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You really don't need a special occasion to decorate a cake, but some events that can be made unforgettable and extra special with a decorated treat are holidays, birthdays, graduations, religious occasions, showers, weddings, and other personal special events.
Here are some cake decorating ideas that will help you make any occasion special:
New Year's Champagne Toast
Bake one 9-in. round and one 9x12-in. rectangle cake.
Cut the round in half. Use one half for the top of the champagne glass.
Cut a 2 or 3-inch long strip for the stem of the glass and a 2 x 4-inch section for the base of the glass. Piece them together to form the champagne glass. To be sure all the pieces stay together, lightly frost each piece separately before you piece them together.
Place the pieces on a cake board. Ice the top part (straight edge) of the half-round cake and the stem and base sections in white icing. Ice the bottom part (rounded edge) of the half-round cake in light yellow or light pink icing to resemble champagne.
Easter Egg Hunt (So easy kids can do it!)
Bake 6 large muffins. Cool and frost them with green icing. Generously sprinkle green shredded coconut* on top of the frosting to resemble grass. Place colored jelly beans within the coconut so they are half-hidden. Place small bunny toppers on the top of the muffins so they look as if they are finding the jelly beans.
*To tint shredded coconut, place coconut in a plastic bag. Add a few drops of food color. Knead color into coconut. Dry on waxed paper.
Spooky Halloween Brownies (Let the kids help!)
Bake your favorite brownies. When cooled, cut into 3-inch circles, using a cookie cutter or a pattern and sharp knife. Place a Halloween stencil (available in most stores) in the center of each brownie. Sprinkle the stencil with confectioner's (powdered) sugar. Remove the stencil. Edge the top and the bottom of brownie with tip 14 white icing stars.
Shiny Christmas Ornament
Bake a one or two-layer round cake. Ice the cake smooth with white icing. Pipe tip 5 white icing lines across the top at 1-inch intervals. Vary the shapes of the lines, making one straight, one zigzag, one curvy, etc. to resemble decorations on an ornament. Randomly pipe tip 5 icing balls and tip 16 stars between the lines also to resemble decorations.
ADULT BIRTHDAY / SPECIAL OCCASION
Let Me Call You Sweetheart
Bake a heart-shaped cake and a heart-shaped mini-cake. Ice the larger cake smooth with pink icing. Place the mini-cake in the center of the larger cake. Cover the mini cake in tip 16 red icing stars. Add a tip 14 red icing shell border at the bottom of the mini cake and a tip 16 red icing shell border at the top and the bottom of the large cake. Write your message in pink with tip 3 on the mini-cake.
KIDS BIRTHDAY
Rainbow Train
Bake four mini-loaf cakes. (about 3-1/2 x 4-1/2 inches each.)
Ice each one smooth - one with red icing, one with blue icing, one with green icing, and one with yellow icing. Use the cake iced in red as the engine: Make a smokestack for the engine with 2 large marshmallows. Frost them together with green icing. Attach the marshmallows to the top of engine with a toothpick. Using green icing, attach a piece of white curly ribbon or candy on the top of the smokestack for smoke and attach two white or yellow gum drops to the front of the engine for headlights. With a spatula, place a small mound of yellow icing on top of the yellow car; add small chocolate chips to resemble coal. Place two or three small plastic cars on top of the blue car. Stick small stick candies, such as licorice pieces on top of the green car to resemble metal parts. Decorate the sides of the cars with various small hard candies for decorations. For wheels: With icing the same color as the car, attach 4 large candy discs, such as peppermint swirls, to the bottom of each car. Connect the cars with one-inch licorice whips or pretzel sticks.
Up! Up! And Away
Bake two each: tulip, flower, butterfly and dragonfly cookies (eight total) and a 9x12-in. rectangle cake. Ice the cookies smooth in various pastel colors with thinned royal icing.** Decorate the iced butterfly cookie with tip 3 colored icing dots.
Ice the bottom half of the 9x12-in. cake smooth with green icing and the top half smooth with light blue icing to resemble grass and the sky. Place two small mounds of white icing on the blue half for clouds. Pat down "the clouds" with your fingers dipped in cornstarch. Place the tulip and flower cookies in the "grass" and pipe tip 3 green stems and leaves, if necessary. Place the one butterfly cookie near the flower cookie and the other butterfly cookie and the dragonfly cookies in the "sky." Write your message on the cake with tip 3 white icing.
**Royal Icing Recipe
2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
2 scant tablespoons meringue powder
3 tablespoons water
Beat all the ingredients a low speed until the icing forms peaks.
(Makes about 1-1/2 cups)
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What comes to your mind when you think about Easter? Are you excited to see the flowers bloom and the grass begin to spring back up through the ground? This article will give you a better idea of how you can bring the primitive country design into your Easter decorating fun!
A few of the items most people think about when they think about Easter are bunnies, eggs, chicks, flowers and items associated with spring. The primitive country decorating style has all these things and more available to you.
Color - You might think that Easter colors are off limits to someone who decorates in this style, because they don't typically match a primitive country décor. Then I have some great news for you. You will be pleasantly surprised to find that country Easter colors blend very smoothly with your other primitive country items and still give you that bright fresh feeling you look forward to every spring.
Bunnies - Bunnies come in a variety of different shapes and sizes. You can choose from wooden bunnies to stuffed 'grubby' bunnies for your decorating needs. If you're lucky enough you might be able to find an old cake mold tin in the shape of a bunny and your decorating takes on a whole new look. Or maybe you'd like to have the carrots that bunnies love to eat. You can find fabric carrots that look like they were made for your decorating style.
You can even find milk chocolate bunnies that aren't edible, but sure smell like they are. They're made out of fabric and prepared to look and smell just like an Easter morning favorite for kids around the world.
Eggs - Eggs are a versatile item that can be placed in any number of arrangements and areas in your home. You could make or purchase a wreath in a spring theme with eggs attached to it. You might grab a wooden bowl and place some grass or maybe raffia in it and place a few eggs in it. This would make a beautiful centerpiece for your Easter meal. Eggs can also be placed on the end of a stick and can be arranged to become a unique bouquet for Easter.
Flowers - Flower arrangements take on a whole new meaning when you use them to decorate your primitive country home. They can be placed in traditional vases or can be arranged in a multitude of different items not typically associated with flower arrangements!
For instance, why not take an old dry sink pitcher or watering can and make a bouquet to place in it? Crocks, canning jars and tea pots also make a delightful display for your flower arrangements.
Miscellaneous Items - Pictures of bunnies and eggs and all things Easter can be found in a multitude of places. Pillows with pictures of Easter on them are a great addition to your holiday decorating.
Stitcheries of eggs and bunnies would add a special touch. Stacking boxes might have an Easter saying stenciled on the side of them. Toaster covers and pot holders are also available decorated in just the Easter pattern you're looking for. Candles are a great choice for any decorating season. They are available in such delicious scents as lilac or fresh cut grass.
So, now that you've got a better idea of how easily and boldly you can decorate your home for Easter, go ahead and get started. It's never too early to plan out your decorating needs.
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There are many different ideas for interior Christmas decorating. Interior Christmas decorating is an important part of most people's holiday festivities. For many people, the interior decorations are what defines the season of Christmas.
Your home will feel warm with the proper interior Christmas decorating/> scheme. There are a variety of decorating ideas on the market today, but the best way to complete your interior Christmas decorating is to make the items yourself or with your family. The holiday season is about spending time together, and making things to warm your home will only help signify that to your family. There are several great ideas for your interior Christmas decorating needs.
Make yours the perfect holiday home with interior Christmas decorating
First, create a diorama of bears or dolls dressed in festive seasonal clothes. You could put a small tree with little presents in your display. This is a great way to get your kids involved in the decorating process. Just be sure you don't use a favorite security object, as it might prove difficult to disassembly the diorama throughout the course of the season.
Second, meet your interior Christmas decorating needs by creating bows from Christmas print ribbon and putting them in various places around your house including your curtains.
Third, hang stockings throughout your house, even if you know they aren't your stuffing stockings. It offers a festive feel to your home.
Next, use fabric paint and a traditional white table cloth to make a holiday patterned table cloth. This is another great activity to do with your little ones. Just be sure to express to them that they are not allowed to paint on the tablecloth on a year round basis. Next, dress your bathroom for the holidays by attaching ornaments and other decorations(of the unbreakable type) to a clear shower curtain with a hot glue gun. Another decorating idea is to get your houseplants into the swing of the season by hanging ornaments on them after you decorate your tree.
For a quick ornament idea, try hanging a cookie cutter with a bit of Christmas ribbon. To help with your decoration as well as your Christmas trivia knowledge, place a basket of seasonal books on your coffee table or end table. It will look festive, and it may just help you win a quick family game sometime. Interior Christmas decorating does not have to be difficult or expensive with ideas like these.
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Christmas lights are used year 'round these days to create wonderful light displays for each of the holidays. Although Christmas and Halloween still top the list for light decorating, Easter, Valentine's Day, patriotic holidays and seasonal holidays are also gaining popularity when it comes to using Christmas lights for decorating.
Spring and Easter are fun times of the year to add some light and color to your outdoor landscape. The winter months can be dreary and depressing at times, but spring arrives before you know it with the promise of green grass, blue skies, and perennial flowers peeking out in the flowerbeds. Why not spruce up the outside of your house and landscape using outdoor Christmas lights?
Lights to Use for Spring and Easter
This time of year simply begs for colors like pink, purple, green, blue, white, and yellow, so why not use lights to bring a few or all of those colors to your outdoor areas? Here are some great ideas for using Christmas lights to make your spring and Easter display something special.
Trees will look better right away adorned with pastel color lights for Easter. Add hanging Easter eggs too!
Drape shrubbery with purple and yellow lights and nestle plastic blow up bunnies, spring chicks, and eggs in the shrubs
Make a garland of lights for the fence - wrap artificial flowers around the light strings and then drape across the length of the fence
Create a focal point on your porch or at your main entrance - arrange several potted flowers at varying heights along with a few other decorative accents and surround the entire display with yellow and green lights
Turn the mailbox into something special by winding lights around the base and top of mailbox
Light Up Your Walkways, Etc
Outdoor Christmas lights are the perfect way to light up the sides of any walkway, driveway, or garden pathway. It's a great way to illuminate your deck steps, arbor, trellis, or pergola too. Flowerbeds that will soon be filled with gorgeous colorful blooms will look great while you're waiting when you outline them with Christmas lights in colors of green, blue, or white.
Make family and friends feel welcome by wrapping your front porch banister and porch railing with white lights for spring and Easter. After a long winter, lights make everything look prettier, especially at night.
Outdoor Christmas Lights - Great for Summer Too
Leave the lights up for summer get-togethers too! You'll be all set for the family reunion and cookouts with the neighbors without having to work very hard at all. If you already have white lights up, add some blue and red lights for a patriotic decorating theme, which will work well for both Memorial Day and July 4th parties and barbecues.
Think outside the box when it comes to decorating your outdoor landscape and buildings with Christmas lights for spring and Easter and you'll have the foundation for decorating with lights for the remainder of the year!
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Let's review the "basics" of decorating with accessories. Every accessory doesn't have to exactly balance--too much balance is boring! Instead, put things where they are pleasing to the eye and that add interest to an area. You can't go wrong if you use the largest or most prominent object in a grouping as the focal point and balance other pieces around it.
Less may be more-don't let your home look like a secondhand store. Choose to display those things that hold some sort of importance to you, such as personal treasures passed down from family members or items you purchased while traveling. Combining memories with the décor in your home is a long-standing practice of successful home decorating.
Home decorating ideas include decorating with items that you use on a regular basis, such as recipe books in the kitchen, a decorative wall clock in the living room, or a wine rack in the dining area.
Current home decorating trends highlight comfort colors-bisque and wheat neutrals, dark brown with pumpkin orange and lovely grays. Painting a room is a quick and fun way to freshen its appearance.
Part of the appeal of a well-designed living space is how eagerly it welcomes you. Does it encourage you to be comfortable and feel relaxed? Each room of your house should be a "living room" and be lived in with comfort and ease. A cozy space with a friendly feel is a current trend in home decorating.
Going for a "collected" look in furniture and home décor instead of everything matching in a room is also a current trend.
Though it is important to keep in mind that anything you adore is "in" for your own home, don't assume that the most fashionable item is always the most expensive. Try combining home décor from big box stores with your pricier furniture and accessories. This home decorating idea can be used in every room of your home.
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Sure you decorate your fireplace and mantel for the winter holidays, but don't forget this important focal point in your room as Spring approaches. Here are some nearly-instant ideas for springtime and Easter fireplace decorating:
Daffodils in crystal or glass vases on each end of your mantel bespeak the coming of Spring. Tie a wired chiffon ribbon in a soft spring hue in a bow around each vase for a nice touch.
March a line of fluffy chicks across your mantel. Five or more chicks, whether stuffed toys, porcelain hens, or craft store chickens, make a cute display.
And speaking of stuffed toys, now is a great time to find those old stuffed bunnies and ducks and turn them into mantel ornaments. Add Easter grass, and scatter decorated eggs along the mantel to keep them company.
Tie wired gingham-checked ribbons into bows, and attach them to the edge of your mantel. Let the ends of each bow hang down various lengths from one to three feet. At the end of each ribbon, open a plastic egg, tape the ribbon's end inside the egg, and force the egg shut. This creates a set of eggs dangling at different heights.
Bring out your glass, crystal, white, and pastel candle holders of different heights for your mantel. Select a trio of springtime colors such as lavender, pink and eggshell or aqua, pale green, and soft yellow. Use pastel candles in some of the candle holders. In others, perch decorated Easter eggs (real, plastic, wooden, or glass).
The ideas above are great for your fireplace's mantel, but what's a terrific way to decorate your fireplace itself? Fireplace candelabra are the perfect accessories. And using candles in the shape of decorated Easter eggs in your fireplace candelabra is a super-simple, but visually dramatic way to decorate for the season. (Just don't be too surprised if the Easter Bunny replaces one of the candle-eggs with a chocolate one!)
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The beginning of the school year is perfect to introduce preschool classroom decorating ideas. Most children at this age are not exactly sure what to expect when they start this new adventure called Preschool.
They have some idea if they have had exposure to television, movies or children's books or even older siblings but it still has room for wonder.
My preference is to start a bulletin board or wall that is for and by the children. You will begin with an area marked off that will be the "creation center". You will use this creation center throughout the school year as their personal mural space. You can cover this with large butcher paper, an old sheet, cork squares...whatever you wish. Use this area throughout the year for different themes.
The most important aspect of this area is that this is their personal group display for their classroom. Children enjoy having responsibility and contributions to their class.
The first week of school is ideal to show them how you need their help in thinking of preschool classroom decorating ideas. Take a photo of each child on the first day, or have them draw a self portrait if a camera is not available. You will need to label the pictures with their names. These will be used later on.
You can suggest ideas for the board at the beginning because some children may be shy or hesitant at such an undertaking. Ask if they would like the area to have a street with a large school bus on it, or if they would like to have a playground with swing sets on it? These are just to get started. Let them know that it needs to be a setting where each child's picture can be displayed. This will help them out coming up with ideas of their own.
Next, use your week to create the idea they decide upon. If, for example, you are doing a school bus scene, you can teach them about the colors and shapes needed to create a large school bus with many windows (enough windows for each child). You can create a classroom setting with large round circles for the tables and squares for student chairs. Place a photo at each chair.
You can see that this is an area that can be used year round. The only bounds are your imagination!
I have used this area for holiday displays, seasonal displays, ocean themes, gardening themes, all about me displays and so many more.
Try these preschool classroom decorating ideas this year. Use it as a starting point for any of your preschool themes or units and you will enjoy the enthusiasm of your preschoolers and their willingness to learn and participate.
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Decorations are not always an easy thing to do. This is because decorations have always been there since time in memorial and they seem to have been passed by age and time hence they are rendered boring and lacking in originality. However, during baby showers, you do not have to bore people to death with the same old styles of decoration.
Baby shower decorations ideas can be borne with as much ease as it is with learning any other skill under the sun. Baby showers are meant to be fun time and the fun should be surrounded with happy decorations. Originality should be emphasized if they are to be unique and appealing to the eye. However, there is no harm in borrowing baby shower decorating ideas from other reliable sources like the Internet or from friends who have held baby showers before. It is wise to learn a few lessons from other people's experiences.
The decorations should reflect the joy in the family and friends, meaning that it is very important to put the colors into consideration because different colors have different emotive reactions. Warm and soft colors like sky blue and pink would bring out the innocence in the child being celebrated. Avoid dull colors like jungle green, grey or black.
Baby shower decorations ideas should evoke a lot of thought in the people making them as they want to make this time quite memorable for both family and friends. They need not be complex or complicated, in fact the simpler the better but remember to come up with admirable, unique, memorable and well standing out decorations.
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Love to celebrate Christmas? If you're like me and millions of others, you answered with an emphatic "Yes!" In fact, Christmas just might be your favorite holiday. And you can still celebrate and decorate your home in style even if you're on a tight budget.
The first tip for decorating within a budget is to set priorities on which rooms will definitely get decorated. You may not be able to lavish every room with holiday décor. Focus on those rooms you spend the most time in. And on the rooms your guests are most likely to see.
The second tip to saving money on your Christmas decorations is to plan. Yes; make a list and check it twice before you head out for any shopping. This helps eliminate - or at least minimize - impulse buying. It helps keep you from grabbing any and every cool thing you see.
How? When you have a list with a budgeted amount for each item (your best guess on what it will cost or how much you can afford to spend on each), then you're less likely to impulse buy. This is because for each impulse purchase you can see what other item has to get crossed off your list.
Remember, you only have a set amount to spend. This means if you add something that wasn't on your list... then you have to eliminate an item that originally was on your list. This keeps your budget in control.
This also means you'll have a more joyful Christmas because you don't have stress from overspending.
The third tip for sticking within your decorating budget is one I've already alluded to. Once you start shopping for decorations, don't go overboard. Don't exceed your budget. Stick with what's on your list and stay within the budgeted amount for each item on your list.
I know this is all simple advice; but that doesn't make it any less effective!
Remember your overall goal of saving money and staying within your budget. And here's another thought that may not only give you more discipline, but also make you feel good as you say "No" to extra stuff or expensive decorations: You'll have more money available for gifts or a nice Christmas dinner.
This leads to the fourth tip: Choose carefully WHERE you shop and WHEN you shop. Keep an eye out for sales. And don't hesitate to ask two or three sales people in each store about upcoming sales. Sometimes they're very nice about letting you know that in a few more days a big sale - maybe not even advertised yet - is happening. You'll get more "bang for your buck" shopping the sales.
It used to be Christmas decorations only went on sale after Christmas. Then the sales started hitting one or two days before Christmas. Check around because they keep hitting earlier and earlier each year. And this year with the economy it is likely retailers will be doing anything they can to stimulate sales.
Now as to WHERE to shop: Don't overlook your local dollar store. You just might be pleasantly surprised at what you can find in there! And the price is certainly right.
Depending on the dollar store you choose to shop at, you should be able to walk away with Christmas pictures, Christmas wall hangings for kids, Christmas tree decorations, Christmas lights, boxes that look like wrapped gifts you can place here and there for color, candy dishes, candles, and even Christmas potholders or towels for your kitchen.
Next check out the discount stores and price-club stores. While the prices at these stores vary, you should be able to find very nice decorations for five to maybe ten dollars each. Of course, there will always be items that cost more, but you'll have plenty of low-cost items to choose from that will bring lovely holiday cheer to your home.
One other idea regarding where to shop: Online auction websites (e.g., e-Bay), offer specialty decorations. Granted, they may be used but you just might end up with something quite special that you couldn't possibly afford to buy brand new. And by examining the items carefully during the auction, you could walk away with lovely Christmas decorations that are slightly used, but look new.
Even on a tight budget your home can still be festive and beautifully decorated for Christmas. Just remember to:
Choose which rooms you will decorate
Make a list of what you want to get and how much you have budgeted for each item. If you have no idea what you'll be getting, then set a budget for each room.
Stop buying when you hit the limit. Remember you'll have more money for gifts and a nice dinner if you don't overspend. And you really will enjoy the holiday more because you won't have the stress or fear of wondering how you'll pay the bills after the first of the year.
Watch for sales and take advantage of them. Also focus your shopping on dollar stores, some party outlet supply stores, and discount stores for the best deals. Merry Christmas!
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