Super Bowl!

As per my usual, I made themed desserts to match a themed party. And I'm weeks late posting about it.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Frosting and White Chocolate Laces

Chocolate Covered Strawberries with White Chocolate Laces

I will warn you, piping the white chocolate gets super tricky because it'll harden in your piping bag. So I would melt and use only maybe 1/2 cup max at a time. Also, if you're not lazy like I was, make a small batch of buttercream frosting to pipe the laces on the cupcakes. Good luck and enjoy!

Go Team! And Happy Crafting!

It's a Mario Party!

I helped the fiancé of a friend of my fiancé's (whoa. did you follow that?!) throw a Mario themed birthday party... And it was so much fun! I made all the paper products (banner, labels), as well as the marshmallow pops. Of course, I bombarded my co-planner with ideas found on Pinterest. I clearly need children... But not yet. :)

The fiancé and I were Mario and Peach, and the birthday boy and his fiancé we Bowser and Peach. And that's the whole crew above... We're acting out our characters, if you didn't figure that out. ;)

Wahoo! Happy Crafting!

Bunny Cupcakes

I realize that I am now a couple of days late (meant to post this ON Easter), but still worth a post. This year I made Easter Bunny Cupckakes... vanilla cupcakes, vanilla buttercream frosting, sugar cookie ears with white fondant, and cotton ball tails. Cute, right? I have to admit, I don't think they are nearly as cute (or nearly as tasty) as last year's carrot patch cupcakes.

What would I change? 1. I would use paper cupcake liners (as originally planned) in order for the cotton ball tails to stick better. 2. I would replace the butter in the frosting with shortening to get pure white instead of off-white. 3. I would have (as my mom suggested) baked the cookie ears with a toothpick or stick in them to help them stay on the cupcakes a little better.

Hope you all had a Happy Easter!

Polka-Dot Cupcake Invitation

Shannon, my giveaway winner, requested birthday invitations with cupcakes and polka-dots. Her daughter is turning 6. Happy 6th Bithday, Shannon's Daughter! I hope you have a very happy birthday party! Below are the invitations I made...

 

Happy crafting!

Super Bowl

Football Cookies:

Almond-Sugar Cookies, White Buttercream Frosting, Chocolate Fondant, White Icing

Endzone Cupcakes:

Chocolate Cupcakes, Green Cream Cheese Frosting, White Icing, Goal Post Toothpicks

 

Football Cupcakes:

Chocolate Cupcakes, Chocolate Ganache, White Icing

Endzone Trays:

Football Field Patterned Printed on White Cardstock, Cut, Folded, Glued...

line with wax paper to hold chicken wings!

Enjoy the Super Bowl, Ya'll! Happy Crafting!

Navy Party

Like I said in my previous Navy Party Post, the party was awesome! Below are pictures of the decorations and food...

Thank You Hadar, aka Miss Kindergarten, for helping me paint the way cute signs we used. And by help, I mean she totally did it all for me while I watched and pretended I was doing something.

And she helped me fix all the mistakes I made painting stripes on wooden trays. I really should not be allowed to paint. Anything. Ever. I used one tray to hold Margarita Supplies at the bar and the other to hold a Boat, Cocktail Napkins, and LifeSaver Mints.

The Navy Props that were used in all those fabulous pictures. Nicole, my amazingly awesome partner-in-crime, found Temporary Anchor and Heart Tattoos! I know. Way Cool... Ignore the Gorilla Tape. The backdrop was giving us quite a hard time!

Thank You Jan, aka Daniel's Mom, for taking all these fabulous pictures. I was so preoccupied that I forgot to take pictures of all the decorations! I know! Thank Goodness for Jan! Here's the table, from left to right.

Thank You Nicole for all the work you put into planning and prepping the food! She made four different types of Butter as a toppings bar for Grilled Corn on the Cob. YUM!

And my Dessert Table. Nothing but Cheesecakes and Forks.

Remember my Triple Chocolate Cheesecake? Mmm. One of my Favorites.

And another one of my favorites... Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cheesecake.

So happy that so many of Daniel's closest colleagues, family, and friends could join him in celebrating his Commission into the Navy. Happy Crafting! 

In the Navy!

Daniel's Navy Party. Awesome. That's all I can say. Below are just a few of the pictures from the "photo booth" I set up. As you can see, awesome. It definitely helps that we know a lot of really awesome people. I can't stop saying awesome... AWESOME!

 

I know. He's super cute. Both the baby, and my boy. Crazy awesome! Happy partying!

Navy Silverware

For Daniel's Navy Party, I wrapped white silverware in navy napkins and tied them with a nautical knot. I'm seriously rocking these knots! They were pretty easy and didn't take too long. However, I attemped to do this while at Daniel's with his new kitty. Apparently kitties like string. Go figure. This definitely slowed me down a bit. I ended up tying most of the knots above my head, out of reach of kitty. Haha. It was prettty entertaining.

I used the same Knot Tutorial that I found helpful for my Navy Knot Board. Like I said before, it's amazing. I'll probably make a string of knots to adorn the food table, as well. Happy crafting!

Navy Knot Board

You know those nautical knot boards you see? Well I decided I wanted one as a table decoration for Daniel's Navy Party. I did a lot of research and watched a lot of tutorials, but I finally finished. Below is my Navy Knot Board.

(Ignore the white glue. I was so excited that I took pictures before letting it dry.)

Did I mention I watched A LOT of tutorials? Well most of them were totally unhelpful. Here's a link to the best tutorials I found. They had so many knots to choose from and used a sequence of pictures as a tutorial so you can go at your own pace. VERY HELPFUL.

Animated Knots: the best knot tying tutorials ever

Serioulsy. They were awesome. Happy knotting! And happy crafting!

Navy Photo Props

I mentioned before that I found navy and white striped fabric to use as a backdrop for photos... Well below are the props I'll be using, as well. You'll recognize the mustaches. I also decided to use some of my grandpa's old pipes. I think because they remind me of Popeye... And Popeye was a sailor. I also purchased a captain's hat and a couple sailor's hats. I can't wait for all the silly pictures Daniel's friends will create!

Oh! And remember I mentioned I have a co-host on this one? Well Nicole found ANCHOR TATTOOS!!! What grown adult doesn't love a temporary anchor tattoo?!?! You'll definitely want to come back in September to see these pictures. Happy crafting!

Navy and White Paper Poms

Remember Erit's Graduation Party? Well I saved the white paper poms to be reused at Daniel's Navy Party. Now all I had to do was make the navy poms. You would not believe how difficult it was to find NAVY blue tissue paper!

After triple checking every store I could think of, I finally found and order them off amazon. And they're a perfect match! See the Martha Stewart Tutorial I followed. They really are quite easy. Happy crafting!

Navy Throw Pillow

With the extra fabric left over from my pennant banner, I made a throw pillow. I really had to scrounge for scraps, but I made it happen! It's two sided (I didn't have enough striped fabric for two sides). One side navy and white striped, the other solid navy.

As you can see, I didn't have a solid piece of navy fabric (left over from the table cloths). I therefore used four strips of navy fabric... I actually like how it adds to the striped theme. Happy crafting

Navy Pennant Banner

So I searched and searched and searched for navy and white striped fabric and could not find what I wanted... Then I went to IKEA. Did you know IKEA has fabric? Well, they do. And they are awesome. Of course I squealed when I found it. I plan on using the bulk of the navy and white striped fabric as a backdrop for pictures (props to be posted later), but also wanted a banner to hang over the food tables. Below is the banner I created.

 

I'm using a lot of thick twine to create knots, so that's what these pennants are strung on. This banner will be hung over a table with a solid navy blue table cloth, so I'm hoping it will pop nicely. Happy crafting!

Navy Boats

As centerpieces for Daniel's party, I made some navy boats. The boats were surprisingly easy to make... I even memorized the folds after one try! (And made one out of a napkin at a restaurant the other day. Waiter thought I was nuts.) I'm planning on filling them with LifeSavers at the party. Cute AND Practical!

To Make: Fold an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of cardstock into a boat (tutorial here). Cut triangle flag out of cardstock and use double sided tape to adhere to a wooden skewer. Poke wooden skewer through center of boat.

Happy crafting!

Navy Water Bottle Labels

You know me and my water bottle labels... I figure people need to stay hydrated and why not stay hydrated with decorated water. Decorated to the theme of the party, to be exact. Below are the navy and white striped labels for Daniel's Navy Party.

 

Super simple. But they'll look awesome with the navy and white striped theme we've got going on. Stay hydrated this summer! And happy crafting all!

Navy Invitations

Okay. Some of you may know and some of you may not know that my boyfriend, Daniel, was accepted into the U.S. Navy's HPSP (Health Professions Scholorship Program). Basically, the U.S. Navy pays for him to finish his doctorate and then gives him a job. Good deal, right? Congrats, Daniel! I'm SUPER EXCITED for him and of course, SUPER PROUD of him, as well. He definitely deserves it. So in celebration of his official swearing in in September, I'm throwing him a party. (DUH!) Actually, I have a partner in crime on this one... Nicole and I are co-hosting! I LOVE collaboration so I'm double excited. Below are the invitations we'll be sending out...

How did I ever send out invitations without paper lined envelopes???

 

We're going with a nautical theme... anchors, knots, navy and white stripes. So fun. Happy crafting!