Cupcakes for Camp Quality.........

Back in July I received an email asking whether or not I would be interested in coming to do some cupcake making for Camp Quality- I was overseas at the time- but I jumped at the chance. I was excited to be able to share my passion with kids and parents who needed someone- or something to brighten their day! So- Yesterday Afternoon I was lucky enough to come and do some cupcake decorating at the Turner Ward of the Royal Brisbane Childrens Hospital.

Anna Wilson from the RBCH had organised for me to come in and decorate cakes with some of the parents of ill children- and of course with the children themselves. I knew that there was going to be around 10 people- so armed with more than 12 dozen uniced cupcakes ( you have to be prepared in case more turn up than expected;)) I headed to the Turner Ward to ice away!

Some cupcakes to brighten your day!

Saying I am an organised person who likes structure- is somewhat of an understatement. Whilst I am spontaneous in my private life- work is always a very structured thing for me. So I had in my head what I was going to do - and how the afternoon was going to pan out- but not more than 30 seconds later that was all upturned- cachous and sprinkles were flying all around the room- but the Kids- and parents were definitely enjoying themselves! With my plan out the window- it was down to freestyle cupcake decorating!

With plenty of decorations to choose from- the designs were endless!

Yesterday made me realise that being ill not only effects the patient and their parents- but their siblings too. I had a few siblings attend, thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to make their brothers and sisters cakes- as well as cakes for all of the invaluable hospital staff along the way!
Entertainment and Fun must be a fabulous part of the healing process- what better way to feel a bit better than to put on a big smile- and gobble up a sugary cupcake??

Everyone having fun decorating cupcakes!!


A high fat diet is imperative for patients being treated with Chemotherapy- so a sneaky way to get the fat into their diet is definitely a cupcake laden with butter cream icing ;)

The Kids were so into the cupcake making- that there was one definite stand out- Terra! Terra is here from Cairns with her family- whilst her Brother is in hospital. Terra (left) with her brother Noel! Cupcake champions!


Terra's vivacious personality- and super fast cupcake icing skills almost put me to shame! Out of the 170 or so cupcakes I bought to the hospital- it would be fair to say that Terra decorated at least 40 of them! Her piping skills greatly improved over the course of the hour or so- and her creativity was amazing! Thought and passion were put into each and every cake she made!

Cupcakes by Noel!

Cupcakes by Terra!

The Girls from the Starlight foundation- another fabulous children charity- were using the room just before us- and managed to spare another few minutes to also have a go at making some cupcakes too!

Me with the fabulous Starlight foundation Girls! Thanks for making cupcakes with us!

My sister Kate volunteered to help me out- and thank god she did! Kate is fabulous with kids- and the fact that there was icing and decorations flying everywhere didn't phase her in the slightest! She has such a natural warmth and genuine enthusiasm about her- that she made everyone feel so fabulous about the cakes they were making!
In amongst the kids that were there- was also two sisters Rachael and Kaitlyn!

Cupcakes by Kaitlyn and Rachael! Awesome job!

These girls were all about stylish cupcakes! Some fabulous designs from both girls! Down from Gympie with their parents and their Brother- they had a haul of cupcakes to take home with them for sure!

Kaitlyn with her cupcake! fabulous!

After an hour or so of decorating cupcakes- it was time to pack up :((
We finished icing and packing up all of the decorated cakes- and shipped them around to the hospital to the various wards for everyone to share!

Making little tiny letters to put names onto the cupcakes! This is a slow process- and when you have eager decorators at your feet- you need to speed it up!
Then you can place them onto the cakes like this:



I had made a mini cupcake tower just before I left home ( that I was going to demonstrate how to make- before my plan went flying out the window)- we sent these cakes off to the nurses around the hospital! Little vanilla butter cakes with polka dot plastic icing!

A mini top tier in the shape of a cake slice - amazed the staff and parents- who all asked- is that real?? Can you eat this?? With confirmation that it too was cake- it was quickly whisked away to be cut up and eaten!

Tyler- the youngest participant for the day- even brightened up to decorate a cupcake for his Dad who was celebrating his birthday on Friday! Tyler was definitely interested in the Freddo frogs too!
Thank you to Camp Quality for inviting me to come and decorate cupcakes!
Thank you to Anna Wilson for arranging such a fabulous program for sick children and their families to enjoy!
And huge Thank you to my sister Kate- for not only coming with me to help out- but for showing me that things go just fine when you don't have a plan!
I had such a great afternoon- I can't wait until I get to do it again!


Exhausted Sisters- after an afternoon of fun!

If you would like to donate to any of the charities below- simply click on the link!
Camp Quality
Camp Quality is a non profit organisation that is committed to bringing hope and happiness to every child living with cancer, their families and communities through ongoing quality recreational, educational, hospital and financial support programs

Starlight Foundation
The Starlight Children's Foundation is part of the Australian Children's Charities Forum, a group of national children's charities dedicated to directly helping seriously ill, disabled or disadvantaged children.

Royal Brisbane Childrens Hospital
The Royal Children's Hospital Foundation (RCHF) is the fundraising arm of the Royal Children's Hospital in Brisbane - Queensland's leading paediatric critical care facility, which touches the lives of more than 100,000 sick kids every year.