Frozen Buttercream Transfer Resource Page to make Awesome DIY Homemade Cakes for any Occasion!

I'm not a cake expert, I'm just a busy mom with a full-time job trying to make homemade custom "awesomeness" for my family. So don't expect to see cake perfection here.! The main reason I make homemade custom cakes is because my son has food allergies. I don't have the luxury of running to the local bakery for a child's birthday cake, so homemade is what it has to be for most of our special occasions. I had to find a simple solution for birthday celebrations and that's when I stumbled upon frozen buttercream transfers. The are safe, yummy, fun and easy to do, and the designs are endless!

Here is a list of my favorite resources that helped me learn how to make Frozen Buttercream Transfers for homemade cakes.

A wonderful step-by-step tutorial (complete with wonderful pictures) on Cake Central.


Great video by Kerry's Kakes that shows the motions (no words, just awesome ).

A video by Wiltoncakedecorating that take you through the process from start to finish. I couldn't help but laugh every time she said "wax," but it is a great tutorial.

"How to decorate a cake - Easy Cake Decorating Ideas and Tips" from BettyCrockerTV. This is what helped me learn how to work with icing.

My cakes. Not perfect, but fun enough!

  

Sonic the Hedgehog cake
for my son's 5th birthday.

My first
Frozen Buttercream Transfer Experiement.

Oilers Cake for my hubby.

Trick-or-Treat Candy Exchange for my Kiddo with Food Allergies.

For me, the true terror of Halloween was my peanut and tree nut anaphylactic child trick-or-treating. Or coming home from school with party treat bags full of potentially dangerous candy. So many bad scenarios swam through my head, too many to list without going into a Mommy rant. But with some education and research, and a few years experience under our belts, the Kiddo and I now have a successful bartering system for Halloween candies and treats (as well as Christmas, Easter, Valentine's, birthday parties, etc.).

First and foremost, ALWAYS READ THE LABELS. I can't stress that enough. Even if it has been eaten before, manufacturing processes change often. What is shown in the PASSED section above has been approved by me for my child only. So please do not rely on what is shown as proven to be safe for your allergic child. The best thing for you to do is read the labels on everything, every time. The only purpose for posting the PASSED photo is to show that he can enjoy many other things compared to what he cannot have.

My Kiddo is blessed with a lot of family that loves and watches out for him. So majority of the candy he receives have already been pre-checked and approved. As for the trick-or-treating candies and treat bags he brings home from school, he knows he is not allowed to eat any of it until he gets home and we check it together. This is not a problem because he knows he'd rather be safe than sorry. He remembers past allergic reactions and is well aware of the consequences. Plus he gets very excited to see what I have to trade for his unsafe goodies.

FAILED
Anything that does not have an ingredients label is automatically rejected. My husband and I usually have the laptop out and looking at candy manufacturer's websites to read up in their allergen policies. Many of them have very useful information and take the subject matter very seriously, like Hershey. Notice the taffy in the "Failed" section. No label, no good. Also, the Little Debbie Oatmeal cookie is a no no. From my experience, almost all of them may contain nuts. The popcorn balls had a warning that said "Manufactured on the same equipment as other peanut products."

Mommy's Exchange Bucket!
I usually try to stock up on inexpensive seasonal party toys, pencils, stickers, bouncy balls, tattoos, and even toss in loose coins and some dollar bills. Top that with some of his favorite candies (pre-approved and label read by Mom herself) and he has a treasure box of fun things he can't wait to trade for. We have fun dumping out all his stuff and seeing what he has collected. I separate the "good" candy and the "bad" candy into two different piles. Then, WE MAKE DEALS! And Mommy gets to stash away the Reese's at work for rainy days. :P

Easy S'mores "Trail Mix." No Bake, No Mess!

Quick, easy, and no mess! Serve them in cup, throw them in a baggie for a snack on-the-go. So easy to throw together if you are in a hurry or just plain lazy. The best thing about it, kids can make these on their own, too!

I got this idea from the Girl Scouts booth at our local Kindergarten round-up a while back. A friend of mine was wandering around eating something out of a litte paper cup. When I asked her what it was, she replied, "It's smores! In a cup!" I thought, "AWESOME!"

My family loves this snack and they are also good in school lunches. Here are the 3 easy-peasy ingredients:

Ingredients

Golden Grahams Cereal

Mini white marshmallows

Hershey's Milk chocolate chips (I like to use the semi-sweet sometimes for myself, that's why they are in the picture.)

Dump in a big bowl and mix it up! That's it!

It's your preference on how much of each you want to mix. I like equal parts. If you are a marshmallow fan, then mix in more marshmallows! More chocolate chips if you are a chocolate lover!

I like to make small batches at a time because we don't eat too much at once and the cereal gets stale. But you can mix it all together and store in a big air-tight container if you want.

Since my son has peanut allergies and multiple nut allergies, this is a great snack that he can have**. Of course, I always read the labels to make sure I use ingredients that are safe for him. I store them in our wonderful Safe Keepers containers. He knows the green containers have food that is safe for him to eat. 

**So a little disclaimer: As with all food allergies, it will  be up to you or the parents discretion to use the ingredients listed above. This is just for informational purposes to help you decide if this will be an appropriate food for you or your child. ALWAYS READ THE LABELS FOR FOOD ALLERGENS! Even if it is something they have eaten before. If you are still nervous about it (like we all are ^_^ ), then you can opt for Enjoy Life brands or other products that are dedicated to making nut and peanut free chocolate chips.

Peanut-Free Fundraiser: Thank You Kim & Scott's Gourmet Pretzels.

I posted this a few years ago when My Space was all the rage. Since it's long gone and deleted, I decided to post this again out of appreciation. It was a fundraiser for a local school and I have yet to see another one like this. I apologize for the blurry pic (all I had was my cell phone camera at the time), but look! Peanut Free!! Most fundraisers I have to pass up; my son can't eat any of the goodies because majority have the warning, "May contain peanuts." If they are selling non-food items, I will most definitely order because I encourage it. But this was the first fundraiser that landed in my hands that said peanut free! Just because of that, I bought that $15 pretzel!

I checked out their website and they have a "Dietary Allergy Awareness" section that reads as follows:

"•We are a nut-free bakery using only all-natural and premium ingredients, and strive to provide dietary alternatives!
• Our pretzel creations are all-natural and contain no preservatives, trans fats, or hydrogenated oil.
• We offer pretzels in our line that are dairy-free, egg-free, and gluten-free.
• Our Traditional and Stuffed Pretzels are 100% vegetarian.
• Our Café offers nutritional alternatives including our Sunflower butter & Jelly Pretzel Sandwich. We also provide dairy-free and egg-free options, including our soy milk, Traditional Bavarian Pretzel, fresh fruit cups, Knot Dogs and more."

And to make it even better, they feature a logo on the same page that reads, "Allergy Aware Because We Care - Made in a Nut-Free facility."

I love that! Thank you, Kim & Scott's, for caring and being aware. :)  

Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network PSA Video featuring Dr. Oz

The Dr. Oz Show and FAAN work together in an awesome 30 sec PSA about kids and food allergies :)

The Day I Sent My Peanut Allergic Kid to Kindergarten.

As if being emotional about your baby growing up and starting school wasn't enough, the added worry about him being safe around food in a school that encourages in-class snacks made it twice as hard to handle. Everyone kept telling me, "Hang in there, Momma! All parents go through it! He'll have fun!" I do believe that and those all those comforting words helped soothe some fears. After all, I put him in public school because my child thrives on social interaction and I will not keep him in a bubble because of his food allergies (Secretly I want to but that's the Mommy in me!).

His previous daycare/preschool was owned and operated by family so I haven't faced sending him to a new place with new people until now. Of course, I was worried and suffered typical separation anxiety (still, "Normal Mommy Syndrome"). But it's added worry when sending my peanut/tree nut allergic child to a place where peanut butter is a staple for most snacks and lunches and no family is present to watch out for him. To best describe how I felt, I had the normal "Mommy" fears pressing down on me: Will he make new friends? Will he be able to eat plenty of lunch in time? What will he do if he gets confused and doesn't know where to go?  But on top of all that, it felt like there was another massive weight. It was almost like a HUGE boulder and it was called "Food Allergies." Will he sit next to someone eating a peanut butter sandwich? Will that kid get it on his/her fingers and wipe it on the table where my son can come into contact with it? If so, how quick can his medicine be given to him and how fast will they call me? Will he be left out of school parties if another parent brings unsafe snacks and cookies?

I felt so helpless and yes, I stayed home from work that day! Did I cry when I left? Yes, as did many other moms that day. It was so hard to make myself walk out of the classroom and leave him there with strangers, but he made it through his first day just fine! Needless to say, getting him prepared and making sure he had medications at the school, that was a whole other dance in itself. But I have a wonderful support group of friends and family and thanks to everyone that helped me thru it, checked on me, cheered me up, and gave me words of advice. :)

And I found this today on a new blog that I am following: "First Day of School with Food Allergies" from The Nut-Free Mom Blog. Gave me a bit of inspiration to help me keep a positive outlook on school :)

Sending Food Allergic Children to School

"Sending Food Allergic Children to School" is a great guide offered by Kids With Food Allergies to help prepare your food allergic child for school. Over the past two months I have been preparing my son to start Kindergarten and let me tell you, it's been an exciting and, at the same time, a nerve-racking experience. I am happy and scared at the same time. That's suppose to be normal right? HAHA! Well, along with backpacks, lunch boxes, school supplies, and teaching my kiddo all about "Stranger Danger," I also had to meet with his allergist to form a Food Allergy Action Plan, make sure Epipens/Twinjects are renewed, learn how to not share or trade snacks/lunch/drinks even when it looks like a safe food, and set up meetings with the school nurse and his teacher. The list goes on, like school parties. Ever since he was diagnosed at the age of one, I have been afraid that my child would have to sit out for the Christmas party or be the only child without a treat when someone brings cupcakes for their child's birthday. I refuse to put my child in a bubble and dealing with food allergies is all about education and having a backup plan. So I best be ready and stock up on some Cherrybrook Kitchen peanut-free/nut-free/egg-free/dairy-free cake mix! Which, by the way, are very delicious despite the "lack of" ingredients!

Two True Stories about Food Allergy PALS.

As a mother with a food allergic child, I get a lot of stories from friends in regards to peanut allergies. I love to hear them because it makes me feel that people are listening and developing an understanding and awareness. A Food Allergy PAL is a person that is non-allergic that helps out those that are. This was something that was created by FAAN.  I wanted to share  two stories I heard this week from different co-workers that involve real-life F.A. Pals:

Story #1:
This one made me smile. A lady I know has a 6 year-old neice that is attending a summer daycare through a church. One day the neice offered her aunt some chocolate covered peanuts, and before the aunt stuck her hand in the bag, the neice quickly hid the bag on her side and asked, "Wait! Are you allergic to peanuts?" The aunt said she was kind of taken aback and that she immediately thought of me and my son. She said to her neice, "No, I'm not allergic to peanuts." The neice replied, "Ok, good! Because it would have been bad if you had eaten one!" Then she and her neice talked about peanut allergies off and on for the following few hours.

I was tickled by that! We never figured out how her niece managed to learn of peanut allergies. All I could think of was that there must be allergic children in her daycare class and the teachers are teaching the kids about the dangers of food allergies. I think it's fantastic that kids, even at that young an age, are becoming aware and learning how to prevent their friends from ingesting dangerous foods!

Also, the earlier they learn, a better understanding and tolerance they can build. Which brings me to...
Story #2:
I'm not fond of the situation that occured in this one, but I was very glad to hear the outcome. This one has been through two other people before it reached me, so the details are probably different but the general idea of the woman's attitude holds true.

Apparently there was a birthday/holiday party at a local daycare. This daycare sent out notes to all the parents saying they had children with food allergies and gave them instructions on how to read food labels and a list of safe/unsafe foods. That impressed me because I have been dreading the classroom parties for when my son starts kindergarten this fall. Another thing that scares me is the attitudes, misunderstanding, and intolerance from the other parents. Which is what happened next...

One lady apparently did not read the letter and brought a box of store bought cookies LOADED with peanuts. When the teacher politely told the lady that she couldn't accept them because they had allergic kids, the woman became unglued and irrate. She said was put out of her way to buy those cookies and then informed the teacher that it was a pain to change it or buy something else, and the whole thing in general was a pain! All this said with a raised voice. The teacher told her that she understood her situation and asked then woman if she could kindly understand the situation of the allergic students. The woman was still irrate.

Needless to say, one of the mothers of the allergic kids was standing nearby and heard every word. If it had been me, that little anger monster inside of me would have grown 20 ft tall and I would have marched over to that woman and told her that my child's life is well worth the trouble of not accepting her $3 box of death, but that would probably would have just made the situation worse.

The best part of the story is this: the teacher finally told the woman that her attitude in the situation wasn't appreciated and asked her to leave the daycare immediately. And she did. So CHEERS to the teacher! I wish I knew who she was, because people like her are heroes to me! I really hope that my son gets a teacher that's just as great and understanding.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed my stories as much as I did. And remember, keep reading every label!! Have a safe and happy summer!