A Dino-mite First Birthday

Well, it has happened. Our bouncing baby boy is now ONE!

As most of you know, or at least now you will, I love birthdays. Next to Christmas, they are my favorite celebrations. I've had a blast planning an executing birthday parties for my daughter, and of course, I had to do the same for my sweet boy.

I went back and forth with themes and upon sifting through some ideas with my daughter, I was finally able to settle on one. In truth, she insisted that he have an orange dinosaur cake...so, dinosaurs it was.

Here is a look at his big day!

The Attire

July is hot. I wanted something cute and comfortable. I ran across this adorable outfit and knew it was the one.

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This boy is dino-mite!

The Food

I had a blast pulling the food together for his party. I also had some amazing helpers. My mom, mother-in-law and good friend all pitched in to help make the food amazing. Keep in mind, I am all about keeping our celebrations inexpensive and simple. No sense in breaking the bank.

First off, lets talk about the cake. G insisted he have an orange dinosaur cake. This momma tried to deliver. I created a little dino from fondant and plopped him on top of a chocolate iced cake. I used gummy fruit wedges that my hubby helped trim into spikes for the bottom of the cake. This was actually N's smash cake and an overall success. The cupcakes were just simply iced and topped with additional gummy fruit wedges.

My amazing friend, Charity, made this AWESOME watermelon dinosaur head. I had really hoped to do it myself, but time was not on my side. She is such an amazing person and willingly offered to carve this masterpiece. Everyone loved it!

In keeping things simple, I scored these dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets and paired them along side some pizza rolls. My mother-in-law contributed her oh-so-delicious meatballs.

The Décor

Balloons! I have become a huge fan of them. They add wonderful color and always add a festive touch. I used them as some basic decorations on the tables and cake tables. I was able to score some adorable dinosaur masks that I scattered on the tables for the kids' enjoyment. Simple. Cheap. Oh, so cute.

I also set up a book for people to sign on the gift table. I've done this for my daughter as well. It is such a sweet keepsake as people write down thoughtful birthday wishes. I also included a slideshow of pictures of N's first year. ::mommytears::

Overall, I am thrilled with how his party turned out. We had so much fun in coming together to celebrate his precious little life. I am so thankful for everyone that came to share his birthday celebration with us. We are truly blessed.

Linking up for Mommy Moments

Oh Hey Friday!

My summer Fridays are becoming fewer in number. As such, I'm trying to savor every moment I have with my beautiful little family. I've got a few fun things to put out there for this week's OHF! I hope you'll join me and others in this week's link-up!

OH 1:

We've been slowly but surely putting G's playroom together. We've made great strides but we still have some touch ups (and one major project) and decorating to do. Décor will be kept minimal but that won't stop me from incorporating pieces that I love. This week I purchased a rug for the room. I've searched high and low for reasonably priced rugs. This was an unpleasant undertaking a while back when we wanted to purchase one for the nursery. I sure wish I had found this deal back then...Zulily* was running some deals on a variety of children's bedding and décor and much to my delight, I ran across this adorable Ivory Owls and Flowers rug. Not only did I get it for about half off but shipping was under $7. There were many other styles and colors but anyone who knows me knows that this was a no brainer. It will go perfect in the playroom.

OH 2:

I'm also super excited about our upcoming vacation. We booked our hotel and have been making a list of places we'll (probably) go. Thanks to my dear friend, who is a former resident, we have some new things to try!

Duck Donuts

Water Country USA

Of course we'll scope out cupcake shops and grab some grub at Stephanos Pizza...their garlic cheese bread is a meal in itself and a must anytime we're in the vicinity! 

OH 3:

Last week I blogged about some of my favorite cake decorating tools. This led up to a baby shower cake for that weekend. The elephant was sculpted from fondant.

OH 4:

We have a cookout this weekend and I'm bring these amazing Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls! Eggless and easy!

OH 5:

The other day we were in town and my hubby found this book that he said would be "just perfect" for my classroom...after reading it to G in the store, I came to the same conclusion and purchased it to add to my teacher library. It will be great to use at the beginning of the school year this fall.

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 *I was not compensated in any way to give my recommendation for these establishments or products.

Oh Hey Friday!

I want to thank Karli and Amy for hosting Oh Hey Friday!

 

I've got a lot on my plate today...literally. I'll be decorating a baby shower cake for a dear friend at church. I haven't done much cake decorating as of late so I'm a little anxious to begin again. I began decorating a little over 3 years ago to bring in a little extra money while I was finishing up grad school. I really enjoyed it and hey, if you can get paid for doing something you like, I say "do it!" Here are just a few examples of my handiwork.

Hand drawn and piped VT Hokie Birthday Cake

Bandana Themed Wedding Cake

Owl First Birthday Cake

Rubber Ducky Baby Shower Cupcakes (with handmade fondant ducks)

Fall Wedding Cake

 

I put cake decorating on the back burner when I was about 5 months pregnant. My carpal tunnel had become very painful and lets face it, pregnancy, a full time job, prepping for a new baby, etc. takes up a lot of time and energy. I had to step away from cake.

I recently took on an order for 250 wedding cake pops. They were an adventure but well worth the effort.

I thought I'd center this Oh Hey Friday! around 5 of my favorite cake decorating tools. Who knows...maybe you'll feel inspired!

OH 1:
Wilton Cake and Cookie Lifter

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This tool is extremely handy! It is my go to tool for lifting and transferring cake tiers. That can be a tricky undertaking and having this tool has really made this part of the process a lot easier.


OH 2:
Cake Spatula

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This spatula is one of my closest cake decorating friends. It allows me to ice my cakes, regardless of height, with ease. It's perfect for a basic crumb coating and does just as well to layer on a smooth layer of icing.


OH 3:
Kitchen Aid Mixer

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Of course you don't have to have a mixer such as this, but let me just tell you, if you do a lot of baking, this machine will pay for itself in no time. We got an excellent deal on my machine a few years ago. We banked on coupons and a great Mother's Day deal. I've made double batches of both my cake batter and icing with no problem.


OH 4:
Piping Bags

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People will tell you that using plastic zip lock bags will do just fine...and for some little projects, they will. However, if you don't want icing squirting out the sides mid decorating, you'd fair well to simply invest in some piping bags. I have both the reusable and "throw away".

OH 5:
Wilton Fondant

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While my icing and cakes are homemade, my fondant is not. I'm not a fan of eating fondant icing but a lot of people really like the look it gives to the cake and it works really well for making various types of decorations. With that being said, it has been my experience that making my own fondant is both time consuming and not cost effective. Make your life easy and purchase some premade fondant. It comes in a variety of colors and gel food colorings make tinting the fondant a breeze.

If you are opting to purchase any of these items, many of your big name craft stores offer coupons that help cut the cost down a good bit. Just about all of my cake decorating supplies are bought with coupons, have been bought on sale, or were given to me as gifts.

I hope you'll find some time to enjoy something sweet today!

*I was not compensated in any way to share any of the above mentioned products.