BLAST OFF!

This entire collection is inspired by my oldest son’s love for science (if you’ve not seen his science birthday party that was featured in Columbus Parent magazine, make sure you take a peek before you go). His most recent passion of the sciences is all things space: moon, stars, planets, rocket ships. In this birthday collection you’ll find all the wares to host an out of this world party that your little astronaut will never forget, from dessert table details to bright polka dot placesettings to unique treat ideas.

Every great party starts with the guest’s excitement when they receive the invitation in the mail and for those that know my asthetic, I LOVE pops of color in unexpected places. We kept the invitation bright by incorporating fun patterns into our planets and then we carried Saturn’s pattern to the back of the invitation. 

I love getting creative in the kitchen. With the boys in tow and a huge mess when we were done, I came up with a few things for the dessert table:

mini space shuttle cakes - these fun no-bake mini space shuttle cakes are super easy to assemble (read all the how to details).

corn flake meteorites - a family favorite and super simple to whip up (read all the how to details).

iced Moon Pie treats - I thought it would be fun to not only display the moon pies (these are on multi-colored straws) but to ice them at various stages: crescent moon, half moon, full moon (read all the how to details).

Milky Way shakes – and what kid wouldn’t love a Milky Way shake?! Especially one that has a mini Milky Way candy bar attached to the end of a colorful straw. I served the shakes in old fashioned milk bottles wrapped with my rocket beverage wrappers and an orange spoon tucked inside. And for the coaster, we cut out some spikey red suns. I loved that part! 

With all the treats ready to go I styled a quick dessert table using printable items from the collection. The art in the backdrop was created with a few canvas boards from Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store ($18), dark blue paint ($1.50) and letters that are available with the banner shown at the base of the table (both printable files $4.00 in the shoppe). To add a little more demension I punched out various size stars and made a pattern around the art. I also used the stars on the red glass cupcake plate with a touch of hot glue.

For the dessert labels, the set includes labels for Starburst, Moon Pies, planet pops, cupcakes, cookies, Mars bars, Milky Way shakes, meteorites and then I thought it might be fun to play on fruit and veggie colors with orbit oranges and comet carrots. Plus there is a blank sheet so you can make up your own.

For the kid’s table I used bright polka dot plates and napkins with a rocket ship napkin ring, lime green polka dot shatterproof cups with a fun straw slip (to help the kiddos keep their cups straight) and one of my favorite items, the astronaut patch placecard. For the centerpiece I used multi-colored and patterned Sky Balls. (It was almost impossible to keep the kids away from them during the shoot so I can attest that they would be a great favor idea.)

On the topic of favors, I had fun with this one. We designed a gable box label that reads “Astronaut Training Academy Kit” and a set of four labels to package little goodies up in: freeze dried snack (aka Moon Pie), anti-gravity cubes (aka Starburst), space goggles and mission accomplished (which could be cute as a badge for the kids to pin to their shirts). We also designed cello toppers and favor tags that say “Thanks for blasting by!”

And what about a few “Out Of  This World Activities” to keep the kids busy. We painted mini planets (set of six Styrofoam balls for $1 at Dollar Tree) and my son had a multitude of other ideas. Don’t be surprised if I post at least one in the next few weeks.

And last but not least, I’m so excited to share that we used the rocket from our design to monogram a t-shirt for the big day. The front has an applique of the rocket and the sleeve has a monogram outline of the rocket and a name. These are perfect for the birthday child or as a favor for all the guests and are available in the shoppe with the rest of the collection.

A huge thank you to Jenn at Hostess With The Mostess for debuting the collection and as always, I hope you’re inspired!

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iced Moon Pie treats

We’re almost ready to reveal the entire Space collection, but while we wait I thought I would share another simple treat I created for the dessert table. Introducing the iced Moon Pie! I thought it would be fun to take a normal moon pie and ice them to be the various stages of the moon: full moon, half moon, cresent moon. To serve I pierced them with a colored straw and filled the jar with Twizzler bites. They still make me smile and the boys thought they were awesome! 

And the best part is they’re super simple to make. Just unpackage your Moon Pies, pipe an outline on each pie (I used a #4 tip, connector and resealable bag), melt the remaining icing, spoon it in and pull it to the edges with a toothpick. They’ll dry flat.

As always, I hope you’re inspired!

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mini space shuttle cakes

I love getting in the kitchen, grabbing everything from the pantry and just creating. I know what you’re thinking… and yes, it is a huge mess when I’m done. But sometimes I come up with fun things like these mini space shuttle cakes for my new Space birthday party collection!

Here’s what you’ll need for each shuttle cake:

  • 1 Hostess cake (select the ones with the flattest tops from the box)
  • 1 Little Debbie cake (you may have to trim the end with a straight edge knife so it stands flat)
  • 1 mini Reese’s Cup
  • 1 Hershey’s Kiss
  • 1 Keebler Grasshopper cookie
  • 2 orange Spree candies
  • 2 tablespoons of icing tinted orange

Assembly is super simple:

  1. Unwrap all of the ingredients
  2. Score a grasshopper cookie (as shown in the image above) for the shuttle’s tail fins using a straight edge knife (don’t use serrated; it will make the cookie splinter)
  3. Tint the icing orange using gel food coloring (liquid will make your icing runny) and melt it in the microwave for 8 seconds
  4. Using the Hostess cake as a base, put a small amount of icing in the center and top it with the Little Debbie cake. Do the same to apply the Reece’s Cup making sure that you don’t use too much or it will leak out the sides
  5. Using the remaining icing, cover the Hershey’s Kiss and the cookie pieces. Allow them to set for at least five minutes
  6. Finally, add the Kiss, tail fins and windows (Spree candies) with another small dot of icing each and serve 

As always, I hope you’re inspired and stay tuned for more from our new Space birthday collection!

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corn flake meteorite candies

As I posted on Tuesday, we’ve been busy styling a new Space birthday party collection this week. And when we style new collections we like to share fun treat ideas, crafts and more to go along with them. For the new Space collection we made these meteorites, or corn flake balls. They are actually a long-time family favorite… okay, my mom is addicted to them, brings them to every family function and refuses to seek treatment, but what can I do because I love them too?!

The best part is, they’re super easy to make, only require a few ingredients and take no time at all. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup Karo syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 6 cups Kellogg’s Corn Flakes
  • wax paper

Easy steps:

  1. Mix sugar and Karo in saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly
  2. When thoroughly combined, bring to a boil for one minute
  3. Remove from heat and quickly stir in vanilla and peanut butter until well blended
  4. Stir in corn flakes
  5. Allow to cool briefly and roll into balls on wax paper (TIP: Dampen hands with cold water so the hot mixture doesn’t stick to your skin… Ouch!)

Check back next week for more ideas and a look at the entire collection. As always, I hope you’re inspired! And stop over at Kellogg’s Snackpicks.com for more of my Kellogg’s treat ideas.

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new space birthday collection!

I’m super excited about our newest birthday party collection. As anyone who visits even occasionally can tell you, I have a budding scientist on my hands (his science birthday party and the collection) and his latest love of the sciences has everything to do with space. I’m not sure if this will be the theme he settles on for his seventh birthday party in the fall, but he’s loving it for now!

The custom invitation and thank you notes are already in the shoppe and we’re styling the printables and table decor now with some fun treat and craft ideas. The printables will include our normal beverage wrappers to dessert tags and we’ve thrown in a few new ones like astronaut patches and gable box favor labels.

Visit us here, on facebook and on twitter over the next several days for updates on the photo shoot, crafts and yummy treat ideas. And as always, I hope you’re inspired!

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