Sunday Sweets: Tasty Tentacles!

So I was thinking I wanted to do something different this week for Sweets. Something new. Something crazy. Something, I don't know...tentacley.

Don't worry; I'm not going to show you anything WEIRD. Besides, I bet most of you like a cute lil' octopus as much as you obviously like owls. (YOLO!)

By Cake Central member Miniminipop

And besides, lookit that cutie!

(True story: I just learned what YOLO meant last month. I'm such an internet trend failure.)

(Truer story: I just learned YOLO does NOT mean "you obviously love owls." MY ENTIRE LIFE HAS BEEN A LIE. [sob])

Of course, not ALL octopuses/octopi/octopodes are that adorable. Some just look all hip and cool while hanging out in their undersea gardens:

By Jacqueline Marie's

I'd like to be
Under the sea
In an octopus's garden
In the shaaaade.
(See, that's why he's cool!)

While others search the sea floor for awesome steampunk accessories:

By Over the Top Cakes

"Yesss... I shall glue some gearsss on it, and call it 'ssssteampunk!' Mwah-ha-haa!"

(Not sure why I think octopi sound like vampire snakes, but there ya go.)

Now you might think that octopodes are the only things with tentacles. NOT SO.

There are also the giant squids in storybooks:

By Sweet Fix

In this case, literally.
(See what I did there? LITERALLY?!)

And fashion-forward Disney villains:

By Cake Central member e-cakefactory

Ursula, dahling, you've never looked more delectable!

...and who can forget the infamous Davy Jones?

By Rub-a-Duckie

EEEK!! Ok, gotta be honest: this thing is WAY too realistic for me. Amazing, yes, but I swear I can see his "beard" squirming. [shudder]

Yep, I'm going to need some serious cute to recover from that.

By MyCakeSchool (photo tutorial at the link)

Ahh, that's better. Such a sweet design, and I like the writing in the sugar "sand."

What is it about a little octopus in a sailor hat that makes him look so huggable, anyway?

By D Bar Denver

D'awwww. And if I'm not mistaken, those are sugar glass gems on the top tier and on the wire sprigs. Way to whip out the SKILLZ, guys!

Now, I know my fellow geeks are waiting for a Cthulhu cake, but I've gotta tell you, I think we posted the best one just a few months ago for Halloween - and believe it or not, good Cthulhu cakes are hard to find!

Besides, just picture this next guy with a body and wings and a seeping aura of horror, and that's basically Cthulhu right there:

By Kathy Cakes

(Can you believe this is cake? 'Cuz I'm not sure I can!)

Oh! And of course we can't talk about amazing octopus cakes without this famous showstopper:

By Highland Bakery

That's 200 pounds of airbrushed awesomeness, right there. Ahhhh-MAZING.

Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Gee, if you love octopuses so much, why don't you get married with 'em?"

Oh, you mean like with this super-fantabulous wedding cake?

By Cake Central member RejectedSeoul

EXCELLENT IDEA, you!

Now, just throw in a few cute little seahorses, and I am SO THERE.

And finally, I'm going to end with this stunning, mildly bizarre, excessively tentacley example of cakey goodness:

By Fire and Icing

Wowza. Tentacles have never looked more elegant.

And bizarre.

But mostly elegant.

Happy Sunday!

*****

These reversible plush octopuses from Tee Turtle are all the rage right now: nearly 60,000 reviews, and they come in over 25 fun color combos:

TeeTurtle Reversible Octopus Plushie

Not only are they adorable and fun to play with, but most of the styles flip from happy to sad, so a lot of parents use them as a helpful communication tool with their kids. Love that.

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

You Don't Know Jack

Once Upon A Time...

...there was a boy named Jack:

 ...who used a lot of sunblock.

Jack lived with his mother in "The Hovel by the Phallic Fountain."

The hovel needed a new roof, but Jack and his mother had no money.

So they decided to sell their only cow, Boxy.

(Look, I don't know what it is, either, but this story is going to move along a lot better if we can all just agree it's a cow, OK? Moo.)

On the way to the market, though, Jack met:

...the Way Stuffed Cellulite Man.

Mr. Way Stuffed convinced Jack to trade him the "cow" for a tray of tragic spleens.

(Sure, they look happy now, but that's only because they don't recognize my masterful use of foreshadowing.)

Jack's mother was livid when he can home with the spleens, and made Jack give them a proper burial.

(See? Tragic.)

After a miserable night with no supper, Jack woke up to see a flowing vine where he'd buried the spleens:

Flows like a river.

The Tragic Spleenstalk reached all the way to the clouds. As Jack stood gaping, suddenly the Faceless Fairy appeared!

"Jack, climb the spleenstalk to find a magic chicken who lays golden eggs!" she projected telepathically.

(She doesn't have a mouth. Try to keep up.)

"But beware the ogre who guards the chicken!"

So Jack climbed the spleenstalk, and there was the chicken:

In a festive knit straitjacket.

Jack had just grabbed the bird when he heard a roar!

It was the ogre, Oh'Duh!

"Take the bird not you will!" Oh'Duh screeched.

Jack quickly fled down the spleenstalk, where his mother was waiting with a dump truck and a huge load:

...of dirt.

Before the ogre could follow, they knocked over the spleenstalk and buried it, trapping Oh'Duh in his cloud city.

With the money they made from the golden eggs, Jack and his mother were able to build a brand new home by the Phallic Fountain, complete with matching turrets.

(Those two really know how to use their heads.)

And they all lived happily ever after.

Well, OK, maybe not ALL of them.

Thanks to Amy, Giopi, Sarah J., Graham K., Sara E., moxie, Jenni Q., Shannon C., Becky C., Flowe L., Dani S., and Daniel C. for the fairy fail ending.

*****

I always like twisted fairy tails told from the villain's perspective, and this version - as told by the giant! - has rave reviews:

Trust Me, Jack's Beanstalk Stinks!
The Story of Jack and the Beanstalk as Told by the Giant

Only $7, too, if you'd like to add it to your kids' library.

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot: