owls

June 14, 2010 1 Comment

real parties: woodland fun

woodland-birthday-party

I ran across this adorable woodland themed first birthday party over at my sweet and saucy this weekend. I just love owls, as is likely evident by my campout, Hoot and owl couple collections, and this party was full of them from the chocolate owl pops to the owl cookies to the plush owls used as decor. You must hop over and check out all the details. This mom did a great job!

nesting centerpieces

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I heard the first tweets of Spring a few days ago and caught a glimpse of a mommy bird building her nest in one of our bird houses… little twigs scattered all over the ground below. (My oldest was concerned that she was killing dad’s tree. I had to assure him it would be fine…)

This wonder of nature made me think of all the beautiful ways we use the bird nests in event planning and decorating, so I thought I would round up a few of my favorites.

The centerpiece and placesetting ensemble is from Martha Stewart Weddings… love it!! And it’s perfect for our owl couple baby shower collection.

The next two are from William-Sonoma. I just thought the bell glass idea was very unique, and then who could resist chocolate truffles in the shape of baby bird eggs. I mean, really! They’ve carried them for years and I drool over them every season. {wink}

introducing owl couple

thecelebrationshoppe_owlcouplebabyshower

I’m soooo excited about this one. I know some of you are saying… “she’s always excited.” But this one is truly special. You see, I have a beautiful cousin and two beautiful nieces who are pregnant right now and surely one of them will want their baby shower to be a hoot! (Come on girls, indulge me!)

Our new owl couple custom invitation, thank you and printable collection would be an excellent way to pad the nest of any mom-to-be. Here are a few of the details:

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We decorated our cake plates with brown cardstock scallops to showcase our whimsy tree branch cupcake wrappers and owl couple cupcake picks.

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Shown on our pink and brown table decor is the second cupcake pick design: our pink and white stripe ”Babies are a hoot!”

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We also made some adorable nest cupcakes (toasted coconut and candy malted milk eggs).

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I love these printable placecards since the little owl ears stick up and give the typical flat card some dimension. And if you’re not having a sit down meal, they also work great as food labels on buffets or candy tables.

thecelebrationshoppe_owlcouplebevwrapstrawslip

These beverage wrappers are also perfect to wrap hurricanes or even candles. And check out the super cute straw slips (also great for stemware). They come in four patterns (pink and white stripes, tree branch whimsy, pink polka dot, brown polka dot) and have plenty of space to write guest names.

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And no need to fret over favors. These pink and white stripe owl couple candy bar favor wrappers are simple and a perfect treat.

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Or, use our cello bag toppers to package up other candies or favors that guests can take with them.

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You could even make owl cookies with our cookie cutters and place them in the cello bags. {wink}

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Just like the straw slips and candy bar favors, we used a pink and white stripe (same as the back of the invitation) pattern to embellish our owl couple napkin rings.

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And last but not least, if you’re feeling crafty, make a few of these DIY plush owls to set around your decor. Read more about them, including our free pattern template, in our earlier post. As always, I hope you’re inspired because this baby shower could be a real hoot!

pull-a-part owl cupcakes

owl-cupcake-pull-a-part

I was browsing through my many Halloween decorating books for inspiration staging my own Halloween party this year and I ran across this great pull-a-part owl cupcake from Matthew Mead’s 2008 Halloween Tricks and Treats book.

So many of us are into owls right now and not just for Halloween. I myself have three invitations in my shoppe sporting this nightly creature. As is, this guy would be perfect for my campout invitation and with a few color changes and maybe a nicer demeanor he could be perfect for my owl fun birthday party or owl couple baby shower.

Here’s what you’ll need:

30 unfrosted cupcakes
4 cans icing
2 chocolate glazed jimmy-topped donuts
2 black jelly beans
Orange, red and brown gel food coloring
Resealable bags (freezer weight) with couplers
#199 fine cut tip
#2 and #5 round tips
Offset spatula

And here’s how you pull it together {wink}:

Arrange cupcakes on large round platter (shown at 16″ diameter)
Spoon 3/4 cup icing into a small bowl and tint with 23 drops of orange food coloring and 10 drops of red food coloring, mixing until blended for the beak. Spoon 1/4 cup frosting into a second bowl and tint with brown food coloring for accents. Take out 2 large dollops of icing and then tint the remaining 3 cups with 30 drops of orange food coloring, 9 drops of red food coloring and 6 drops of red food coloring.
Fit a resealable bag witha #199 tip. Fill the bag with the orange icing. Cover the top of the assembled cupcakes with “feather” peaks as shown. For each peak, hold the bag straight up with the tip against the cake; squeeze the bag, keeping the tip in the icing until the peak forms; stop the pressure and reposition the tip for the next peak. Work from the center out, rotating the plate; refill the bag as needed.
Place the donut tops on the frosted cake for eyes. Remember those two large dollops of icing you kept out, now pipe them into the center of the donuts for the whites of his eyes and top them with a jelly bean. For the beak, use a spoon to place 3 dollops of frosting on the cake: start with a largish dollop near the eyes, then add 2 dollops below it, each smaller than the previous. Run the spatula under hot water until heated, dry thoroughly and use to contour the beak as shown.
Fit another resealable bag with the #5 tip and fill it with brown icing. Hold the bag at a n angle and pipe the brown outline onto the cake as shown. Change the tip to a #2 and pipe on the squiggle details.

Enjoy and make sure and check out Matthew’s 2009 Halloween book. You can see a preview at MatthewMeadStyle.com.

DIY plush owl

diy-owl-crafts

For a photo shoot of our owl couple baby shower decor, I recently made a few plush owls… perfect for birthday party favors or as gifts for the little one that is soon to arrive. And the best part, you could even make these as a “no sew” project! Mine are sewn, but I’m just saying… you don’t have to. A little fabric glue and you’re in!

So here’s what you’ll need:

2 coordinating fabrics (owl body and wings)
coordinating felt (eyes and nose)
batting
owl body template (to ensure that both sides are equal, print the template out and trace it side by side on wax paper)

And here are the super easy steps:

Cut out the owl body from one fabric and the wings (just the bottom corners of your owl body) from a coordinating fabric. Sew the wings to the body.
Cut out the eyes from coordinating felt; we did two sizes and layered the circles. Sew the eyes in place.
Cut out a diamond shape nose from felt. Sew the nose in place.
Place the front and back of the owl facing each other. Sew the owl body together (inside out) with a 1/4″ seam all the way around, leaving the bottom open.
Turn your owl right side out. You may need to use a pencil to poke the ears out.
Stuff the owl with batting and close the bottom of the owl with a needle and thread… or fabric glue. {wink}

As always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake, create and celebrate!

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owl inspired

owl-couple-baby-shower

I came across these fun felt owls and cute owl cupcakes this morning and wanted to share. Unforatunately I don’t have step-by-step instructions on these… yet. {wink}

The fat little owl craft is from lerylin2, a reader on Martha Stewart.com. Her homemade hoots won a recent contest. She does tell us that she used styrofoam and felt. The pattern looks fairly easy from the image. I think I’ll try it out.

The cupcakes are from Gathering Manna {a recipe blog}, where she not only shows the cupcakes but her table for a owl themed baby shower. You must check it out.

Both of these go beautifully with our owl baby shower couple theme. {wink}

sweet owl cupcakes

owlcupcakes_hellonaomi How adorable are these owl cupcakes from Hello Naomi! They are perfect for our owl couple baby shower theme or for our owl fun sleepover birthday party theme with a few color tweaks.

Naomi doesn’t provide instructions, so I’m going to give you a few tips on how I think you can pull this one off without the use of fondant. Here’s what you’ll need:

1 white cake mix (don’t use the yellow of your eggs and bake them in white baking cups)
2 cans icing {cream cheese is my favorite!}
Gel food coloring {the others are too watery in my opinion}
2 resealable bags
2 icing connectors
#2, #3 and #6 icing tips
Toothpicks

And here’s what you do:

Bake your cupcakes so that you have a muffin top (filling the cups ¾ way full).
While they cool, tint your icing. The image shows a light pink which works great for our owl fun sleepover birthday theme, but you might want a nice yellow for our owl couple baby shower theme… unless you want to show off the gender! {wink}
Now, microwave your tinted icing in intervals of 7 seconds, stirring in between, until it is a little bit like soup. It will harden back up quickly so you’ll have to remicrowave it between every other cupcake or so.
Take your cupcake and dip the muffin top in the icing, being careful not to get it on your baking cup. Slowly lift it out and spin the cupcake allowing the excess icing to drip off. Place it immediately on a cooling rack to allow the icing to dry. (Tip: If you have a little point in your icing where the last dripped off, quickly, and gently, shake your cupcake back and forth so that the icing will settle before it dries.)
Now for the owl, tint a half can of icing the color you want your owl to be and set aside.
Take a resealable bag, insert a connector and attach a #3 tip. Fill the bag with half of the tinted owl icing.
Outline the shape of the owl on the cupcake.
Change your tip to a #6 and pipe on your branch and dot leaves.
Now to fill the owl, microwave the remaining icing, minus a heaping tablespoon for the eyes and noses, and carefully fill the owl outline. Smooth the icing to the edges with a toothpick. (Tip: Plastic icing bottles are great to control spilling, but you can do it with a spoon if you’re very careful.)
Allow the owl to dry completely.
For the outer eyes and nose, take another resealable bag with a connector and a #2 tip. Pipe your circles and triangles on each cupcake and then microwave the remaining icing to fill them in. Once dry, use the bag with the #6 tip and pipe the inner eyes.

For presentation, I love a tiered cake plate, but if you’re fresh out, buy some coordinating gift wrap tissue paper and line your serving tray. And if you have a pair of scalloped scissors to trim the edges, all the better.

Happy baking!

owls are in

owls I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know when I say owls are in. Who knew they could be so cute! They’re on tote bags, t-shirts, lunch boxes, and now our invitations.

This Friday, February 20, we’re launching two new designs:

Owl Fun – whooo’s having a birthday? I think I love the blooming flowers as much as I love the too cute owl.
Owl Couple – look whooo’s having a baby! Couple baby showers are all the rage these days so I simply couldn’t resist having a mommy and daddy owl too.

As always we would love to know what you think about these two new designs. You can post a comment or send us an e-mail at ideas@celebrationshoppe.com.