It's My Birthday! Part Deux

Well, needless to say I got super busy yesterday with loads of things I had to do so I did not update as promised.  Tonight however will be the night! I will post pictures of my cake after my little family get together tonight.  I think we are the only family where birthdays last longer than a day.  It takes a lot to get us all together!

Strawberry cake mix :)

PS. Don't forget to check out the link parties in the Side Bar or click here!

Dorm Dec Wednesdays: Countdown to my Birthday, Part Three

Final installment of Countdown to my Birthday involved fondant recipes.  Since I've never done fondant before I hope I can do it!

Here are some recipes I've found:

Apparently (and I didn't know this) regular fondant doesn't have a taste & even thought it makes a cake look smooth & pretty most people don't like to eat it!  I had no clue!  Thus, I've settled on a few recipes that create marshmallow fondant.  I looooove marshmallows!  I have had marshmallow fondant before & it was delicious!

This first recipe is from Domestic Sugar where I learned that little tidbit about fondant.  Look at these cherry blossoms made with the fondant:

The second recipe is for a regular (non-marshmallow) fondant but I wonder if I can add a vanilla extract or something to add flavor?  There is also a video along with the recipe which will be super helpful!

A similar recipe from All Recipes for marshmallow fondant is here.  I think I will end up trying all of these just to see what works.

Don't forget to enter the topper giveaway here!  Entries end on Friday the 10th @ 11:59 pm EST.  Hurry over!

PS. Don't forget to check out the link parties in the Side Bar or click here!

Dorm Dec Wednesdays: Countdown to my Birthday, Part Two

So as you may know, Dorm Dec Wednesdays has being transformed into party planning posts for the next few weeks.  I am going to feature my color scheme, some recipes for fondant & some cake topper things I want to make.  Second installment is about cake toppers!

And as I mentioned earlier, I am going to do a giveaway of a second, pretty much identical, topper & cake stand to one lucky reader! make sure you check out the link for a great tutorial on a colored cake stand.  I love it.

Here comes the giveaway part!

Giveaway rules:
cuz you gotta have 'em

1. Become a follower of Five Sixteenths & Cross My Hooks, comment on this post when you have & if you already are(1 entry)
2. Vote for your favorite color scheme & topper in a comment on this post (1 entry)
3. Fan With Love, Crochet on Facebook, comment when you have on this post (1 entry)
4. Blog, Facebook, or Tweet about it, comment back here when you have (1 entry/mention)
5. Follow With Love, Crochet on twitter, comment back here when you have or if you already are (1 entry)
6. Voting/commenting ends Friday December 10th @ 12am EST

That is 7 entries! Holy Cow!  Make sure you leave a comment for each of these back here on this post.

Any one can enter, US & abroad (unless entering giveaways like these aren't allowed where you live)

Ok, on to the toppers:

I love the monogrammed cake toppers I've seen for weddings & plan on translating that into a birthday one.  Perhaps I'll put purple glitter on it!

Here's some inspiration:

via Catering Crumbs

I love the crystals glued on.  Like I said, I'd do it in purple :)

via Ruffled

oooooooh..what if I make cupcakes?

I love their DIY wedding contest from a while ago.  Gives me some ideas for my graduation announcements.  Check out a marbling tutorial here

I suggest bookmarking this page & referring to it often! Such great ideas!

also from Ruffled

What if I made a little cake to put on top of my cake! So cute!

via Once Wed

What if I used a doily some how??

Via Icing Designs

How about bunting? I love the ribbon too.

Ok, thats too many ideas, eh?  I'll let you know what I've decided on next week when I post some fondant recipes.

Remember to vote on your favorite & follow the links under rules for more entries!  

PS. Don't forget to check out the link parties in the Side Bar or click here!

Dorm Dec Wednesdays: Countdown to my Birthday! Part One

Today marks 3 weeks (exactly) until my birthday.  Now, traditionally I am not home for my birthday as exams seem to always fall that week. BUT this year, I will be home!  I love celebrating birthdays.  I love my birthday because it is one day after my mom's birthday.  I find that kind of weird & only ever met one other person who has that same thing in common.

Also, on this day, I get to celebrate it however I want.  (yay!) I am such a control freak & plan all of the celebrations in my life, that making my cake every year doesn't bother me.  In fact I am sure if I didn't make a big deal of it no one else would.  Usually I make a 4 layer cake, alternating strawberry & lemon, with purple icing, sprinkles & other ridiculous decorations on it.

This year, I am going to take it super seriously! Ok, I lie, I am not going to take it that seriously.  But I am going to feature a color scheme, some recipes for fondant & some cake topper things I want to make.  Just to keep a record & spice things up.

The great part is I would love for you my wonderful followers to help me out!  I appreciate you all sooooo much  & am so thankful I've found other bloggers who love the same things I do.  You all rock!  I am also going to do a giveaway of a second topper I make that matches mine.  So if you follow these posts all the way through, you'll have a say in what goes into the whole shebang!

This first installment is about deciding on colors!  My favorite color is purple but I am open to new schemes that suite me.  Here are a few colors I am thinking about:

one

two

three

four

I used Color Scheme Designer. It's pretty cool but I think something else might have worked better

Of course the icing will be a paler color (I think, since I think I can make that sort of color) but the other colors would go into the sprinkles, etc, & the topper!

Taking it to serious? I want to have a pretty cool looking cake & perhaps I want to start party planning. :)

Please leave a comment about your favorite! Make sure you don't miss next week's installment about cake toppers & remember to enter the giveaway  next week during Dorm Dec Wednesday!

PS. Don't forget to check out the link parties in the Side Bar or click here!