Girly Girl Birthday Parties ~ Inspiration for Your Girly Girl Celebration!

I'm on Maternity Leave...

2011-04-15T22:36:00.000-05:00

I am on Maternity Leave from GGBP and Blogging til July due to the birth of our BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS Finnleigh Rhian:) We are also a Military Family scheduled to move next month with my Husband leaving for a year in Afghanistan a few weeks later. So, when the dust settles and the boxes are unpacked (and tears dry) I will rededicate myself full time to growing and sharing Girly Girl Birthday Parties, recipes and tutorials (and GGBP products).
Enjoy your spring, Hug your loved ones and SEE YOU THIS SUMMER:)

Alice in Wonderland Birthday Party

2011-02-15T14:08:00.001-06:00

The Talented ladies at PIZZAZZERIE entertain in style designed this colorful, creative and whimsical Alice in Wonderland Party for a lucky, little 1 year old. The attention to detail is impeccable. I find something new each time I look at the pictures of the special event!

I hope you will find lots of inspiration and ideas for your own birthday parties and Alice in Wonderland themed events.

Flowers were a must at this whimsical party so we mixed over-sized silk flowers with dozens of real flowers from Jagg Classic in Raleigh, NC. You would never have known it was the middle of winter with garden flowers everywhere you turned! We also used whimsical glittered decorations stuck down in the bouquets to add a bit of spice to the bouquets. Glittered butterflies from Michaels adorned the bouquets as well.

A lucky shopping trip at Home Goods discovered these whimsical tea pots that I knew were PERFECT for Vivi’s party! We had 7 in total that sat around on the party tables. Guests loved pointing out their favorite tea pot as there were several different styles. If you LOVE these tea pots, you’re in luck! Our Prop Shop (which is down for a bit of a face lift) will have a couple of these tea pots ready to be shipped out as soon as it’s back up and running so stay tuned if you are interested in 1!

Vivi’s mom had a darling Alice in Wonderland tea set (bowl, top left) that we put at Vivi’s place at the table. Various chalkboard signs were stuck down in bouquets with cute phrases like “drink me” and “vivi”.
Allyson Jane Bakery made the personalized cookies with graphics by The TomKat Studio. They were originally for the favor “hat boxes” but when we saw how darling they were, we knew they deserved a place at the sweets table!

The cake was absolutely amazing! (main cake picture by Abigail Blosser Photography). Delicious fruit flavors and whimsical decorations matched the party theme perfectly. The cake was made by James Perry of Chapel Hill, NC.

An extra room at the club was set up as a croquet room for the kids! Over-sized playing cards were folded over as goals and flamingos were attached to croquet mallets. The kids loved running into the croquet room!

While the kids enjoyed bouncy houses, face painting, and croquet, the adults enjoyed a champagne bar and Mad Hatter beer!

The dress up table was QUITE A HIT! It was easy to do with some Alice in Wonderland costumes, costume jewelry, and a raid of the fancy shoes closet that my mother and I have accumulated over the years.

Favors were made from paper “to-go” boxes crafted to look like hats and filled with sweet treats and mini alarm clocks. Each “hat” was adorned with a little Queen of Hearts favor tag.

(photo and content credit: PIZZAZZERIE entertain in style)

Caillou Party

2011-02-10T11:46:00.002-06:00

What a lovely party. Simply Captivating Events linked their "girly" CAILLOU PARTY and it's my pleasure to share it with you! Caillou may be a boy cartoon character but his sweet personality is attractive to boys and Girly Girls alike. In fact, I am posting this as my 4 year old daughter is watching an episode of Caillou!

We are big Caillou fans at our house, so when our little girly-girl wanted a Caillou celebration for her 3rd birthday party I was up for the challenge. Caillou is all primary colors, so to make her party fit for a princess, I did the primary colors with a twist - Caribbean blue, yellow, & light red, with a touch of lime green. We had a great time, and I love the way it all came out.


{The birthday girl & her little brother} (photo and content credit: SIMPLY CAPTIVATING EVENTS)

A Midsummer's Night Fairy Party

2011-02-04T12:00:00.012-06:00

The uber-talented author of Frog Prince Paperie linked her A Midsummer's Night Fairy Party for her mother on our LINK YOUR PARTY PAGE. I love this party so much and it just goes to show that NOT every girly party has to be staged for a "little" girl.

We had a magical evening of celebrating my mother’s birthday…full of laughter, fairies, butterflies, and a mischievous little puck. But…there was a great sigh of relief as we cut into the birthday cake, the work was over and we could all simply enjoy the moment.

Throwing this event was extra fun; we travelled to Virginia to where my family lives to put it on. As a result, the whole family got to be involved. My brother helped with the cooking, my father engineered signs and candleholders and anything else that needed built, my mother remained silent as I dismantled and redecorated her house, and she, my sister-in-law and a few old good friends helped craft many of the small details in the party. And probably most important, my dear husband wrangled the children while we put the finishing touches on everything. It was wonderful to have an event that brought us all together!
A few weeks before the party, invitations were sent out. They have a full craft paper brown enclosure tied with the ribbons that were used throughout the party, and were adorned with little fairies and some specially written prose. The fairies were a special touch just for my mother — they are silhouettes of her little pixie of a granddaughter and are seen throughout the party decor as well!

. As our guests arrived, we wanted to set the stage a bit…

White branches in teal-tinted metal buckets hung heavy with votives flanked the path to the door. Votives were placed up the walkway, with little fairies dancing up the steps.

Inside, fairies and butterflies fluttered amongst the sweets on the dessert table. Natural elements such as burlap, river rocks and long branches tied the beautiful gardens outside the windows into the room.

The items served on the dessert and appetizer table were specifically chosen because they were Mom’s favorites, although I admit I have a few new ones now myself, like the AMAZING strawberry meringues

The artisan strawberry meringues were so pretty, we had to convince people they weren’t just decorations. And they tasted even better than they looked! Sweet Purrfection, a small artisanal confectionery out of Chicago, provided these light as air melt in your mouth treats. Perfect flavor, perfect texture, perfect custom color….they were just perfect! We’ve since tried their other flavors, and they are ALL fabulous. Erin’s Cake Creations provided the beautiful custom decoration for the carrot cake and fondant roses that reflected the paper flowers in the party decor. Girly Gatherings made the unique sugar cookies with graphics to match the invitation, a crested “G” and our little fuscia fairy. The live greenery was all contributed by my mother’s gardens...

Each letter of the birthday banner is unique typographic art taken from antique books and available in the public domain. Masterpiece Designs has a wealth of inexpensive imagery and is where I found the beautiful antique frames. They were perfect for holding Shakespearean quotes!

My brother and I had such a good time in the kitchen together preparing the appetizers…apricot brie puffs, spinach and feta purses, herb crusted pork loin rolls, black bean cakes with spicy sweet potato sauce and cilantro cream, honey minted fruit and marinated cheese.

We mixed up a signature drink for the night – Love Potion No. 9, otherwise known as a white russian (mom’s favorite). We’re happy to report Puck’s potion only turned one of our guests into a lovable donkey.

On the outside deck, fairy lights were strung on the arbors and trees for atmosphere, and there were many candles flickering out in the gardens to make for a little fairy magic. There was liberal sprinkling of candles, votives and butterflies through the rooms inside where the party circulated. Fuscia paper lanterns and paper roses added pops of color.

A party can be thrown without a tissue pouf, but I don’t think I can ever give up the fun of the photo booth. The grandchildren, dressed as Puck and Titania, posed for the camera while the adults were able to play dress up for a moment.

As the guests left, we treated them to a few party favors. Again, one of mom’s favorites was selected to thank our guest for coming–chocolate covered oreos. There is a tutorial on how to make these little paper rose boxes here.
What we wanted to bring to our guests at mom’s birthday was a little feeling of magic, a little whimsy, and something the children attending the party would find some wonder in as well as the adults. The Midsummer’s Night Dream underlying theme and deeper color hues made using fairies for an adult party work, and made the party planning a little more fun.

Thank you to SandS Photography out of Hampton, Virginia for the party pictures.

(photo and content credit: Frog Prince Paperie)

Princess Party ~ Royal Sweet Shoppe

2011-02-03T12:00:00.005-06:00

Marie from Sweets Indeed Blog created this dessert station for her daughter. Be sure to look around her blog and visit her Etsy Shoppe for more DESSERT INSPIRATION!

The birthday girl was thrilled to see all of her favorite treats. Complete with madeleine cookies, mini hostess cupcakes, marshmallow puffs, Unicorn Candy Kabobs, and custom decorated cookies, this sweet station was calling her name. We centered the Dessert Station around a hand crafted/illustrated hanging princess and custom sweet shoppe sign. The backdrop and detailed elements such as these are part of our Sweets Indeed custom branding and the birthday girl gets to keep personalized items as a memento. We also incorporated damask pink fabric into our custom Table Tutu.
We love to create custom candy or dessert stations for kids parties. It’s important to bring in the personality and favorites of the birthday boy/girl and there is always a new spin that can be created for any theme.

(photo and content credit: Sweets Indeed Blog)

Tissue Paper Wreath Tutorial

2011-02-02T12:00:00.029-06:00

Here is the GORGEOUS Tissue Paper Wreath Tutorial designed by Pluff Mudd Studio.

ENJOY!

This wreath can be made with any color or combination of tissue paper colors to coordinate with any party color palette, which makes it a perfect "go to" for any event!!!

Materials:

Foam wreath

Tissue Paper - cut into approx. 5 x 7 pieces (I used 3 packs)

Hot Glue

Skewer

Floral Wire

Ribbon (Bow)

Directions:

1. Cut a lot of 5x7 tissue paper pieces. I used three packs of tissue paper. (The small pieces that were left over after I cut the larger pieces were perfect for the outside and inside edges, so save those!!)

2. Pull the tissue paper in the center and twist into a point. There is one sample in the picture above. This takes some time, so turn on your favorite TV show to entertain you while you twist or include the kids.

3. Push the skewer through to make 2 holes at the top of the wreath. Pull through the floral wire to make a hanger on the back.

4. Heat up that hot glue gun. I used a wooden skewer to poke a hole in the foam wreath and squeezed some hot glue into the hole. (In the beginning, I thought I would poke a bunch of holes first. This did not work as well as I thought because each piece of tissue paper was a little different size after twisting. )

5. Use the skewer again to poke the tissue paper into the hole. This will save you from burning your fingers. :)

6. Continue poking holes, filling with glue, and pushing in the tissue paper until you have filled in the entire wreath.

7. Use the same process to fill in the center and outside of the foam wreath with the smaller left over pieces.

8. Finish off with a coordinating bow. I added one of my 3 inch party circles in the middle of the bow to include Cate's frog princess party theme.

VOILA!! A beautiful wreath!!

(photo and content credit: Pluff Mudd Studio)

Oreo Pops Recipe

2011-02-01T12:00:00.063-06:00

Here is the recipe for Pluff Mudd Studio Oreo Pops! YUMMY!

This is a great treat to add to your bag of tricks. Perfect for school parties, favors, dessert tables, treats for the neighbors, etc.

Ingredients and Materials:
Oreos (any flavor)
melting chocolate (It took me 2 bags for one package of cookies.)
sprinkles
cookie icing
wax paper
sucker sticks
small treat bags
ribbon

Here are the directions and few additional pointers!

Melt the chocolate according to the directions on the package. I used chocolate made by Wilton and I thought I would be fancy and use my double boiler. However, it was much easier to melt the chocolate in the microwave. I also only bought one bag.. BIG mistake. Since this was my first try, I overheated the chocolate and it was too thick to dip the cookies. Be sure to have a bag or 2 on hand for mistakes. Once I figured it all out, I needed 2 bags for 1 package of Oreos. Next tip - Only melt a little to place the sticks. Then, go back and melt the majority of the chocolate when you are ready to dip the Oreo suckers.

Separate the Oreos and line them on a tray. You do not want the chocolate to get cold, so having these divided helps a lot. At first, I had a hard time to get the stick to remain in the middle without breaking the cookie. Here is my trick - twist the stick with the hot melted chocolate into the Oreo cream and keep twisting. This will make a bed for the stick to lay in between the layers. I had 2 sizes of sucker sticks and the longer ones worked better for my project. If you are going to place them in a vase, container, etc. you want enough stick leftover to be visible.

Gently place the cookie on top the stick and place on the wax paper to cool.

I jumped the gun and started to dip these cookies too soon! I discovered that placing them in the refrigerator for a few hours made them nice and strong.

Dip the cookies in the yummy melted chocolate and place on a piece of wax paper.

I used cookie icing to add the green stripes.

If you want to add sprinkles, be sure to do it when the chocolate is still hot.

After the suckers have cooled, package them in small clear treat bags and seal with a ribbon. I used a white flower pot and added floral foam. I covered the top with glass beads and pushed the suckers into the foam. Voila - Oreo Cookie Pops.

(photo and content credit: Pluff Mudd Studio)

Frog Princess Party

2011-01-31T12:00:00.035-06:00

I found this colorful and sassy party over at Pluff Mudd Studio blog. Christina is very talented and also has an Etsy Shop full of cute items.

The party was inspired by this adorable Shrimp and Grits Kids Smocked Bubble!! The bright pinks and greens were the color scheme for the party and the frog princess made quite the debut throughout all the little details.

Cate's invites kicked off the party with the sweet frog princess graphic and bright pinks and greens. I love polka dots, so I added a pink border with green polka dots. I like to jazz up the envelopes too, so her invites were sent in a green envelope with a cute coordinating address label. (The printable invites are coming soon to the Pluff Mudd Studio Etsy shop!)

I sneaked in a little polka dot here and there in the party decoration too. :)

The custom crown was made by Amy from the amazing Esty shop, True Love Found. I sent her the digital file of Cate's invite and she made this precious coordinating crown. She even included some polka dot ribbon the bottom.

Love it!!

I love to design a wreath that welcomes the guest and includes the theme. I made a tissue paper wreath (tutorial coming soon) for Cate's party. It turned out much better than I expected. I accented it with a green polka dot ribbon with a frog 3 inch party circle in the middle. It was perfect for her party.

The tables looked beautiful set-up along the marsh front! I was lucky to find a couple sets of pink polka dot and green polka dot plates on sale. The pink and green cups were part of that same set. The party circles made lots of appearances in the party decor!! (The printable party circles are coming soon to the Pluff Mudd Studio Etsy shop!)

The grass centerpiece, accented with pinwheels and 3 inch party circles, complimented the outdoor landscape. Val, from Crafty Go Lucky, sent me the cute frog and pink paper precut into pinwheels. I just spray painted skewers pink and attached them. I backed the 3 inch party circles with coordinating scrapbook paper, attached them to the pink painted skewers, and added some ribbon....Voila...... a centerpiece.

The napkin rings are small versions of the tissue pom-poms hanging above the dessert table (tutorial coming soon). Each child had their own cup personalized with a 2 inch party circle. This was key since all the cups were either pink or green. The party circles were perfect drink tags for the adults too. It was easy to identify your drink by the different tags, frog Cate, happy birthday, #1, etc.

The dessert table was filled with yummy cupcakes, oreo pops, cheerios, animal crackers, custom frog cookies, etc. Of course the party circles made an appearance again as we labeled all the treats. I added in the polka dots using the fun fabric and polka dot ribbon. The adorable frog painting was made by one of my friends, Thanks Noelle!

These precious cookies were custom made by Lisa from The Cookie Jar. I sent her the graphic and she matched it perfectly! The kids loved these sweet treats.

Isn't this cake precious?? The gals at Ashley Bakery surpassed all my expectations with the cake and cupcakes!! I thought the frog cake would be her smash cake, but the bakery sent a smash cake much easier for Cate to eat. I guess all that fondant would have been hard for her to manage. I made the yummy Oreo Pops and sprinkled them with pink and green to coordinate with the dessert table- visit the Pluff Mudd Oreo Pop tutorial.

The frog pond cupcakes were my favorite!!! Even the pink cupcakes were accented with a little fly. It was fun to watch everyone ooh and aah over them!

Every party for one year olds needs the staple of Cheerios and animal crackers!

Here is Cate's smash cake! She was so dainty!! Mommy had to get in there and help her get started.
Once she got going, there was no stopping her. She really enjoyed it.

The party circles made yet another appearance in her high chair banner.

Of course you can't have a party without favors!!! Each child had a box of goodies from Cate- "Thank you for hopping over to my pad!"

These amazing photos were taken by Lynn, from Town and Country Photography. She captured all the details and really made the party look stunning. Most importantly, all the wonderful memories are preserved for us to share with Cate and remember her very special birthday!!

Our pug, Sophie Lulu - Cate's best buddy, even got in the spirit with her pink boa collar!

(photo and content credit: Pluff Mudd Studio)

TuTu's, CuppyCakes & Horsies

2011-01-27T10:48:00.002-06:00

This past weekend we had the absolute joy of celebrating Princess Raegan's 3rd Birthday Party. This was an event that I had in the works for some time. I combined 3 of Raegan's favorites to create her Birthday #3...TuTus, Cuppycakes & Horsies!

Party guests were emailed a link to a website-party-invitation I designed using a free web design/hosting service, WIX.COM. I had never "designed" a website before the this was not as hard as I thought it would be. I kept her website-party invitation simple and fun.

I shopped, I crafted, I baked, I sewed, I shopped some more...

As the big day approached I cleared the furniture out of a couple of rooms in our home and transformed them into Party Central.

The party tables were wrapped with Bubblegum Pink and Lime Green plastic linens purchased at a discount store. I sewed cupcake shaped placemats with cotton fabrics I found at one of the few remaining Walmarts that carry a fabric department. Tissue paper was used to create whimsical poms that I hung from the ceilings and used as napkin decor. I also made the place cards using lime green cardstock, ribbon and a stamp kit.

I purchased the cute stick-horses at The Dollar Tree to use as party favors. I also sewed each party guest a Ribbon TuTu to wear home. They ended up being a cute decor for the metal folding chairs we rented from the Langley Air Force Base Outdoor Rec Program.

I baked a 3 dimensional, large cupcake from a Wilton Giant CupCake Pan. I opted for this cake pan because when I used a 50% JoAnns store coupon it was a better bargain than the Big Top Cupcake Pan I originally intended to purchase. (still love that commercial!) I sewed a skirt for the pedastal cake plate to match the party theme colors. I also baked some regular sized cupcakes to be used as a cupcake decorating party activity.

And it's not a party without a CANDY BUFFET! I call this one THE CANDY CORRAL! Toy horses, cowboy hats and mason jars full of candy and confections were a delight to the young party goers.

Finally, with a little help from a friend, we put out some quick decorations on the front porch to welcome the party guests.

The highlight of the party was a surprise visit from The Teeny Tiny Farm. The wonderful and friendly owner of the Farm, Deb, brought a pony for the children to ride. She also brought a miniature horse and another pony for the children to enjoy. I was excited for another opportunity for Princess Raegan to wear her Halloween Costume and the Princess was in Horsie Heaven!

Waiting to ride the pony!

Pony Kiss!

Did you notice the pony has Pink hooves?!

After the ponies left the party guests played some games to kill a few minutes while lunch was in the final stages of preparations.

Simon Says......

I recycled the bags that our new king size pillows were packaged in for use as sacks in a round of Sack Races!

After a YUMMY lunch it was TIME FOR CAKE!

BEFORE!

AFTER

Next everyone decorated their very own Cuppycakes! We soon discovered that the canned frosting I purchased was too difficult for little fingers to use effectively. So the parents jumped in and helped the kiddos prepare their cupcakes. The girls had several toppings to select from to create their very own unique cupcake.

The sweet treats continued with a trip to the CANDY CORRAL, then outside to enjoy some more sunshine! The weather was so fantastic that we even made SNO-CONES! YEP! SNO-CONES in November!

The party was truly a SMASH! We greatly appreciate all our guests and the genereous gifts Princess Raegan received! And a SUPER SPECIAL THANK YOU to The Teeny Tiny Farm!

This party was featured on:

DVD Party Invitation Tutorial

2011-01-25T08:45:00.001-06:00

We created these fun High Resolution DVD invitations for the Surfin' Pool Party with Mermaids.

I was introduced to the website Animoto.com and was instantly hooked. It is a simple, user-friendly option to bring your photos to the next level.

You can create unlimited 30 second video/slideshow projects FREE of charge. I opted for a year plan to create unlimited time length projects for around $30. We have used some projects as end of sports season video/slideshow gifts and even created DVD's to place in my daughters kindergarten class time capsules. For such projects I invest an additional $5 (per project) to produce my project in Hi Resolution format.

Samples of a couple of my other projects:
Cheer Project
Happy Father's Day Grandpa email greeting

For the Hi Res DVD Invitations, we made a stop into Office Max and picked up an Avery project kit to create our own DVD covers and purchased a pack of DVD covers.

The finished DVD Invitations were viewable by PC, DVD player and Blu Ray player. We received so many compliments on the DVD party invitations and I could not convince our guests how EASY it really was to create them!

Click HERE to create your own ANIMOTO account and be INSPIRED!

Surfin' Pool Party with Mermaids

2011-01-24T12:00:00.015-06:00

Here is a party I put together for my daughter last year when she turned 6. It may be out of season to throw an outdoor pool party right now, but I believe it's never too early to begin planning. Plus, aren't we all ready for some sunshine?!

Well here it is, FINALLY!

THE SURFIN' POOL PARTY WITH MERMAIDS!

The party was last May and it was a HUGE success. My Princess is still talking about her birthday party!

My Princess had finally settled on a birthday party theme. Being that I am not the fan of a "Character Party" theme, I decided to base the "revised" theme on her original requests. So, I set out to incorporate SURFING and MERMAIDS into one party theme.

We started with DVD Video Invitations and passed them out to our friends.
(click HERE for the tutorial and info to create your own DVD Video Invitation)

The DVD PARTY INVITE

I settled on a color theme in shades of blue, teal and lime in an effort to imitate pool and water colors. I found a great blue fabric at Wal-Mart and incredibly, I found matching towels at a local discount store. I also scored some never been washed, linen-like, floral king size pillowcases at a local thrift store. I used my seam ripper to remove the seams and folds. The pillowcases ultimately served as beautiful, perfectly matched accents for the table top.
Along with a few trips to Michaels and the Dollar Tree, I managed to pull together something that resembled a style with purpose. I also had several left-over items stashed in my closets from my beach themed wedding to The Conductor from last year. These items, like the teal tin buckets were useful as the centerpieces. I used a bucket for each letter of the Birthday Princess's name. We painted styrofoam letters, and pushed hemp twine covered dowels through the bottom of each letter.

I set out to design and craft a simple Mermaid Tail Towel party favor. This was to serve the "Mermaid" portion of the party theme:) No two Mermaid Tail Towel party favors are alike as I was constantly tweaking and perfecting one after another. Maybe it is here that I should mention I sewed 17...YESSSS 17 Mermaid Tail Towel party favors! WHEW!

The FABULOUS thing about these Mermaid Tail Towels is that they were also used as the chair decor!

Place cards were made using real flip flops, ribbon, shells and twine.

We ordered a Surfer Tiki Hut Cake from a local grocery store. It arrived less than perfect but we laughed it off and created a "hurricane story" to compliment the lopsided cake;)

There was a selection of color themed sweet treats arranged around the cake.

Below is a picture of the food and beverage station midway through set-up.


Birthday Princess greeting her guests as they arrive and receive sno-cones.

PRETTY PARTY GIRL

GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN!

A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCESS!

Cake Decorating Tutorials ~ Part 1

2011-01-23T12:00:00.059-06:00

Here are some of my favorite Cake Decorating Tutorials. These cake decorating tips are designed with the everyday baker in mind. The supplies can all be purchased at your local grocery store. Good Luck and be sure to post your cake creation on the GGBP Facebook Fanpage!

Princess Doll Birthday Cake

Butterfly Cake

Cupcakes In Ice Cream Cones

And for the BRAVE home bakers out there, stay tuned for future tutorials using fondant decorator icing.

Minnie Mouse Birthday Party

2011-01-22T12:00:00.005-06:00

Robyn from Patty Cakes Bakery Blog created this Girly Girl Minnie Mouse party for her daughter. She is a very talented cake decorator, so be sure to visit her blog to see some of her artistic cakes.

I was super excited to try making these different Minnie treats. Continue below for tips on making the Minnie Caramel Apples, Minnie Cake Pops, Minnie Mouse cake (with a zebra cake batter) and Zebra Pretzels.

Before you can have a party, you need invitations. I designed these in photoshop, and added a little bow on the head after printing them. If you want to use this design for your own personal use (no commercial use) feel free to use my file found here.

I also found a pattern for these darling Mickey/Minnie Zebra party hats online here. It just takes a little time printing them, cutting them, and sticking in the ears, but they are super cute.

Minnie/Zebra Birthday Cake:
I had seen this idea a while ago that I have been wanting to try--Zebra Cake batter. When you bake it and cut into the cake, it is supposed to have zebra-looking stripes. All you do is make a vanilla cake batter, divide it into two portions, and add cocoa powder to one of the portions making it brown. I also added pink to the other portion to have some pink to go along with the party, but I think it would have turned out a little better leaving it the cream color it is originally.

How you put it in the pan is the trick. After greasing and flouring a pan (and if you are me, putting parchment paper down too because you're extra paranoid your cake will stick), you start layering the cake batter. Start by putting 3 TBSP of one color down in the center of the pan and allow to start spreading on it's own. Then pour 3 TBSP of the next color on top. It will spread out on it's own, and cause the layer underneath to spread out too. Continue alternating colors pouring 3 TBSP back and forth.

After using up all the batter, you should end up with something like this in your pan.

Once you bake it, and cut into it, there should be a zebra-ish pattern. I wasn't too happy with how mine turned out. I was hoping for a little better design, but I had fun trying. To see a great version of the zebra cake as well as the recipe I used, go here.

Decorating the actual cake was my favorite part. I made the head out of rice krispy treats using a sports ball pan, and covered it in the black chocolate fondant I had left over from a previous cake. The ears and bow were just a fondant/gumtex mixture that I allowed to dry hard before sticking in the head. The rest of the fondant detailing is pretty self explanatory. I loved my little girl's reaction when she saw the cake for the first time. She kept yelling "Minnie Cake!" over and over.

Minnie Mouse Caramel Apples:
I saw a show about Mickey treats they make at the Disney Parks during the summer, and one of the items they make were Mickey and Minnie caramel apples. I just had to try them myself.

Before anything, you need to prepare your apples. Thanks to my friend Alisha, I found out what that actually meant. There is a layer of wax on the apples from the store. Bring a pot of water to a boil, and quickly dip the apples into the water, then wipe off the wax. This will allow the caramel to stick better. I used 6" dowel rods that I sharpened at one end as my apple sticks.

Next comes the dipping in caramel. Melt some caramel in a double boiler. I used some homemade caramel I had made earlier. That recipe can be found at the end of this post. Dip the apples, then put in the fridge to set while you prepare your chocolate.

Now here is where I varied from what I saw on the show. They stuck marshmallows on caramel for Minnie's ears. I tried that . . . and they kept falling off. So I tried using some leftover melted chocolate from my cake pops to glue them on . . . only about half worked. Finally I resorted to using toothpicks. I am so glad I did. It made the dipping in chocolate a lot easier--I didn't have to worry about ears falling off.

Melt a few bags of dark chocolate candy melts. I didn't have enough to actually dip the whole apple in, so I resorted to pouring the chocolate over each apple in a glass bowl using a liquid measuring cup, allowing excess to drip off, and then pouring the remaining chocolate back into my glass measuring cup to do all over again with the next apple.

To do the skirt you will need 3 things--white candy melts, melted, white candies (I used the York peppermint pieces--you'll have to figure out what to do with all the blue ones leftover . . . that shouldn't be too hard. . . yum!), and pink sanding sugar.

Dip the bottom of the apple in the white chocolate, place the candies in the chocolate, then pour the sugar over and allow the excess to fall off.

Add a little bow, and voila--Minnie Mouse Caramel Apples.

Minnie Cake Pops:

I found this idea on Bakerella's website. They are cake balls on a stick with candy melts as ears dipped into chocolate. Luckily I found some black candy melts at Michaels since it is Halloween time. (You can dye dark chocolate melts black, but beware--the Wilton black food coloring contains water and may make your chocolate seize up. I've run into that problem before.) These were a little more difficult than I expected--ears kept falling off and chocolate was kind of thick and hard to get the excess off--but I managed to get a few descent ones.

For full directions, see Bakerella's instructions here.

And last, but not least . . .

Zebra Caramel Pretzels:
My husband and I love to make these chocolate caramel pretzels for Christmas presents, we usually sprinkle crushed up Butterfinger or Skor bar on top, but I changed it up a little to get a zebra look.

First take some of the homemade caramel, roll it out into ropes, and wrap it around your pretzels (I like the Snyders of Hanover pretzels).

Next, dip in white chocolate and allow to dry. In the meantime, melt some black chocolate melts and put in a ziplock bag. Snip a tiny portion of the corner, and drizzle over your pretzels to make look like zebra stripes.

Super cute, and super yummy!

Add some containers with matching candy, and you are ready to go--a Minnie-Zebra dessert table.

Now, I can't end without showing you a couple pictures of my cute girl. Here she is with her cake saying she is "2."

Homemade Caramel Recipe:

This is a recipe adapted from the Licorice Caramel Recipe found in Candymaking by Kendrick and Atkinson

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cups corn syrup

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Butter a 9-inch square pan and set aside. In a large saucepan combine the sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup, butter, sugar, and salt. Plac over medium heat ad stir until well combined.

Clip on candy thermometer, and cook, stirring constantly to a firm ball stage (242F if at sea level, 232F in Salt Lake/Provo area, and 237F in Las Vegas area--if you live somewhere else you'll have to do the boiling water test to find out the difference between the boiling temperature at your location vs. sea level to adjust). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour into pan and allow to stand at room temp over night.

(photo and content credit: Patty Cakes Bakery)

Autograph Birthday T-Shirt

2011-01-21T12:00:00.002-06:00

This simple idea can be created for less than $10 (less than $6 for us!). We purchased a fitted tee at Target for under $5. After searching Michaels for a birthday themed iron on, The Birthday Princess decided she'd rather have a 'PRINCESS' decal for her shirt. I chose not to argue since 6 year olds definitely know what they like AND I liked the .49cent clearance sticker!

Send your Birthday Child to school with a Sharpie or fabric pen and DON'T FORGET to send a note to the teacher informing her/him that your Birthday Child IS allowed to have friends sign it!!!

When the Birthday Princess stepped off the bus I asked her to show me her Autograph Birthday T-Shirt.

She barely stopped twirling in BIRTHDAY BLISS long enough for me to snap the pictures!

We plan on the Princess wearing a new Autograph Birthday T-Shirt every year.

The shirts will make for a cute and memorable quilt for her high school graduation!

Ladybug Bash Party

2011-01-20T12:00:00.010-06:00

Tiffany from "All About Riley" spent months and hours and hours of planning and preparing for her Girly Girl 1st Birthday Ladybug Bash! This adorable blog is focuses on a mothers LOVE for her little ANGEL:) and is full of beautiful photos and sentiments.

I choose a ladybug theme for Riley's 1st birthday party back when she was about 5 or 6 months old. I had just chosen a ladybug costume for her first Halloween and after seeing some cute party ideas I decided ladybugs would make a perfectly adorable 1st birthday party! My husband says our house was infested because of all the ladybugs:) I spent a month or so looking around on the internet looking at other parties and getting ideas before actually starting on the purchasing and making things to spread out the costs. I found a ton of great ideas on Etsy, some that I made myself and some that I purchased.

I had such a great time planning Riley's 1st birthday and was happy with how everything turned out except the balloons. We blew them up a couple hours before with one of those helium tanks that you can buy but they all got a little droopy right after the party started. Anyone else had this problem? Maybe I bought the wrong kind of balloons?

Here is the invite that I ordered off etsy! So easy to do, I took the picture at home and then got them printed as 5 x 7's at Costco pretty cheap and bought envelopes and stickers to add from Hobby Lobby. I ordered Riley's outfit off etsy as well! "Our Little Lady is turning 1, so fly on over to have some fun! Please give us a buzz at____ We hope to spot you there!"
I also used return address labels with this little guyand I ordered these stickers for the back of the favor bags and the thanks you cardsAnd these were the thank you cards that I made. I had the ladybug frames printed from a die cut machine at work and used a thank you stamp in the center in red and a ladybug stamp in black on the little red square that was punched out from the frame part of the die cut. I glued them on a white card and envelope set that I bought at Micheal's.
The inside on the top part of the card when it was opened. okay now on to the fun stuff, the decorations!!!

Outside I didn't do much because of the chance of it raining, but luckily it didn't! I was going to put one of the banners outside but I didn't want it to get ruined. Out front I had a small ladybug flag (that I didn't get a picture of) with some balloons and this on the front door.
And in the back a few balloons, a red tablecloth, polka dot labels I made for the coolers, and a different small ladybug flag. Nothing too exciting.The kids table (one of Riley's birthday presents)Okay now the fun decorations! My favorite, the cake table!
My mom made the polka dot runner for the tables

I had a very talented friend make the cakes. Here I used her tutu from her invite outfit as decoration.I decorated the cake dome to put over the cake but there was no way that cake was going to fit under there. It was still cute though so I left it on the back of the table to use to cover the leftover cake during the party but there was nothing left to cover that cake was so yummy!Riley's smash cake, I served it on a fun ladybug plate that she will get to use after the party. I also hot glued rhinestones on her red one candle to add some sparkle! You can also see her little ceramic ladybug tea set we got her and used as a decoration. The flower pots I made to go across the cake table, each flower had a picture from birth to 11 months and then the center photo in the frame is from her 1 year photo shoot. I spray painted them red, glued black pom poms all over and red ribbon with black polka dots around the top. Then I cut out flowers from scrapbook paper and glued them to green pipe cleaners and added green easter grass in the pots.
The one you see painted here was also used in her 1 year photosFun banner that Riley's NanaMac made for her partyPolka dots everywhere! I found the plates and napkins at target a while back.I found these tins at Hobby Lobby and these are the polka dot tags I made for all the food.My first attempt at ever decorating cupcakes without spreading the frosting on with a knife and I am pretty proud!I bought the cupcake toppers off etsy.
I put frosting in a ziploc bag and cut the corner off to put the frosting on like this, I didn't like how they looked until they hardened.
I tried my best and I think he looks okay for my first decorating attempt! If I would have let the white chocolate dry before adding the chocolate eyes it would have looked cleaner. I also think I should have used dark chocolate for his spots to make them stand out more.The cookies, the only thing that we had professionally made.
The favor tableThe write-on plate is from hobby lobby, it came with the red polka dot ribbon but I figure I can change that out for other parties. And in the basket are antenna headbands that I made for all the kids. I bought the bands at the dollar store covered them with ribbon and added pipe cleaner antenna. The one big antenna with the glitter balls is from Riley's Halloween costume.The bags that I made:) Even though they took alot of time I loved how these turned out!Girl's bags got eyelashes but the boys didn'tClose up of the back The kids got a mix of this stuff depending on their age and gender. If you look close you can see the ladybug hair clippies that I had a friend make for all the girls:) I told all the "big" kids to take a cookie or cupcake home!I didn't have a gift table until the last minute. I put 4 tv trays together and threw a tablecloth over it. But the grandparents filled that up so the rest of the gifts I put on the floor on the other side of the cake table. I need to figure something better out for next time.Present from my mom she drew a ladybug on and glued goggly eyes on:) So cute, I saved that for the scrapbook:)My tissue paper pom poms, I thought they turned out great. I hung the black with red and black ribbon and the red with red and white ribbon.I ordered these foam ladybugs from oriental trading but didn't know what to do with them. The day before the party I got this idea, I glued two together so you could see them from both sides. I also hung them from the pom poms over the tables and glued them to all the serving dishes and my flower vase. A great little detail.Two big poms I made before I realized I needed to cut the paper in half but they worked well here. I hung these with ladybug ribbon. Ladybug balloonsThe bar An adorable frame I ordered from etsy and a plush ladybug book she got as a present.Snacks for the kiddosBanner behind the food tableLadybug water bottlesThe ladybug throne. Here you can see the ladybug plate I put her smash cake on as well as her party hat, sippy cup and bib.The food. I didn't get alot of pictures of the actual food but I wanted things to be kid friendly. I made yummy meatballs, chicken nuggets with lots of dippers, chips with salsa and queso, ham tortilla wraps, pretzel mix as well as fruits and veggies with cream cheese marshmallow dip (Yum!) and ranch dip.

Table before all the food was put out

Here is the Bug Juice.
Pretzel mix, you can see the ladybugs I glued on everythingClose up of the labels I made Snacks for the little onesAnd my favorite:) The fruit bowl
The weekend before the party I couldn't find a big watermelon so I was going to make him out of a honeydew or cantaloupe but the day before the party I found one! He took some time, mainly removing the seeds as I balled the fruit but it was so fun to make and I had some help!See my cute ladybug dish and spreader with the fruit dip! I also found a ladybug spoon rest that I used for the queso spoon but i didn't get a good picture. It pretty sad how months of planning and fun are over and gone in a day! (and then you have to clean everything up) I have been on the lookout for ladybugs and polka dots for so many months now it is going to be strange to start looking for something new. (Yes, I already have a couple ideas for her 2nd birthday party. I hope you enjoyed our party as much as I enjoyed planning it!

(photo and content credits: All About Riley)

GGBP BOUTIQUE

2011-01-19T16:11:00.001-06:00

VISIT MY ETSY SHOP!

Keep checking back as we grow and add more items to our shop inventory.

Thanks for Looking;)

Party Planning Tip: The Dessert Table

2011-01-19T12:00:00.007-06:00

Let's revisit Nicole at Tradewind Tiaras Blog.

Sometimes we get so caught up with all the details of planning our Girly Girl Celebrations that we miss the obvious. Don't get caught with any last minute problems on your party day by following Nicoles' simple steps to plan your dessert tablescape.

(click for Dessert Table Planning Tips)

(photo credit: Tradewind Tiaras Blog)

Fancy Nancy Soiree

2011-01-18T12:00:00.006-06:00

This Fancy Nancy Soiree was submitted to GGBP through Happy Hour Mom Blog.

With a cake like this (yes, that is the cake!) you can only image what the party was like. I added Fancy Nancy to our list of must-have books, and as you can see, it is also a must-have party theme for any girly girl, at any age. One of my bestest friends, Michelle, threw a Fancy Nancy-themed party for her daughter Gabrielle, and it was absolutely out of this world. The girls and moms in attendance were asked to dress in their fanciest clothes for the special soiree, and it was hard to tell who was having more fun. The girls were greeted by the beautiful birthday girl for a red-carpet-like entrance and photo op. (I swear there were paparazzi in the bushes!) As you can see from the pictures, no detail went unnoticed. From the invites(the butterfly wands pictured top-left below), to the centerpieces, to the “real” make-up tables, I felt like it was all pulled right off the Fancy Nancy pages. An entire room (not pictured) was devoted to dress-up gowns, skirts, heels, wings, wands and more. They had an adorable vintage coat rack adorned with real “mommy” purses for the girls to complete their looks. Overall, the party was absolutely exquisite, I have never seen anything like it. Okay, that’s a lie, you should have seen her baby shower! Coming soon…

About the Author: Shannon Hughes, mom of 2 beautiful girls, wife to an amazing husband, CEO/coFounder of HHM, Working Mom Examiner of Fresno, CA, Expert Working Mom for GetButtonedUp.com. Join me in my journey to become the ultimate Happy Hour Mom

Want to learn more? Visit Happy Hour Mom today and let YOUR Happy Hour Begin!

(photo credits: Happy Hour Mom)

Princess Party Favors Tutorial

2011-01-17T12:00:00.011-06:00

This Princess Party Favors Tutorial was originally published on Angela Yosten's Blog, Moda Home Mom. Simple to acquire supplies and directions make these cute and simple Princess Party Favors a breeze for anyone, regardless skill level:)

No party is complete without the Party Favors to give out to all the kiddos once the party is over. Since Paige's birthday party has both boys and girls coming to it, I decided to have two separate favors... one for the girls and one for the boys.

Girls and princess parties... that was easy to decide what to give all the little girls. You can find all kinds of pretty princess items just about anywhere you go. I found these adorable little bracelets, necklaces, and earings at Hobby Lobby. And what little girl can't go without a Ring Pop.

Yes... another wonderful shopping place besides Target :) If there is anything I am looking for that has to do with home decor, crafts, and everything in between, I always check Hobby Lobby first. They are inexpensive and they have EVERYTHING... well, just about.

I simply printed out a simple message on some card stock paper using Microsoft Word...

I then used a 2 5/16" paper punch by the Paper Studio to cut them out with a pretty scalloped edge...

Folded the bag over and then punched two holes in the top of the bag...

Tied some tulle and the tag and DONE!

For the boys... this one was a bit more challenging. Not all boys like pretty princess jewelry, so I went on a hunt for some SWORDS! Never realized these would be so hard to find... well, cheap ones that is. I was looking around Wally World {aka Wal-mart} about a month or two ago and found Bubble Wands... PERFECT! AND they were only a dollar each... SCORE! SO, I grabbed as many as I thought would cover the birthday party and a few extras just for fun.

Add a bit of green curling ribbon and the tag...

You now have yourself a Knights Sword.

(photos and content courtesy of Angela Yosten, Moda Home Mom)

Cornish Fairy Party

2011-01-16T12:00:00.005-06:00

This is the Fairy Party to end ALL Fairy Parties!

I think I've died and gone to FAIRY HEAVEN!

I found this beautiful and whimsical Cornish Fairy themed birthday party at the blog for Tradewind Tiaras. Nicole, the author and owner of a tiara designing company shares wedding planning tips, products and tutorials on her gorgeous blog. The Cornish Fairy Party is so full of beautiful photos and there are many tutorials to help you create your very own backyard fairy experience.

Nature inspired Storybook Invitations.

(click for the Storybook Invitation Tutorial)

Each party guest received her very own tutu and lovely purple and yellow set of pixie wings.

Beautiful handcrafted, beaded tiaras were also worn by all the party guests.

Is it a hanging topiary? No! It's a PINATA! This is just too pretty to hit with a stick:)

(click to make your own Tissue Rose Pinata)

The tablescape carried the rustic, wooded, nature theme perfectly.

(click here for Rustic Wooden Cake Stand Tutorial)

The dessert table displayed several unique, theme specific treats.

Edible Fairy Wands

Meringue Mushrooms (don't they look like the REAL thing?)

Lollipop Topiaries

(click here to make your own Lollipop Topiaries)

Fairy Berries

Nicole used river rocks to label the different treats. Click here to learn how to Decoupage River Rocks to use as labels. These would also make lovely matching place cards

The centerpiece of the entire party was this colorfully whimsical cake, baked and decorated by Nicole.

(watch out Cake Boss!)

More cake details.

Hanging above the dessert table was an iron chandelier draped with green beads, complete with a little fairy perched in the center.

Browse Tradewind Tiaras for more photos and additional party tips. Get Inspired!

(photo credits: Tradewind Tiaras)

Pink Cowgirl Party

2011-01-15T14:30:00.000-06:00

Hey Ya'll!

Look at this absolutly adorable Pink Cowgirl Birthday Party!
Nneka Saran featured this party on her blog, "for all things creative".

A balloon sculpture featuring shades of soft pink and brown with a gold birthday number topper. (Did you notice the longhorn skull and wagon wheel decoration on the window?)

Have you ever seen so many party favors? I especially love the pony topped bubbles!

Just when you think there can't be enough cute party favors, there's is a second table of favors! The second table is topped with water guns, magnet games, large and small cowgirl hats and even plastic handcuffs.

These custom imitation branding irons are so clever!

The cake was a simple sheet cake topped with an ingenious edible design, featuring a western theme print and the birthday girl.

Stop by Nneka Saran's blog to view more photos and tips and to browse her profile of custom designed special events.

(photo credits: "for all things creative")

Pink Carpet Princess

2011-01-13T17:23:00.001-06:00

I absolutely adore this Pink Carpet Princess Party that fellow Mom-Blogger Shannon created for her daughter Syndey.

Hot pink and lime green with animal print accents decked the party space.

The party guests arrived by walking a pink carpet and stopped to pose for the paparazzi, ("momarazzi").

Whimsical handmade centerpieces

This cake is To Die For. And Shannon designed the cake topper herself!

This crafty Mom kept the party guests busy with princess-friendly activities, like whipping up a sugar scrub to pamper their princess hands,

(click here for Shannon's Sugar Scrub Recipe)

and painting princess crowns.

Be sure to visit Shannon's Blog Sparkles N' Sports for more pictures and inspirational tips for your next Girly Girl Birthday Party.

(photo credits: Sparkles N' Sports)

Tissue Pom Tutorial

2011-01-12T19:37:00.001-06:00

Martha Stewart Tissue Pom

Click the link above to view a simple tutorial that you can try at home for your Girly Girl Birthday Party.

(photo credit: Martha Stewart)

You're Invited to Celebrate Dora's Birthday!

2010-08-10T20:09:00.000-05:00

*FREE 5x7 Photo cards
Bring your favorite photo (digital or physical) to create your Free 5x7 photo card at Wal Mart Photo
*Free Cupcakes (while supplies last)
*Visit Wal Mart online to find an event near you and ideas on how to throw the Ultimate Dora Birthday Party!

You can even RSVP on Facebook

See Ya there!

TuTu Tutorials

2010-07-31T19:35:00.001-05:00

Girls and their TuTus! Need I say anymore?

I have been making TuTus for years now. And while others marvel at their CUTE FACTOR, I always marvel at how easy and affordable they are to construct.

Let GGBP do the work for you!

The following will be an ever growing COMPLETE listing of free TuTu Tutorials from around the web.

NO SEW TuTu TUTORIALS!

*Ambrosialove
*Cafemom Street Team
*Cut Out + Keep
*Grosgrain Fabulous
*Kiddley
*Make It and Love It
*Mommy Blessings
*Paige and Brooke
*Plum Tickled