Parenting & New Baby Advice Blog

Archive for December, 2009

These adorable cakes brought a smile to my face and I hope they'll do the same for you.  Today I was on the lookout for the best Under The Sea themed cakes that I could find on the net (check out the resource links underneath the photo collage).  I just love these cakes and cupcakes and I hope they'll inspire you when you are planning an Under The Sea Baby Shower!

There are so many options when it comes to ocean-inspired cakes and desserts.  And the colors of the ocean make for a great display on a baby shower buffet table.  Consider incorporating a snorkel-clad baby or a pregnant mermaid into the dessert to add a bit of whimsy.  If you aren't ready to whip up a full-blown masterpiece like some of the cakes shown below, have no fear.  You can still create an ocean-inspired dessert by visiting your local cake or craft store and purchasing under the sea themed cupcake liners and ocean inspired sugar decorations.  They even make cupcake sprinkles in the shape of fish, starfish, octopus, and seahorses.  And if you want to leave the baking to someone else, I'm sure that your local bakery would be more than happy to put together an ocean-inspired cake for you.

Image Resources:
1. ocean_cupcake_tower3_small, 2. Under the Sea Baby shower cake, 3. angies shower cake 008, 4. Under The Sea Cake, 5. Baby Shower Cakes Wilmington, NC Carolina Cakes & Confections, 6. Under the Sea Baby Shower Cake

Want more cake ideas? Try these posts:

• Theme Baby Shower Cakes
• Theme Baby Shower Cakes II

The square shape of classic wooden baby blocks make them the perfect inspiration for a baby shower cake.  I've put together the collage of cake ideas below using photographs from Flickr (see links to the individual cakes underneath the collage).  I hope that they give you plenty of inspiration if you are trying to create your own blocks baby shower masterpiece.

Creating a set of 4 block cakes can be accomplished by simply baking an 8" or 9" square layer cake and then cutting it into quarters to make perfect squares.  I've found that it is easiest to dirty ice the squares and then cover them in fondant to get a smooth appearance. If you color and roll the fondant out, you can easily create letters, numbers and other shapes to put on each side of the cake blocks.  The other option is to use colored icing to frost the blocks and then use a piping bag to pipe on the letters and numbers for each side.  No matter which option you use (fondant or icing), your guests will be impressed with your creativity.

Image Resources:
1. Baby blocks cake, 2. PINK BEAR BIRTHDAY CAKE, 3. www.cupcakeenvy.com, 4. Baby's Block Cake, 5. brown and blue bears and baby blocks themed baby shower cake copy, 6. Jock Christening, 7. 1st birthday, 8. baby blocks cakes, 9. Baby Shower Cake (La Torta)

Want more ideas? Try this article on hosting a Baby Blocks Themed Shower.

Personally, I'm all about the dessert so it was a pleasure doing some research to find some great looking stork-themed cakes that would be perfect for either a baby girl or baby boy shower.  I found all of the following cakes on Flickr.  It always amazes me just how talented some of the at-home bakers are when it comes to creating cakes.

What I love about the stork baby shower theme is that it is easily adaptable to a boy or a girl or even twins.  With the cakes, you can simply make the blanket hanging from the stork's beak pink or blue with one or two babies inside.  The cakes shown in the photos appear to be a created with a combination of fondant and butter cream icing.  Check out the links underneath the photograph for more information on each cake.

Image Resources:
1. 2t fondant bbshower cake stork top, 2. baby shower - stork, 3. Stork Single Tier Diaper Cake With Custom Topper (front), 4. Stork Cake Topper, 5. Stork Baby Shower Cake, 6. stork shower 1, 7. Stork & Umbrella baby shower cake - creativecakesbykeekee@yahoo.com, 8. Stork Cake, 9. Stork's Delivery

Want more ideas? Read this article on hosting a Stork Themed Baby Shower.

If you've recently welcomed a son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter, or niece or nephew into your family, commemorating the arrival with a beautiful Baby's First Christmas Gift is a fantastic idea.  These gifts can be cherished keepsakes that the child will carry with them forever.  Baby's First Christmas happens only once so don't miss the opportunity to give them something special.

At Baby Gifts & Gift Baskets, we offer many gifts to mark a first Christmas, but one of my favorites is the adorable Baby's First Christmas Outfit shown in the photograph.  Baby will look great in all those Christmas photos when he or she is wearing this adorable little red outfit complete with a matching red Santa hat and embroidered bib.  We also include a little red stocking, plush rattle, and baby bottle all for $50.

Other fantastic baby's first Christmas ideas are personalized terrycloth bibs, keepsake ornaments (you can carry on the tradition by giving a keepsake ornament every year until they graduate high school), Christmas stockings, and even photo frames.

For more ideas, check out this baby Christmas gift article at Squidoo!