Hugs 'n Kisses 'n Butterfly Wishes...

This was my first attempt at a "Cake in A Box" which I originally saw (and immediately fell in love with) done by Patti on her blog, Creations By Patti. As I've mentioned many many times, Patti is one incredibly talented and creative lady, and the things she comes up with never ceases to amaze me. You can take a peek at her awesome cake creations posted here, complete with tutorials on how you can create one too. Her work is so beautiful and meticulously done, I am always so inspired by all she does.


When the cover to the box is lifted, this is what it looks inside....kind of looks like one of those little "explosion boxes"...

The sides of the box fold down...

And opens up to a full 12x12 inches laid flat, with lots of room for embellishing and sentiments!

One of the nicest things about this is that since the cake never gets folded flat, you can embellish it to your heart's desire without ever having to worry about the bulkiness of it or about whether or not it will hold its shape.

I used pretty butterfly printed card stock from s.e.i.'s Chocolat collection to do the cover and inside panels for my box.
Here are a couple close up shots of a few of the panels...

The sentiments on each panel were computer generated using Scriptina font, printed on vellum, and adhered onto the individual panels. Panels on the inside and sides of the box outside were embellished with fancy scrolling cuts from the Home Accents cartridge.

The sweet little paper blossoms you see sprinkled on the cake and panels were made using a hydrangea flower Design Studio cutfile created and very generously shared by Shirley O on her blog, Paper, Scissors Ink. Shirley is quite a wiz at designing some very cool stuff on Design Studio and SCAL. Take this link to to her blog and you'll agree! (Don't forget to leave a comment thanking her if you decide to download any of her wonderful cutfiles!)

And here's a close up of the Sizzix Pop Up Cake in the center. I loved Patti's butterfly cake so much, I had to try one too. Butterflies on mine are pink vellum cut with a Martha Stewart punch, and embellished with tiny pearls. Cake sides are washi paper and the scalloped "icing" is a border cut from Plantin Schoolbook. Used a Nestablilties scalloped circle die for the "doily" and a 1/4" handpunch for the holes.

It took me quite a while to put this all together, but I must admit it was so much fun! This special little cake in a box was created for my mom for her birthday last month. The best part of it all was watching her face light up as she opened the box to find her cake inside... makes everything seem worthwhile, right?