RN Scrub Top Cake

One of my good friends just graduated from nursing school and wanted a scrub top cake. Her colors for her party were pink and zebra print, so I made her cake pink zebra print inside and out. I think it turned out pretty cute!

To make the inside zebra print on the cake, I bought strawberry and Devil's food cake (both boxed cake mixes) and made them according to the packages. Then I put 1/4 cup cake mix of the chocolate in three small circles of my 9 X 17 inch cake pan and followed it with 1/4 cup strawberry cake mix.

Just keep repeating the process until all the batter has been used up. The batter will spread out as you keep adding more and more.

Once the batter is used up, bang the bottom of the pan on the counter to get out all the bubbles. I also use old towels that I ripped up to surround my cake pan so that the cake bakes level. Here is the site that explains the process! Just make sure to soak the towels in water before putting around the pan to bake.

Just bake according to the box instructions. Here is a picture right out of the oven where you can start to see how the zebra print can start to show through.

Once it is cooled, carve out the scrub top shape with a serrated knife and crumb coat the cake. Here is a picture of part of the carved off cake - you can kind of see the zebra stripes. I'll try to remember to get a picture when the cake is actually cut at the party:)

Dye the icing whichever color you would like and then using an 18 Wilton tip and icing knife to put your final icing coat on the cake. To make the buttercream really smooth, take a smooth paper towel and place the paper towel on top and use your hand to flatten out the icing. The heat of your hand will make the icing super smooth. Here is a site that explains the process in more detail.

I used fondant to make the stethoscope, scissors, pen and details of the scrub. I put stitch marks on the seams and used Wilton Zebra Print Sugar Paper for further detail.

I also made little band-aids that said "Great Job" and "Stick it to 'em".

I hope my favorite new nurse enjoys her cake and her new career!!

Homemade Pizza Crescent Rolls

While being sick over the past couple of days, I spent a lot of time on Pinterest and decided I had to not only make pizza crescent rolls, but I had to make the crescent rolls from scratch! I used the recipe that I found from Baking Bites, and they turned out so yummy!

Here is the recipe: Easy Homemade Crescent Rolls 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 1/4 cup water, warm (100-110F) 1/2 cup milk, warm (100-110F) 1 tbsp sugar 2 cups bread flour 1/2 tsp salt 4 tbsp butter, room temperature In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, or in a large bowl if you prefer to mix by hand, combine yeast, water, milk and sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy. Add in bread flour and salt and mix well with a dough hook. Cut the softened butter into three or flour pieces and drop them into the dough, letting the mixer blend them in. Knead (with a mixer or by hand) for about 2 minutes. Cover the bowl and let rise for 45 minutes in a warm place. Preheat oven to 400F. Turn risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Press it out into a circle with your hands, then use a rolling pin to roll it out into an even, 10-inch circle. Use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to divide the circle into 12 triangles (just like slicing a pizza). Starting with the outside edge of one of the triangles, roll the edge towards the center of the “pizza.” Once rolled, curve the roll slightly into a crescent shape and place on a parchement-lined baking sheet. Repeat with all rolls. Cover rolls with a clean dish towel and let rise for 20 minutes. Melt additional 1 tbsp butter in a small bowl. Brush tops of rolls with butter butter. Bake for 14-18 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before serving. Makes 12 rolls.

Before I rolled them up, I added some tomato sauce, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese to half and the other half, I added ham and cheese. I then rolled them up and popped them in the oven!

They were so good!

Recycled Valentine's Day Heart Wreath

Here is my latest wreath made from the inside of the ties I used from my Tie-Dyed Easter Eggs

Here is a look at the inside of the ties - kind of like a softer version of burlap. The colors were varying shades of natural burlap and was a lot softer. I could not bring myself to throw it away, so I decided to recycle them! This was a very easy project and cost nothing (I had everything on hand already)! Material: I used the inside of 10 ties (but you could use burlap or most any other extra material) 1 wire hanger pliers Ribbon to hang the wreath

After cutting out the inside of the ties, unravel the wire hanger (you can use your hands or the pliers) and then shape it into a heart.

Push the fabric onto the hanger creating loops on either side to look like ruffles.

Here's a close up look at the loops.

Once you have used all the material and have wrapped the entire heart, use the pliers to seal off the ends of the hanger, sealing the heart. Finally, add the ribbon and hang it up! Easy Breezy!

Tie-Dyed Easter Egg Try-Outs

OK, so I know everybody has probably seen the tie-dyed Easter Eggs from various websites (including good Ole Martha), but I decided to give it a shot and see how they would really turn out! Not only is this so EASY, but these are the most BEAUTIFUL Easter eggs we've ever done! My kids and my husband were so excited and so impressed with the results!

Being a pharmacist whose Dad works for Pfizer, I especially love how the Pfizer Viagra Tie-Dyed Easter Egg turned out! Haha! I know you can find so many instructional sites on how to do this project, but I thought I'd give a quick refresher just in case! First, you need a collection of 100% silk ties (thanks to my hubby for his donation)!

I did try a polyester tie and a silk mixture tie, but they did not work at all, so only 100% silk:)

Just a look at the ties we were working with. The one with the pics of my daughter was the polyester tie that didn't work out:(

Next step is to cut open the back of the ties and take out the inner lining (I came up with a project that I will share later on what I did with all the tie lining . . . waste not, want not). (Here is the "project" - my recycled Valentine's Day Heart Wreath).

My GORGEOUS assistant hard at work!

Then, wrap out each raw egg with a piece of tie and tie it off with a twist tie.

Wrap the tie wrapped egg once more with just a solid piece of extra cotton fabric and tie it off again with another twist tie.

Add all of the eggs in a big pot of boiling water that has 1/4 cup vinegar and boil for 20 minutes. When the time is up, just put the eggs in a colindar and wait until they are completely cooled off.

Now the best part, unwrap! My hubby and kids literally stood there excitedly as each egg was unwrapped! We're an easily amused family:) But, seriously, look how AMAZING these eggs are!!

In the end, I did put all my eggs in one basket, but luckily, it all turned out pretty fantastic! This project cost nothing besides the eggs (we had everything else on hand) and gets two thumbs up! ***I would like to add that I did research if it would be okay to eat these eggs, and it looks like that would probably NOT be a good idea, so DO NOT EAT!

30th Birthday Party Cake

I was so nervous making my new neighbors cake for her 30th birthday party with over 100 people!!!! I knew her favorite colors were pink and black and that she loves zebra print. Her party was candy themed, so I racked my brain and came up with this topsy turvy design.



I went to Party City and got black, white, dark and light pink gumballs. I also was able to find big lollipops in pinks and black and white. I went to michaels and got edible paper in zebra print and also found feathers in black, white and pink. I watched about 100 of videos on how to do topsy turvy cakes and was able to put together this little number.


I also painted edible glitter to the bow to give it some shine.


Here is a side view of the cake with the zebra print edible paper as the middle cake.


The birthday cake is in place among the jars of candy and other beautiful decorations.


The birthday girl with me in front of the cake!

Scooby and Magic Birthday Parties

When it came time for kids' dual birthday parties this year, my daughter (turning 6) and my son (turning 4) decided to have a magic and Scooby Doo party. We were super excited, because it was also our first birthday parties in our new home!

I had so much fun making the kids a banner to go on our fireplace. I found a pad of colored paper from the scrapbook section at Michaels and used two sizes of bowels to trace and cut out circles. I then printed out "Happy Birthday Emmy & Finn" using Rosewood font on microsoft word. After cutting and pasting, I tied the circles together with string.


I then made a banner for the door (with the kids help)! We had fun printing out a picture and then gluing tissue paper around it.


For my daughter's magic themed cake, she wanted a rabbit coming out of a top hat. It was fairly easy to make. It was carved and covered with fondant. The rabbit was just a giant cake ball and dried fondant ears. The whiskers are spaghetti dried noodles that I colored with black edible markers. I also sculpted a magic wand and a series of rainbow scarves. I made dice and playing cards to put around the base of the hat. Finally, I used star sparkles that I spread around the cake to mimic the napkins.







The Scooby Cake was far easier. I made a tie dye cake (see how to make a tie dye cake here) and covered it with blue buttercream icing. I then used fondant to look like scooby was coming out of the cake and also made fondant stars for the back of the cake. I cut out fondant paws and bones and then sprinkled candy sweet tart bones around the rest of the cake.


We also hired a magician who did balloon animals. The kids all seemed to have a great time.






The party favors included little toys and candy. Happy Birthday, Sweet Babies! Thanks for making every year so much better than the last!!!