Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Bumble Bee Birthday Theme.


Snug as a Bug Yellow & Black Bumble Bee Clip from Bea's Bows
Bumble Bee Cookie Pops from Ava Cakes
Bumble Bee Tieback from The Butterfly Grove
Yellow Party Inspiration from Lora Jean's Magazine
 Hand Stamped Honey Bee Charmer Necklace from Lilly Ellen
Yellow Paper Poms Photo from Silly Bee's Chicadees
Bees in the Garden Party Hat from Stell and Livi
                          Yellow Bubble Favors from Martha Stewart
               Sweet As Can Bee Fairytale Tutu from Tweedle Dee Designs
 ^info above via Brandi

How adorable is this banner from atozebracelebrations
It matches the Sweet Bee and the Seet as can Bee party supplies below.
Bee name banner by TweetMemories matches the "Cute as can Bee" invites and "Cathy's Crafts and More" cake perfectly.
(cupcake toppers, treat bag toppers, table centerpieces, door signs, hang tags etc aer also available)


Cake ideas.



Sweet Beehive Cake by FamilyFun 

 (Click here for instructions)

Too cute!
Wilton offers several Bee cakes on there site complete with directions. 
Click here to go to the bee section.


Cupcake Ideas


Y is for Yellow Jacket by Family Fun
(click here for instructions)

Bee Happy Cupcakes by Wilton

(click here to go to instructions)

“all the buzz” cupcakes.

(click here to go to instructions)

I absolutely LOVE these cupcakes!
(photo & instructions from www.hostessblog.com)
(recipe from What’s New, Cupcake? by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson.)
"These little “Bees” are made up of black jelly beans, sliced almonds, and yellow & black frosting.
The “Hive” is constructed of vanilla cupcakes topped with hexagon-shaped sugar cookies covered in yellow decorating sugar. To create the “honeycomb” effect, the center portion of the dough was removed from each sugar cookie before baking. This step also creates the perfect space for drizzling a little honey before topping with an adorable jelly bean bee. GENIUS!"


Place the cookies on top of the cupcakes, sugared side up. Press into frosting to seal any gaps. Arrange 5 cupcakes on platter in a center row. Then place four cupcakes in a row on each side to create honeycomb effect. Level cookies so they touch at the sides and check for gaps between cookies and frosting.
Make the bees
Put yellow and black frosting into zip lock bags and tin snip small hole in corner.  Pipe 12 random black dots over cookies. Attach jellybeans to dots. Pipe a zigzag line of yellow frosting on top of jellybeans. Add 2 sliced almonds as wings. Pipe a black dot of frosting for the head and a small pulled dot for stinger. 
Just before serving, spoon 2 to 3 teaspoons of honey into center of each honeycomb.

Bakerella has these adorable Bee Cake Pops on her site with a recipe & instructions. I'm a wicked huge fan of her site! Click here to go!

atozebracelebrations offers Glitter numbers or letters
in any color you need for your party.



Party Supplies

Sweet As Can Bee Party Supplies via birthdayexpress.com
Cute As Can Bee  Party Supplies Via simplybirthdaystuff.com
Sweet Bee Party Supplies via birthdayinabox.com


Invitation Ideas

If you have time, it's always fun to create your own birthday party invitations. Another good idea is to ask your child to help make their invitations. Here are some crafty ideas that will get your party guests excited for the big day!
  • Wrap your invitations around a bottle of honey and deliver them by hand.
  • Include fun wording on your invite such as "don't bee late," "Happ-bee Birthday," and "RSVP to the Queen Bee."
  • Take a photo of your child in a bee costume and with computer software write "Cute as Can Bee" under the picture. On the inside of the invitation, include the following rhyme.




We're buzzed about Carol's birthday,

We can't bee-lieve it's here.

So head on over to our hive,

To celebrate with cheer!



Decoration Ideas
  • Paint terra cotta pots with yellow and black stripes and plant white and yellow flowers in the pots. Use these as table decorations.
  • You can use yellow, black and white solid colored balloons, table covers and streamers.
  • Hang stuffed bees from the ceiling with fishing line.
  • Make an easy bumble bee decoration by painting the bottom of a paper plate with yellow and black stripes. Cut a half circle out of white construction paper for the head, and glue on to the paper plate. Draw eyes on the head of the bee. Hang the bumble bees around your party area or place one on the back of every chair.
  • Hang a banner that reads "Happ-bee Birthday, Honey!"
  • Draw a honey comb pattern on a large sheet of yellow craft paper to hang on the walls.


  Party Food Ideas

In addition to pizza, chicken fingers, hamburgers or hotdogs, you can add some Bumble Bee themed food into the mix. Here are some easy recipes that use honey as a main ingredient.
  • Peanut Butter Crunch Sandwiches: Mix 1 cup of peanut butter with 1/2 cup of honey. Spread the mix on two slices of bread. Add 6 potato chips to one slice of bread and 4-6 thin slices of banana to the other. Press the two slices together and serve. Makes 4 sandwiches.
  • Honey Chicken Strips: Preheat the oven to 425° F and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Whisk together 1/4 cup honey and 1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce. Pour Panko bread crumbs into a small bowl. Season uncooked chicken strips with a dash of salt and pepper. Dip the chicken into the honey mixture and then into the bread crumbs. Place the coated chicken on the baking sheet and then bake for 12-15 minutes.
  • Orange Honey Smoothie:
  • Honey pops: Combine 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup pure honey and 1/4 cup water together and stir over high heat until it boils. Then, reduce the temperature to medium heat. The mixture will begin to thicken. Stir for 5 minutes and then add 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Pour the mixture into Popsicle molds and freeze for 6 hours. Remove the honey pops from the mold and wrap in plastic wrap.
  • Honey Crisps: Combine 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1/2 cup honey in a large bowl. Add 1-1/2 cups of rice cereal. Mix together and then form into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in rainbow sprinkles. Place the balls on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 1 hour. If you'd like, you can add 1/2 raisins to the batter or 1/2 cup granola. 

  • Royal jelly sandwiches! What kid doesn't like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Give a new name to a classic sandwich.

  •  Look for Nabisco Honey Maid Bees. These adorable cookies are shaped like little bumble bees. Find them at the supermarket or buy online. They mix well into party snack mixes with cereals such as Honey Nut Cheerios or Honey Combs

  • Honey sticks. These fun straws are intended for coffee and teas, but kids can't resist the assorted flavors. Honey Stix brand are a very popular choice. They're so yummy that you'll be glad you got a six pack.

 Games to play

*Bumble Bee Tag-

  1. Ask your guests to spread out in a large playing area. Make sure to designate the areas that are out of bounds.
  2. The birthday child starts off by being The Queen (or King) Bee.
  3. When you say "go" the Queen Bee should try to tag other children.
  4. When a child is tagged, they also become a bee. When this happens, the child should raise their hand in the air so everyone knows they have a "stinger."
  5. The tagged bees get to join The Queen Bee and tag the other children.
  6. The last child who has not become a bee wins.
  7. The winner of the last game can become The Queen Bee in the next round. 
   *Two Bees or Not Two Bees-
This game is played similar to "Red Light, Green Light."
  1. Ask the children to stand about 30 feet away from you.
  2. When you say "two bees" the children should take 2 big steps towards you.
  3. When you say "not two bees" the children should take 2 big steps back.
  4. Continue mixing up "two bees" or "not two bees" until one child has reached you first and wins!
  5. You should say the words really fast. Anyone who moves in the wrong direction or runs is out!
  6. If you like, the winning child can call out the words in the next round.

*How Many Bees in the Jar?-

  • Before the Party: Fill a glass jar with yellow and black jelly beans. (Remember to count the jelly beans as you place them in the jar, so you know how many are included.)
  •  During the Party:As your guests arrive, ask them to take a guess at how many “bees” are in the jar. Whoever comes closest to the actual number of jelly beans wins! 


Crafts



Bumble Bee Visor Craft



What You'll Need:
  • Yellow craft foam visors (1 per guest)
  • Black and white craft foam
  • Glue
  • Wiggly eyes
  • Scissors

Instructions:

  1. Glue two wiggly eyes on the front of each visor.
  2. Cut three thick black strips, about 1/2 inch wide, from the craft foam and glue on to the visor. The strips should hang off the edge of the visor.
  3. Trim the overlapping edges of the black strips so they align to the edges of the visor.
  4. Cut 2 bee wings out of white craft foam.
  5. Glue the edges of the wings under the sides of the visor. There should be one wing on each side.
  6. When the glue dries the visors are ready to wear!

DIY Beehive pinata!!
All you have to do is dip strips of newspaper in a mix of school glue and water, then wrap them around an inflated balloon. (If you have kids, they'll be thrilled to pitch in during these messy steps.) After the strips dry, pop the balloon and glue on crepe paper streamers to create a beehive look.

To make the adorable bees, wrap a yellow pom-pom with a black pipe cleaner and attach wings made from vellum or scrapbook paper. Full directions for the pinata and the bees can be found at Country Living.
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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Ice Cream Theme Birthday Party.


For a few weeks now I have been looking for any excuse to bake this cake.
I just can't have that much cake in my apartment right now. I am trying to lose baby weight from my daughter I had just a month ago...and from my son who I had almost 4 years ago. You can only imagine what pain this post brings me, as a female, as a "baker" and as an Italian chick who loves my sweets as much as I love a good fried meatball "Popsicle" 
or a huge chunk of Pizzagaina...

I need to stop.

:: BIG SIGH :: 
ANYWAYS, The point is- I love this cake & this whole theme.

You can only imagine how excited I was when I stumbled upon these wicked cute cupcakes that I found on Confessions of a Cookbook Queen's blog.
She made them to mimic the cake above and I have to say I love the cupcakes even more than I do the cake. 

She has great recipes & awesome tutorials.
Not to mention she is a riot- so I enjoy reading her blog.
Click the picture below to go to her Melted Ice Cream Cupcakes.




When you click the picture below it will bring you to Martha Stewart's Site for her recipe for this cupcake. It will tell you to put actual ice cream on it- which is great since it IS an ice cream party... BUT it will be messy.
If you scroll down there is a recipe & instructions on how to make sugar cookies look like ice cream, I personally would do this on top of these cupcakes and serve actual ice cream on the side. 
If you wanted to "dress them up" I would use "Smucker's Magic Shell" to make it look like fudge. I would follow the fudge with whipped cream & a cherry on top. 



Very easy cupcake ice cream cone set up. 
So cute!

Wilton Ice Cream Cake Pan.




These next pictures I found on Tradewind Tiaras Blog. 
I couldn't get over how great all of these were!

Cake ball ice cream drumsticks

 Chocolates with a peanut butter filling, sprayed with luster dust to give it a little bit of a frosty look.

Sugar Cookie Ice Cream Cones!

The same recipe for the sugar cookies above apply to this as well..
 The Milkshakes were actually just chocolate, Strawberry and Vanilla milk with whipped cream on top and a fondant cherry.

Soft serve cones are actually made of meringues!





Click the picture to bring you to a free download of this invite!

Send guests home with these cute ice cream containers
filled with ice cream toppings. 
If you are feeling really brave, maybe have an ice cream making activity during the party then use the containers for them to take it home.

Make a game out of it (in the beginning of the party) so everyone helps make the ice cream. Scoop into each container once it's done. You may need a few cans depending on how many kids and the size of the containers being sent home.

For a free download for the Flavor label click the picture below.


How adorable would your little birthday girl look in this Ice Cream Cone hat? 
Click the picture for instructions by One Charming Party.

Candy Filled Thank You.


I saw this fantastic Ice cream Sundae Bar on creativepartyplace.com


She was a doll & included Label Freebies

Remember these? Instead of using them to hold candy & other toppings as a budget friendly Sundae Bar treat holder, we used them to tell our fortune.




Tissue Paper Pom Pom in Sugar cones

Balloon Ice Cream Cones.
I think these Shirts from ChicBabyRose are adorable!!
(Tons of Colors are available)



(available in several colors)


Custom Tee Shirts and Ice Cream Hair Bows are forever available on Etsy. There are so many great items to choose from. 


Ice Cream Cone Straw





Sweet Soiree Ice Cream Party Supplies