{Rainbow Sherbet Party} Ice Cream Social

We recently celebrated my niece's 18th birthday! Eep! I said 18. Wow, I feel old. Anyway, she wanted to celebrate at a local ice cream shop that had just opened, however the lines have been redic lately, so I asked her about an ice cream party. She agreed. And I helped plan!
For Jasmine's social, I found an adorable and FREE ice cream printables set. Yes! I said FREE AND ADORABLE! I got it from Emmy + Gabbie Paperstyles and it's the FREE Ice Cream Social Printable Party Pack in Rainbow Sherbet!!! Using the party pack, I made a banner, cupcake toppers and tent cards for the ice cream toppings. To bring the party together, we made ice cream cones from balloons and construction paper. All other supplies were purchased from the 99¢ store. I'm sure you could find similar at the Dollar Tree. We bought pink and neon green ice cream bowls, matching balloons, utensils, paper plates, table covers, and napkins. I also used some leftover items from Isabella's Sweet Shoppe like the paper lanterns, cake and cupcake stand, and plastic ice cream cones.

For dinner, my sister served up Hawaiian food, and of course ice cream for dessert. We had vanilla, strawberry, java and chocolate ice cream along with chocolate, strawberry, and caramel syrup. Toppings included chopped Oreos, chocolate chips cookies, toffee, walnuts, sprinkles, Reese's Pieces, bananas, strawberries, whipped cream, and cherries. We even had ice cream sandwiches dipped in sprinkles, brownies, and cones. Yum! And we couldn't forget the cake and cupcakes! EVERYTHING was delicious! And I think everything came out cute. If I do say so myself ;0P

Here are some pics...

Halloween Treat!

With Halloween in just a few days, I wanted to share a recipe you could use for any holiday, occasion, or just because. It's from the craft queen herself, Martha Stewart, and they're called Brownie Bits. I have not made these, but I will! They seem easy, but not easy enough for me! I would make a few small changes like use a box brownie mix, I would cover them in candy melts, and drench them in sprinkles that match the occasion. Or put a stick in 'em and you've got brownie pops! I can't wait to give these a try! Yum! And if you give them a try, let me know!

photo: marthastewart.com

{DIY} Cake Pops!

These things are addicting! And easy to make! I made them the other week as favors for Isabella's Baptism, and they went like hot cakes! A person would have one, and tell another person to try it, and everyone was asking how I made them. By the end of the night, we only had a handful left, until my niece took them all. They were seriously sooo good. I got phone calls days after asking about them, and would I make them for people. I used Bakerella's recipe, but with a few teeny-tiny changes. Here's a small tutorial on what I did, and used.

I used Devil's Food Cake boxed mix, a can of Cream Cheese frosting (It's not the same frosting in the pic...oops!), and Nestle White Baking Chocolate. Makes about 50 pops.

I baked the cake according to the box directions and let it cool completely. I then broke it into pieces and placed into a food processor where I blended the cake 'til I had small crumbs. I then dumped the crumbs into a big bowl. I had to repeat this step three times 'til I crumbled the whole cake.

With the crumbled cake in a big bowl, I then poured a little more than half the jar of cream cheese frosting in, and started to mix with my hands. I mixed 'til I could form a giant cake ball.

I got out my cookie sheet and an actual tablespoon, from my stack of measuring spoons, and started scooping out tablespoon-sized balls, rolling them in my hands, and placing them on a cookie sheet.

 

After my balls were made, I covered them in saran wrap and I let them chill, in the fridge, over night.

The next day I heated the white chocolate baking bar in my Little Dipper crock pot. I heated the bar according to the directions on the bar's wrapper.

I began by sticking the sticks into the balls. I would dip about 1/2 an inch of the stick into the white chocolate and then into the ball. And line them back up on the sheet. I let them set up a little before the next step.

To cover the balls, I would hold the end of the stick, to the side, and drizzle the white chocolate over the entire ball, and tap the excess off. Sorry no pic. Too consumed in making pops!

I would then pour the sprinkles on, stick them in foam, and place them in the fridge to set up. By the time I was done, I was able to pull the first batch out and start bagging the pops.

There you have 'em! Delish cake pops! I HIGHLY recommend the Devil's Food cake with Cream Cheese frosting. I found this to be the best flavor combination. I will definitely be making more of these suckers. Yum!