DIY Kids Say... Birthday Cake Toppers

Kiddo's headed back to school, and that means birthday parties for classmates are going to fill up our calendar soon. You may remember her faceted 5th birthday party last year. This year, I think something silly and lighthearted might be a fun way to go. Enter these DIY Kids Say... cake toppers, which showcase all the things kiddo's friends like about her. I whipped them up for Momtastic, so you should definitely swing by and check out the post.

Try not to smile over these goofy toppers. Go ahead, I dare you!

Sweet Idea: DIY Paper Cake Toppers

If you saw the cake topper I made for kiddo's 5th birthday, then you know I'm all about a fancy finish on a cake. Flipping through my Pinterest pics, I came across a few paper cake toppers that I love. If you've got skillz, a foliage-covered topper is a cool idea, and I love the happy birthday banner. Even the simple monogram makes me smile, and hellooooo script and flower topper!

Which one of these pretty paper toppers is your fave?

Giochi di Carta, Better off Wed, Coco Cake Land, Frances and Francis, Design Sponge

DIY Mini Banner Cake Topper

I'm hitting you with a double whammy on Turkey Day. I made this fab project for Day 4 of Confetti Pop's Craftsmas. It was super quick and easy, because I used a Silhouette Cameo cutting machine. It made cutting these little letters a breeze, and it spared me the hand cramp I would have endured.

Swing the post on Confetti Pop to get the coupon code and link for 40% of some Silhouette products of your own.

Sweet Idea: DIY Fringe Firework Cake Topper

The 4th of July is right around the corner, and for me (and a lot of my family members) it's also time to slice up birthday cake. As a kid, I got pretty accustomed to sharing a cake with all of the late-June and July birthday folks, so when Confetti Pop needed a patriotic DIY this one seemed like a no-brainer.

A great twist on this fringe firework topper? Well, we opted for red, white, and aqua to make it feel a little fresher. Check out this super-simple tutorial here.

Sweet Idea: DIY Number Toppers

Those generic number candles can really wreck the vibe of the birthday cake you've been slaving to make for your kid/spouse/friend. These DIY Shrinky Dink toppers by Polkadot Prints are anything but generic. You choose the font and color you want to match your cake's design, follow this easy tutorial, and voila! Cool cake topper numerals!

pics via Polkadot Prints

Sweet Idea: Raspberry Ice Cream Pie

Got graham crackers, Jell-o, and ice cream? If so, then you're just a refrigerator away from an easy, but really beautiful ice cream pie. Rockstar Diaries featured the no-brainer basic steps for this treat. I'll be whipping one of these lovelies up for Father's Day.

Since the ice cream is flavored by Jell-o, you can easily switch it up with any other fruit and top it with beautifully-arranged slices. Lime or strawberry, perhaps?

Sweet Spot: Golden Topping

I thought I'd ease my way back into blogging since I've been on hiatus since my father-in-law passed. To keep things easy this week, I figured I'd hit you guys with a one pretty, sugary image each day. Of course, if I stumble across a fabulous full-length feature, I'll share it.

pics by Valo Photography via SMP

Confetti Cake

I love how simple, modern, and fun this cake by Sugarhouse Cake is. The dot motif ties in perfectly with the confetti dots on the invite and the topper also matches the invite graphic.

pics by Sarah Gray Photography

Guest Desserts: Cake Banner Printable

Melissa of The Faux Martha has submitted a couple of great Guest Desserts goodies to Sweet Tooth, and she's back with another one. This printable cake banner's "Congrats!" message can be used for birthdays, weddings, graduations, really any celebratory event. In case that sentiment doesn't really fit your intentions, there's also a blank version of the banner that you can print on pretty patterned paper and add your own message.

Thanks for another great Guest Desserts submission, Melissa! I can't wait to see what you come up with next.

Want to give this simple DIY a try? You'll only need a few supplies. And, if you have a recipe, project, or giveaway to share, check out the Submissions page to see yourself featured on Sweet Tooth.

How-to:1. Make a chocolate chip cake, or another one of your choosing.
2. Pick out some pretty scrapbook paper. It needs to be able to run through your printer and light enough in color so you can see the ink when you print.
3. Download the cake banner template.
4. Print the template on your pretty paper.
5. If you have crayons lying around the house, pick one color and do a little shading within the letters.
6. Trim out leaving the edges visible. (We’re going shabby chic here.)
7. Adhere banner to skewers or something similar.
8. Adorn your cake and celebrate!

Dessert Table: Storybook Baby Shower

It's looking very Spring-y around here, and that means lots of baby showers. This storybook baby shower theme from Martha Stewart is a really cute idea, and the book garland would be great over a dessert table.

If you've been reading the blog for a while then you'll immediately notice the flag cake toppers like these and these. I also like the unfrosted cupcakes with the star toppers. They'd go really with these custom star lollipops I made for the Graphic and Glitz dessert table.

Aren't those lamb cookies just the sweetest thing? Since there isn't a lot of detail to them, they'd be really simple to make at home.

Dessert Meets Design: Ribboned Romance Dessert Table Pt II

As promised, I'm back with a few more pics of the Ribboned Romance table I shared with you earlier today. These pics were taken by some of the photography students that Emily Steffen was instructing. I think you can agree, they did some lovely work.

Jennifer George shot these pretty images. She really zeroed in on the buttercream's texture and the pearlized pink and antique blue sprinkles on the cupcakes.

Jessica of Jeff Loves Jessica got a lot of great pics of the cake toppers. I created the flags, while Potter + Butler created the poms. She also focused on the textured white chocolates I made.

It's easy to see that these photographers are both well on their way to successful careers. Thank you both for sharing your images with me and the Sweet Tooth readers!

Dessert Meets Design: Ribboned Romance Dessert Table Pt I

Last weekend, I met up with several talented vendors to create an inspirational wedding shoot. I designed this pink, platinum, and antique blue dessert table to try to capture the soft, romantic vibe evident in the rest of the event. Lisa of Simply Fabulous Event Design came up with the concept and color palette, and she wanted to channel a Spring-y (but not Easter-y) feel. Emily Steffen shot these beautiful images.

Since this design is full of muted pastels, I chose to emphasize the texture of each dessert. Swirled buttercream adds an uncomplicated finish to two cakes, while the shape of the bundt cake, custom chocolates, meringues, and cupcake frosting all mimic each other.

Here are some more photos from the shoot, to give you an idea of how the dessert table meshed with the overall design without being matchy-matchy. I incorporated the ruffly hem of the bride's dress and the tissue paper poms into the tissue paper pom cake toppers.

I had the fortune of working with some really talented people on this project. Be sure to check out their sites for more images from this event, and other pics of their work.

I'll be back later today with some of the images that Emily's photography students took. They captured some really wonderful details, as well.

event design, concept and styling: Lisa of Simply Fabulous Event Design
photos: Emily Steffen Photography
venue: Mpls Photo Center
flowers: Sadies Floral
pom poms cake toppers: Potter and Butler
linens & rentals: Linen Effects
hair & makeup: Aubrey Thoren
paper goods: Birdy Blue Design

Week In Review & All-in-One Cake Toppers

We've all weighed in on the cake toppers issue recently our favorite types of cake toppers like bunting, flags, and pinwheels. Well, this cake via 100 Layer Cake shows that you don't have to choose just one type of paper decoration. You can combine toppers and garlands for a crafty, DIY project.

This week on Sweet Tooth:

I showed you some of these peacock-inspired cakes that I'm drooling over right now.
We learned a little about Will & Kate's royal desserts.
Many of you admitted to designing these types of framed dessert trays for your tables.

This week on The Sweet Life, I wrote about this new dessert coming to Target Field this year.

Consider using pinwheel toppers and wrapping each layer with bunting. Then again, flags and letter garland could be a lovely combo.

I got a lot of great feedback from you all this week, and we had some fun conversations going here, on Twitter, and on Facebook. Thanks for joining in and keeping the chatter going! 

Have a great weekend!

Dessert Trend: Pinwheel Cake Toppers

Over the last couple of weeks, we've discussed some different DIY cake topper ideas like this bunting and this flag trend. When I saw this pinwheel topper, I knew it should be added to the debate. There are tons of pinwheel tutorials online, so this is another truly doable topper concept.

So, now that we've got a third DIY topper in the running, which one is your favorite?

image: Ruffled Blog

Dessert Trend: Flag Toppers

Last week, I shared this DIY cake bunting tutorial that I made with my friend Maddy of Inspired Bride. It's an easy, but wonderful way to dress up a cake. Well, I'm back today with another cake and cupcake topper trend that's just as simple.

I've noticed that flags are popping up on all sorts of goodies, and I must admit that I think they're just charming. Imagine giving someone a homemade (even if it's from Betty Crocker) cake that doesn't require mastering fondant or having impeccable frosting skills. You could even buy an undecorated bakery cake and dress it up with little color coordinated flags.

Which look do you like better? The bunting toppers or these flag toppers? And, really I guess there's a third option of not really liking either. Let me know what you think, and be sure to sign up for email notification because I respond to your comments and questions.

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images via Pinterest