Gavin's 6th Birthday Cake and Card

Today is Gavin's 6th birthday which meant a homemade cake along with a card just for him! I used to make and decorate cakes but it has gotten more and more difficult with my hands not cooperating at times! My recipe for my cake is quite simple - a Duncan Hines cake mix with a few changes - applesauce is used instead of oil and additionally 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract which gives it a homemade taste. As to my icing recipe it is from scratch: 1 cup of butter, 1 cup of Crisco shortening, 2 cups of granulated sugar, 2 teaspoon vanilla, 1 egg white, 2/3 cup milk. Cream butter and shortening, gradually adding sugar and vanilla and egg white. Keep beating for approximately 2 minutes and then gradually add the milk. Beat on high speed until there is no granular taste. This frosting is very similar to a whipped cream and tastes wonderful!!!!

Now on to the card - I used A Child's Year to cut my card at 7.25 inches. The cardstock was a great find at Michael's with the best part it was $.29 per sheet - I got several as I loved the paper, it was 2-sided and is great for kids' birthday cards with not only the balloons but the bright orange numbers on the other side! The Robot is cut at 4.75 inches from Robotz along with Gavin's name cut at 2.75 inches and the number "6" cut at 4.25 inches. The font is an adorable font on Robotz with also a shadow to add more dimension as I had done with the number "6". These were all cut with paper and cardstock from my scrap box which I always keep at my side when cutting out any project! You never know what treasures you may find. With Gavin's name, it was cut from white cardstock but I got creative and added the dots to coordinate with the card background cardstock with markers. Create a Critter has a great "Happy Birthday" along with a shadow which was cut at 2.75 inches again from my scrap box.

I know Gavin and his family loved the cake and the card and I hope you like it too!

Hugs and Love,

Lynne