Are You Ready for Some Football??.... Part 2

Part 2 of my Football Season Kick-Off is an even easier version of the basic FOOTBALL CAKE!

I wanted to whip up something fun and easy for my nephew's 9th birthday, so I just made the basic football cake using the Wilton First and Ten Football Pan.  After baking and icing the cake, I just painted a cake board with a little cup of green icing and then plopped the football cake right on top.  Then I piped the lace details on the football and jazzed up the cake board with my nephew's name and a border.  It's a lot like the cake I featured yesterday, but a LOT less cake and a LOT less work!  

For some reason, this football cake is really easy to ice smooth!  Don't bother using a star tip... way too much work!  Just give it a quick layer of icing getting it as smooth as you can, and then stick it in the fridge for 20 minutes.  Then give it another quick layer of icing and use your fingers to pat it smoother.  Simple as that!

Happy Little Party!

Are You Ready for Some Football??.... Part I

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!

It's officially FOOTBALL SEASON!!  So, in honor of this awesome time of year, I will be featuring a couple of fun and, more importantly, EASY football cakes both today and tomorrow.  These cakes were made using the Wilton First and Ten Football Pan.  Seriously, y'all, this pan is so easy to use, and this cake is also really easy to ice!

I read all sorts of message boards about how to use this pan before I tried it for the first time, and, trust me, skip all that reading and just BAKE IT!  I was nervous about it not cooking evenly, etc, etc, and truly, all you have to do is just stick it in the oven.  Both times I've used this pan, my football has turned out great!!  

I made the first cake I'm featuring for my dear friend's sweet little boy's 3rd birthday party.  This is a Football Cake on top of a 12x18 sheet cake.  It is a vanilla sheet cake iced smooth with green buttercream icing.  And, actually, the football is iced with vanilla buttercream also... I just tinted it brown!  I iced the football on a cutting board first, and then just carefully plopped it onto the sheet cake.  

Funny story... I decided to put a big number "3" on the cake, so I thought I'd just use my extra brown icing.  My hubby warned me that it was going to look "gross," but I didn't feel like tinting more icing, so I moved forward with a, "thanks honey, I know what I am doing" attitude.  I got that brown 3 on there and wanted to cry... Hubby was right!  It looked like it belonged in a toilet!  I wanted to cry!  So I meticulously and painstakingly lifted that dirty brown 3 off this cake and went about tinting a batch of red icing.  Thank goodness it turned out okay!  

Anyway, back to the cake....

Here's how you make it... 

Blend any cake mix you like with 3 eggs, 1 cup of water and 1 stick of melted better.  Beat on low for 1 minute and then on high for 1 minute.  NOTE- using this recipe makes a boxed cake mix a little denser which will help keep your football in tact!  

Pour 5 cups of batter in your greased up football pan (I like to use Wilton Cake Release), and then place your pan on a cookie sheet.  Stick the whole thing in a 350 degree oven for 50-55 minutes.  Afterwards, let it cool for about 10 minutes, level the "hump" of the cake, and then flip it over onto a wire rack.  

Here's what my chocolate football looked like after baking.... so cute! 

Once your cake cools completely, just ice away!  It's pretty easy to get this cake iced smoothly.  Once you've covered it in brown (or chocolate) icing, use tip #16 to pipe the white icing details like this:

Isn't it fun?!?

Tomorrow's FOOTBALL CAKE is going to be even EASIER than this one.  It's just a basic football without the sheet cake... simple and easy, I promise!  I am in the middle of making it right now for my nephew's 9th birthday... STAY TUNED!

Summer is (basically) Over.... it's Party Time!

Hello Friends!

Well, summer sure did fly by!  I'm sorry for the unintentional summer hiatus... how did our low-key summer end up being so busy?!  But school has started, soccer has kicked-off, dance classes are on the horizon, and it's offically party season at my house!  

Even though it'll probably be 110 degrees today, I'm getting excited about Fall.... which for me means birthday parties, football parties, and eventually holiday parties (yes!)!!  I am so excited for all the things coming up, and I can't wait to share them with you.  I'm working meticulously on my twins' 3rd birthday party, and I am so pumped to share all these fun ideas and the final outcome with you.  And I am working on a lot of sweet cakes to share with you over the next couple of weeks.  It's going to be SO fun!  

Anyway, I'm back in action, so I hope you'll check back often for fun little party ideas!!

xoxo, 

Kelly

GIRLS NIGHT.... IN!

Need a night with just the ladies?!  How about a Girls Night IN!

This night was all about fun with the girls as hot pink and zebra print set the stage for cupcakes and cherry vodka limeade martinis!  YUM!

All the girls came dressed in their PJ's for this relaxing night in... we had pizza, ate cupcakes, drank delicious cherry vodka limeades in sugar-rimmed martini glasses, and laughed until we cried.... what a fun night! 

The drinks and sweets took center stage on our table with extra touches of confetti, a handmade flower ball and candles.  Before the guests arrived, we added sugar rims and cherries to all the glasses for a bright pop of color.  Scroll down for how to rim your glasses and how to make a festive flower ball!

One of my favorite touches was the sugar rimmed martini glasses.  They're just so girly and fun!  And who knew making COLORED SUGAR could be so easy!  

Here's what you do..... throw the desired amount of sugar in a ziploc bag.  Dip a toothpick in pink gel food coloring (I used Wilton brand found at Michael's, Walmart, etc), and add the gel to the bag of sugar.  Then just shake, press and toss around until the color has dispersed.  So sweet and easy!  

To make the sugar stick to the glasses, we dipped the rims in the cherry juice then rolled it in the colored sugar.  

And for the final touch.... I just love this FUN FLOWER BALL!  It is surprisingly easy to make and can be done in any color you can think of!  I made this hot pink one just for fun one day, and was so happy with how cute it looked on this Girls Night table.  It added the special touch we needed!  Click here for the tutorial I followed to make it.

This turned out to be such a memorable night with the girls... and ended up being way more fun than going out!  We had lots of girl talk, played games (Never Have I Ever, anyone?!) and even recruited my husband for a hysterical round of Catch Phrase!  

What a..... HAPPY LITTLE PARTY ! ! !

Lingerie Cake

I had so much fun making this lingerie inspired cake for my lifelong friend's Bachelorette Party & Lingerie Shower!  It was way bigger than necessary, but big cakes are just way more fun than small cakes!  

Almost all of the bustier cake ideas I found online were made with fondant, but I really wanted to try to make this all buttercream.  I'm so happy with how it turned out!  

Cake and Photo by Kelly Little

To make the cake I used my Wilton Sports Ball Pan and a 12x18 sheet pan.  I had planned to make just one sheet layer, but the first cake was a little thin, so I ended up layering 2 sheets together.  In total, I used 7 cake mixes to make this cake!!  I used my favorite boxed mix recipe for Vanilla Cake from TidyMom.com.  This makes a soft but slightly denser cake than using the recipe from the box... which makes carving a cake much easier!

Here's how I pieced it together....

Cake and Photo by Kelly Little

After layering the sheet cakes and adding the "bra top," I carved the sides and top of the cake to look like a bustier.  

Cake and Photo by Kelly Little

 Then came the icing....

Cake and Photo by Kelly Little

And decorating.... it's funny how decorating the cake is the quickest and easiest part of all!  And most fun, of course!

Cake and Photo by Kelly Little

Cake and Photo by Kelly Little

Cake and Photo by Kelly Little

So much fun for a Lingerie Shower or Bachelorette Party!

Happy Little Party ! ! !

Easy Little Party Treat- Ice Cream Sandwiches on a Stick!

Who doesn't love a classic ice cream sandwich?!  It's a childhood summer staple!  With a stick and a little sprinkle, these mini ice cream sandwiches become fun and festive party treats!  I served these at a summer playdate, and they were a huge hit among the kiddos AND the moms....

Photo by Kelly Little

Here's how to make them... this LITERALLY took me a total of 5 minutes!

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 dozen mini ice cream sandwiches
- Rainbow Sprinkles (find them on the ice cream aisle end cap!)
- Popsicle Sticks

INSTRUCTIONS:
Lay wax paper on a cookie sheet.  Pour sprinkles on a plate.  Unwrap an ice cream sandwich and carefully slide popsicle stick into one side.  Pat ice cream sandwich on the sprinkles on the other 3 sides.  Lay sandwiches in single layer on the wax paper-covered cookie sheet.  Put in the freezer until ready to serve.  

Note- You'll want these to be a little soft when covering in sprinkles.  I made these right when I got home from the grocery store, so they were the perfect softness.... 

Photo by Kelly Little

You can also replace the sprinkles with pretty much anything!  Try different colors or shapes of sprinkles... how about Red, White and Blue for 4th of July!  Or pastels for a girly party?!  Super fun and simple!

Happy Little Party ! ! !

Little Party Feature- BABY BOY Orange/Teal Chevron Transportation Baby Shower

Check out this adorable baby shower that Kate Dicker, Codi King and Cari Powell put together for a sweet mommy friend and her soon-to-arrive baby boy!  They followed the theme of little Graham's nursery... orange, teal, chevron and transportation!  The result was modern, bright, sophisticated, and baby all at the same time!  

Some of my fav little details....

How beautiful are all these orange and white flowers scattered throughout the party?!  So chic and elegant!  They also served as prizes for the shower game winners.  And I love all the boxes wrapped in chevron paper... this is a great, easy (and cheap!) way to add dimension, color and pattern to your decorations.

And that teal punch is too cute!

I love all the fun transportation details on the food table.  How adorbs is that lego truck?!  My son has the same one, and I never realized how cute it could be as a food container.  Very creative!   

The chalkboard wall sign is one of my favorite details of the party... it just so happens that the hostess has this in her kitchen, and I love how it is incorporated into the shower with the theme as well as fun party games! 

Also, the darling personalized onesies clothesline was a hit... and the expectant mommy was so excited to take them home for her baby!

The mommy-to-be was also thrilled to take home the burlap banner to hang in the nursery!

AND COMING SOON.... a DIY tutorial for how to make this fun burlap banner... with a printable template!

Thank you, ladies, for letting me show off your super cute baby shower!

Happy Little Party ! !

All photos in this post by Kelly Little