Star War's Party ... Bring on the Cupcakes (Hold on to your cloaks we have 6 characters)

I warned you yesterday that today would be a long post, we have 6 cupcakes to get through so hold on!  I know stop shaking your head at the screen I can't help myself I just want to try everything and then I end up over doing it.  And then of course you have to make 12 to 15 of each so then you end up with like 80 cupcakes ... hehe!  I had enough to give everyone at the party one, one in the gift bags and then left overs that BOTH Cole and Caden's class got one for lunch on Monday.

I made a very simple Moist White Cake recipe found on Cooks.com for the cupcakes (click the link for the recipe didn't want to overwhelm you with recipes ... lol).   I made a batch of my Sturdy Buttercream that we tinted orange, green, black and of course left some white (click the link and it will take you to the recipe I posted a few weeks back).

I bought Wilton Star War's Cupcake Liners on Amazon (50pk $4.96)

Cupcake invasion

Can you believe it took us 6 1/2 hours to frost & decorate all of them.

WHO am I kidding of course you can.

STOP shaking your head at me ... lol

My favorite Cupcake The Ewok Cupcakes

So I have to start with my favorite cupcake, just because it was so stinking cute.  I found this idea for the Ewok cupcake on My Clutzy Cooking.  I think our's turned out so cute and by all the kids that asked for this one I know it was a hit!

What you need:

Cupcake

Orange Frosting

Crushed Oreo's (or generic like me because I'm cheap)

Mini Oreo's

Black frosting for eyes & nose (you can use candies or brown icing)

1. Frost cupcake with a knife to make a smooth finish.
2. Crush Oreo's with a food processor (or in a bag and crush with rolling pin). Pushed some crushed Oreo's on as the face.
3. Pipe on hood-line (we used a grass tip to look like fringe). 
4. Put two mini Oreo's in as ears. 
5. Pipe some black frosting eyes and a nose on.

Next was my runner up for favorite cupcake, it really turned out fabulous!  My friend April made a REALLY simple Rolled Buttercream Fondant found on food.com which was then dyed green and we used the cookie cutters I bought to cut out Yoda's.  I was so going to go with one we made his face but I must say this was so cute and the fondant was so FREAKING easy.  Compared to the marshmallow fondant I made for the Lego Party last year that had marshmallow goo all up my arms and hands.

First start with the Rolled Buttercream Fondant

Ingredients

• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup shortening
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, clear
• 2 lbs confectioners' sugarWilton's Gel Food coloring

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the shortening and corn syrup. Mix in the salt, food coloring and vanilla flavoring, then gradually mix in the confectioners' sugar until it is a stiff dough. If you are using a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment. Otherwise, knead by hand. If the dough is sticky, knead in more confectioners' sugar until it is smooth. Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
2. To use, roll out on a clean surface that has been dusted with confectioners' sugar until it is 1/8 inch thick or thinner if you can. Drape over frosted and chilled cakes and smooth the sides down, or cut into strips to make bows and other decorations.

What you Need:

Cupcake

Green Frosting (I used my favorite Sturdy Buttercream I posted about)

Rolled Buttercream Fondant (dyed Green)

Yoda Cookie Cutter (I found a 4 piece set on Ebay)

Once your fondant is rolled and ready to go take your Yoda Cookie Cutter and punch out the Yoda's.  We had a lot of fondant so we ended up with around 20 Yoda's ... lol they were so cute so we went with it!

April my amazing friend perfected the Princess Leia Hair and they came out so much cuter then one's I made for the classroom party. She actually added some frosting then laid the black licorice rope down, instead of trying to put frosting on each end like I did and did a hope and prayer that it would stay down (insert face palm).   I also used the white melts this time instead of the almond bark and I must say they were so much smoother and nicer looking.

PREVIOUS Princess Leia Cupcakes

NEW Princess Leia Cupcakes

What you Need:

Frosted Cupcake
Oreo's - White chocolate dipped if you can find them

White Candy Melts- if you can't find the chocolate dipped oreo's

Mini Oreo's

Black Candy Melts

Wilton's Black Licorice Strings

Wilton's Edible Pens (MUST be the Candy Melt Version)

1. Dipped Oreo's in melted White Candy Melts (IF you can't find white chocolate coated Oreo's).  Put on a silicone mat in fridge to firm up.  
2. Dip a mini Oreo in melted black candy melts.  Put on a silicone mat in fridge to firm up. 
3. When White Chocolate is firm, Add the licorice strings for the hair. Added a dab of chocolate ONTO the dipped Oreo to hold them down and just made it look like hair.
4. When the licorice is set, put in fridge if you need to help firm up.
5. Add a dab of frosting to the chocolate covered mini Oreo.  Add one to each side of the face (to resemble buns).
6. When everything has set up, take a edible Pen, use black to make eyes and red or pink to make the mouth (you can make a heart and it's a cute mouth).

The Storm Trooper was a super simple one to make!  Well let me take that back at first I tried to use edible pens to write on the marshmallows but it sucked! So I put marshmallows in the freezer thinking that would help.   It kind of helped but then my friend came up with plan C.  Food Coloring + Vodka = paint!  Don't worry the vodka evaporates and just leaves the food coloring!  It was brilliant and it comes out looking so much nicer then the hand drawn ones!  We took inspiration from the Storm Trooper picture on Kitchen Fun With My 3 Boys.

What you Need:

Frosted Cupcake

Extra Large Marshmallow (Campfire One's)

Wilton Black Gel Food Coloring (stick a knife in and grab a few drops)

1/8 cup of Vodka

1. Poor Vodka in small Cup
2. Add Black Gel Food Coloring
3. Take paint brush and paint on the Storm Trooper Face.
4. Let dry add to the top of a frosted cupcake.

The R2D2 was a very simple one, just melted some blue melts into my R2D2 mold I purchased on Amazon.

What you Need: 

Frosted Cupcake

R2D2 Mold (find on Amazon or Ebay)

Blue Wilton Candy Melts (Craft Store, Walmart or Target)

Cooking Spray or Wilton Cake Release

I put the melts in the microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes, don't let them burn!  Stir them around and then put a glob in your greased mold (I use cooking spray or you can use Wilton cake release). You can put in the fridge for 1/2 to 1 hour or if a hurry like I usually am put in freezer for 10 minutes.  Be careful when taking out of the mold, they can break!  I broke off a few of the R2D2 legs by rushing.

And last we end with the Darth Vader Cupcake.  I actually made extra when I did the classroom cupcakes that I kept in the freezer until the party date so this actually was the easiest of them all ... lol.

What you Need:

Frosted Cupcake
Darth Vader Silicone Mold

Candy Melts (black)
Cooking Spray or Wilton Cake Release

I put the melts in the microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes, don't let them burn!  Stir them around and then put a glob in your greased mold (I use cooking spray). You can put in the fridge for 1/2 to 1 hour or if a hurry like I usually am put in freezer for 10 minutes.  Be careful when taking out of the mold, they can break!

So there you have it!  All Cupcakes once decorated were put into a clear plastic cup with a clear plastic bag and tied with ribbon.  I hit the Dollar Tree (well actually 3 because I swear it must be the season for parties because it was slim pickings) to pick up the clear plastic cups (10pk $1), clear plastic bags (25pk $1) and ribbon in coordinating colors ($1 each).  We did brown ribbons for Ewok, green ribbons for Yoda, teal ribbons for R2D2, white ribbons for Princess Leia and black ribbons for Darth Vader & Storm Troopers. The party had ups and downs but that was just because of the pool and poor organization on their end.  

Thanks for stopping by, if you're looking for more Star War's Themed items here is a break down of all the other items I've done for the party:

Light Saber Invites

Yoda RSVP's
Edible Ewok Gummies

Princess Leia Cookies - Cupcake Toppers
Chocolate Darth Vader - Cupcake Toppers
Light Saber Napkin Wraps
Light Saber Fruit Roll-Ups
Pool Noodle Light Saber Tuturial
Yodalicious Apple
Death Star Watermelon

Jabba Jiggler's
TIE Fighter's
Owi-Wan Kabob-ie Fruit Kabobs
Light Saber - Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods
Yoda Soda
Light Saber - Fruit Roll-Ups
Star War's - Space Rocks or Space Fish
Darth Vader Cookies or Wookie Cookie Crumbs
Leia Rolls
May the Force Be with You Gift Bags

May the 4th be with you :)

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE.

Star War's Party ... The food continues

A few more easy food items to show you before we go onto the cupcakes!  My amazing friend April who always helps me with my crazy party planning ideas helped me made SIX yes that is right 6 character cupcakes.  We made Yoda, Princess Leia, Ewok's, Storm Troopers, R2D2 and Darth Vader.  I leave you with that teaser for today, that you will see all those works of art tomorrow.

Today we look at a few of the other food ideas that were easy to do and made the party!  For the awesome Star War's Food Labels a big Thanks goes to I'm Topsy Turvy if you go to her FB page and become a friend she has in her top bar a option that says Star War's Food Labels were you can download them for FREE (it even comes with a blank one so you can write one she may not have on there).   She also has Lego Star War's invites on there if you want!  YES she rock's like that!

Now onto my food journey!

We start with Light Saber - Chocolate covered Pretzel Rods.  This is a simple 3 item's to make.  I used the large pretzel rods for the table and Cole little helper used the little rods that we ended up using in the gift bags everyone took home!  For the table I used Red, gift bags we used blue and green.  Wilton (@ Walmart - can I say again how much I LOVE Walmart carries Wilton) had a special green that was flavored Key Lime.  I used that since the color was perfect!

Here's the mini one's Cole did for the gift bags:

What You Need:

Pretzel Rods (Found in Craft Stores or Dollar Tree)

Wilton Melts (I used Red, Blue & Green - Found at Craft Stores or Walmart)

Bags & Ties (if you want to give in gift bags)

Melt your Wilton Melts in the microwave, I found for that 1 1/2 minutes is all you need for a full bag but BECAREFUL as you saw in my post a few Christmas ago it IS possible to burn Chocolate!  When you pull out of microwave give the chocolate a stir to make it smooth.  I then dipped the pretzel rods into the chocolate and made sure all side's were coated.  I put on my Silpat sheet on a cookie sheet and put in the fridge to harden up.  If you're in a hurry you can always put in the freezer (I do that when I'm using the melts in molds and need a lot done).  If you want you can pick up some small clear bags with ties at the dollar tree (40 pk for $1) to add the small ones to a gift bag.

Next on the list was the Yoda Soda.  And like how I rolled with most of this party this is ONLY two items to make!  I found this all over Pinterest but no one listed what you needed. That was until I went to Make and Take's and found this simple recipe!

What You Need:

1 Container - Lime Sherbet 

1 2 litter -Sprite

Mix the two items together let melt a bit and it is yummy goodness!  I put mine in a container with spout thinking it would be easier to clean up then a punch bowl with a spoon.  As long as you make sure the spout is closed your good.  OH yes we had a mini clean up on isle 2 (just couldn't resist the pun).

I also had the Light Saber Fruit roll-ups, that you saw on my post here (click the link for directions on how to make).

Space Rocks or can be called Space Fish.  I used Space Rocks sine the label I had was already printed, this was just some colored Gold Fish ... EASY.

Edible Ewok's that is another simple one, just put some gummy bears in a bowl!  I know I rock, save the applause until the end please ... hehe.

Darth Vader Cookies or Wookie Cookie Crumbs.  AGAIN I used the name Darth Vader Cookies because that was a label I had already printed and I was just rolling with it.  This is just some Oreo cookies crumbled, not too crumbled either broke up into half or thirds.

Princess Leia Rolls - NOW my plan was to make homemade cinnamon rolls Saturday AM.  But when the AM came around I could barely keep my head above water so I used store bought one's which did make me a little crazy since I hate to use anything store bought if I could make it myself, but I had to go with what I had.  And good thing I ended up throwing away most of them, no one ate them :(.

Gift Bags - Most of you who know me know I hate doing gift bags especially full of candy or crap toys from the dollar store.  I did put this one together because it was simple and we had so many freaking cupcakes.  It was very simple and something nice for them to take home.

What You Need-

Gift Bags (Picked up Pk 10 for $1 at Dollar Tree)

Star War's Fruit Snacks (8 pack at Fred Meyer $1)

Light Saber Pretzel Rods (gave 2 each)

Cupcake (In a cup and in a bag - for easy transport)

Put all the items in the gift bag and you're done.  You can add a cute saying like let the Force be with You or you can print a Star War's Label and glue on each bag (I found a ton of free printables on Pinterest you could use).

Re-Cap of the Food:

Thanks for stopping by, if you're looking for more Star War's Themed items here is what I've done so far:

Light Saber Invites

Yoda RSVP's
Edible Ewok Gummies

Princess Leia Cookies - Cupcake Toppers
Chocolate Darth Vader - Cupcake Toppers
Light Saber Napkin Wraps
Light Saber Fruit Roll-Ups
Pool Noodle Light Saber Tuturial
Yodalicious Apple
Death Star Watermelon

Jabba Jiggler's
TIE Fighter's
Owi-Wan Kabob-ie Fruit Kabobs

May the 4th be with you :)

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE.

Star War's Party ... Food - Jabba Jigglers, Obi-Wan Kabob-ie Kabobs & Tie Fighters

Well we talked about the craziness at the pool yesterday's post for the party so let's go on to the food made!  Here are a few really simple recipes to make that are right on point for the theme!

We start with TIE Fighter's, 3 ingredients and you have the coolest little finger food!  I found a picture on Clean and Scentsible for TIE Fighters.   She had a little blurb on how to do it, I'll break it down below to give you a better idea for those not visual like me.

Items Needed:

100 calorie Oreo wafer cookie packs

mini marshmallows

chocolate 

Alexis Note: I had black chocolate melted left over from Princess Leia Ears but you can use white or even any frosting.

Dip one end of a mini marshmallow into the chocolate press onto a wafer cookie.  I used a small spoon (actually a baby spoon) to add another drop onto chocolate on the end of the marshmallow the is facing up (see picture).  Press another wafer onto this side of the marshmallow.  You have a wafer on each side of a marshmallow (see picture).  Done, I told you it was easy!

Next was the Jabba Jigglers, make green jello and you are done.  I know it's freaking so easy! I found a picture on Bringing up Burn's Blog for Jabba Jigglers.  She had her jello cut up into small cups.  I found mini cups at the dollar store that came with lids.  I just poured the jello into these cups and bam ready to go and easy to transport!

What You Need:

Small Cups (Found at Dollar Tree - cups with lids 15 for $1)

Green Jello

Water (Hot & Cold according to the box)

Make the green (lime) jello according to the package.  I then poured it right into the small cups added the lids, put into the fridge to set up.  All done, I swear I found the coolest things that are the easiest to make!

And we end with Obi-Wan Kabob-ie Kabob's, 3 items and your darn!  See I told you all super simple!  Last on Sweet Craft Cakes (found on the Catch My Party) did a Star War's party for these Obi-Wan Kabob-ie Kabob's.  FOR the life of me I couldn't find the post that had the picture I found on pinterest and instructions.  All the ones on pinterest were just the picture no link (AND you know that is so my pet peeve ... lol).  So I took the picture and ran with it.

What You Need:

Grapes (you can use green & red)

Strawberries

Wood (bambo) kabob Skewers

Wash your grapes and strawberries.  Take a skewer and add grapes I think we added about 6 grapes we had some large grapes (Cole actually did all these for me, love that little guy).  I then cut off the stems and added to each end (you want the point of the fruit pointing outwards (see picture).  Cole was able to whip these all out in about 15 minutes.  I used only red grapes, you could alternate red and green if you would like.  I bought 1 big bag of grapes and 2 boxes of strawberries, and we made I think about 15.

And my friend Brenda at Chatting Over Chocolate reminded me that I had the party on May 4th which just happened to be .... MAY the 4th Be With You .... hehe oh yes I planned it like that. LOL yup I take all credit.

Recap of Today's Projects:

Thanks for stopping by, if you're looking for more Star War's Themed items here is what I've done so far:

Light Saber Invites

Yoda RSVP's
Edible Ewok Gummies

Princess Leia Cookies - Cupcake Toppers
Chocolate Darth Vader - Cupcake Toppers
Light Saber Napkin Wraps
Light Saber Fruit Roll-Ups
Pool Noodle Light Saber Tuturial
Yodalicious Apple
Death Star Watermelon

May the 4th be with you :)

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE.

Star War's Party has been blasted off into space ...

We came, we saw, we concurred and took down Jabba!  The party was a hit, well at least I hope so!  I'm exhausted and need to go through all the pictures to show the last few items that were made for the party.  So I thought I'd give you a recap of our party!

For you who follow me on FB know that on Monday I found out through a friend (NOT the pool) that the pool was closed.  2 days of calling and finally got a human.  I was told the had a problem with the roof and it SHOULD be fixed on Thursday but no guarantee's.  MIND you I rented this room about a month and a half ago the pool I did during open swim and would just pay for each person!  So I called the pool on the other side of town (Both Part of Metro Parks).  They had availability and if I needed to switch I would have to pay the difference for the room there.  Thursday I call to see how the roof is doing to find out it was a PUMP. They installed it and the temp is not up but should be by Thursday.  Oh and by the way Saturday is our FREE swim day.  So I say well since I don't have to pay for the kids I'll just book the room another hour to give me set up time.

Saturday get the pool to find a LINE out the door ... oh yes everyone and their mother is there to swim for FREE.   CRAP (well worse words came to mind but you get the jest).  People where being turned away ... I think some of our guest may have been turned away. 

I get in the room don't even get a moment to say hi to people because I'm decorating (thankfully I was able to get in there a 1/2 hour early).  PLUS I still needed to tie bows on the cupcake (in a cup w/ the bag) and finish up a few other details.  THANK God for my Best Friend Amy and my mom busting this out for me!  20 minutes before the pool open swim is to end a manager comes in to greet me.  Odd never done this in the 4 years we've done this.  WELL she then tells me someone else rented the room!!  The lady is in the front screaming that I NEED to get out!!!

Come to find out they double booked the room BUT the lady just reserved it that Wednesday!  I repeated over and over that I had done this in advance and I WAS not leaving the room.  I had to give up some chairs and tables! I was so upset the manager made me come out there to confront this woman.  They should have saw who rented first and be done with it.  INSTEAD they put her in the hallway and when my guest had to walk by her guest (which they barely left a walk way) they made comments and nasty looks.  OH yes it was fun NOT.  I'm supposedly getting a refund, we'll see on that!

So our party was a little cramped, a ton of people didn't show up which was really a bummer but over all the food and cupcakes got high marks and everyone had smiles so it was worth it!

And some pictures!

Some shots of the food and the labels!

Kids and Food

Present time!!

And some special food made by my friend April

Yoda Apple

Yodalicious Apple...

1 Large Green Apple
1 Mini Marshmallow
Black Edible Pen
Peanut Butter
1 Tooth Pick

Take the apple and cut off the back bottom side to get it to tilt back just a bit.  Save these scraps to cut out the ears, eye lids, and mouth. Shape ears using a knife. Break a tooth pick in half and attached them in the apple with that.   Cut out the other face details with a knife or kitchen scissors and attach them on with peanut butter.  My friend used edible pen to make the black of eyes but you could use mini chocolate chips.

We found this idea for Yodalicious Apple on Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons.

A BIG thanks to my friend April for doing this!  Sorry no step by pictures I had to leave her house at 11pm after the cupcake decorating so I could get up at 5am the next morning (Saturday) for work and then get ready for the party. 

Death Star Watermelon

My Amazing friend April who did the Shark watermelon last year, did a Death Star Watermelon this year for Cole.  We couldn't find instructions so she just ran with the picture we found on Makezine's Website.  She used a sharp knife and a few tools for cake decorating to make the carvings and the opening.  I think it turned out GREAT.  it was a huge hit with the kids.

And the food Table!

So it was busy and a bit of craziness but Cole kept telling me thank you!

I promise food details to come tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by, if you're looking for more Star War's Themed items here is what I've done so far:

Light Saber Invites

Yoda RSVP's
Edible Ewok Gummies

Princess Leia Cookies - Cupcake Toppers
Chocolate Darth Vader - Cupcake Toppers
Light Saber Napkin Wraps
Light Saber Fruit Roll-Ups
Pool Noodle Light Saber Tuturial

May the 4th be with you :)

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE.

Is the party over yet? Oh Wait I'm still planning!

Saturday is the big day for Cole's 9th Birthday party.  I've been in complete party planning mode thinking I was doing really good then tonight I look at my list and around me and I'm a little freaked!  I am so excited that the pool is fixed and the party is on at the right place!  A little prayer may be needed here.

List is made

Cupcake Pans are lined and ready to go!

Cake Mix is Made

Bins are getting packed by the front door

Noodle's are by the door

Mom's Toes are a pretty copper like C-3PO

to match my shinny top for the party!

And new Wedge Shoe's for mom!

Let's say a Prayer she doesn't fall.

And then I looked at the clock and thought oh crap I must go to bed!

So we will finish up tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by, if you're looking for more Star War's Themed items here is what I've done so far:

Light Saber Invites

Yoda RSVP's
Edible Ewok Gummies

Princess Leia Cookies - Cupcake Toppers
Chocolate Darth Vader - Cupcake Toppers
Light Saber Napkin Wraps
Light Saber Fruit Roll-Ups
Pool Noodle Light Saber Tuturial

May the 4th be with you :)

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Party Planning Funny

I've been in full party planning mode as you most know and work is crazy too, we are going to a new system for our calls which means training and lot's of meetings so little time for me. So no long post today, thought I would give you a funny ecard instead.

I saw this one on the someecards website ... Well it was kind of like this but it had a swear word and I'm trying real hard to leave my potty mouth behind ... lol.  So I tweaked it and added a different image.  Now you can laugh away because you all know this is true and me to a T.

Have a GREAT day!