How To Take A Construction Birthday From Pinterest to Party.

If you are considering a construction-themed birthday party, I've got the pictures to prove you don't have to be Martha Stewart or a Tip Junkie junkie to pull it off.  I am not a baker, decorator, or arts and crafts maker, but I was able to cobble my meager skills together into a pretty decent construction party simulation.

I know a picture is worth a thousand words, but this is a blog for chrissakes so I'm going to provide some written commentary.

a.  The gift table before anyone arrived.  I bought yellow paper and used black stickers to form
     construction-esque words to stick on them.  This way, the the party colors would be fully
     integrated into the gift unwrapping experience.

b.  The construction tablescape included his cake (more to come on that below), some mini
     trucks, a plastic  hardhat, handcut sugar cookies, and cupcakes with mini construction signs
     from AnyGoodIdeas.  She was absolutely awesome.  I emailed her at the last second and
     asked if she could switch my purchases from barnyard to construction.  She saved the party!

c.  The sign I made for the front door.  It required math and a ruler.  Although my finance
     partners used to laugh when the marketing peeps tried to talk "numbers" my math SAT
     scores and this sign proves that I did, in fact, know what I was talking about.  Damn beanies.

d.  A broad shot of the table with the requisite Happy Birthday banner.  The hole in the ceiling
     brought the theme to life in an authentic manner.

e.  A close-up shot of the cupcakes which had boulders (aka Oreo truffles) peppered in.  

     Here's a tip I can't believe I can give:  if you don't feel like making frosting, get yourself some
     food coloring and cool whip. I just out-pinterested pinterest!

f.  A close-up shot of the cake.  This turned out MUCH better than I expected.  The crane is
   digging crushed Oreos and the dump truck is dumping Oreo truffles.  To make an Oreo truffle:

Dump an entire package of Oreos in the Cuisinart and blend.  Add a tub of cream cheese.  Form balls.  Dip in chocolate. Done and delicious.  Seriously.  Who am I?

g.  More handmade construction signs along the entryway.  These were the baby's favorite part
     of the weekend.  He hit them and laughed everytime he was carried under them.

I know you are all wondering about the inside of the cake.  I was so nervous about making it that I went through an entire box 'o wine before I found the courage to make the cuts.  Here I am right before the happy birthday song and dance, about to suggest we eat donuts instead of cake:

Here's what pinterest told me it would look like:

And here's what it looked like:

The angles weren't perfect, perhaps because of the wine, but the construction effect was successfully integrated into every cake touchpoint. Not bad for a desperate marketer on Mom sabbatical, right?  Anyone else think it might be time for Mom to get a j-o-b?