This year for Ella's birthday I decided to try to make her cake myself. My mom used to always bake and hand decorate my cakes, and I remember it made me feel really special so I decided to give it a try (thanks "Peaches" for inspiring me!). So I researched online and found this cool method called Frozen Buttercream Transfer, because heaven knows I didn't want to be free-handing the decorating. My ever-patient husband stayed up with me one night making this transfer. We had a fun time so here is the play by play of how to do this cool method in case you want to give it a try:
Find an image from a coloring book or online (Ella has now moved on from Ariel to Sleeping Beauty as her number one princess) and size it as needed on a copy machine. You can also flip the image if needed because the transfer will reverse it. Then tape it to a cutting board (I recommend you use a clear board if possible so you can check your progress from the other side) and tape wax paper over the top. Trace the outline in black or brown and let it stiffen up for a bit.
Fill in the spaces with colored frosting and let it stiffen a bit so you can gently pat it flat to fill the space (putting a little corn starch on the tip of your finger helps it not stick).
After the color is finished, put it in the fridge for a few minutes until it's hardened a bit and then coat the whole thing with the cake's base color being sure to go past the black lines. 
Here is a picture of the transfer from the bottom side of the cutting board. Put it in the freezer and when it's firm, wrap it up in plastic wrap and leave it for at least a couple hours to harden (I left it in the freezer over night).
Bake your cake, level and frost it (I did a crumb coat and then an over coat of frosting). Unwrap your transfer and gently untape it from the board. Gently push it into the frosting and smooth the frosting. Decorate as desired and ... Voila! Here is the satisfied customer waiting to blow out her candles.
This is a very brief and not so eloquent description of the Frozen Buttercream Transfer method. Here is a website with a great step-by-step guide and yummy buttercream recipe - http://www.cakecentral.com/article12.html
Whenever I get around to writing in my journal it seems like I always start with "it's been a long time since I last wrote ..." so I spend an hour playing catch-up. So it is with this blog post. Here are some of the antics we've been up to over the past month:
Ella graduated from her first year of preschool. Here she is with her wonderful teacher.
We finally checked out the local zoo with some friends. Ella was talking about it for days afterward. Here are the kids checking out a peacock strutting its stuff.
Here is a picture of my favorite group of kids waiting for the show to start at the outdoor theater. Ella was absolutely transfixed with the musical the whole time. It was a great night.
Ella started summer classes through the local rec centers. She is taking a tumbling class and a ballet/tap dance class. Do I have to tell you which one she is most excited about? Here is a picture of her on her first day of ballet.Well, those are the highlights folks. Stay tuned for more...
