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The Best Chocolate Cupcakes EVER
Happy National Coffee Day! Today, I wanted to share with you my go to recipe for chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting. It takes only 30 minutes to make two dozen and tastes like what dreams are made of. The secret ingredient is… coffee of course. The cake is a doctored cake mix recipe from Kakeladi’s Original WASC cake. This is the base for most of the cakes I bake. I have tried all kinds of cake recipes through the years, some from the box, some totally from scratch, but found that this recipe resulted in the best taste and texture. This cake also can be made ahead of time (I…
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Hello Kitty Halloween Birthday
My youngest recently turned five and requested a Hello Kitty Halloween Birthday. Here is how we pulled it off using simple supplies, little expense, and not much time (as we celebrated her big brother’s birthday just the night before). As usual, I made some themed party signs and craft templates that are free to download below. Hope these ideas and printables can be helpful and fun for your kids too! Decorations: I used white paper plates we already had and adhered them to the wall to quickly create Hello Kitty. I used poster board scraps in black and yellow to cut out her eyes and nose. I made a simple…
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Princess Kitty Birthday
Our middle daughter recently turned seven and requested a birthday party based on her current favorite book series, Itty Bitty Princess Kitty by Melody Mews. The stories feature an endearing kitty named Itty who lives in Lollyland with her parents and is best friends with a unicorn, butterfly, and bunny. There are thirteen books in the series so far with a fourteenth one set for release early next year. The books navigate many topics in regard to friendship, how to treat others, and be true to yourself. It also features grumpy fairies, mermaids who sing the time, and magical places where treats grow on trees. It’s no wonder these books…
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Saint Patrick’s Day Party
Here are a few easy, quick, and affordable ideas to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. Hoping these ideas and printables may also be helpful and fun for your classroom or home as well! Decorations: We used a plastic black bowl from the Dollar Tree, a green pool noodle, and my daughter’s old tap shoes to create this easy and quick leprechaun leaping into a pot of gold. The legs are attached to wooden chopsticks which are inserted into a brick of floral foam that is hot glued to the base of the bowl. We added cut up gold streamers (also from the Dollar Tree) and went through our Christmas ornament stash…
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Under The Sea Birthday
Recently our oldest daughter turned nine and requested an under the sea themed birthday. Being just a few weeks after Christmas, it is always a challenge getting her birthday ready and special for her. Here is how my kids and I created an easy and affordable birthday party to celebrate with her family and friends. Hoping these ideas and printables may also be helpful for you and your kids whether you are planning an under the sea birthday party too or setting up an ocean themed study for your class. Decorations: When planning, we always start by looking at what we already have. This is especially true after Christmas when…
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Frozen Fourth Birthday Party
Our youngest daughter recently turned four and requested a Frozen themed birthday. She loves Olaf and thinks it is the most hilarious thing on Earth how he loves summer. Here is how my kids and I created an easy and affordable birthday party to celebrate with her family and little friends. Hoping these ideas and printables may also be helpful and fun for your family! Many of these ideas could also be used for an after school activity or playdate in the winter… or summer as well! Decorations: My kids helped me to glue cotton balls onto clear fishing wire to create snow falling in our kitchen. They simply dipped…
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TMNT Birthday
Cowabunga! My oldest recently turned eleven and requested a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pizza party for his family and friends. Here is how we celebrated using simple supplies, little expense, and not much time (as his little sister’s birthday was just around the corner). I also made some printable crafts, photo props, banners, and food labels that are free to download below. Hoping these ideas and printables can be useful and fun for your ninja fans! Decorations: We stuffed the arms and legs of a TMNT costume with pool noodles and added a green balloon on top to create Leonardo doing the splits above our fireplace. My kids helps me…
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Fruit Birthday Party
Recently my middle daughter turned 6 and requested a fruit themed birthday. Bright, sweet, and very orange-inal, it was a fun theme that reflected my daughter’s personality. Here is how my kids helped me to put together an absolutely pear-fect, easy, and inexpensive birthday party to celebrate with her family and friends. Hoping these ideas and printables can be helpful and fun for your family too! Decorations: I really loved these ballon fruits from Oh Happy Day. She makes the funnest things out of balloons. My kids helped me to blow up various balloons we had leftover from past parties and cut out leaves from construction paper to make these…
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Timber Rattlers Party
Recently, we threw an end of the season celebration for my son’s little league team. They were the Timber Rattlers. Here is how we quickly set up a simple, inexpensive, and fun party in our home to celebrate a group of 10-year-old little leaguers. Hoping these ideas and printables can be helpful to you if you are either celebrating a baseball team or hosting a snake or reptile theme party. Decorations: We made large swirly snakes out of poster board. I purchased this pack of poster board from Walmart and used an extra black piece I had. As a child, I used to make swirly snakes from paper plates by…
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Derby Party
Here are a few easy, quick, and affordable ideas to celebrate Derby Day. Hoping these ideas and printables may also be helpful and fun for your classroom or home as well! Decorations: My kids helped me to create these easy and fun rose suncatchers to decorate. I made a template for the roses that is free to download below then printed them out onto black cardstock. I cut the insides out, overlapped the circles and then placed contact paper over everything. Here is a quick video tutorial of how to make them: The kids went to town adding cut up pieces of red tissue paper for the roses and green…
