Wednesday
Sep172008
What's in a Name?
September 17, 2008 
And that's how embarrassing nicknames are born, boys and girls! (There's one for the scrapbook, eh, Beth S.?)
Well, Gabe Z., you have to admit that "Jason" is a really rare and hard-to-spell name - especially here in the U.S.
I suppose if the baby had been named Joey, or if this was a shower for a baby kangaroo, the inscription would have been fine. Unfortunately, neither of those was the case.
On an unrelated note: I totally want to reach into the picture and rip off those silly plastic balloons. And on an even more unrelated note: is that a chicken foot in the upper right-hand corner? What the heck, Leah T.?
Reader Comments (89)
I really hope that "Jaysm" is a spelling error, and not actually a child's name.
What? No quotation marks?
Oooh, little sweaty. That's gonna be a gross kid.
If those balloons are edible, that would be RAD.
But they're not, of course. My b'day on Sunday, and I've been inspired by your blog to not get a cake. Instead? Drambuie strawberries on a bed of clotted cream with caramel sauce.
I gotta think that the chicken foot is one of those horridly quirky pitchers that looks like a rooster. You know, the kind that matches everything else in the kitchen of roosters?
Chicken foot could be some sort of 'charming' chicken-shaped cookie jar or other such thing?
I love reading your blog! I mean, it's amazing the cakes that people create! I love making special cakes for my kid's birthdays. I hope they never look back on them in dread over any mithspellings or awkward moments created (like the teenage girl with the half naked man on her cake!) Thanks for your fun sense of humor. Your posts are so fun to read.
I do like the little booties on Swetty's cake.
I'd swear that "Jayson" had some spacing problems! Poor guy. It must be tough to have that issue.
And you're right, what IS that thing in the top corner of the last picture? Perhaps there is a voodoo ceremony after the baby shower?
On that first photo, I cannot count the amount of times I've seen people make that repeated-letter mistake.
On the second photo, I'm holding out hope that someone's using an unconventional spelling of the name "Jason".
On the third photo: Is it just possible that it's a knowing error, as in, maybe the father's name is Joseph or the mother's name is Josephine (and their child would be a "bundle of Joey")? I do think we are seeing some bird-themed centerpiece (possibly a ceramic trukey in anticipation of Thanksgiving), hence the chicken-foot-thing.
Poor Swetty.
-Z
Awesome as usual.
Oh my god, these are some of the funniest cake pics I have ever seen! I laughed so hard I cried over "little bundle of joey". Thanks for making my morning!
The last wreck at least has some of the fanciest frosting script I've ever seen going for it...
And the chicken foot weirds me out, too.
And can we discuss a little bit more... on the "Swetty" cake - the huge loops of white icing look like the decorator was drunk while making them. Also, what is up with the pre-scored cake?
And the Jasm cake - first of all that's just wrong - and second of all, that's a heck of a lot of chocolate icing all smooshed into one small box, so much so it looks like the right side of the cake is damaged. I guess when the message on the top of the cake is so wrong, you kind of overlook things like loping off the entire right side of the cake.
The Joey cake actually looks kind of pretty - except that I don't understand why they used green icing for the writing when the "flowers" are blue/purple. Plus also, looks like the cake shoppe decided to incorporate a bit of shameless self-promotion into their cake boards. The only problem is the gold and black totally doesn't go with this cake (or any others I'd imagine), and this particular cake is off-center. If I was the bakery owner, not sure I'd want anyone to know that piece of ahem, work, came out of my bakery.
Agreed on the stupid balloons! I wanted to scream when a friends mother started plunking down candles that spelled out "Happy Birthday" and a giant "30" on one of my creations. Actually, I had been drinking and did yell out a little. My husband had to stop me...
Plans for today:
Do laundry, clean house, get some sewing done... come back here tonight to read the comments to these cakes. Seriously.
I could make some "Scwetty Balls" jokes, but I shall be good and refrain.
You know, a bundle of joey would be freaking awesome. I've always wanted a baby kangaroo... :(
And that chicken foot up there? That's really an emu foot that's lost its pigmentation. They just want to keep with the Australian animals theme to make their new baby kangaroo feel welcome.
Hello there! I just wanted to share something...yesterday (Tuesday the 16th) i was working at home and had the TV on...the only thing my office TV can get (it's not connected to cable) is local channels (Washington, DC), so I was "forced" to watch the "Judge" so-and-so shows. One of them, I think it was Judge Christine, got to pass a ruling on a FAILED CAKE!!! It was a wedding cake that went horribly wrong. Way funny. You should see if you can find the episode of this!
Cheers,
WW.
Why yes...I believe it is indeed a chicken foot. I'm still holding out hope that it was for a baby kangaroo and it was just a zoo themed party maybe? With chickens? Or not...
Despite the misspelling of "Little Bundle of Joy," and those insipid plastic balloons, I really have to give props to the decorator for the tidy script writing. I think most of the cake decorators around these parts can only manage block letters in all capitals.
Little "swetty"? Is that pronounced "sweaty" as in, "I worked in the heat all day and I'm sweaty and perspiring.." ?? LOL
~Amy
WOW!! I could almost swear that an associate of mine moonlights as a CAKE DECORATOR!! bwaaaahaha!!
I agree with Janet, first thing that popped into my mind was Schwetty Balls! Or that the poor baby is destined to be a sweat shop kid...
I'm thinking Swetty is the family's last name...or at least I hope it is. On a related note, I went to high school with a guy who legally changed his name from "Jason" to "Jhayson" the day he turned 18.
I like the little icing booties too, except I am disturbed by the possibility that someone might forget to remove the apparently real pink ribbons on the pink booties. Blech. (Yes, I know you can make real-looking ribbons out of icing, but that's a level of artistry I don't think we're seeing here.) The pink ribbons on the yellow booties are obviously just pink icing - don't know why they didn't just make yellow icing ribbons on the pink ones.
"Bundle of Joey" would be a hilarious pun if the baby was actually to be named Joe. Otherwise, not so much.
I found the website for St. Phillip's Bakery aka the "bundle of joey" creators! They have some beautiful cakes on their website, this one just missed the mark. (Or hopped over it!)
http://www.stphillipsbakery.com/index.html
I agree that St. Phillips Bakery has some very well-made cakes, but I kind of wonder if this NSFW one would qualify as a wreck : http://www.stphillipsbakery.com/special_occ3.html, click "gallery of cakes," it's the first one in "adult."
Love this blog! Just found it and practically choked with laughter last night. yay!
tasmonia said...
I don't know why it took me so long to find this site! I work in a bakery and despite my best efforts, there have been several cake mistakes made lately. (ie 'Thank you Vicki' became 'Thank you Licki') My location just sells donuts and we call in cake orders. I'm super careful but they're just not listening on the other end. This site has me laughing so hard!!!
Actually, the photos I'd pay to see are the ones showing the faces of the patrons right as the box is flipped open for approval before final purchase.
-cw
Whoa- misspelling a 3-letter word like "joy".
I think a few children got left behind.
There are so many things wrong with that first cake in addition to 'swetty.' The scoring, the attack of the booties...just everything is wrong. Are bakeries actually trying to get themselves showcased here, now?
Those balloons on the Joey cake are painful to me. They look like someone was dropping marbles on the cake.
I think the prescored cake bothered me just as much as the spelling errors. Do a lot of cakes come with marks for cutting?
Actually, that bird foot looks a lot like Big Bird's foot doesn't it? Maybe there was a Sesame Street theme going on ?
--Danielle
On the last photo, I want to reach into the picture and center the cake on the cake board!
No matter HOW weirdly you spell it, "Jason" never ends with an "m"!!
(Although I guess you could have an "m" sound be "mn" if you're a creative speller. There is still no way an "n" can turn be an "m".)
On another note ... maybe the baby was wrapped in a kangaroo blanket?
At least the writing on the Joey cake is pretty. Oh wait, I just looked at it up close. Its all squiggly and smeary. And a bit off center.
Oh well... they tried. :)
I have a yearbook inscription "You are so sweat"...yeah, nice.I wonder if the name was Jayson, we know one spelled like that. Still funny, as is bundle of Joey. Which I think the "chicken feet" is balloon strings. I do like the writing style though, very beautiful.
Funny non-cake story about confusing joy/joey. My mom signed me (Joy) up for summer camp over the phone one year, since it was quicker than by mail and she was less likely to forget about it that way. When we got to said camp, everything was great, the bill was paid, and mom left. Then they called out cabin assignments. A Joey mylastname was put in a BOYS cabin. A friend of mine, Blake, was also placed in a boys cabin. Needless to say, the camp director got on the phone and quickly found another counselor to come so that we didn't have to stay with the boys.
Those are all funny boo-boos, but I found the "Welcome Little Swetty" particularly snort-inducing. Perhaps that is because it reminded me of Alec Baldwin on SNL as the creator of "Schweddy Balls."
Bundle of Joey, well at least there writing looks very nice!
I wonder do the people who recieve these wrecks demand their money back? I would! Especially if I got the Swetty cake!
The chicken foot looks like it might belong to a cookie jar...maybe...
And of course I like to think about mid-summer sweat glazing my cake when I'm trying to eat it, even if it is only implied.
Nashvillejen - OMG, that bakery's site?? Did you SEE their "adult" lineup? BWAHAHAHAA!!! http://www.stphillipsbakery.com/special_occ3.html
Um, yeah - the balloons are totally not in keeping with the style of the Joey cake. Kinda wish I'd thought of that with my first son! LOL!
As for the chicken foot - those ceramic pitchers shaped like animals make me laugh - though possibly only because my aunt calls them Puking Pitchers, since they invariably make the mouth into the spout....
Do you suppose the little bundle of Joey cake was a not so subtle hint to the new parents as what the host/ess thought the baby should be named?
Though I have been reading your blog for some time, this is my first comment...
The chicken foot seems to be the bottom of a glass... I know the next time I buy a house warming gift for someone that they are going to get chicken foot glasses... extra classy.
Yes, the balloons are tacky and there's a mis-spelling, but c'mon you gotta give some points for that lovely script.
:-)
The writing on the last cake looks like it was printed and pasted on the cake like a photo. You'd think they'd have had a chance to check what was written at least once! But I am secretly hoping that Dad's name is Joey, 'cause that would make a great story!
I am just happy that the bundle of joey cake didn't have a creepy rendition of a baby (or baby kangaroo) they were supposed to cut up and eat. Phew!
Didn't those little plastic balloons go out with the 70's? So sad that they goofed this one up because it is some of the prettier handwriting I've seen on a cake.
I'm still waiting for some ice cream cakes to show up on here. =)