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

Easy Little Party Tip- Cute Colorful Containers!

If you're like me and hosting parties and playdates and family get togethers with a bunch of small kids, then a lot of your food ends up being boring everyday packaged grocery store faire like string cheese, fruit snacks, and the ever-popular and oh-so-lame goldfish!  The genius about these items is that they're cheap and easy.... and they'll actually get eaten (unlike the fancy homemade granola bars you found on Pinterest and slaved over the night before!).  The not so great thing is that they are about as exciting as the crackers smashed in the bottom of your diaper bag.  Well, since things like this are can't-be-helped staples, here's an easy tip for how to make these (and anything else, for that matter!) look fun and feel special.... even when they're not!  

So now for one of my easiest party tips ever... CUTE COLORFUL CONTAINERS!  
Add these little containers to your table to add a fun pop of color and make even boring treats look festive and appealing!

Photo by Kelly Little

Start by picking up some little pails..... You can find these anywhere and everywhere and for every season!  Check out the dollar bins at Target first.  Last year I bought some cute red, white and blue polka dot and striped tins there for cheap that were perfect for July 4th!  Hobby Lobby, Party City, and Michaels all have great selections too, and they're usually $0.99-$1.99 a piece.  The summery tins featured here were in the party section at Hobby Lobby.

For this playdate, I also found this cute large bin at Michaels, and, with my 40% off coupon, it was a great bargain.  I stuffed an old deflated inner-tube (seriously!) in the bottom to fill up all the space, then covered it in ice and stuck a layer of water bottles and Capri Suns on top.  So much more fun than a grubby ice chest!

(But don't feel like everything you're serving needs to be in a fun container.  A little row of colorful tins in front of your other goodies will be enough to add some pizazz to your table.)

And just for fun.... here's another example using cheap plastic rainbow-colored pails to make ordinary snacks look cute and fun!  These were from Party City and filled with simple treats like animal crackers and goldfish (my fav!).  So easy!

Photo by Kelly Little

Photo by Kelly Little

Happy Little Party ! !

Father's Day Cupcakes

In honor of Father's Day, I am featuring "We Love You Dad" Cupcakes made with some leftover fondant I had on hand.  I just made plain vanilla cupcakes (actually, to be honest, I had some leftover cupcakes in the freezer!!) and added buttercream frosting in a flat swirl using tip 2D.  Then I just placed the fondant cut outs on top!

Photo by Kelly Little

I am so grateful for my 2 Grandfathers that were always a constant and loving presence in my life, my own cool and loving Daddy, a kind and generous Father-in-law, and now an amazing and exceptional Daddy for my twins.  And another special shout out to my Brother-in-law for being such a kind and caring daddy to my 4 nephews.

Thank you for being great examples of what husbands and fathers should be! 

Photo by Kelly Little