I had a fun camping theme cake smash on July 4th!

Mom and Dad are big into the outdoors, camping and hiking.  Their favorite type of camping is rustic where you need to hike to your camp spot.  That is rustic for sure!

Growing up, camping was our family vacation every year.  The smell of a camp fire always brings me back to my camping days.  I have had many years of camping in New England with my fair share of wildlife encounters including a bear sniffing at my head and moose charging toward me.   Those were probably not my best camping experiences, but I do have many fond memories of camping with my family.  The smell of a campfire always brings me back.  This camping theme was so fun for me and I went all out for it!

The backdrop is hand painted by me!  I wanted a summer forest backdrop, which was more difficult to find with backdrop companies.  I do love to paint and create.  I purchased some heavy canvas at at a local fabric store.  Then purchased a lot of acrylic paint and just started painting.  It was a messy project but I love the results.

To add to the backdrop, I found some camping items at the target dollar spot.  My favorite is the banner I made out of material that was from a utensil holder found at target.  I cut triangle shapes out of the fabric.  If you look close, one triangle fabric is printed with a hiking trail map.  The other is yellow with campers and trees.  I also found the mugs, sign, canteen and kettle at the dollar spot.  I also made the tent out of cut branches in my yard and some rope.     I love how it all came together and Mom and Dad were really happy!

Little Tristan had fun playing with his cake.  He was not much of a fan of eating it, as most babies are not, but we got some great photos of him interacting with his cake.  We ended the sessions with a bath which was a hit with Tristan!

Enjoy looking through this camping cake smash!