Minnie Mouse 21st Birthday Party

Our oldest and only daughter wanted a Minnie Mouse themed party to celebrate turning 21.  I didn't want it to be a "kiddie" party, of course, and neither did she. We ordered special sugar cookies from a friend.

Her grandmother made her a Minnie cake.

I did chocolate covered strawberry marshmallows with candy shred (it was yucky, in our opinion) and melted candy squiggles.

Cherry limeade punch, which is a favorite of ours. (Braum's sells the cherry lime sherbet and just add 7up.  I also put some maraschino cherries in there and garnished with a slice of lime.)

The chandelier light was transformed into a goofy Minnie-themed light.

The cheeseball was shaped into a Mickey head, then a fruit roll up bow made it a Minnie!

I had the polka dot pots for many other occasions, but spray painted styrofoam balls and created a Minnie head with a big pink bow.  Spray paint melts the styrofoam, but it worked, still.  Just in the back where I laid them to dry, they are flattened. I should have allowed it to dry stuck into the pot, standing up.

And see the balloon wreath with the right ear showing white?  Lauren had made this wreath to take to Disney World last summer when she worked there, but it broke.  I surprised her by getting new balloons and redoing the ears.  It's such a cute wreath and lots of work!  You can find directions if you search balloon Minnie Mouse wreath.

It was such a fun party! I haven't taken the decorations down just yet.  I don't want it to be over :).

Pin It Now!

Ladies Cookie Exchange 2014

Yesterday I hosted a Ladies' Cookie Exchange.  Every lady that attended brought a few dozen cookies and an empty cookie tin.  Then everyone took their empty container and filled it up with all of the different kinds of cookies.  There were so many different kinds, that it was fun to sample a few as we placed them in the containers.

My daughter had mixed together a triple batch of chocolate chip cookies, only to find that the element was out on the oven!  Her dough is all frozen now - ready to thaw and bake at any time.  I didn't even make any because of the oven situation, but had candy, cheeseball, and other snacks to serve to the guests, so it worked out perfectly fine.

So, here are just a few pictures of the quick get-together to share with you!

Pin It Now!

Marshmallow Candy Pops

I've done marshmallow pops with chocolate many times before, but never with candy.  A friend was planning to use the pink Candy Melts for something else, but was busy decorating for the baby shower and didn't have the time to make what she planned. I had bought a LOT of big marshmallows for another event and had enough to use for this quick little treat for the baby shower.  I had never actually used the candy melts, so it was fun trying something new!

Melt the candy as directed on the package.  Insert a lollipop stick into a marshmallow, then dip the marshmallow into the melted candy.  Dip into sprinkles, if desired, and allow to harden on waxed or parchment paper.  I used clear crystal sugar sprinkles.  They turned out so cute!  Of course, that pink color may very well be my favorite color, so that helped :).  Baby girl pink is so sweet!  

And, by the way....I have a new great niece, so I got to see baby girl pink just a few days ago!  

Pin It Now!

A Very, Merry Happy Un-Birthday to YOU!

A few days ago I cleaned out my "party drawers" where I store all party plates, napkins, etc.  I decided that instead of buying any more napkins or paper plates, my family would use all of these "extras" until they're gone.  There's a huge conglomeration of napkins and plates, leftover from wedding showers, baby showers, school parties, church events, holidays, and birthdays.  

Maybe you have some "left-overs" you need to get rid of....or maybe in the past you've just thrown away the extras without using them.  Now you can do as my sister-in-law suggested:  Celebrate a VERY, MERRY, HAPPY UN-BIRTHDAY!  (I added the "happy" part.)

Pin It Now!

Go Fish! Birthday Party

 

 Recently we celebrated our great-nephew's 3rd birthday. His mom made some really cute things for his party.  This 'fish' birthday banner hung at the par pavilion where his party was held.

 She also made these party favors using crushed Oreos and gummy worms.  The fish thank you said, "Thanks for making my party reel fun"!

These fish-themed cupcakes were so cute! The colored Goldfish cheese crackers made perfect 'fish' which were caught with a pretzel reel and icing string.  

My mother-in-law made Levi's fishing-themed birthday cake.  What a great way to end the celebration by eating yummy cake and ice cream!

Pin It Now!

THS Seniors of 2013 - Easter Party

The Senior Class get-togethers will soon be coming to an end because the group will soon be graduating.  Because of that, my daughter and I wanted this Easter party to be extra-fun!  We bought about 300 eggs and painted them with glow-in-the-dark paint on the ends (we had lots of help painting them!).

The class ate ham, chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots, corn, macaroni & cheese, and rolls.

The girls that arrived early helped decorated the table with Easter-themed plates, tablecloth, and napkins.

Dessert was ice cream sundaes with waffle bowls, Blue Bell ice cream, and lots of different toppings.

They decorated boiled eggs using Koolaid....

...an idea we found on Pinterest.

They ended the evening with the egg hunt.  There was a problem, though....The eggs didn't glow because it was a full moon!!!  However, they did show up because they were pastel and easy to see.  (Just kind of sad that they spent so much time painting them for nothing!! Ha ha!)

No matter how old you may be, it's always fun to act like a kid again!  These seniors had fun just being kids :).  I hope they are making memories that will last a life time!

Pin It Now!

Lady Bug Party Theme

I've wanted to purchase these lady bug-themed party plates for months!  So last night, for my annual church ladies' salad supper, the lady bug theme worked out perfectly!

I'm teaching ladies' class on Wednesday nights, and the book we're using is also lady bug-themed, it was an easy decision.

In case you're interested, the party store also had Baby Shower napkins and 1st Birthday napkins to go along with the lady bug theme.  At first I could ONLY find the baby shower napkins.  I had just decided that I didn't care!  I would buy them and turn them over to the back side! I was DETERMINED to have this lady bug party :).

I was surprised at the lack of lady bug supplies when I tried to find some extra decorations.  The little lady bugs you can see on the black burlap runner and on the "grass" below were from Hobby Lobby.

They added a little touch of lady bugs.  I especially liked the fake grass squares!

You may remember the jars my daughter painted using Modge Podge and food coloring.  They worked perfectly for centerpieces tied with polka dot and lady bug ribbon.

And one more little centerpiece of fake grass in a galvanized bucket, with the little lady bug picks and ribbon.  Such a fun theme for any occassion!

Pin It Now!

Mocha Punch

For a vintage-themed baby shower yesterday, we served a pretty colored Mocha Punch.  A friend has this beverage server, which is BEAUTIFUL, and I remembered that at my nephew's wedding they had a Mocha Punch.  My niece-in-law shared the recipe with me so that we could serve it to the guests.  I'm not a coffee drinker, but it's really good!

I'm sharing the two variations of the recipe.  We used the bottom recipe for the shower. FYI:  I didn't read the instructions, so didn't have everything refrigerated in advance.  We cooled it off with ice to speed up the cooling process and it worked just fine!

Mocha Punch

Brewed Coffee (1/2 gallon) - 64 oz
Sugar (1 cup)
Milk (1/2 gallon)
Chocolate ice cream (1/2 gallon)

Instructions:
In a container combine coffe and sugar
Stir until sugar is dissolved
Refrigerate until chilled
Just before serving, pour into a punch bowl
Add milk, mix well
Add ice cream and stir well
(Some recipes added 1 tsp. of vanilla)

Recipe Variation:

20 cups of brewed coffee
1 cup vanilla creamer (liquid)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 gallon chocolate ice cream
1/2 gallon milk

Follow directions above....

Pin It Now!