DIY Birthday Cakes Can Save You Money

GettingFreedom — Mon, 17 May 2010 10:00:40 +0000

While my family and I are relaxing on the beach in Florida, Jessica from LifeAsMom has graciously offered to share how you can make any birthday memorable, all the while keeping it frugal.

I love to celebrate my children’s birthdays with themed birthday cakes. I remember my own joy over my 5th Birthday and the Big Mac cake I received that year. So, I try to put forth a little more effort on my own kids’ special days. However, I am not about to drop $15 on a grocery store bakery cake. Especially when I know I can make one myself for less than five bucks.

You may not think that you’re a cake baker. Wilton Decorating Classes may not rank in your repertoire of enrichment experiences. That’s okay. They’re not in mine, either.

The beauty is that you don’t have to be all that creative or talented to decorate a cake that will pass muster with the Birthday Kid. Here are some tricks that I’ve used to make cakes that “wow” without paying a pretty penny or jumping too many hoops.

1. Include the birthday child. My kids range in age from 1 to 12. And with the exception of the baby, everyone of them enjoys baking, frosting, and decorating the cake. The baby would probably enjoy it, too. But, I’m not prepared to go there just yet.

2. Find some toys that match the theme. Playmobil, lego, and action figures are great cake toppers. You don’t have to have fancy edible decor. You probably didn’t eat the bride and groom from atop your wedding cake, so toys will work just great. Just wash and dry them well before using.

3. Bake a simple cake and frost. This will be your canvas for the diorama you are going to build with toys and candy. I am not afraid of boxed cake and canned frosting, especially on busy days like birthdays. However you choose to prepare your cake, keep it simple, sister.

4. Let your child embellish the cake with candies and toys. This is the fun part. Build a scene that any kid would love to play in. Candy makes it even more special. If you can pick up some chocolate rocks and pebbles, well, those just “make it.”

Cake, candy, and toys make up a child’s dream cake! And you can do this, too, even if you don’t think you can.

– Jessica Fisher, also known as FishMama, is the mother to six young children. She regularly shares parenting hacks at LifeasMOM and posts delicious ways to act your wage at Good Cheap Eats.

This post is linked to DIY Day.

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DIY Birthday Cakes Can Save You Money is a post from: Getting Freedom From Debt

Tank Birthday Cake Tutorial

GettingFreedom — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:01:00 +0000

For my oldest’s 7th birthday he wanted to go with an Army theme and have a tank birthday cake. I must admit, at first I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do to pull it all off. However, in the end, it turned out just perfect and was fairly easy to do.

For this cake you will need:

2 cake mixes; your flavor preference
9×13 pan
Oven proof circle pan; I used a metal bowl.
Icing; I use a basic Buttercream icing recipe
Green Food Paste
Peanut Butter
Cocoa
Black Licorice
Chocolate and Vanilla Oreos
Coffee Wafer Sticks
Army Men

Prepare the cake mixes as directed on the package. Bake one in a 9×13 pan and the other one in a circle, oven proof dish. I had cake mix left over, so I made some cupcakes that I later used as hills on my cake board.

While the cakes are baking you can go ahead and mix up your icing. I separated mine into 3 different bowls so I could color them. I used the green paste to achieve the dark green color, cocoa to make brown chocolate flavored icing, and peanut butter to achieve the tan color.

After the cakes cooled, I assembled them and began decorating them. All I did was eyeball the cake, and I would spread a blob of icing on in a random shape. Once the whole cake was finished, which didn’t take much time at all, I added the “wheels” using oreos and black licorice.

On top of the cake, I separated a chocolate wafer from the cookie, and placed it on top for the lid to the man hole. I even added an army man coming up out of the cake. For the gun in the front of the tank, I used a Chocolate Coffee Wafer stick. The really neat thing about using this is they are hollow. When we lit the cake, my husband stuck a candle into the gun. The boys got a huge kick out of it!

To cover the cake board and make it look a little more like a desert, I crushed up vanilla and chocolate wafers and spread them around. I also added my cupcake hills, covered in boulders of Raisinettes.

Nicholas is now 9, and his friends still remember this birthday party fondly. To go with the Army theme, we did a “Boot Camp” sleepover party. We had different drills for the boys to do, complete with code names and goodie bags almost completely supplied by the Army Recruiting office. I told them what I was planning on doing and asked if they had some stickers or something they were willing to donate. I walked out with water bottles, stickers, pins, pencils, and some other things. When the boys were leaving to go home, I printed them off Certificates of Completion for surviving Boot Camp.

For some more cake inspiration, be sure to check out the Birthday Cake Roundup.

Have you purchased your copy of the Home Management Binder yet? It's not too late!

Thank you for supporting our February Sponsors!

Don't Feel Guilty About Dessert! Eat a Smart Sweet! Check out the 80+page Ebook from Kitchen Stewardship.

{Mountain Rose Herbs}--Organic Spices, Herbs, Teas and Essential Oils {Plus MORE!!}

Visit the Clever Housewife for Saving and Stretching a Buck.
Tank Birthday Cake Tutorial is a post from: Getting Freedom From Debt

GettingFreedom.net » Birthday Cakes

DIY Birthday Cakes Can Save You Money

Tank Birthday Cake Tutorial