Today's reflection is on Birthdays. Over the years we have dwindled down spending gobs of money on lavish children's birthday parties that were becoming too 'commercial' with no meaning. In America, we really had gone over-the-top with parties. (hired magicians, rented ice-cream parlours, vintage fire engine rides, bouncy castles, etc.).....When we calculated how much we'd spent on each of our 4 children each year just for a 1-day event, we realised we could spend that on more fulfilling experiences for them. We are now much more reasonable with celebrations and I'm happy to say that this has brought new-found creativity and meaning to our lives. We don't invite the entire world to parties, but keep events small and qaint with closest friends and family. And I've learned the hard-way not to assume my children will LOVE to go out and do a certain-something for their birthday (will never try the ice-skating thing again!).
Which leads me to the Princess Cake! Cypress turned 5 years old recently. She is very much in to pink and silver sparkly things and fairy princesses. The complete opposite of her Mum! and her sister, Indigo, whose imaginary land involves puppies. And Cypress' baby brother, Zephyr, who often relinquishes to become her 'Prince' as long as he can be a 'Pirate prince'. I had a challenge in preparing a 'Pink Princess' surprise for Cypress. But behold! I found a fabulous idea for a princess cake, that is cheap, easy (like a lot of princesses I know!) AND delicious!!!
Which leads me to the Princess Cake! Cypress turned 5 years old recently. She is very much in to pink and silver sparkly things and fairy princesses. The complete opposite of her Mum! and her sister, Indigo, whose imaginary land involves puppies. And Cypress' baby brother, Zephyr, who often relinquishes to become her 'Prince' as long as he can be a 'Pirate prince'. I had a challenge in preparing a 'Pink Princess' surprise for Cypress. But behold! I found a fabulous idea for a princess cake, that is cheap, easy (like a lot of princesses I know!) AND delicious!!!
How cheap?
50p for the plastic doll at the local charity shop. (a nice clean newer looking doll). about £3 for ingredients that went into making the cake. (eliminate the chocolate and even cheaper) The frilly pink sparkly ''wedding veil'' on her head was an already existing hair-band in my daughters collection, and the pink edible shiny balls I used to decorate the waistline of dress had been sitting in the cupboard for nearly a year just Waiting for this moment!
How easy?
pick your best basic cake recipe (I chose a chocolate cake) and make 2 round cakes and then also bake some batter in a greased oven-proof bowl. remove from pans and let them cool completely. Stack the round cakes first, and then put the bowl shaped cake upside down on top of stack......so it looks like a big bell. Wrap your plastic doll in some clingfilm, (bottom of body and also the hair) then shove her in through the top until she reaches the bottom (I had to cut the legs down a bit...I was NOT prepared for that).. You want her waistline to be level with the top of the 'bell'. So you see, the cake becomes her dress! Then you simply spread or pipe the frosting in a pattern to cover the entire cake and then up the doll's body so it looks like a dress. I got lucky since the cake decorator tool I used just so happened to produce a nice ruffly effect on the dress (pure accident), but you can probably make it just as elegant by using a dull knife to make effects. After decorating, I then just put the frilly hair band on her head, then jabbed the shiny decorations around waistline. You could get REALLY fancy with this idea, but I kept it simple. Doesn't she look gorgeous!
I'm going to also throw in a photo of the wooden castle I painted for Cypress. It was plain wood, but I spent 2 weeks with some pink, silver and gold paint (and a lot of patience!). I think it's a beautiful castle, though I think Cypress has recently turned it into an oven to bake her imaginary food in.
50p for the plastic doll at the local charity shop. (a nice clean newer looking doll). about £3 for ingredients that went into making the cake. (eliminate the chocolate and even cheaper) The frilly pink sparkly ''wedding veil'' on her head was an already existing hair-band in my daughters collection, and the pink edible shiny balls I used to decorate the waistline of dress had been sitting in the cupboard for nearly a year just Waiting for this moment!
How easy?
pick your best basic cake recipe (I chose a chocolate cake) and make 2 round cakes and then also bake some batter in a greased oven-proof bowl. remove from pans and let them cool completely. Stack the round cakes first, and then put the bowl shaped cake upside down on top of stack......so it looks like a big bell. Wrap your plastic doll in some clingfilm, (bottom of body and also the hair) then shove her in through the top until she reaches the bottom (I had to cut the legs down a bit...I was NOT prepared for that).. You want her waistline to be level with the top of the 'bell'. So you see, the cake becomes her dress! Then you simply spread or pipe the frosting in a pattern to cover the entire cake and then up the doll's body so it looks like a dress. I got lucky since the cake decorator tool I used just so happened to produce a nice ruffly effect on the dress (pure accident), but you can probably make it just as elegant by using a dull knife to make effects. After decorating, I then just put the frilly hair band on her head, then jabbed the shiny decorations around waistline. You could get REALLY fancy with this idea, but I kept it simple. Doesn't she look gorgeous!
I'm going to also throw in a photo of the wooden castle I painted for Cypress. It was plain wood, but I spent 2 weeks with some pink, silver and gold paint (and a lot of patience!). I think it's a beautiful castle, though I think Cypress has recently turned it into an oven to bake her imaginary food in. All-in-all, Cypress had a fabulous fun-filled day full of pink princess sparkly things she adores, and my wallet was not emptied in the process! If you have a little princess in your household, I'd also like to recommend the books: 'Princess Smartypants' and 'The Ordinary Princess'.
Ooh, what a clever mommy! Love the cake - I always wondered how they made those! Looks like a lovely, sparkly day. Love the new blog, Lou!
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