Tie Dye Cake

Lately for birthdays, I've just been making cupcakes and putting them on simple little homemade cupcake stands.  I can match the stand to the party's decor and it's a lot easier to frost a cupcake than it is to try to decorate a cake.  However, for my daughter's Tie-Dye Birthday Party, I decided to try my hand at making an actual Tie-Dye cake, instead of just cupcakes.  I happened to find this Shirt Cake Pan in my basement when I was looking for other party supplies in my basement, and it ended up working out perfectly.  Of course a regular cake shaped pan would be just as cute.

Check out our Tie-Dyed Cake...

Pretty cute, don't you think? 

Here's what you'll need (feel free to make any of this from scratch, I just used store-bought supplies)...

* box of white cake mix + ingredients to make it
* 2 containers of white frosting
* shirt cake pan or any other shape (I happened to get mine years ago at a garage sale and it seems Wilton no longer makes them, but you could check Ebay or Amazon (affiliate link)for used ones, or just make your own shape from a regular sheet cake pan)
* food coloring

Here's what to do...

1.  Mix up your white cake mix according to package directions.  Separate the batter into 4 separate bowls, then add food coloring to each bowl to make the colors you want  ( I think I used about 15 drops of coloring in each bowl)

2.  Pour your batter into your greased cake pan.  I just did a little bit of one color here and a little bit there, until the whole pan was filled with random blobs and swirls of color.

 

3.  Bake according to package directions and allow to cool.  Then invert your cake onto the tray that you'll be using for serving.  (Don't worry if the colors look a little brownish and muted, they're nice and colorful inside the cake.)

 

4. Spread a fairly thin layer of white frosting all over your cake, then divide your remaining frosting into separate bowls and tint with food coloring.

5.  Use a toothpick to sketch a rough tie-dye swirl design in your frosting.  (My photo of the toothpick sketch was too faint, so I've drawn on the design I followed)

 

6.  Add your tinted frosting to your cake following the swirl design you sketched.  I put all my colors on first, then filled in the sections so the colors were touching.  (Notice my fancy cake decorating plastic spoon, I told you I don't decorate cakes often! ;)  )

7.  Finally, use the end of your fancy cake decorating spoon to draw the color from one swirl to the other, wiping off the spoon after each time.

 

8.  That's it!  Stick in some candles, serve your colorful cake to your birthday kid and be proud of your handiwork.

Oh, and things were way too hectic at cake serving time to get a well-photographed shot of the tie-dyed inside, but here's a quick, somewhat blurry, photo I grabbed before the girls came back inside and I had to start cutting seconds.

You can read about all the other details of our Tie-Dye Birthday Party HERE!

Tie Dye Birthday Party

Last week my "baby" turned 8!  To celebrate, we had a small party here at the house with a tie-dye theme.  My birthday girls and her friends had a fun time, had some yummy and colorful treats and left with some cool little projects.  In this post I'll share an overview of the party's projects and treats, with links to full posts with all the details.  (Click on the photo or the links in the descriptions for the full posts!)

First, let's start with the food...

Though I have very little cake decorating experience and have been just making cupcakes for all of our recent parties, I did make this tie-dye cake that turned out pretty cool.  

I just used boxed cake mix, canned frosting and food coloring and I only used a regular rubber spatula and spoon for the decorating, but it turned out well enough to impress a bunch of 8 year olds.  The inside of the cake is even "tie-dyed" as well ~ pretty cool!  (Full post HERE)

 I also made some Trix Krispie Treats.  They were super easy to make and much more colorful than regular Rice Krispie Treats (yummier than the regular ones too!)  They even had a tie-dye effect with the swirls in the cereal pieces.   (Read the full post HERE)

Our next treat was actually a combination of a party activity and a yummy sweet to take take home.  We made our own lollipops.  They weren't quite tie-dye, but they were colorful and fun to make.  (HERE's the full post with the easy directions)

Finally, to counteract all the sweets that we were going to be eating, I served some fruit too.  Since I was already using my divided container for the make-your-own lollipop station, my daughter and I decided to use the shirt cake pan as a fruit tray.  She even helped me arrange the berries and grapes in a tie dye pattern.

If you squint your eyes just right, it kind of has a tie-dye effect, doesn't it? ;)

Now of course, a tie-dye party wouldn't really be a party without some actual tie-dying, right?  For the main event, each girl had the chance to dye her own t-shirt, pillowcase, and pair of socks.   I wanted to make sure everything would be ready to take home at the end of the party, so using regular dye was ruled out.  ( Most dye kits require pre-soaking, then waiting several hours after dying before unwrapping and rinsing. )  Instead, we used watered-down acrylic paints as our "dye".   We were able to choose from a whole variety of colors, we didn't have to use 100% cotton items, and everything was ready to go at the end of our 3 hour party!  (Full post with directions can be found HERE)

Check out the fun...

Get all the directions for tie-dying with acrylic paints HERE!

Overall, the party was a huge hit.  The girls were happy with their finished projects and they enjoyed all the little treats.

 Sharing our party at:

Tatertots and Jello
The Frugal Girls

Five Fun Ideas for Birthdays

Today is a special day for me... 

It's the 20th Anniversary of my 21st Birthday!  

At the original celebration two decades ago, 
I spent my day surrounded by college friends 
and went out to a bar around 9 pm to start a long night of drinking .  

On this 20th Anniversary, 
I'll be spending my day surrounded by my three kids
and will go out for an early dinner at a kid-friendly restaurant 
so we can be home and in bed by 9pm! 
   
 Despite the fun (although somewhat hazy) memories of the original night, I know I'll like today's celebration just as much. Plus, I know I'll be feeling MUCH better tomorrow morning than I did the first time!

To celebrate this special day, 

here are Five Fun Ideas for Birthdays 

that I've shared here 

at Come Together Kids...

Here they are...

1.  Birthday Countdown Stand

  

How many more days until the big day?

This cute little countdown stand 

makes it much easy to know the answer!

 

2.  Birthday Pancakes

Start off the birthday person's day

with some yummy pancakes in the shape of the age they're turning!

Add some whipped cream and sprinkles for an extra special treat.

 3.  Birthday Balloon Pop

Blow up a balloon for each year of the birthday child's age,

putting a dollar bill in each one.

Let the lucky kid pop the balloon and watch the money fall out!

4.  DIY Cupcake Stand

Cupcakes can be a good alternative to a traditional birthday cake.

They're easy to make and easy to serve.

This DIY stand make them easy to display as well!

5.  Fun Way to Give Cash

Getting cash on your birthday is always good,

but this cute little trick makes it fun too!

Oh, and for more ideas for parties and celebrations, 

check out our Party Themed Collection!

There are more than 50 ideas linked up 

and it's open for you to add your own  Party Ideas!

Sharing our birthday ideas:
 

Birthday Traditions

We just celebrated another birthday here ~ my oldest daughter turned 9 yesterday!  I can't believe only one more year until we're in the double digits!!

I really enjoy celebrating each of my kid's actual birthdays with a few simple, inexpensive, yet really fun little traditions.  It's easy to fit them into our regular day and the kids really look forward to their special treats.

 Starting her special day with Birthday Pancakes! 

(I made the plate a few years ago at a Paint-your-Own Pottery Place)

She was so excited to get home from school so she could do our newest tradition ~ the Birthday Balloon Pop!

Quick pose before the popping begins!

Let's get that money!

WooHoo!  Nine bucks!!

And finally, ending the day with a simple little Pepperidge Farms cake and candles!

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!

Oh, and I didn't take new pictures, but she also had a Countdown Stand like her little sister!

NOTE:  I'm still working on some posts about the joint birthday party I threw for my girls this past weekend!  You can see the Cupcake Stand  and cute Autograph Pillowcases I made, but more details to come on the rest of the party.

 Sharing at:

The Frugal Girls
Design Dazzle 
Tatertots and Jello 
I heart Nap time 
C.R.A.F.T. 
Brassy Apple 
Gluesticks 
Somewhat Simple 
Be Different, Act Normal