Dunk, Roll & Cool Your Way To Decadent Ice Cream Cones

Check out these delicious cones we made to celebrate the end of school/ beginning of summer.

Here's a quick tutorial that will hopefully motivate you to try them cause they are sooo yummy!

Choose some kind of candy bar or nuts that sound good to you...I went with crispy crunch (Canadian version of Butter Finger)

Melt chocolate in a double boiler.  I went with dark chocolate chips and some unsweetened dark chocolate baker's squares)

Okay enough talking, here's the steps...

Dunk...

Roll...

Cool.  (in the fridge.  Mine are sitting on my silpat in my baking try.  You can use parchment paper if you don't have a silpat.)

That's it!  So easy and it makes the cones MUCH more exciting!!

Go make these!

Here are my kids and their cousins enjoying their cones outside (while the adults gobbled theirs down inside)

YUM YUM!

School Cuppies

When my daughter's teacher came back to the school to introduce her students to her new baby, cupcakes were in order.  I used a fun font (school daze) to make cute toppers with the baby's name.  The cupcakes were chocolate with mint icing and grasshopper cookie crumbs on top.  Delish!

Owl Cupcakes

Owls are so popular right now.  My next door neighbor growing up had an owl collection (figurines, not pets) so whenever I see owls I think of her.  I kinda associate owls with the 70's. I guess peace signs and owls have re-established themselves in today's pop culture!  Anyways, I came across these adorable cupcakes and I felt compelled to share them.

Looks like they used Oreos, junior mints and some kind of yellow candy.  Easy and sooo cute!  Sorry, I do not know where I found this, it was reeeal late one night.  If you know where I got it, let me know so i can give the proper credit!


Newsflash:  Kim from Frost Me knew where the owl was from...Hello, Cupcake a cute blog dedicated to cupcakes! Oh- she also shared that the nose is a banana Runt candy!  So great! Thanks Kim!

Dirt Bike Cake

One week after we celebrated my daughter's first birthday, I was back in the kitchen baking a cake for my son.  

Lucky for me his request was fairly simple.  He asked for a "dirt bike cake" and that is exactly what he got.

 For me, it's all about the details.  The "dirt bike guy" is #4 and my little guy turned 4!

My lil buddy with his buddies!

Peeking at the cake!

I used chocolate doughnut holes and cocoa puffs and chocolate rocks on this cake.  The path is made from dark chocolate ganache.

This was a fun cake and very forgiving  Best of all, my boy loved it and my husband deemed it "best tasting cake so far"  Double points for me!!

Cait's Sweets Table

My favorite element of Cait's party (aside from the cute baby of course) was the sweets table.  

Let's face it, candy is CUTE!  

I was so excited when I spotted these mini polka dotted take-out boxes at a party store in the bridal section!

  The morning of the party I gave my 10 year old daughter a pile of ribbon scraps and she tied random matching ribbons on the boxes for a little added cuteness.  I am all about using what we have and usually the best details come together at the last minute!

Oh- and can I just share- those are Victoria's Secret boxes coming in handy again!  If you haven't purchased any PINK items from VS yet, I highly suggest you do so and then ask for a gift box in each size!

I found these Neapolitans and amazing pink rock sugar sticks at Michael's in California.  We don't get some of the really fun stuff up here in Canada. 

They were huge so I cute them in thirds and wrapped them individually.

The tags were a last minute thing as well but I have to share my new trick...The print on the background of the tag was originally the fabric that inspired the party color scheme.  I used this fabric in Cait's tutu as well.  I took the fabric in to the copy store, put it in the top of the deluxe copy machine and made a color copy of my fabric!  Yahoo!  I am so happy with this concept.  If you already knew about this, don't burst my bubble cause I had never heard of such a thing and I am kinda proud of myself for coming up with it!  

Imagine the possibilities?

 The big lollies came with ugly wrappers so I unwrapped them and covered them with celophane and tied them with cute bows.  So easy and it made such a big difference!

Oh- got that vase at the thrift store for $1. Great find!

Circus Animal cookies were a must at this party!  The chocolate covered pretzels were a really big hit as well.  (I took these photos a few hours before the party when the jars still had cellophane on them.  I actually left the cellophane on until the end of the party because there were so many little ones and I didn't want all the favors to be gone before the party was over!)

More of that fabulous printed fabric paper!  I have had this hat box for a long time, I just keep painting it, covering it with paper, you name it, I have done it!  Height is an important aspect of a sweets table so this box was very helpful.

Another view...I was so happy with the bunting.  It was not hard at all and it turned out so sweet!  It is going up in Cait's room now.

Party favors for baby's friends...Bibs and matching stuffies!

 Our Sweet baby is successfully one!

Caitlyn's First Birthday Cakes

Last weekend we celebrated my little girl's first birthday.  It's hard to believe that she is one already.

For her party I had been planning to do a pink and brown giraffe theme.  I mean planning since before she was even born.  A few weeks before the party I found some amazing fabric and all my plans changed.  I still incorporated the pink and brown and a few giraffes but it was more about fun colors and simple sweetness.

 Here's the cute clothespin doll I made to go on top of the cake.  I used my fun fabric to make her dress.  I debated about putting a package in her hand or a sign or a balloon but I then decided on the candle.  It's practical and cute!

The cake is two tall 6 inch layers of chocolate coconut cake with butter cream icing.  I did a ganache drip on top mostly because I love the taste but I also love the simplicity of it.  If you have been following this blog for a long time, I am sure you have noticed that I have not always been into "simplicity"...well, life has gotten full and simplicity is a must these days!  I guess I proved to myself I *could* make a fancy cake of any kind and now I am more interested in making a great tasting, beautiful cake without losing too much sleep!

This is Cait's "smash cake"  I used a round cookie cutter to make this.  I cut three rounds out of a thin flat cake and stacked them up.  This is a great option when you don't have a teeny pan. (Or when you've misplaced yours, eh-hem...)

The giraffe on top was a ready to finish wood toy at Michaels.  Can't remember what those bendy toys are called? 

Here's the little birthday baby taking a first lick...

Taking off her giraffe so she can get to business!

 There they are, the big cake and the tiny smash cake perched on the pretty sweets table.  I'll share more about that really soon!

Sweets For A Doll

This is my first sweets table!  It was so fun to create!!

 This is during the day when we were setting up.  In the evening the plastic chairs did not show:)  

Oh shoot, you hadn't noticed them?

  Well now you see them!

Curly Willow looks great on it's own but I wanted it to have a special touch. I saw something similar to this over at TomKat Studio. 

I made the huge tissue paper puffs for a baby shower  a year ago so I knew just what to do, just on a much smaller scale:) 

I gave my kids (10, 8 and 6) this job and they executed it so well!

 Chocolate Coffee Mini Cuppies

Pretty Vanilla Cuppies.  

I used two Vicoria Secret boxes for the cupcake stand.

I have a slight obsession with cake plates.  

 Sticking a candle in the teeny cute cake.  We didn't cut into it, I sent it home with the birthday girl. 

The cupcakes and candies were plenty.

Here's the birthday girl with her cake.  

I am not sure if there was anything more beautiful that these two together?

Have I ever told you how much I love birthdays???

I didn't get a shot of the cake in it's adorable stand but be sure to look closely at the pics with the whole table to admire the latest member of my cake plate collection.  

She's so pretty and I got her for $10 at Home Sense!!

Favor purses from Michael's wedding favor isle.  

We dressed them up with an adorable Poupee Girl.

The guests digging in to the sweets!

 Here are the party planners with the birthday girl.  I just wanted to point out how cute the sweets are as a photo prop!  

If you are planning to have a sweets table at your party, be sure to make use of the cuteness in a few photos!!

(after all, the photos will be there long after the sweets are scooped up, right??)

Thanks for coming over to check it out!  I hope you will feel free to ask me if you have questions.  If you are inspired to try something that you have seen, go for it!  

I want to see your finished product so please send me a pic or a link!

Seashell Cookies

Poupee Girl Party Pics are up over at Fig & Ruby.  Go check them out for an explanation of what in the world I am talking about!!

Seashells are important to Poupee Girl so it seemed fitting that we make the cookie favors seashells.  I bought little zip bags, plopped one cookie in each bag, folded cute paper over the bag and stapled.  I actually gave this job to my 6 year old...it's that easy!

I love this paper/pattern/color combo!

What Inspires Me?

Hi!  I am in the throws of preparing for my sister's "Poupee Girl Dress Up Party".  The color scheme is aqua and pink with an Asian flair.  When I came across this yesterday it took my breath away!  How can I ever begin to live up to the likes of Amy Atlas?  The girl is UNREAL!  I am not going to try to attain this level of Fantabulous-ness but I sure am gonna appreciate it...and perhaps drool a little bit...and daydream a lot...and maybe even lose a little sleep at night...

Hello Kitty Cake

 

This cake is chocolate coconut cake with fudge filling and fresh strawberry buttercream.  

Simple 8 inch rounds, a nice smooth layer of icing and a few gumballs...very easy yet super cute!

Making the top of the cake not edible meant I was able to prepare it in advance and saved me the stress of the "night before the party cake meltdown" (ask my husband, it's a real thing!!)

 

The white flower shaped layer is a wooden box that I got at Michael's. 

I painted it inside and out, made a cute Hello Kitty Spoolie to attach to the top and gave it to my little girl. 

 

And the inspiration behind this cake- Maddie Faith, my Hello Kitty lover!

If you want to see the party details, hop on over HERE.

 

A peek inside the box!

 

Cute cake toppers.

I have a baby in my life and the addition of little Caitlyn has inspired me to find ways to simplify without losing the wow factor.  I am so excited about the possibilities.  

Do you have any ideas?  

Please share!!