Have you ever seen amazing cakes like these, wanted to make them for your children, but had no idea or the creativity to pull it off?
Parenting magazine has a great gallery on their site that shows you amazing cakes and then points out all the details, the recipe and how to cut the cakes to make the pieces. See how they point out what to use to make the details?
Great inspiration for your next birthday party!
Wow your Super Bowl party guests with these truffle football cupcakes. They look complicated, but they aren't! If you can roll a ball and use a toothpick, you can create the wow!
Full recipe at Taste of Home.
Today, I'm over at Nashville Parent magazine sharing a super easy Valentine's Day dinner idea!
C'mon over and visit!
One of my fave event planners, Jamee at Setting the Mood in Indianapolis put together this great Colts table. If you're hosting a Super Bowl gathering, it's time to start working on the details and this table has many that I LOVE! Click on the photo to see it larger. Here are some of the smaller details that really stand out:
I love these amazing cake/dessert stands by the ladies of Bee in our Bonnet!
Made with wooden candlesticks and dowels, plus squares of solid wood and doll house trim, they are sturdy!
Visit their site for the full photo tutorial. If you're willing to tackle a wood project, these would make a great gift for entertaining friends.
That's my son, Keaton, about to nail me with a snowball on the snow day we enjoyed Monday. We live in a neighborhood packed with children and yet he was the only out for most of the day. I was really surprised.
And much later, while we were enjoying hot chocolate and drying out, I was thinking we should have knocked on doors and had a Snow Day party!
Of course, we knew a couple days before of the weather forecast and it would've been fun to put something together for the neighborhood children.
And it doesn't have to be complicated. A few ideas:
It doesn't have to be pefect or fancy to create snow day memories! Don't forget your camera!
So Christmas is THIS WEEK! Have you heard? As with every year, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas seems to roll like a runaway train and before you know it, you're smack dab in the middle of Christmas week and may have forgotten a gift or two.
And who doesn't like to receive something fabulous delivered right to their door?
Recently, I was sent some fabulous gifts by the lovely team over at 1-800-Flowers and I want to share with you that these gifts are not your everyday fruitcake. These are amazing gifts that not only make an impression... they are amazing in taste as well!
First up, Cheryl's cookies. Yes, they are a box of cookies, BUT... they come beautifully wrapped and taste wonderful.
I opened the box to find the cookies presented in this. Beautiful, right? A sparkly box. I guarantee you will want to keep the box, even. It's THAT beautiful up close.
Open up the box... each cookie is wrapped individually! Buttercream frosted! yum!
Cheryl's cookies are a perfect and affordable gift. And, Cheryl's has a cookie club! Send someone the gift of cookies all year!
The next item I received was the sleigh gift basket. I wanted to show you how this arrives because don't you always wonder when you order a gift, how it's presented and if they take enough care in packaging it?
The sleigh basket is rather large. And the above picture is what it looked like when I received it. It came in a large box and inside the box, the basket was braced with dividers. This basket wasn't going anywhere! (Just how you want it!) The basket itself was shrink wrapped and draped with a beautiful gold and red bow. It literally looked JUST like the photo on the website:
The sleigh is beautiful and can be reused as hoilday decor for years to come. It would make a great serving piece! Drap a beautiful napkin inside and serve holiday rolls or Christmas morning cinnamon rolls out of? Or reuse it for a wonderful holiday centerpiece!
If you're stumped over what to buy someone, feel like you're running out of time but want something special and beautiful? Just hop over to 1-800-Flowers or 1-800-Baskets. They will be shipping even on December 23 to get them to your loved ones on for the holiday. Below are the order deadlines. Make it easy on yourself and order NOW and know that something beautiful will be delivered straight to their door!
And guess what? MyDaily.com is offering 25% off code that can be used before December 31. Just use the code "Daily25deal" for 25% off your order.
1-800-BASKETS.COM (Christmas delivery on orders placed by 1 p.m. EST Dec. 23)
Fannie May Fine Chocolates (Christmas delivery on orders placed by 11 a.m. EST Dec. 23)
Cheryl’s Baked Goods (Christmas delivery on orders placed by 3 p.m. EST Dec. 23)
The Popcorn Factory (Christmas delivery on orders placed by 3 p.m. EST Dec. 23)
It's a fall weekend! Time for two things: football and camping!
What sweet treat is perfect for both? S'MORES!
Just grab the necessary ingredients: Hershey's Chocolate (because no one does it better!), graham crackers and marshmallows!
For outdoor gatherings, Smores are quick and easy. Stack the S'mores like the photo above and wrap them in foil.
Depending on your fire, only grill for 2 minutes maximum. Usually only 1 minute is fine. The results is warm gooey chocolate goodness!!!
Want to learn more about S'mores? Visit the Hershey's Smores site for recipes and traditions and even built your own virtual S'more!
First things first... did you enter the enter to win a couple rolls of Scotch tape? Perfect for holiday crafts and wrapping!
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This birthday party from Becky of From Rookie to Rockstar has adorable details centered around the movie CARS. CARS is so big with little boys right now so I'm thrilled to share with you this party as inspiration to many parents who may be wondering how to pull it off.
First up, the invitations. I love how she had an invitation made as well as another insert that explained what activities to expect. That REALLY builds excitement!
She borrowed tires from a local shop to use as the entryway to the party!
Favors were toolboxes for each child to take home filled with fun Cars themed items.
Look at this! She made cars out of cardboard for each child attending! Later than put them on for a race.
Also, she created a large Lightning McQueen prop. The children were able to play "pit crew". The children were able to add oil, turn the bolts on the tires, wash the windows, etc. They loved it!
Look at the awesome cake!
There are many more photos on her blog including the adorable outfits the family wore and other activities the children played! Head over! What an amazing day for her son, Cooper!
Nashville reader Jennifer shared with me her recent party and although it was billed as a Halloween party, the details would work for a super cute fall get together!
From Jennifer:
"This party was obvioulsy inspired by Owls and I had everyone come to the party as their favorite "Creature of the Night". Owls are definitely my favorite creature of the night! ;) I wanted to give my house a "foresty" feel so I brought in twigs and branches from outside and set them around the house. We also hung silver stars and yellow paper lanterns that gave off an eerie glow and served as my full moon. A fog machine added a misty appearance."
"My dessert table was the spotlight and all of the food was owl themed. I made the cake pops. They were devil's food cake on the inside and I made a batch in chocolate and a batch in orange (to match my invitation). They turned out great and were a HUGE hit at the party.
"I also made the owl cookies, owl brownies, and mice truffles. The owl brownies ("wise old brownies") were inspired by Dylan of Dylan's Candy Bar in New York. I added a piece of sheet moss in the middle to give it more of an "outdoorsy" feel and draped the table in brown burlap. Black fabric was the backdrop and a large yellow paper lantern hung for a full moon."
One of the guests dressed as a black cat and read tarot cards all night for the other guests. Everyone loved it and had a wonderful time!
If you're in Nashville and need an event planner, check out of Jennifer of Mr and Mrs Events
Vendors used:
My invitations were made my Shawna Sheahen of Paper Millie Press
The food labels were made by Stacy Splonski at Sugar Tree Studio
The fabric owls were handmade by Jason Parker Counce with Jason Parker Counce Designs
All pictures were taken by Daniel Brown, http://www.flickr.com/people/23044994@N06/
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Need more fall and Thanksgiving ideas? Decor, recipes, crafts and other conversations are happening right now on the Seasonal Celebrations Community on BlogFrog. Join us! We'd love to help you create the perfect celebration!