Archive for March, 2009

These oh so fun pinwheel planters are perfect decoration or favors for a spring garden party or birthday bash. This idea from Better Homes & Gardens Magazine touts a letter at the center of each pinwheel, which might be fun to spell out your guest of honor’s name.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Craft paper (preferably a thick stock that has different design on each side)
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Straightedge or ruler
• Aluminum screw posts (like those used in scrapbooks and photo albums)
• Pinwheel template
• ¼” dowel cut to 12″ in length
• Drill
• Potted ground cover plants (e.g., ivy)

And here are the simple instructions:

1. Cut a square of craft paper to the desired size.
2. With pencil, draw two light lines between the opposite corners of the square, using a ruler or straightedge.
3. Make four cuts along lines, starting at each corner and stopping three-fourths of the way to the center of the square, as shown in the pinwheel diagram.
4. Poke a hole through every other corner and through the center of the pinwheel. Be careful not to poke too close to the edge, or the hole may rip when the pinwheel is assembled.
5. Fold the pricked corners into the center. If using a pin, push the pin through the pricked points, then through the center hole. If using a screw post, push the screw post through the underside of the square and then through the pricked points. Secure with screw.
6. Drill a small hole in the dowel and insert the screw so that the pinwheel spins.
7. Insert your new pinwheel in a fun planted pot and display.

It was like parenting.com made this cake for me. It’s pink and brown, my company’s colors, and it has my initial on the front… {wink}. We could even go farther and talk about the magnolias that they embellished it with. I mean, I did graduate undergrad from Mississippi State University. It’s the state flower for those of you who don’t know. I’m just saying!

Anyway, enough of me, here are the things you’ll need to make one of these incredible cakes for your little shopper.

• 2 (8-inch) round cakes
• 1 can (16 oz) vanilla frosting
• Red food coloring
• 1 Tootsie Roll Giant (2.25 oz)
• 10 brown M&M’s
• 8 to 9 marshmallows
• 6 Whoppers
• 1 sheet green fruit leather
• 2 Tootsie Rolls
• A bread knife
• A resealable sandwich-size plastic bag (Ziploc)
• A serving platter
• Scissors or a small letter-shaped cookie cutter

To trim the cakes:

1. Place the cakes on a clean work surface. Using a bread knife, trim the tops to make them level.
2. Spread a small amount of frosting on one cut surface. Place the other cake layer on top, cut side down and sandwich the cakes together.
3. Cut a 1-inch strip from one side of the layer cake. Cut a 2-inch deep slice from the opposite edge. (Check out template on parenting.com.)

For the pink frosting:

1. Spoon 1/4 cup of the untinted vanilla frosting into a resealable plastic bag.
2. Add a few drops of red food coloring to the remaining frosting to tint it a light pink.
3. Place the cake on a serving platter, deeper-cut side down. Spread the pink frosting all over the cake and make smooth.

To decorate:

1. Snip a small corner from the bag with the vanilla frosting. Pipe dots along each thin side of the cake and attach the brown M&M’s.
2. Bend the Tootsie Roll Giant into a “C” shape to make the handle and place on the top of the cake.
3. Cut the marshmallows with clean scissors, crosswise, into 4 slices. Arrange the marshmallows as flower petals along the top of the cake, adding some vanilla frosting to help secure them to the cake. Attach the Whoppers to the center of each flower with a dot of frosting. Cut small leaf shapes from the green fruit leather and tuck them underneath the marshmallow petals as leaves.
4. Heat the 2 Tootsie Rolls in the microwave for 2 to 3 seconds to soften. Roll out onto a sheet of wax paper and cut out desired letter using clean scissors or a small cookie cutter. Press the letter onto the front of the cake.

I’m planning a major baking session this weekend and was scouting around for inspiration when I came across this pop star guitar cake from Family Fun Magazine. (They give the original idea credit to Christina K. of Fort Worth, TX; Great idea Christina!)  This is simply too cool if your birthday kid is into Rock n’Roll or even Hanna Montana. And it goes perfectly with out “rock star” invitation and party decor! 

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Guitar template
• 19 x 13″ cake pan
• Red, blue and neon blue food coloring
• 2 ½ cups vanilla icing
• 1 cup dark chocolate icing
• 3 pastry bags, with 1 small round tip and 1 medium round tip
• 1 Kit Kat
• 6 brown M&Ms and 12 yellow M&M Mini’s

And here are all the easy steps:

1. Cut the cake using the template and assemble.
2. Make purple frosting by stirring 12 drops of red food coloring and 8 drops of blue into 1 1/4 cups of vanilla frosting. Spread the frosting over the guitar body.
3. Lightly press a medium-size drinking glass into the frosting to mark the sound hole. Spoon 1/2 cup of the chocolate frosting into a pastry bag with a small round tip. Pipe frosting to fill in the circle. Use the rest of the chocolate frosting to cover the guitar neck and head as shown.
4. Place one section of the Kit Kat about 2 1/2 inches below the sound hole. Spoon 1/4 cup of vanilla frosting into a pastry bag. Use the small round tip again to pipe on lines for frets and strings, then place the yellow M&M’s Minis as shown.
5. For tuning pegs, put three brown M&M’s on each side of the head of the guitar, then pipe vanilla-frosting pegs leading to them.
6. Stir 12 drops of neon blue food coloring into the remaining vanilla frosting. Spoon the frosting into a pastry bag fitted with the medium round tip. Pipe on dots and curlicues as shown.

And for those of you who love this idea, we’re in the process of developing a fun new Rock n’ Roll themed invitation and thank you card so make sure and check back with us in about two weeks. Happy baking.