Peep Popcorn

When Christi from Love From The Oven announced her "Easter Recipe Contest" I started wracking my brain for ideas. Peeps and Company happens to be sponsoring the contest and my Mom is the greatest lover of Peeps known to man. If I win this, I will be her favorite, forevermore. And as the youngest of five daughters, that's a title I wouldn't mind having... And flaunting.

So here's my entry. A true ode to my beloved Madre. Peep Popcorn.

Recipe:
-1-2 Tablespoons butter
-1 Package of Peeps (The package that has 4 rows of Peeps) of your choosing, divided.
-1 bag of Microwave Popcorn. Look for the "Tender White" or "Crispy White" varieties. Using the "Buttered" flavors will result in a mushy mess.

First, pop your popcorn and seperate all of the unpopped kernels from your bowl. Melt your butter in a sauce pan over medium low heat. Once your butter has melted, add 3 of the rows of Peeps to the pan. Stir until the marshmallow melts and the sugar has dissolved. Pour your melted marshmallow mixture over your popcorn and stir to coat. Once coated, spread your popcorn onto a cookie sheet to dry. Chop up the remaining row of peeps and sprinkle on top of the popcorn as it sets.

You could also alter this recipe and use melted white chocolate to cover your popcorn and then sprinkle on the chopped up peeps.  Festive, silly and seriously delish... It will be a Happy Easter, indeed!

Chocolate Covered Oreo Nonpareils!

The other day I needed a little something to take to a girlfriend. Nothing major or expensive, just a little treat to lift her spirits. I was kind of stuck on what to bring, until I remembered my Chocolate Sandwich Cookie Mold!

With the mold, melted chocolate, Oreos and nonpareils in hand, I made these Chocolate Covered Oreo Nonpareils in approximately 5 minutes. Seriously, the easiest things I've ever homemade in my life! They're perfect for a dessert table, as a party favor, teacher gift, etc. And with all the fun color options you can find nonpareils in now, {Target has some cute Easter sprinkles in their dollar section!} you could easily customize it to fit any theme.

So, since I had such great success, I thought I'd share. You can find the Cookie Molds in my shop, here.

Push Pop Cupcake Tutorial

From time to time I hear that Push Pop Cupcakes are hard or messy to make. I happen to be the least crafty girl in all the world, so I can assure you this is not true. If I can do it, anyone can do it. But, there is a secret weapon in Push Pop Cupcake success... read on.

First, we start with the parts of our Push Pops. The Container, Stick, Lid and Pedestal.

 Assemble the stick to the pedestal first.

 Drop it through the container.

 Enter, the secret weapon. The kabob skewer.

 If time wasn't on your side and you "made" store bought cupcakes, no problem. Skewer your cupcake.

 Take off the wrapper and gently place it into the container. The skewer gives you pretty amazing control over where the cupcake actually ends up.

 You may want to use a second skewer to help get the cupcake off of the first one.

 Repeat the process.

 Success!

 The process is much the same if you were a little ambitious and homemade your cupcakes. Skewer the cupcake at an angle this time for optimal placement.

 Ice.

 Repeat.

 Success!

To purchase your Push Pop Containers, visit the CupKate's Shop, here. ; )

CupKatesEventDesign.Com!

Yesterday the new Cupkateseventdesign.com website went live! I can't tell you in words how excited I am to have the opportunity to buy and sell the party products that I LOVE.

{You may have noticed that I'm not extremely active on this page, if you haven't already, find me on Facebook for product updates, coupon codes and more!}

Pinkalicious Princess Party

Two years ago, I gave birth to one firecracker of a little girl. She's sassy and bossy. She lives for the color pink and princesses. Before her feet even hit the ground in the morning, she puts on a fancy little necklace. Many of our trips out to run errands include her sunglasses and a tutu. She's everything I ever hoped to be as a little girl. ; )

I really think birthday parties should be a reflection of your child. And with so many interests in everything frou frou and girly, I threw her an Adelynn themed party. This was all about her and the things she loves, with an emphasis on her true love of Princesses.

 Each little girl went home with a shiny pink purse. Inside was a hair bow, princess lip gloss and a candy necklace. Truly Adelynn's every day "must haves". When planning out the details of her party, I knew that although adorable, a paper cone shaped party hat simply wasn't what a true glamour girl would wear. So I made feather boa headbands for the girls to wear instead.

 These little pearl bracelets served as napkin rings and another take home gift for the girls.

 I decided to use my fireplace mantle as the dessert table. I thought this way the parents had a little more discretion over what their children ate at the party and I did not use any additional space in the room.

 If you didn't already know, Allyson Jane is amazing.

 A big thanks to Starbucks for launching their mini line of sweets just in time for Addy's party!

 A custom made cookie necklace by Allyson Jane. Yes, that necklace is totally (and deliciously) edible!

Tutu tights, really? I'd be lying if I said I didn't totally want some for myself! : P

Baby Kate modeling the "party hats".

We happen to belong to a large playgroup which is obviously made up of boys and girls. I didn't want to exclude the boys from the day, so they became our Knights in Shining Armour.

 The stick on mustache's don't necessarily have anything to do with being a knight... But, they're hysterical.

 Oh. My. Mercy! Erin from Whip it Good Cookies made these. They're adorable, right? Well, they taste even better than they look! Erin hand cut each dragon... What?? I seriously couldn't cut out a dragon with scissors and paper this well! Love, love! The cookies made it just in time to be placed at each boys seat.

So there we have it. Last year I speculated that I would be throwing her a Sock Hop this year. It cracks me up every time I think about it. WHO knew a 2 year old would be so certain about what kind of party they wanted? I'm going to speculate on next year, just for fun... I'll say, it will be Barbie. : P

A special thanks to the superb vendors who helped make Adelynn's day so special..

Photography by,
Destinee Thurston at Cellar Door Photography
http://www.cellardoorphoto.com/

Paper Products by,
Susie and Kassy from Paper in the Park
http://www.mypaperinthepark.com/

Princess & Necklace Cookies by,
Ally from Allyson Jane
http://www.allysonjane.com/

Dragon Cookies by,
Erin from Whip it Good Cookies
http://www.whipitgoodcookies.com/

Party Dress by,
Rissabella
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Rissabella

P.S. Did you notice what her party does not include?? Push Pops! By the time the party came, I had sold through every single container!