Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Tempe Treats

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Our first stop on the third CW book tour couldn't have gone any better: Changing Hands played the perfect host, we had a fantastic turnout of somewhere between 350 and 400 Wreckies, and there were enough cakes - both Wrecked and Sweet - to satisfy every sweet tooth.

Standing room only, but nothing but smiles all 'round. You guys are troopers!

I have to thank Changing Hands especially for allowing us to stay a full hour and a half past closing to accommodate everyone. (I talk a lot. Heh.) In fact, they didn't even tell me the store was closed; I didn't realize until everyone had left! So many, many thanks to Rachel and the rest of the staff: you guys ROCK.

Now, here's what you've been waiting for: the CAKES!!

This AMAZING work of art was courtesy of Breanna of Sugar Dreams. I first featured one of Breanna's cakes on Sunday Sweets quite a while back, and the encouragement she received from you readers helped spur her on to start her very own company! So this was her way of saying thanks to our whole Wrecky family.

Just look at this detail:

Breanna made one suitcase for each leg of the tour, and she even listed the cities on the luggage tags! Inside the top case are these fantastic CW t-shirts:

It a Gril, Happy Falker Satherhood, and even I Want Sprinkles! So perfect!

Even the back was amazing:

She hand painted our tour logo.

Wow. Just...wow.

Oh, and it tasted as good as it looked. :)


And as if that wasn't enough, Vanessa of Amazing Cakes by Vanessa (located in north/central AZ) also provided fabulous vegan and gluten-free cakes:

You'd never even know it was vegan; so yummy.

She also concocted this hilarious "Wreck Creator" contraption:

See, the pipes go from the "sludge" cake and lead to the cupcakes. :D

Then there were all your Wreckplicas! We had a whopping 40 entries, all of them fantastic. Here are a few of my favorites:











Our three "winners!"


And their cakes:


(She used bacon for the straps. Heh. Aheh. Heh.)

And our grand prize winner:

So cool.

And finally, a few honorable mentions go out to these especially devoted readers:

This is the Philips family. They live in Pasadena, CA. When they realized they'd be out of town during our CA appearances, though, they decided to drive to Tempe instead. Yes, just to see us. And they even seem mostly sane!

Plus, Christy crocheted me one of my favorite Wrecks:

She even let me keep it. :)

And these girls got crafty with their custom t-shirts:

"Snape wants Sprinkles" - Hah! I think CW and Harry Potter make a great combo, don't you?

And that was the show! Watch Facebook for the rest of the Wreckplica entries: I'll be uploading all the photos there within a few days. Also stay tuned for reports on the rest of our three stops; I'll be uploading and posting as fast as I can!
Anonymous said...

Thanks for coming out to Tempe! You were so cheerful all the way to the end. I wished you could've shared more stories because they were hilarious.

Claudia said...

This was so great! Any plans to do a real world tour? I'm in Wellington, NZ, right now but I would be in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the next week! :D
If I ever get the chance, go to one of your cake meetings would be a blast.
Congrats and many more wrecks!

Layne said...

I think the Wreck Creator dovetails nicely with your passion for steampunk!

ThatDarnKat said...

Grrr, I'm upset I didn't get the chance to make it to the Tempe show! I'll have to make it next time. Hey Jen, did you wear your flip flops?

Lyssiechan said...

Too cool! I wish I'd been able to really attend, though - we got there half an hour late, and with my mom's back problems we couldn't really stick around without a seat. Totally our fault for leaving as late as we did, but still a bummer. :(

I hope you guys will be coming to Tempe again some time in the future. From the little of the event I did catch, you were, of course, fantastic. :)

Anonymous said...

Aw, Lisa! I'm so glad she won. She's a sweetheart who had a great time!

And I want the 'Snape wants sprinkles' shirt lol

Doublen~Erinn said...

@Kat

She and John both rocked the flip-flops!

Haiku Joy said...

Crocheted a cupcake?
Got her by the hook divine,
you stinker! Yarncake!

Anonymous said...

Looks like a blast-love that sludge cake to cupcake maker :)

Tatersmama said...

I'm totally voting for a World Tour!
Please please please with a cherry on top?
With sprinkles, of course! ;)

Di said...

I wish i could have made it, since i live all of about ten miles from Changing Hands. Maybe next time...

Jackson Family said...

Jenn Johns is my best friend!! WOOT! Go Jenn! Love your face!

Jenn said...

I'm pretty sure the patriarch of the Phillips family was my finance professor in grad school. Super nice guy and insanely smart. And apparently a Cake Wrecks fan! What a small world!

Anonymous said...

Is that a cupcake cozy - hand crocheted? Did you post something similar in the past? Bizarre (is that a mean-spirited remark?) I AM laughing. Norine

Lisa said...

I'm still over the moon that my wreckplica won! I'm surprised nobody has yelled at me on Facebook to stop talking about it, haha.

I had the best time, and you guys put on one heck of a book signing!

Gothcupcake said...

Thanks for featuring my "When Brides Have No Budget...or Taste" mini wreck! It was great fun meeting you guys, and I'll have my eyes peeled for any obscure references :D

Sincerely,
Mary C.
(the girl with pink hair)

A Paperback Writer said...

Jen and John --
You don't have to publish this comment; I just wanted to say, "Thanks from Salt Lake City!"

Here's my blogpost on your event at the King's English tonight, complete with my photos of John's shirt.
If you're not exhausted, you can drop over and read the post. But I won't be offended if you don't have time.

Here's the URL -- sorry I can't link it in the comments section:

http://apaperbackwriter.blogspot.com/2010/06/cakewrecks-comes-to-salt-lake-city.html

Thanks again for coming to SLC. I hope your trip up the canyon tomorrow is a good one. :)

Goof said...

:D Thank you so much for coming to AZ. Jen and John rocked!

:D And Eeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!! Thanks for posting my wreck-plica first I feel special now haha!

jen bryner said...

how come salt lake wasn't listed on the luggage tags?? so sad!

Arlene said...

Wow I loved all the cakes. The beautiful suitcase I would have hated to eat it. Wonders what flavors it had inside.. mmm now I am hungry.. argh I don't have any cake lol figures.

Ashley said...

Oh my goodness! My sister and I were so excited to see our shirts on your blog! Ahhh! We both nearly died from happiness and now our family and friends are going to have to hear about this for months to come. We really enjoyed meeting you and John, Jen. If you ever want a "Snape Wants Sprinkles" shirt, I'll make you one! ;D

-Ashley and Lindsey

SalannB said...

Wow, I'm surprised that the "bride" replica cake didn't make it...it was awesome! And lots of detail for a little cupcake!

michelleparker said...

Yep, totally need to have those "Snape wants Sprinkles" shirts for sale when the World Tour roars through Columbus, Ohio. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge. Hint, hint.

Anonymous said...

"Snape Wants Sprinkles"... I MUST have that shirt. It has to be most awesome one I've seen yet.

And a big congrats to all of the winners!!

Filomena said...

Yea! I'm so glad there was yummy vegan cake! Cruelty free and funny as heck... Now that's a party!
Cheers!
Pink Velvet Bird

Meg said...

Oh jeez, I want a Snape Wants Sprinkles shirt so bad!

Sharon said...

Glad your book tour is a hit, and thanks for posting my tribute song the other day. I have the other two Cake Wreck Tribute Songs posted on my Blog for anyone who's intrested. http://sharonsedibleart.blogspot.com/ Love your site. Keep on Wrecking!

WV: hawar Somewhere along the way, the wreckerators went hawar with the design.

Sharon
Sharon's Edible Art

Katie said...

Next tour, you guys should come to somewhere in MY neck of the woods...Omaha, Des Moines...somewhere like that! :P

Anonymous said...

Sarah Palin likes Harry Potter and sprinkles?? Never would have guessed.

VeggieT said...

Oh My! That "When brides have no budget..." cupcake wreckplica was awesome!!

Geisha_Girl said...

Wow! Breanna's cake was so amazing! I'm so glad she decided to start a cake business - if she can keep up that kind of quality and beauty, she'll be VERY successful. Congrats Breanna!

Amanda said...

I always love your wreckplica pictures! It's fun to see how people interpret the wrecks in miniature. They must be even more fun in person.

Laura said...

I love the entries!! Amazing! I have to say, I'm a little sad the Darth Vader wrecklica didn't make it through! I love that!

Sariah said...

SO excited to see my wreckplica on your website!! It almost makes up for not being a finalist (seriously... I even had a DOILY and I didn't place?? pshaw!!).

Had a GREAT time that night. We'd do it again.:)

Annie in Texas said...

Sucks to have to "log on" to Facebook to be able to see the rest of the photos. I don't do social networking. Wish there was another way to see the photos since I really love wrecks.

LeftWingLock said...

It was a great night! I had a piece of the green suitcase, it was chocolate cake with a yummy red fruit filling (raspberry perhaps?). My stepson had some of the purple suitcase, it was yellow cake with what looked like lemon filling. He wouldn't let me try it so I don't know for sure. Meanie.

All the wreckplicas were awesome. I don't know how they could choose just 3 finalists.

I'm sooooo tempted to drive to La Jolla and do this again. I want an Epbot button! And what better way to spend my 1st weeding amniversaree, which actually is that day, is there? (Don't ask my hubby that question though...)

Anonymous said...

I want a pattern for the crochet-cupcake so I can make one!

All the wreckplicas looked fantastic. So much attention to detail!

Joanna said...

WOW! My hat is off to the makers of the Darth Vader baby shower replica and the bride replica! My jaw literally dropped when I saw each one!!! WOW!!!

Autumn E. said...

w00t! I can't believe my little wreckplica is on the Cake Wrecks page!
I had so much fun at the event! You were both an absolute delight. My mother-in-law is convinced that John is miffed at her for forcing him to be in so many photos.
Please come back any time. I will gladly sit in an AC challenged room for hours to spend time with people (and cakes) like this.

Sami said...

The word "wreckplica" got me thinking... You know how certain movies and such have their own versions of Wikipedia (Star Wars = Wookieepedia)? I'd love to see Wreckepedia :)

Anonymous said...

Can I be adopted by the Philips family? That is saw awesome. No way my parents are cool enough to drive me to a CW event. And no way I'm cool enough to know how to crochet a cupcake.

Vanessa Martin said...

What a great book signing, and I was honored to be allowed to be part of it.

The green suitcase was indeed chocolate with I think a raspberry filling, the purple suitcase was white cake (made with sour cream and almond flavoring) filled with buttercream and a strawberry puree, and the top brown suitcase was a different type of chocolate with ganache. Breanna put over 25 hours in that, and it shows!

Thank you for noticing the steampunk connection. The top section was supposed to be machinery and not only did the vegan fondant fail spectacularly but then it fell over in the car on the 100 mile trip to Tempe. That's why the table is covered with slices on plates. Best laid plans!

Cindy said...

Wreckplicas... SO FUNNY! The suitcase cake was truly a work of art! Best of luck with the tour!!!!

Mugdha said...

You guys were awesome! Thanks for coming to Tempe!

Donna said...

You'd never even know it was vegan; so yummy

I'm glad you're discovering that just because something's vegan doesn't mean it's not tasty as hell!

Unknown said...

Congrats on the success of your first stop on your tour! I wish I could have gone... COME TO NEW YORK... or even the tri-state area!

Unknown said...

The mini CCC is totally awesome!

spatfat8 said...

HAHA I'm totally stoked that we made it on to the cake. Falker Satherhood FTW!

Gothcupcake said...

P.S. finally got around to blogging about the tour! http://gothcupcake.blogspot.com/2010/07/gothcupcakewrecks.html