{Feature Party} It's Wild Out There

I can't say enough wonderful things about this Zebra Party. I read The Birthday Girl religously, and she recently she posted a real party that was created by a mom celebrating her daughter's 4th birthday. I love the look of the stripes throughout the whole party, and the favors are adorable! Head over to the Birthday Girl's site for more pictures and Jen's recount of all the details she put into the party.

DIY Cupcake Stand

I love a great DIY project, and I just stumbled across this project from Lowe's Creative Ideas. I originally saw it featured over at Not Just a Mommy and fell in love with it. In love with everything - the individual holders, the ability to make it any color you need, and change it for any party, and the color scheme of the whole picture- HELLO Spring! This stand also leaves so much room for personalizing it for your party - hanging little streamers from the beams, or surrounding the base with fabric, flowers or ribbons. Have fun, and send us your pics if you try this! Check out Lowe's Creative Website for details on the 'How To' and comments on how to put it together.

Thank you so much to Dawn for featuring this!

{Feature Party} Such a Great Cake!

I came across this baby shower styled in turqoise and orange, featured over at The White Library.
 I love the simplicity of this cake, and how perfectly the colors go together, without screaming, 'it's a baby shower!' And I love the coordinating woven ribbons on the side plates, what a great, simple touch that brings so much to the table!

{Feature} Love for Olivia

I love a party that can incoporate a character based theme without going overboard with the actual character. I just came across these two adorable Olivia parties for little girls.
 Ces, at Lollipops & Paper, put together this fantastic party for her 4-year old daughter. I am so inpsired for my daughter's upcoming birthday because she is in LOVE (i mean, really, IN LOVE) with Olivia.

Head on over to Lollipops & Paper to see all her amazing pictures and ideas!

Take a look at this amazing cake! Covered in marshmellow fondant, this cake looks too good to eat! Nice job Cupkits Edible Creations

How stinkin' cute are these popcorn cupcakes!!! I can't wait to make them for an upcoming party and pass on all the credit to Lollipops and Paper!

Then I happily discovered another Olivia party over at Kara's Party Ideas.  I'm in love with color scheme, the stripes details, and the big tent kids cups - so cute!

Striped paper straws always make a huge impact! And perfectly paired with the polka-dot holder.

What's not to love about this scene- the polka-dot cake, great cupcake wrappers, and the unique big-top goodie stand. Love, love, LOVE!

{Feature} Nuts over the Nutcracker

I just came across this absolutely stunning party over at Kate Landers Events, LLC.  She always puts together an amazing party, and I'm in love with all the little details and decorations used to make this such a special event. The chocolates on silver tiers, the dainty glass plates, the beautiful ribbons, the layered table skirt, and the adorable personalized salad plates!

Head on over to her site to see the rest of the fantastic pictures and inspiration!

Cookie Overload!

We were on cookie overload for Valentine's Day! After batches and batches of sugar cookies, and hours of fun creating our own Valentine's, we loved sharing our treats with pre-school friends and sweethearts this year!

We created a 'Sweet Treats', a 'Love Bugs' and a 'Happy Valentine's Day' Valentine. The cookies packages were wrapped with twine, and the kids even had a place to sign their own cards!

 For the cookies, we used the classic Williams-Sonoma Recipe, and it was a hit!

Williams-Sonoma Sugar Cookies

• 2 1/2 cups (390g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks/185g) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup (250g) sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Over a small bowl, sift together the flour and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on high speed for 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium, slowly add the sugar and beat for 2 minutes, stopping the mixture occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for 1 minute, stopping the mixer once to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Stop the mixer and add half of the flour mixture. Beat on low speed until most of the flour has been absorbed. Add the remaining flour and continue beating until all of the flour has been absorbed and the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, 2 to 3 minutes. Do not over mix.
Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide into 2 equal balls, Shape each into a disk and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to 2 days. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 3/16 to 1/4 inch (4.5 to 6mm).
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
Dip cookie cutters into flour just before using and cut out shapes. Place on the baking sheet. Gather up the scraps, reroll them and cut out additional cookies.
Refrigerate the cookies until firm 20 to 30 minutes. (I did not do this, and my cookies held their shape perfectly.)
Bake the cookies until golden brown around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. If baking more than one sheet at a time, switch the sheets between the racks and rotate them 180 degrees halfway through baking.
Transfer the parchment sheets with cookies onto wire racks and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies directly onto the racks and let cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Makes 12 to 15 cookies

The icing is a standard Buttercream Vanilla Icing that hardens after the cookie is iced.

2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons cream

4 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a saucepan, over medium heat, heat cream and butter until butter is melted. Stir in the vanilla and confectioners' sugar. Remove from heat, and beat with an electric mixer until thick and smooth.



The Animals Go On Parade

We are so excited to share with you some pictures of our new Zoo Parade Baby Shower or Birthday Party line. It's been a big hit with baby showers this year, and we've had so much fun with it!