And Everything Sweet

Reptile Cake

2013-05-18T06:11:00.000-07:00

This cake was created for a little boy who was celebrating his big day with a reptile birthday party!! I had so much fun creating this crazy creature filled cake. It was so awesome to see it come to life, but really...when I think of it, WHO could eat this cake!?!? Not because "its so cool and you don't want to ruin it", but, well, uhhhh, its gross!! lol But I guess if you like reptiles enough to have a whole party dedicated to them, then you'll likely be able to get over the fact that they're all over your cake. ;)

Are you grossed out yet???

Pink and Yellow Cupcake Theme

2013-05-06T15:55:00.004-07:00

The smash cake...

Bailey's Puppy Party!!!

2013-04-21T06:31:00.003-07:00

Yesterday we celebrated my sweet baby Bailey's SEVENTH birthday. WHOA. Seven. That's old.

Bailey ~~LOVES~~ is obsessed with dogs. She really loves any animal, but dogs is her favorite. When it came time to plan this little girl's party she knew exactly what she wanted, a DOG party.

Once again, I contacted Amanda from Amanda's Parties To Go and got my hands on the fabulous, JUST RIGHT dog party collection. It was perfect. Colorful, girly, sweet (all while still totally cool for a 7 year old).

SO SO SO much fun with this party. The girls loved it. We got an inflatable jumper, pretended to be dogs, did a scavenger hunt, painted faces, the whole nine yards.

Ok, here are the pics. And before we even begin I know what you're going to ask. HOW DO I CREATE THIS PARTY!?!?! Go HERE. <--- p="">

In Bailey's words,

"It was the BEST BRUFF-day EVER!!!"

As always, cake comes first! Bailey wanted a "Charlie cake". Charlie is our beloved family dog. He is the love of our lives! Sweetest boy in the world. So, when it came time to make this cake the PRESSURE was ON! Literally, I was shaking when I was carving this cake. It HAD to be right. And I think it turned out pretty decent. Not as beautiful as our real Charlie, but only God can create a perfect Charlie boy. ;)

Here is our Charlie boy checking it out....hmmmm, this dog smells suspiciously sweet!! ;)

Ok, back to the party pics..

Aren't these puppy cake pops so adorable?!?!

These little "doggy biscuits" are those Scooby Doo graham cracker bones.

Bailey's favorite dessert to make with me is white chocolate brownies so I had to include those on the table. After I baked them I used a little bone cookie cutter to cut them, then stuck them on sticks. They looked "Dog-gone good"!!

Favorite addition to the table was definitely the dog house cookies. LOVED these!!!!

Beggin' strips were chocolate bars covered in pretty candy wrappers (by Amanda).

Twizzlers made the perfect "chew sticks".

Paw-reos were chocolate covered Oreos. I was going to design a little paw on the front of them, but I ~~ran out of time~~ got too lazy. So instead I wrapped them in treat bags and stuck a cute printable design on them. Easier is sometimes better. ;)

Could you just die over how cute these cupcake toppers are!?!?!!?

Bailey said "He looks so brave". If you knew Charlie, you'd know he's not SO brave in real life. ;)

The welcome wreath. I made this burlap wreath myself using THIS tutorial. So easy and inexpensive to create!!

Upon arrival each girl was given a dog collar to wear with her name on a little bottle cap tag. I found the tags (they're actually key chains) at Party City in the party favor section! They were perfect for what I needed. I used the little 1 inch circles from Amanda's collection for the girls' names.

The girls got their faces painted thanks to me and my mama.

We had frisbees out in the yard for the girls to play with.

Charlie says "is anyone gonna throw one of these things for me!?!?!" He was in the mix the whole time. That dog loves his girls (and their friends)!

The dog dinner table.

This is one of the 1000 reasons why I love Amanda's printables...a few of her party circles glued on sticks makes such an EASY and CUTE table centerpiece!!!

For snacks we had dog-gone good grapes, doggy kibble (cheese puffs) and pup-corn (popcorn) in dog bowls..

To hydrate the little K-9s I had apple juice (in a fire hydrant drink dispenser) and water bottles.

For a little party activity I had the girls do a scavenger hunt to find their very own puppy pet. I gave them clues that led them all over the house to find their dog as well as accessories for their new pup.

The first clue led them to the adoption center. Inside each bag was a little pup (that I found at the good ol' Dollar Tree). ;)

Then they were given another clue that led them to the place where they could find a little dog house for puppy.

Once they found their dog a house, they needed to search for dog food! The next clue led them to Reese's cereal in little dog-like bowls.

Once they found all the dog essentials (food and shelter) they needed to find accessories for their dog! The next clue led them to the doggy bags which included a felt bone, a leash and a mini frisbee toy (dogs love frisbees!).

Here is one happy little pup with his bone, leash and dog house.

And all the girls sitting on the floor after the scavenger hunt, playing with their new puppies.

Kids having fun pics...

After more fun and play we sat down for some yummy PUP-eroni pizza and then it was time for cake!!

I lit SEVEN candles...hard to believe I've been a mommy to the best girl in the world for 7 years! ;)

The BIG blowing out the candles moment... (notice her little puppy on the table that she positioned to be eating out of its bowl) So sweet. ;)

And then we had to cut Charlie, which was so sad...

Livie said, "You mean we gotta EAT Charlie!?!?" lol

One last pic of the little buddy...

And the after pic...so sad.

What a FUN party! I so enjoyed designing this one. With Amanda's help it turned out so colorful, fun and just PRECIOUS. I hope y'all enjoyed the pics! :))

Happy Birthday to my sweet angel baby. You are the kindest most beautiful little puppy I know!!!!

Another big shout out thanks to Amanda. GO to her shop now. You cannot throw a party without her artwork!! Again, click on THIS link to find the printables.

Dog bone cups were found at THE PARTY WORKS (click on link to be taken directly to cups)
Dog houses were found at Target (years ago though) :(
Dog bowls were found at Dollar Barn

Fins Up!!

2013-03-30T05:38:00.000-07:00

In honor of all you spring breakers, I bring you...JAWS!! Dunna-nana-nana!!! lol

Just kidding. This one doesn't bite. He's friendly...(and delicious)!!!

But the rest of them, they'll bite. So watch those little toes when you're out and about in the ocean.

Have fun, stay safe and and enjoy the fact that warm weather will soon be upon us! :)

Olivia's 4th Birthday!!!

2013-03-24T07:44:00.001-07:00

In honor of my sweet baby girl Olivia's 4th birthday, I set off a princess bomb inside my home. I had every princess you could think of, every bright color that my baby loves, tiaras, dresses, flowers, tulle, if it was girly it was there.

When it came time to plan this party there was no question what the theme was going to be. She was adamant, PRINCESS! The only question was, WHICH princess?? "All of them" she said, and then walked away. ;)

So I contacted my girl Amanda of Amanda's Parties To Go and asked her if she had any princess collections up her sleeve. She got to work and came up with the most adorable princess collection. I love how sweet this came out. Thank you thank you Amanda. Check out her shop for the set. Its perfection.

So without further adieu, my baby girl's princess party...

Sixlets in glass slippers

Chocolate covered Oreos disguised as apples

Chocolate Sea Shells

The wilting rose in Beauty and the Beast. Rose lollipops (perfecto!)

Ummmmm, how ADORABLE did these turn out!!! LOVE!! Snow White and Belle never looked so yummy!!

Upon arrival, each guest was presented with a princess dress (in the event that they forgot their own at home) ;)

Extra jewelry (you can never have too many beads)

And the boys were given knight gear. (so that they could protect the princesses)

Gumpaste princesses...

Guests were sent home with bags full of goodies, as well as jewels from Princess Jasmine and bubbles.

Snow White showed up!!!!!

She painted faces, did balloon animals and a magic show for the children.

Snow White doing her magic...

My sweet baby with her friends in total "awe" of the show. Love this pic...

To keep the children occupied for 2 minutes, they decorated frames with princess stickers. ;)

I love how Olivia's stickers are upside down, sideways, but whatever...she thought it was beautiful!

The royal craft table.

The dining table. Each place setting had a fancy princess crown sitting on a pillow.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LIIIIIIIIVIIIIEEEEE.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!

OH MY GOODNESS, that was A LOT of pictures!!! I don't know about you but I'm cross eyed after looking at all that pink and purple!!

Happy Birthday sweet Olivia!!

You are the LOVE OF MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!! I thank God every day I get to kiss you good morning and then kiss you goodnight. You are ONE OF the best things that ever happend to me. :)

Polar Bears and Chevron

2013-03-16T19:12:00.003-07:00

I love the way this sweet little pink and grey polar bear cake turned out! It was created for a baby shower honoring a mom to be who loves polar bears. When her sister placed the order she really wanted to incorporate them somehow which I thought was sweet. Polar bears have nothing to do with babies and are not usually something you see at your typical baby shower, but they totally work!! And how sweet that her sister wanted to incorporate something she knew mama-to-be would really appreciate. :) (gotta love good sisters)

Little baby polar bear sitting on its mama...

Polar bear cake pops. How cute are these!?!?!

VocabuLARRY

2013-02-26T10:49:00.001-08:00

If you have a baby you may know who VocabuLARRY is. If not, here is a picture...

He is a silly parrot who can be seen on BabyFirstTV.com. Basically he is considered pretty cool among small people and it just so happens he has a realllly big fan that lives in my neighborhood. Her name is Lauren and she just turned ONE! She loves this Larry parrot character so her mom knew just what she wanted when it was time for a cake.

A VocabuLARRY cake.

We went with sky/clouds and a grassy/white picket fence two tier to mimic the background in many of the VocabuLARRY episodes.

Lauren kept her 1st birthday party pretty small so they really didn't need a two tier cake. BUT her mom loves the look of the two tier. Sooooo, they ended up using the top tier as Lauren's smash cake and the bottom tier to serve to guests. Perfect compromise!!

I'm sure Lauren enjoyed smashing her little hands into those fluffy white buttercream clouds! ;))

Horse Themed 2nd Birthday

2013-02-20T01:00:00.000-08:00

Truer words were never spoken!!

Horses...ahhhh they're just the best things EVER!! I had so much fun creating this dessert table because it combined two of my favorite things...HORSES and sweet things. SWOON!

This party was centered around a little girl named Ryan whose mama is 100% the horse expert. She is my trainer friend and helps me out with my new sweet horse. (she gets probably 20 text daily from yours truly, I've got questions y'all!!)

OK wait, hold on...let me find a picture so I can introduce you really quick...

Auzzie, meet everyone. Everyone, meet Auzzie. He's the man!!!

Isn't he cute!?!?

Ok, so back to Ryan...its her birthday and she is turning TWO. Like mother like daughter, little Ryan already has a love of horses! Sooooo.....the horse dessert table was born to celebrate her 2nd year.

Happy Birthday Ryan!!!!

As always, cake comes first...

Horse Cake Pops

I covered rice krispie treat squares in candy melts to look like hay bales.

And since there was hay, we had to have horse treats too!! Apples (chocolate covered oreos) and carrots (cake pops).

Oh boy, horse silhouette cupcake toppers made from chocoate...LOVE the way these turned out!

Cheesecake bites.

Not just TRAIL MIX, but trail RIDING mix. ;)

Oh gosh, there's those cupcake toppers again. ♥♥♥♥♥♥

Ryan has a horse named Moe. Moe is a pretty special guy because he is Ryan's mama's very FIRST horse so I hoped to find a way for him to be represented on the table . He is VIP after all! So I made Moe Pops...marshmallows with chocolate "spots" to mimic Moe's markings.

I know its just a picture of a horse, but doesn't he look like he wants to eat those apples???

Ok, I think that's all I got. That was a lot of pics. Thanks for stickin' with me. Hope you enjoyed!!!!

Editable/FREEBIE Party Printables: Get them HERE

Tiger Cake

2013-02-18T14:56:00.000-08:00

Year of the DRAGON

2013-02-15T17:30:00.003-08:00

This colorful dragon cake was created for Gavin who is turning ONE!! Gavin is half Korean and in Korean culture the first birthday is a big deal, so Gavin's mama wanted a perfect, meaningful cake. :)

Gavin was born in the year of the dragon, which is considered very lucky in Asian culture. He was also born on Valentines day so he is mama's little "love dragon". She wanted something that incorporated a dragon, a little bit of Valentines day AND the stripes on Gavin's hanbock (a traditional Korean outfit) that he would be wearing at his birthday party.

And so...this little striped, love dragon cake was created! :)

A little smash cake to match...

Happy First Birthday Gavin!!! (you little love dragon!) ;))

Ballerina Baby Shower Dessert Table

2013-02-09T20:21:00.000-08:00

"Is a good thing you like the color pink Mommy, 'cause you're making A LOT of pink things!!"

(Said my sweet little Olivia yesterday as I was working on this table)

And WHOA was she right!! THAT was a lot of pink!!! ;) But it wasn't TUTU much because they're HAVING A GIRL!!

And how do you celebrate your first little baby girl?

You splash pink decorations all over the room, gather friends and indulge on PINK desserts.

(that's where I come in) ;)

The expectant mama has a real passion for dance and loves Angelina Ballerina. They wanted sweet, pink, ballet themed yumminess on a table and that's just what they got!

I had SO much fun putting together this table because as my sweet Olivia pointed out, I LOVE pink!

I will admit however that the tutu table skirt nearly killed me. I never want to work with that much tulle again!! (*picture yards and yards of tulle, an abundance of static electricity and one innocent little baker, ME, caught in the middle of it all*) It was annoying, that's all I'm trying to say. ;)

BUT other than that I just had "tutu" much fun.

Big thank you to Amanda of Amanda's Parties To Go for helping me with this NEW adorable Ballerina collection. It added just the right touch!! Check out her shop. She is AMAZING!!!!

Ok, so enough of the blah blah blah. Show us the pictures!!!!!!

Love these sweet little gumpaste ballerina slippers..

Angelina Ballerina!!!!!!

Hoo Hoo Hoooo's turning one?!?!

2013-01-31T05:24:00.000-08:00

The smash cake

Need more owl cuteness!?!?!

Check out these owl cake pops...don't their big sweet eyes make you melt?! ;))

Hot Pink and Zebra

2013-01-21T04:20:00.000-08:00

Hot pink and zebra...what else does and 11 year old birthday girl need?? ;))

Sweet and Pink

2013-01-19T04:06:00.000-08:00

I LOVE how this sweet little 2 tier pink ombre buttercream rose cake turned out. Its actually a mini two tier (4 inch top, 7 inch bottom), the perfect size for someone who wants a two tier, but doesn't need all that cake. Normally I would have topped it off with a fondant bow, but hey...if your budget is tight then a fabric bow is the next best thing! ;))

Wrapping Party

2012-12-21T12:44:00.000-08:00

If there is anything more satisfying than being with good buddies it's being productive with good buddies!!! :) Last night I gathered some of my wonderfully beautiful and funny old college girlies together for one of my favorite kinds of parties...a wrapping party!!! Everyone showed up at my house in their pajamas, a couple of rolls of wrapping paper in hand and boxes and boxes of presents to wrap. I supplied the tape, scissors, ribbons, embellishments, etc.

I LOVE this kind of party because it makes wrapping SO MUCH FUN!!! Grab a glass of wine, laugh with your friends and get yourself organized!!! Christmas is FIVE days away so we got down and dirty, rolled up the sleeves and wrapped those boxes like there was no tomorrow (and then celebrated our productivity with a bowl of soup and a glass of wine)!! :))

Check out the pics of the wrapping goodies station I set up...

I used Amanda's pink snowman collection from Amanda's Parties To Go. I love this set because its so girly but still Christmas-y.

I had a variety of different package toppers. I love using inexpensive ornaments to embellish presents and I also made little paper circle fans out of scrapbook paper topped off with wooden embellishments found at Michaels. Those turned out so sweet and super cute!!!

The backdrop of the "gift wrap goody table" included different decorated packages. I wanted to give some examples of how to use the embellishments to spice up your presents...when I was setting up the table my daughter said, "Mommy WHY are you putting presents up there like that??" (in a tone like you've lost your mind!!) Yes dear, your mommy HAS lost her mind (a long time ago actually)...accept it. ;)

Ummmm tape and scissors!! HELLO!?!? Can't have a wrapping party without plenty of each!! ;)

How sweet are these little gift tags from Amanda's collection?!

Pretty fabric bows on cupcake stands.

One of my girlfriends was examining the tape and asked me how I got the decorated paper inside the tape. All I did was pop the roll of tape out, then I took the paper that was already in there and used it to trace the shape out on scrapbook paper, cut it out, stuck it in there and replaced the tape back...

Lots of ribbon on hand!!!!

Happy Wrapping to you all!!!

oh yeah, and Merry Christmas too!!! :))

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2012-12-13T15:46:00.000-08:00

Last week my best buddy requested a smorgasbord of wonderful Christmas goodies for a party she was throwing for all her teacher friends. I had SO much fun working on this order. Sometimes I swear to goodness gracious I'm still an 8 year old child who gets giddy over the thought of cartoon-like, colorful Christmas sweetness...

How precious are these Christmas tree and gingerbread men cake pops?!!? LOVE~

And I was LOVING the oreo snowman pops!

No party is complete without a cake (or cupcakes)! ;)

Rice Krispie treats and Santa Claus Hat cake "balls"

Pancakes and Gingerbread

2012-12-06T03:10:00.000-08:00

Ok, so seriously this definitely made my list of all time favorite cakes! Love the way it turned out. Charlotte is turning FOUR and wanted a party where her buddies and she could decorate gingerbread cookies and munch on pancakes. :)

Soooo, the pancake/gingerbread girl cake was born. Now THAT'S a custom cake!!! ;))

Ugly Sweater Party!!

2012-12-03T04:51:00.001-08:00

This past weekend I threw my third annual trophy husband party: theme-UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATERS!! It was such a blast! My favorite type of party is one where people are forced to dress silly to fit in. Its an instant ice breaker as the moment guests walk through your door everyone is laughing at each other. ;)

I had SOOO much fun putting together the dessert table for this party. It was a bit of a challenge b/c obviously I wanted the table to be UGLY, but then again I didn't. ;) I used a lot of different colors and patterns to create a mismatched/yet somewhat coordinating theme. Who knew ugly could be so challenging!?!?

Lauren, from Lauren Haddox Designs shared her Tacky and Mustachey collection with me. It fit perfectly with my theme. I loved the addition of mustaches!! Since it was also a trophy husband party it totally fit!

I don't normally "do" cookies. I looked into purchasing some, but at $5/cookie (at the lowest) I figured I'd try my hand at them. Let me just tell you, $5/cookie AIN'T enough! These little suckers are time consuming!!!

My FAVORITE addition to the table were these little sweater push pop desserts. SO awesome! I purchased the sweaters from Susans Sweaters on etsy. They're Barbie sweaters, hand knitted and then I got my hands on them and tackied them up. (THAT was FUN!) Under each sweater is red velvet cake and cream cheese icing in a push pop.

Ooooh, aaaahhhh, chocolate covered oreos with chocolate transfers. Who knew an oreo could be so festive??

My friends would disown me if I had a party without cake pops (everyone's fav) so naturally, plaid cake pops.

Ok, so I cheated. I printed off ugly sweaters onto icing sheets with my edible ink printer, attached them to fondant and stuck them on cupcakes. Not too much work here, but they're super cute non the less!

And since adults don't typically attack desserts quite like kids, I left some boxes out on the table so they could "stache" away some treats for later (i.e. their kids). That worked! The dessert table was 100% cleared by the end of the night as guests left with their boxes of goodies.

I set up a cheesy photo booth with a winter background purchased at Oriental Trading, some silly photo props, and of course, a blow up Santa to pose with.

And as if ugly sweaters weren't enough tackiness, I played on the mustache theme with these sweet little things (also found at Oriental Trading).

Doesn't the mustache just ADD to the charm of Mr Jeff here???

And since it was a trophy husband party I had to create games for the guys to compete against each other for title of #1 TROPHY HUSBAND.

Let me first start off by saying we have the BEST, most COOPERATIVE group of guy friends EVER! They truly are trophy husbands!! Such good sports!! (I can never have a normal party, with normal socialization)

We did a version of dizzy bat (a trophy husband party tradition). We split the guys into two groups and created a relay race. Using wrapping paper as "the bat", they had to spin around 4 times with an ornament in their hand. A few feet away from the start was a little Christmas tree. After they were done spinning they had to RUN and place their ornament on the tree and then run back. Once they reached the end the next guy could start. HILARITY!!! They were all over the place, some even fell from too much dizziness. (so funny, like pee in your pants kind of laughing, just saying)

Next, was blind folded gift wrapping. The guys were given a box (I used cracker boxes, mac n cheese boxes, etc) to wrap. (I pre-cut the paper so no one got hurt!) We blind folded them, put them in pairs (they had to share tape), and gave them each a box, paper and a bow. This was also a race. Whichever team finished first (both guys had to have a fully wrapped present, topped off with their bow) were then judged on which present of the two was most presentable. This game, again gave us girls some awesome laughs. It was belly busting watching these guys (in their ugly sweaters) try to share tape, find their bows, etc. Just awesome!

The final game we played was "Holiday Sausage". In this game the guys were asked questions like "What was your favorite toy to play with as a child?" or "In your opinion, what was the biggest issue facing this 2012 election?" and the only answer you could say is "holiday sausage". You're not allowed to laugh or smile when you give your response. Funny game, but if you ask me the guys had WAAAAY too easy of a time keeping a straight face. These men are hard to break!!

So, after these three games the trophy husband was named. Jeff Gordon, pictured below in the red sweater vest (talking smack to the other team after dizzy bat). His team won the wrapping paper dizzy bat race, he was first to finish his present in blind folded gift wrap and he didn't once smile/laugh during holiday sausage....so there it is ladies and gentlemen, JEFF GORDON, your 2012 Trophy Husband.

Me and my hubby (in our mustaches)....sometimes he is so handsome I just can't take my eyes off him!!!

Awwww, and my sweet little Charlie boy....the first one to pass out for the night!!! Sweet boy.

What a FUN time!!

Get yourself out there, put on an ugly sweater and HAVE A PARTY!!! Great time guaranteed!!!!

Navy and Pink Gender Reveal Cake

2012-11-28T05:54:00.000-08:00

My absolute favorite kind of cake to make is a gender reveal cake! I just love the concept of cutting a cake in front of friends and family to discover and celebrate the gender of your next family member. :)

The hostess wanted to stick to a navy/vibrant pink theme. I love the way these colors went together.

So, what do you think it was??

PINK??

or BLUE??

Since the reveal has already happened I can let you all know it was a GIRL! The inside of the cake (cake and icing) was colored pink to reveal a pink as pink, no doubt in your mind, you're expecting a little baby girl.

Sports Lover!

2012-11-26T05:19:00.000-08:00

This cake was created for a boy who LOVES his sports. :) His favorite teams are the Chicago Bears (football) and Chicago Bulls (basketball). He also wanted a Jordan shoe box to represent his favorite basketball shoes.

Toy Story

2012-11-25T04:58:00.000-08:00

This cake was created for a brother/sister joint birthday party. They both love Toy Story- brother loves Buzz Lightyear and sister loves Jessie. Soooo, one tier, Jessie one tier Buzz. ;)

Braves Jersey Grooms Cake

2012-11-24T04:47:00.000-08:00

30th Birthday

2012-11-09T12:38:00.000-08:00

Belle Cake

2012-11-08T04:23:00.000-08:00

Every now and then a cake I make catches my little one's eyes. They see so many cakes come and go that they've become a little more difficult to really impress. BUT, when my little 3 year old Olivia (she is convinced she is a real princess) came stumbling into the kitchen at 6:30am and saw me working on this one she stopped in her tracks, got bright eyed and said

"MOMMY! Is that for me?? That is the most beautiful cake.

HOW did you do that!?"

I kinda think she thought I made the Barbie doll too. Shhhhh. Don't tell her any different. I need to be her hero for as long as possible.

And unfortunately it wasn't for her. Bless her heart. ;) But I told her I will make her whatever cake she wants when it comes time for her birthday. I have a feeling she might want me to "make" a Barbie to put in her cake. ;))

Hey Ohiiiiioooooo!!! Its election day!!!

2012-11-06T03:07:00.000-08:00

AND THIS CAKE'S FOR YOU!!!!!!!

Listen, I'm sure you're super sick of all the political talk...the phone calls, people knocking on your door, your friends/family trying to sway you into voting "the right way".

You're an important state in this election and you've been through a lot so I think you deserve a cake today!!

Now get out and vote!!!

And for goodness sakes, vote for my guy, errrr I mean, the right guy for you OK?! ;)