Princess Cake Secrets!!! Shhhh don't tell.

Ok I am kidding. You can tell.

So not to toot my own horn, but my princess cakes are pretty much awesome and I am about to tell you my little secret as to why.

I cut the cake.

So often when we go to make a princess cake we bake the cake in the wonder mold pan or bowl and then we end up with something that looks kinda like this.

I know I know, I am totally posting topless pictures on my blog again.  Anyway.  This is the result when using a Wilton's Classic Wonder Mold and a double batch of cake.  So what do you do?  Pull her legs off?  Well if you do the the result will be not so good looking.  Her legs will be too short and then the dress will be sticking straight out at her hips.

So cut the cake!

As you can see here I have gone around the cake cutting off some of the bulk and then replacing it at the top. You will have some leftover cake, but it should still easily feed like 20 people.

Then whip up some buttercream.  I like 2 sicks of butter, 1 cup of shortening, a dash of wilton's butter extract stuff, a dash of vanilla, a generous dash of almond extract (I use imitation almond extract if I am not sure if someone might have a nut allergy.) and 2 pounds of powder sugar.  Whip it up a ton, adding milk as needed. (about 4-5 TBSP)

For this cake and cupcakes I tinted it lavender.

Then crumb coat (frost) the cake.

At this point I transfered her over to the plate I wanted her on, but if lifting a cake off something and putting it on something else makes you too nervous you can always start out on the plate (or whatever you want it on) and then just make sure you wipe all the extra frosting off it. Or not it is your cake.  You can do whatever you want.
Ok so don't hate me, but I kinda forgot to take pictures of the next few steps. But I will do my best to tell you how the rest is done.

So you see where the skirt kinda rolls.  To create those you roll "logs" of fondant that slightly taper as they go up the skirt.  Then you roll out the fondant for the skirt.   You roll out the fondant in a circle.  You want it to be as wide as the measurement of up one side of the skirt and down the other side.  Don't roll it too thin.
Let the fondant dry a little so it is a little stiffer.  From the center cut a line so you can get it on the doll.   For this cake I first put a strip of darker purple fondant down the front.  Then I put the circle of fondant on so the spot I cut is in the front and arranged it until I liked the way it looked.  You can use scissors to cut hem of the skirt and press the extra up and around the torso and remove the extra.  Then use the dress she came with to cut out fondant pattern pieces for her top.  The nice thing about fondant is that you can kinda work it like play dough.  I made the fondant extra thin for her sleeves.

For the details I used royal icing.  I used a #2 tip for the white lace detail and a #5 for the stars and stuff.

This same tutorial can be used to make other princess cakes.

Good Luck! 

Want more Rapunzel Party Stuff?

Emma's Rapunzel Birthday and more cake pictures

Rapunzel Birthday Wreath Tutorial

Rapunzel Party Recap

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Rapunzel Party How To's

Let's start with the Royal Sun flags.

To make these you will need some purple card stock, gold paper or card stock, a glue stick, and thread.  I bought the pack of card stock with a 40% off coupon and although I used gold card stock I would maybe suggest paper if you can find it, because it will be easier to cut and stuff.  You should be able to get about 16 suns out of each 12 X 12 piece of card stock.

First I googled Rapunzel Sun and found this image.  I then downloaded it to my computer and the imported it to my silhouette program.  Once you get it there go to trace and then select it and click trace and detach.  Then you will need to detach it from the background and move the sun rays so they touch the circle.  Then select and trace the outline.  Ta da you have your sun.  Cut your sun about 2.5 to 2.75 inches.  I cut about out about 100 suns and I used the same suns for the flags and the necklaces.

 
While my sweet sweet shilouette was cutting out the suns I cut out the purple flags.  Just cut the 8.5 X 11 papers in half and glue on the suns.

To make the buntings I just serged them together.  I was going to use sewing machine, but then I decided my serger would be faster.  Just run them through your serger/sewing machine (about 10 to 12 at a time) alternating direction.

Next up, the necklaces.

I got the darker gold beads at Walmart for $2 a box, and the other beads on clearance at Robert's for .75$ each.  Your can get 16 suns from one 12 X 12 sheet of card stock.  We ended not using the gems.

Cut out your suns and then hot glue a bead onto the back.

Then I used old baby food containers and had the sets pre-made so all I had to do at the party was had them out.

Each set had a sun, clear elastic beading thread with a bead tied on the end and some beads.

Let's see... what next..... Hair extensions.

Super easy.  I just took about three 6 foot strands of yarn and tied them around a rubber band so I now had six 3 foot strands.  Then I just tied the rubber band on where ever the girls wanted and just braided them on.

For Emma's I started with strands that were about 8 feet long.  Each "extension" had about four 8 foot strands.

For pin the nose on Flynn Rider I borrowed an old school projector from a friend and copied the Flynn Rider Coloring page onto butcher paper.  Then I had white pieces of paper cut to about the size the nose should be and then let the girls use black markers to draw a nose.  Then play pin the nose on Flynn.

So as for painting on the walls, I forgot to take pictures, but here was the plan.  I taped butcher paper on the walls and a cheap plastic drop cloth on the floor in my front room, then I got those cheap  foam brush things and washable paint.  Then I was going to put out about 20 paper plates (4 of each color) each with a brush thing and let the girl have at it.

It would have been fun, but we just ran out of time.

Well, I think that just about covers it.  Let me know if i forgot anything or if you have any other questions. Next up some cake tutorials.

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Operation Emma Needs Some New Dresses: The Easter Dress

Originally I had planed to make a different dress for Easter, but then a funny thing happened.  Way back in March I bought some fabric and had a plan in mind for the dress I was going to make for Emma's Easter dress.  Then I thought, "Well, Easter isn't until the end of April so I have plenty of time."  Fast forward to late in the evening April 22nd, "Ohhhhhh,  I never made Emma's dress."
I knew I didn't have enough time to pull off the dress I had planned, but lucky for me I had picked up quite a bit of Riley Blake "Sweet Divinity" fabric when it went way on sale (like $4 a yard, nice).   Then I remembered a dress I had seen a few days back and was able to make Emma a new dress in time for Easter (and I didn't even have to stay up all night to do it.)

Sweet and simple, just the way Easter Dresses should be.

(my family is super awesome at posing for pictures)

I basically did  the same thing Carlee did, only I like a longer, fuller skirt so I made mine about 27" long and 60" inches wide, and I added pick ups at each one of the scallop points for a little extra movement.

Happy Easter from Corner House!

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Teacher Appreciation Ideas

Sometimes friends will ask how I find the time to do as much as I do and usually when they ask that I will say something like "I don't clean my house" or "I have evolved past the need for sleep."  Well this week both are true.  I have been completely over taken with with meetings, baseball practices, and doctor/dentist appointment.
Plus this handsome guy turned 30!

Add to that friends coming over tonight, a baptism on Saturday, and Easter this weekend.  Basically no time to blog. :(  Sad.

Anyway, I saw these teacher appreciation gifts idea posts and I just had to share really quickly.  (And then I am going to go clean my VERY messy house.)

From Skip to my Lou

Apple Gift sack  from According to Kelly

Cupcakes in a Jar from Tidy Mom

Great door decorating ideas

Most schools do Teacher Appreciation the first week in May so get prepared!  They deserve it!

ps. Next week I PROMISE to get all caught up on all the Tangled party tutorials (including, for a limited time,  the Rapunzel Cake tutorial.) and Bryce's room reveal, plus operation Emma needs new dresses and all the ones I have seen in stores suck so I am making my own.  It should be fun!

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Yo Yo Come to My House and Give Me an Epic Makeover Contest

You may have guessed it, but I am entering a contest to have the awesome Mandi from Vintage Revivals come and give me an epic makeover.






Here is the deal.  As the winner I would get to have Mandi come to my house and makeover any room I want.  Well, what I want isn't a makeover.  Makeover implies that it was in some way made to begin with.  My room is more like a whole lot of nothing.

Let me show you what I am talking about...

Welcome to my home! Come on in!

For the makeover we are talking about the room seen behind the kids.  The door behind Logan is the front door and the room behind the kids is the "Formal Living Room."  That is right every person who stops by my house sees this...

I bet you didn't see that coming.  SOOOOOO lovely right???  I have had a few people tell me they really wish they had my home...I bet they are rethinking that right about now.   The room was empty for the first year we lived in our house.  Then recently I allowed the super ugly old sofa we bought for like $75 back when Scott was still in school, because we needed somewhere to sit in there.   Then the paper got taped up for painting on the walls at Emma's party.  The green, pink, and blue things are left over sky lanterns Emma's party, then Saturday Scott put together a lawn mower in there and I dumbed a kitchen I bought at a yard sale in there.  So basically once I get in there to clean it up there will once again be a whole lot of nothin' in there.

 Add to that the Pampered Chef boxes that recently arrived and the randomly hung  Christmas portraits and you have a room worthy of and Epic makeover.  er something.

Here is why you need to go vote for me....
1.  I seriously think that if Mandi and I got our decorating heads together the result will truly be EPIC. Have you seen her stuff.  I want this.

and this

2.  I want this SOOOOOO bad.   I can't stand that empty ugly room, but there is no way it is in the budget anytime soon.

3.  Because Mandi is the QUEEN of DI (a local thrift store) shopping and I REALLLLLY want her to go there with me and teach me how to get good deals.  I always get nervous about haggling and even the stuff at DI is not in my current budget.  (side note: Does that bug you as much as it bugs me, come on DI you get the stuff for FREE, your store is supposed to help people who don't have money and yet I have literally seen stuff there with the original price tags marked at $1 with a DI price of $3.  Ummmm really guys, really?)

and 4.  It would fulfill my LIFE LONG DREAM of meeting Mandi.  Haven't you ever had a dream?  (I actually heard Rapunzel in my head as I typed that,.  It may be time to retire Punzeled for a while.)

And as a added bonus, if I win I PROMISE to take lots of pictures and tell you all about it.  So if I win, we all win! YAY!!!!

So here is the deal.  The Linky is open until midnight April 30 and then voting starts.  (Don't worry, I will remind you to go and vote.  In fact when the time comes I promise to remind you to vote a LOT.)

And REMEMBER

a Vote for Corner House is a Vote for AWESOMENESS.  

And Mandi if you are reading this I also promise that I am not a crazy stacker and I will let you do whatever you want to my living room.  ANYTHING.  You say "stencil the the ceiling" and I will say "I'll get the ladder."  Oh and Mandi, have you ever wanted to learn how to install windows?  I bet we could do it.  Oh oh and while you  are here lets just put up the board and batten on the back splash in the kitchen and paint the outside of my pantry kinda a teal color with some white stenciling on it.  (You did say a week right?)  And as an added bonus I will make you a Barbie cake just because.

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Emma's Rapunzel Party Recap

Oh wow it is so late and I am still totally wiped out from this crazy week, but I also really wanted to share Emma's party with all of you, so I will do a quick recap tonight and then I will give you guys a few tutorial type thingys on how to make all this stuff yourself a little later.

First things first... the cake.

The tower cake was just over 3 feet tall.  I wish I had, had more time to give it more details, but I am still happy with how it turned out.  You know how it is with things you make, you often see all that is lacking and all the little mistakes.  Emma and her friends loved it.   I was just glad it was structurally sound.  In fact it is still standing now even with the whole back gone.

So as the girls arrived I had some Tangled coloring pages out on the table and we started the movie in the background.  (Having the movie on was really great.  The girls sang along to the songs while they were doing stuff and anytime they weren't actively doing something they could watch the movie.)  Once all the girls arrived we made Gold Sun Necklaces.   What 7 year old girl doesn't like beading right?    

The great thing about beading was that they finished at different times, so as the girls got done, I had them get food and there was never too much congestion at the food table.

For dinner we had Hazelnut Soup, Orange Biscuit Braids and Orange Butter, with grapes and veggies.  I was surprised at how many girls ate the soup and liked it.  Surprisingly Hazelnut soup is good.

As girls finished eating we headed into the family room for Rapunzel Hair Extensions.

I had done Emma's before the party so I would have one less head to braid at the party.  I also made Emma's longer and thicker than the others (She is the birthday girl after all).

They all LOVED getting "Rapunzel hair."  As soon as each girl was done she was twirling and dancing, and singing.  It was really cute.  To help things keep moving along, once all the girls were done eating, we let Emma open present while I was finishing up the last few braids.

After present came cake.  Umm the girl were a little excited to get to eat tower cake.

Sadly I over planned and we ran out of time to paint on the walls and play pin the nose on Flynn Rider. :(  Basically they were just having to much fun and I really should have made it a 3 hour party.

Anyway, we had to make sure we left enough time for the big finale.

Flying paper lanterns.  This was so much fun!  The girls were literally SCREAMING with excitement.  Just a few words of advice with these.  I think the smaller ones would be easier to handle.  The ones I bought were pretty big.  I bought one for each girl, but you really need 1 adult for each one lit so we only ended up lighting about 4 or 5 over them.  Maybe only buy like one or two.  It is a group effort to get them up into the air and everyone has fun with just one.  Also I tied a string to them.  For some crazy reason the idea of lighting a paper lantern on fire and then just letting the breeze take it where it will made me nervous.  So I would suggest using a kite string so you know where it is, but it has enough slack to fly where it wants.

As we were finishing up with the lanterns parents were coming so we gave each girl a balloon and a treat bag and they were off.

So I had made two treat bags that had things like a Spiderman pencil, Flynn Rider stickers, lizard tattoos, yellow play dough, and no lip gloss for Alan and Logan and once all the girls were gone and I went to get the boys their treat bags there was only one boy treat bag and one girly treat bag.  So some poor little girl took home what I am sure seemed like a very random treat bag.  Oh well.

Rapunzel Party Tutorials

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