DIY: Cakes on a Budget

Want a fun and budget friendly way to have a fab cake at your next baby shower or birthday party? Check this out! I love to decorate and design; it’s another form of DIY that translates into an outlet of creativity for me. I am by no means a “Betty Crocker” (hence the reason I enlist some very talented ladies for my cake decor), but I do love to experiment in the kitchen.

It all started with my son’s birthday party last year when I found myself in a last-minute panic to find a fab cake for his 1st birthday that took center stage for his sweets table. Instead of baking my own, I ordered up a basic three-layer, simply iced cake from my local Target bakery and added the rest myself!!

Decorated Sugar Cookies by The Cookie Jar & Casey’s Confections

The next few cakes were for a baby shower, an Easter party and The Plush Event—they all had a similar design approach.

 Fondant Pieces by Scrumptious Swirls & Sugar Cookies by Casey’s Confections

And, here is the most recent from my baby shower!

 Fondant Pieces by Scrumptious Swirls & Decorated Sugar Cookies by The Cookie Jar

The options are endless. If you feel like whipping up a box cake, you can save a few bucks, or take a shortcut and have a local bakery do the baking for you and save by adding your own custom decorations/embellishments. Either way, both are budget-friendly, custom, high-end looking options. Happy Caking! Have some cake decorating tips to share? We’d love to hear your ideas!

Rebecca Propes

Rebecca Propes

Rebecca calls Gilbert, AZ home. Interior designer by trade, mom to 3 boys and crazy talented in everything party, home, and DIY.

Comments

  1. Zsa Zsa

    November 2, 2011

    Baby shower cakes have never looked so gorgeous! They’re a lovely work of art, I’m sure they’re as delicious as they look!

  2. Alona

    November 5, 2011

    This is exactly what I did for my kiddo’s birthday last year. I brought a chocolate cake with icing from our local bakeshop and bought sugar flowers, M&Ms and teeny weeny toy figures. I loved decorating the cake and will do the same this year.

  3. Polly

    November 12, 2011

    By decorating a cake yourself, you get an avenue for your creativity, you get to have fun, and you get to save money.

  4. Mis

    January 17, 2012

    We have celebrated 12 birthdays, 7 years, 3 little men, and this was the first year I attempted to really decorate the cake myself. SO. MUCH. FUN. Can’t believe I haven’t been doing this along! I found that a little marshmallow fondant was just like play dough for adults, and I had a blast creating a camp out scene for our son’s camping birthday party!

    Just uploaded is party to the project gallery here: http://projectnursery.com/projects/noahs-camp-in-party/comment-page-1/#comment-204030

    More details and photos can be found on my blog here: http://www.miskamiller.blogspot.com

    Hooray for DIY cakes!

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