Friday, March 30, 2012

Ice Cream Parlor {Ice Cream & the Cherry on Top}

I Scream.  You Scream.  We all Scream for Ice Cream!
Don't these favors just make you want to take a big ol' lick?
I cut the cones out with my Silhouette.
The "ice cream" is made from pink snowballs.  The cherry on top is a red/pink gumball that I stuck on a toothpick and then into the snowball. 
I made the tags up in the My Memories Software
then I printed them on white cardstock and cut them out with my Silhouette.
As you can see from the picture, it didn't cut perfectly, but I still love them!
The tags were also stuck on with a toothpick.
The cones were filled with ice cream scented stickers, ice cream shaped marshmallows, silly bands, an ice cream/treat shaped puzzle eraser, and bubbles.
While the kids entertained themselves dumping out the contents of their bubbles blowing bubbles, Daddy-Did-It got to work "Smooshing" ice cream.
Each person got to choose their mix-ins, ice cream, and toppings.
Then DDI got to work mixing up sweet concoctions.
This is what the Ice Cream Bar looked like.
*Sundae dishes  *Little bowls for the kiddos  *Waffle cones  *Mini cones
*Mini Reece's Pieces  *Chocolate Whoppers  *Strawberry Whoppers
*Heath Toffee Bits  * Andes Mints Pieces  *Mini Chocolate Chips
*Mini Reece's Cups
*Mrs. Richardson's Butterscotch Caramel (all time best.  EVER!)  *Maraschino Cherries
*Sprinkles
*Chocolate Sauce  *Strawberry Sauce
*Neapolitan Oreos
The birthday girl had to have a little of everything!
She loved the Neapolitan cookies, but only the frosting.
She isn't a cake or cookie fan...which is why she didn't have a cake!
And that's it.
Easy Peasy.
No big meal to fuss over.
Just Dessert!
Thanks for sharing my sweet baby's 3rd birthday with us!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Ice Cream Parlor {Decorations}

Whew!  It's been almost a week since Cassy's second party & I still feel like I am re-cooperating.  That may be because we all caught a stomach bug early this week.  NOT FUN!

Anyway, let's get on to something fun to talk about, shall we?
How about sweet Neapolitan party decor?
Remember I mentioned that I got a new toy just in time to plan Cassy's party?
It was a Silhouette!
I am in HEAVEN!
I can't say enough good about it. I will say that it is SOOO much easier to use than my old Cricut.
And so much more versatile!
I was able to use the fonts right off my computer, so the fonts in the banner match the fonts on the invitations.
For an OCD type like me, this is critical!
I whipped this baby out in no time.
The hardest part was stringing it on the tulle.
For the first party, at my mom's, I hung a Neapolitan pom from her chandelier.
For the second party, at my house, it sat on the patio table.  I think I liked it better on the table.  But, alas, I didn't get a picture of it.
I made this fun GIANT cone out of another Neapolitan tissue paper pom.  I added a glittery 3 as the cherry on top.  I cut out the cone with my Silhouette.
I stuck the cone in the top of this plant holder which doubled as a present stand for the party.
For the backdrop, I first attempted spray painting a giant roll of paper that I had lying around.  The paper tore like crazy and was kind of brittle.  I wanted something that would hold up to being moved from place to place,  so I spray painted a piece of white fabric.  I wish it was a little wider, but I can live with it!
I used part of it for the canopy of the ice cream stand.
(The cute little ice cream cones on the left of this picture were Cassy's present from us at the first party.)
My absolute FAVORITE piece of decor was this frame.
I used an old window frame, spray painted with a soft pink, and backed with some Mason's wire.
I used all my favorite pictures from Cassy's birthdays thus far.
The pictures are held on with mini clothes pinned that I spray painted...I went through a lot of spray paint for this party!
The C & 3 are tied on with brown tulle.
Now that the parties are over, this little gem will be hung on the girls' bedroom wall.  I plan to switch the pictures out for each season/holiday.

Okay, if you made it this far, you deserve a shot of the cute birthday girl.
Isn't she sweeter than ice cream???
Oh, I could eat her up!
I'll show you more of the dress when I get 3 more done.  This one is doubling as an Easter dress.

Come back tomorrow to see the food and favors!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Ice Cream Parlor Stand

A couple of years ago, the girls got this little grocery stand for Christmas:
As you can see, it's gotten a little beat up.
The paint was in bad shape and the bottom shelf is completely broken out.
I wanted to use it for Cassy's Ice Cream Parlor party
so Daddy Did It and I got to work.
Some disassembling, sanding, priming, and painting later
We ended up with THIS: 
Oh yeah, I did a little sewing, too.
I'll tell you how I made the custom canopy in a later post.
So, what do you think?
I tell ya, the girls LOVE it!  It's like a brand new toy...one that appeals more to the girly nature of our house!
And it worked great as a stand to hold the gifts and favors...also coming in a later post.


featured button

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Ice Cream Parlor Party Invites

It's here again, Cassy;s Birthday!!!  I always seem to go over the top with her parties (click here for her 1st birthday & here for her 2nd birthday).  Even more so than the rest of the girls.  Maybe it is because she has the first birthday of the year.  Or maybe it is because she is still little enough that she doesn't really care what I do.  So I can go wild on any theme I choose...so long as there are sweets involved!

This party was inspired by something my dad used to say to us when I was little, and now I say (and my kids say to each other).  The conversation would go like this:

Child:  I'm thirsty.
Dad:  I'm Friday.  Come over Saturday and we'll have a Sundae.
Child:  {rolling eyes}

Anyone else familiar with that one?
I had seen so much cute ice cream ideas on Pinterest (click here to see my party ideas board), I just had to go with an Ice Cream Parlor theme.
This lucky little girl gets TWO parties this year!
One for Daddy's family
And one for Mommy's family
Because you can never have too much ice cream, right??? 
I used the My Memories Suite to make the invitations.  It was so easy!  And they look like I spent a lot of money on custom invitations.  The best part, I made them as a 4x6 so I can just have them printed off at Costco as a standard picture.  And I just so happen to have a coupon for 50 free prints.  Score!  Adorable free invites!

Now I'm off to play with a new toy that came in the mail.  Lots more Ice Creamy goodness to come.  I promise!