Hunter's 5th Birthday Cake

Here is Hunter's 5th birthday cake: 

 

Here's the breakdown of how we made it: 

This year, my nephew requested a beachy/pool party themed cake.  I must say, it was fun to make and very quick compared to some in year's past.  My mom & I planned it and made it in one afternoon.  It is actually huge, a full sheet cake.  The little "beach balls" are mini gum balls my mom bought from Cracker Barrel.  She also bought fruit strip gum at Cracker Barrel which were the beach "towels" under the umbrellas.  The drink umbrellas were used as beach umbrellas and they are from Hobby Lobby.  We made a final trip to the cake supply store to get all the adorable little sea creatures-the fish, dolphins, turtles, starfish, etc. 

The sand mixture is coconut I toasted in the oven until brown, ground up in my BlendTec blender until "sandy" with graham crackers and brown/white sugar.  I thought it turned out very realistic in appearance and texture!  It was yummy too! 

All in all, it was fun to make.  I always love the end results of cake making, but dread the process because it can involve so many steps and I always have lots of helpers in my kitchen.  OR, I have to wait till bedtime and then I'm up tired working on cakes.  This cake was different though.  Carson helped me stir up the mixes, and the kids helped a little with decorating.  It wasn't bad at all. 

In case you're wondering cost- here's the breakdown of what we spent.  My mom did call Food Lion and inquire about buying a plain, undecorated sheet cake.  1/2 sheet was $24.99.  I guess full sheet would be around $50.  Ridiculous in my opinion when a mix is around $1.50. 

4 cake mixes- $1.19 each= $4.76
dozen eggs= free from Poppy's chickens
oil= had on hand- I use Palm Oil shortening
box of graham crackers= can't remember-maybe $1.50 for Walmart brand
coconut= already had on hand
sugar= already had on hand
sea life animals & a nice cake board and box at supply store= $13.59 (the cake box was a splurge but made it so much easier to transport the cake.  Since I have little ones, I thought it was a good investment to store the cake (in my closet) and also transport). 
icing- 4 cups shortening, 4 lbs. powdered sugar, meringue powder, vanilla flavoring, butter flavoring, almond flavoring= had all on hand already
food coloring= had on hand  (I know, I don't like artificial dyes-I haven't experimented with natural dyes for my cake decorating but I plan to!)

As you can see, I had most everything on hand already, so I spent about $ 20 out of pocket to make this cake.  My mom also spent money on the candies and things, but I'm not sure what they cost. 
When I run out of something I just replace it as needed, like the meringue powder and flavorings, so I don't know what they really cost per cake. 
It's safe to say, it's much cheaper to make your own cake versus buying store bought or from a professional baker!  Hunter loved the cake and the kids all enjoyed it with homemade ice cream, so I'd say it was a hit!  Now....wonder what my challenge will be next year???