Written on July 24th, 2008 by Kim
Looking for a little summer fun with the kids? What about a campout in the backyard? A well rehearsed ghost story, a few s’ mores and you’re a hit. I found a very fun recipe for a campfire cake on brightideas.com. I mean, what kid doesn’t like brownies and candy bars, and even if they don’t like the walnuts around the edge, they can scrape them off since they’re not baked in.
But if you’re not up for a night under the stars yourself, and your adventurer would rather have a night out with friends anyway, The Celebration Shoppe offers just the campout party invitation.
Idea source: brightideas.com
Tags: campfire cake, campout birthday party
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Written on July 21st, 2008 by Kim
Last week was all about the girlfriend gathering: baby showers and bridal showers. There was much baking and decorating, and I’m proud to say… not too much eating. Let’s face it, when we’re getting married, we’re trying to fit into a dress that we likely had tailored a little small to give ourselves a goal. And when we’re pregnant, we’re constantly thinking about things like, “is that really healthy for the baby” or more likely “the more I put on, the more I’ll have to take off.” This in mind, it is best to serve mini cupcakes versus large cupcakes or even worse, a traditional tier cake where the slice can grow depending on who is serving. For portion control, the mini cupcake is the winner.
Select a moist box recipe (just think of it as someone prepping the dry ingredients for you) and two cans of cream cheese icing. Tint your icing in light pastel colors. Using a pastry bag and various tips, create interesting mounds of icing on each cupcake, or using a swirl technique with the butter knife can do just as well. Garnish each with petite chocolate shavings or baking crystals and you have an elegant little cake. (Box cake mixes yield 48 mini cupcakes.)
Tags: baby shower cupcakes, bridal shower cupcakes
Posted in baby shower, baking, bridal shower · 2 Comments »
Written on July 15th, 2008 by Kim
We’re shooting our girlfriend gathering photos today (and yes… I spent many hours baking and flooding cookies yesterday), including our baby shower and bridal shower décor, so I thought I would share one of our baby shower invitations with you. We wanted to develop an invitation that was gender neutral, that had style and wasn’t the typical pregnant silhouette. As always, I would love your thoughts.
Tags: personalized baby shower invitations
Posted in baby shower · 1 Comment »
Written on July 14th, 2008 by Kim
If you ever find your party feels a little light on decoration, a great way to add appeal is by bringing in some height. One of my favorites is inflating balloons (no helium), tying them with ribbon or fishing line (if you want it to be invisible) and pinning them to your ceiling at varying lengths. They are more cost effective than paper lanterns.
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That said, paper lanterns are beautiful, especially when you string them with white lights. Hanging them just takes a little more effort.
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Happy decorating!
Tags: balloon decorations, decorating with paper lanterns, princess party decorations
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Written on July 11th, 2008 by Kim
So sorry… yesterday just got away from me. On top of the norm, I hosted my book club last night; they are great group of ladies. Anyway, here are the tips I promised:
Icing
First of all, you have to have the right type of icing: royal icing. Don’t let the name scare you, it’s just one pound of confectioner’s sugar, five tablespoons of meringue powder (can be found at William’s Sonoma or another similar bake shop), a half cup of water (or less) and gel-paste food coloring (again, William’s Sonoma has a great set). You’ll need to mix the icing until it’s fluffy, yet dense, about seven to eight minutes. Then you’ll need to use the icing immediately or transfer it to an airtight container.
Coloring
Separate your icing into the number of colors you need for your project. Then color your icing one drop of gel at a time. It’s a lot stronger than you might think. Once all the icing is the colors you need, separate them again so that you can thin one half for flooding. With your second set, thin each color with one teaspoon of water at a time. Often, one teaspoon is all it takes depending on how many times you’ve separated your icing. Now you have thick and thin versions of all the colors you need.
Tools
Trim one corner of a Ziploc bag and insert a #3 icing tip with a connector. Repeat this process for each of your colors (thin and thick). Then spoon each into a bag. (I always mark the thin bags so I don’t accidentally ruin a cookie by trying to trim it with the thin icing.)
Flooding
Now that your icing is prepped, take a cooled sugar cookie and pipe an outline around the shape. Allow it to set for 10 to 15 seconds and then you can flood the cookie with the thinner version of the color. While the flooded color is still wet, you can add a different thinned color to make polka dots or other designs. Allow the flooded colors to set for several minutes before adding any additional piping or layers to your design.
I hope these few tips are helpful in making your own fun creations.
Tags: decorating cookies, flooding cookies
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