootsie Rolls and icing-covered corn flakes

The carrots were my most favorite veggie to make…orange and green Tootsie Rolls. The carrots were then scored with a knife and rubbed with cinnamon to give them a fresh-pulled look. Yum!

So what if I don’t have many outdoor gardening skills…these ‘veggies’ taste better anyway.

Not long ago, I found the cutest fabric in Hobby Lobby:

After my mom and I spent some time hashing out ideas, she created this cute maternity top for me:

And it fits The Bump and I perfectly!

Tomorrow, I will be 33 weeks pregnant. If my mom’s prediction of Baby’s arrival time (read: early!) turns out to be correct, that leaves me only about 5 weeks before I’m officially on Mama duty.

And there’s still plenty to do, like finish setting up Baby’s space:

Get all of Baby’s clothes and diapers washed and ready to go:

Bake a bunch of lasagnas and quiches and other dinners that can be made ahead and frozen:

(Just because I’ll take a break from baking for clients doesn’t mean I get off the hook completely!)

All that to say, I am taking some time off from creating. A Baby Sabbatical, if you will. In fact, “sabbatical” is defined as “a rest from work, or a hiatus, often lasting from two months to a year.”

I can’t predict whether my break will be closer to the two month end or the one year end of that spectrum. That will depend mostly on Baby’s temperament and my energy level. (I sure hope it’s not a YEAR!)

But I can tell you this for sure: I finished my last cake order this morning and I’m only taking orders for custom books through TUESDAY, MAY 25th.

So…if you are planning to want a journal, photo book, or sketchbook made for an upcoming birthday, anniversary, or other special occasion, please order NOW. I want to be able to guarantee I can get it done for you before Birth Day!

In the meantime, I will continue posting about the projects I have completed…until the queue runs dry!

Thank you so much for your understanding and for your patronage over the past few years. Your loving support and sweet comments mean a lot to me!

–Abbi

When my friend Fallon told me she wanted to have a journal made for her sister, Amber, I was so thrilled to hear the reason: Amber had recently accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.

Fallon wanted Amber to have a special book in which she could journal her thoughts as she developed her relationship with Christ.

Fallon requested earthy greens and swirls, and I happened to have the perfect fabric on hand! I also used button letters to personalize the cover of Amber’s book.

Fallon sent me a C.S. Lewis quote to include as the inscription inside the front cover. It was perfectly fitting for the occasion.

I also added a silver ribbon as a bookmark.

Congratulations, Amber. You’ve just made one of the best and biggest decisions of your life! Enjoy the ride!

One of my good college buddies, Geoff, and his wife Cheyenne are among the many friends I have who are becoming parents this year. They are incredibly talented photographers and designers, so it came as no surprise that they planned a special party to announce their baby’s gender.

When they had their ultrasound, they had the technician write the gender down and place it in a sealed envelope. Then they took the envelope to a cake baker, who made a cake revealing the baby’s gender. They borrowed the idea from a friend, and as a cake baker, I can only wish I would’ve thought of this! Perhaps one day someone will want me to bake them a special announcement cake like this. Enjoy the video:

Boy? or Girl? from Cheyenne Schultz on Vimeo.

Geoff and Cheyenne: I am SO THRILLED for you guys! You are going to make terrific parents!! Congratulations, again!

In September, I started a cupcake adventure. If you haven’t read about it yet, you can do so here.

***

Today is my dear friend Megan’s birthday!! It’s been 9 years since we first met in a Survey of Western Arts history class in college. We hit it off immediately and it didn’t take us long to become close pals, especially when we figured out our apartments were just one mile apart! So many of my fond college memories (and beyond!) include Megan. She has such a sweet disposition and is the kind of friend a friend would like to have. Despite the several states that separate us now, she has continued to put forth the effort to keep in touch and continue our friendship…including traveling to Oklahoma to be one of my bridesmaids!

After nearly a decade, Megan remains one of my favorite people to talk to and spend time with. She’s an incredible artist and if she were here, I would make here these cupcakes!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN! These are for you! ((After this baby is born, we should get together for REAL piña coladas…and maybe some turkey/spinach tacos! haha))

***

The first step was to cream together butter and sugar and then add eggs one by one.

Next, pineapple juice and rum combined to make the ‘liquid’ part of the batter.

Dry ingredients and the pineapple/rum mixture were alternately added to the butter/sugar/egg mix.

Pretty yummy looking batter, huh?

Next, a scoop of coconut was added to increase the Piña Colada effect.

Then, egg whites were beating within an inch of their lives…

…until they formed stiff peaks:

The beaten egg whites were gently folded into the batter.

And the little suckers were ready to be baked.

Mmmm.

Then, there was more beating of egg whites…

to which powdered sugar was added…

to create the icing.

And, yup, more coconut.

Then, these morsels of sunny goodness came into play. Oh man, do I LOVE dried pineapple!

Each cupcake was iced and topped with a wedge of dried pineapple.

Yes, ma’am. This round’s on me!

And just to be sure they were tasty enough to share, I took one for a test drive.

All that’s missing is a little paper umbrella!

A while back, Kendra, an old co-worker, found several books that she wanted turned into journals. They all had such awesome titles, so I was excited to redo them for her.

Here’s a photo montage of each title and its inside facing pages. My main goal was to match colors and, if possible, theme.

This last one is probably my favorite…not only a cool book title:

But the perfect excuse to use this ethereal scrapbook paper.

Thanks again, Kendra, for asking me to make these for you!

My, how time flies! When Andrew and I met, his youngest daughter was just 5 years old. Now she’s a beautiful 8 year old who just gets smarter and funnier and prettier every day.

Since MJ was turning 8 on April 8th, this was her one and only Golden Birthday. So I was extra excited when she asked me if I’d make the cake for her party at Remington Park.

Her request was perfectly ‘MJ’: A tiered chocolate cake with pink icing and polka dots. So that’s what she got!

Her little friends were so cute. They kept saying, “You MADE that?” and “You make really good cakes!” I love kids…they are so easily pleased.

Happy birthday, sweet girl! We love you and are SO proud of you!

**We interrupt our regularly scheduled posts to bring you something entirely different…a mere announcement.**

Things are crazy at Z as in Zebra lately (due to things being crazy in our life right now). I’m still growing a baby in my belly and creating projects for clients, etc…but on top of all of that, I am traveling this week to see my family before I get any bigger/more uncomfortable. THEN, after I return, my husband and I are moving to the country…which means packing, schlepping everything we own across town, unpacking, and organizing.

That said, there won’t be any new posts for the next two weeks. Feel free to spend some time perusing the archives OR come on back in May to see what’s new!

Here’s a little sneak-peek of what is yet to come:

SEE YOU ON THE FLIP SIDE!!