Space Party

My kids shared a birthday party this year because I am feeling too pregnant to do 2 parties only 1 month apart. We did a space theme because my 5 year old has been interested in the Sun and 3 year old is obsessed with the Moon.

 The dedicated father he is, my hubby blew up and hung LOTS of balloons and stars on the ceiling to create a "heavenly" effect to the party room.

I was in charge of the foods and especially enjoyed making them their own cakes based on their favorite objects in space... the sun and moon! The sun was topped off with cake pops on skewers that represented all the planets that orbit it.

Then there were other yummy treats too.

The party wouldn't be complete without some astronauts so we bought them costumes to wear as their party outfits.

When it was time for the cake launch we lit sparklers on each cake to create an explosive blast off.

Happy birthday kiddos!

"Celebration de la Bebe" | A French Themed Baby Shower

So my long time pal Tiffany is having her first baby! So I teamed up with my partner in crime, Rachel, to throw her a baby shower. She is having a girl and I wanted to make a nod to one of her many hidden talents which is speaking French. Not many of her friends know she once lived there and speaks the language so well. So with a party theme decided away we went and came up with a really fun event!

I  printed the invitations on water color paper and used gold envelopes, which was the accent color for the party along with pink and peach.

Here is the beautiful "La Mere" to be! She's standing in the entry way which we filled with hanging balloons. A very festive way to enter a home don't you think?

I made a peach/pink colored cake with different shades of cake layers and frosting. Then 12'' white candles topped it off. The best part was that it also served as our game for the night. I thought it would be fun to have a traditional french "King Cake" game. Usually played on new years but it fits perfect for a baby shower. I just hid a little plastic baby inside the cake and whomever got the piece of cake with a little baby in it won a gift basket!

Here is our winner showing off the baby she found in her slice. And the french themed basket that she won. The basket was really fun to pull together. It included things like Brie cheese, chocolate truffles, Grey Poupon Mustard, the current issue of Bon Appetite Magazine, a bottle of Perrier sparkling water etc...

Another activity was a French Photo Booth. We left out props like mustaches but more importantly thought bubbles that guests could fill with their baby advice for the new Mommy. The collection of images turned out really cute! Here is a sampling....

And my mouth still waters thinking of all the delicious french food that was served. Très Bon!

 Mini crepes with ham, asparagus and swiss cheese, ham and brie sandwiches on a baguette, and a Niçois salad on croissants. There was also baked Brie, and stuffed chocolate covered strawberries. I was in heaven. We drank pink lemonade in cups with little french labels wishing guests "A Votre Sante!"

Everyone left with a clear square box of Almond Macaroons or chocolate dipped Madeline cookies. It was my first attempt at making Macaroons and to be honest I'll be just fine if I never have to make them again :)

Au Revoir!

Hungry Caterpillar Babyshower

Some of my friends got together to throw two new mamas a baby shower. We chose one our favorite baby books called "The Hungry Caterpillar" on which to base the colors and food. The entire menu was based on the foods talked about in the book. Here are some examples:

I bought copies of the board books for guests to sign for the new mommies. Now they can remember all their friends when they read the story to their little ones when they arrive!

 Decorations were easy. Lots of multi colored balloons and lanterns!

At the end of the book the caterpillar turns into a beautiful butterfly so I made butterfly cookies for each of the guests as a thank you gift.

Congratulations Megan and Rebecca!

ABC Shower

 My friend Rachel and I hosted an ABC themed baby shower. We picked a red and teal color scheme to go with our carnival ABC styling.

A welcome sign

The inspiration for the party was Rachel's Funny collection of Alphabet blocks which we decorated the tables with.

I made little flash cards with labels for all the food. And even random cards all over the house to label things. ( T is for Toilet, F is for Floor...)

W is for Water

I is for Izzie

T is for Truffle ( red velvet cake ones!)

Q is for Quiche

Let them eat Red Velvet alphabet cake!

We set out lots of candy jars and cookies labeled "C is for Cookie" for party favors.

We played some great games and all the winners got an adorable red polka dot apron!

A is for Apron

Congratulations Kristy! She was such a sport and wore her label " P is for Pregnant" like a champ!

Lego Birthday

For My son's 4th Birthday we did a Lego theme. My husband used an iphone app to turn a photo of my son into a Lego work of art. We used this for his party invitations.

 Garlands were a snap. (tee-he) We attached Legos along red yarn to string across the room. And My husband being a wiz at Lego creations spelled out "Happy Birthday" in Legos!

 Simple rectangle sugar cookies with matching M&M's made yummy Lego bricks.

 Oreo truffle pops were the perfect thing for making Lego man heads. I rolled a big log and little log of the filling. Froze it and cut it up to create a big cylinder heads with a little cylinder on top. I dipped them in yellow candy melts and used a food marker to draw on the faces.
Almost to cute to eat...almost.

 Micah's name spelled out in Legos for his big red Lego cake.

 It was a simple 2 layer square cake with 2 oreos wrapped in matching fondant to make the Lego nubs.- sorry what do you call those things?!
 I tried making my own fondant frosting for this cake. Tasted better then store bought but was a nightmare to work with. I'll let you know when I actually figure it out.

She's Gonna Pop!

I hosted a baby shower this weekend for a very sweet friend. I picked a theme based on the idea that she's gonna pop at any moment. (Did not know at the time that she would actually be on bed rest to prevent any early "popping"! Luckily she was able to attend her party as we just happened to have it the last night of her mandatory bed rest!)

Having a theme is the best thing to do for inspiration. I wanted this party to be all about Bubbles and anything that goes pop!

I used all clear glass containers for food because they were most "bubble" like. For a garland I cut out vellum circles that were strung together with a sewing machine by my sewing guru and partner in crime, Rachel. Turned out cuter than I expected!

Also found some clear plastic ornament balls that I was able to slip paper letters into to spell out words...

Then there was the food. Every item on the menu had the word pop in it.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Home made Pop Tarts

Lemon Poppy Seed Tarts

Chocolate Fudge Cake Pops

Popovers

Soda Pop

Pop Corn

Candy Bar: Pop Rocks, Lolli Pops, Blow Pops, Bubble Gum

 Parting gifts included mini packages from the candy bar

I hung a "bubble" wreath on my front door to welcome guests. I spray painted the balls to match the party colors.

 Party Poppers exploded to set the mood.

For the games we played the winners got a glass bubble bowl full of cake pops. I designed a music game for all the guests. I called it " Baby Pop Songs" I put together a play list of 10 pop songs that had the word baby in it. I played a sample of each song and had people win points for guessing the song title and artist's name. See list below!

 It was sooo much fun!