Bull Cake Compromise

A mother is nothing, if not a dealer in compromise.

My son wanted a rainbow bull cake for his 3rd birthday and while I managed to talk him out of it in this post I couldn't disappoint him completely.

This is where compromise kicks in:

This party was my first (and only so far) attempt at cake pops. Although guests said lots of nice things, I pretty much considered it a fail in general which I painfully detail here.

I guess they look 'OK' but I have said it before and will say it again, "I am no Bakerella!". The most important thing though was that the birthday boy loved them, and he did! Although not as much as his Raa Raa cake.

The Coolest Play Center Ever?

In Australia we have indoor play centers. These play centers are commonly (with exceptions I am sure of, but yet to experience) pretty standard variations on a similar theme; small play area for toddlers with the treacherous ball pit (where you can find all sorts of foreign objects from other kids poo to intravenous needles) and a smattering of half-broken wheeled toys; larger area for the bigger kids consisting of a framed climbing gym with slide.

If you are really lucky there will be signs on each of these areas, one declaring 'FOR CHILDREN UNDER 3 ONLY' and the other insisting 'NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 4' leaving you clutching your 3 year old's hand and scratching your head.

This week I went to what I think might be the 'Coolest Play Center Ever':

The Imaginarium Project in Geelong, Victoria might not strictly be a play center, but it sure is a great alternative. It is literally a mini-world of imagination, color and wonder:

Face-painting in the Alice in Wonderland garden

A large warehouse has been sectioned off into a series of themed rooms with the most amazing attention to detail. Someone very talented (and very busy) has painted murals on every wall and there are a range of toys and games for the children to get involved with:

Underwater themed room

Pirate room

There was also a 'down the rabbit hole area, a western room, a glow-in-the-dark room with a haunted house and a room covered in chalkboard paint where you could draw on the walls and the chalk glowed.

Best part is the cafe with hidden coffee nooks throughout the center as well:

The price was good at $5 per head for the kids (adults free) but might get a bit costly for the older ones (4-12 years $12 each). You might also have some reservations around the appropriateness of some of the guns, swords and skulls in the pirate and western rooms but the kids LOVED it.

Maybe not the coolest place 'ever but it was certainly a welcome change to your run of the mill center.

Website Launch - and a SALE

After lots of hard work and dedication the WallFry website has finally launched and it looks pretty cool, if I do say so myself - www.wallfry.com.au :

 

And of couse, to celebrate, there has to be a sale. Available at the new website only:

The Etsy shop is still open and going strong so now you have multiple choices of where you would can browse for your next WallFry artwork.

NEW Prints

We have been sooo busy lately, building and creating the new website (which is very exciting, but also very hard work!).

I have been having a creating streak at the same time though and here are some of the new prints I have added to the shop recently:

 I love this Jane Austen quote from Pride and Prejudice (Mr Darcy to Elizabeth of course) and I love it for nursery decor! Share your love of great books with your little one while telling them you love them at the same time!

This baby deer is the latest addition to the Woodland Series. I am working on more too so will be adding and sharing them once they are done.

There are so many dogs in my dog series, but always more that I haven't added yet. This one was a popular request and here he is! There are even more, all pictured below:

Now, back to working on that website!

NEW GIVEAWAY - yes another one!

It's giveaway time again, this time hosted by the amazing Maggie at Smashed Peas and Carrots. There is a set of 4 - 8x10 prints of the winners choice up for grabs and you only need to comment to enter.

Good Luck!

Some of the huge range of prints that you can choose from if you are the lucky winner:

Puppy Dog Cake for a 2 year old - Can I keep this up?

Each year I make my two boys a cake. You may remember my post regarding the dilema with my 3-year olds 3rd birthday cake which ended up being a pretty satisfactory lion (albeit a licensed TV character, but that is all part of the story). This time it was nearing my youngest son's 2nd birthday so again the preparations begin:

Me: What type of cake would you like for your birthday?
Nearly 2: A birthday cake
- 1 point him, 0 points me

Me: Ok, then what color would you like it to be?
Nearly 2: Grey
 - I didn't even know he knew that grey was a color

Eventually we got an answer and ultimately he wanted a 'Dog Cake'. This was lovingly supported by his 3 year old brother and seemed easy enough to me so a Dog Cake it would be.

TIP: when let your kids choose their cakes, encourage them to choose something generic like a dog rather than an existing character (Raa Raa anyone?) there is so much more room for error. What starts out as a rottweiler might end up as a beagle and that will still be OK. There are only so many ways you can do a Dora cake before it starts to look like a football or an Elmo cake before it starts to look like a big red mess.

ANOTHER TIP: if you keep making each cake better than last year's cake you will end up with no where to go. At least at the ages of 2 and 3 the expectations are not too high, but I can see that the pressure will continue to mount.

TUTORIAL: I keep getting asked for tutorials or tips. I always plan to take great photos and post them here with a tutorial, but then end up making the cake at midnight the night before the party with no time to do any of that (most of the time I am lucky to get the cake done) so apologies that again, there is no tutorial.

If you have any specific questions though, feel very free to ask and I will answer where I can. If it helps, I got my inspiration (and a lot of my 'tips') for making this cake from this lovely post here: http://www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com/coolest-dog-cake-41.html

Where do all the Furry Little Creatures Go?

You may have already heard of the 'Boon Animal Bag' but I was lucky enough to get one the other day!

It is a great idea for storing the copious amounts of soft toys that kids accumulate (if you don't have at least 30 soft toys scattered around the house right at this moment then you must be throwing them out - go on count them, I dare you!) and doubles nicely as a pouffee (albeit a little bit slippery).

It does look a little bit like the teddy bears are being held hostage (or about to rob a bank):

and the kids want to open it all the time to release the hostages (and re-scatter them around the house of course). On the plus side it is easy to open

:

If you over stuff it, it is a little bit big for little bottoms to sit on:

But heaps of fun for wrestling:

In all seriousness, it is very well made, great quality and you can fit heaps of stuffed toys in that thing! Such a great idea and the kids are playing with toys again that they forgot they had.

Simple Party Treat for Kids - that they will love!

This is such a simple idea and SO cute that I had to share:

All you need are

• Tiny Teddies
• Mini Milkyway bars
• Smarties
• Icing (to attach the wheels)

No cooking, no fiddly assemblage and no need for instructions, cos I think you can see how they are put together. They are so effective and the kids absolutely love them!

I was lucky enough to have an Aunt bring these along to one of my boys recent parties and they were such a hit! Probably not so healthy, but for a party.. and teddy bears driving cars c'mon!

Too cute:

 
 

Giveaway Time Again

There is a new WallFry prints giveaway, this time hosted by Mammamoiselle -

2 lucky winners will win a set of WallFry Prints of their choice. Head on over to enter:
http://www.mammamoiselle.com/2012/02/feature-wallfry-wall-art-for-children.html

Good Luck!

Raa Raa the Tasty Little Lion

Sorry, we've just transferred this blog and it seems this link is not working the way it should. Please click here to access this post: http://www.wallfry.com/blog/raa-raa-the-tasty-little-lion.html