Charlie's birthday cake - Little Charley Bear

Charlie is one tomorrow. I can't believe it. I am feeling enormously bad that we aren't having a big family party to celebrate like we did with the older two but it can't be helped when we are 500miles from our family now! At least my mum will be here as she is coming to visit.
I did still make a special cake. I made a Little Charley Bear cake. This is because the wee one is known almost exclusively as Charlie Bear or variations thereof, i.e. the Bear, Monsieur Le Bear, Little Bear, Baby Bear...
For those that don't know, there is a t.v programme on Cbeebies called Little Charley Bear, narrated by James  Cordon. This is entirely coincidental but very happily so. For Xmas Charlie got a stuffed bear from the brand that says things like "Are you there, Charlie Bear?" and " Aww Charlie, you're my best friend" which he loves.

Little Charley Bear birthday cake

So here it is. I used my fail-safe carrot cake recipe (which is posted somewhere on this blog I am sure). I used one layer as the face and one layer got cut up to make the ears and to raise the nose area. I used the cream cheese icing but put in a mix of black, red, yellow and blue food colourings to get the right shade for the fur. I also had to add more icing sugar to my usual recipe so when I piped it it was just firm enough (but not too firm) to hold the right texture to look like fur.
I melted chocolate for the eyes, inner ears and eyes.

I am really pleased with the results. Think it is one of my better ones! The only trouble is Charlie hates all types of cake (I know - will have to knock that out of him in time!) - fortunately some of my pals  have agreed to help out and come and eat some at coffee tomorrow. At least there will be a party of sorts! I'll give him a lovely big plateful of berries instead - that will make him very very happy!

One last homemade present - Calendar

We made these photos in the summer at the playground on our road with jumbo chalks and used them to make a photobox calendar for the Grandmas. Some worked better than others! Here are the precropped versions...

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Superhero party

Welcome to the Superhero Training Camp Party for Ollie's 6th birthday!

It's over - hooray! Weeks of work but it was all totally worth it when the last person left and Ollie ran into the middle of the hall and yelled, arms up - 'that was the most amazing party ever!'

The concept

It was a superhero training camp. At the start the kids were given a training record, with a checklist of all the superhero skills we were going to work on (in the form of the games to come). Information on the games we did will follow in this blog.

Decorations

I wrote Ollie is 6 using comic book pages.

I added Happy birthday Ollie speech bubbles to some cheap and cheerful plastic bunting. I downloaded Comic Book Commando, Badaboom and Casper Comic free fonts from a free font website to use for all the stationery.

I printed off pictures of all the superheroes I could think of, added a speech bubble and decorated the hall with them. They also became part of the quiz as the last question was to name as many as possible.

I cut up and painted a cardboard box to make some buildings. I used a sponge and got it painted and decorated in minutes. I used these against the stage with an old duvet cover to make a little photobooth for flying photos.

The food

The party was 2.30-4.30pm so we kept the food minimal as it wasn't technically a meal time and we were very busy with the training! We had cake, superhero cake pops, rainbow fruit kebabs and crisps.

Rainbow fruit kebabs

The cake was a vanilla sponge. Each layer was coloured red, blue, black and yellow with white buttercream icing to sandwich them and fondant icing on the outside. Fondant icing stars on sticks and a 6 made from silver foil wrapped in fondant icing.

Superhero cake

Superhero cake after cutting

The costumes

My husband and I made capes out of an old blue sheet. I was Mrs Dynomite (as seen in the you tube invite) and he was Captain Ka-boom. We painted on face masks to get into character. My dad and his wife came to help, they had outfits too - Superman and Supermac(donald)

The games/superhero training skills

Identity

First off we had to get ourselves a superhero identities. I got the children to pull a name out of hats. The first part from one hat, the second from the other.

Here is a list of the words we used;

Invincible

Incredible

Green

Super

Daring

Silver

Courageous

Electro

Galaxy

Shadow

Captain

Awesome

Steel

Star

Thunder

 Samurai

Defender

Phantom

Surfer

Avenger

Falcon

Cobra

Blizzard

Hands

Blast

Wonder

Tornado

Ninja

Star

Flash

Ollie was Phantom Thunder, Max was The Invincible Flash!

They then wrote their name on the checklist, and thought of some appropriate super powers for their name. 

We then made capes (using old t-shirts that I had pre-cut into the right shape - see previous post on superhero cape making) and the first letter of each of their name parts (which I had also pre-cut from felt/t-shirt material). They stuck them on using pritt stick, which held well enough.

Flying

The flying exercise was simply musical corners. I put a poster up in each corner of the hall, Batcave, Metropolis, Planet Krypton, Gotham City. They flew around in their capes and when the music stopped had to choose a corner to fly to. I called out a corner (without peeking) and those people were out.

Transforming

This was about speed of changing! It was also a team game so we could discuss how being a superhero sometimes means working together.

Two rows. One small suit jacket (purchased from charity shop for £1), one pair of glasses and one hat per team. They had to put all those item on and then take them off and pass to the next person in the row. The first row where they had all changed, won.

Knowledge

A quiz that I wrote.

X-ray vision

I painted some boxes to look like bricks. I put things inside and told them they had to tell me what was behind the brick wall. They could feel or smell. 

5 boxes;

Marmite, onions, peeled cherry tomatoes, lego and crushed up crisps.

Defeating villains

This game was like musical chairs. I printed off enough villains for 1 per child. I laminated these (not really necessary but I got a laminater for Xmas and wanted to use it!) and lay them on the floor in a circle. They walked around in a circle until the music stopped when they had to find one to stand on and I then said 'Batman defeats.........The Joker' etc whoever was standing on it was out until only one was left.

Kryptonite Avoidance

This game was basically pass the parcel without all the wrapping up layers. I made some kryptonite by scrumpling some aluminium foil and covering it with green tissue paper mache. If they were left holding the kryptonite when the music stopped they were out.

Power up

This was basically having a break to eat some crisps, cake pops and fruit kebabs!

Strength

This was bashing a homemade pinata of a villain. I don't think I have a photo as he was quite awful! But luckily he didn't have to look good to be a villain.

The end

We wrapped up at the end by singing happy birthday and cutting the cake. While the cake was being cut and put into party bags we presented the certificate saying they had passed their training and were now entry level superheroes!

Everyone seemed to have a good time and I am very grateful to the mum's who stayed and helped out with tea making and clearing and generally managing them when they all got a little hyper!

Thank you too to my Dad, his wife and my husband without whom the day would not have gone as well. 

Ollie's birthday party - something to keep me busy now Xmas is over!

It is Ollie's 6th birthday soon and I agreed to do a party this year, seeing as how I couldn't last year and we might be new to an area again next year.

He requested a superhero party. But I'm not keen on all the heavily branded stuff so I decided to do it in a more homespun, personal imaginative way rather than just buying a load of Spiderman/Batman stuff. 

I think I am also feeling a little lost without the Xmas chaos and in need of a creative goal. But I may also have gone a bit mad!!!!!

It's a long list of things I need to make and do but he seems really excited about it all so I can't back out now!

Here is the invitation I made. I also did a little thing on you tube to help build up the idea of a super hero training camp, it also seemed a good way to let them know not to come in Batman outfits and to tell the parents I don't intend to do a whole party tea just cake and things. 

More posts will follow with other details for the party.

A few of my new favourite things

Thank you very much for ALL my lovely Xmas and birthday presents. I've done very well this year and I LOVE everything. But I am especially excited about my new laminator!! I can't wait to use it.

Homemade Gift No. 6 - Plant pot come house name plate

I made these for our mums. Quite a simple make but I hope it's the concept that is biggest success.
Using a plant pot, outside your door to double up as a house name plate.
I used acrylic paint and permanent marker. There is an element of suck it and see to this concept, I am hoping the decoration will be weather proof alone, but we will see. If not I guess you could varnish it but that would ruin the matt, natural effect of the terracotta. We will see.

Homemade Gift 5 - A Barbie clothes storage/wardrobe

I made this for my nieces as well. They are just getting into Barbie's, which were my utter obsession as a child and I am so excited they like them too! I wanted to get them some more clothes and then the thought occurred to me (similarly to the hairclips yesterday) that the Barbie clothes situation causes huge storage issues. I remember from personal experience, that Barbie's 'wardrobe' (in fact I had a Sindy wardrobe) is all but useless - nice to look at but useless to hold clothes. And shoes and accessories all get lost otherwise. i spent ages surfing the net to see if the good people of mattel had come up with a solution. But they don't seem to have.

So I came up with this solution. I found a fold out storage (the type you use for screws etc) box in my local pound shop and thought the compartments would be great for the bits and bobs, and the base bit big enough to hold a decent amount of clothes.

It was plain and utilitarian looking so I got some pretty sticky back plastic and lined the compartments and then spent a while cutting out decorations for the front. 

Homemade Gift No.4 - Hairclip organiser

I made this gift for my nieces, mainly because I wanted to buy them loads of cute little hairclips and thought that would be a bit boring to open and a bit of a bind for my sister to find somewhere to put. So I made this so they can add all their other hair clips to it and hang it on their wall with them all ordered and organised and in one place.
I used a frame from a picture I got in a charity shop. I took out the middle glass, picture and backing and painted the frame pink. I staple-gunned ribbons in colours that coordinate with their bedroom in vertical stripes. I did a stripe for red, pink, orange, yellow & brown, green, blue & purple. I also put a hook on with a couple of necklaces hanging and used a pipe cleaner (which can be unhooked from the top) to put hairbands on.

A new Xmas 'stocking'/Santa sack

Homemade Santa sack/ stocking. Applique Xmas tree with name on baubles.

I foolishly bought Ollie and Max matching Santa sacks a couple of years ago. Completely un- 'future-proof' - what was I thinking! Of course I can't find a third matching one anywhere. So I have to get rid of them and start afresh, not fair for 2 to have the same and one different.

So I made this for Charlie. I didn't have time to make the other 2 but hopefully I will get time this year before he is old enough to question why his is different!

It's a pillowcase with bits of material appliqued on. The tree is actually an old skirt of mine!

I intend to embroider onto each present the year and what the main thing they asked Santa for (and got)was. I thought it would be fun to look back on how their demands change over the years....

Gingerbread Village Making

Back again after the Xmas break. It was hectic and I had no time for posting, but I have plenty of things saved up to tell you about. It does mean these posts will be a bit unseasonal but hopefully that won't matter!

Anyway, time to tell you about the Gingerbread Village (which we only finished eating the other day - yes it lasts that long and still tastes really good, if not best, a little stale!)

After a break last year, I decided to broach the Gingerbread house making again. Last year I needed to take a rest having been quite defeated the previous year. In retrospect I think the boys were just a bit too young (3 and 1) and I made the house too big and the icing glue was defeated by it's weight!

So this year I had a rethink. I followed the same recipe for the Gingerbread;

300g butter

100g caster sugar

150g d. brown sugar

225g golden syrup

700g plain flour

2tsp bicarb of soda

3 heaped tsp ground ginger

2tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp all spice

• Melt the butter, sugars and syrup in a saucepan
• Add to the flour, bicarb and spices and mix well  (it will be quite goopy but that's ok)
• Put some cling film on a baking tray and pour the mix onto this in a flat sheet - refrigerate this to harden for about an hour or longer if possible
• Roll out to  about 1/2 cm thick on a floured surface and cut out the shapes. Re roll and cut more.
• Bake at 180*c for 10-15mins depending on the thickness and size of pieces. They will be slightly darker around the edges and slightly firmed when ready. Allow to cool on the baking tray a few mins to harden up and then transfer to a wire rack to cool and harden further. Cut out any doors/windows while they are still warm as it becomes impossible as they harden.

I made the houses much smaller. I didn't use a template I just did it by eye, but there are plenty of templates available on the internet. (These houses were roughly 12cm wide and 10 cm deep and 15cm tall - I would guess). The great benefits of going smaller are they get one each to decorate, they are much easier to glue together, they make a cute little scene!

I made some extra trees to go around the village scene as a forest, a la Hansel and Gretal! The extra benefit of this is they got to eat the scene in the build up to Xmas without ruining the houses themselves.

Then to the decorating.

Join the house walls, roof etc together with plain water icing (made quite thick and with boiling water so you need less of it)

Then I put the sweets in portions in a mini muffin tray - to save the arguments over who got more smarties/gummi bears/dolly mixtures/jazzies than the other!!!

 Then let loose!

And this is the result...... Happy busy boys, lovely seasonal decoration, tasty treats. Everyone is a winner!