baby shower cake

When Looking For the Best Baby Shower Gift, Choose a Diaper Cake
By Rachel Nunez

Nothing compares to the very moment a couple hears that they would be expecting a baby soon. And then again, the feeling of holding the baby in their arms for the first time is another unforgettable moment. Giving birth is a very special event indeed, but the celebration does not have to wait till the baby arrives. Baby showers are made for all friends and family to get together and share the same excitement of getting to have an additional part of the family soon.

Baby showers are usually marked with gift giving. Friends and family gather to present gifts such as baby diaper cakes to the parents-to-be. However, finding the right gift can sometimes be confusing since there are a lot of options to choose from. There is always the question whether this or that is the right gift, if it would fit the need, or if the receivers would appreciate it. Once you decide to go to gift shops to help you decide, you would again be faced with shelves packed with different ideas. If only you can afford to buy the entire shop, you would definitely do so. However, practical as you are, you would want to find the best baby shower gift that would serve the purpose: help the parents provide for the baby's need somehow.

My Diaper Cakes have the best deal to offer when it comes to baby shower gifts. A very interesting gift can actually come in the plainest and simplest form: diapers. These diapers are rolled up to a jelly roll form and are designed with beautiful decors in the form of flowers, baby toys, and ribbons. They are wrapped in white tulle and are held together with the help of a satin bow or diaper pins. They can come in different sizes, designs, colors, and forms. You can choose a three tiered cake that is made up of at most a hundred diapers or a smaller tier which is composed of about forty diapers.

Great ideas can also come out of diaper cakes. If you want more practicality, you can ask the cake to be made of different samples of top of the line disposable diaper brands. This would help the new mom to decide which brand is best for her baby. And then again, you can also wrap feeding bottles, small baby toys, and others together with the diapers. This way, your gift would include a variety of baby supplies.

Baby diaper cakes are not only meant for baby shower parties. You can offer it as a gift when visiting the hospital or the home once the baby arrives. You would see that it is more practical than bringing a bouquet of flowers with you. Bridal showers are also a great time to offer such cakes. You will definitely add a whole lot of fun to the party plus the excitement it brings when the thought of having a baby soon sinks in. Your gift would surely be worth years of memory. It would be treasured and will never be forgotten.

princess cake

Throwing a Princess Theme Birthday

By Aurelia McAleese

Are you throwing a Princess Theme Birthday Party for your child? Every little girl dreams of being a princess, and at least once in her life she needs to wear a crown! Make her day unforgettably special with the following great princess birthday party ideas:

Pink, Yellow, and Purple - These are her heiness's royal colors when planning your princess themed birthday party. Streamers, ribbons, and bows should be rich and full, and decorated with sparkling gems whenever possible. Package after package of plastic or rhinestone jewels are an absolute must for any princess party. They can be purchased in bulk at any craft store, for a relatively cheap price. Not only can you use them to decorate the room, but also to adorn the walls, the table, the games, and even the goodie bags each of your prince or princesses will be taking home - just keep them away from the princess cake! Be sure to dress your princess in a beautiful princess tutu or outfit befitting of her royal status. In addition to physical decorations, you should have some princess-like music playing in the background. Use any modern princess soundtrack, or download some Renaissance music from the internet for a more traditional royal sound.

Princess Party Invitations - Since princess themed birthday parties are so popular these days, many stores have capitalized on it. A huge array of princess invitations can be found in almost any stationary store, and if you decide to go with a Disney princess theme party your options are even greater. Still, there's something to be said for creating your own invitations. If you decide to go that route, rather than being an extra pre-party chore you can make it something fun and exciting to do with your little girl. The internet is an unlimited source for great princess images. With some construction paper, glue, glitter, and color-printed cutouts, you and your little one can create your own personalized birthday invitations. A simple roll of princess stickers from a stationary store or online auction can be used to decorate and seal the envelopes. If you check your local post office, you may even be able to find matching stamps.

Princess Themed Arts and Crafts - Your choices here are near limitless. Make a quick trip to the craft store for beads and string, and have each party-goer create his or her own royal necklace. Use different colored pearls and jeweled beads for girls, shaped beads and small amulet pendants for boys. Crowns are another excellent choice - buy some plain plastic crowns and tiaras and allow the children to decorate them using a glue stick, glitter, stickers, washable markers, and whatever 'jewels' they want. Once fully adorned, another fantastic idea involves each partygoer creating his or her own treasure box. Beforehand, stock up on some empty baby wipe containers and spray paint them silver or gold. Allow each child to decorate the box the way they decorated the crown, writing their name on the bottom. Finally, each princess should have her own magic wand, and each prince his own sword (if you forsee swords causing problems, boys can be given ribbon sashes instead). Kits are available or you can do it yourself. Decorate these as well, and everyone will go home in their absolute finest royal trappings.

Princess Birthday Games - You can put a princess themed spin on almost any birthday game there is! How about pin the crown on the princess? Using a large poster or printout of a princess's head, cut some tiaras and crowns out of heavy yellow construction paper and place each child's name on them. They play exactly like pin the tail on the donkey, with the winner being the child who places the crown closest to the top of the princess's head. As far as pinatas go, find a castle-shaped or dragon one filled with plastic jeweled rings or candy ring pops. Play 'Princess May I?' - a twist on the old game 'Mother May I?' And if your princess party is absent of princes, you could even provide a nice little tea party, complete with plastic saucers and cups. Finally, if you have the benefit of good weather, a royal treasure hunt is sure to be the biggest hit of the day. Have each prince or princess venture out into the backyard, where they must find one of each of the treasures you've hidden beforehand, and bring them back to their treasure box. Some ideas would be gold pieces (candy coins), dragon eggs (plastic eggs filled with candy), jester's juggling balls (multi-colored super bounce balls), wizard's potion (blowing bubbles), etc... etc... - use your imagination! The child who fills up his treasure chest first is the winner... and while this activity is going on, you have time to set up the royal feast!

Princess Themed Birthday Cake - Most bakeries should have no trouble making your child an amazing princess cake. Still, if you'd like to make your own, there are princess-shaped cake pans available all over the internet. Whether you make a simple sheet cake or build a multi-level castle, decorate the cake with some low-cost princess figurines from a craft or dollar store. Place candles on the tops of each of the castle's towers, and have the children sing happy birthday, saying the word 'princess' before your child's name.

Princess Birthday Party Bags - The dollar store is once again your friend. Any amount of low-cost princess theme birthday party toys and favors can be found at your nearest craft store. For another fun pre-party activity, find some white lunch bags and have your child pre-color them pink or purple and place the cutout of a princess or knight in shining armor on each of them. Fill them with princess figurines, paper dress-up kits, stickers, hair ties, pink and lavender colored M&M's, and whatever extra 'bling' you might have left over from the party. If you're feeling ambitious, bake some princess cookies the night before and include them as well. Finally, one of the best parting ideas would be to design a Royal Certificate of Attendance for each party-goer. Print it out beforehand on some yellowed paper or stock and roll it into a scroll. It should say something to the effect of "Hear-Ye! Hear-Ye! This is to proclaim that (child's name) has attended the Royal birthday party of Princess (your child's name) and has completed all trials and tribulations, effectively naming him/her a Prince/Princess in his/her own right..." - You get the picture. Children view this type of certificate as a fun accomplishment, and will be sure to run straight to their parents with it upon returning home.

With only a minimal amount of work, your child's princess theme birthday party can be something remembered for a long time to come! Use the ideas above as only starting suggestions, and add your own. Theme birthday parties can provide some of the most cherished childhood memories, so make sure you make yours a smash hit!

sugarcraft

Discover The Easiest Ways To Master Sugarcraft

By Samantha Mitchell

In the world of cake decorating, there is probably no more misunderstood and misused term than “Sugarcraft.”

Is sugarcraft just another word for icing?

Is it a type of cake decoration?

If you troll through the countless threads appearing on cake decorating forums, sugarcraft questions appear frequently.

Quite simply, sugarcraft is an intricate form of cake decorating that utilizes three-dimensional modeling. The art of sugarcraft stands in sharp contrast to more basic styles of decoration.

A basic design often employs a series of icing dots that form an overall pattern, whereas the sugarcraft style takes the extra step of modeling figures onto the cake. Several professional cake decorators compare sugarcraft to the art of sculpting.

Sugarcraft uses a type of icing dough known as rolled fondant. In relation to cake decorating and sugarcraft, fondant is a type of icing that can be used both for covering cakes and for making icing decorations. It is manipulated much in the same way as play-dough.

Sugarcraft decorators will roll fondant into sheets and drape over cakes or cut and shape to make icing decorations such as ribbons, flowers, and bows. Any decent sugarcraft manual worth its weight in icing will suggest preparing fondant in advance and storing it within an airtight container in the refrigerator.

When preparing a rolled fondant for sugarcraft decorating, it is best to avoid using any liquid food coloring. Liquid food coloring can turn fondant into a runny mess, so it is best to use coloring paste.

The learning curve for the sugarcraft decorating style can be steep and frustrating. Unlike the popular “decorate-by-number” style that is built around an easy-to-follow pattern, sugarcraft takes visual guidance and months of practice.

For those serious about learning the art of sugarcraft, established decorators often suggest investing in a step-by-step cake decorating video/DVD or signing up for a class specializing in the sugarcraft method.

See also constructing cake

fondant cake

Fondant Cake Decorations - 7 Tips For That Perfect Wedding Cake

By Donald Saunders

Whether you make it yourself or buy it from your local supermarket, rolled fondant icing is the icing of choice choice for wedding cakes and for other "special occasion" cakes. Drying to a smooth matt porcelain finish, it is suitable for cakes of all shapes and provides the ideal base for the most intricate or simplest of decoration.

Fondant icing is a soft sugar-based icing that is generally rolled out to a thickness of about 1/4 inch, layed over the cake and smoothed and pressed into place before being trimmed for a perfect fit.

Despite the fact that fondant cake decorations are ideal for a wedding cake, fondant icing is not always easy to work with so here are a few tips to help you get that perfect result.

Tip 1. Fondant icing should be stored in a plastic bag (or covered in a non-permeable plastic wrap such as Sara wrap) and placed in a tightly sealed container to prevent it from drying out. Fondant icing should also be kept at room temperature and should not be put in the refrigerator. If the icing dries out and harden it can often be revived by popping it into a microwave oven for a few seconds and then kneading it back to life.

Tip 2. Fondant icing dries out very fast and should be applied to the cake quickly (within no more than 5 minutes) after it has been rolled out. Once fondant icing is applied, the cake can be stored without problem for several days at room temperature.

Tip 3. In the case of cakes with a number of tiers, each tier should be iced individually before assembling the cake. It is also advisable, when the final design allows, to store the tiers separately and to assemble them when the cake is needed.

Tip 4. For that truly professional looking finish, and to cover any rough edges, make a decorative border to go around the cake and, particularly, to cover the join between adjoining tiers.

Tip 5. Fondant icing should always be used at room temperature.

Tip 6. For a smooth and flawless result, ensure the working surface, rolling pin and hands are both clean and lint free. jewelry on your fingers or wrists, long hair, long fingernails and fluffy clothing could all cause problems.

Tip 7. A "crumb coat" (a thin layer of icing) should be applied to the cake before the fondant is added. This produces a tacky surface for the fondant icing to stick to.

When contemplating the quantity of fondant icing involved try to allow for having too much icing rather than too little, as leftover icing can be stored and used at a later date.

As a guide, for 3 1/2 inch high cake layers a 12 inch diameter round cake will need about 3 pounds of icing, while a 8 inch diameter square cake will need about 2 1/2 pounds of icing.

For some people fondant cake decorations, in spite of their marvellous appearance, are somewhat bland and this can be solved by adding flavoring, often accompanied with coloring. There are many flavorings available and typically to flavor one pound of icing you can add 1/2 cup of dried, shredded and sweetened coconut, 3 to 5 drops of oil of peppermint or 1/3 cup of hazelnut or peanut butter.

Then,.dont forget to learn about Constructing cake

cake designs

Artistic Cake Design

By Morgan Hamilton

Cakes are a huge part of holiday, birthday, oh heck, just about any kind of celebration. And cake design has truly evolved into an art form. Some individuals to their entire careers to the art of cake design. You can walk by some bakeries and glanced through the window at some truly beautiful creations. I met a culinary artist recently and learned some very interesting things about the art of cake design.

This gentleman informed me that cake design and is quickly becoming a very highly sought after specialty. In fact, cake designs are as old as cakes themselves. The very first person who manage to create a skin of icing on the cake was in effect, the very first cake designer. They do of course vary greatly in our only limited by the artist's, and yes I do consider them to be artists, imagination.

As an example, the colors and flavors in integrated into their creations are incredibly fast and assorted. And when it comes to materials used, there have been several options down the ages. But the number one complement to any cake is the frosting. Now you can even find sugar free icing but I must ask you in all honesty, what is the point of having cake if it doesn't have a delicious, sugar filled icing?

But the look of the cake is determined by one factor, and one factor alone, and that is the skill of the cake design. A good cake designer can convert even the plainest of cakes into a brilliant and tantalizing creation. And they can be done with the most basic of ingredients. Just some edible wafers, a whole lot of icing sugar and a good and dependable icing cone will do the trick. Please don't ever make the mistake of thinking that the more elaborate and design, the better it will be. Nothing could be further from the truth. When they come together finally in the hands of a master cake designer, you'll have a creation that is infinitely appealing.

It seems that cakes without frosting are becoming popular, but then, the cakes themselves come in a variety of shapes and sizes, so they alone can be the stars of the show. Gone are the days when it was only possible to make round or square cakes. Nowadays, with qualified cake designers on board, the only limitations are the creators imagination.

wedding cake toppers

Humorous Wedding Cake Toppers

By Chris Ryerson

Do you want to make your wedding cake really stand out? Typically wedding cakes serve as an important part of the overall decoration at the wedding reception. The wedding cake will be the table centerpiece and a major focal point of the wedding. Therefore it makes sense to spend a little extra time to get a special wedding cake topper. Humorous wedding cake toppers can really be an eye catcher and a great conversational piece for the wedding reception. Just think about it often at a wedding reception long lost friends, distant family and everyone else in your life is simply thrown together and expected to have great conversations. However since many of the people at your reception don’t see each other a a regular basis the conversation is often stale and focused on the weather. Instead why not use a humorous wedding cake topper to spark some great conversation starters and break the ice.

Where To Get Humorous Wedding Cake Toppers

There are a wide variety of wedding cake toppers to choose from and a variety of sources where they can be purchased. If possible one of the quickest and easiest ways to get a unique wedding cake topper is from the bakery where the cake is bought. This is the quickest and easiest way. However the stock of wedding cake toppers at a bakery might not be that great and you might not find what you are looking for. If this is the case one of the best places to turn is the internet. You can either go with a company that focuses on unique wedding decorations or try searching on eBay. There are now numerous companies online that will even make custom wedding cake toppers.

Your Personality

One of the best ways to make your wedding cake topper humorous to get a custom topper infused with your personality. This make the most humors toppers as everyone can enjoy when you poke a little fun at yourself. For example if your husband has been reluctant to tie the knot and seal the deal then a wedding cake topper where the bride is dragging the groom can be very humorous.

Another way to make it humorous is to design the topper around something that you both enjoy together. Do you both love getting out for a round of golf? Or is mountain biking a big part of your life? Whatever your hobbies are try incorporating one of them into your wedding cake topper this can make for a unique topper.

What You Need

If you are planning on getting a custom made topper then you will want to have a few good quality pictures of yourself in a digital format. Simply find the pictures and scan them in. If you do not have a scanner you can always ask a friend or go to a local store that allows you to scan pictures. You can then send these pictures into the company so the sculptor of your topper can fashion the bride and groom to your likeness.

A humorous wedding cake topper is a great way to break the ice and provide a great conversational piece at your wedding reception. People will love a good laugh and the unique topper will really take your wedding cake over the top from the boring traditional cake.