leprechaun gold straws

this is how my brain's been lately:

i just can't seem to get a grip on stuff and 

my mind's all over the place.

i think it's dumb hormones but 

i will combat this by making a simple 

st. patty's day craft using this:

i got the cupcake kit from marshall's

and the gold straws from paper source 

that you can get here.

this is from target this past christmas
but you can use any ole gold washi tape.

here's the cupcake kit up close:
i adore meri meri stuff.
it always makes me so merry merry :)

anyway, all you have to do is mix and match the supplies above to get your st. patty's day holiday straws.

just hold the topper to the straw,
leaving room to sip the straw on top
and tape away.

for the next kind of topper you will need to do this:

that way the topper will sit right to the straw.

these little guys are even printed on the back.

love it :)

so make a bunch and be leprechaun lucky.

using these toppers for straws instead 

of cupcakes saves on the calorie count.

unless you use them for a high calorie shamrock shake with whipped topping and sprinkles and a green cookie next to it...

rainbow filled shamrock brownies

hey do you guys know that naked cake fad?

y'know the cakes with just the frosting 

in between the layers.

what else were you thinking of?

never mind...that's what's called tmi.

lol

anyway, those cakes are beautiful but i really 

don't have any occasion to make one.

so with st. patty's day comin' up,

i decided to make mini ones.

only i used brownies instead and 

made them into shamrocks.

like so:

it's pretty self explanatory.

 this mold's from jo ann fabrics.

this mix is from the grocery store. lol

the brownies come out real thick:

so while they cool,
grab those rainbow colors &
color your frosting (i just used canned frosting).
then cut the brownies in half,
frost as shown,

top it off with the other half,

grab a cute topper like this from marshall's:

and your brownies are as good as naked gold.

err i mean a naked cake.

err i mean a naked brownie...

err i mean whatev and let's just 

eat the thing already. lol

shabby chic baby girl shower

well this one's epic.

at least for me it is.

i've been talking about a 

certain baby shower for awhile and 

as promised, today's post is all about 

that day i prepared for awhile ago.

i've done hundreds of parties over the years 

and i guess the more you do stuff 

the better you get an eye for how and what to do. 

so i put forth all i had into 

what you are about to see.

so without further ado,

ladies and ladies and a few gents maybe,

may i present to you:

a quick look at the food,

but 'round here, desserts are always first.

the party was for my friend's daughter and was held

in their huge lanai area.

those desserts are sitting right 

smack in the middle of the lanai

on top of a pool table covered in 

insulation board.

everything you see i made and had or bought, 

except for this:

ain't she a beauty?!?!

the mom-to-be got it from a local baker.

with everything i had to do,

there was no way i was signing up 

to make the cake too.

i mean, even transporting it from 

bakery to pool table was stressful, 

as you can see here when dad-to-be 

delivered it himself and said a certain 

"s word" as it slipped and hit his shirt 

when he laid it on the cake plate.

oopsies!

i thank my lucky stars i had 

NOTHING to do with that cake. lol

anyway, i did make all the rest 

as you can see here, and some i did make 

a recent post about it if you care to check out 

the archived stuff i made here on this blog.

so here ya go:

baby face macarons, 

strawberry chocolate chip cookies,

oreos using candy molds,

gotta have brownies at a party,

and cake pops to match the centerpieces,

personalized pretzels in mom-to-be lindsey

and baby-to come olivia names 

with little chocolate bows.

and finally cheesecake cups and dipped rice krispies which i put out last minute 

cuz i wanted to keep them cold.

that's what went in the 

empty domes you see here:

oh never mind, here ya go:

i had to cover up the desserts and not have them available til after lunch.

man they couldn't wait to dig in though, 

and being in the center of the party sure didn't help any sugarholic self-control issues.

so here are the pink tables:

and the party favors up close.

that's a little fold up box in the lower left pic to put some desserts in to take home

for later since there was so much available.

and here's the decor i made except for the candles in the top left corner

which mom of mom-to-be made. 

aren't they cute?

this table was at the entry way for guests 

to sign with their fingerprint

on a purchased etsy fingerprint tree that 

mom-to-be bought.

there was a game table too.

along with a basket of prizes.

and a create-your-own-headband-for-the-baby table.

grandpa-to-be made that pvc headband stand.

it's awesome isn't it?

oh hey you hungry yet?

i mean, we did eat dessert first

but how 'bout some hor d'ouevres?

and now that that's done, 

we can finally get to the main meal:

chicken salad with and without croissants, 

cucumber dill sandwiches, caesar salad, 

pasta salad, mac n' cheese,

meatballs, and deli and antipasto platters. 

ok now we are all full.

and that was how the 60+ guests ended their day.

(they had a hello welcome sign in the front too 

that's not pictured cuz i took 513 pics altogether (?!?!?!?) and am still

a little tired from going through them all.

not to mention i had my son's 13th bday party 

the weekend before with 22 kids.

with another 200+ pics i took.

holy schmoly,

i feel like a baby in need of a really 

good meal and a diaper change.

i think the photo props i got/made 

for the guests kinda summed up my mood 

when it was all over...

someone tell those grandmas-to-be that those are bibs.

and that i needed one for the drool i had 

from passing out after it was all done...

can't wait to have another party!

baby face macarons

happy 2 days after heart day everyone!

hey every day's a celebration right?

speaking of celebrations, 

if you're familiar with these parts,

 you know i had a big baby shower for a friend recently.

and at that big baby shower,

i made an overload of custom treats.

and yes i know i just did a macaron post 

but i wanted to show you these.

cuz lemme show you that there were more 

babies than one "about to pop" at the shower:

these were made from the recipe i used when i made 

these, these, and these.

don't let macaron baking scare you.

it's kinda like making 

candy for the first time, 

you can read and read and research 

and research and research 

but honestly, you have to get a "feel" for the batter just like any other craft you do.

i have yet to get a feel for sewing, 

as my straight sew lines look like a winding road. :>P

anyway, i digress.

here's how i put these babies together:

well there ya go.

a nursery of macaron babies 

and not one of 'em are crying.

is that even possible?!?