Harry Potter Party

This year, my soon-to-be six year old wanted a Harry Potter Birthday Party.  Unfortunately, I kinda dropped the ball with my dates and had only one week to plan it.  I thought I'd share with you what I did, but let me just say that if I'd had more time, it would have been much more elaborate.  In the end, though, she loved it and her guests had a lot of fun (I had a huge headache by the end, but it wasn't about me).

First of all, let's start with the cake.  I wasn't sure what to do for a Harry Potter cake.  Amazon.com to the rescue (they helped me out quite a bit with their fast shipping).  I was searching Harry Potter parties and there and found this super cute cake kit.  It arrived with all the pieces and I just had to add the cakes.  I baked 2 9x13-in cakes (Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge, to be exact).  The first cake went down as the bottom layer.  The second cake I cut in half and stacked on top of each other (I put frosting between each layer to hold it together).  They were then centered on the first cake, but with their backsides all even.  I, then, frosting the top 2 layers with light brown frosting (cream cheese frosting dyed brown).  The bottom layer, I used bright green and actually applied it with a decorating tip to create the look of grass.  Then, the castle was attached, the bridge was added, and the characters applied.  It turned out cute, but not exactly like the others (plus I had a green frosting explosion right at the end as I was attaching the bridge).

The games: the birthday princes wanted to play "Pin-the-Scar-on-Harry" and Harry Potter Bingo.  For Pin-the-Scar, I ordered a Harry Potter poster from Amazon (and thanks to my awesome mailman, I got it just in time, but that's a different story) and used that as my template.  The poster was 11x17, so it wasn't as big as I had hoped (it seemed bigger in my mind when I ordered it), but I used the Sorcerer's Stone movie picture, so Harry's head is front and center.  And it worked out perfectly.  I made each of the kids a small scar with their initials attached that they then took turns attaching it to the poster.  And since we used masking tape, the poster is still in perfect condition, so I'll frame it (I originally planned on doing that before the party, but back to the story where I didn't think the poster was going to make, I didn't buy a frame) and place it in the princess's room as a memento.

The other game was Bingo, however, we called it WANDS.  I used a handy dandy Bingo generator online to create my cards.  If you google bingo generator, tons of Free ones pop up.  I used Perceptus/Print-Bingo this time (I've used different ones in the past).  And they have their own template word lists that you can choose from if you don't want to create your own.  I was just browsing them before creating my own and found that they had a Harry Potter one, so I clicked on that.  I used theirs as a jumping off point, but I wanted more words, so I added a lot to it (and deleted a few of theirs).  They turned out great.  You can access my list here, if interested in making HP Bingo Cards.  And don't forget to make a list of the words and print them out to use to actually call out (I placed them in our Sorting hat, which we didn't use for this party, but for our Harry Potter Day Celebration).  I also had gladlock containers with M&Ms in them to use as the Bingo markers.  They were all ready, so that we didn't have to worry about that when the party started.

I also set up a little picture background.  Birthday Princess took a picture with each of her friends in front of it and we are going to use the pictures for the thank you cards.  The background is a castle stairway.  I also bought it courtesy of Amazon.  You can find it here.

Birthday Princess wanted to serve lunch at the party.  To keep things simple, we just had sandwiches and crackers (with cake for dessert, or course).  But I still wanted a little Harry Potter theme in there, so we served butter beer (aka IBC Creme Soda).  I found these really cute free printables here.  I printed one out for each of the bottles and just glued them on.  I really am thankful for people that are computer crafty and are capable of creating printables and are willing to share them.

Finally, what's a birthday party without a take-home goody bag?  I had the great idea to make Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.  Now I know that you can buy them premade through Amazon, but then you get the really nasty flavors like dirt, vomit, boogers (they really do have those flavors; we've tried them; they're horrendous) and that is just a waste of a good jelly belly.  So, with that in mind I thought I'd find a cute design on the Silhouette store to cut out a box like the ones you see on the movies.  I found one, cut it out, and decorated it to look like the movie boxes (I really could have put more time into to make them look even more genuine, but it was getting late and I really just wanted to go to bed).  The design is called tall pyramid top box and you can buy it here (but you have to have a Silhouette to actually cut it).

And that is how we throw a Harry Potter Birthday Party with only a week to plan and execute it.

Jocelyn's 2nd Birthday

My daughter turned 2 this past Friday. I have been thinking and planning her birthday for probably the last six months. I know, maybe a little crazy, but I love doing this kind of stuff. The theme was "Minnie's Bowtique." It's a Disney mini-cartoon. Anyway, here are the crafts and goodies I made for her special day.

 

I traced some mixing bowls I have for the head and ears. For the invite, I just printed up something on my computer, cut it out, and taped it onto the Minnie shape. For the letters on the sign, I used stencils, cut them out, and taped onto the Minnie shape. And for the bow, I looked up a tutorial online on how to make flat bows.  Click HERE for a quick video . And just so you know, adding the bows made them top heavy so I couldn't hang the sign without them flipping over so I ended up taping the sign to the wall.

 

 

This was for the "Pin the Bow on Minnie" game.  I traced bowl lids (they were a little bigger than the bowls themselves) for the head and ears. The face and bows I drew just from looking at pictures and then cut them out. I colored the face and taped to the Minnie shape.

 

 

 

This is the goodie bag I put together for our guests. I had a bunch of lunch bags so just used them. I printed out something on the computer, cut it out, and taped to the bag. I know, easy. In case you're wondering, inside was a Minnie/Mickey puzzle and hair bows (or bowties for the boys).

 

 

For sides we had cheese and crackers and grapes. I bought sliced cheese (not the nasty processed kind) and used a mini cookie cutter and cut the cheese. HAHAHAHA! That joke never gets old. The main meal was chicken nuggets (shaped like Mickey from Costco) or PB&J sandwiches. I was going to cut the sandwiches like Minnie but the cookie cutter ended up being too big. We had different juice boxes and water for drinks.

 

 

 

And these are the cupcakes I made. I used a good ol' box cake mix. Chocolate of course. Then I tried to get the frosting red but I swear I used half a tube of red food coloring and they were still pink but that worked just fine too. Then I used mini oreos for the ears and decorated with sugar balls. The party turned out great and I jokingly told my husband, when our guests left, that it was time to start planning next years party. Haha, I'm not that crazy.

 

The birthday girl.

It's December Already. What have I been up to?

Okay, so it is already December.  I haven't posted since my fiasco with Pumpkin seeds at Halloween.  I have a really good excuse this time, though.  Not only did I host Thanksgiving at my home for 16 people, but I participated in a little thing called NaNoWriMo.  Did you know that November is National Novel Writing Month?  Well, you do know.  And I participated this year.  In fact, not only was I a winner (having written 50,000 words in a new novel), but I feel like I should be considered a super winner because my total word count was 77,912.  I am in the midst of my editing and revisions, but I wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten about my blog.  In fact, I am working on two new Christmas ribbon wreaths and homemade stockings for my family (you can see my post on the baby's here).  So, those posts will be forthcoming.

Also, I'm a winner in a completely different way.  I won the Tastefully Simple giveaway on A Bowl Full of Lemons.  It is my favorite organization blog.  If you've never visited Toni's blog, I'd highly recommend it.  It is fabulous.  You can visit it here.  I really do love being a winner.  And over the last few weeks I feel like I'm a winning machine (have I mentioned that I've already finished my Christmas shopping and decorated my house?  No, well I have.  Score another one for me.).

Mini Pumpkin Pies

Making goodies for the holidays is one of my favorite hobbies.  And thanks to Pinterest I can always find cute ideas and inspiration.  For Thanksgiving I tried making mini pumpkin pies and they turned out great.  For the recipe click here.  It was really easy which is the way I like it.  Here's how I did it.

Cut out your pie crusts.  The recipe used a pumpkin shaped one and was 3 3/4".  I just used a round one that was 2 3/4".  Worked just fine. 

Place the pie crusts in the mini muffin pan.  I also powdered the mini muffin pan with flour so they wouldn't stick.  They came out so easily.

Make the mix.  Mine looked chunky because of the cream cheese so melt it down a little before you mix it in.

Fill your pie crusts full of the mix and bake at 350° for 12-15 mins.  I had to cook them longer in my oven, maybe an extra 3 mins. on top of the 15. 

Voila!  Yummy, tasty, mini pumpkin pies.

 

And here's how I made it a gift.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Problem Solved

Okay, so I fixed my photo space problem a lot quicker than expected.  I wasn't even really gone so no worries.

Time Out

I'm taking a time out from blogging, not because I want to but because I have to.  Apparently, I have used up all my free photo quota through Picasa Web, where blogspot photos are stored.  Until I figure out how to post pictures again, I will be on hiatus.  But don't worry, when I come back I will play some serious catch up.  You won't miss a thing.  So until then.....

Marshmallows instead of frosting

I'm excited to be joining my sistas on this great idea blog! My first contribution here is a yummy and beyond simple cupcake.


For family fun night we baked chocolate cupcakes from a box. My kids think using the electric mixer is the coolest thing ever. We popped them in the over and I set the timer for 5-10mins less than the cupcakes needed........DING!

Now time to teach you the magic trick. You open the oven and add a full size marshmallow to the top of each one and close the door. They will puff up slowly and some will even go golden while you finish cooking your cupcakes.

DING! Now the cupcakes are finished. Press down on each marshmallow with two fingers and place 4 chocolate chips in the center. I waited a little too long before adding the chocolate chips. I recommend when first pushing down the marshmallow adding them, and then they'll be gooey and melt into your marshmallow center.

and VOILA! You're done! No waiting to frost, and no waiting to eat and enjoy! They look marvelous and taste delish.

We thoroughly enjoyed them!

Let me know what you think. And I'd love to hear what other items you might place in the center of your marshmallow.

Halloween Hits and Misses

So, on Halloween I showed you my hastily-put-together-but-still-super-awesome Halloween Ribbon Wreath.  Well, apparently that really got me in the Halloween mood.  As a result, I spent all of Halloween trying out new things.  Some worked, some not so much.

When my kids got home from school, we carved our pumpkins.  I got them all prepped, so I wouldn't have to scoop all the innards and waste time.  While scooping the innards, I decided that I was going to try roasting pumpkin seeds for the first time (I lied a little, I actually decided earlier in the day when I was coming up with a last minute Halloween dinner and searching recipes online.  I saw a tutorial from Betty Crocker.com on how to do it, so I figured I'd give it a try...confession over).  Anyway, I followed the directions to a T, yet they didn't turn out.  They still tasted good, but they were soggy and greasy.  A result of undercooking and using too much oil.  The next day, I decided that I would try to right my wrong by re-roasting them.  It almost worked.  I ended up cooking them a little too long, so they taste a little burnt.  However, I have two more pumpkins that we didn't carve (my girls decorated them with stickers), so I think I may just suck out their guts and try again.

Supplies: ripe pumpkin, knife, and bowl

 First, you'll want to cut your ripe pumpkin in half (or if your carving it, open your whole in the top).  Remove the guts, placing them in a bowl for later.

Just the pumpkin seeds.

 Next, you'll want to remove all the extra gunk from your seeds.  Betty crocker recommends leaving a very little because it adds flavor.

Ingredients: Fresh pumpkin seed, 1 TB veggie oil (I used olive oil), Kosher Salt

 Next, line a pan with aluminum foil (you don't have to do this, but it makes for easier clean-up).  Spread your oil all over the pan, then cover with the seeds in a single layer.  This is something I'll do differently next time.  I think I'll just spray with pan with cooking spray in an attempt to make them less oily/greasy.

This is what your pan should look like.

 Now, Betty Crocker says to cook them for 15-20 @ 300 degrees F.  As mentioned above, this wasn't long enough.  I read through a few allrecipes (I'm sorry, but I didn't save it, so I can't direct you to the original), and one suggested @325 for 25 minutes.  This would probably work better.  I tried a mix of the two and as I mentioned, it was too long.

Your roasted pumpkin seeds should be a nice golden color.  As you can see, mine didn't quite make it.

See these pumpkins.  We didn't carve them because my daughters decorated them
(quite well, I might add) with stickers. They will be my next test subjects.

Anyway, once we finished pumpkin decorating, I went on to our big festive dinner.  I made hot dog mummies, witch hat calzones, and bubbling cauldron cheese dip with bat wing dippers (not the most varied and exciting, but I had to go with things I knew my kids would eat).  They all turned out yummy and my kids ate them.  Unfortunately, we were in such a hurry to get dinner over with to go trick or treating that I forgot to take pictures.  However, let me say that I will definitely make the calzones and dip again.  I don't think I will do the mummies.  First of all they took a long time to make (having to make dough strips out of crescent rolls, and then wrapping them).  But most importantly I'm not too fond of the hot dog/crescent roll combo.

Lastly (once I got the kids out the door with their daddy), I made toilet roll eyes.  I heard about this from a friend on facebook.  You take a used roll of toilet paper, cut some eyes in them, place a glow stick inside, then hide them in a bush.  It creates the effect of having eyes watching trick or treaters from the bushes.  However, I don't know if it really worked. You be the judge.

All you need are empty toilet paper rolls and glow sticks

Cut some eye holes

Add your activated glow sticks

And hide them in your bushes.

As you can see from the picture, my flash went off and you could see the tp rolls.  I'm not sure how it looked to the trick or treaters because I had a steady stream and didn't have time to reexamine them as it got darker or take another picture without the flash.  I'm not sure if it worked, but I think I'll try it again next year anyway, just to make sure.

If you are interested in any of the other recipes that I found while attempting to come up with a dinner menu, you can see them on my Halloween Pinterest page.

Candy Corn Cookies and R.I.P. Pudding Cups

I love making goodies for the holidays and Halloween was no exception.  Here's what I made.  And thanks to Pinterest for sucking all creativity out of me but still giving me great ideas of cool things to make.

First are the Candy Corn Cookies.  I made some sugar cookie dough from scratch but messed up somewhere so I had to run to the store and buy some premade cookie dough.  Thanks Pillsbury for saving the day.  I dyed the dough orange and then used a knife to cut out triangles.  I have a box of 101 cookie cutters and you would think it would have a triangle shaped one but no.

Then I baked them at 350° for 10 mins.  That was too long (they were too crispy) so for my second batch I only cooked it for 8 mins.  Perfection.

I melted some colored chocolate from Michaels and dipped the wide end of the cookie in yellow and the small end in white to make it look like a piece of Candy Corn.

I put them on parchment paper and then into the freezer to harden the chocolate quickly, then put them in some cute goodies bags, also from Michaels, and last into a little tote, from the $1 section at Target.  And now you have the perfect little goodie to deliver to your friends.

Now for the R.I.P. Pudding Cups.  I bought 4 boxes of instant chocolate pudding.  I made the pudding and then divided it evenly into clear plastic cups.  I got 12 out it.  There would have been more but I was generous to my little girl and let her have some.  I used a paper towel to wipe up the edges since I was a little sloppy in getting the pudding into the cups.  I stored the pudding cups in the fridge to keep it cool while I prepared the rest.

I used Chocolate Cream Oreos for the dirt.  The brown seemed more fitting for a graveyard look.  I placed them in a zip lock bag and crushed them with the wrong end of a hammer.

Then I used Mint Chocolate Milano cookies for the headstones.  I bought writing food gel from Michaels and wrote RIP on the tops of the cookies.

Last I put it all together.  Sprinkle the crumbled Oreos onto the pudding.  Stick the Milano cookies into the Oreo crumbs and partially into the pudding for more stability.  And now you have some spooky and tasty treats.

Halloween Wreath

Okay, I'm actually back to make a real post.  Shocking...I know.  Anyway, I decided a while back that I wanted to make a Halloween Ribbon Wreath, much like my Valentine's one (you can see the post with instructions here).  Unfortunately, I now live in a small town where the only store that sells ribbon is Walmart.  And there wasn't much of a selection.  So, I bought all the Halloween ribbon they had (plus a straw wreath), but it wasn't enough.  Ergo, I put that little project aside and went on with my life for a few weeks.  Then I was meeting some friends in the city (an hours drive away), and they were going to Hobby Lobby.  Just what I needed!  My friend picked up two more rolls of wide Halloween ribbon for me and I was good to go.  Unfortunately, life and my increasingly slippery brain got in the way and I completely forgot about my project.  That is until yesterday...the day before Halloween.  So, I whipped it up yesterday afternoon and last night.  And it turned out super cute.  This time I did prewrap the wreath in ribbon before I started to glue the ribbons on and it turned out even better (you weren't able to see straw in the gaps like last time).

All of my items ready to be hot-glued.

The finished product (I love how there is just a little bit
 of green to break up the orange and black)

The finished product from further away