Halloween Party fit for Fun!

Our son, Joe opted for a Halloween Party in lieu of a birthday party so he could get to know his new kindergarten classmates.  It was fun putting together a Halloween Party and our children always have fun prepping for it!

Used my cricut and the carousel cricut lite to create this Trick or Treat sign. 

Used a 40% off Michaels coupon to purchase the Martha Stewart crafts Spider cutouts.  They were all over the house. The children had a lot of fun with placement!

Table cloths are almost always yardage from the thrift store.  Mom's milk glass always a favorite way to display treats.

Monster cookies... These are Aunt Jan's recipe with pretzels, oatmeal and m&m's with Wilton Monster eyes!

Every party has to have cupcakes!  They are always the first to go!

This is the cake I made from a Pinterest photo... the inside was orange with black polka dots!

I LOVE sugar cookies... these were easy peesey! I love this recipe, and then used the cookie cutter to cut the fondant and food markers for fun ghost faces.

Pumpkin sugar cookies.

2 dozen cupcakes!

Michaels crows and owls with our home made sign.

When I saw these owls... I HAD to have them and they were 50% off before Halloween.

90% off tights from the year before... We landed on the witch!  These funky legs greeted our guests!

I use this sign a lot... it was left over bead board that I painted with chalkboard paint and then mounted it to an old for sale sign. 

I use these pinwheels a lot too.  I bought them at Hobby Lobby on clearance and they come in handy for yard decor.   I think they make a festive impression!

Fun Party Craft that doesn't Break the Bank!

I love having a craft for the kids to create something fun to take home from a party.  With my thrifty shopping... I try to keep the expense down.  For this March birthday, I used Christmas wood cutouts of stars at 90% off for the base of MoNsTerS!

I covered the table with black table cloths (fabric from the thrift shop).

We upcycled a puzzle that was missing a few pieces (silly dogs) and spray painted them various colors.

Gotta have googly eyes, pom poms and pipe cleaners!

They turned out just perfectly scary!

Yo Gabba Gabba Foofa Cake

Each member of our family is a huge Yo Gabba Gabba fan... We have even seen DJ Lance and the Gabba gang live on stage 2 times! They are AWESOME! Our youngest, Brooke, is all about Yo Gabba Gabba, so it was a no brainer when it came to her birthday cake! This is pretty easy to create.

Covered the cake in yellow fondant... Created green garden mounds for Foofa Land.

Used a fondant cutter for the daisies and shaped them in plastic spoons.  Used pink icing for the centers piped from a plastic bag.

Printed a paper Foofa and glued to a lollipop stick.  Used Wilton food writers for details... and Brooke was pretty excited for her Foofa Land cake!

It's always fun to have a little extra surprise in the cake, so the batter was pink and yellow, the bottom layer (supposed to be center) was pastel confetti... but it still tasted good and made our Gabba Fan happy!

Personalize your Party with Special Hand-made Touches

This post is long overdue, but an important one because nothing makes the holidays and birthdays more special than the excitement of your children! My sweets get so excited when my husband or I have a birthday.  They have this idea that there will be cake, games and a pinata!  For my 37th birthday in April, I thought it would be fun to make MY birthday about THEM. Why? Because they are my gifts.  What did we do? How did I try to make it fun? Take a look... 

First, they decorated my birthday cake with fondant and food coloring makers.

Fondant flowers made by my little artists!

We decorated with excess party plates and centerpieces they made themselves.  These beauties were made with $2 Michaels grab bag florals and modge podge tissue papered pickle jars! They felt special helping prepare all the decorations.  We always have fun preparing for parties.  I do try to keep them involved and not worry too much about perfection, more about the process!  Must be the art teacher in me!

We used Pirate Treasure beads and colored tissue poms to color up the dining room.  So funny that my kiddos like "Pirate Treasure"!

Brooke couldn't wait to get a taste. Everything looked so colorful and pretty.  Our blue table cloth is bundled fabric from the thrift shop... $2! My son drew a picture of us dressed as Pirates for the birthday sign!

The children made a treasure pinata too! 

Here is a Treasure map of our home.  I cut it into pieces and put them in the pinata!

They had a great time putting the puzzle pieces together... The puzzle pieces were in the pinata!  Wouldn't you know that my dear dad put in $100 in the pinata without me knowing.  What a SURPRISE when they kids popped it open. I was thinking they would find puzzle pieces and tootsie rolls. 

The treasure map directed my kiddos to these wrapped presents throughout the home.  I love the fancy chair for our  Princess that I found at HomeGoods!

Whoopie pies with pretty sprinkles on the dessert table.

Honestly, one of the best birthdays ever was inspired by these special kiddos and the look on their faces made it all Perfect.

Easy Sweet Treats for a Pretty Party!

I hosted a little get together and wanted to have a spread of treats that were easy to prepare and didn't break the bank.  I sent my hubby to the grocery store and he came home with a few packages of strawberries, kiwi and grapes.  This is what I prepared.

  I made sugar cookie dough (My Favorite Recipe) and used a scalloped square cookie cutter.  I added sugar to some cream cheese (to taste) spread it on the cookies... added kiwi and strawberries and there you have mini fruit pizzas! 

I used the left over fruit to put in little glass cups.  I purchased the glasses from GW for .50 cents each and I use them often for dessert tables. They are very handy to have!

My mom gave me all of her milk glass and I love it for dessert tables and displaying treats!  Chocolate dipped strawberries... and chocolate dipped oreos. I always have white chocolate and chocolate bark on hand.

Mini cupcakes... I like to pipe the frosting on and sprinkles are fun too! Use a ziploc bag with the tip cut for a rounded effect.

I love checking out the plates and housewares at GW and the thrift store because you never know what you are going to find.  If I find a cake plate... I buy it. I like to play with dessert table presentation and I use them all the time! 

 
I have a dozen of these snack plates from the 70's. They are elegant and perfect for a get together. They have matching drinking glasses and cost me $12 all together!

Princess approved party!  She is as sweet as the cupcakes I prepared! Enjoy!