Would you like a look at went on behind-the-scenes in the creation of our Delicious Birthday cards?
The cupcakes you see on all the cards were created in my little kitchen. All the photography took place in my little kitchen. Eighteen cupcakes and a cloud of powdered sugar went into the creation of those beauties! Two boxes of cake mix divided into three colors, five cans of frosting, six packages of sprinkles, and a box of birthday candles.
Before I started baking anything, however, I needed to define the vision for this new release. I did what most artists do, I started jotting down words and images on random pieces of paper. Then I stepped it up made a handwritten excel spreadsheet (because I’m a tactile kinda gal – or maybe just because I was an Art major and not a Math or Science major) of each of the branches and the designs I wanted to create. I knew I wanted to create three different designs for each branch. (Currently, 2MyHero is licensed with the Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy) I decided to do one design for each branch that I would call “Protected”. Here’s where that originated:
A year ago I had the opportunity to visit Fort America, Gift Shop at The Pentagon. Though not normally a fan of selfie’s I couldn’t resist taking one while waiting for my escort – the buyer of the gift shop. You can read more about the visit and the gift shop in this previous blog.
Fort America features a variety of products with the phrase “Protect this house”. I bought my husband a workout shirt with that on it. That phrase was buzzing in my head as I left the shop, and suddenly it came to me, “Have your cake and protect it too”. Awesome potential! Now to create the best visuals to support the phrase.
Where does everyone go when looking for inspiration? I too started surfing Pinterest, Instagram and the web in search of creatively decorated cakes and cupcakes. I made notes on my handwritten spreadsheet with more details – colors, shapes, symbols. This visual electronic inspiration led to the decision to create cupcakes instead of cakes and I decided to make an adjustment. “Have your cupcake and protect it too”.
Now that I had specific visual ideas in mind it was time to head to the craft store and the grocery market to gather supplies: cake mixes, frosting, candles, sprinkles, cupcake papers . . .
Back in the kitchen, I mixed up white cake mix batter and divided it into separate bowls adding coloring to create red and blue mix in addition to the white. I baked all the cupcakes at one go. I had to refer to my spreadsheet often! For the US Navy cupcakes, I decided I only needed white and blue.
After mixing the colors, I put the different colored batters into large pastry bags fitted with large circle tips. With these I could pipe the colored batters into the cupcake papers cleanly. I did several layer variations so I would have some options on the other side. Some were solid colors, but I also did layers of blue and white for Navy and Air Force, blue and red for Marines, and red, white and blue for Coast Guard.
While the cupcakes were baking, I mixed up combinations of sprinkles – a different mixture for each branch. Here’s the mixture for the US Navy cupcakes:
After the cupcakes were baked and cooled, I took the large circle tips and dug out holes to insert the sprinkle mixture. I had decided I wanted to be able to cut open a cupcake and have the sprinkles come cascading out. You can see that image on our US Navy Style Birthday card. A thin coat of frosting held the sprinkles in place so I could add the dramatic top swirl of frosting. Some of the cupcakes got more sprinkles on top.
Prior to making the cupcakes I created a few white chocolate decorations – simplified versions of the branch logos, and solid white chocolate anchors made in a candy mold. This was one of those ideas that looked waaaayyyy better in my head than it ended up looking in reality. I didn’t end up using the anchor shown above. It was a little too fragile and too bumpy. Lesson learned.
Once the cupcakes were frosted and decorated, they were put in the fridge to rest. The day of the photo shoot I went out early to purchase balloons to use as props. I chose three each of white, blue, red and silver. My intention was to use blue and white for the navy photos, blue, silver and white for the Air Force photos, red and blue for Marines photos and red, white and blue for the Coast Guard photos.
It was a long and challenging day, but totally worth the effort to come up with designs that cannot be found ANYWHERE else! My daughter can attest to the fact that although the blue and red seems a little unusual they tasted great! She did scrape a good bit of the frosting off. A wee bit too much sugar there!
Finding a Birthday card for someone who serves in the Navy (or any of the other branches for that matter) that you look at and say “That’s perfect for . . . ” is no easy task.
That’s why we set out to create Birthday cards for Sailors that would be showstoppers. Designs that aren’t like any others you’ve seen. They are eye catching. You can’t wait to send them to your Sailor. You know the Sailor receiving them is going to LOVE the card you sent them. The card communicates respect for service with class and style.
2MyHero’s Protected Birthday greeting card is sure to bring a smile to your Sailor’s face! They’ll wish you had sent the cupcake too, but that gets a little tricky!
So, when you can’t send them an actual cupcake, you can send them 2MyHero’s Protected birthday card that is so delicious they’ll wish it was edible. They will feel loved by you like never before.
Protected is also available in a pack of 7 cards we call Lucky 7. It’s “lucky” because you get seven cards for less than 5 cards would cost individually. The pack includes 2 of each of the 3 Delicious designs plus a RED card – RED as in Remember Everyone Deployed. It’s great for sending to a Sailor whose birthday comes while on deployment. Lucky 7 packs are also available for Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. RED Birthday cards are only available in the Lucky 7 packs.
You can also find all our cards and packs on our Amazon store.
Order yours today to have plenty on hand to celebrate the Sailors in your life!
Let us know about your experience giving a 2MyHero greeting card to your military loved one. Comment below, leave a rating if you purchase through Amazon or Contact us and tell us how the card made you or them feel. We welcome your comments!
Source: 2 My Hero