Sunflower Cupcakes

I had so much fun making these cupcakes with my children I thought I would share how we made them.  They turned out very well considering that the little guys did much of the work!

First you need to make marshmallow fondant.  This was so easy and fun - like edible play doh.  Even if all you do is make this it is so worth it as a fun activity.  Here is the recipe I followed:http://seddy5.typepad.com/blog/2010/05/how-to-make-marshmallow-fondant.html

and here is what our fondant looked like

 Next we took the green fondant and rolled it out like you would cookie dough.  The only difference is that you should use powdered sugar, not flour, on the rolling surface to reduce sticking.  We rolled this out to about 1/8 of an inch think.

 Then I used a round cookie cutter to cut out circles like this (The chocolate sprinkles in the picture were put on a little early by an overly excited child!).

 Next we rolled out the yellow fondant and used a fluted cookie cutter to cut a shape just a little smaller than the green circle.  After those were cut we used a smaller cutter to cut out the center.

 Then we placed the yellow pieces on top of the green.

After that I cut out a leaf shape from the green fondant and used the tip of a knife to create some detail.

To finish off the toppers the leaves were tucked under the yellow fondant circle and chocolate sprinkles were poured into the hole in the center of the yellow fondant.

While we made the toppers the cupcakes were cooking.  I purchased mini terra cotta pots at Michaels and washed them.  Then I placed them in a muffin tin and plugged the bottom with aluminum foil.  We buttered and flowered the pots before pouring cupcake mix in

 After the cupcakes cooled the toppers were placed on the sunflower pots and voila, easy adorable cupcakes that traveled very well!

Crayon Making

I have been saving broken crayons for as long as I can remember.  On a rainy day we finally got around to making new out of the old.  It was very easy and fun and I think they would make cute party favors.  Here is how we did it:

First we sorted all of our old crayons by color

 Then we removed the wrappers (this took awhile but everyone in the family helped out)

 Next we put the peeled crayons into a tin can

 The can was placed in a pot with water (filled to cover the bottom 1/4 of the can)

 We brought the water to a boil and kept an eye on the melting crayons.  The time it will take depends on how many crayons you have in the can.

 Once everything was melted we removed the can from the pot (using tongs) and poured the melted wax into a muffin tin

 Voila, new crayons!

Can't wait to try different molds next time

Monster High Party

Yikes!  It has been awhile since I posted anything but that's because I have been so busy!  Today I want to share a Monster High birthday party created for a very sweet little girl who adores Monster HIgh dolls.  She wanted to have a birthday party that made her feel like she was at Monster High.  After A LOT of research into the world of Monster HIgh I think that the party accomplished just that!

When the girls first arrived the had to register for school.  They signed in on a sheet that said "Sign In for Ghoul School" and then they pick up their "uniform", a headband with a flower a zebra print flower on top, and theor "schoolbook" a workbook that was downloaded from the Monster High website (which offers tons of printables for download),   Then they headed down to the student lounge. 

The lounge was set up with tons of pillows in coordinating colors.  There was an area for "Claw Painting" (manicures), "Face Repair" (make-up) and "Fearbook Photos" (costume dress up and photo shoot).  There was a table where the girls could sit and work in the books they received at registration.  Dolls were also placed throughout for them to play with.  

The girls loved the lounge so much they almost could have been left to their own devices for the whole party.  However, we did have some other activities organized.  First was "Mad Science" class where we created lip gloss.  This was done in a way that did not require heating over a stove.  All the ingredients were placed in zip loc bags which were then put in a bowl with warm water.  After a minute or so they liquidified.  Then the end of the bag was cut and they could squeeze it into a tube.  After a shot time in the freezer they were set.  Everyone loved this as they all were able to take home what they made at the end of the party.  We also played "No Passing Notes in Class".  This was a version of Hot Potato.  When the music stopped whomever had the note in their had got detention and was out of the game.  The winner was able to open and read the note and take home Monster High stickers inside.  This game was also a hit.  I had planned for them to take "Home Ick" and create Mummerific Fasions out of toilet paper (a version of the game frequently played at Bridal showers) and have "Fearleading Practice" (a version of Simon Says).  They were having too much fun in the lounge so we never got to those.

The table was set as the "Creepeteria" with a large chandlier in the center which I took the wires out of and spraypainted black.  I used electic tea light to give the effect of a working chandlier.  They sipped Vegan Vampire Punch (for those who do not know Monster HIgh Draculaura is a Vegan Vampire) and enjoyed pizza.  The showstopper was the cake - they had been admireing it since the moment they arrived.  I have to say it was beyond amazing.  Tonia of cakewish did a fantastic job.

When it was time to go they left with the headband, the schoolbook, lip balm, marshmallow pops and bottle cap necklaces.  

This was definitely a party to remember.  I am already thiking about how well it could transition into a super fun halloween party!