In our family, we like to keep birthdays meaningful and simple. It is our tradition to let the person who is celebrating their birthday- choose their favorite dinner, and the theme of their birthday cake. It is then up to mom (me-no pressure) to do my best to fulfill these wishes.
This week we are celebrating my little boy’s birthday, and I thought I would take you along with me to see some of the ways we celebrate birthdays in a meaningful way. The birthday boy’s request was homemade pizza and a fish-themed birthday cake. (Which didn’t turn out as I had first planned, but more on that later.)
I will be using a vanilla cake for the base- coated with graham cracker crumbs for the sand- blue and green buttercream for the water, gummy candy fish, chocolate sea creatures, and homemade fondant pearls. Hopefully, the birthday boy’s expectation is not too high- as I am just a mom- making a love-filled, birthday cake.
Of course, I will be sharing a few fun thrift store finds with you all. I will also be sharing an easy DIY, ocean-color- schemed, bunting flag- that my children and I did as a fun homeschool, art activity.
No more dilly and dally, lets dive in…shall we?
~A Special Request~
A little boy’s birthday wish-
Simple really- a cake with fish.
Please mom, create this dish,
For I am sure it will be delish…
And will fulfill my birthday wish.
So here my son is my best attempt,
Do not judge it with contempt.
But only view it with happiness and joy,
For mommy dearly loves you, little birthday boy!
~A Mom's Baking Confession~
I have a confession to make. Yes, yes, I do. I generally make homemade cakes. However, for birthday cakes, the rules go out the window, and I often use a boxed cake mix.
Why, you may ask.
Seeing as I have the homemade birthday dinner to make-and the cake to decorate (with my homemade marshmallow fondant)- plus, a dining room table to decorate, along with having four young children always by my side… well, you get the picture. Something has to give.
I do like to make Victoria sponge cakes for birthday cakes- and you can see my post on that here- but for this busy day, I am using a vanilla cake mix from Aldi. Which is delicious I might add.
~My Redemption Comes in Icing, Fondant, Crumbs, and Love~
While the cake is from a box, the fondant is not. I always prefer to make my own homemade marshmallow fondant and buttercream frosting. I am also making some simple graham cracker crumbs to coat the bottom of my cake.
Side note: For a homeschool lesson- the children and I learned about how pearls are made in nature, so I thought it would be fun to incorporate some marshmallow fondant pearls into our “fish themed” cake. (I am trying to keep my descriptive words in order as “fish-themed” cake and “fish cake” theme- create different pictures in my mind.)
~When Baking Doesn't go to Plan~
Now here is the bit that got a little sticky… and did not go to plan. Life is like that sometimes.
My original plan was for the top layer of the cake to look like water. I planned to try something new and use green and blue Jello. Perfect, right? Wrong!
I made the green layer first, and then once it was completely set, I poured the blue layer on top of that. I then used a sharp knife to make little slits in the Jello to push my gummy, Swedish fish into the gelatin. This was to ensure the fish remained upright- and did not sink to the bottom of the Jello. (Below, you will see the pictures of me trying to accomplish this).
However, I later realized that I added too much water to my Jello mixture- and even though it was firm- it was not firm enough. I had the bottom cake layer all ready, but when I tried to add the Jello to the top…well, let’s just say it was a big mess. Before I knew what had happened, I was elbow deep in a tsunami of Jello, ocean water. Luckily, the children saw no problem with this mishap, and they swiftly scurried over to have a cheeky taste.
This syrupy setback is what prompted my plan B. Thankfully, I had prepared for this sticky mishap; by baking a spare cake layer (as one has to prepare for all eventualities). Flexibility and quick thinking are frequent happenings in my mom life- sometimes I do it better than others.
~Before the Stickiness!~
~Plan B-for Birthday, Right?~
Realizing I had added too much water to my Jello-and knowing there was no time to cry over spilled gelatin- I quickly got back to work. Thankfully, I had made that extra cake tier, so I was able to continue with my idea of the graham cracker sand on the bottom cake layers.
For the top, instead of my transparent blue and green Jello water, I opted to make a blue and green top with buttercream frosting.
Don’t sweat the small stuff, right?
To the top of the cake, I added some of the gummies, a chocolate seahorse, and a chocolate shell (that the kids had helped me make).
And then, I was done. Tired and worn out- with a big mess in the kitchen to clean. Now in hindsight, I realize the mess didn’t really matter… because life isn’t perfect, and neither am I. I have learned that cooking with love covers a multitude of baking sins.
One day I am sure we will all laugh, as the children are sure to remind me of that time I tried to make a Jello, water cake- and instead ended up with a huge, Jello tsunami.
(This post is not meant to be about the cake really, but instead to give moms like me, a few, fun, birthday ideas).
~Birthday Bunting~
Of course, we always need a craft for hot summer days, so we decided to make bunting flags in cool water colors (blue and green which are my son’s favorites) and then incorporate some shooting stars because this was part of his request too.
I generally make fabric bunting flags on the sewing machine, but sometimes I like to use scrapbook paper and thrifted lace or ribbon to create new bunting for casual, fun celebrations. This way, we can easily make multiple theme-based bunting flags to suit many different occasions.
This is a very simple project to do with children. The bunting flags can also be used as an inexpensive way to decorate the middle of a table (as you may recall from my Wimbledon post).
~Bunting Placement~
~Vintage Blues and Greens- and Beautiful Things~
In putting this post together, I was trying to think of some lovely, vintage items that the children and I had collected from our thrifting adventures. I came up with a few things that seemed to fit the bill: A beveled glass candleholder, a lovely shell soap dish, and a shell inspired, golden serving dish.
In honor of our birthday boy and our fish themed cake-the children and I thought it would be fun to create a beach scene for our thrifted candle holder. We collected some shells, that we had previously found, and worked to put together a little candle scene. We had fun staging our beach candle with some vintage, pearl, costume jewelry.
I also incorporated some antique blue and green books (that I have been collecting over the past year), because you all know- I enjoy old books.
The antique books tell more than just the story within their pages. For, they also tell the story of their past owners- while giving us a glimpse into a time that was- and never will be- again.
~Until Next Week...~
I hope this post inspires you to rejoice in each day you are given. Embrace the many ways that you can celebrate others. For each life is a true gift from the Lord above.
Let me conclude my birthday boy post, with an outdoor photo I took of huge, fuzzy moth- because this is a post about a little boy… who just so happens… to love creepy crawly things.
This velvety friend dropped off our rose tree in order to say “hello!” And you never know, maybe just maybe, to wish a bug-loving little boy, a happy birthday.
As Dr. Dorian says in Charlotte’s Web:
“It is quite possible that an animal has spoken civilly to me and that I didn’t catch the remark because I wasn’t paying attention. Children pay better attention than grownups. If Fern says that the animals in Zuckerman’s barn talk, I’m quite ready to believe her. Perhaps if people talked less, animals would talk more.” (an excerpt from the book Charlote’s Web, written by E.B White, 1952)
