Sweet Love: A Special Custom Artwork Order by CakeSpy

Custom order for The Miss Cupcake

So, sometimes I do custom artwork. Not very frequently anymore, because quite frankly, after considering the time and energy I put into each piece, I don't make much money at all. Now, I personally know that this is not what it's all about, but sadly, my landlord doesn't seem to share this viewpoint.

But recently, a very sweet fellow convinced me to make an exception for his girlfriend, who he said would (I am paraphrasing) make his girlfriend's Christmas a zillion times more magical.

His girlfriend, it turns out, is the baker and writer behind The Miss Cupcake. The piece I created reflected all of the sweets that she bakes, combined with my style and characters. I didn't exactly have proper time to work on it--I was sketching while waiting for a plane to LA, I was painting in a hotel room, I was finishing the piece and shipping it after taking a red-eye flight. Whew!

But ultimately, the time and energy was worth it, because shortly after Christmas I received this note from the Cupcake Miss behind The Miss Cupcake herself:

Dearest Jessie Oleson/Cake Spy,

I am utterly speechless. After months and months of ohhing and ahhing over your custom portraits, I have in my hands my own personal cakespy.

My lovely boyfriend, who is officially the sweetest boy ever invented, went behind my back, to a fully-booked cakespy, and commissioned you to do a custom Miss Cupcake watercolor.

Jessie. BEST PRESENT EVER. I shook, then I slapped him, then I cried! It's me..it's beautiful. It is the most thoughtful and most amazing gift that I have ever received in my life. Thank you for defying rules, for extending yourself through an utterly stressful time (aka an ultra famous book tour!), and for making me an absolutely joyous receiver of one of your beautiful portrait babies.

... Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you I think you get the point.

Well, I must say - this note made it all worthwhile. A sweet moment to share with you, dear readers! To buy artwork by me, visit cakespyshop.com.

CakeSpy Mischief: A Gentle Art Installation in Sweet Cookbooks

Donut Worry, Be Happy

What can I say? Even the sweetest of spies have sour days sometimes.

But recently when I found myself feeling not-so-swell, I decided to steer my destiny in a sweet direction and brighten my own day by adding a little magic to other people's lives.

How did I do it? It was very simple.

Sweet project

I grabbed a little stack of index cards, and wrote little notes on them--just little sweet reminders such as "you're sweet", "you are loved", and "you deserve something sweet!". 

And then I walked over to the book store, where I put the notes inside of some of my favorite books. The idea? People who pick up books I like will find a special surprise in the pages. Obviously if they've chosen the magical books I favor, they will appreciate having a little extra sweet something hidden within the pages. And the cards are slim; there was not going to be any damage to the books. It's all good stuff, people.

I did several of these notes, but here are some highlights:

Walking to the bookstore in my cute boots

Naturally, Bakerella's book had to be involved!

And of course, Krystina Castella's, too!

And (duh) mine too!

If you found one, I hope it made your day a little sweeter! I know that doing this made mine much nicer. Well, that and the ice cream sundae I ate after doing this (after all, being a do-gooder requires a lot of energy!).

If you liked this project, you may also get some joy from this faux cupcake installation I did a while back, too!

Cake Byte: CakeSpy Book Signing at Portage Bay Goods This Friday!

Guess what, friends? I will be having a little showing of my artwork and products as well as a book signing in Fremont, Seattle, on Friday evening! It will be part of the Fremont Art Walk, at the cutest store in, like, the world (well, ok, it's a tie with my store) Portage Bay Goods.

Here's their blurb about the event:

Join us for a very special book signing art walk event! We'll be selling copies of the newly released "CakeSpy presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life." Come meet CakeSpy herself, Jessie Oleson and have your copy signed! We'll also be featuring an array of other products and original artwork by CakeSpy.

Oh, and did I mention that I will be bringing some sweet treats (recipes featured in the book) for you to sample?

That's right. I'll see you there, Seattle!

Details: 

Friday, November 4, 6-9 pm at Portage Bay Goods, 621 N 35th Street, Seattle, Washington.

 

Sweet Art: Unicorn Eating a Banana, Robot Eating Banana Cream Pie

Some pictures are worth a thousand words.  This one, however, is worth about a zillion rainbow-beams of happiness. It depicts a unicorn eating a banana, hanging out with a robot eating banana cream pie.

And you too can get in on this awesome: it's available on a mug and as a print online, and will be available at CakeSpy Shop (the retail location) on October 15. 

Cake Byte: CakeSpy Coming to Chicago for the Renegade Craft Fair, September 10 and 11, 2011

Get excited, Chicago. Get VERY excited. For a few reasons.

For one thing, I'm coming your way for the Renegade Craft Fair next weekend, September 10 and 11! And I will have onesies, socks, original art, prints, and a ton of cards (among other products) to sell to you. Oh, and--just saying--I'll have my book, too. And I will totally sign it for you, after you pay for it.

You'll find me and my crafty BFF AbbeyChristine cute-ing it up at the fair...come say hi! 

But before the Renegade Craft fair, there's also a totally sweet event on September 9 at Busy Beaver Buttons: the Superhero Button Release Party. I designed some buttons for the series! Read more about my button designs here.

For details on the Renegade Craft Fair, visit the official site! But I'll tell you right now, it's both days next weekend, September 10 and 11, 2011, from 11-7 both days.

But wait, there's more! I will be staying a day or two extra in the Chicagoland area so that I can do a mural at Bleeding Heart Bakery! Yeah! (as you know, I have done murals in Minneapolis and Seattle!)

Oh, and did I mention the most important part? I will actually be driving to the fair from Seattle...making a pastry road trip of the journey! Look out for updates on sweets from Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas, Minnesota and more while I work my way over to Chicago! And of course, feel free to pass on any suggestions along the way.

Seeking Sweetness: Daily Snapshot, The CakeSpy Book Has Arrived At CakeSpy Shop

CakeSpy Note: if you follow me on facebook or Twitter, you probably know I'm partial to observing (and sometimes adding) sweetness in the natural world and urban landscape. Here's where I post a daily feel-good photo or image, for no particular reason other than to showcase these sweet little nothings, in hopes that they'll make you smile.

Well, would you look at that. My book! It has arrived at CakeSpy Shop! You can go ahead and buy it! Also, come and see me on my upcoming Tour De Sweet Book Tour!

Seeking Sweetness: Daily Snapshot, Bagel and Whoopie Pie Get Married

CakeSpy Note: if you follow me on facebook or Twitter, you probably know I'm partial to observing (and sometimes adding) sweetness in the natural world and urban landscape. Here's where I post a daily feel-good photo or image, for no particular reason other than to showcase these sweet little nothings, in hopes that they'll make you smile.

Recently I was commissioned to create an image of a bagel and a whoopie pie getting married (it's true) for a couple, who then used it on various gift items for guests of their wedding. Looks like one lucky guest gets to lounge after the festivities in a very fashionable hoodie!

Seeking Sweetness: Holiday Card Sneak Peek #4

CakeSpy Note: if you follow me on facebook or Twitter, you probably know I'm partial to observing (and sometimes adding) sweetness in the natural world and urban landscape. Here's where I post a daily feel-good photo or image, for no particular reason other than to showcase these sweet little nothings, in hopes that they'll make you smile.

Here's a sweet sneak peek at one of the upcoming 2011 Holiday Card designs in the CakeSpy line! They will be available online in a week or two; in the meantime, I'll post a different sneak peek every few days.

Seeking Sweetness: Holiday Card Sneak Peek #3

CakeSpy Note: if you follow me on facebook or Twitter, you probably know I'm partial to observing (and sometimes adding) sweetness in the natural world and urban landscape. Here's where I post a daily feel-good photo or image, for no particular reason other than to showcase these sweet little nothings, in hopes that they'll make you smile.

Here's a sweet sneak peek at one of the upcoming 2011 Holiday Card designs in the CakeSpy line! They will be available online in a week or two; in the meantime, I'll post a different sneak peek every few days.

Seeking Sweetness: Holiday Card Sneak Peek #2

CakeSpy Note: if you follow me on facebook or Twitter, you probably know I'm partial to observing (and sometimes adding) sweetness in the natural world and urban landscape. Here's where I post a daily feel-good photo or image, for no particular reason other than to showcase these sweet little nothings, in hopes that they'll make you smile.

Here's a sweet sneak peek at one of the upcoming 2011 Holiday Card designs in the CakeSpy line! They will be available online in a week or two; in the meantime, I'll post a different sneak peek every few days.

Seeking Sweetness: Holiday Card Sneak Peek #1

CakeSpy Note: if you follow me on facebook or Twitter, you probably know I'm partial to observing (and sometimes adding) sweetness in the natural world and urban landscape. Here's where I post a daily feel-good photo or image, for no particular reason other than to showcase these sweet little nothings, in hopes that they'll make you smile.

Here's a sweet sneak peek at one of the upcoming 2011 Holiday Card designs in the CakeSpy line! They will be available online in a week or two; in the meantime, I'll post a different sneak peek every few days.

Seeking Sweetness: Daily Snapshot, CakeSpy Illustration in Taste of Home Magazine

CakeSpy Note: if you follow me on facebook or Twitter, you probably know I'm partial to observing (and sometimes adding) sweetness in the natural world and urban landscape. Here's where I post a daily feel-good photo or image, for no particular reason other than to showcase these sweet little nothings, in hopes that they'll make you smile.

Check out this sweet illustration I did of a happy jar of peanut butter for Taste of Home--it's featured in their current print issue! Go buy it.

Sweetly Intoxicating: CakeSpy Illustrations for Svedka Vodka

Are those Michael Jackson impersonator cupcakes? Read on...I've done a lot of interesting cupcake illustrations in my life.

I've done illustrations to go along with a marriage proposal. I've done illustrations of cupcakes in their underwear, eating soup and watching Dawson's Creek. I've illustrated a cupcake crime scene. I've explored cupcakes learning about the birds and the bees.

And now, I've done a series of cupcake illustrations for a vodka company. I'm totally serious. Not long ago, I was contacted by Svedka Vodka about being part of their "Walk of Shame" ad campaign, which focuses on the crazy and (well, sometimes dumb!) stuff people do while...er...imbibing. "You do know that I do illustrations of cupcakes, don't you?" I asked. Yes, they did. And they wanted me to illustrate some of the crazy stories coming in from the campaign...but in cupcake form.

Well, that sounded like fun. So I did it! Here's my work.

First: BIG WORM, pictured at the top of this post. The tale is as follows:

My friends and I went to a dive bar one night. Imagine my surprise when the place was randomly jam packed with Michael Jackson impersonators... Feeling more confident than usual, I decided to break into the center of what seemed to be 'a dance off'. The pressure was intense and the first move that came to mind was the WORM. Without hesitation and without holding anything back I went for it! Except, I attempted it feet first, and that didn't end well. Feet first didn't work so well, & I landed face first on the dance floor. Next thing I know, I'm getting helped out of the bar by bouncers and all I could hear/see was a sea of Michael Jackson lookalikes chanting 'Big Worm, Big Worm'... I had to go to work right after 'the incident.' After my coworkers harassed me for wearing sunglasses while working, I finally took them off and told them the story. They gave me a round of applause and dubbed me 'Big Worm.' That story will forever be logged in my personal log of shame.

Second, a tale of Vegas debauchery; here is the video-story, and here's my illustration version:

Third, a little ditty about "Fire Island the Next Day", which goes like this:

What do you wake up to after a double birthday party on Fire Island with a hundred of your closest friends... a pool swimming with empty bottles of Svedka among other things. ;)

...and here's the illustration:Fourth, a tale about being locked in a club overnight; here's the video-story, and here's my illustration:

...but wait, there's more! Fifth, a tale from a Facebook commenter:

I had a crush on a skater girl in 5th grade. I walked her home - she asked if I wanted to try her ramp (no wait you don't have to). I tipped the board off the lip and rolled down like a bag of potatoes. I held my composer with a shaky chin long enough to say goodby - she tried not to laugh. I cried my way like a newborn all the way back home... it's funny now. :)

and my illustration:

svedka6

and sixth, this tale, also from Facebook:

Sleeping over at my once "crazy summers flings" (now fiances) house on a weeknight. I had never met any of his family and I figured everyone would be goned to work and school by 9... I headed down the steps in my t-shirt and panties no bra to get a drink only to find his little sister and mom sitting at the kitchen table! His sister stayed home sick and his mom to take care of her. I never ran so fast up the stairs ever! I didn't come out of his room till his mom took his sister to the doctor. LOL

...and my illustration:

svedka7

...and finally, one of my favorite stories:

I had a heavy metal fiesta party. My roommate managed to break her foot and needed me to take her to the hospital the morning after. I take her in my full heavy metal fiesta costumed glory, and it wasn't until we left that I realized I had been in the waiting room with remnants of a pirate pinata on me and a fake tattoo that said "Nacho" in Old English smeared off on the side of my face.

...and here's my illustration:

Thanks to Svedka and their Walk of Shame campaign for including me!

Sweet Art: Baltimore-themed Art by CakeSpy!

So...not long ago at the Wilton Workshop, I got to meet Rachel of Coconut & Lime for the first time. This was a pretty big deal for me as I am a pretty big fan of hers. AND! She asked me if I might be interested in creating some artwork for Baltimore's first CupcakeCamp!

Well, needless to say "YES" was the rapid and assured answer, and here's the result: a sweet Baltimore-themed piece featuring Baltimore architecture and characters (fictional and factual!).

Oh, and speaking of Baltimore, have I mentioned lately that I will be stopping there on my book tour? Yep, November 14 we'll be having an event at Dangerously Delicious Pies. Details TBA!

For more about the upcoming event, stay tuned via coconutandlime.com.

Cake Byte: CakeSpy Socks Now Available For Purchase

We can't all have attractive feet.

But no matter what your feet look like, you can coat them with a triple-threat of awesome with these brand-new CakeSpy Socks, created as a collaboration with the lovely and amazing Sock It To Me!

Covered with cupcakes, unicorns, and robots, these socks are aptly entitled "Trifecta", and they're like a treat...for your feet! Delightful and delicious...just not to eat.

You can buy them online here, or come into the CakeSpy retail shop at 415 East Pine Street, where they are now available for purchase.

Macabre Foodie Fairy Tale: The Land of Misfit Pastries by CakeSpy and Seattle Food Geek

CakeSpy Note: Not long ago, Scott of Seattle Food Geek approached me, narrowed his eyes, lowered his voice, and said "do you want to harm some innocent baked goods with me?". And--because at my core I'm darker than the darkest chocolate, I said "yes". And so we got together, and we tortured those treats, and as you can see from the story we made around it, we both liked it (possibly too much). Here goes:

In a land not so far away, in the dark endcap displays of the grocery store, exists the land of misfit pastries.

These are the sad, stale, and typically on-sale sweets that have not been purchased, the unloved in a generally lovable section of the food pyramid.

Like shooting stars, their futures initially looked bright. But as someone (don't ask me who, probably a lighting salesman) once said, "the brighter the light, the bigger the shadow". And here, we are going to delve into some of the bad things that can happen to fallen pastries.

Take here the hapless cookies, so festive and fresh a few days ago, which are now inspiring the ire of a rather dapper Watermelon. What will happen next in this scene? We cannot be sure, but one thing is certain: that Mr. Watermelonsworth is displeased, and his monacle and mustache should tell you that he means business.

...or see how cupcakes have fallen into an unfortunate series of events. sometimes we do senseless things when we are bored or just hungry. were these purposeful lures or simply a cupcake playdates gone bad? Nobody can be sure, but one thing's certain, these poor Hostess cupcakes are never gonna be the same, and their friends are looking hungry.

...oh, and that happy hand pie, BFF with Mr. Unicorn? Looks like Mr. Unicorn sold his friend out to food abusers, and look what they did to him!It is proof that you never know who your friends are, and that the world is a bad, bad place.

 

...and what of the Cinnamon Roll who once greeted the day with high hopes of being made into a breakfast of champions? Now he's been relegated to Accidental Smoothie, a stale, sad pile of carbohydrate crumbs.

...as for the scone, let's just say it's a blessing that he never saw the homogenizer coming.

...and what of the cookies? Those sweet flowers made of flour, butter, and love? With no parental supervision they got up to some mischief and found themselves in deep--literally--in the sous vide.

So, boys and girls, the next time you see those bags of lonely, aging treats at the convenience store, know that their Sell By clock is ticking down to a rather gruesome demise. When you reach for the cake mix instead of the plastic-wrapped pocket pie, you’re turning your back on a helpless sweet. And when you buy that glistening, fresh, handmade cupcake from the neighborhood bakery, you’re signing the death warrant of another misfit pastry.

Thanks Seattle Food Geek for such an evil and wonderful time!