creative jewish mom

Simple Cake Decorating Ideas To Impress Your Guests

If you have been reading my blog for more than a few years, you may remember that I just love surprising my family and friends with simple and creative cakes to celebrate any number of occasions. It is true, in the past I have mostly relied on paper cut outs, mini bunting, flags of all kinds and even origami to make fun cake toppers, but now, thanks so my teen daughter who is quite the baker, I have come to realize that there are many simply gorgeous ways to decorate cakes without having to get out the colored paper! It is true, you may need a few simple supplies that requires planning ahead, but most of the ideas I've compiled here are really quite simple and can be assembled in a pinch.

So whether you are a beginner and might purchase a plain cake to decorate yourself, or an experienced baker, these ideas will help you take your cake decorating skills to the next level! I can't wait to hear all the oohs and aahs, so lets get started!

DIY Magic Wand Birthday Cake (In A Pinch!)

Simple and cute birthday cakes are my trademark, and truly the only kind of birthday cake that fits into my schedule, and suits my cake decorating abilities! I prefer to spend time on decorations that we can enjoy long after the birthday celebration rather than on a cake that looks great on the table, but of course gets eaten! For my daughter's 19th birthday, I had thought of making a watermelon cake, but realized at the last minute, that although she is 19, she still wants the same feeling of Mommy making her a birthday cake, even if she doesn't eat any of it! So while Mommy has largely exited the realm of baking, she did whip up the family classic quick and great tasting chocolate cake, while her daughter was sleeping, and then hid he cake in her office to decorate later, with a combo of decorations she already had on hand (par for the course!) I used my floral sketch cake toppers, my paper cloud gouche illustration cake toppers and the mini origami stars, that have been sitting in a jar waiting to be enjoyed! The magic wand idea was a last minute thought, and I think was a nice element, not to mention new!

DIY Botanical Doodle Cake Toppers For Birthdays And Anniversaries!

Last summer I spent many hours creating in my sketchbooks, including many hours of drawing botanicals, which then resulted in using those botanicals in many ways. For starters I did create a floral monogram which you can see here, and I also used my botanical sketches to create a frame in my sketchbook, here. After that, my daughter's birthday came along, and I created an 18 in the same style as the numbers you see here. I loved the results so much, that I then created one for each of my teen sons for their birthdays, in September 2020 and June 2021, which is what I've photographed here. While these botanical doodle cake toppers look complicated, they really are quite simple, and if you have time, you can create other items in this same style, like cupcake toppers, napkin rings, gift toppers, you name it! Okay, lets take a closer look!

DIY Cake Toppers From Flower Sketches

Last summer I spent quite a few days honing my flower sketching skills by looking at free tutorials from a wide variety of sources, check out my previous posts here, and then I added watercolor to them here, just for starters! You can check out all the posts that show what I've been up to in my sketchbooks here. So, when my daughter's birthday came around, it was only natural to make some sketched peonie paper cake toppers that I ended up using in some fun birthday centerpieces (more on that later.....) I drew these from a tutorial that I saw on Pinterest, and it is truly addictive, because the flowers end up looking so well, perfect? Not that perfect is ever the goal, but with cut out sketched flowers for a cake topper or even to add to a plant or bouquet, that somewhat perfect look just plain works! And best of all, this is also a recycling craft, so keep on reading for the simple supplies, and why not spend a lazy summer day sketching some flowers to use who knows when? I am keeping my collection of these kinds of crafts in a box, to pull out when needed for birthdays, anniversaries, you name it!

Cutest Ever Clown Cake Or Cupcake Topper Craft!

DIY clown cake toppers that could also be adorable cupcake toppers are not only perfect for a circus theme birthday, but also Purim, coming up this week! And these were actually made from stuffed paper hearts, left over from another occasion, so it is also a recycling craft! Lets face it, presentation is everything, so if you need a cake, don't worry about spending hours on icing, make something you know is delicious and then top it with simple icing and the cutest clown cake toppers ever, and you've got a winner!

I have actually pulled this craft out of the archives to share with you, as this Purim is looking a little bit different this year, and since my house looks like Purim year round, there isn't too much pressure to decorate. Okay, I will whip up some new things of course, but not until later this week, when there may not be time to share them. Okay, lets learn how to make these adorable cake toppers!

Stand-Up Cardboard Cake For Every Occasion

Need a fun birthday or special occasion decoration that is artful and a pleasure to make? How about a cardboard stand up birthday cake that will put a smile one everyone's face? We've been enjoying this cereal box birthday cake that I made for some family birthdays in December for quite a few weeks now, and I still enjoy looking at it, as there is just something about layered cakes that is so carefree and sort of storybook sweet! This cake is on a wall mounted Ikea sideboard in our dining room, as part of a larger whimsical display, but if would look great on a shelf, or surprise someone by putting it somewhere fun on the morning of their birthday! Okay, lets make a great looking recycled cardboard cake to add some joy to 2021! Shall we?

Special Occasion DIY Star Cake, For Birthdays, Anniverseries, Or Just Because!

Need a relatively simple cake decor idea that will wow the crowd, look great from both sides and won't take hours to make? This special occasion 3D star topped cake is really something to try, and once you have made the stars it can literally be assembled in minutes! I made a bunch of 3D paper stars for Chanukah, and then when I realized I could use them to make this cake, I really couldn't believe how it all came together so quickly, and looked amazing, especially since it matched the decorations in the room! Of course these 3D stars can be made ahead and then used for a variety of decorations, and if you need something elegant, go with metallic gold or silver, or mix in the metallics, and if you need something for a baby shower, so go with pastels, and if it is for kids, so maybe get some tiny figures to put on the cake or make a scene of somekind beneath the stars! Or opt to do as I did and add a few origami doves, especially great for a wedding anniverysary! Okay, lets learn a few important tips for assembling this super simple yet stunning cake!

3D Paper Star Cake Toppers

I have always opted to make simple paper cake toppers for the birthday cakes and special occasion cakes that we've enjoyed over the years. Lately I've love making simple cake flags that look great, possibly together with a number or letter, but this past Chanukah I came up with yet another show stopper that is oh so simple, 3D paper star cake toppers! It is true, you'll need to figure out how to make the paper stars, but once you've conquered that (and truly it is much simpler than it looks) you can whip up star cake toppers in just a few minutes, and they are truly wonderful. In fact these 3D paper star cake toppers could be used for just about any occassion, just change up the color, or use patterened paper, and sky is the limit! If you like, add some numbers or letters or a few tiny figures, and you've got yourself a winning cake, without the hours of negotiating with icing! Okay, lets make some star cake toppers that will surely be the life of the party, and with supplies you likely have on hand!

Simple Cloud Cake Toppers Are Cute For Any Occasion!

I am rushing to post this cloud cake topper DIY as tonight is the beginning of the 9 day mournign period on the Jewish calendar, and we certainly won't be throwing any parties.That said I wanted to post this now as a message to all those who might be trying their hand at illustration or painting: save anything you do on heavy paper, you can cut it up and use it in a pinch! As I was trying to pull together a whole display of fun party decor for my daughter's 18th birthday, I spied a small pile of illustrations I'd made two plus years ago, and realized that the little gouche cloud illustration would be perfect to cut up and use on her cake, and phew, it came together really quickly with sweet as can be results. I also used some watercolor strawberry paintings we'd done together years ago, so really, save those art projects, they don't take up much space, and who knows, maybe you, like me, will be pressed for time and needing something to cut up and transformi into a cake topper! Actually come to think of it, if I hadn't already cut up the watercolor strawberry and used it in a centerpiece, that would have been a really adorable cake topper too! I think I may just repost that tutorial next. Okay, lets take a closer look at these cute cloud cake toppers that would be perfect for just about any occasion that warrants a cake and a message!

And I just realized that this could also be a post about how to make a quick cake stand, like the one you see here, so keep on reading for that!

5 Minute Paper Cake Toppers Using Your Old Art

Today is my daughter's 18th birthday, and so after 18 years of raising her and throwing birthday parties with lots of homemade decorations and cute DIY cakes I got it together rather at the last minute and pulled off a really cute birthday surprise complete with lots of recycling crafts that I can't wait to share. The thing is, tonight is the beginning of a very sad 9 day mourning period on the Jewish calendar, so while I'm posting the DIY birthday cake decorations today, I think the rest will have to wait until after T'isha B'av so that my blog reflects what is actually going on in our minds and hearts during this time. My daughter was fortunate to have been born on the last day of the month of Tammuz, when throwing a birthday party (without music) is still allowed, so phew for her!

Now, lets get down to business! I have always made paper cake toppers using illustrations and cut paper with skewers or toothpicks, so why stop now? My daughter is now the baker in the house, and while she thought of baking her own cake, she didn't have time, so I sent my son up to the bakery to buy one, so that I could spend my time on the decorations! Things were a bit pressed for time, and when I had completed everything, whoops, what about the cake? I almost thought of not decorating the cake, but banished that thought and instead whipped up some five minute cloud cake decorations using a gouche cloud illustration I had on hand from two years ago!

The lesson here is, don't throw away all those art experiments or practice sheets, you can always cut them up to make cake decorations! And boy was I happy at the moment I realized I could just cut out some of the painted clouds, write a few words on them and voila, a cute cake topper was born! Okay, lets take a look at the gouche art I used (or something similar, actually) and get to work!