Surf’s Up Birthday Party

Following the party each guest got this image on a card thanking them for coming to his party!

 (image by Picture People)

My baby boy turned 3 years old this month! I honestly don’t know where the time has gone.  One day I was picking out fabric for the nursery and before you know it, he is a walking talking boy.  For his first birthday, I created a giant Candy Land game that the kids could actually walk through like a little obstacle course for a one year old.  For his second, it was all about his very favorite, Thomas the Tank Engine.  We are lucky that his birthday is in August and we (knock on wood) have always had great luck with the weather.  So this year, I decided he would have a Surf’s Up beach theme.  In order to create this, I knew I needed two things… a beach and water.

At the center of my design is a hand-made beach.  I approached the water on three fronts.  My parents offered to host the party and they have a yard large enough for everything I wanted to do.  They already have a pool, so that was water feature number one.  BUt, this is a party for a 3-year-old and if I wanted him to have fun while we still were able to host the party we needed to have more than that.  So we had a smaller scale kiddie pool as the second water feature.  And for the third , we ordered a giant bouncer with a water slide attached!  All of it was a hit.

But not only cool water activities does a party make.  We also had a big spread of food.  I actually kept it pretty simple for the food.  We served hamburgers, hot dogs and Salsa Lime BBQ Chicken Skewers hot off the grill. We did a couple of super simple sandwiches… My mom made her Chouriço & Peppers sandwiches, and I made some super fun “Crab Stuffed Crab” sandwiches.  On the side we served corn on the cob, Stacy’s Best Potato Salad,  Shells Pasta Salad and Veggie Straws (my kids favorite).  For dessert, cake and ice cream, Sand Dollar Snickerdoodles, a watermelon and blueberry salad inside a watermelon cut out into a shark and Shark Attack Jello.

In addition, we had some special activities for the little ones.  You can’t have a beach without sand castle building.  So I made a board for magnetic sand castles.  We had an extra little bouncer with a ball pit for the under 5 crowd that was shaped like a castle.  Instead of throwing a football on the beach, we had a football pinata.  And lastly we had a magnetic fishing game.

Oh, and I don’t want to forget to mention that my husband made up a great playlist for the party of the Beach Boy’s Greatest Hits!  Music is always important no matter the function!

I hope you enjoy taking a look at my party creativity…

To make the beach, I sewed 25 yards of fabric together and pinned it down with landscaping staples. I lined the beach with palm trees I made from pool noodles I wrapped in packing paper and green fabric mesh.

The kids loved it!

My sand castle board was a sheet of sheet metal a friend of mine procured for me. Then I grabbed a bunch of sand paper and some sparkly foam for fun and got to cutting. I backed each piece with some self stick magnets and walla.

Even some of the bigger kids had fun in the kiddie pool with the little ones.

Got to remember beach balls… this one is a giant!

The pool was a big hit of course… I neglected to take a picture of it, but with a party this size I though it important to make a “pool rules” sign. Mainly, no kids in the pool without adult supervision.

And there it is… the Bouncer/Water slide! The kids had a ball with this one!

And the little ones loved this one too!

This was the only thing I needed to cook during the party.

Crab Stuffed Crab sandwiches

Aren’t they cute?

All of m serving trays and bowls were beach themed.

We used sand pails for serving bowls where ever we could and conveniently they come with a little shovel to scoop out the goods… Here you see the Shells Pasta Salad, Stacy’s Best Potato Salad, and Veggie Straws. Also, decorating the table is original art work from my big 3-year-old! Painted shells and a lovely colored fish!

Shells Pasta Salad:  Cooked large shells pasta, mini motzerella balls, grape tomatoes and fresh basil.  For the dressing just a simple oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper with a touch of dried italian seasoning.

Shells Pasta Salad: Caprese Style Pasta Salad – Cooked large shells pasta, mini mozzarella balls, grape tomatoes and fresh basil. For the dressing just a simple oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper with a touch of dried italian seasoning.

Stacy's Best Potato Salad

Stacy’s Best Potato Salad

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Veggie Straws served as “pool noodles”… if you will notice my card holder… it’s just three wooden dowels cut to varying sizes and tied with rope as though they are little dock posts.

Yum!

Yum!

My sister and brother in law were assigned with the task of creating this bad boy... I think they did a stellar job!

My sister and brother-in-law were assigned with the task of creating this bad boy… I think they did a stellar job!

“Da da, Da da, Da da…” Shark attack jello… at the other end of that shark fin is a little spoon!

Did I mention we also had a snack table???

Fish as "Shark Bait"

Fish as “Shark Bait”

"Chum"  My own little Chex Mix... Chex Cereal with different gummie sea creatures mixed in!

“Chum” My own little Chex Mix… Chex Cereal with different gummy sea creatures mixed in!

"Beach Balls" Peppermint candies... the kind that are all puffy and melt in your mouth, yum!

“Beach Balls” Peppermint candies… the kind that are all puffy and melt in your mouth, yum!

"Surf Boards" aka sugar waffers... and I didn't get a good picture of it, but in the background you'll see I used Triscuits as "Rafts"

“Surf Boards” aka sugar wafers… and I didn’t get a good picture of it, but in the background you’ll see I used Triscuits as “Rafts”

Bring on the waves! Here is my 3 year old's Wave cake!

Bring on the waves! Here is my 3 year old’s Wave cake!

This was the first year he understood how to blow out his own candles! Yay!

How to blow one of the party favors is another story LOL

Having a so much fun!

Football Pinata!

Football Pinata!

Woah!

Fishing!

This game is just simple fish cut out of foam paper with a couple of paper clips attached… then I secured a magnet to the end of some twine and tied that to the end on half a real fishing pole… You could use a stick 🙂

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(image by Picture People)

Following the party each guest got this image on a card thanking them for coming to his party!

Following the party each guest got this image on a card thanking them for coming to his party! (image by Picture People)

All in all, the most important thing is that my boy had a blast at his birthday party.  It had been quite the build up… the entire month of July was filled with an excited almost 3-year-old telling everyone who would listen that his birthday was on its way!  We made sure he had a nice long nap just before the event and off he went, he was the life of the party! I hope you enjoyed seeing all my ideas… I have to give a big thank you to my parents for hosting this fun day and my many helpful family and friends without whom it never would have all come together!

 

“UP!” Birthday Party

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I had the pleasure of attending this little girl’s second birthday party this summer.  Her name is Kaedence and she and her mother and father are very good friends of our family.  Her mother, my girlfriend Lisa, and I share a love for designing and throwing a detail rich party aimed at making sure that not only the adults at the party have a great time, but that the little guest of honor and all her little friends especially have the best time!

Lisa chose the movie UP! for her inspiration this year!  She went to town on balloons and rainbows galore and added in special touches straight from the movie. Some of the touches were literal and some were a play on the theme…  But, first she set the stage with making sure the backdrop of the party would go right along with things!  Let me show you how she did it!

In keeping with the Up! theme, Lisa sent her husband, Carlos, up to the roof of the house with a helium tank and a bag of balloons to get started on this special project! (I think here is where I am supposed to give you a “don’t try this at home” or a “before attempting to scale your roof, speak with your doctor first” warning!)

A welcoming display as people cross the breezeway to enter the back yard. Lisa took Kaedence for a photo shoot before the party and painted an inexpensive frame to match!

She made sure that her landscaping and flower beds and pots were color coordinated with the rainbow theme!

She made sure that her landscaping and flower beds and pots were color coordinated with the rainbow theme!

Such interesting displays throughout the yard.

Such interesting displays throughout the yard.

My daughter was checking it all out!

My daughter was checking it all out!

There was the “Spirit of Adventure” with a “Happy Birthday Kaedence” burlap banner moving across it.

A waterfall.

A waterfall.

This guy.

Painted wine bottles were turned into "Grape Soda" centerpieces holding baloons.

Painted wine bottles were turned into “Grape Soda” centerpieces holding balloons.

I made a two tier cake designed by Lisa that contained two rainbows... as you can see the rainbows have pink in place of red... with some rainbow balloons atop the cake. The top tier was covered in buttercream, but she wanted the bottow tier with raw edges to show off the rainbow colored layers.

I made a two tier cake designed by Lisa that contained two rainbows… as you can see the rainbows have pink in place of red… with some rainbow balloons atop the cake. The top tier was covered in butter cream, but she wanted the bottom tier with raw edges to show off the rainbow-colored layers. (psst… check out the squirrel hanging out by the cake! “Squirrel!…”)

Even the top tier that was covered was rainbow inside! (psst... check out the squirrel hanging out by the cake! "Squirrel!...")

Even the top tier that was covered was rainbow inside!

She wanted to make sure that each piece was served with all 7 layers!

Food was all set up atop a balloon printed table covering.

Food was all set up atop a balloon printed table covering.

Fruit kabobs… super colorful!

There were fun activities to be had!

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The girls had lots of fun with these hoola hoops! And check out the birthday girl’s cute outfit!  Lisa made the tutu herself!

There was a picture booth setup with the waterfall behind it... Some of the props here are a wilderness sash and yellow ball cap, glasses and mustaches.

There was a picture booth setup with the waterfall behind it… Some of the props here are a wilderness sash and yellow ball cap, glasses and mustaches.

We had lots of fun with that!

Over at the gift table, there was a mailbox ready for cards...

Over at the gift table, there was a mailbox ready for cards…

And check out these favors! Each child got a little mailbox that Lisa hand painted with their name on it, they also got an adventure book and a candy bar… oh and a balloon!

 

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A plain chocolate bar served as “Snipe Food” for the kids to take home.

 

She painted the outside of each cloth book and it gave the effect of leather… and notice the little gold trim detail.

Just a little photo album, but kid’s can have lots of fun with this one all summer!

(Lisa, shown here on the right, is even wearing her take on a scout costume)

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And everyone at the party received this special party favor... Little Miss Kaedence flying away wishing everyone a summer full of adventures!

And everyone at the party received this special party favor… Little Miss Kaedence flying away wishing everyone a summer full of adventures!

 

 

Rainbow Popcorn

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A good friend of mine had an “UP” themed birthday party for her little girl recently.  To highlight the theme she had rainbows, balloons and colors galore!  I decided to bring along my contribution to her party by whipping up a batch of this super colorful Rainbow Popcorn!

Not only is this popcorn colorful, but each color has a different flavor because to color the popcorn I used none other than a rainbow array of Jell-O.  You could adapt this, of course, to any theme you would like… If you are doing a ‘Lemonade Stand’ birthday party, then just use the yellow… If you are planning a ‘Smurf’ theme, then just the blue… the possibilities are endless.  This is a great activity for kids to help with too!  It’s not complicated at all.

Here are all the ingredients you will need.

Prepare 12 cups of plain popcorn. I did it over the stove with kernels… You might also want to try a plain bag of microwave popcorn… well several bags. Then place 5 cups of popcorn into a large bowl.

Pour half a can of sweetened condensed milk into a small sauce pan.

Pour half a packet of your chosen jello color into the pan.

Pour half a packet of your chosen jello color into the pan.

Mix well to distribute color.

Put the condensed milk mixture over low heat.  If the burner is turned up too high, you'll get a burned pan like you see here.

Put the condensed milk mixture over low heat. If the burner is turned up too high, you’ll get a burned pan like you see here.

Pour the thickened liquid over the prepared popcorn.

Mix in until it coats all the popcorn evenly.

I prefer parchment paper, but if you don’t have parchment, you can line your cookie sheet with foil like you see here and coat with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 18-20 minutes at 175°F.

Once baked, let cool about 20 minutes and then break into pieces and place in bowl.

Once baked, let cool about 20 minutes and then break into pieces and place in bowl.

Mix in each color seperately.

Mix in each color separately.

Cook each color on low heat until thickened... about 10 minutes.

Cook each color on low heat until thickened… about 10 minutes.

Pour each colors thickened liquid over the prepared popcorn.

Place on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Bake at 175°F for 18-20 mins.

Place each color on the cookie sheet.  Bake at 175°F for 18-20 minutes.

Place each color on the cookie sheet. Bake at 175°F for 18-20 minutes.

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Break up all the popcorn… Place in serving bowl and toss!

Recipe for Rainbow Popcorn:

(serves 24)

30 cups prepared plain popcorn

3 cans sweetened condensed milk

6 boxes of Jell-O, in rainbow colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple)

Directions:

Turn oven to 175°F.  Prepare 6 cookie sheets (or alternate as you go along) with either parchment paper or aluminum foil sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Prepare fresh popcorn.  In a small sauce pan, pour half a can of sweetened condensed milk.  Then pour in half a packet of your chosen jello into the milk.  Heat over a burner turned to low for about 10 minutes until thickened.  Stir often.

Place about 5 cups of popcorn in a large bowl.  Pour thickened milk mixture over popcorn and immediately stir together with a wooden spoon.  Place on a prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 18-20 minutes at 175°F.  Allow to cool about 20-25 minutes, then break up pieces and place into an extra-large serving bowl.

Repeat with each color.  Mix all cooled colors together. Enjoy!

*this is a Gluten-free recipe.

(Recipe variation… this popcorn has an intense Jell-O flavor, which kids love… but if you wish to tone it down a bit, use only 1/4 packet of Jell-O per mixture and add 4 drops of the matching food color to boost the coloring, for adults you could also sprinkle with kosher or sea salt just after baking to balance the flavor)

***This recipe is an adaptation of the Eagle Brand Condensed Milk recipe.

 

Mashed Potato Hot Cakes

done2Whether you are Portuguese, French or Irish, Mashed Potatoes transformed into a ‘crispy on the outside creamy on the inside’ side dish is something you won’t want to pass up! This recipe is great for using up last night’s mashed potatoes and eating them for breakfast or brunch.  Of course if you want to make this dish and you don’t have left over mashed potatoes… just make enough to yield about two cups of mashed potatoes.

Mashed Potato Hot Cakes are really great with my BCT Frittata or Southwest Omelet for Father’s Day!

These are plain left over mashed potatoes. If you have garlic mashed or cheesy mashed, that would work great here too! These are just made with butter, cream, salt and pepper.

Add in 1/2 a minced and sauteed onion.

Shred up about a cup of cheddar cheese.

Add cheese and egg into the mashed potatoes.

Add in a pinch of salt and cracked black pepper. Remember your mashed potatoes are already seasoned, so you are just seasoning the other ingredients going in now.

Form into a golf ball sized ball.

Pat the ball down into a patty.

Place plain bread crumbs in a shallow bowl.

Place your formed patty in the plain bread crumbs.

Flip the patty to bread the other side.

Get patties ready before frying.

Place patties in heated veggie oil… you should hear a sizzle when you place them in.

When patties are golden brown on one side, flip.

Drain on a clean dry paper towel or brown paper bag. Lightly salt now.

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Recipe for Mashed Potato Hot Cakes:

(makes about 8 cakes)

2 cups left over mashed potatoes

1 cup plain bread crumbs

1 egg

1/2 onion, minced and sautéed

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1 pinch kosher salt and pepper

Sour cream and scallions for topping

1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

Mix together mashed potatoes, onions, egg, cheese and salt and pepper.  Form into balls, then flatten into patties (about 1/2″).  Bread both sides of patties.  Fry in oil in skillet over medium/high heat.  Flip when golden brown.  Drain on paper towels when done.  Top with sour cream and scallions.

‘Breakfast at Lindsey’s’ Bridal Shower

cake3My little sister is getting married!  What an exciting time!  She loves breakfast food, so my other sister, my mom and I thought it would be fun to throw her a ‘Breakfast at Lindsey’s’ Bridal Shower.  We took the elements of the very popular movie and made them burst from every seam.

These details can be transformed with little effort to be a ‘Breakfast at _______’ of your very own for anything from a 1st birthday party to a graduation party to sweet 16!  In fact breakfast parties are really becoming all the rage.  Although breakfast and brunch has traditionally been reserved for wedding or baby showers, they are a great low-cost option for any type of party really.  This one just happens to bring a little glitz and glamour to the morning.

I’ll take you through each detail and you can be on the lookout for projects in my crafts section to show you how to do some of the very doable DIY projects we have for pulling it all together.  Whatever you do, have fun with it.  This was a joint effort and it all came off splendidly, so be sure you have lots of what I like to call ‘Party Warriors’ to help get everything done.

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Let’s start with the beginning… the welcome table. This is a table we had set up right at the entrance which was to welcome people in. It contained all the key points we needed to let everyone know as soon as they got to the party. We covered the table that was already covered by a long white restaurant provided table-cloth with one we brought from home in a “Tiffany-ish blue”.

recipe box

We set out a recipe box to collect all the recipe cards that incoming guests had already filled out at home as they received the cards with their invitations. You will see touches of diamonds as you see the confetti here throughout the party.

quilt station

Each guest was given a string of pearls and asked to fill out a square of fabric with the fabric markers provided giving their best marital advice in lieu of a sign in book. After the shower, my mother planned to sew it together with mixed in silver squares. (also, the fabric – Tiffany blue linen – is the same as that of the runners you will see on the tables also)

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A sample square was provided so that guests could see what we were looking for. This is always a good idea to help guest get a clear picture of what we are asking them to do. Also, I got to do my square ahead of time, which is great because when hosting a party, it is hard to find time to stop what you are doing to participate in all the fun. (I didn’t take a clear picture of it (sorry), but all squares were laid out on a table in the entrance to the room when completed… that way guests could also have fun looking at what everyone wrote)

tiara

We had a hard time finding the guest of honor a tiara that wasn’t gaudy and didn’t cost more than the whole party. Our solution, a hair comb we found at our local craft store. We bent the comb at a 90° angle and wala… instant tiara, cute too! (We kept this at the entrance table so as not to forget to place it on my sister’s head)

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We clustered some vases in varying sizes that we had adorned with some diamond-like ribbon. We filled them with simple in-season white tulips and ostrich feathers and pulled it all together with some pearl string. Then we completed the look with some sparkly votive candles and diamond confetti.

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The food was served family style at the tables, but we added a special touch and ordered a waffle station because it is the guest of honor’s favorite.  We just added a little touch of softness with this bunch of plain baby’s breath.

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As guests came in, we had two tables set up to accept gifts with a pretty white birdcage topped with a crystal birdy we found at our local craft shop for cards.

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And that is my daughter in awe of the beautiful gifts!

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Our little Kathrine Hepburn had her dress designed and made by my good friend and her mom who is an amazing seamstress. The little tiara was a pin that i converted into a hair bow and she had her own pearls, but she wanted some of the party favors too.

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This is my daughter’s BFF who was a matching little Katherine Hepburn for the party! They had lots of fun! I just wish I had gotten a picture of the two girls together!

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We had a simple vase of white tulips as the centerpiece on each table, filled with ostrich feathers and adorned with the diamond-like ribbon I mentioned above.

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My mom made these beautiful Tiffany blue runners for each of the tables. Then we asked the restaurant to set out a circle mirror (most restaurants have these for free!) and we of course sprinkled more diamond confetti at the base of each centerpiece.

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Each place setting was set with a black napkin (that we asked the restaurant to do for us before we got there) and a pair of sunglasses for each guest. We also added a Tiffany blue mini pencil for the bingo game we planned (guests appreciate not having to fish around for a pen)

candy

Each table was then dotted with a few boxes of “cigarettes”. Don’t worry the place didn’t fill up with smoke, we just took a box of candy sticks (candy cigarettes) and wrapped them in a black and white ‘Holly Go Lightly’.

opening gift

If you are doing a party where gifts will be given and opened, it’s a good idea to have a gift passer outer and a gift writer downer.

basket

We put together a little surprise at the end of the gift giving. We gave Lindsey, the guest of honor, a laundry basket and had her filling it with cleaning supplies, but we created a little story with the cleaning products (kind of like a skit). Each cleaning supply had something to do with either getting married or the couple themselves.

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Now, onto the cake table. We had one of the couple’s engagement pictures blown up and turned into a canvas and displayed it on a stand behind the table.

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We decided to forgo a regular cake and made red velvet and my special black velvet cupcakes in black cupcake liners and topped with cream cheese frosting. We added a little game this by hiding a chocolate kiss in one of the cupcakes (warning guests of the possibility of course) and whoever found it, got a prize.

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I designed the cupcakes to look like a wedding dress with a super fancy belt and brooch. The belt is a double layer of diamond ribbon and the brooch is a real brooch to tie it all together.

favors

We can’t talk about the famous Tiffany’s without that little blue box tied up with a white ribbon. So, we got some little blue boxes and white ribbons and filled them each with a ruby ring for each guest to take home (a strawberry Ring Pop). Guests loved the little thank-you gift.

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In keeping with the theme, we (the hosts) each wore our little black dresses and pearls. We also were sure, since the shower was a surprise, to have a little black dress and pearls ready for the guest of honor.

Supplies for a Breakfast at Tiffany’s style party:

* pearl necklaces

* sun glasses

* a ruby ring (Ring Pop) in a beautiful little Tiffany’s box

* candy cigarettes wrapped in movie themed photo copies (two per table)

* a tulip/feather centerpiece in a vase adorned with diamond ribbon

* a Tiffany blue table runner

* black napkins set under the plate (supplied by restaurant)

* diamond confetti

* little blue pencils

* Cupcake wedding dress

* a chocolate kiss to hide in one cupcake

* blue table-cloth for the welcome table

* tiara made from a hair comb

* quilting squares

* fabric markers

* canvas photo of the couple, set on an easel

 

* fun skit with laundry basket and cleaning supplies

* recipe box for incoming recipes

* gift tracking book

* bird-cage to collect cards

* two beautiful little girls dressed as Katherine Hepburn to top it all off

Not shown here (sorry) but don’t forget:

* prizes for games

* Bingo cards (fill in your own card with potential shower gifts)

* prizes (we did this in white lunch bags adorned with a Tiffany blue ribbon and filled with something sparkly like a stretch bracelet or a gem wine stopper)