DIY: Frozen Inspired Birthday Cake

Yikes, so much has been happening and this place got flat out neglected. Between computer changes, vacations, tantrums, and our new adventure into homeschooling, life has been kinda crazy.

 

Sorry about that.

 

Anyone out there anymore??

 

I have been getting many comments and messages asking if and when I will post about the cake I made for my daughter's Frozen party. Well...it's finally here!!

 

While I don't have step by step pictures, I will give links to recipes and techniques used. Hope that's good enough;)

 

First off...let me say that I am NOT a cake maker so I hope that is encouragement to anyone out there who wants to make pretty cakes (and doesn't want to shell out $50 or more for a birthday made by someone else).

 

Materials:

 

Wilton Romantic Castle Cake set

(I found mine on Craigslist for $5...score!)

 

Box cake mix or cake recipe of your choice

(I did three 8" layers)

 

Wilton buttercream icing recipe

(I doubled the recipe so that I had enough to crumb coat the cake and then frost it)

 

Wilton royal icing recipe

(tinted blue)

 

blue sugar sprinkles

 

clear crystal sprinkles

 

edible pearls

 

dowel rods

 

white chocolate melts

 

Glass hard candy recipe

(tinted blue with neon food coloring)

 

 

STEP 1: I baked the cake and leveled all the layers. I stacked them and applied a crumb coat with the buttercream. I placed it in the refrigerator.  

 

STEP 2: I made the royal icing and tinted it blue. I started on the plastic cones for the tops of the turrets. I used the petal method. I started at the base of the cone and went all the way around and then worked towards the point. I repeated the same method for the triangle piece for the center of the cake. I used a larger circle tip for them.

 

STEP 3: I used a small circle tip to outline the windows and door pieces with the same royal icing. I also topped them with the blue sprinkles and placed an edible pearl in the centers. I let all the pieces sit and dry (which doesn't take too long with royal icing).

 

STEP 4: I cut dowel rods the height of the cake (a little shorter) and melted the white chocolate melts. I dipped the rods into the melted chocolate and placed them on the bottom of the tower pieces and let them dry.

 

STEP 5: I pulled the cake out of the refrigerator and frosted it with the rest of the buttercream and put a dot border around it. I used more of the melted chocolate and dipped the bottom of the surrounding tower pieces (the ones I used around the cake) and placed them on the cake board and pressed them slightly into the side of the cake. I placed the triangle roof piece in the middle and then the three towers with the dowels into the top of the cake.

STEP 6: I dipped the cone pieces into the melted chocolate and placed them on top of the tower pieces. I then took more of the melted chocolate and drizzled it on top of the towers with a spoon to look like snow. I sprinkled some crystal sprinkles on top before it hardened and around the cake plate.

 



 

STEP 7: I made the glass hard candy and broke it into pieces and placed it around the top and base of the cake. This was the kids' favorite part of the cake! They thought it was so cool;)

 

STEP 8: My daughter had the Frozen play set from the Disney Store so I dipped the characters in the chocolate and placed them on the cake board.

 

DONE!

 

 

I hope that helped! I know my kids' birthday cakes haven't been and never will be "perfect" but I love the process of making them. And remember...your kid will think they rock no matter what;)

 

Happy Sunday!



A FROZEN Birthday Party!

I thought my first post back should be one of my favorite things ever...a birthday party!

So, back when Frozen came out...I think every 5 year old girl and their mom decided that it was the desired theme for their birthday. I have this theory because there were NO Frozen party supplies within a general 20 mile radius of me!

This was probably the easiest party to pull off because I was able to use some Christmas decor I already had and I scored the rest on clearance at 75% off after the holidays.

I keep my parties simple and sweet. Thanks to Pinterest I could throw $200 parties due to all the amazingly cute ideas that keep me up at night, but instead we keep things low key, enjoy our friends and family...and put more of that $ away for our future Disneyland trips;) 

Sugar cookies are always a crowd pleaser:

Powdered donut holes served as "frozen snowballs":

Yogurt covered pretzels were "snow covered": 

Because the Frozen girls (and myself) love chocolate...there HAD to be a chocolate treat too:

The gold trees are a part of my Christmas stash. I purchased them at Target. I also made the Frozen signs in Photoshop. 

I picked up this iridescent Christmas tree for my daughter's room at a yard sale and my daughter's grandparents gifted her the Frozen barbies for her birthday. Instead of wrapping them up, I set them out as part of the decor and I think her reaction to seeing them was better than if they had been wrapped!:

Funfetti cupcakes were requested by the birthday girl. I topped them with Wilton's buttercream icing and I got the idea and recipe for the royal icing snowflakes from Glorious Treats. 

The centerpieces were mason jars with a snowflake paper cup inside. I used some left over silver tissue paper I had, some "s" stationary, and some glitter bows from the Christmas clearance section. I made the Olaf sign in Photoshop and placed it in a vintage frame I had on hand.

I cut snowflakes out of coffee filters (hello...100 snowflakes for under $1!) and I made a large Olaf out of poster board.

Here is another view of the coffee filter snowflakes. The silver streamers are a cut up silver table cloth. 

Possibly my favorite thrift store find is this mason jar drink dispenser! I've been wanting one for so long and scored this baby for less than $5! I made "snowball punch" by combining Sprite and raspberry sorbet. It was a huge hit with the kids and matched pretty well;) 

I passed on traditional party bags this year and went with "Queen Elsa wands" which are similar to last year's Cinderella wands. These are floral picks from the dollar store (6 in each pack) and I tied strips of tulle around them. 

With the wands, I decided to make Elsa crowns. I used the template from My Sister's Suitcase. Since I couldn't find any matching foam, I went with white and drew a design on them with a blue marker and glued on some gems I had in my stash. I also glued on some elastic to the back to make them comfy and durable. 

 It was a random rainy day here, so I am so glad I had a craft for the kids since they couldn't go outside. I set out snowman cookies and the kids had a blast building their snowman!

My favorite party of this party was the cake! I got this crazy notion in my head to make a cake about a month before the party (instead of just making cupcakes like I usually do). Of course it escalated from a simple cake to a castle cake and I am pretty proud of how it turned out! My daughter was in love with it and I learned a lot with it being my first cake. I will write another post about the cake and it's construction. 

My babe had a great day and to end it all...we got hail or "frozen rain" after the party was over. Considering we live where it almost never rains...it was a magical ending to an amazing day!

Second Wind

I have missed this place!

Over the last few months we have been searching for a house (when did they get so expensive again?), dealt with some health issues with our son (nothing that's an emergency...just lots of tests) and I've been trying to volunteer in my daughter's kindergarten class as much as I can. 

Life is busy!

We also soaked up the last of the summer sun and temperatures:

                             

Picked some pumpkins:

Celebrated our little man turning 2:

And we visited this place...again. I think we might have an addiction...

It just never gets old!:

I've been debating a lot with what to do with this blog. Part of me just doesn't have the energy to keep it going...but I know I could never let it go. I've met so many awesome people through this space and I look forward to meeting many more! 

I think 2014 will come with a second wind for my craftiness and when it does...my sewing machine and I will be ready! 

Happy Holidays and have a safe New Year!

Busy and Simplifying

I can't ignore that I haven't posted on here in over a month. I hate that I haven't put anything new on here, but I'm also enjoying the break.

 

We have been enjoying a relaxing summer (that included a trip to San Diego) and my daughter started kindergarten two weeks ago.

 

 

I'm in the middle of a few larger DIYs which I hope to share. For now, I'm going to keep up with what needs my attention (chores, school, and playtime with the kiddos) and relax with my free time (hello Netflix!)

 

I hope to be back in a routine soon, but for now I'm accepting that blogging is a full time non-career for me that I need to take a little break from. I hope you will still be here when I get back!

DIY: Reversible Painted Throw Pillow

I have a slight obsession with throw pillows. I love them. I was thinking of a new pillow design for this "new to us" vintage chair and I couldn't decide between two ideas, so that gave me an idea to use one pattern for each side. 

Materials:

plain fabric (cut into two panels for the front and back)

black fabric paint

foam paint brush

sewing machine

matching thread

For the first side, I traced squares in different sizes to make a geometric pattern. I painted them in with the black fabric paint and set aside.

For the second side, I took the end of the foam brush and made little crosses with it. You can use a paint brush for a more uniform look...but I liked the random variety better.

 Once both panels are completely dry (read the paint bottle for instructions), place both panels together with right sides facing and pin. Sew along the outer edge with a straight stitch along three sides.

Flip the case right side out, put your pillow inside, and hand stitch the bottom closed.

Done! A perfect pillow for my indecisive mind;)

RECIPE: Frosted Animal Crackers

I had a lovely baby shower to attend this weekend and I was in charge of the favor bags. After cruising the grocery aisles for a recipe idea to come to me, I decided to make frosted animal crackers. Aren't they cute? Plus, they taste a million times better than the waxy frosted crackers in the bag.

First, I grabbed a huge bag of animal crackers, picked out all the broken ones, and ate them by myself later while they kids were napping let the kids have them.

Next, I melted white chocolate candy melts and tinted them pink. I mixed in a little bit of vegetable oil to make the coating a little more runny. I also bought a tube of multicolored sprinkles. I dipped half of each cookie in the chocolate and let them harden on wax paper.

I will be making this snack again in the future. It was a fun project to do with my daughter (she is an expert with the sprinkles) and they have such a lovely handmade look!

Have a lovely day!

Life Lately

We've been keeping busy this summer. It gets a little challenging when the temps outside are over 110 degrees...but I love this city and I wouldn't have it any other way. We've been hitting up the libraries, movie theaters, and ice cream shops. Here's a little bit our what we've been up to.

Since he refuses to sit in a cart (or a stroller, or the bathtub, or his highchair), I do get his help in pushing it around the grocery store:

Oh, and he has a love for Mickey lately. They are inseparable:

We all crammed into our car and made the 15 hour drive out to Texas to visit family. There was laughing, crying, games, yelling, sleeping, and stopping for burgers along the way:

I realized I might have a slight cardigan obsession:

Our neighbor gave us this dresser that he didn't want...and I took it before he could change his mind. Score!:

The Lego table at the library is his favorite place:

Cupcakes for Father's Day:

My three favorite people:

Thank goodness for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It's gotten us through some tough times:

Making my daughter's dream of a Mary Poppins costume come to life (more on that later!):

Strawberry pie:

Date night, concert style:

My husband offering to make dinner and then realizing it's all wrapped in bacon:

Another vintage gem that was given to us:

Making some baby shower treats:

A "new" record player has been our favorite find this summer. When it's too hot to do much outside...then we grab a slice of pizza and walk over to the record store:

It feels like summer is almost over already. My daughter starts kindergarten in 3 weeks and then it's just Baby Boy and me for a few hours each day. 

I hope the summer has been treating you all well;)