Soda Can "Cake" - Great Birthday Idea!

Need a new, unique idea for the man in your life? I sure did! My husband like cake just as much as the next person, but I wanted to make a cake for him that he would think was "awesome" and also one that really just screamed his name.

Voila! Mountain Dew, Dr Pepper, and Coke. All things he likes.

This "soda can" cake is so easy but has a great presentation.

Think of it as the diaper cake people make for baby showers, but for adults....without diapers, and easier to make. Use a 8", 9" and 10" cardboard cake plates (found at craft stores in the baking aisles). I used packaging tape on the bottom of each can to keep it stable, but really I wouldn't travel with it. Try to make the cake in the same location you are going to present it (or close to it at least!).

I used ten cans on the first layer (eight around, two in the middle), seven on the second layer (six around, one in the middle), and three on top. Use ribbon, twine, or anything else to decorate your cake, and you can even stick gift cards or other fun gifts out of the top. Super easy and super unique!! Try this for the next birthday or celebration!

Teacher Gift Idea: "Thanks For Helping Our Children Grow!"

Okay, I know. This is NOT a recipe.

Phew - got that off my chest! But I know that most of our readers have young children in school, and even though I'm not the craftiest person, it's always nice to have new ideas to share for teacher gifts! We will be posting a few ideas as we get them done, but this one I'm posting today is SO easy!

My sister Carissa (and also fellow Girl in Apron) and I were in charge of Staff Appreciation week last week. It was a hectic week of running errands, baking, cooking, and decorating. But it was so worth it! Teachers are by far the most important people outside of family for our kids, and I think they have a pretty thankless job! On Friday we gave each teacher their gift: It was the "Thanks For Helping Our Children Grow" gift!

We got this idea from a Family Fun magazine published a couple years ago. Here is what you need:

A plant: ANY plant! Flowers, house plants, vegetable plants, ground cover, whatever. We used house plants from Ikea because we were making 40 of these gifts and needed something cute yet super affordable. The PTA doesn't have the biggest budget!

A pot: Just because the plant is much cuter in a pot, and if you are bringing a plant that will stay in a pot then it's just nice to give one with the plant. If you are giving a plant that will be transplanted to the ground, then just use a cheap pot for the presentation. Ikea had glass pots for 50 cents! And they were pretty nice.

A paper flower: You can find these at your local craft store, or, if you want to do what we did, you can go to your school and use their die-cut machine (or use your own if you have one!)

A craft stick: This works as the flower stem

A gift card: We attached gift cards to local restaurants and Starbucks to each flower. We taped them to the back. You can attach a gift card to a local bookstore, a teacher's favorite restaurant, or if you are using a vegetable plant, you can add gift cards to a nursery or attach fun recipes they can use with their vegetables.

For our purposes we used one flower per pot, as each staff member received one gift card. However, you could add more flowers per pot if you wanted to add more gift cards.

Instructions: On each flower write (or have your child write) "Thank you for helping me grow" or "Thank you for helping my child grow" or something along those lines. Attach the wooden craft stick to the flower and tape the gift card to the back of the flower. Stick the craft stick into the plant. Adorn with ribbon if desired.