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Sweet Carolina Kids Can Cook!

Inspired by my nephews' new love of baking and decorating cupcakes, we are starting "Sweet Carolina Kids Can Cook", a baking and cooking instruction program for kids. Offerings include Cupcakery, Create-a-Cake, and Cookie Creation. For now, this will be a "mobile" program, which is to say that we will come to you. Later, when we have a store (soon, soon -- fingers crossed!), we plan to do classes on-site as well.

I think this would be a great thing for kid's parties, scout troops, play dates...the list could go on and on! What fun to bake and decorate your own cupcake, cake, or cookies and then actually get to EAT them! My nephews think it's a great idea, and look forward to helping with it when they visit. They are, after all, very experienced after this summer.

Here is Quinn and one of his creations:

Please contact Sweet Carolina Cupcakes to get more information on bringing this fun and educational party to you.

843-338-4061

sccupcakes@gmail.com

The best place to go with a child is in their imagination.
Amie, age 16

Rainout

We tried, really we did. Harbourfest was tonight, and despite the
rain we set up during a brief moment of clear skies. Managed to sell about 5 cupcakes before the rain started again, this time not letting up. It's so discouraging to go through all that work just to pack up and go home, but when the rain starts blowing sideways and the cupcakes are getting soaked, it's time to call it a day. Too bad

It was just one of those days all around. Last night around 11 pm as Mom and I were finishing the cookie order for this morning, she stopped suddenly and looked at me..."What about that cake the lady ordered for tomorrow?" OH NO!!!!!!!!!! I KNEW that would happen eventually. I totally let that slip my mind even though I had written it on two calendars. At least, thank Heaven, Mom remembered it BEFORE it was due.

So, on to making the actual cake. Easy-peasey, right? Nope. The darn thing stuck to the pan and then proceeded to collapse as I was frosting it. It was to be delivered at 2:30, but here I was at noon baking a new one. Anyway, in the end, it worked. The customer was thrilled and I hope they enjoyed their celebration.

Tomorrow's plan...to buy yet ANOTHER calendar....this time a large, wall-sized one to be posted where I can't miss it.

Here is a look at one of our new flavors...Pistachio. Yumm!


"You always forget something,and the something you forget is always the obvious." ~~ Jane Haddam

If you give a kid a cupcake...

...this is what they do. Grab with both hands, unimpressed that there is a handy-dandy little paper wrapper to keep icing off of one's hands. Oh well...they LOVE them, and that's all that matters. For those who don't know, this is my beautiful little sugar-pie, Ellie. Or Ellie-Belle. Or Ellie K, Smell-bell, Ay-eee, BittyBug, Punkin Pie,...it goes on and on. What a thing to do to a kid, eh?

Anyway, she LOVEs Mommy's "cu-cakes". I'm so glad. For a while there, though, she thought we should have them for breakfast since there were so MANY of them around all the time. A little reconditioning, and she's back to oatmeal and fruit. Thank goodness. I just had to show her off a little. I'm biased...but isn't she just cuter than cute?

We have had a good week with Harbourfest. Tuesday night was busy as usual, but Thursday was too. That was a nice surprise! In addition, I have 2 cake orders for tomorrow (Ultimate CupCakes), a cupcake order for Monday, and get to meet with a bride-to-be for a consultation/cake tasting for her upcoming wedding. Later in the week, another cake order and cookie deliveries to Palmetto Dunes General store. Not EXTREMELY busy yet, but working up to it, I hope!

Our little article in the Island Packet has brought in several new faces to see us, and I am so happy to meet each one! It is so neat to hear someone say they saw us in the paper! Even the bank teller today told me that. Very cool. Also, made me glad that I had taken the extra 5 minutes to halfway brush my hair and slap on a tiny bit of makeup. Otherwise, someone may say "You look just like your picture!"....and I'd have to throw myself in front of a bus.

My blog may look different in the upcoming days. My sweet and computer savvy brother, Tyler is going to get it switched over to wordpress so that I can incorporate more "stuff"...whatever that ends up being. Hopefully lists of flavors, etc. So, keep checking on us...we'll be here!

A little girl is sugar and spice and everything nice - especially when she's taking a nap. ~Author Unknown

We're Famous!

Well, not really. But today's Island Packet has a nice little story about Sweet Carolina Cupcakes...http://www.islandpacket.com/lowcountrylife/story/559105.html. Justin, the reporter, was so nice --it was a really good experience. I am thrilled to have the exposure, and hope everyone reads it and gets an instant craving for a cupcake!

Just so you know...my Mom and I both looked at the picture and said "Ewwww!" Now, that's bad...when your Mom chimes in you know it's ugly. Oh well...it's hard to be photogenic when you're icing cupcakes in 100 degree heat and humidity. Hopefully, my customers will say "I don't even recognize you from the paper!" Ha! At least my handsome nephew is in the background. And I think he's even smiling...sort of!

EDIT----I had to add this...We were just showing the online article to Quinn and he was hearing me say I thought my picture was bad. He said, "Sometimes they edit things to make you look like a fool." We cracked up!

Cupcakes, cookies, and cakes, oh my!

This has been quite a week for Sweet Carolina. We started out as we always do, beginning our week getting ready for Harbourfest on Tuesday. By Tuesday morning, we had baked 24 dozen cupcakes and 2 Ultimate Cupcake Cakes. The Ultimate Cupcake Cake is just what it sounds like...a GIANT cupcake served as a cake. Here's one now:

People always comment on these, asking if they are real, etc. And, if we take a couple to Harbourfest, they usually sell. But this week, two of them sold within a few minutes, and less than an hour later I had three custom orders for the next day! It seemed that everyone on the island was having a birthday that week.

On another note, Monday morning, we contacted the Palmetto Dunes General Store to see if they would be interested in carrying our cupcakes. I went to talk to the owner and took along a sample of our Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cupcakes (yummmmmy!). He said he'd like to give them a try, and by the way--can we do cookies? Yes, actually. He had recently lost his cookie-man, and wanted some to sell at his counter. So, Tuesday morning, back I went with a variety of cookies. He loved the chocolate chunk, and ordered 3 dozen for the next day, along with 2 dozen cupcakes. Yay! Friday morning, he wanted another order of cookies as they were all but sold out. The cupcakes weren't a fit for their set-up though, I think due to packaging problems. But, hey, I love to make cookies, so it's a good fit all around.

Anyway, all this said to say that Tuesday night found my mom and I up until 3 am to finish the cakes, cookies, and cupcakes needed for the next day. Dad (the Ace of Cakes we'll call him now) took the bull by the horns after our third cake order came in and left Harbourfest to head to the bakery and bang out 2 cakes. THANKS DAD!!! Could not have done that without his head-start. He's a pretty good baker too, so we may have just found him a new hobby.

Caden and I did the deliveries Wednesday, and other than the rain it all went off without a hitch. I hope everyone enjoyed their Ultimate CupCakes and had happy birthdays!

So, where are we....Oh, back to Harbourfest on Thursday night. It had rained off and on all day but was semi-clear when we headed out. My "help" was leery of the weather, but I was determined to set up anyway. We ended up being the only vendors there. The Shannon Tanner show http://www.shannontanner.com/ went on as scheduled with kids and parents dancing and singing. A brief mention of "yummy looking cupcakes" by Shannon himself before intermission, and our stand was lined with little ones wanting a treat. Thanks Shannon! We sent him a box to take home to show our appreciation for both the endorsement and the entertainment. If you are in Hilton Head, you have to check out his show. Your kids (and you) will have a great time.

Back home Thursday night after a near sell-out, Mom and I were baking once again for Friday's cookie delivery to PD General Store. Not such an all-nighter this time...I think I was in bed by 1 am. That left about 5 hours until the first chorus of "MOMMMMMMMYYYYY!!!" Up and at 'em....that's my Ellie.

Today we plan a little R&R to take the kids to Bluffton's Third Friday celebration. First, we have to make a stop at Freedman's music store so that one of my workers can make a payment on his guitar layaway. It's good to have a goal, I think. Although, don't think he hasn't hit me up for a raise already.

More later. Happy cupcakes!

Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun.

~~Colleen C. Barrett

First

Here they are....the first batch of cupcakes I made to start my new venture. Sweet Carolina Cupcakes was born on June 3, 2008 in Hilton Head Island, SC.

I have been one of those people who has never really known what to do or when to do it. Always waiting on "someday" or worrying about "what if?" and "how?". I wanted my own business. I love the beach. I love to bake. Where do you go with that? To Hilton Head Island, apparently!

This is where it is all happening. This is where I found a perfect commercial kitchen set-up just waiting for a tenant. This is where I found an immediate opportunity to get Sweet Carolina's name out to the public via the Harbourfest activities on Tuesday nights. This is where I am busier than I ever imagined possible, and happy to be so. Oh, wait...we're in the South now, darlin'. I should say, "busier than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockin' chairs". Yep. That just about sums it up.

Coming soon:

Lots of pictures....new flavors, best sellers, flops, and more! I'll probably even throw in about a million pictures of my own little cupcake, Ellie.

Keep reading!

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined."

--Henry David Thoreau