This was my first time making fondant and it actually was fairly easy to do and turned out pretty good. I just did melted marshmallows and powdered sugar. I didn't really plan on eating it (or having others eat it) so I wasn't too worried about the flavor but they were okay to eat as well as pretty. It's kind of a pain to get the marshmallows to mix with the powdered sugar at first but eventually it's like working with a regular dough.
 I bought the little flower cutters at Hobby Lobby and I love the different shapes and colors of the flowers! It was a good choice because hand cutting flowers wouldn't have been so pretty.
 So, I crumb coated my cake...
 Then added a final coat of frosting.
 Here's my tip...If you are writing something on your cake use a dowel or tooth pick to write it out first!! Then if you mess up you can just smooth out the frosting and try again before you add your colored frosting to the cake!!!
 I love how it turned out and can't wait to see what Hannah will want on her "4" cake!!



 Oh and put the leftover cake to good use...make cake balls and just mix the cake with some leftover frosting then dip them in melted chocolate after they're frozen!

I'm finally getting around to posting about Naomi's 5th birthday! We had a great time but we didn't do the whole BIG party thing since she had one last year, but I think we did a good job of focusing on her and making her feel special. The kids birthdays in our house usually start out with daddy taking them to breakfast. This year was no exception. So Greg and Naomi went to Perkins while I stayed home with the little kids (maybe I need to get in on this deal too and alternate years with Greg).

Then we went to Donnell Century Farm with our neighbors. The kids had a GREAT time. They started with a little learning about the farm with a maze of sorts. They had to go to different barns and collect items that farmers would and eventually take it all to market and sort it out. They got to see some animals, play on a huge pile of rocks and huge tires...and we all got to go through a corn maze and play Maize-opoly. The best part was the big slide they have there that even the adults had a great time enjoying. They also played on hay bails and in a large sandbox filled with corn instead of sand.

The slide was fast!!! Sara Grace, Bennett, Micah and Naomi had a great time at the farm! Time for some silly faces! After the fun at the farm we headed back home for lunch and of course birthday cake. This birthday cake was a labor of love but was so worth it. Micah and I baked the cake on Thursday and everything got decorated on Friday and then put together on Saturday right before lunch. You can see a small tutorial of the cake at The Trendy Treehouse blog on Saturday morning. But here it is...

Snow White, Belle, Aurora, and Ariel

Aurora's dress looks messy because I didn't have time to finish it...but at least she has a dress right?

She loved it...and really that's all that matters to me!!! I can't wait to share what I made her for her birthday! But I've gone on long enough so come back tomorrow to find out!!

I've got another great and easy, yummy cupcake recipe for you!
This recipe comes from Cupcake Confidential ...

There are 98 more recipes that I need to try but I really wanted to share this one with you.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 can (15oz) undiluted tomato soup
3/4 cup water

Lightly grease cupcake tins. Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs. In a separate bowl; mix together soup, water, baking soda. Add alternately with dry ingredients to the shortening mixture. Stir well. Fill each cup 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Cool. Makes 24.

Alternatives:
I used butter and added one more egg to make up for the fat content in the shortening (that's what google told me to do :) ). And I was able to make 32 cupcakes.

Minute Fudge Frosting
1 ounce bittersweet baking chocolate
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Boil one minute. Remove from heat, and beat until lukewarm. Beat with an electric mixer until thick enough to spread.

Again, I used butter and did not add an egg this time. I had to use the mixer for quite a few minutes and while it was thick enough to spread it was still runny. So, while it's called "one minute" frosting that's just because you boil it for one minute.