birthday

Dino Party: Red Dino Cake

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Dino Party: Red Dino Cake

This post is part of a series for a Dino themed birthday party.  To view the rest of the series head on over to the Dino Birthday Party post.

This was the most important aspect of the party to me. If I got nothing else done I knew I just had to make this dinosaur cake because it was what Max was the most excited about. Anytime anyone would ask him about his birthday his first response was to tell them about his “red dinosaur cake”!

He knew from the very beginning that he wanted a red dinosaur cake. So one day, we went online to Cake Central to look for some inspiration. He would say, “no, don”t like it” to every one, until he saw this one. The moment he saw it, it was decided – it had to be that cake. I did my best to recreate it and he would come over to check up on me and make sure I was making it “zactly the same” (so cute!). Of course you can never make something exactly the same, nor would I want to. That”s the beauty of making it your own.

Here”s how I made mine.

Baking

I split the batter between all of the pans – 2 cups for each half of the ball pan, the remainder in the 9×13 pan. Bake at 350ºF until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire wracks to cool completely. Wrap one half of the ball cake in plastic wrap and freeze.

Preparing

Prepare a double batch of Whipped Vanilla Frosting; tint green.

Color fondant to desired colours by kneading gel colourings into the prepared fondant. I made my own using this recipe, but you could also buy it pre-made.

Take the frozen half-ball cake and gently carve it into a dino head shape by taking it in slightly at the top and sides to form a nose. Working with a frozen cake helps it to not fall apart while you carve it. Once you get the look you want, let it thaw.

Cut two cardboard cutouts to match the bottom of the half-ball cakes; wrap them in plastic wrap. Use a small bit of frosting to stick the cake to the appropriate board. This will help later when you want to cut the cake into servings. It also makes transferring the cakes much easier.

Frosting

Lightly coat the half-ball cakes in Whipped Vanilla Frosting. Roll out the desired colour of fondant and drape over. Smooth and trim to fit the cake perfectly.

Frost the 9×13 pan with Whipped Vanilla Frosting. Place the half-ball cakes on top in desired placement. If at any time the frosting seems to be getting too soft or starts to melt, refrigerate before continuing.

Decorating the Dinosaur

I used this wilton kit to help me with the decorating

  • I flattened two white pieces of oval fondant for the eyes. Shaped and flattened some red fondant to cover part of the eyes, for the eyelids. Shaped and flattened two half circles out of black fondant for the pupils.

  • I rolled one large piece of fondant to make the neck and connect the back to the head

  • I rolled another larger piece of fondant, rolling it thinner on one end, to make the tail. I attached it to the end of the dinosaur and curled it to fit on the base cake.

  • I rolled out some blue fondant and cut out triangles to make the spikes on his back. I drug lines through, to add dimension. I made them differing sizes and shapes. They stuck on easy on their own but you could also use a bit of water, if needed.

  • I put lines along the nose to look like it”s crinkling

  • I made indents with a ball tool to look like nostrils

  • I rolled out the blue fondant and cut out circles to add to the body and head

Decorating the Base

  • I rolled thin strings of brown fondant and placed them in a vine-like fashion around the cake.

  • I rolled out green fondant and cut out leaf-like shapes in differing sizes and shapes. I drug lines to make the veins and placed them around the vines and the dinosaur.

  • I rolled small thin pieces of fondant into grass-like shapes and used them to fill up any empty spaces.

And, that”s it. I didn”t use many special tools, I personally like to form most of it myself with my own hands just using a paring knife to cut unique shapes. Hopefully my description is actually helpful and not confusing. I may not be the best instructor via writing, but hopefully you get the gist. :)

 

Dino Party: Dino Egg Chandelier

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Dino Party: Dino Egg Chandelier

This post is part of a series for a Dino themed birthday party.  To view the rest of the series head on over to the Dino Birthday Party post.

I know this post isn”t about food but it does contain a recipe so I hope that counts! ;) I couldn”t help but share this Dino Egg Chandelier with you because it”s so much fun to make and the results are so adorable, yet chic. They were a big hit at the party and I love that you can customize the colours to suit the colour theme of your party.

All you need to make these dino eggs is some yarn, petroleum jelly (vaseline), cornstarch, school glue and balloons. Let”s get started!

Blow up the balloons until they form an egg shape. I tried to make mine differing sizes to add some dimension. Hang the balloons in a dry area using a piece of yarn (we started outside on our deck and moved them to the curtain rod on our shower for night). Coat the balloons in petroleum jelly, making sure to cover every inch.

Mix together glue ingredients (recipe below). Cut a long piece of yarn and coat it thoroughly in the glue mixture. Squeeze out the excess, while still keeping them nicely coated. Tie one end of the coated yarn to the yarn that the balloon is hanging from; wrap it around the balloon in all directions until you get look you want. Tie the loose end of the yarn to another piece at the top of the balloon. Let dry for 24 hours.

Once dry, pop the balloons. This was the part where I thought for sure they weren”t going to turn out. I was expecting the yarn to go all floppy once the balloon popped, but to my excitement they held their shape! Remove the balloons; and the dino eggs are ready to hang. Group them together to form a chandelier or spread them out, as I did, along the edge of a patio or porch. And, enjoy!

Dino Egg Glue

  • 1 cup cornstarch

  • 1/2 cup cool water

  • 1 bottle of school glue

Mix together ingredients until smooth.

Makes enough for approximately 6 balloons (depending on size and how much yarn is used to cover).

Inspired by Hostess with the Mostess and Turtle Crafty Girl.

Dino Party: Fossil Cookies

By in Cookies & Bars, Kids, Sweets 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , ,

Dino Party: Fossil Cookies

This post is part of a series for a Dino themed birthday party.  To view the rest of the series head on over to the Dino Birthday Party post.

To kick-start the party once all the kids had arrived we gave them each a kite to play with and let them loose on the yard. This was one of the best ideas ever (thanks to my mom, for her brilliance), it kept the kids busy for a very long time and it doubled as a fun favour for them to bring home with them.

I still wanted to make something dinosaur-themed, for them to take home, so on their way out the door they each got a small stretchy dinosaur and a little parcel containing these fossil cookies (a.k.a. whipped shortbread with dinosaur footprints).

They were so easy to make and since I already had a dinosaur, that just happened to be laying around waiting to be gifted to the birthday boy, I had everything on hand to whip them up. And, I loved the way they turned out.

I think cookies are always a hit when given as favours and when they”re this easy (and cute to boot) it makes for a delicious, fun and stress-free way to work the theme into the favours. Plus for any savings savvy mom”s, it is definitely one of the cheaper options! ;)

Fossil Cookies

The dinosaur foot I used to make the impressions was approximately one inch across.

  • 1 cup butter, room temperature (no substitutes)

  • 1/2 cup icing (confectioners) sugar

  • 1.5 cups all-purpose flour

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add flour and beat on medium speed for 10 minutes. Using a tablespoon, scoop out dough and drop onto parchment paper line baking sheets. Chill in the fridge until firm (about 30 minutes).

Roll each scoop into a ball, flatten into a disk with the palm of your hand. Dip the foot of a clean dinosaur toy into some flour before pressing it into the flattened dough. We”re not going for perfection here, these are fossils after all, so embrace any cracks and imperfections that form. Make sure you make a good impression because the cookies will puff up a bit as they bake.

Bake at 350 for approximately 10 minutes, or until the bottoms are a light golden brown. Let cool for a couple minutes on the baking sheet before moving to wire wracks to cool completely.

Makes approximately: 28 cookies

A Dino Birthday Party

By in Life 6 Comments Tags: , , ,

A Dino Birthday Party

Ever since his sister”s first birthday, Max has been talking about his birthday party. He decided right away that he wanted a dinosaur party because dinosaur”s are his favourite thing ever! For months we”ve been talking about and planning his birthday – I love that he”s old enough to truly get excited about it. And, he doesn”t just get excited about his birthday, but every birthday that comes up. Birthdays are so exciting when you”re a little kid!

When I throw parties for my kids I like to concentrate on a few things that I want to make, that will make them feel special, and I don”t stress the rest. The most important thing, to me, is to make the birthday boy (or girl) feel special. If I”m stressed, I know they”ll be feeling it and I”ll feel like I missed out on their special day. I like to keep it simple and casual, so the kids can have fun, but since I”m not a great organizer (and I know this about myself) I get things ready ahead of time and once the party comes I take it easy and enjoy it along with everyone else.

Through the rest of this week I”ll be sharing a couple of the dino themed things I did for this party just in case you”re interested in throwing a dino themed party yourself.

In the meantime, here are a few pictures from the party. The birthday boy had SO much fun and I loved watching him feeling so special.

More Dino Party Posts

How to: Make a Cars Themed Birthday Cake

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Cars Birthday Cake

Last weekend I made a birthday cake for a little boy that was turning two who loves the Cars Disney movie. What little boy doesn’t? Max was so excited to watch this cake take shape and I think a tad bit disappointed to see it go. :) I had so much fun making this cake I thought I’d share some tips on how I made it, in case you’re interested in creating something like this yourself.

First things first.

Tips on Making a Stacked Cake

To make this cake you’ll need to make a two-tiered, stacked cake. Here are some general tips on stacking cakes.

      1. Start with a Sturdy Cake Base.

        If you’re making a stacked cake you want the cake to be fluffy (so it’s not too heavy) but also sturdy (so it can hold up to the pressure) and of course delicious (so it can be eaten :)). You’ll also want it to bake up nice and tall because it makes for a more impressive cake and will trim more easily without falling apart. I would be happy to share the Chocolate Cake recipe I use for stacked cakes, if there’s interest. (Update: Here’s the recipe.)

      2. Trim it Flat.

        You want to make sure that your cakes are level for proper stacking and icing. You can either trim them flat with a sharp serrated knife or use a cake leveler.

      3. Ice it as Smooth as Possible.

        I used a Whipped Vanilla Buttercream (again, I’d be happy to share the recipe if anyone’s interested. Update: Here it is!) that is smooth, light, not overly sweet and can sit at room temperature for long periods of time. I used these methods  to crumb coat and smooth my buttercream.

      4. Stack it Properly.

        Since the top tier is so small with this cake, you don’t need much in added support. I inserted straws into the 10 inch cake to help support the 6 inch, which was built on a cardboard base slightly smaller than it’s size. You can find more about properly stacking cakes here.

Now you can move on to the decorating.

How to Make a Cars Themed Cake

Note: I used marzipan to decorate this cake but you could also use fondant.

        1. For this cake you want the tiers to be at least 4 inches different in diameter. I used 2-10 inch cakes for the base and 2-6 inch cakes for the top tier. If you’re wanting to have a road encircling your cake you need at least a two-inch perimeter all around the cake.
        2. For the road. Before stacking the tiers, I rolled out a large piece of black marzipan and used the bottom of my 10 inch cake pan as a guide to trim it to a 10 inch circle with a paring knife. With the help of my hubby, I carefully transferred it to the top of the cake, placing it in the centre as much as possible. Then, I put straws in for support and stacked the 6 inch on top. For the white centre lines, I rolled out some white marzipan and cut it into small rectangles, brushed the backs with a bit of water and lined them up along the centre of the “road”.
        3. To make the checkered bottom. I cut out 1 inch black squares and gently pressed them into the buttercream all around the cake. I started on the bottom with one black square, then placed a square in the row above by matching it with the corner of the bottom one, then continued up the cake before heading back down. This way there’s no measuring. If you match all the corners together each square with be 1 inch apart and create a checkered pattern.
        4. To make the landscape top tier. I iced the top tier in light blue buttercream to look like the sky. After stacking, I rolled out some brown marzipan, cut it straight on one edge and then used a paring knife to cut out a large swoop to make a hill. I carefully pressed that onto the buttercream and made additional hills, overlapping them slightly until I encircled the entire cake. For the clouds I rolled out white marzipan, cut it into large and small cloud shapes, with a paring knife. I brushed the small clouds with a bit of water and stuck them onto the larger clouds. I then pressed those gently into the buttercream. I created a cactus by rolling green marzipan into a log, trimming and molding it into shape, using water to help the pieces stick together. I then used a toothpick to mark the spines onto the cactus before placing it on the cake. The sign is pretty self-explanatory; cut out the shapes, stick them on the cake. I also made some blades of grass to add some extra dimension. I rolled small pieced of green marzipan between two fingers until a thin cone shape was formed. Then I cut of the tip, dipped it gently into a bit of water and placed it onto a cake using a paint brush (that I only use for cakes) to help me get it where I wanted it to go.
        5. For the cars. I used toy cars and secured toothpicks into the bottom and stuck them onto the cake. This way there was no fear of them rolling off during transportation.
        6. For the lettering. I used alphabet shaped cutters for the smaller letters and stuck toothpicks into the bottom of each to secure them onto the cake. For the larger letters, I cut them out by hand with a  paring knife (to match the smaller letters) and used two toothpicks, per letter, to secure.

So that’s how I did it. Hopefully it makes sense and helps anyone that’s interested in making their own Cars themed birthday cake. :)

Inspired by this cake from CakeCentral.com.