ROAR...Trace is 4!

My baby boy is all grown up! He is very opinionated, so naturally, he helped pick the theme of this year's birthday celebration...Dinosaurs!

He's such a helper, he even offered to "help" me clean up while making his cake. ;)

Now that he's older, I try to include him in making decisions for his party. So, I gave him 3 options for a cake and this is the one he chose:

It's a "Rex the Dinosaur" cake by Betty Crocker. It was super simple, cause it's basically 2 - 9 inch rounds carved into the shape of a dinosaur and pieced together. Trace's favorite color is orange, so we tried to incorporate some orange elements with the writing and candies to appeal to his tastes, while staying true to the original. We added Hershey Kisses for the spikes & big spots, m&m's for the claws & small spots, and candy rocks, well, for the rocks. ;) Here's a shot of the cake table:

We added cupcakes, cause who doesn't love cupcakes? :) Found the toppers along with everything else on clearance at a party store back in January. That's why it pays to plan ahead! :)

And dinosaur sugar cookies, which Trace helped to decorate.

Here's the finished product, candle & all.

Singing, "Happy Birthday to you..."

And, of course, he wanted to eat the head! :)

Trace Turns 3 & Toy Story 3!

June 2010 marked the release of Toy Story 3 in theatres, but it also marked a very special day in our family...Trace's 3rd Birthday! What better way to celebrate but combining the two into one?! After I found the Buzz candle at a party store, I knew I wanted to showcase it somehow. So, I did a quick Google search and this is what I came up with:

This cake looks a lot more complex than it really is. Basically, it was 2 Wilton Soccer Ball cakes, stacked with 1 - 8 inch round in the center. The hardest part was icing it, since there wasn't a flat surface, but I used a scraper to give it some texture and it began to take shape. I literally plopped some grey icing right on top and smoothed it out just a little. Then, I made some craters with a spoon and gave it some shimmer with silver icing dust. The logo was transferred on with transfer gel, but was designed by this lovely lady for the invitation.

Here is a view from behind, "To Infinity And Beyond..."!

And a view of the cake table:

Toy Story cupcakes, enough to feed a crowd.

Originally, I was planning on just using the cupcake rings as toppers, but then I found the Rex & Little Green Men sugar pieces and decided to use them, too. I think they make a nice touch, but they are VERY fragile (they must be Italian). I lost several in the making, just trying to get them off of the paper.

I think the Birthday Boy was pleased...don't you? ;)