If you saw my Very Hungry Caterpillar birthday post you were probably wondering how to make your own caterpillar cake. You can follow along with the instructions below. I would rank this cake as easy to make and decorate, but I need to preface this by saying that I have no cake decorating background so my cakes are mediocre at best. Although, my kids think they are the best cakes ever, so that is all that really matters.

How To | The Very Hungry Caterpillar Cake

Supplies:

• Cake Mix
• White Frosting
• Bundt Pan
• Birthday Candles
• Purple Pipe Cleaner
• Sour Patch Kids Candy
• Food Coloring
• Sandwich Baggies
• Large Cutting Board

How To:

1. Bake your cake in a Bundt Pan. Remove cake from pan and cut the entire cake in half. On a large cutting board place the ends of the cut cake together in a curvy line.
2. Use food coloring to dye 3/4 of the frosting in the container green. Dye a small portion yellow, another small portion black and the remaining frosting red. (I found that the color actually darkened up a bit after sitting, getting that red color takes a lot of dye!)
3. Use a bread knife to round off the front and back ends of the cake.
4. Next, use some green frosting to “glue” the middle of the cake together. Then frost the green body part of the cake. *Reserve a small amount of green frosting for the eyes.
5. Use red frosting to frost the head section.
6. Place a small amount of green frosting in a baggie and snip a small hole in the end. Use the frosting to make circular eyes.
7. Place the yellow frosting in a baggie and snip a small hole in the end. Use the yellow frosting to create an outline around the green eyes.
8. Place the black frosting in a baggie and snip a small hole in the end. Use the black frosting to create a nose on the caterpillar.
9. Cut a purple pipe cleaner in half. Bend each piece in half and insert into the top of the caterpillar’s head to create the antennae.
10. Decorate the back of the caterpillar with sour patch kids gummy candies.
11. Add candles and sing the Happy Birthday song!

The post How To | Very Hungry Caterpillar Cake appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

My son who is in love with The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle turned 3 recently. He wanted a Very Hungry Caterpillar birthday party, so I was excited to fulfill his wish. Of course any proper party needs appropriate cake, food and decor. I love to make their birthdays really special, but for me it is important not to blow the budget. I also have time constraints, I do all the cake decorating (because it’s a surprise) and room decorating after my kids go to bed (you know, at the point when I just want to crash in the chair and relax). My point being, I am sure I could go a lot crazier with the decor, etc., but my reality is that I have a short time frame to accomplish the wow factor. (If you want to make a Very Hungry Caterpillar costume click here or for the cake instructions click here.)

For his birthday party lunch I served all the food The Very Hungry Caterpillar ate in the book. I told all my kids and their guest that they could wear a costume if they wanted. The kids loved having a funny lunch with all sorts of random fruit, food and treats. I also served macaroni and cheese, the birthday boy’s favorite food, as the main course.

I created my own tiered plate by putting one large plate on the bottom and then turning a tall glass upside down and placing another plate on top. I bought the streamers, balloons, candles and table cloth all at Dollar Tree. At my grocery store the bakery sells single slices of cake, single cupcakes and slices of pie. See below for my decor and grocery shopping checklist.

Shopping Checklist:

Decor Items -

• Green Streamers
• Assorted Color Balloons (Red, Yellow, Green, Purple)
• Red or Green Table Cloth
• Napkins, Cups, Plates, Plasticware
• Green Leaves
• Gift Bags and Tissue Paper

Decor How To -

1. To create caterpillar streamers I cut 7 foot lengths of green streamers. I used pieces of folded over painters tape to attach them to the ceiling. (See pic above.) At the end of the streamers I placed balloons (my balloon multi-pack didn’t have very many red) to represent a caterpillar head.
2. I covered the buffet area and table with red and green table cloths and sprinkled around some skeleton leaves from the craft store. (Had it been summer I would have picked green leaves from outside.)
3. I also wrapped the gifts in red and green gift bags and stuffed them with yellow, red, green and purple tissue paper.

Grocery Items -

• 1 Apple
• 2 Pears
• 3 Plums
• 4 Strawberries
• 5 Oranges
• Slice of Watermelon
• Piece of Chocolate Cake
• Ice Cream Cone
• Pickle
• Swiss Cheese
• Salami
• Lollipop
• Slice of Cherry Pie
• Sausage
• Cupcake
• Bamboo Skewers
• Red and Green Grapes
• Apple Juice Boxes

Grocery How To -

1. Arrange all the items that the caterpillar eats on plates.
2. Create caterpillar grape shish kabobs by adding a bunch of green grapes and then a red grape for the head.
3. Have red and green colored apple juice boxes available for drinks.

The post How To | Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday Party appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.