Rubber Ducky Inspired First Birthday Party

My dear friend and colleague organized this quack-eriffic party for her daughter, Madison's, first birthday. I was so thrilled and humbled to be able to share my ideas with her and inspire her to do this for her daughter. I know the memories of this fabulous party will last forever and her daughter will love it when she grows up and is able to understand how much her mommy ROCKS...and that she is the ONE!!

 

This fantastic dessert spread included a mix of candy, bakery-bought goodies and homemade treats. You might recognize the foam glitter letters from our Pop Diva Party. The backdrop was made from 2 inch circles, which were threaded onto fishing string.

 

Madison's mommy designed the graphics herself and had the large sign printed to coordinate with the smaller paper elements.

 

The cake was made by a local bakery, San Antonio Cake Art.

 

The cupcakes were store-bought, then topped with cute little rubber duckies.

Madison's mommy used a duck-shaped candy mold and yellow Wilton candy melts to make a cute little pond full of edible ducks. 

 

DIY rice krispie balls, topped with some chocolate and sugar sprinkles

made for another yummy treat.

 

She also made these duck-shaped rice krispie treats. To make, simply spread your rice krispie mixture into a cookie sheet, then cut with a duck-shaped cookie cutter and dip in yellow candy melts.

 

To add height to the dessert table, she topped some old candle sticks, painted yellow, with large rubber duckies.

 There was also plenty of candy in co-ordinating colors!

 

Madison had her very own "smash cake" too.

Scroll to the bottom to see photos of Madison enjoying her cake!

 

Since there were so many sweet treats, Madison's mommy put out empty mason jars for the guests to fill with candy and take home as party favors.

Her very talented aunt painted this giant sign on butcher paper!

These centerpieces were made using Styrofoam balls and feather boas, similar to the Truffula Trees from our Lorax-themed party.

 



I love the use of the ping pong ball "bubbles" in these centerpieces.

How clever!

 



 

There was plenty to eat and drink, including devilish duck punch for the grown-ups!

 

 

Similar to the "Fishing for Humming Fish" game from our Lorax-themed party, one of the party games involved fishing for rubber duckies out of a large inflatable paddling pool. 

This game was definitely a favorite with a lot of the children!

 

 

There was also a photo booth to entertain the older guests...

...and giant bubble wands to entertain the younger guests! 

Madison had a blast with her smash cake!

The adorable high chair was found (in poor condition) at a vintage store, then painted and decorated in coordinating colors.

 

 

What a great job!! Madison is so lucky to have such a wonderful mommy!

 

Credits: Photography by Kathy Tam Photography. 

Vendor Spotlight: MJ Tabush Sweet Designs

I am so thrilled to have stumbled upon MJ Tabush Sweet Designs, a relatively new shop on Etsy. MJ Tabush is the creative force behind this Etsy shop and she designed the cupcake toppers and the fondant figurines for the birthday cake for the Lorax-inspired party.

I was literally speechless when I opened the package from her and found these delightful fondant figurines. They were abosolutely gorgeous! Every detail was perfect, especially the eyes.

 

While there are many Etsy shops specializing in fondant cupcake toppers, what I love about MJ's shop is that she can also design 3d fondant figurines for your cake, so everything looks coordinated and pulled together.

Here are some more of her designs from her Etsy shop.

The "Up" inspired cake topper below is my absolutely favorite design from her shop. Just look at the attention to detail. It's amazing!

You can buy these toppers and numerous others over at her Etsy Shop.
Happy Shopping!

Super-Easy Super Bowl Cupcakes

Here's a quick tutorial/recipe that I meant to post last year, but never got around too! :-)

Ingredients:

Cupcakes, made per your favorite recipe

Cream cheese or butter cream icing, made per your favorite recipe

Sweetened coconut flakes

Green gel food coloring

Fondant icing

Brown gel food coloring

Circle cookie cutter

Make a batch of cupcakes using your favorite recipe. Pipe cream cheese or butter cream icing onto the cupcakes, leaving aside a little extra icing for the final step of this recipe.

To make the “grass”, mix the coconut flakes with a few drops of green gel food coloring. If you have trouble getting the color to spread evenly, add a few drops of water. Top your cupcakes with the grass.

Add a few drops of brown gel food coloring to a small ball of fondant icing and kneed. Roll out and cut into circles using the cookie cutter.

Off-set the cookie cutter and cut through each circle again. You’ll end up with a football shape.

Pipe the lacing onto the football using a fine tip and the icing you set aside. Place the fondant football on top of the coconut "grass".

You're all set for game day!

Lorax Party, Featured on HWTM!

I am SOOOOOO excited that Sohan's Lorax birthday party was featured on Hostess with the Mostess this week. Click here to see the post.

http://blog.hwtm.com/2012/11/truffula-tree-inspired-lorax-birthday-party/

I'm in party heaven! :-)