Morgan's Cookie Decorating Party

 Her birthday was 6 months ago, but I'm finally ready to share Morgan's Cookie Decorating Party. I decided to go with this theme because she had enjoyed decorating Christmas cookies so much. Who says you can only do that during the holidays?

 

The invitations were foam cookies, that I ended up not even passing out. You can see how I made them here.

 Of course the main activity of this party was the decorating, so I baked up a few batches of super soft sugar cookies.

 And lots of colorful frosting. Royal icing may look better, but buttercream tastes so much better.

I did not want to go the cookie cake route, since those are chocolate chip and this is all about decorating cookies. So I made a layer cake, with a big sugar cookie on top. I had been wanting to try out the ruffle frosting that is so popular right now, so I went for it. It was so easy!

Here you can see the big cookies, frosted white with aqua srinkles. The foam M I found at Michael's and the 3 candle came from Target.

I love these polka dot balloons! I think these came from Amazon.

I apologize about this photo. We had pushed the table against the window and used plastic tablecloths for a backdrop. This was what my camera managed. Blah I know. But you can see the tissue poms & tulle poms hanging here.

Now for the goodies. My girl loves sugar donuts, so I made them drizzled with orange and aqua glaze.

Gotta have chocolate covered Oreos. Everyone loves these!

I decided to try my hand at cake pops. They weren't too hard, but I goofed on the orange ones and they were too soft. So I had to use mainly blue. And they definitely aren't smooth. I guess I need more practice on them!

   

 I also had found some off-brand Oreo style cookies at Walmart for $1.00 a box, so I covered them in chocolate as well. Cheetos 'cause they are her fave, and our yummy Chili's style queso dip, salsa & chips.

 I raided the 15 for $1 candy bin at Party City and chose orange & blue Pixy Sticks. I stuck them in a mason jar and used fabric scraps for added decoration.

Sadly, I don't have any photos of me making this, but I made a matching apron for Morgie to decorate her cookies in. 

Aqua & orange plates from Party City, polka dot napkins from Target and matching forks, spoons & paper straws in mason jars.

And of course I had to wrap her presents to match the theme!

Since I knew the cookie decorating would be a huge mess, I set a table up on our screened porch for them to decorate. 

I mentioned before that I ended up not passing out her invitations, but I didn't want them to go to waste. So I hot glued them onto a piece of ribbon and hung them up as a banner. 

Lots of frosting colors and sprinkles to choose from!

I wanted to use my drink dispenser to serve blue lemonade, so I made some ice cubes out of the same Kool-Aid so the drink wouldn't get watered down.

I also sliced some lemons, froze them and added them as well.

The kids decorating their masterpieces.

My sweetie pie with her sweet treat.

Instead of goody bags, I purchased solid orange bags and added a thank you tag, so the kids could take their sweets home.

I always pre-scoop the ice cream ahead of time. It makes it so much faster and easier, and less messy! I even bought the birthday cake flavored ice cream so it would match!

These didn't really get eaten, but I loved how they looked! They are Sixlets from Party City.

I love, love, love colored cakes, so I did it aqua & orange inside.

 

I just had to do another variation of my rainbow slush.

The aftermath.

I love how bright and vibrant this party was. And miss Morie had a blast. I'd call this one a success!

Linked to: Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots & Jello, Friday Favs Party at Nap Time Crafters, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Sundae Scoop at I ♥ Naptime, Creative Bloggers Party & Hop at Homemaker on a Dime, Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table & Dreaming, Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, Talent Tuesday at Vintage Wanna Bee, Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, What We Wore, Read & Made at Rae Gun Ramblings, Look What I Made at Creations by Kara, I'm Crafty Party at SYTYC, Hookin Up with HoH at House of Hepworths, Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage, Throwback Thursday at Hubby Made Me, Catch as Catch Can at My Repurposed Life, Happy Hour at Craftberry Bush, Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home, Delicately Constructed Friday at delicateCONSTRUCTION, Celebrations Link Party at Bird's Party Blog

Creativity For Kids Review & Giveaway *CLOSED*

I love doing craft projects with the kids, so I was excited to get to try out a kit from Creativity for Kids. They sent me 3 to try, but we started with this cute Gnome Garden. 

 Morgie couldn't wait to crack it open! 

 She was very eager to get everything out of the packages and opened up. 

 I helped them glue the leaves onto the roof of the little house. 

The mushrooms (in the background) were really cute.

 Blake decided he wasn't too cool for this craft and wanted to paint a rock.

 Morgie tried her hand at a rock as well, and Layla took care of the mushrooms. 

 And here it is all complete! Now we just need to make sure we don't forget to water it and wait for the grass to grow. 

 Hopefully I can keep this little monster out of it! 

Here are the other two kits we received. The Deluxe Glitter Art kit and the Feather Fashions kit. I'm saving these for a rainy day. I really enjoyed putting the Gnome kit together. It came with everything we needed and it was simple to do. 

 Now how would you like to win your own Deluxe Glitter Kit?

To enter: 

1. Head on over to the Creativity for Kids site and tell me which item you'd most like to try (mandatory). 

2. Become a public follower of my blog, or leave me a comment letting me know you already are (optional).

Please leave a separate comment for each entry! Giveaway will remain open until  8/11/12. 

I was provided with products to review, however all thoughts & opinions are 100% my own.

Tissue Paper Poms

 

Now I know you might already know how to make these tissue poms, but I always seem to find posts from people asking how to do it. So since I'm trying to work my way up to Morgan's birthday party post, I thought I'd go ahead and share. They are SO simple and since tissue paper comes in so many patterns and colors now, you can make them to match any party or event.

 All you need is some tissue paper, a pair of scissors and string, twine, yarn or fishing line. Keep an eye out during post-holiday clearance and you can snag a great deal on the tissue.

Open your packs and spread out your tissue. At this point, you can leave them the size they are, or trim them to make them smaller.

I wanted a variety of sizes, so I cut this one down a bit. Also, the more layers you use, the fluffier they will be. I like to use at least eight.

Now, starting on one end, start folding the sheets, accordion style.  I usually do about an inch or so on this, but I never measure it.

Keep folding until the entire sheet is finished. I like to press down on the edges to flatten the folds as much as I can. 

For the ends, you can either cut them rounded, or pointed. It's totally up to you. But snip off both ends of the tissue. 

Fold your tissue over enough that you can find the center. Using your string of choice, wrap it around and tie a secure knot.  Make sure you leave a long enough tail that you can hang them at the height you need.

Now it's time to fluff. Carefully pull up each each layer of tissue, making sure to undo any folds. Be careful because it tears easy. But I've also found that minor tears don't really show.

Complete one side, then flip over and repeat.

And there you have it!

Here are all the ones I did for Morgan's party. I did orange and two shades of blue, in several different sizes. If you want to add to your display, check out my post on tulle pom poms. I apologize for the lack of crafty posts and all the sponsored posts. I got a little backed up, and then we went to North Carolina for another vacation. I promise to have more crafty posts (including Morgan's cookie decorating party & Layla's Lego party!) coming soon!

Patio Fun & a Giveaway!

Being in the south I long for a front porch. Sadly, we don't have a porch, but we do have a large screened in room as well as a carport. We don't use then that much in our every day lives, but they do become the main hangout areas when we have parties.

We always have the kids birthday parties at home, and the 4th of July celebration is here every year as well. I'm crossing my fingers that one of these years before the kids are grown, we can have a Halloween party!

Here's the screen room being used for Morgan's 3rd birthday. We tend to have messy activities for their parties, and a lot of that happens out here. This was the cookie decorating area.

And here it is for Layla's 8th birthday.

These are just some of my favorite activities that my family enjoys on our patio. What activities do you and your family enjoy on your patio? Answer the question below and one of my readers will win a $25 Sears gift card!

Need some help figuring out your style? Sears is making it easy with their interactive quiz that helps you select your perfect style.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sears. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

School Safety Tips & The Master Combo Challenge

As you know, the kids are getting ready to head back to school. I was surprised to see that they had already started when we were on vacation in North Carolina this past week! Besides all of the school supplies that are needed, you should be thinking of safety and security, too. 

You paid a lot of money for those supplies, gear and gadgets, and the last thing you, or your kids want, is for those things to come up missing. That's where Master Lock® comes in. My kids don't ride their bikes to school, but the Master Lock SafeSpace Laptop Lock could definitely come in handy. This handy device keeps everything locked up safe insie, not just laptops!

Of course, don't forget to remind them of some of the basics as they head back. 

• Do not talk to strangers
• Never get in the car with someone they do not know
• Label your belongings
• Never leave valuables unattended
• Remember 911! 

Now, Master Lock® invites you to take “The Master Combo Challenge,” an interactive game on the company’s Facebook page. By playing, students & their parents can discover tips on how to stay safe at school as well as the best products that will keep their belongings safe & secure. While there, you can also enter for a chance to win back-to-campus-themed prizes, including the new Set-Your-Own Combination SafeSpace™ Laptop Computer Lock.

Disclosure: By posting this information, I'm entered to win a Master Lock back-to-school prize pack as a member of the Mom Bloggers Club.