>Vintage Baseball Party

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Vintage Baseball Baby Shower

{in case you were wondering, it was a big HIT}

Get it, “hit”, as in home run?!

A dear friend of mine is preggo with her second little boy, and it’s safe to say that their boy-filled home is a bit crazy about all things sports.

But rather than throw the typical “sports” themed party, Nina {of Momma Go Round} and I decided to spice things up a bit with a vintage inspired theme.

Oooooo, Ahhhhh!

Here is our glorious invitation designed by none other than NINA {mad design skills, I tell ya}.  She even sells these invites for a crazy cheap price in her Etsy shop {along with nearly ALL the other printable decor you’ll see at this party}.

BTW: We realized {after the invites had been printed}, that we forgot to include the time. Oooopps! So Nina threw together this filler card, lol.

We used my kitchen table to set up all the typical yummy sweets found at a baseball game {and then some}.

Accented with a “Concessions” banner.

Outside we set up a few little “conversation areas” with baseball themed treats for our guests to snack on.

Gotta have Red Vines, Baby Ruth’s Boston Baked Beans and Big Chew at a baseball game, right?!

These puppies make me smile–cupcakes have that effect on me.

Especially cupcakes with homemade frosting and scalloped toppers {also found in Nina’s shop}.

 And check out this fabulous baseball diamond shaped fruit platter, designed by the guest of honors Momma! How creative is that?!

Now DON’T look too closely at these janky chocolate Oreo’s that are supposed to look like baseballs.

Apparently my pastry design skills are sub par.

Gotta have Cracker Jacks at a game!

And cotton candy, of course!

We served a light lunch, baseball themed of course!

We whipped up these hot dogs and wrapped them in foil, Dodger stadium style. 

We found these adorable mini coke glasses at the dolor store {2 for $1} and knew we HAD to find a way to incorporate them. I cut down the straws to fit in the cups.

 Nina whipped up these water bottle labels for the perfect finishing touch to our beverage table {also available in her shop}.

 We made a banner that said the last name of the baby and then “field”.

For added effect, I turned on my patio “mood lighting”, lol.

Closer look at the cupcake toppers.

  

I made 3 of these Pom Pom’s using this wonderful tutorial from Organize and Decorate Everything.

And that pretty much sums up our fab party!

Like I said, it was a home run!

Head over to Momma Go Round for more about this baseball party!

Party On!

>Witches Night Out

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Witches Night Out

Last week our Women’s Church Group {Relief Society} partied like we were rock stars with a Halloween event that would knock your socks off. Seriously, these ladies went ALL OUT in the prep for this evening!

The pictures aren’t fabulous because it was indoors and night time {and as you know, I don’t know how to use a camera–hehe}. 

Eye Ball Cookies

Tootsie Pop Ghosts in a Cauldron

{made with tissue paper}

Green Marshmallow Frankenstein Heads

Spider cake, yummy!

Green slushy yumminess drink.

Every table had a different fabulous Halloween “look”.

Here are a few:

My favorite part of the evening–the invitation came with a witch hat attached. Each of us decorated the hat to match our personality.

Imagine the room full of awesome ladies adorned in embellished witch hats–it was glorious!

And an event at our Church wouldn’t be complete without a newborn or two, right *smile*

There was even a table dedicated to “crafty Halloween ideas”–every craft bloggers dream, I tell ya! 

Frame Halloween silhouettes.

Wrap spooky font around dollar store candles.

Spice up your boring books with scrap book paper covers.

Dinner conversation starters at every place setting {all Witch themed}

Bottle up your favorite Halloween Specimen {add bat or fairy wings to a picture of your kiddo or pet}

The evening was a huge success, if I don’t say so myself.  And I thought some of you would enjoy some of these clever ideas for upcoming Halloween shindigs at your homes.

Happy Halloween!

>Doily Banner TUTORIAL

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Paper Doily Banner TUTORIAL

So I have seen a few of these doily banners out there in the blogoshere and the world of Etsy–and I knew I had to try one out for myself.

And, I also think my button obsession is expanding into the doily arena–which means you can expect a few more doily tutorials out of me in the future.

Now honestly, this is perhaps the easiest craft project you’ll ever embark on–not to mention, its perfect for party decor {baby shower, bridal shower, luncheon, Easter, etc.}. 

You can even spray paint your doilies any color you want.  Last Halloween I made one of these banners and spray painted all the doily’s black–very Gothic chic, lol!  

Or you can add cut-out letters to your doilies to spell out something like “Happy Birthday”.  The possibilities are endless!

Shall we get started?

Here’s what you’ll need.

Supplies:

Paper doilies {from the Dollar Tree}

Ribbon in the color of your choice {at least 3/4 inch wide}

Glue gun and hot glue

STEP ONE:

Determine how long you want your banner to be and select how many doilies you want to use.  I used six–I wanted to use 7, but my ribbon was too short.  I suggest using an odd number of doilies. Now fold all your doilies in half.

STEP TWO:

You will glue down your first doily about 18 inches in from the end of the ribbon {leave at least 18 inches on both ends for hanging your banner}.  Lay your ribbon flat and apply a row of hot glue to the bottom half of the ribbon in the length of your first doily.  Now set your doily on top of the hot glue and press firmly in place.   

**Important**: When you set your doily on the glue, be sure that you set it down exactly halfway through the ribbon {see picture below}.   

Now follow the same steps with the remaining doilies.  For this banner, I placed my doilies about 5 inches apart.  Next time I want to try to place them touching each other {I think that will look cuter}. 

STEP THREE:

Once you have glued down the first side of all your doilies, you are ready to move on.  Lay your banner flat on your work space.  Start with the first doily again, but this time apply hot glue to the top half of the ribbon. 

And then fold the top half of the ribbon over the doily and press firmly into place.

Continue this step until the ribbon is glued down along the length of the banner.

I left the end ribbon pieces unglued so that they would be cuter and easy to tie when hanging {see picture below}.

And in just 15 short minutes, you have your very own paper doily banner to hang for your next party or holiday!

I will be linking this doily banner to

 these super rad  link parties!

Happy Crafting!

>Party Box Birthday Party {off the hook}

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I love my readers.

And I especially love how stinkin talented they are.

Take Jessica, for example.

She has a gorgeous blog called

And she recently posted about the Rockin birthday party she threw for her adorable 2 year old daughter named Charlotte {Charli for short}.

Those cheeks and this party, make me want a little girl of my own–BAD!

Super chic, super girly, super awesome!

Get ready to be inspired for you next party.

This flower arrangement is a gorgeous conversation piece, and a totally doable DIY.

These tutu pom poms add such a soft, precious element to the party.

Now that’s a birthday banner, if I’ve ever seen one.

I love how Jessica picked out all the pink and yellow starburst to match her theme.

Pink and yellow never looked so good together.

Are you getting thirsty?

Fruit kabobs. Genius!

Cupcakes on a ribbon lined tiered cake stand.

And then, of course, you’ve got to have your ultra chic party hats!

{loving that table cloth too}

Jessica wants YOU to be able to throw an awesome party just like this, so she has so kindly included a detailed VENDOR LIST HERE.

Visit Jessica at the Party Box Designs for more fabulous ideas and pictures:

and tell her aloha from Little Miss Momma!

>Cake Pop Recipe

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 Easy Cake Pop Recipe

Perfect for any party or get together, these super easy cake pops are sure to rock your world!  A quick shout out to my beautiful and talented sista-in-law, Lyndsi, who was patient in teaching me to make these glorious yummies.

 Want to learn how to make these for yourself?

Here are the step by step instructions with pictures.

Feel free to leave a comment with any questions.

Ready, set, go!

Supplies:

Devils Food cake mix {and ingredients listed on box}

1/2 package of chocolate frosting

White Chocolate Candy Melts {2 bags from Michael’s}

Candy sticks {from Michael’s}

Styrofoam

Gel Food Coloring {NOT liquid}

Foil

Vegetable Oil Spray

Shortening {large spoon full}

Step One:

Line your large cake pan with foil. 

Now grease the foil with vegetable oil spray. 

Step Two:

Follow the recipe on your cake mix and bake your cake as directed. 

 Allow the cake to cool.

 Step Three:

Put your baked cake in a large mixing bowl.

 Use your hands to crumble the entire cake. 

Add about 1/2 of the package of chocolate frosting to the crumbled cake.

The chocolate frosting is what acts as a glue to hold the cake balls together.

Now its time to get dirty.

Use your hands to mix the frosting evenly throughout the crumbled cake mix until the cake mix is well moistened. 

Your cake mix should be moist enough to shape into a large mound and keep its shape.

  And if your hands don’t look like this, then you’re doing it wrong {lol}.

Step Four:

Roll your cake mix into 1 inch balls using the palms of your hands.

You should be able to get 35-40 cake balls from a single batch of cake mix.

Step Five:

Now we prepare the chocolate shell.  Pour one entire package of white chocolate candy melts into a microwave safe bowl.  Follow the melting instructions on the package.  *Be sure not to burn the candy melts or they will taste super yucky*

Pull out your melted white chocolate and stir thoroughly with a spoon until COMPLETELY smooth.  Once smooth, add a large spoon full of shortening {Crisco} to the white chocolate to thin out the consistency a bit. Stir thoroughly again.

Step Six:

Take a cake pop and dip into the white chocolate about 1 inch. 

 And then place it into the center of your cake ball.

This will act as a glue keeping your cake pop and stick attached.

Then place your cake pop in the Styrofoam to harden.

Continue with the remaining cake pops. 

Step Seven:

Now you are ready to coat your cake pops in the delicious white chocolate.

This is the most tricky step of the entire recipe.  It took me some practice before I was good at evenly coating the chocolate on the pop.

The key is to place the pop in the chocolate at a sideways angle with one hand.  Using the other hand, spoon the chocolate mixture all around the pop.  Try to do this as quickly as possible before the chocolate begins to harden and get lumpy. 

Once you have evenly coated the pop, gently tap the stick on the side of the bowl to get off any excess chocolate that would drip.

Step Eight:

Now its time to make your pops look extra pretty.  Use the remainder of your white chocolate for the drizzle.  If you run out, make more following the steps above. Add the GEL food coloring of your choice until you receive your desired color.  The liquid food coloring will immediately harden and ruin your chocolate. 

Fill a Ziploc bag with your colored white chocolate.  Cut a small hole in one corner of the Ziploc back so that you can drizzle the colored chocolate over your pops. 

Now let your pops dry and then you are done!

Lyndsi and I preferred the way the cake pops taste after they have chilled in the refrigerator for a bit. 

I am so making these at the next baby shower I throw {that’s right Kristyn}!

How pretty are these bad boys?! 

We had a handful of hungry little kiddos anxiously awaiting the completion of our cake pop project.  Let’s just say the cake pops were a big hit amongst my niece and nephews.

 Check out my Nephew {Lil C}–it doesn’t get much cuter than this:

 Here’s the rest of the adorable gang eating their yummies:

Enjoy! 

Happy Baking!

Click HERE to check out all the parties I link to!

>Garden Baby Shower Luncheon

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Garden Baby Shower Luncheon

Today I hosted a baby shower for a dear friend who is expecting a little boy in less than a week, hooray!  This was an extra fun shower to plan for because the guest list was for a dozen lovely ladies {rather than 30}, so I was able to spend some extra time on the details–I even used real plates {oooo, ahhhh}.

I chose a “spring time” theme in turquoise, lime green,

orange and yellow.

I made these Pom Poms using a tutorial from Leanne at Organize and Decorate Everything. I love them so much–I wish I could leave them up all year round {and maybe I will, lol}.

To stay within the “garden/backyard” theme I bought a 12 pack of mason jars at my local grocery store and used them for cups. I used extra large malt straws purchased from Michael’s.

I made this banner using scrapbook paper and pre-cut letters that come in a pack {also available at Michael’s}.  I glue gunned each paper flag down on to a long strand of turquoise ribbon.

Here was my nifty little party favor.  I made these earrings using this tutorial. 

The theme was “Cute as a Button”.

I glue gunned this trim around vases from the dollar store.

I learned how to make these pinwheels from Gillian at All the Small Things.

I threw some of the pinwheels in with my flower arrangements.

Yummy Spring time cupcakes.

Summer salad with strawberries, mandarin oranges, sliced almonds and a sweet honey vinaigrette dressing.

Homemade chicken salad sandwiches on croissants.

No luncheon is complete without WATERMELON {my fav}!

Smorgasbord:

Most of my decorations and favors were used with supplies from the Dollar Tree and the sale section at Michael’s {and I’m not just saying that}. If you want to know where I purchased anything specific leave me a comment and I will get back to you.

All in all, one rather awesome baby shower!

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