Happy Friday! … and a little cake pop trick I just picked up
July 22nd, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Long overdue cake pop display I sold for a fundraiser- in purple and gold because the purchaser is a big Huskies fan (so is the baker!)
When I make cake pop displays I’m always searching for creative ways to cover up the floral foam anchoring the sticks. The popular way is with candy covered chocolate candies (aka m&m’s) but they are so expensive for something that’s not a feature. Today I found that tissue paper torn into strips and scrunched in between the sticks makes an easy, cheap presentation. I think I’ve found my new go-to for my displays!
Emerging Trends in Celebration Decoration Day 4: BIY Bars
July 3rd, 2011 § 1 Comment
… as in Build-It-Yourself! I’ve already done a couple of postings on the Mac and Cheese Bar as well as the Slider Bar at the mother’s day party. Guests love the flexibility and opportunity to be creative and it gives the host less to prepare aside from setting out the ingredients. I’d suggest framing suggestions for combinations for guests that may need some extra help.
Perfect for summer- this build your own hot dog bar includes toppings like banana peppers, onions, cheese, chili, jalapenos, pickles, mayo, green onions, salsa, cole slaw, ketchup and mustard. From Hostess with the Mostess. Clearly the author Jennifer has never had a Seattle Special- bratwurst with caramelized onions and cream cheese. You’ll thank me later.
The old favorite- Ice Cream Topping Bar, via Eat Drink Chic. Do a healthier version with frozen yogurt- those Red Mango-like shops are pretty much taking over Seattle.
This one has to be my favorite- Benedict Bar via Local Social. They have bacon, smoked salmon, and asparagus for main toppings- I’d also add tomato, avocado, and crab cakes.
Hot Cocoa bar from Katie Grace Designs. So creative with chocolate and white chocolate covered spoons, toppings like marshmallows, crushed peppermint, chipped cream, and peanut butter chips, and different flavored syrups. Where’s the Baileys?
YES! Thank you Apartment Therapy for the idea. A fondue party first of all would be amazing because cheese is pretty much the tastiest thing on the planet- second of all a fondue bar makes a great addition to an Achorman, Mad Men or any other 70′s party. The Melting Pot is a chain that specializes in cheese, broth, and chocolate fondue- their menu is a great source for ideas on fondues and dippers.
Emerging Trends in Celebrations Day 3: Meet my friend ROY G BIV
July 2nd, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Rainbow color schemes are all over the place these days- what better way to add energy to a space. Make it more modern by focusing on white or black with rainbow accents.
Why hide the true origins? Notice the pillar candle wraps. David Stark
Rainbow cake- lots more pictures and tutorial on whatever… I’d love to try and inverse the coloring with 8 layers of white cake and rainbow frosting in between.
Jello slices! So clever. Photo from Coolhunter, tutorial on Not Martha.
Great way to make a statement- love the mixed mediums of lines and dots. Via Blowout Party!
I’ve seen mini bunting but these adorable yarn poms look like mini tissue poms. Buy at Etsy here.
I love this party trick! Totally had me stumped until I did some digging and found a recipe and tutorial here.
All of these ideas can be great themes on their own, but can also tie in for a Wizard of Oz or St, Patrick’s Day party.
Emerging Trends in Celebrations Day 2: Ruffle Cakes
June 30th, 2011 § 2 Comments
Can pastries get any girlier? I’ve started seeing these pop up all over the place from cute little girl parties to whimsical weddings.
Is that sequined heart edible or is that a party favor for the hostess? Either way I want one. by Cupcakes Couture.
I love the pairing of the ruffles with the flowers- the petals are the perfect echo to the texture. Cakes from Sugar Custom Cakes.
I love the two-toned frosting on these frilly cupcakes from sweet e’s- the baker gives a couple pointers on re-creating the look in the Flickr comments here.
More like pleats than ruffles- this cake has a more structured, sophisticated feel- the baker used layers of white chocolate. By Nicky Grant Patisserie and Chocolatier.
Picnic themed barbeque with Slider Bar feature
June 14th, 2011 § 1 Comment
My family had never seen me go into full-blown party panning mode until this Mother’s Day- as a present to my mom I offered to not only style the party she hosted for my giant army of aunts/uncles/cousins, etc. but also do all of the cooking and baking.
Chalkboard paint put to good use.
I printed out the “Lemonade” sign from my computer before tracing over the black ink with chalk- one of my favorite party tricks. I like to smudge the paper a bit to give it the chalkboard effect. 
The best part was the slider bar!
The guests loved being able to try different combinations of gourmet toppings without the commitment of an entire burger.
Grilled pineapple, caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, cheddar, and blue cheese.
Spreads in mason jars- I loved the idea of using clothespins for the labels. Avocado, barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce, mayo and ketchup.
And yes, it may take some hunting but some of the fancier grocery stores actually sell slider buns- brioche is a good alternative and there’s always dinner rolls.
My little creations.One grilled pineapple/onion/mayo/teriyaki sauce. The other sautéed mushrooms/blue cheese and bbq sauce. SO good.
Fiesta Invites for Cindo de Mayo
April 16th, 2011 § 1 Comment
Hola! As completely not inappropriate as Easter Happy Hour invites would be…. I did some research and here are my favorite invites for those of you looking to host a Cindo de Mayo/Fiesta/Senoritas and Margaritas party this year. Something for everyone…
The Intellectual… $4.85 on Etsy
The Traditionalist…$10 for the digital file (email the seller to customize)
The Romantic…$50 for 10
…and the Hipster… $34 for 20
Love them all. Good thing summer lasts a whole two months up here.
A Pixie Party
April 11th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
As promised- here are pictures from the pixie party I threw for a friend’s daughter and Tinkerbell’s biggest fan. The whole party theme was inspired by the cupcake tower topper- this made a cute alternative to a cake with Tinkerbell’s face frosted all over it.
The colors were mossy green, chocolate brown, with hints of pink and sparkly silver (like pixie dust!) I wanted to throw in some 50′s retro touches to make the decor more whimsical to reference the original Peter Pan (as much as I love the new Pixie Hollow movement, I’m a purist.) 
I found this pixie punch which was well-used. I loved the idea of having the pixie silhouette.
The dessert table. I came up with a great technique for making the birthday sign from something I learned in high school art class. We used to take pictures from magazines, place on a light box, and trace the images. I was able to do the same thing using my laptop- copy and pasting the images into Powerpoint and resizing. I then placed a sheet of white printer paper and traced the outline of the image to make a template. The font for the sign is from this amazing site filled with Disney-inspired fonts. Download away!
Cupcake tower! A simple $15 Wilton Cake stand with a facelift.
Chocolate cupcakes with fudge frosting, rolled in crushed Oreos to give them a woodsy dirt look. I designed the cupcake wrappers with vintage 50s looking stars. You can download the template here.
After a couple of tries I have become a cake pop pro. So glad I had silver disco dust on hand. According to the birthday mom- these were a huge hit. I guess the cake pop phenomenon has yet to hit Seattle! Recipe here.
We also had Pixie Punch served in cute brown cups and pink and white striped straws, a green candy bar in apothecary jars complete with green pixie sticks, and tiny white pails filled with chocolate covered almonds. Special thanks to my friend Monica for handing me the reins and letting me use her fancy-schmancy camera to capture the details.
St. Patty’s Day Cupcakes
March 8th, 2011 § 3 Comments
I love St. Patrick’s Day- every year my mom hosts a party for the family to celebrate the half of my dad’s side that is Irish with corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and lots of Green River and O’Maley’s Irish Cream (never Bailey’s.) At some point as the night goes along she coerces me into doing what little Irish dancing I learned when I was 10.
Since this year for Lent I am (gasp) giving up alcohol (Yes. It’s true ) I thought I’d post some amazing St. Patty’s Day treats I’ve seen that I want to try and make this year.
Lucky Vanilla Cupcakes by Sprinkle Bakes. The green dusting is actually pistachios and how freakin’cute are those chocolate horseshoes?
You can’t have St. Patrick’s Day without these two staples. Guinness and Bailey’s Irish Cream Cupcakes from Annie’s Eats.
Leprechaun-sized “Green” velvet cake balls from Bakerella
…speaking of leprechaun’s I found these adorable rainbow cupcakes here.
And what goes at the end of the rainbow? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I looked all over the web to find the perfect gold or pot-o-gold cupcakes and found nada. Guess I have my work cut out for me!
A new theme to obsess over
February 18th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
What do you get when you take the whimsical eccentricity of Alice in Wonderland and twist it with the dark romance of Twilight?
… another reason to host a girls night. Here are some event ideas for you to bring to your hood.
Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.
I’m in love with this Snow White themed dessert table (or “sweet table” as she calls it- so cute!) from UK’s Belle Amour. The whole look and feel of it makes you feel like you’re in a snowy fairytale forest. To help you create your own I scourged the internet and found these deer cupcake toppers, this stitched heart button, instead of white dwarves- find some mismatched wolf statues from Goodwill and spray paint them white a few coats to get a nice opaque finish.
This fairy event had amazing detail- I loved the cake stands made from tree trunks and the topiary pops to add to a forest theme. I would do the topiaries with red velvet cake pops instead of lollipops- lucky you there is a tutorial posted here.
Birch candleholders- $24 for the set
What to do with the big bad wolf now that grandmother has escaped? He dined on her- now dine on him. Faux Fur table runner inspired by this wedding in Atlanta.
Moss accents gives the feel of an old-growth forest- moss balls- $4.95 each, moss runner- $10.00, and mossy rocks- $7.99.
Love it. Moss and bamboo, burlap and grapevine, and apparently eight hours to kill. Props to Katie Grace. Consider swapping the bird for a black wolf or red hooded silhouette.
I’m really hoping to execute on this one but for the time being I’m helping a friend throw a Tinker Bell party for her daughter. First hurdle is to get the birthday girl away from the request of a cake that has the potential to be the target of a Cakewrecks joke. Wish me luck.
“Bride to Bee” Bridal Shower
November 21st, 2010 § 1 Comment
Let me start by saying I know, it’s been far too long! I got a new job. This will also explain why I’m posting in November about a bridal shower that I threw last August. 
The lowdown on the bride- Shiloh, super cool hip cousin of mine. Gave me complete creative control- YESSSSS! I knew I wanted to throw her a brunch bridal shower since breakfast has probably the best food of any meal- you’ve got your sweet, you’ve got your savory, something for everyone. Add a Mimosa bar and BAM! You’ve got yourself a nice little party.
SO because brunch=yellow colors and I heart black and white stripes, and that’s what sparked the Bee theme. Everything was sunshine yellow, white, and black and white striped.
Recognize the DIY cake stands from this post? Well they got a little costume change 
Actually at this moment they are black (halloween party)
The food and drink stations were adorned with “Bee Treated” and “Bee Refreshed” banners.
The menu: bagel bites with salmon spread, potato pancakes with sour cream, yogurt/honey/strawberry parfaits, and assorted mini-quiches
I thought I’d be clever and have a “Pan Cake” that guests could cut into like a cake- I think I ended up making it too tall so it was an issue- not to mention my horrid altercation with a certain can of whipped cream. Too bad because they were FANTASTIC- I topped regular pancakes with grilled pineapple slices, and a sauce made from melted butter and brown sugar- a pineapple upside-down pancake!
Deviled eggs! As you can see, frosting dispensers are not just for cupcakes!
Cherry-vanilla granola in cute black/white striped cones lined with parchment, nestled in a bed of Honeycomb cereal [nudge, nudge]
A brunch-y alternative to cake pops- donut holes!
A fabulous brunch wouldn’t be complete without mimosas.
For the mimosa bar I had a giant ice bucket with three kinds of champagne and carafes of orange, cranberry, and grapefruit juice. Sliced strawberries for garnish; next time I want to also include blueberries and raspberries as an option. You can also have cranberries for a holiday party.
The invitations and all of the decorations were either handmade or vintage with a little facelift, I’ll post with instructions soon!
