Early Bday Party for our little Cozy

A couple weeks ago my dear friend, Melanie from Caravan Shoppe, called me to see if I wanted to throw a "fake bday party" for a photoshoot using all of their newest Happy Birthday Printables.

I was beyond excited to help out under one condition, if I could bake the goodies, which she happily agreed to.  I wanted to try out this ombre cake I had been thinking about since, I swear, six months ago. Maybe I shouldn't admit that?!
 

It was perfect timing since my little Cozette turns TWO years old in just a couple weeks (how is that even possible?!). I'm a firm believer that any excuse to throw a party is a good excuse; so it seemed fitting to celebrate Cozy's upcoming birthday! 

Party included:
- Caravan's Draw Together B-day Set

-4 layered Buttermilk Cake topped with this ombre cream cheese frosting (see below for frosting how to)

-mini-decorate-yourself, rice crispy treat cakes (also see below for the how to)

-small cups of decorating ingredients (chocolate chips, sprinkles, teddy grahams, cocoa puffs)

-a whole lot of art supplies

-and best of all...a table full of the cutest girls you've every seen

Mini-Rice-Crispy-Treat-Cakes

-Make a batch of rice crispy treats. 

-Fill small and medium bowls tightly with the crispies (I've found that if you get your hands a little wet, it wont stick when you push down on them to get it in there nice and tight)

-Let them sit in the fridge overnight

***when they're ready to frost, microwave them for about five seconds that way you can take a knife and scoop each one out. Than set a small one on top of a larger one to give the effect of a cake, and lastly frost it with store bought (or homemade if that tickles your fancy) frosting. The little ones LOVED decorating these! 

Buttermilk Cake with Ombre Frosting

I used this cake recipe but I used four small round pans to make it a bit taller

***For the frosting you split your frosting into four bowls. Add about ten drops of whatever coloring you want into one bowl. Than take two TBS of that frosting and add it into another bowl. Than take 1/2 TBS of the lighter frosting and add it to the third bowl. Leave the fourth bowl white. Frost from darkest on the bottom to lightest on the top.