Dump Truck Cake

When I first decided to have a party for Duke I told Mom Tobler that this was going to be simple. I was originally shooting for just "Happy Birthday" theme and go all out with balloons, noise makers and keep it very traditional. Then I decided I wanted a dump truck cake which made everything complicated because I could have a dump truck cake and have a "Happy Birthday" theme. In my mind that is just WRONG! So we decided to go construction and holy man, it was fun!!

While discussing the cake with Mom Tobler she was all for ripping it up and adding some dirt. I then told her that I wanted a truck on the top and that I wanted to make it. She suggested just putting a toy on top to keep things simple but that wouldn't work. We had to make it and while Mom resisted I am so glad that she went along with my craziness!

First we had to make the truck shape and pylons out of rice krispies and let them harden over night.

The next morning we placed the filling in the cake. We made it two layers and I'm so glad that we did since they flattened out for some reason. 

Next came melting the marshmallows in the croc pot.

Then it was time to mix in the powdered sugar...

... lots of powdered sugar.

Mom really got in her morning work out. 

Once it was thick enough, it was time to kneed. 

This is usually the part where Mom starts to get excited. She just loves the feel of fondant and how smooth it is! She is in her happy place.

It was then time to divide it up and color. It was at this point that E was no longer distracted by whatever we had her glued to. She wanted to "help" so we gave her some blue play dough and she worked too. The only issue was trying to keep blue flakes from getting into the fondant.

Once we dirty iced it it was time to cut out the sides.

Then we dirty iced the truck and covered it in fondant. 

I had to cut out some windows with an exacto knife.Very detailed work.

I love these chocolate rocks and how real they look! They are 100% edible. 

We can make quite the mess!! 

Once the truck and Duke's name was placed, it was time to rip the cake apart. Mom was pretty stoked for this part!

While I made wipers, Mom created the front of the truck! It looked Amazing!!!! 

Tada!! It is done!! 

I love all of the details; the pylons, the signs, the grass the rocks! I was soooooo pleased with how it turned out!

From the back.

Top shot! While I loved E's cake I think I like this one more. It was much more detailed and while E's was our first I really think we're only going to get better!

What were the kids doing while we were working on our masterpiece? They were napping and destroying some decorations. So excited for the party!

My Little Pony / Unicorn Party

It's party time and we are so excited!!

This year E wanted to do a My Little Pony/ Unicorn Party. I was thinking more along the lines of pastels and glitter but E wanted bright vibrant colors and it turned out great. This party was especially fun because E planned the whole thing. It was fun letting her make choices. She made up a Pinterest board and she would pin things and say "Mom, I like this asssspect, but not this part." When did she grow up? She was so into planning this thing and it was a lot of fun!

We had some balloons up the path to our house. If I was going to skip any part of the decorations, it would have been the helium balloons. Not enough bang for the buck.

E decorated the mantel. I love all of her ponies on display. 

 Best part of the decor hands down was the balloon arch. It was super easy to do. I blew up 8 balloons in each color and using a need and string threaded them together. Then we tied a few strings to the main string and made it into an arch and simply taped it to the wall. So easy! 

E loved it as well! Inspiration here.

The pinata. Click here for a quick tutorial.I got the idea for this here.

 Craft table set up and ready to go.

 Last minute food prep.

 Creating our own Ponies. Inspiration here.

And making pony necklaces.

My favorite photo of the whole day!

Such pretty ponies!

Pictures just don't do these rainbow jello's justice. They were so beautiful! 

 Streamer wall turned out great! I have made many a streamer wall in my time and they always give a great punch!

Time for face paint.

And magic!

E was not excited about breaking the pinata. She said it was her least favorite part. She wanted to keep it forever. 

Still swooning over this cake! For the creative process click here.

And that's a wrap! It was a great birthday and the girls had a wonderful time! Happy birthday Peanut!!! You are so loved!!!!