Frugally Blonde: Guest Post: Frugal Cake Lady

In my previous guest post “Frugal Cake Lady – Part 1” I shared the basic frugal idea to make your own cakes for birthdays and special occasions and some of the supplies you need. Below are some of my favorite cake designs for a variety of occasions and links to pictures, directions and tutorials on how you can make these yourself.

BOY BIRTHDAY

~Here is a fabulous Thomas the Tank Engine Cake Tutorial by Wendy of CakeSpace

~Disney Pixar's Cars Lightning McQueen cake assembly shown in step-by-step photos

~Batman Cake picture and directions

~Train Cake - Tutorial on Howdini.com

GIRL BIRTHDAY

~Here is another great tutorial by Wendy for a Teapot Cake which would be perfect for a little girl's birthday or tea party

~Castle Cake

~Princess Cake Tutorial on Howdini.com

~Photo of a Dora the Explorer cake with figurines. This would be a simple cake if you have figurines or Dora toys to top your cake.

~Purse Cake Tutorial on Howdini.com

GENDER NEUTRAL BIRTHDAYBelow are links to some photos for decoration ideas

~Photo of a Space Cake that will thrill your little future astronaut.

~Photo of a Finding Nemo cake with figurines. This would be a simple cake to make if you have little figurines or toys to top your cake.

~FlipFlop Cake Tutorial on Howdini.com

BABY SHOWER

~Baby Booties Cake directions and video tutorial on Martha Stewart’s website

~Baby Blocks Cake photo and directions on Martha Stewart’s website

~Another Baby Blocks Cake

~Make a simple two tiered cake and top with a large plastic safety pin and ribbon. I made this cake here

BRIDAL SHOWER

~Make a two-tiered cake and top with fresh flowers and line the bottom of each tier with ribbon like this one on eHow

~Bake two heart-shaped cakes and place side-by-side, embellish with piping border and designs and write something like “Congrats Leslie, A beautiful bride to be!” I made this cake here

I hope I've helped inspire you to make and decorate your own cakes for birthdays and special occasions, not just because it saves you money, but because it is a fun project! Easy, simple designs are sometimes the best, so be creative, have fun, and incorporate your kids in the cake decorating (caution: only if you want to and think your child is mature enough...I know my rambunctious 3 year-old son would only want to eat it instead of decorating it, so I usually decorate when he's asleep!). Have fun cake-decorating and remember the cake doesn’t have to turn out perfect… after all, it will be eaten up and enjoyed no matter how it looks!

Laura is a native Northern Virginian, blessed wife to her best friend Patrick, and full-time SAHM. She was first turned on to frugal living by her parents who took her to garage sales, consignment sales, and pawn shops growing up. Laura is a relatively new "frugal blogger" and chronicles her findings and attempts at frugal living at http://www.frugalfriends.wordpress.com/. She also contributes to her husband's business blog at http://www.outdoorlightsblog.com/.