Happy Birthday to This Gal!

HOOTY-HOO!!! IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY!!!! It feels GREAT to be 25.....AGAIN!

Today, I'm just hanging back and enjoying my day with my kiddies and husband. I have no special plans, it is another day.....but don't think that this party gal is not going to celebrate. I have a lil' sumthin'- sumthin'up my sleeve that will kick off in a few weeks;)

In the meantime....I've got John, Ringo, Paul and George to kick off my celebratin'!



 .....and Fiddy too!



I hope you enjoy your day, as well!!!

 

{MG Party Impressions} Little Drummer Boy Party

Who doesn't love hot cocoa and drums.....???? Well, maybe not the drums but head on over to MG Party Impressions to see the Little Drummer Boy themed party I designed for a little boy's play date!!!!

 

{MG Party Impressions} Fun Cars Themed Party

I am over at MG Party Impressions today! We threw a fun Cars Themed Party for my little grand-baby - well, not sooo little. He turned 3!!! He loves Mater and the Disney movie, Cars. So, I had fun designing a race car inspired collection for the party. Check out my post for more details!

{Party People} Carnival Party Collaboration

So I know I've been MIA for a few days, but I've got big and exciting things going on - which I will share with you later in the week......first thing's first, the winner of my Edible Cupcake Wrapper - and the lone entrant is - (drum roll please) the FABULOUS MONIQUE from Enchanted Expectations! I heart Monique, she's one of the first blog friends I made and she's very creative (and the reason why I spend endless hours in Home Goods). Check out her blog and to view all her fancy parties!

On to other business! I recently teamed up with fellow members from the Martha Stewart's Dreamers Into Doers, Party People group for a Carnival party styled by Amy Croushorn of Make it Mine Parties (hearts it). This party was a fabulous collaboration of super talented party gals, including, Jutta of The Lucky Elephant, Pia of Cake Pop Fusion, Kristal & Jen of Atutudes and myself. Each of us lent our talents and crafts to help make, what I think, is an absolutely adorable party!

I provided Amy with a festive yarn pom-pom garland similar to the one I made for my daughter's Bubble Gum Birthday Bash! The garland was used as decoration for her photo backdrop - look how cute it turned out!

This fancy tutu was created by Kristal & Jen of Atutudes and is absolutely adorable!

A 'charming' bracelet from The Lucky Elephant!

How fun are the clown cake pops from Pia of Cake Pop Fusion?!!!

To get more details about the party and to check out Amy's Party Ideas blog!

{Pin-tastic} Lovey Candy Coated Cakes

A few weeks ago, my friend sent me this beautiful photo of an M&M decorated wedding cake she found online:

Source: brides.com via Keisha on Pinterest

She requested I put it in safekeeping for inspiration so I could duplicate it for her next birthday bash. Of course, I had to Pin It to my board.

Well, in the past few weeks this photo has be re-pinned several times over and it got me to thinking...was this a growing trend....wedding cakes decorated with candy in a super modern and elegant way????? Well, I searched online and found some beautiful candy decorated cakes - that are very adult friendly.

This gumball decorated cake is gorgeous displayed on top of a decorative cake plate stand and looks like a work of art!

Source: blog.weddzilla.com via Keisha on Pinterest

This rock candy decorated is so fun yet chic - I absolutely adore the combination of orange and turquoise.

Source: flickriver.com via Keisha on Pinterest

This simplistically candy button cake is perfect for any candy inspired bash without being too over-the-top.

Source: ediblecrafts.craftgossip.com via Keisha on Pinterest

Necco Candy wafers really bring attention to this basic two-tiered cake.

Source: yourbestwedding.blogspot.com via Keisha on Pinterest

Crushed hard candies give this cake a lot of texture and depth.

Source: bride.net via Keisha on Pinterest

I absolutely love the use of ribbon candy on this three-tiered cake

Source: vtvows.com via Keisha on Pinterest

{Summer Entertaining} Two Simple and Easy Summer Menu Ideas

When entertaining a small group of friends for the summer, I have two easy-breezy menu items that I always like to prepare.  For me, I keep it very simple and affordable and serve a large bowl of Caesar Salad with grilled shrimp and chicken. 

Source and Recipe

I always buy those bags of romaine lettuce, cut the heads up into nice portions, pour a little olive oil onto the salad and season lightly with salt & pepper.  Then, I toss in large croutons and serve the dressing, shrimp and chicken on a platter.  I also love this idea of skewering the chicken and adding grilled baguettes on the side!

 Source and Recipe

Be sure to serve this dish with a nice bottle of Moscato and you're good to go!
 
My other go to staple for a summer gathering is sliced grilled flank steak and grilled veggies.  Fire up your grill and toss on a well seasoned flank, skirt or, hanger steak, grill for 10 minutes on each side then allow to rest for another 10 minutes and slice. Toss a handful of fresh veggies like, bell peppers, scallions, zucchini, squash and eggplant in a mixture of herbed olive oil and grill for 3-5 minutes.  Serve the sliced steak alongside the grilled veggies and you've got a perfect summer meal!

 Source and Recipe

It's always important to have the right cocktail on hand for any grown-folk occasion and my cocktail du jour is the SANGRIA!  You might remember I boasted about this fabulous drink back in May, well it's now got its hooks in me.

Want to make your own fun summertime sangria?  Leave a comment below to win this Tastefully Simple Samba Sangria Slush Mix courtesy of Charisse Matthews.

One winner will be chosen at Random.org on Friday, July 22nd at 8 pm!  Please be sure to leave your email with your comment so we can reach you.

{Shop Talk} NEW Memermaid Party Collection on Etsy

THIS GIRL HERE IS TUCKERED OUT!  I have been diligently working on completing a handful of party kits and designs, along with finishing up some July 4th party items for our annual family cookout.  So, forgive me if I'm a little off lately.

I did want to share my latest party kit with you that is now available on my Etsy shop!

Isn't that little mermaid princess just the cutest?  Well, she's got ALL kinds of friends to choose from!!!!

I'm working on getting some photos together for this collection - it's the cutest, right?!!!  If you want one for your own little mermaid princess, check out my Etsy shop!

{Amazin' Parties} Corbin's Race Car Party

I have some amazing and talented friends who love to throw fantastic poorties just like me!  Here's a race car party that my friend and fellow blogger, Charisse Matthews, threw for her son Corbin's 3rd birthday. I've been sitting on this party for a minute to tie it to something car inspired.  With the next installment of the Disney's Cars franchise coming out tomorrow, it's now a perfect time to showcase this bash!

"These are pictures from my son's race car party. He loves race cars of any kind. I don't like to use a lot commercial party items so I only incorporated a few. This was such a fun party and I even found my little man a racing t-shirt from The Children's Place that went perfect with his party theme! Adults and Children had a ball!" - Charisse Race Car Boxed Lunch (Race Car Food Tray and Hamburger Sleeve from Paper and Cake Printables  www.paperandcake.com) Apple Slices, Juice Boxes, Chick- Fil-A Nuggets, Tater Tots  Candy Buffet featuring my Double Lemon Stuffed Cupcakes with Creme Bouquet Butter Cream Frosting  Race Car Cake purchased from SweetKakes & Co. www.sweetkakesbyraina.com (flags and race cars added by me)  "Hot Rods" made by me using Wilton Race Car Chocolate Molds  Race Car Party hat (Paper and Cake) Marshmallow Pops made by me(used Paper and Cake cupcake pics to make treat tags) Race Car Banner (customizable printable by Paper and Cake) Party Favor Tote Bags handmade by Denise K. Vasak and Applique by Denise K. Vasak (Customizable Bag Tags from Paper and Cake) Racing Flags and Banner (Oriental Trading Company.)

Thanks for sharing your party with us, Charisse!

{Creative Customers} Jedi's and Cookies and Cupcakes....OH MY!

Out of this world something is about this party!!!! You have to check out all the awesome details that my customer, the very creative, Kelly, created for her son Hayden's, 6th birthday!

 Kelly contacted me in early spring to create a custom photo invitation for Hayden's party and we came up with a really terrific product.  It's very cute (and so is little Hayden).....see?????

Using clip art that she purchased from my Etsy shop, she created her own signage, Jedi Training certificates, tags and bottle labels!  Kelly made the pool noodle light sabers, as well.  They're super easy to do - you might remember the ones I made for this party.

 

Kelly set up a STELLAR sweets table featuring Star Wars cookies designed by Christina over at Cookies are My Canvas.  A party-styling mama after my own heart, she found the perfect blue and orange swirl pops at an after Easter sale at FOUR different Wal-Marts! I love how she used a simple tin bucket filled with orange candies to anchor the pops!  So simple yet, so creative, no?  Speaking of creativity, it certainly runs in her family because Kelly's mom sewed all those Jedi robes for the party guests!  FUN!!!

I really loved all the attention to detail that Kelly paid to each component of the party.  It was a real pleasure working with her on the invitations and I'm so happy she chose to use Cupcake Wishes & Birthday Dreams to help make Hayden's party out of this world!  Hey Kelly - YOU ROCK, GIRRRL!!!!!


Side Note:  The Star Wars party collection is my most popular custom party kit requested by my Etsy customers.  Ironically, I've never added the collection to the store; everyone saw the pictures from the party I styled and planned last year and contacted me to request items from the collection!  Don't ask me why it took me so long, but after seeing the great job Kelly did with the designs I figured it was about time to add it to the shop. 

So, without further ado, the Star Wars Party Kit is available in our Etsy shop!  Yeeeeeaaaahh - and may The Force be with you!

{Party Recap} Part One: Nikki's Bubble-Riffic Birthday

Heeeeey!

This party mama is pooped!  We had so much fun over the (CRAZY) weekend celebrating and eating lots of gum, and blowing LOTS of bubbles.  I have so many photos to go through but I did want to post a few pics from the party.  I'll post more later in the week with details to boot!

{Party Starters} Bubble-Riffic Invitations

The invites are in the mail!!!!

The Mini Diva already passed out invites to her classmates, but the other guests will recieve these adorable invitations, that I designed,  in the next day or so. 

I'm so into envelope address wraps lately, I've even included them in my party kits on Etsy.

Each envelope was sprinkled with a little confetti on the inside and some glitter....not so sure how that's going to go over with the USPS or the parents, but hey - it's fun!

We're so excited about this party, I've got tons of bubble gum, bubbles and other things that blow up and pop!  I'm just hoping I can contain myself before I POP!  (get it????  pop????....I know, I know). 

Check back soon for more sneak peeks!

{Cupcake Monday} Top of the Cupcake to Ya!

Here's a throwback - 'memba this?

I made these 'Over the Rainbow' cupcakes last year for St. Patty's day.  What a festive way to celebrate the luck of the Irish! This is such an easy way to top off a cupcake and also fun for the little ones - it makes a GREAT classroom treat. 

If you're having a rainbow themed party or believe in fairy tales and unicorns - this is the perfect cupcake to incorporate into your theme.  It's simple and easy to do with just a few butterscotch candies, yellow frosting, rainbow Fruit Rollups, a swirl of whipped topping or white frosting, and your favorite cupcake!

You can read the original post here and also read about 'the best cupcakes evah'!