Oscars {last minute party}

I wasn't going to do anything for the Oscars but after seeing the free printable from HWTM my hands started to itch! So I gathered some party props from my daughter's movie night party and made some treats for my family to enjoy while watching the big show!

The "guests" arrived in a limo and had VIP treatment! 

We had pizza cupcakes, red velvet cupcakes, veggies, red hot candy,  popcorn and a cold cut platter. 

It was a fun night, too bad that the "guests" didn't stay awake for the whole show! ;)

Free Oscars printable: HWTM

Styling, food and photography - Crissy's Crafts

Cupcake Wars Party

My daughter loves the Cupcake Wars show on the Food Network so when the time came to plan her 13th's birthday,  she new exactly what theme her party was going to be: Cupcake Wars! She planned  the party to be just like the real show, with teams competing against each other on the cupcake taste and presentation. Since the party was the same weekend as Mardi Grass, the teams had to create cupcakes for the Mardi Gras event that was going to take place the next day at our house(We celebrated a Brazilian Carnaval the day after her party). Each team received their own t-shirts and they made cupcakes pins to adorn them. They also received all the supplies they needed to make 24 cupcakes, like cake mix, sprinkles, cupcake liners, spatula, bowl and mixer to name a few. 

I made  tissue poms and used the fun printable from Bird's party to decorate the table.

For the sweet table, we had marshmallow cupcakes, gum ball cupcakes, cinnamon kettle corn, cupcake cookies, brigadeiro(chocolate fudge), Girl Scout Thin mints cookies (my daughter's favorite) and chocolate cupcake pops. To display the sweets, I used baking trays and cooling racks from the dollar store. Before they hit the sweets, they had tacos and chips and dip. 

Girls were divided in 2 teams and each team received the supplies to bake, decorate  and display 24 cupcakes. Both teams received the same supplies to make a Mardi Gras cupcake display.  They also came up with their team name, Crazy Bananas(yellow team) and Green Ninjas(green team). They had 2 hours to complete the task. My younger daughter, son, husband and I were the judges. At the end, we tasted their cupcakes and watched their presentation. Crazy Bananas won for presentation and Green Ninjas for best cupcakes. 

 I was so pleased to see that the girls really had a lot of fun and they used team work to accomplish they task.

Party Favors:

Girls took home some cupcakes and goodies from the sweet table in a cute paper bag with a label that said: "Thanks for baking with me".

 I was so pleased to see that the girls really had a lot of fun and they used team work to accomplish they task.

Styling, food and photography - Crissy's Crafts

Printables - Bird's Party 

Mardi Grass cupcake toppers for the challenge from The TomKat Studio

Carnaval Celebration{Brazil}

 We had a small get together to celebrate Carnaval! I always try to keep my native culture alive even if we live miles and miles away from Brazil. The guests were able to try some goodies from Brazil like an assortment of bonbons, bis(chocolate wafer)and brigadeiro(chocolate fudge). We also had a brazilian barbecue and caipirinhas(brazilian drink). We all had a great time and it felt that I was back in Brazil! ;)Enjoy the pictures!

To learn more about Carnaval, click HERE.
Great info about Brazilian barbecue HERE.
Recipe for Caipirinha, HERE.
Mari Grass cupcake topper from The TomKat Studio

Vintage Valentine's Party

For sometime now I have been in love with vintage style, so when Bird from Bird's Party contacted me asking if I would like to style a party using their new Vintage Love Birds printable, I was in heaven! Bird designed the most adorable printables that match exactly with what I had in mind.

DECOR

We had an outdoor party since the weather here in the Phoenix area has been so beautiful for the past few days. For most of the props, I already had them around my house, but I did hit a few thrift shops to find small treasures for my sweets table. The gorgeous vintage ribbon garland was made by Nancy from AtoZCelebration. I used one of my trellis to hang some mason jars filled with silk pink hydrangeas as a backdrop for my cupcake table. 

DESSERT/FOOD

I used the desk from my daughter's room to display all the yummy treats. When I think of Valentine's day, flowers and chocolate come to mind instantly! So I tried to have treats that was chocolaty. Some treats include chocolate bonbon(from Brazil), dark fudge kettle corn,oreo cakesters, strawberry chocolate filled marshmallows, love birds chocolate cupcakes and chocolate dipped puffs. Most of the goodies were store bought and I just found ways to make them look more festive!

I also had some healthy snacks like whole wheat love bird sandwiches and vegetables shots. All of the children followed the rule that they needed to eat healthy before they attacked the sweets!

I set up a large table for the girls to sit while they enjoyed the treats. I made a flower for the table's center piece out of soda cans and I also made the cute DIY vintage napping rings. The girls were trilled that they were able to use the real napkins!! I found brand new lace napkins at my local thrift shop for 30c a piece!

ACTIVITIES

Because this was a party for two different age groups(ages 8 and 12), I had 3 activities for them to choose from. The most popular one was "Steal my heart game", where the children started by removing hearts from a bowl using only their chopsticks, and then placing the candies in front of them. When time is up, the player with the most candy hearts wins. We also had a "Make a Valentine's Bracelet " and "Make You're Beary Special frames".

PARTY FAVORS
The children took home the bracelets that they made inside cute metal tins that were embellished using bird's printable, DIY pillow favor boxes and pink organza bags filled with kisses, M&M's and Hershey's Miniatures.

I also used the printable scrapbook paper, cupcake toppers, printable cut-outs and editable buffet cards from the collection to embellish the dessert table items like the white frames, the cupcakes, the wooden birds and the doily banner.

Vendors credit:

Party Styling: Crissy's Crafts 

Valentine's Printable Collection: Bird's Party

Love Birds Cupcake Topper: Edible Details 

Vintage Ribbon Garland: AtoZCelebration

Girls hairbands: Vintage Rose Wraps

Poms: Pom Flair