Kims Kandy Kreations

Shindig Saturday Weekly Linky Party #46

2012-03-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it's March already? I can't. The year is flying by.

We have so many fun things planned that in a way, I'm glad it's going fast.

My kids are getting older and I'm starting to freak out about how soon they will be out of the house, so I'm trying to plan LOTS of fun memories for them.

It seems not so long ago I was reading fun Dr. Seuss books to them.

Oh right, that was last night.

In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday yesterday, we went to a Seussical party at school.

I'm glad "Mini Me" is still little enough to enjoy the fun, but sad that "Drama Queen" isn't.

In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday, I wanted to share a fun poster from Mamiverse.

Go check it out HERE for 30 Great Quotes that can change your life!

[Via: 30 Dr. Seuss Quotes to Live By]

What have you been doing this week?

Show us your newest party or fun creations by sharing your favorite party themed craft, table scape, photo, favor, or whatever! I'm pretty flexible since just about everything can be used at a party...that's the great thing about us moms! We can see the potential in ANYTHING!

Linky Party Guidelines:

* Link up to your OWN project post, not just your blog, but your actual post. (We want to see it!)
*Grab a Shindig Saturday button for your post or blog page. (Hey, it benefits us all!)

*Stay and enjoy the party by visiting and commenting on other's projects. (It's fun to mix and mingle!)

Soccer Cookie Bouquet

2012-03-01T12:13:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st day of March! I just learned that this is National Craft Month. How fun is that? So I wanted to share an EASY but high impact craft with you today in this yummy Soccer Cookie bouquet.

Supplies needed:

Fish bowl (Walmart Glass Aisle)

Styrofoam ball (a little smaller than the size of bowl opening)

Aluminum Foil

Hershey Drops (or other fun candy)

Cookies on Stick

I made my cookies the day before using Sugar cookie dough and baking long sucker sticks into the bottom of the cookies. I used a 2 inch circle cutter and pennant, jersey, and star cookie cutters.

Since I don't like the taste of Royal Icing, I melted (10 seconds in microwave) a little Betty Crocker canned frosting and used some icing bags to pipe the frosting on the cookies. The frosting was runny enough to frost, but hardened up pretty nicely.

Cover your Styrofoam ball with aluminum foil. I left a little open on top so it would be easier to place the sucker sticks in. I did find it was easier to slice off a piece of your Styrofoam ball so it would sit flat in the bowl.

Place the ball down inside the bowl in the center.

I used Hershey drops and Cookies and Cream drops for the candy in my cookie bouquet. I figured this looked more like the black and white of a soccer ball. It would also work good with M&Ms or other small pieces of candy.

Carefully put your pieces around the outside of your Styrofoam ball. Try and cover all the aluminum foil from showing, but leave the top party open.

Start placing your cookies into the Styrofoam by carefully pushing the stick down.

I like to start with a center piece and build out from it. Since I am a very symmetrical crafter, I like to have it pretty even with the same cookies on each side, but it's all up to you. Place them in there the way YOU like.

You might have to trim down the sticks for the cookies in the front. That's okay. They cut pretty easy with a pair of scissors.

One you have all your cookies in, add a few more of the chocolate drops into the top to cover the Strofoam and hide the stick bottoms.

Now you have a pretty easy and yummy treat for a gift or party centerpiece!

Soccer Bleacher Cupcake Stand

2012-02-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

When I started planning our Soccer party, I had the vision of my cupcakes sitting on bleachers watching all the action.

I'm not entirely sure I succeeded, but I wanted to share the simple how to.

I started with 4 of these simple baskets from Walmart (but you can get them at the Dollar stores too) and a sheet of black foam core board.

I cut the foam board into three pieces along the width of the board.

The pieces were 2 1/2 inches wide, 5 inches wide, and 7 1/2 inches wide.

I used 2 of the baskets on the bottom and placed the largest (7 1/2 inch) board on top.

To finish the stadium, I used another basket and put the 5 inch board on top so it was sitting towards the back, but stable on the basket.

I did the same for the top tier with the 2 1/2 inch board.

Now the cupcakes can sit in the front part of each stadium seat and "watch" the game.

Soccer Ball Chocolate Candy Box Favor & Free Printable

2012-02-28T15:07:00.002-07:00

I always love fun, themed, EDIBLE favors for a party, and these soccer ball chocolate boxes are one of my favorite ideas of all time. They are sweet treats filled with sweet treat for a unique and tasty gift.

And today, I want to share with you how to make them.

They are pretty easy with the right tools and mold.

For this project you will need:

Soccer Pour Box Mold

White Chocolate Wafers

Black Chocolate

M&Ms or other small candy

I REALLY love my candy writer and HIGHLY recommend these for filling in mold.

I do use my candy bottles for the basic colors, but for colors you can't get chocolate in easily (like black) these candy writers are AMAZING.

I'm hoping to be able to offer these soon in our store, but I did get mine in the baking aisle at Michaels.

To use them, simply put them in hot water and wait about 5 minutes. The tube and chocolate inside will be "squishy" and easy to need.

Use the chocolate pen to outline the areas of the mold in the middle and every other side. Its easiest to pick it up and tilt the mold. Fill the outer edge of the area and then the inside. Be sure to use a toothpick or the edge of the pen to make sure you get all edges and lines filled.

The mold is taller on the bottom side, so use a towel to keep your box level and place in the refrigerator to harden for a few minutes.

While your black is hardening, melt your white chocolate wafers.

WARNING: White chocolate burns very easily!

The easiest way to melt your chocolate is to melt it in 1 minute intervals in your microwave at 50% power. Be sure to stir between minutes.

Once your white chocolate is melted, take your mold out of the fridge and let both sit until the chocolates are at room temperature.

You want your white chocolate to be as cool as possible (while still pourable) so it won't melt the black when you pour it in.

Once your chocolate is ready, fill your cavities with chocolate.

When they are almost filled, tap your mold (keeping it level!) on the counter. This will cause the air bubbles in the chocolate to rise to the top and even out the chocolate.

Place your mold back into the refrigerator (once again making sure its level) to harden. This will take a few hours depending upon your refrigerator temperature.

The chocolate will be ready when you can see that it has pulled away from the mold by looking at the bottom of the pour box. It should pop out cleanly and easily.

You may notice there are little (or sometimes ALOT) of extra chocolate on the sides. You can trim your chocolate by carefully using a butter knife on the edges if there is alot. If there is a little, a clean rag can be dragged along the edges to mold them cleanly.

Now you can fill your chocolate box with fun treats like M&Ms of Skittles.

You can serve your guests these treats

or wrap them up in Saran Wrap by tucking the undersides and taping.

For a fun treat, tie the Saran wrap at the top with a black bow

Now add your favorite wish to our Soccer tags (free printable below) or use our Soccer Thank you Tag!

You can get the Soccer Ball Chocolate Mold HERE or purchase the completed Soccer Ball Pour Box Favor HERE.

Shindig Saturday Weekly Linky Party #45

2012-02-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

I've been a little slow in creating posts this week. Hubby came home from 2 weeks away last Friday and that night I came down with the crud my kids have been fighting forever. Great welcome home, huh?

So I've spent much of the past week in bed. I've had no energy to do much of anything...

But my brain has been working overtime. I've come up with LOTS of fun ideas (I hope it's true and not just my delirium talking) for my soccer party though, just haven't had any energy to work on them.

Hopefully, my energy is coming back. So I'll be extra fruitful this next week and be able to share all the fun with you.

What have you been doing this week?

Show us your newest party or fun creations by sharing your favorite party themed craft, table scape, photo, favor, or whatever! I'm pretty flexible since just about everything can be used at a party...that's the great thing about us moms! We can see the potential in ANYTHING!

Linky Party Guidelines:

* Link up to your OWN project post, not just your blog, but your actual post. (We want to see it!)
*Grab a Shindig Saturday button for your post or blog page. (Hey, it benefits us all!)

*Stay and enjoy the party by visiting and commenting on other's projects. (It's fun to mix and mingle!)

5 Soccer Party Favor Ideas

2012-02-24T22:18:00.001-07:00

I've been under the weather this week, so I've been a little slow in posting as you may have noticed. Hopefully I'm finally on the rebound and can spend the weekend making some of the fun projects I have in my head and idea book.

Since I'm not quite there yet, I wanted to take a quick moment and show you some of the fun soccer products that we have NEW in our shop today!

Soccer Jersey Candy Bar Wrappers

These fun candy wrappers can be personalized in ANY team color with any number or team logo. Add a fun saying on the back with our Soccer Ball font to wish your team or player a good game. Or use these as a unique graduation announcement by adding your graduate's school information. These would also make a fun birthday party favor or invitation that your guests will remember for a LONG time. These bars are available in girl or boy design with skin tones to match your favorite athlete.

Soccer Ball Cake Party Favor Boxes

This cardstock party cake would make a fun treat for your party guests. Boxes can be filled with candy or party treats to give 12 unique favors that when placed together form a fun soccer ball. This ball cake would be a perfect centerpiece to your dessert table or Thank You area.

Soccer Name Plaque

Personalize your guests' names on these fun personalized name plates for a truly unique party favor. Everyone loves to see their name on treats and this door or wall plaque is a fun way your guests can remember your party forever.

Soccer Photo Personalized Whirlypop Lollipop

Put your whole team or just your favorite player's or birthday boy or girl's photo on a yummy 3 inch whirlypop lollipop. Lollipops have a yummy fruit flavor and the sweet sticker on the front can have a team or birthday wish added at no extra cost.

Soccer Ball Chocolate Covered Oreo Cookie

Add a sweet treat to your dessert table with this yummy double stuffed white chocolate covered oreo. These would also be a fun take home favor by adding these to take home bags with a fun thank you tag.

10 Soccer Craft Ideas

2012-02-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

If you are looking to do something other than just play soccer (and eat) at your party (not that it sounds like a bad idea to me)...I've been brainstorming (and checking out Google and Pinterest...which are surprisingly short on soccer party ideas) for craft ideas to make.

1. Soccer Clipboards with Pictures

I love this idea. Hand decorated clip boards were all the rage for a while (are they still?) I think girls would love to be able to use scrapbook paper and pictures to decorate a clipboard for their rooms. What a great way to keep a team picture and get the guests organized at the same time.

2. Picture Frames

Have the guests make a picture frame decorated with fun stickers out of a dollar store frame or craft frame. Then set up a fun photo booth with lots of props for some great pictures.

3. Soccer Name Letters

Let each guest decorate his or her name with fun soccer paper. You can just decorate the first letter to hand on their bedroom door if you only have a few moments, or do the whole name for a more in depth projects. I shared directions on how to do these letters HERE.

4. Soccer Ball Pillows

Make soccer pillows out of black and white fabric. Let the guests sew them together or pre-make and let each guest finish the pillows. Or make fun pillow cases using fabric markers. Guests can draw them scoring a goal or a fun event from the party or season.

5. Safety Pin Jewelry

Use safety pins and beads to make fun jewelry. Family Fun has a simple pattern HERE to add the beads to make a soccer ball. Or get creative and design any pattern or initial.

6. Bottle Cap Necklaces

Craft stores have everything you need to make fun and cheap bottle cap necklaces for each guest. Pick up bottle caps, necklaces, and rings to score some a fun craft. Each guest can decorate a small circle to place in the center of the bottle cap or add a picture for a personalized treat.

7. Soccer Team Cookies or Treats

Decorate sugar cookies or Rice Krispie treats cut with gingerbread cutters as each member of the soccer team. Use different colors, sprinkles, and candies to add jerseys, hair, and other details. You can see how we made our swimmers HERE.

8. Barrettes

Pick up some blank barrettes from the craft store and let each guest decorate with wooden soccer balls and fun ribbon for a fun hair decoration for the next team picture.

Finger puppets by Vegie Smugglers

9. Soccer Finger Puppets

Vegie Smugglers shared a fun printable file to make finger puppets to play soccer with HERE. Let the guests color and cut out these fun pictures and play a round of soccer. Or better yet, let them draw their own and let the guests make themselves playing the game.

.10. Fabric Bracelets

Use fun soccer fabric to decorate bracelets for each team member to wear. Frame Worthy Shot shared directions on how to make these easy but stylish fashion statements HERE.

Hopefully that gives you a few fun Soccer Craft Ideas to try at your next soccer party!

If you make any of these fun crafts,

Soccer Jersey Silverware FREE Printable

2012-02-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

Most of the End of the season Team parties that I've been to have been pretty boring overall. The format is usually to get together, have a potluck dinner, and then give out awards. It works. But it's usually pretty boring.

Plus, one of the things I hate at potluck parties is trying to juggle your plate, your silverware (why do they always put that at the beginning of the buffet line?), and your food.

In an effort to help with the juggle and to spice up the party just a little, I created these fun Soccer jersey silverware holders.

These allow you to place all the silverware and the napkin in an easy "pouch" that will keep them together while gathering your food. Or better yet, place them at the END of the food table and allow your guests to grab as they are leaving.

They are simple to print out on card stock.

Each jersey has a front and a back.

The jerseys are 4 inches by 4 inches with a 2 inch wide shirt base.

Cut out the jerseys around the outline.

The front jersey shirt hole is designed that you can use a 2 inch hole punch if you line it up.

Line up the front and the back jerseys (make sure the back is facing out) and glue or tape the sides together. (I tried using a glue gun, but it didn't hold well once the silverware was in. So I glued the shirt sleeves together and then used tape on the sides.)

Now it's easy to add your silverware and napkin through the top and bottom holes.

I've included a free jersey printable here for you to decorate as you need.

Make it look like your kids' jerseys or print it out and let the kids decorate it as a fun activity.

You can get the jersey with the white and black lines in our shop HERE. We'll be adding more designs soon. If you want us to try and make your jersey, just drop me a line!

Soccer Birthday Shopping

2012-02-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

I was contacted a few weeks ago and asked to start looking for some soccer party ideas for a sweet 11 year old's team party. I didn't realize that this theme was so under-utilized that I couldn't find many ideas or fun soccer themed products.

But to kick off the party, (pun intended...) here are some fun ideas from the small businesses of Etsy.

'Kick It Up Soccer Party'

Everything you need to score a goal with your soccer party

Lot of 20 SOLID Chocolate SO... cmgarofalo $31.00	Forget about it Princess Emb... PerfectPrettie... $5.00
WHiTe with BLaCK PoLkA DoT N... pinklemonadepa... $4.95	24 White and Milk Chocolate ... CrabbysTreats $24.00
soccer ball swivel party in... PolkaDotCardz $1.50	50 Black And White Polka Dot... LollipopsAndPu... $10.00
Personalized Water Bottle Vo... RoKaByeDesigns $8.00	Personalized Soccer Bottleca... JustTheCuteStu... $4.95
2 Tiered Cupcake Stand Pedes... SassyStemware $29.00	Soccer Theme Birthday Party,... ScrappThis $8.50
Personalized Birthday Party ... susiedees $5.00	Quilted Soccer Table Runner ... PollyLoo $19.99

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Shindig Saturday Weekly Linky Party #44

2012-02-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

It's been a LONG week here in Candyland.

We've all been fighting some kind of cough and "mini me" has been having asthma flair ups almost daily. Not been much fun, especially with dear hubby gone.

I've decided I really don't like being a single parent and I am totally in "awe" of all of you who are. I don't know how you do it.

But I have learned one thing in the past year, and it has been re-affirmed to me this week.

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

Linky Party Guidelines:

* Link up to your OWN project post, not just your blog, but your actual post. (We want to see it!)
*Grab a Shindig Saturday button for your post or blog page. (Hey, it benefits us all!)

*Stay and enjoy the party by visiting and commenting on other's projects. (It's fun to mix and mingle!)

Candy Chandeliers

2012-02-17T09:50:00.002-07:00

I had this desire to make a candy chandelier for my Valentine's candy party tomorrow.

It hasn't worked out so well so far, just because I live in a little town and haven't been able to get the tools that I need to get it done. (I think this project has actually pushed me closer to opening up my own candy store here in town...but we'll see how that goes.)

But I wanted to share some chandeliers that I have found around the web for inspiration in case you want to try your own.

Once Wed shared this DIY Rock Candy Chandelier. I love how simple and elegant this looks with the white candy and the pretty bows!

I'll never be afford this Gummy Bear Chandelier, but maybe it can be recreated for a lot cheaper than the $9500.00 price tag!

This Candy Chandelier by The Hollywood Candy Girls is my favorite! I have been scouring the thrift stores looking for a chandelier that I can add some yummy candy to. Don't be surprised if you see a copy of this inspiration piece over my workroom table VERY soon.

Movie Valentine Party Games

2012-02-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

I know that most of you probably had your Valentine's celebrations yesterday, but ours is coming this weekend, so I'm still working on party details for a few more days. I hope you'll bear with me and maybe file these away for next year!

Today, I'm working on a few more games for our party.

I already shared the printable for the Candy Bingo game (don't forget it's only free until Friday, so don't forget to go grab it if you want it!)

I've been working on a few quiz party games as pre-openers so the guests will have something to do while we are waiting for everyone to show up.

The group that I'm planning the party for is REALLY into music. They have it on ALL the time when they come over and so it inspired this Valentine Movie Love Song Match game.

The game has 15 love songs and movies. The object is to match up the song with the movie that it came from.

I tried to use movies that the teens have hopefully seen or heard the music from, so most of the movies are fairly recent or are family appropriate.

The printable is designed to get 2 to a page so you can right click and save the picture, then print off as many as you need for your party guests.

Here are the answers:

The next game has the same idea, but you need to name the movie the love quote came from.

Some of these are a little older, but they are good quotes.

Here's the answers:

The last game we will probably play is one I did a few years ago at an adult valentine's party hubby and I did. We found a clip on YouTube with some famous movie kisses and had the guests try and figure out what movie the kiss came from.

I wish I knew how to do this myself, but since I don't. This is one of my favorite versions with some good old and "new" movies. Plus, the answers are listed right there!

Candy Cupcakes & Printable

2012-02-14T16:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Dear hubby is still gone for work, so it's going to be a quiet day here in Candyland, but I've enjoyed doing a little baking and planning for a sweet Valentine's party when he returns this weekend.

I am planning to make some sweet cupcakes to surprise him with since we didn't really get to celebrate his birthday. (He left that day.) And since my Valentine's party is all about chocolate and candy, I plan to make some candy themed cupcakes.

I just can't decide which ones...

I LOVE Andes Mints, so I would love to try these Andes Mint Cupcakes by Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I would love to pair them with our Conversation Heart Table Card and the saying "I Mint To Tell You How Much I Love You."

Becky Bakes shared these Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes that are calling out to me too. They would be so fun with a card saying "There are many Reeses Why I Love You Valentine."

Of course these Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes by Chocolate Carrots would be something different but fun. How about "You Make My Heart Roll Valentine!"?

Hubby might like the variety in these Snickers Cupcakes by My Baking Addiction since I NEVER let caramel in to the house. (YUCK!) But it would be fun to have a change and a card saying "You Make Me Snicker With Joy."

But I'm almost sure I'm going to end up with these Cookies and Cream cupcakes by Annies Eats since that's his favorite ice cream and Oreos are his favorite cookies. I think he'll love it with a saying "It's All There In Black And White I Love You Valentine!"

If you want to try this too, here are each of the table cards from our Conversation Heart collection.

If you want the corresponding cupcake wrapper or any of the other pieces in this printable party set, you can find it in our store HERE.

Shindig Saturday Weekly Linky Party #43

2012-02-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

Hubby's been out of town this week for training and I've been thinking alot about how hard it is to be without him.

Unfortunately, it hasn't always been that way. There was a time when we lived apart for a year with only occasional visits. That was hard, but I learned to just do it all.

I think we've both grown a lot since then and I've realized that I don't always need to do it all.

That was a hard realization for me.

I like to do it all.

That way I know it gets done...and (most of the time) done right.

But I'm learning to let go and let hubby be my partner.

So with him being gone, I'm struggling a little.

And missing him a lot.

Maybe with that thought in mind... or that fact that Valentine's is this week...

but my printable is a little personal to me today.

This picture was taken a few summers ago when we went to visit Nauvoo, Illinois and stopped to visit the temple. I am LDS and in my religion, in our temple, we can be married forever in temples.

This is My Happily Ever After...

Since it's obviously, not yours...here's a picture with the saying on the Salt Lake Temple.

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's day.

Linky Party Guidelines:

* Link up to your OWN project post, not just your blog, but your actual post. (We want to see it!)
*Grab a Shindig Saturday button for your post or blog page. (Hey, it benefits us all!)

*Stay and enjoy the party by visiting and commenting on other's projects. (It's fun to mix and mingle!)

Candy Bingo Game Printable

2012-02-10T13:27:00.000-07:00

You can't have a teen party without having lots of chocolate and candy for the kids.

It just isn't done.

Or at least that's what my kids tell me.

So in the effort not to get 15 kids hyped up on pure sugar, I made a Candy Bingo Game for them to play.

Now they can have all the sugar they want right at their fingertips!

They will just be trying to cover it instead of eating it.

I created 15 sheets of bingo cards and each sheet has 2 game cards on it.

The colors are bright pink, blue, and green to go along with a Candy Dots background that I have planned. Each space has a different type of candy on it. There is everything from Reeses to Neccos to Tic Tacs to Candy Lips and more!

I printed the cards out onto cardstock.

Then cut each one out.

The candy pieces are printed with 25 to a page inside 1 1/4 inch circles. This allows for easy punching out with my hole punch.

I haven't decided for sure if I'm going to make these last and put them on wooden circles like I did for the 50s Sock Hop Bingo that we did last year.

I love the idea, but it means taking a trip over to Pueblo since our Walmart absolutely STINKS. But I love how this Candy Bingo turned out and we'll probably play it alot, so I most likely will.

I am going to go get a bunch of candy bars for the winners, since I can't tease the "animals" like that!

If you want a copy of this Candy bingo, it's available in the online store HERE.

But for our loyal readers, you can download it for free until next Friday (February 17)!

Lifesaver Candy Tray

2012-02-09T11:26:00.001-07:00

This Christmas I saw the most amazing idea of making serving trays with candy mints by Tutto Bella.

Since then, I've been looking for ~~an excuse~~ a reason to make some of these myself.

I thought a Valentine candy party would be the perfect place for these sweet trays.

It took me a couple of tries to get the system just right. I wanted the lifesavers to melt together, but not be indistinguishable as to what they were. (I was looking to try and have the "lifesaver" writing on it still visible.)

I found it best to unwrap the lifesavers and place them in your design on a cookie sheet topped with ALUMINUM FOIL (wax paper didn't work for me).

I did have to use my papered chef sheet so that it wouldn't shift around in the oven. (I guess I have old cookie sheets that are getting warped.)

I baked my tray at 325 degrees for 5 minutes and that seemed about right to get the design and still melt the candies together.

Once they are melted together, take the tray out of the oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes.

I took my aluminum foil off the cookie sheet so it would cool faster.

When it was done, I sprayed it with a sealer to keep the lifesavers from getting "yucky."

These trays are VERY fragile, so you need to be careful with them.

But they look so cool.

I loved them so much, I decided to make a few coasters out of the lifesaver trays too.

Since they are so fragile, I'm going to run to Home Depot today and get some cork board to put on the back. Hopefully, that will help them stand a little more use.

In the meantime, I'm going to make a few more of these Lifesaver serving trays since they are just too fun.

Kiss Lips Chocolate Covered Oreos

2012-02-07T19:38:00.000-07:00

I spent the day working on orders and was so excited to take a break when I got these amazing oreos molds in the mail today!

They are kiss lips shaped oreos for the double stuffed oreos and smaller chocolate oreos for the mini size!

I am donating these oreos to a fund raiser this weekend, so I've added this Lips candy topper to some of the oroes.

And I've added the Kiss candy topper to others.

We'll see which ones are more popular.

But either way, they are super cute and I'm so excited to be able to offer them.

Valentine Candy Party Invitation

2012-02-06T20:21:00.001-07:00

I have 2 teenagers in the house with several more that come over on a pretty consistent basis. I LOVE it! I love having a houseful and enjoy the laughter and fun that is here.

So I was trying to come up with a Valentine's party that wasn't "too mushy" and didn't focus on love and couples for the holiday. So I decided to throw a party that was focused not on the heart part of Valentine's, but on the candy and sweet part of it.

So this week's party will be a Candy themed Valentines!

I loved the candy themed invitation we did for our M&M chocolate party last year, so I decided to do another one for this Valentine's party.

The invitation says:

There are many REISENS I want you to be mine for you always make me SNICKER and be JOLLY which makes me BURST with JOY! Join us for MOUNDS of fun. (party information) Say you'll be a SMARTIE and come. CONVERSATIONS welcome at (phone number)

I printed out the invitation card onto cardstock, added my party information and then tied it to a bag of candy with curly ribbon. Inside the bag there are Reisens, Snickers, Jolly Ranchers, Starburst, Almond Joy, Mounds, Smarties, and Conversation hearts.

If you want to have your own Candy themed party, here's the invite free printable!

Shingid Saturday Weekly Linky Party #42

2012-02-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

I'm taking the Perfectionist up to Denver today to High Jump in the USA Track and Field Indoor Championship meet. He's super excited and I'm super "un-thrilled" about the prospect of driving to Denver. If you missed it, they've been slammed the last few days with snow. But as a parent, I think you do some dumb things sometimes to make your kids happy.

You see, he really is pretty good at High Jumping, so I'm driving 2 hours to let him jump.

But I'll tell you a secret...I LOVE to watch him jump.

He just takes my breath away watching him do it and knowing he can totally jump over me!

I guess that's the crazy mom part of me showing through.

I am SUPER proud of him and excited to see how he'll do.

So this week's printable is one that I found on pinterest, but I didn't pin it...and now I'm kicking myself. So I had to make my own, because it sums up how I feel about ALL my kids.

So what has taken your breath away this week?

Linky Party Guidelines:

* Link up to your OWN project post, not just your blog, but your actual post. (We want to see it!)
*Grab a Shindig Saturday button for your post or blog page. (Hey, it benefits us all!)

*Stay and enjoy the party by visiting and commenting on other's projects. (It's fun to mix and mingle!)

Love Bug Valentine Lady Bug Dinner Party

2012-02-03T17:43:00.001-07:00

Since my Hubby is going out of town on Monday for 2 weeks and will be gone for Valentine's Day, we decided to have a dinner party tonight to celebrate the holiday as a family.

So we chose to have a Love Bug Valentine party based on Lady bugs.

It was a pretty simple set up with a red table cloth and black table runner down the middle.

Each place setting got a red charger (on Clearance right now at Walmart from Christmas), a white plate, and a red dessert plate.

I'm super excited about how cute the silverware turned out.

I purchased some black silverware from Walmart and used a pencil eraser and red paint to put red polka dots on each of the silverware to go with the theme.

I used some black napkins and the water bottle labels from my Lady Bug printable collections as napkin holders.

Plus, each plate got a special treat consisting of our Love Bug candy topper and a bag filled with Lady Bug Oreo cookies.

The center of our table had more treats inside our Lady Bug cake party favor boxes. (Lots of yummy M&Ms for the boys who stop by after!)

The salt and pepper Lady Bugs were a fun find at Dollar general last summer and I am so glad that I found and actually bought them!

Plus, I scattered York Peppermint Patties with the free lady bug printable I shared yesterday for a little bit of fun along the table.

I used the Lady Bug cupcake wrappers to wrap some blueberry muffins since my family LOVES these.

I also had to include the Lady bug Jello Jigglers I made from the football mold.

And ALL the boys have been drooling over the Lady Bug cake balls all week. I had to hide them so they would make it to tonight.

It was a simple dinner party, but turned out really cute.

You can purchase any of these and more Lady Bug printables in our store HERE.

Lady Bug Peppermint Patties Free Printable

2012-02-02T19:22:00.000-07:00

Sometimes all it takes is a little thing to make a big impact on your party dessert table.

I purchased a case of these York Peppermint Patties from my local Sams Club and added a simple lady bug sticker to the front.

The sticker is a 1.5 inch size and completely covers the front of the patty making it look like a little bug. I plan to use these cute bugs as decorating accents and sweet treats around the party tables in my lady bug party.

If you want to try, here's the free printable.

If you're interested in other sizes, you can get them from my online store HERE. The ladybug is available in Hershey kiss size (3/4 inch), 1 inch, 1.25 inch, 1.5 inch, 2 inch, 2.5 inch, 3 inch, 4 inch, and 6 inch.

Hopefully, that will cover all your party treats in any size.

Simply print them out onto sticker paper and use an appropriate size punch to cut the ladybug circle out. Pretty simple, but awesome!

Lady Bug Jello Jigglers

2012-02-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

There are ALOT of really cute Lady Bug food out there if your planning a Lady Bug party. I've been looking at so many lately trying to get ideas for my dessert table that I'm surprised this idea didn't come to me sooner.

When I was a child, we had Jello at our Sunday dinners. My mom was the pro at making those jello rings with fruit inside. It was one of my favorite parts of the meal.

I don't know why I have never really made Jello with diner before, but recently I "rediscovered" the joy and yumminess. (Is that a word?)

And so have my kids...so we've had Jello alot recently. Yesterday as I was making it for dinner, I had a brainstorm.

Why not use my football jello jiggler mold (you can see it in action at last years Superbowl party here) as a Lady bug?

So I got busy making some strawberry jello jigglers.

When you pop the jigglers out of the mold, I REALLY recommend placing the mold in a little bit of warm water to help release it. In my case, I used some VERY warm water and it melted the NFL and Jello designs off the sides of the helmet.

When I went to the store this morning, I bought some of this sparkle gel to try and make the dots on my ladybug, but it turned out BAD....really Bad. Like this bad...

He looks a little like a porcupine...a masked porcupine. Maybe he's a Superhero in disguise...if so, then he has a problem with Kryptonite or something because after 10 minutes, he looked like this...

A pretty sad ladybug.

So instead, I filled the cap of a decorating bottle with cool whip.

(I didn't fill the whole thing because it was a "little" difficult to get the cool whip into the bottle and I didn't want to waste any that could be eaten later.)

I used the cool whip to add dots on top. Then I added ovals on the front for eyes and a little half circle for a smile.

I wish I could have found some of that Chocolate cool whip at my store, but I'm not sure if they even make it anymore. The darker color might have made it look less like a porcupine and more like a ladybug, but what do you do?

And I'm not sure my party guests will even care!

After all, who doesn't love jello in whatever shape it comes?

Lady Bug Cake Favors

2012-01-30T17:25:00.000-07:00

I sat down this morning to write my post and got completely distracted by the thought of this cute ladybug!

She "slammed" into my thoughts and I just had to spend the day making her. And despite the time, effort, and learning curve to design...I LOVE how she turned out!

This Lady bug is a set of 12 party favor boxes when set together correctly form a fun design to match your lady bug party theme.

And do you not just LOVE the way the side of the cake turned out? I can't get over how cute the little bugs and different sized red and black dots look together. So fun!

Okay, so I guess I'm done "patting myself on the back" and thrilling over this fun design...here's how to make them.

Print out each of the 12 different boxes onto card stock.

Cut around the outside solid edges to make your cake pieces.

Using a dull knife and ruler, score along inside edges of slice and along dotted edges and tabs.

Be sure to cut slit in the back tab along the solid line.

Fold edges and cake pieces along scored lines.

Glue front tab and fold cake pieces together to form the front of the triangle.

Glue bottom tag and fold bottom together to form cake slice.

Fill each cake slice with candy or party treats.

Fold back tab into slit to close cake pieces.

Arrange cake slices into a circle shape with design showcasing a cute cake perfect for your next party!

Now each guest can take home a piece of the cake as a party favor!

Pretty easy with ALOT of impact.

You can purchase the cake download HERE

or have us do the hard work and purchase them to be mailed to your party HERE.

Shindig Saturday Weekly Linky Party #41

2012-01-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

I must have REALLY jinxed myself last week, because this week I've done NOTHING when it came to my resolutions and plans.

Bummer.

I went to church Sunday morning and by the time it was over, I was not well.

And I've been fighting it all week.

So no walking this week.

No reading this week.

No eating healthy this week.

Just sick.

And when I'm sick, it's hard to want to do anything...

Like pick up my kids from school because they missed the bus walking around the halls.

Or make an elaborate dinner for the whole neighborhood.

Or clean house.

Or even be nice sometimes.

I'm a bit of a grump when I'm sick because, I do all those things I normally do, and feel picked on the whole time because I'd rather be lying in bed feeling sorry for myself.

So this week's printable is one I REALLY needed to remember this week and is from the blog

Sweet Blessings

Go visit her HERE to download your own copy!

While I was dreaming of laying in bed all week, what did you do?

Linky Party Guidelines:

* Link up to your OWN project post, not just your blog, but your actual post. (We want to see it!)
*Grab a Shindig Saturday button for your post or blog page. (Hey, it benefits us all!)

*Stay and enjoy the party by visiting and commenting on other's projects. (It's fun to mix and mingle!)

Lady Bug Chocolate Covered Oreo Cookies

2012-01-27T19:27:00.000-07:00

Since it's Cookie Friday in my house, I spent the day making chocolate covered oreos. (My kids think I'm the best when I actually let them eat some!)

But I didn't make just any oreos today, I had to try my new Lady bug mold.

I think they turned out SUPER cute!

You can now find these HERE in my online shop at Kims Kandy Kreations.