Slacker

Alright, the past several months I've been quite the slacker on blogging and posting pictures of cakes. I apologize for that. I have maybe two random cakes to show- I don't think I've taken pictures of most of the orders since mid-December. Whoops.

Anyway- with that said, I am not taking any orders. I have orders through June which I will honor but no new orders will be taken. I am in the process of getting our house ready to be put on the market and ultimately moving out and moving south. I've not decided whether or not I will be stopping completely or just temporarily but when I do start back- it will be based around wherever I end up living. So, with that said- thanks to everyone in Gilmer and Fannin who kept me busy! I appreciate all the experiences and the friendships I've made along the way! Thank you all!

Holidays!

Just an update- I will not be taking any additional orders for the remainder of the year. I may open two cupcake/cake deals for Thanksgiving and Christmas- will post the details! Thank you everyone for your support!

*New Name*

Hey guys/gals! I have officially began the ball rolling with our name change.

When Anna and I started this adventure we had this grand plan that we would be able to do cakes together and function in our day-to-day lives. When we started this in 2009 it was very much a hobby, one that I never saw taking off quite like it has. As soon as I began booking up with weddings, it became obvious that if we wanted to pursue this as a potential career we needed to take the next step. We registered with the state and set up a tax account and all that jazz.

As time has gone on, we've regarded several aspects of this like a hobby still. This has bitten me very badly once and I will never make the same mistake again. This past year I have been trying to focus more on the business end and getting things in order for a potential store front. My husband also was laid off during this planning process so it's been one learning experience on top of a life experience. Most of you know I work a full-time job and do the cakes as a side business. There have been many sleepless nights, weekends worked and stressful situations... throughout all of this I have learned this is something I am truly passionate about. I love baking and being a part of so many special people's lives. I have made several friends through my cakes and hope to make several more.

With all of these life lessons and changes the biggest one of all is that Soror Sweets has lost the Soror. Since Anna and I don't live in the same town it was slowly becoming less Soror and more me. There's nothing I would want more than to have a bakery that my sister and I ran but things don't always work out as planned. Anna is engaged and taking on the stresses of planning a wedding and I am taking on the stresses of opening a store front. Anna is now going full-time to school (yay) and with those opportunities it forced her to prioritize and unfortunately for me, school/wedding trumps cakes.

So, what's the new name? Did you pick some foreign words no one can say or spell? Luckily for everyone who ever had any problems with "soror", I went with something people can say. I'm not sure when our name will be updated per the state's website but from here on out I am:

                                              Copper Top Cakery, LLC

I still wanted something that was inclusive to me and had a story to it... I didn't want my name in it, but still wanted it to be personal. I've had orange hair since birth, I might as well try embracing it now.

Our facebook fan page and facebook page have been changed, the website/email is next. I'm hoping everything will be up and running by Thursday of this week but- we will see.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of our successes and growth! I look forward to starting this new chapter with all of you!

Krista

Coupons for Jan/Feb

Check out our events and promotions on HelloNorthGeorgia.com for upcomming specials!


Check it out here!

Time-off over! Happy New Year!

My holiday is officially over! I have missed the cakes and tonight starts my cakes for 2011. I hope every one of you know how much it means to me that you trusted us to help with your event. I am truly thankful for our successes this year and can only wait to see what 2011 holds for us! Thank you to our repeat customers, our new customers and our brides! Without you I would not be slowly putting the pieces of my dream together, for that I am truly thankful!

I hope everyone has a safe, happy and healthy 2011!

I did this last year so here is a compilation of some of my favorite treats from this past year! 

Booger!

My SD card has decided to rebel. We're working on recovering the images- we've went through two programs so far and on the third to try and get them back. :(

I have the cutest butterfly cake to post, too.

Please, oh please, computer and SD card- connect with each other and fix yourselves!

Under Construction

If you happen across the blog in the next few days you will notice some changes- slowly but surely I am changing some things around... so- you've been warned if the layout looks goofy that's why!

Thanks!
-Krista

December Dates

On Friday (10-22-10) any dates for December that are not booked will be black-listed. If you have an order for December- please contact me before then! krista@sororsweets.com

I am booked for Dec 2-6, any other dates are currently available... I just really need some me time not to mention family time. I appreciate each and everyone of you so very much, I just need to stop spreading myself so thin.

Thanks for understanding ladies and gents!

The times they are uh-changin'!

Well, first off- let me take a moment to thank every one of our customers who have been so supportive and amazing to us this year! I appreciate the opportunity each cake has given me and look forward to working with you in the future!

Over the course of the past year we have begun to grow and with this growth we are making changes. We are no longer taking sheet cake orders. If you have an order booked already it will be honored.

Our contracts are officially in the works and will begin to be used for ALL orders. If you have an event set for later in the month, you will be contacted for a meeting to go over the contract and signing off on your order.

Full payment on an order is to be received no later than three (3) days prior to the event.* Wedding cakes are not reserved until a deposit is received. We recommend you contact us at least three (3) months in advance to guarantee your date and set up a consultation/tasting.

Cakes begin at $40 and differ in pricing based on cake details and design. Please contact us for a quote specific to your event! krista@sororsweets.com 706-697-5253


*Wedding cake payments are to be received seven (7) days prior to your wedding date.

Youth Night at East Towne Cinemas!

It's Community Youth Night at the theater. Area churches are joining together to watch "To Save a Life." Students in middle school and high school are welcome to come, it's a free event. Sept 1st

Movie briefing:

Jake Taylor has it all: friends, fame, a basketball scholarship and the hottest girl in school. Roger Dawson has nothing. Although the two were best friends when they were kids, the politics of high school quickly pulled them apart. Roger doesn's fit in with anyone and he's had enough. He walks onto campus with a gun in his pocket and pain in his heart and makes a tragic move. Jake's last ditch effort can't stop Roger, and the sudden tragedy rocks Jake's world. In a quest for answers, Jake finds himself looking for the next Roger and reaching out to the outcasts and loners. He quickly finds that crossing class castes threatens all his world is built on and it could cost him his own friends, his dreams and even his reputation. 

 

http://www.tosavealifemovie.com/

 

Wylie Kiser

Hey bloggers- there is a young fella in my town that has been diagnosed with a tumor on his brainstem. This little guy is a trooper and if you can take 45 seconds out of your day go to his blog and just leave some words of encouragement for him and the family.

http://wylieswish.blogspot.com/2010/08/wylie-is-in-recovery-room.html?spref=fb

Busy-Busy-Busy... ECLIPSE!!!

Well, the past 36 hours have been brutal on me! I had 204 cookies, dozen cupcakes, 1 double layered sheet cake and 1 large single layer sheet cake- all to be delivered within 6 hours of each other. Needless to say I haven't slept worth anything and am beyond excited to get in the bed around 10 tonight.


In my rush yesterday to get the ton of cookies to the theater, I didn't get to take pictures. :( They were super cute, too. Here are some pictures of the rest and a story to go with it.

This cake was for a little league baseball team's end of the season party

Sadly this is the only picture with a glimpse of what the theater cookies looked like. There were 100 with this design and 100 with a "Marry me" in black icing. If you're in the North GA area check out http://www.easttownecinemas.com/

I've also done a fake Bella bday cake for them (for New Moon) and a Grand Opening cake in the shape of a Clapboard. Have to love repeat customers! :)

 

This is for a girl-friend of mine at work-work. She was going to the midnight premiere with another girl from work and just wanted 4 cookies. I was happy to oblige since I was already making 200. She wanted two for her and her movie partner and two for her hubs who happens to like a particular type of Harley Davidson motorcycle. So those are her cookies.

 

Very rarely I have such an urge to my creations that I have to fight myself. These cupcakes were one of those times. The chocolate icing was driving me crazy- I wanted it in the worst way! These cupcakes were for a girl-friend I've known since pre-k... wayyyyyy long time. She has been following my cakes and wanted to test out some stuff so she figured her pre-Eclipse party would be perfect. Yellow cupcakes, choc butter cream filling and butter cream icing with fondant message circles on top.

So that about sums up the past 24 hours of my life. I'm about to hit the hay, only having slept 7 hours for this week has made me feel crazy! 

OH Go-go-go see Eclipse. So far, this is the best movie yet from the series. TEAM JACOB!

Consultations, Contracts and Cancellations... oh my

Alright folks, it's to that point now where I have to protect myself and establish a contract and cancellation policy for orders. I took off work (my full-time, real, big-girl paying the mortgage job) to complete all the orders I had for today (1- 13x9 sheet cake double stacked and filled, 1- 11x15 sheet, 210 cookies and a dozen cupcakes). If one of these were to get canceled- I would be out a lot of time and a hunk of change. I have to reiterate that cakes and the like do not pay my mortgage, feed me, pay for my car or support me in anyway. This is a side business that I  am trying desperately to build into a full-time career. I pour my time, talent and hard-earned money into this endeavor. I would appreciate it if everyone understood I don't stay at home all day waiting for orders. I have to schedule my treats to coincide with my work schedule. When that is impossible I take vacation days that I have earned and use them to complete orders- like today. Please understand I am trying to establish a business, not make things difficult.

New rules are as follows

 Wedding cakes- 10% down payment (applies to your cake balance- not a separate fee) to hold your date with full payment due 7 days prior to event. If you cancel with more than a week until your wedding you will forfeit your down  payment but can apply it to another treat the same month as your wedding. If you cancel within a week of your event the fees break down as follows:
5-7 days- 30% of cake price
3-4 days- 80% of cake price
2-1 day(s)- full cake price

Cancellations-
You will have a 72 hour window to cancel your treat without any sort of problem. If you cancel within 48 hours, you will be responsible for the amount of time/supplies that have gone into the treat. If you cancel within 24 hours you will be responsible for the full amount of the order.

Consultations- wedding cake consults are free for design and time but if you are taste testing there will be a charge. I do my taste testing with cupcakes- I do 2 for each flavor of interest by the bride/groom. The pricing for taste testing will be a minimum of $5 (2 flavors- 4 cupcakes). I know you may think, $5 wow- that's crazy- but it helps cover my expenses if you don't book a wedding cake through me. If you do- the consultation fee is applied to the wedding cake.


Just bare with me guys. This is all a live and learn process for me. I appreciate everyone checking out Soror Sweets and allowing us to work with you on your events!

New flavor!

I had a bride-to-be that I created a new flavor for and I have officially tweaked it to perfection to post the new flavor. So, everyone thank Cassidy for being bold and thinking my flavor ideas were worth testing! :)

Here she is- Orange Pumpkin Spice

I had this beauty on my way to work this morning. Delicious!

Monday-Monday....zzzz

Going to try and break up the monotony known as Monday. :|

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS3Olh9DnaE&feature=related

So not cake/treat related but this CRACKS me up every time I watch it....

Have a great week guys! Don't forget Taste of Ellijay is THIS Thursday. 5:30-8:30pm on the square- find us we'll be in pink and we've got a banner! I will post a sneak peak on Wednesday night or early Thursday morning as to what we will have!

Thanks to everyone for checking Soror Sweets out!

Winning Banner for Taste of Ellijay!

And the winner isssssss................................

We decided since so many votes were on #1 and #3, why not do a combination of the two? So there you have it, our Taste of Ellijay banner!

Of course, this time... they fixed the fron to from, and changed Savor to Sovor... so, just one more tweek and it may actually say Soror at the bottom. :)

Volunteering in July- Gulf Oil Spill...

Alright folks, we are looking at areas in the Gulf states to volunteer to help with the Gulf clean-up/recovery from the BP oil spill. I have contacted two organizations in FL and one in LA so far. Mississippi seems to not be as open to volunteers as the other states, if I continue to find it hard to contact someone in reference to volunteering they'll be off the list. But, anyway- we are planning to go July 23rd-26th. If you or someone you know from the North GA area is interested please shoot me an email- krista@sororsweets.com. If there are restrictions-maybe you can't go to LA for whatever reason but you are able to go to FL please say that in the email. Since this is just now in the beginning phases it will be a lot easier to gear towards a certain area now rather than later.

If you have any information about recovery efforts in any of the states, please email me that also. I was on http://www.oilspillvolunteers.com/ for a bit and found the contacts in FL and LA.

If you'd like to make a donation, txt the word "wildlife" to 20222. $10 will be charged to your cell bill.

http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Conservation/Threats-to-Wildlife/Oil-Spill/Mobile-Giving.aspx

ALSO- tell your hair dresser and dog groomer about this: http://www.matteroftrust.org/programs/hairmatsinfo.html they take hair donations and use them to try and collect oil!

VOTE!

Banner design for our table at Taste of Ellijay.... ignore the slogan, they changed it to "savor" instead of Soror... no clue.



1 2



3 4

Click to enlarge.

Which one gets your vote? Check out the poll above!

HelloNorthGeorgia.com!

Alright ladies and gents- as some of you may know I do advertising on a couple of sites. One of those sites is www.HelloNorthGeorgia.com- we're under party planning and catering, I think. Either way, throughout the year there will be coupons and other things you may want to keep an eye on if you're planning on ordering anything from me. I'm not going to constantly update the blog to remind you because, well, if you're going to buy a cake, I'm perfectly fine with it being at full price. .

ALSO, you can follow me on there (in essence) and get updates when the coupons and stuff change. All you do is go to http://hellonorthgeorgia.com/EventPlanningAndCatering/SororSweets.com.html (my direct link- so favorite it and check in periodically for coupons) find the "Sign up/on" button on the top tool bar, fill in your information and then add different businesses to follow. There are a TON of other local businesses on there like The Heritage House (http://hellonorthgeorgia.com/EventPlanningAndCatering/TheHeritageHouse.html). But, either way get on there and check out the coupons- maybe there are other promotions from other businesses that could help you out!

Mud 4 Blood!

"One of these things is not like the other..." I don't know the rest of the song, but if you happened to get to this post you saw a flyer for something very non-baking related connected to the bake sale notice. That is because I love my Aunt Rita and Uncle Curty-Wurty so much that I'm pushing their event for this weekend!

They are part of an organization called the Georgia Bounty Runners. Long story short, they trail ride in jacked up trucks (and my Uncle drools over the amazing jeeps :-D). This is directly from their site http://www.gbr4wd.com/:

"We are a family-oriented club, promoting responsible off-road recreation and we adhere to the tenets of Tread Lightly. We also belong to UFWDA and SFWDA. By joining with other off-road enthusiasts, we can protect our access rights to public land as well as recreational opportunities on private lands. We invite other like minded enthusiasts to join us, or other 4wd clubs in order to not only enjoy new friendships, but to protect our hobby. We recommend joining a club that is a member of SFWDA and/or UFWDA."

So- they are hosting an event called Mud4Blood and this is from that website http://www.mud4blood.org/: (I edited for important info- see the bigger, red font)

"The Georgia Bounty Runners 4WD Club is pleased to announce that HOOTERS of Kennesaw , 4 Wheel Parts, and LifeSouth will be the host for the 7th Annual Mud 4 Blood event. The event will take place on May 1, 2010, from 11 am to 6 pm. We expect this to be the biggest Mud 4 Blood event to date.
Each year, the 4wd clubs of Atlanta band together to donate blood to help save lives. In the last 6 years, we have collected many, many GALLONS of blood. Because each pint can be split into three parts, each pint has the capability to help three different people. That means that the blood donated by the members and friends of local 4wd clubs may have been able to help more than 2000 people.
This year we are opening the event to all auto enthusiasts, classic cars, hot rods, rat rods, mud trucks, low riders, tuner cars, and motorcycles. Come one come all!!!
In addition to the blood donation, we expect that there will be a silent auction, as well as a few vendors bringing out some cool stuff to show and sell. There is also a competition with trophies and awards for "Best of Show", "Best Truck", "Best Car", "Best Motorcycle", "Hooters' Girls Choice Award" and many more!. We also have a raffle for blood donors. Stay tuned to this website for more information as the event approaches.
All donors will receive a recognition item & cholesterol screening. Donors must be 16 years or older, all 16 year olds require parental consent. Donors must weigh at least 110 pounds & show a valid photo ID. LifeSouth is your nonprofit volunteer blood center supplying blood for more than 120 medical facilities in Georgia, Alabama and Florida. For more information, call (888) 795-2707 or visit www.lifesouth.org"

There will be car/truck shows, blood donations, silent auction and other stuff . If you donate blood you're also enterred to win raffle prizes- my Aunt Rita says, "...there are some pretty cool free truck give aways when you give blood..tires, gears and junk like that. Hooters is putting a bunch up, too: t-shirts, coozies, mugs, WING parties!"

So, if you feel like getting out and meeting some neat people and helping an organization with blood donations... or even if you're terrified of needles, go look at the cars and trucks and have fun!

Where- Hooters Kennesaw on Cobb Parkway

Date- Sat May 1st

Time- 11am-6pm

What- Awesome car show and blood donation!