Snow day party!

I loved this sweet little party by Cari of Socially Circled. Cari is a fellow party planner, and her talent shines bright in the details of this Snow Day party for a client's 3 year old, Alex. Beginning with a red and blue color scheme chosen by Alex's parents, Cari went to work creating a fun-filled party for toddlers and their parents alike.

Cari's plan of action was to have plenty of activities for the kids, a tastefully design featuring mittens and snowmen, and of course, yummy food for everyone. She says, "The food table was complete with all things yummy and white! Rice Krispy 'snow' balls, Snowflake shaped white chocolate covered pretzels, powdered donuts, white chocolate peppermint bark, white cheddar cheese balls, snowflake and mitten shaped cookies...the list goes on!"

One of my favorite parts of Cari's design is the "Hot Chocolate Bar" and "Alex's Snow Day" letters cut from felt on the tablecloths. What a great DIY project! Print out some large letters on your computer and cut them out. Then trace them onto felt, cut each letter out and attach it to a tablecloth. Adorable!

Party activities for little ones are a must, and Cari did a wonderful job of keeping the kids busy. With an mitten ornament-making activity and a "make your own snowman treat," the kids had plenty to keep them occupied. And best of all, they left with a wonderful keepsake to remember Alex's party.

Thanks so much, Cari, for posting this wonderful party. If you'd like to read more and see more photos from Alex's birthday, visit Cari's blog.

Sources:

Photos: Holly Kittle Photography

Invitations & Centerpiece flag: The Purple Pug

Kandy Kones: Celebrate Today...the Superchick Way!

Inspiration Photos: Party Frosting

Online Party Consultation & Custom TableTop Drops: Social Circles Shoppe & Soirees

Cake: Piece-A-Cake Bakery

Envelope Wraps (not shown): Blush Printables

Mini Gable Boxes (not shown): Party Starters

Snowman Handprint Ornaments

If you are anything like me you might be feeling a little wistful about the craziness of the season and how you'd like to slow down and spend some quality time with the kids. That mama-guilt thing is treacherous!! Well, I've got a cure-all..... a sweet family project sure to be a great way to make a memory. Just look at these Snowman painted handprint ornaments from Eighteen 25 .

Just a few small canvases, some paint, paintbrushes, ribbon and sharpie markers and you've got a fun craft and adorable keepsake to hang on your tree. Remember to sign and date them on the back, too.

And just in case you are having trouble finding small canvases, you can always try this version from Twigs and Curls using a small wood plaque.

Have fun and make sure to share your crafts with me on FACEBOOK -- I'd love to see all of your creations!

Snowman Fun - Part 2

And now for the second installment of SNOWMEN FUN!! There are some super cute ideas in this post from all around the web -- I hope they inspire you all to take a break from the cold weather and have a little indoor snowman fun this winter.


Family Fun has an fun idea for your snowman party -- Snowman chair covers. They have a tutorial with a little sewing involved, but I think it would be a little easier to use a white pillow case and then glue some felt pieces and buttons or pom poms on.

Now who wouldn't love to dig into these sweet snowgirl and snowman milkshakes from Whisk? I still can't get over their adorable-ness! The perfect drink for you snowman table.

And I certainly can't leave out Bakerella and all of her creative culinary perfection! Snowmen cake pops with Oreo hats would fun on a dessert table or even wrapped up as a sweet little party favor.

Snowman shots from Babble look super easy. Make them before the party and set them on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Then all you have to do is pop them out to serve.

Here's a simple little craft that might make a fun party activity, a snowman ornament from Craft Passion.

Craftbits has a cute snowman ornament craft that could be a fun party activity and favor as well.

I just loved this picture, and then unfortunately didn't copy down the link. I have searched and searched but it's lost somewhere on that world wide web. If anyone can help find the source, please let me know, but isn't it the cutest??

And another yummy snowman treat -- this one from Food Create using ice cream, chocolate chips, a marshmallow, a chery and Twizzlers.

Snowmen Treat Bags from Crafts by Amanda would be a fun party activity, too. Have all of the pieces cut out and ready for the kids to glue onto an ordinary white paper bag. Then they can use it as a favor bag as well.

Adorable Snowmen Cupcakes from Meet the Dubiens make me want to go to my kitchen right now and start baking! How adorable!

You might have seen these snowmen cupcakes from All You with their sweet little ear muffs.

And Betty Crocker has a great snowman cupcake, too. I love how simple all of these ideas are using items you probably already have in your pantry.

And if you are in a hurry, these couldn't be more simple from iElixa.com .

Wouldn't your kids just love these cuties?? Snowman cupcake pops from My Little Cupcake with their precious hats and scarves would thrill my little ones!

These look pretty simple to make from Cupcakes Take the Cake.

And another cute marshmallow snowman treat from Keen Cakes this version uses a decorated sugar cookie as a base.

And I'll end with one of my favorites -- Mr. Melty cookies from Chic Cookie Kits just bring a smile. How ingenious!

I hope you all have a great day today -- get those presents bought and wrapped soon! It won't be long before Christmas!

Snowman Fun - Part 1

What says winter fun more than SNOWMEN? They're cute, cuddly, and simple to make, too. From desserts to ornaments to crafts and more, snowmen are everywhere on creative blogs and websites this year. With so many adorable and inspirational ideas out there, it's a great time to throw a Winter Wonderland party, a fun Brrrrr....thday party or to invite some neighbor kids over to have a few treats and make a snowman craft.

Using the Shindig Parties TO GO's Let It Snow printable collection makes it easy to turn your home into a winter wonderland quickly, too. The collection includes all the party items you'll need from cupcake toppers, to food label cards, signs and more. And don't forget about the Let It Snow Birthday version, the perfect party Snowman Invitation and the Snowman party banner, too.

Isn't it cute?? A little red, blue and green.... some stripes, some polka dots and of course, a whole lot of cutie-pie snowmen, and you've got a fun and festive gathering.



Wouldn't Shindig's Marshmallow Snowman Treats be fun to make for the party, too? They're really simple.... even the kids could do it.


And look at "Defrosty the Snowman" from Yum Sugar. It just makes me laugh - adorable! It's just melted white candy coating, some mini chocolate chips, a rolo and a candy corn. Sounds simple to me.



Wow! How creative -- a snowman smore from The Adventures of Mrs. Reagan. Perfect for a fun party activity, too.

How easy and cute are these snowman desserts from Better Homes and Gardens using a ...... get this..... Hostess Sno Ball! Yep, it's that easy. Roll a marshmallow into a ball and insert a toothpick for the head. Use some food markers to make a cute face and waa-lah..... adorable snowman dessert.

And look at these great ideas for snowmen centerpieces or even punch bowls. The first one is from Chris at Celebrations at Home. Chris uses mini fish bowls, some felt, googley eyes and adhesive gems to create this adorable little snowman centerpiece.

And how great is this snowman punch bowl from Better Homes and Gardens? Surrounded by mini marshmallows and filled with everyone's holiday favorite eggnog, this is a great example of how fabulous doesn't have to mean time consuming or expensive.

Marzipan powdered sugar snowmen from Good House Keeping are almost too cute to eat. If you don't want to use marzipan, I think you could re-create something similar using powdered doughnut holes like the next couple of cuties.

Very Heatherly has one cute version with lots of added powdered sugar for snow.

And Family Fun's even simpler version would be perfect for preschoolers.

Coconut-rolled ice cream desserts from Martha Stewart bring a whole new meaning to Cake and Ice Cream!

Snowman Pretzel Sticks from Family Fun would be a fun party treat, or wonderful to wrap in cellophane and give out as favors at the end of your winter party.

Snowmen Oreo Pops from This Chick Cooks would make a great party favor, too.

B Franklin Crafts has an adorable idea for gifts or party favors.... Snowmen head mason jars.

And another mason jar snowman favor bottle can be found at Weeping Cherries. These would be adorable to send home full of candy or other treats for your guests or maybe even a fun craft for the older kids at the party.

I hope these ideas inspire you to throw your own Winter Snowman party or maybe just to take an afternoon and make a fun treat with the kids. Stay tuned for even more cute snowmen ideas tomorrow!

Our Christmas Card

Since my Christmas card printer messed me up this year, and I'm just now getting my Christmas cards in the mail, I thought I'd go ahead and post it for everyone to see. I ordered these on Nov. 28th and they just came to me yesterday! Don't get me started on how a company called "Overnight Prints" can take 3 weeks to get Christmas cards to a customer! Yikes!! But they did finally arrive, and I think they turned out pretty cute.

I've been so busy this year, I just didn't seem to find the time to take the annual Christmas card family photo shoot, so I took advantage of Auburn's amazing season and our victory party down at Toomer's Corner after the Iron Bowl game where we beat Alabama to take a few shots. I still can't believe I put that family photo on the back of the card -- Mama had on NOOOOOO makeup! You know I've been busy when I'll send out photos sans makeup!!

What a great year to be an Auburn Tiger!! I hope you enjoy the pictures!

The front of the card -- my little War Eagle Auburn babies!

The inside

And the back side

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

And make sure to mail those cards -- we all love receiving them!

Christmas Cupcakes Roundup!

There are so many great ideas out there on the web for Christmas treats. Yesterday I did a post on some of the fabulous cookie and candy ideas, and today I thought I'd concentrate on everyone's favorite -- The Cupcake! Most of these are do-able, even if you're not a baking-decorating-fondant kind of girl -- some are probably better left for the professional baker. I had to include those, too -- they're just so pretty! So here's the list..... I hope you've had breakfast already.....

Be still my beating heart, Bakerella! What a gorgeous cupcake you can make! The girl can do no wrong in my eyes.

And is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen?? Sugar Daze has created one fantastic cupcake with their Santa going down the chimney.

And so very simple, but oh so "charming" is this North Pole cupcake from One Charming Party . I might just have to make these for my son's kindergarten class.

The Cupcake Oven has a beautiful assortment of fondant cupcakes -- just look at that reindeer!


Hoosier Homemade has some adorable elf cupcakes. I think the kids would LOVE these! Maybe that silly little elf everyone has on their shelf could help you make a few of these.


Sweet Scarlet's Cakes and Cupcakes makes a simple but beautiful Christmas tree cupcake using lots of green tinted frosting and a fondant star topper.

Cupcakes Take the Cake features a sweet snowman cupcake from Dollop Gourmet that looks pretty easy, even for the kids. A little frosting, a few marshmallows, a orange gumdrop nose and some pretzel arms. Cute - cute!

Another favorite.... these Starlight Mint cupcakes from What's New, Cupcake? What talent that lady has!

Whipperberry is a favorite blog stop of mine as well. Just look at these gorgeous but simple cupcakes she featured from Sweet Street Cakes. Katie uses a molded chocolate snowflake as an adorable topper for her double chocolate fudge cupcakes.

Whew, That was alot of sugar! I hope you all enjoyed the round-up!