Monster High Cake

 To make this Cake first I baked 2 layers of a 9 inch and 2 layers of a 6 inch round cakes (I admit I use box cake mixes and find this saves time and always seems to yield a good cake).
I crumb coated both of these and filled them with a ample amount of butter cream.

 I covered both layers with fondant, the large I covered pink and the small white. Again I used store bought. This time out I tried Kwik brand which is apparently made by Wilton. I found it at Bulk Barn. I bough Pink and White.

Next I rolled out some blue fondant (this I had in my cupboard and is Duff brand, I find it easy to work with although maybe a bit too soft).
I used this handy little tool by Wilton; which I got as part of my course 3 kit when taking the Wilton classes at Micheal's to cut strips to make the patterned on the large layer.  

 Repeat process with black but make your strips a little thinner

 I used gray butter cream and Wilton tip 3 to complete the pattern. I then added the bow and voila bottom layer complete.



At this point I cut 3 dowels to support the top layer and inserted them.

I got a little lazy with the pictures at this point but I will try to explain what I did with the top layer. 

 I had this package by Duff in my cupboard and it just happens to match both my colors and theme so I used the to pick animal print circle on the top of the small layer.

I added a 2.5 inch strip of black fondant, with a 1.5 inch strip of pick over top around the center of the layer.

I then piped with tip 23 a star border attaching the two layer together.
I happened to have small blue scull candies in my cupboard so I added a few just for fun.

 I created the monster high symbol out of fondant and added it to the front of the cake.

My daughter was thrilled with the outcome of this creation. I hope you enjoyed looking as well. 

Event Management 101

So it is spring again and once again we are swamped with events to plan. It was not a well thought out plan by my husband and I when we had both our children's birthdays 10 day apart. Every spring we end up with 2 birthday parties with school friends, at least 1 large family party and the mothers day all inside of 3 weeks. This year we have added my daughters first communion into the mix leaving me feeling slightly overwhelmed. So here are a few tips I have found to make my party planning go more smoothly.

1. Make sure you have a clear timeline of events. I wrote each event on the calendar then counted back 3 weeks to figure out when I needed to send out invites. I always make sure I have made my trips to the Dollar store, and Walmart early enough that I am not scrambling for grab bag goodies, decorations, and cake supplies the week before the event.

2. Regrets only on the invites. This way I don't have to track all the parties just the regrets which results in way less phone traffic at our house.

3. Decorations can be minimal. I find that a colored tablecloth (dollar store) and whatever themed cake I make is enough for decorating. No one really notices balloons and streamers and they cost $$ and just end up in the garbage.

4.Keep the food simple. I always stick to pizza at the kids parties. Pizza is most always a favorite and I pair it with a simple veg tray and fruit tray. I find the kids eat very little of whatever I serve so simple is always best. For the more adult parties I always ask for my close family (mother, sister, M.I.L) to bring a salad or casserole. This cuts down on my cooking time and get me good variety on my buffet.

5. Enjoy! Your kids only turn ? once. The day of whatever event I am holding I try to make sure I take time to enjoy it.

Wish me luck for this event season I will try to post pics of each event.

Restaurant Challenge

Today I spent the day with friends in Toronto.We took in The Wizard of Oz on stage and spent some time wandering the Eaton Center. When it came time to have dinner we travel back to Burlington to eat at the Rude Native. You may ask, Why would we not just eat in T.O.? The answer is that my very close friend is afflicted with severe food allergies. She cannot eat wheat, yeast, msg, sulphites, fermented or aged food including cheese, wine and mushrooms or any raw fruit or vegetables. As you can imagine restaurant dining is complicated. Over a wonderful dinner at the Rude Native our friends proposed a challenge that we take turns finding new restaurants where we can dine together. I have decided I will blog monthly about our choices. I think it is a mark of a good restaurant if my friend can eat there. They must use fresh prepared food that a chef can modify for my friends unique dietary needs.
So to start the Rude Native in Burlington proved to not only be able to provide a wide variety of choices for my friend but the service was excellent and the atmosphere was pleasant. My friend e-mailed ahead and the staff responded in good time with suggestions for her to eat. They had my friends e-mail on file when we arrived and double checked each dish to insure her safety without making us feel as we were a burden. They even went so far as to offer to make a special dessert if we choose to return as there was no options available on their menu. We will defiantly return if I am in the area.

WOW 11

11 years ago January 7th my husband and I were racing to the  children's hospital in a town 45 minutes north of us to be there as our nephews Andrew, Brandon and Cameron made their entrance into the world 6 weeks earlier than expected. Granted they were triplets but 6 weeks early was still a little scary for everyone who had been patiently waiting for their arrival (well most f us were patient I am sure their mother was feeling very huge and ready for them to come). Each January I remark how time has flown since then.
This year my sister-in-law requested I make the boys birthday cake. When I asked about a theme she told me she would like an i pod touch 4G cake. Okay I said and went to work creating this cake. I needed it to be simple as I had to work all day the day of the birthday party and the day before so had only evenings to create.
I designed the i pod screen with adobe photo shop and had it printed on edible paper at our local Sobey's. I then made a batch of rice krispie treats and fashioned a phone shape which was covered with buttercream icing, then fondant and the screen was attached. I baked a two layer cake which I also covered in white fondant. I used black licorice to create headphone wires and a power cord. I also fashioned ear buds from fondant. Over all I think it turned out pretty good considering I created the whole thing in just under 5 hours.
The boys and their mother were thrilled with the results and we had a great time celebrating another great birthday with Andrew, Brandon and Cameron!

15 Great Halloween Movies for Kids

Every fall we try to fit in some fun Halloween activities before the big Trick-or-Treat Day. This year we decided on having a movie marathon leading up to the big night. Each night we had time we curled up on the couch to take in a Halloween themed movie with the kids.  Here is a list of some of the movies we watched.

1.Nightmare before Christmas-This Tim Burton movie is cute and not too scary. My 7 year old loved it but it did not keep the attention of my 5 year old. 

2.Adams Family- Both my kids loves this movie there are a few scenes we had to snuggle for.

3.Monsters Inc.- Definatly a family friendly movie. Disney makes this oe fun for all ages. 

4. Haunted Mansion- My children got a kick out of seeing the movie that is the basis for the ride at Disney. A little too scary for my 5 year old. 

5.Twitches- My daughter loved this one. 

6. Scared Shrekless- Really cute with humour adults can appreciate.

7. Goonies- My kids are brave and love a good scary film. This  movie is classic in our house but I would not recommend to those who's children get scared easily. 

8. Harry Potter #1- My kids are begging to see the rest. I am holding out as they get so violent. 

9. Casper- This one is very family friendly. 

10. Hocus Pocus- My daughter loved this but my son did not pay attention. 

11. Monster House- Although thi is a cartoon and really cute it actually scared my 5 year old. 

12. Charlie brown- My children are not huge fans of Charlie Brown but as it is a old tradition we spent and evening watching this one. 

13. Spooky Buddies- Dogs that talk and save the town, my children love all the Buddie Movies. 

14. Hotel Transylvania (we saw this at the show)- Really cute and worth the trip to the theater.

15. ET-  I forgot how much I loved this movie or how much humour there s in it. 

16. Ghostbusters- My kids found this to be too scary, although they persevered through it they told me they never wanted to see it again. 

Pumpkin Patch

The calm before the big storm.We had a beautiful fall day and headed after school to the Pumpkin Patch to play in the hay, make crafts, have a Hayride and pick out Pumpkins. We are expecting Hurricane Sandy to hit us early next week just in time for Halloween so it was great we got to be outside and in the warm weather for the day. 

Mario Kart Cake

Another Mario cake made for my co-workers son Nate. This year I went with a Mario Kart cake shaped as a figure 8 for his 8th birthday. I think Nate loved it I stepped out to buy dinner ad missed the big reveal as he arrived while I was gone and my husband handed over the cake. It really makes it worth while to make cakes when the recipient is so thrilled. I will have to start thinking of what type of Mario cake I will make for Nate next year.