A DIY Cake Smash is something we have done for each of our children's first birthday. They are such a lovely way to mark such a special occasion and perfect for if you're on a budget (or simply cannot afford a professional photographer). You can make them as extravagant or simple as you wish, as long as you have the basics of a cake and a clean background.

Lilah turned one back in January, but I realised that I never actually shared the photos from her DIY cake smash! It was so lovely to watch her explore and eat her special cake - especially as we never really let her have such sweet treats before. And of course extra special, as we let her big brother and sister get involved at the end too.

For the decorations, I hopped onto eBay and found this lovely pink bunting, to add a touch of colour. Lilah's 'ONE' birthday crown was also from eBay, and an absolute bargain! At first I had my heart set on a gorgeous handmade crown. But I knew she wouldn't get it on longer than a few seconds anyway, so this eBay one did the job perfectly. Her personalised vest was from Esty, and her tutu was from Next. And finally, the cake was a simple Victoria sponge from the supermarket - again I would have loved a beautiful handmade one, but why waste the money when it's designed to be smashed?

We then simply placed the cake in-front of Lilah, and let her explore. She was a little unsure at first, but after a little encouragement she got stuck in eventually. From experience I've found that breaking into the cake and showing them what to do helps - some babies just don't want to touch and get too messy!

You can see Indiana's cake smash here, and Parker's cake smash here. We've done each one slightly differently, so I hope they give you some inspiration!

Parker's DIY Cake Smash!

With Parker turning ONE on Thursday, I thought it was time to share his cake smash photos with you. We did it at home, just like with Indiana's and it was so much fun! I couldn't pick just a few, so this is going to be a very picture heavy post.

I found his crown and badge on Instagram and instantly knew I needed them. They're from Teddy Bobbins and were so reasonably priced, as well as being fab quality. The cake topper is from another Instagram seller called Confetti Day and completed the cake perfectly. We did cheat this time and bought the cake from Asda, but it did the job and Parker found it pretty tasty. We also used our Messy Me Splashmat to protect the floor - vital for a cake smash!

It was Parker's very first taste of a proper cake, and despite never trying it before he dived straight it. I love the little facial expressions and cheeky looks we captured - I think he thought he was being naughty eating the cake, and kept looking for reassurance that it was okay.

I love so many of these pictures, and I'm so glad we decided to do a cake smash again. I know they're not for everyone, but we think they're so much fun! You don't have to go to a studio, and it doesn't have to be pricey (the cake was £3 and I spent about £10 on the crown and badge). So if you've got a special birthday coming up, give it a go!

DIY First Birthday Cake Smash

It was a couple of weeks ago now that we did Indiana's cake smash, and with only 1 week to go until her birthday, I thought it was time to share them with you! I would have loved to do a professional one but it would have worked out SO expensive. So in the end we did it completely 'DIY' and I'm so pleased with the results, especially considering Indiana just doesn't sit still haha.

Jack is the baker in this household so he was in charge of the cake. I bought a cupcake mould from Ebay as that's the design we were going for. It turned out pretty well, and it was even topped with pink icing and a pink ribbon.

Her outfit was something I thought about for a while. I wanted something that looked super cute, but also something that symbolised her turning 1. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you'll know how much I love My First Years. I found the 'first birthday' vest and instantly fell in love, so that was sorted. The pink frillys are something I've had my eye on for ages now! They're from my favourite place The Bow Boutique are are SO cute and girly. I completed her outfit with a pink bow from The Bow Boutique as well.


We just used a plain wall in the living room (luckily we have laminate flooring too which is a must!). I took some of her bunting from her room to decorate the wall, and then just blew up some pink balloon... so simple!

Then it was time to let her loose with the cake. As soon as she saw it she wanted to touch it and we needn't have worried about her crawling off haha. Her face was a picture and it wasn't long before she got stuck in. She didn't eat much of the cake itself but I'm surprised she wasn't sick after all the icing she ate! Jack was photographer too, using his Bridge camera.

I would totally recommend doing a cake smash for a first, or even other birthdays. The pictures are something we'll treasure forever and as we did it ourselves we can keep them all, and then decide what ones we want to print. To be honest I think doing it ourselves was much more fun, and she completed the shoot with a nice warm bubbly bath, her favourite!