Morgan's Construction Party

My little boy turned 4 this week.  When he woke up, he was so excited to show me that his foot grew bigger.  "Look at this 4yr old foot!"  I will miss this cuteness someday.  My son LOVES tractors and trucks, so we came up w/ this idea for a Construction Party.  I realize soon enough that we'll be paying to have bowling and skate parties...so in the meantime I'm making the most of our home parties!  We love our backyard and were so fortunate to have great weather on this March day.

He decided on Chocolate cake w/ Mint Buttercream and Chocolate & Vanilla Cake w/ Strawberry Buttercream.  But during the party, he asked where the banana flavored cake was....first time I heard that request!

I love how the finished product turned out!  But my fondant was a pain and kept ripping on me.  My strawberry buttercream was a little too soft and melted a little...but no one seemed to notice :)

I made a lot of the decorations (banner, signs, wreath).  Grandpa used to have his own construction company, so we scored some amazing signs, cones, flags and caution tape!!!

 

I ordered these adorable Cone Cups and Hard Party Hats online.

I purchased these Nail Aprons at Home Depot.

When each child arrived they received a hat, apron, cup and time card which listed the "work" they had to do.

Hammer Nails- they pounded golf tees in floral foam

Dig for Treasures-We buried cars and balls in the garden

Obstacle Course- Grandpa hooked us up w/ cones and caution tape and the kids ran around in.

Build a Fence- glued Popsicle sticks together to make a fence

Jump Around- we own a small jump house and this was by far the preferred activity!

At the end of the day, I paid the kids for all their hard "work" in gold coins...chocolate ones!

The party was a success.  When I asked my son, what was his favorite part, he said "all of it." <3

DIY Liquid Laundry Soap

I've been reading about DIY Laundry Soap forever on Pinterest and today finally took the leap and made my own.  We were completely out of laundry detergent and fabric softener.  I've been making my own cleaning products (All Purpose, Granite, Laminate & Shower cleaner) and love them all.  I find it much easier to refill my own bottles than to put it on my list and hope I remember next time I'm at Target.

Plus I add my own scents w/ essential oils- and they smell terrific! Makes cleaning fun..??!!

We use liquid laundry soap regularly and only add powder when doing pre-wash in our HE machine.  So after reading many recipes, I decided to go w/ this recipe from I Can Teach My Child.

You will need:
1/2 c. of Borax (I stock this as many of my DIY recipes call for it- they sell it at Target, Walmart & Bel Air)
1 c. Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (same places sell this)
1 bar of Fels Naptha Bar Soap (<$1 at Walmart & Bel Air has this too)
5 gallon bucket w/ lid - (Walmart, Home Depot ~$4.50)
Essential Oil- I added some but will probably skip it next time.  Smells good already-kind of a waste.
Milk jugs or other refillable containers

See I Can Teach My Child for all the steps.  I followed her instructions easily.  I'd say this takes < 30minutes...really easy.  I will probably attempt a powdered mix next to have on hand for our really soiled loads.

We pre-treat our stains and will continue.  A few of the recipes I read said to soak sweaty clothes in baking soda before washing or to use vinegar as fabric softener.

I attempted my own Fabric Softener too!

Bicycle Cake built for Twins

My friend Michelle has twins, a boy and a girl, who turned 6 this weekend.  They had a combined birthday at this cute place called Safetyville.

The theme was bicycles because the kids road their bikes all around this kid-sized town.  Michelle is an amazing photographer and she has the most creative ideas.  Check out her page for all the cute party details!

I made these little bicycles out of fondant- w/ pink and blue seats.

This is my first flag banner design around the cake...I love how it turned out!

The cake was alternating vanilla and chocolate layers w/ strawberry buttercream filling, vanilla buttercream and covered in fondant.  It was gobbled up by all...so it was a hit!

Lalaloopsy Birthday Party

My daughter turned 6 last month!  Is it me or does 6 just sound so much older!  We had fun planning her birthday party.  She wanted to have a craft party- where the guests make lots of crafts.  So they made necklaces, decorated gift bags and decorated hot coco cups, did spin art and got their face painted.  We picked the Lalaloopsy theme because we just think she's sew cute!

Spin Art

Making Necklaces

Hot Coco Mugs

Make your own Party Bag

K picked chocolate cake with strawberry filling and lemon cake with strawberry filling.  Both covered in vanilla buttercream and then fondant.  Not many 6yr old have such good taste!  She even drew me several plans for her cake weeks before...most of which involved 6+ tiers!  And when your kids watch you make cakes for everyone elses kids...they expect a lot!  :)



Cupcake Toppers



So first there was cupcakes at school.  I was going to make paper toppers and then I decided to try these Lalaloopsy toppers.  I felt a little funny knowing that I was going to look like "that" mom...but I am that "cake momma"...so oh well!  I think her class was pleased.

First I completed the doll to sit on top.  She is made from fondant but has wires and supports...so we didn't eat her (if you want her she's for sale).

This was my first time trying this type of ruffles and possibly my last!  That part took forever and ever and ever.  But I loved how it looked.

Love these Ruffles!

Happy 6th Birthday to my sweet baby girl!

Lalaloopsy Cake



And So It Begins...

Welcome to my blog! Since just about everyone else in the world has their own blog, I guess it is time to create mine :) My name is Shannon.  I am a wife, mommy of 2 young children, a high school math teacher by day and a custom cake decorator by night!  Busy...to say the least and yes my husband still loves me!  I've always been quite crafty (I get that trait from my mom), I love to bake and recently found a passion for creating one-of-a-kind cakes.

I love sharing pictures of my cakes with friends on Facebook.  But each cake has a story about the birthday boy or girl, the graduate or the baby-to-be.  I am hoping to share a little more of that story behind each cake.  Sometimes everything goes smoothly when making a cake and sometimes I'm pulling out my hair because the fondant keeps tearing, ect.  So here is where I plan spill it all!