{Party Inspiration} Apples, Apples!

I love Fall! The colorful leaves, the crisp air, and all of the delicious APPLES! Yes, I said apples. There is just something so wonderful to me about fresh, fall apples. Don't you agree? I was inspired by the recent cool down in Virginia and ready to style a Fall-themed party. My mind naturally focused on an APPLE theme (apple cider, candy apples, cider donuts...) and this is what I came up with for my inspiration:

An Apples, Apples! Themed Party Inspiration Board

This apple-themed party would be fun for a back-to-school celebration, an apple picking party, a fall birthday, or just to celebrate the season with your family and friends. What comes to mind when you think of Fall?

Image Credits:
1. Apple Cupcakes: What's New, Cupcake?  2. Apple Invitation: The Homespun Hostess  3. Candy Apples: Wedding by Color  4. Apples Sign: Hello Naomi  5. Cider Donuts: Handmade Simple  6. Apple Wreath: Faux Flora  7. Apple Plates Craft: Two Shades of Pink  8. Apple/Floral Centerpiece: Style Me Pretty  9. Apple Cider: Google

Carnival Mini Edible Designs

I am excited to announce that the Sheek Shindigs Etsy Shop is in the process of adding some great new products to help make your next Shindig one to remember! One of my favorite new products are these Carnival Mini Edible Designs. These edible decorations are flat-printed edible designs that can be applied to many food items (cakes, cookies, cupcakes, ice cream cakes) for a finished, professional look. They are prepared with edible food colors and absorb moisture from food products, becoming soft and melding with the food item that it is being applied to. They DO NOT contain: wheat, milk, eggs, fish, shell-fish (crustaceans) peanuts and/or tree nuts, are gluten free, and Kosher Certified.

So, what can you do with these fun, edible designs? Here is a suggestion: Upgrade your favorite small cookie!

White Chocolate Carnival Mini Cookies

1. Prepare your favorite cookies or use pre-made. TIP: make sure the cookies are no larger than 1.5” in diameter to fit into a chocolate or candy mold with 2” cavities.

2. Place Carnival Mini designs face down in the cavities of your candy mold.

3. Fill a parchment triangle with a melted chocolate to fill the mold. TIP: don’t use a metal tip in the bag, as its coolness will stiffen the chocolate too quickly.

4. Press cookies into the chocolate before it sets up; top off with melted chocolate if necessary. TIP: tap the entire mold on a counter top to level the chocolate.

5. Let set, and then remove coated cookies from the mold.

The final result is sure to impress!

Visit the Sheek Shindigs Etsy shop, here, to view this product and others, here. And don't forget to check back...more are coming soon!

{What's Cooking?} Double Chocolate S'mores Cupcakes

 No summer is complete without a few S'mores filled nights, especially if children are involved. While I have indulged in my share of the original form, I just recently tried my hand at the newly popular cupcake version. The other week I came across an original s'mores cupcake recipe over at Martha Stewart from Jennifer Shea of Trophy Cupcakes.  While Jennifer's recipe is AMAZING, I wanted to simplify her version, making it a little easier for my kids to help out with the preparation process and allowing us more time to enjoy the yummy treat. I combined Jennifer's graham cracker/chocolate crust and topping with a box of Devil's Food Cake and an easy-to-whip-up Marshmallow Frosting. Here is what I came up with:

Double Chocolate S'mores Cupcakes

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 20 squares...I used my food processor)
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- miniature Hersey bars
- 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips, coarsely chopped
- 1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix
- 1 8 ounce container Marshmallow Cream
- 3/4 cup softened butter
- about 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
- Combine graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, and melted butter in a large bowl. Stir until combined.
- Spoon approximately 1 tablespoon of the graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each muffin cup and pack using the bottom of a small glass. Reserve the remaining graham cracker mixture for the topping.

- Place a miniature Hersey bar in each muffin cup on top of graham cracker crust. Place muffin tins in the oven for about 5 minutes, until crust is golden and chocolate is melted (the chocolate may hold its shape...just spread the melted chocolate out over the graham cracker crust). Remove tins from the oven.

- Prepare Devil's Food Cake mix as directed and fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full with cake mixture.
- Combine remaining graham cracker mixture with chopped chocolate chips and sprinkle over each muffin tin, completely covering the top.

- Return muffin tins to the oven and bake for about 18-20 minutes, until tops are firm and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place muffins on a wire rack to cool completely.

- Prepare Marshmallow Frosting: Mix 8 oz of Marshmallow Cream with softened butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla using an electric mixer on low speed until thick and creamy. Top cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting and Enjoy!

* A facebook follower suggested filling the cupcakes with the Marshmallow Frosting instead of topping them with it. I love this idea as well!

{What's Cooking?} Ice Cream Cone Cakes!

Here's a fun twist for your next Ice Cream Party: Ice Cream Cone Cakes! Get the look of an ice cream cone without worrying about the melted mess. I want one!

Image: My Recipes

These would be perfect for a summer party, playdate, or just because you want to brighten someone's day. They will definitely be making an appearance at our house before the end of the summer! Here's how you can make some to enjoy yourself:

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup baking cocoa
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg white
• 10 flat-bottomed ice-cream cones
• Frosting (see recipe, below)
• Optional: colored sprinkles, 10 maraschino cherries with stems

Directions
- Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.
- Beat butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat at low speed after each addition just until blended. Stir in vanilla. Add egg white, mixing well.
- Fill cones to within 1/2 inch of the top; carefully place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes; cool completely on wire racks. Spread evenly with Frosting. Top with colored sprinkles and a cherry, if desired.

Frosting Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons buttermilk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add buttermilk; beat until spreading consistency. Stir in vanilla.

Recipe and images from myrecipes.com

Teacher Appreciation Gift Ideas

There are so many great Teacher Appreciation Gift Ideas floating around out there. Here are some favorites from two of my favorites, eighteen25 and Living Locurto:

Thanks a "latte" Gift Card Holder
I love this idea from eighteen25 for the teacher that loves her cup of coffee. Click on the link for complete DIY instructions.

Ice Cream Sundae Cupcakes
What better way to celebrate a wonderful teacher than with a cupcake! And since an ordinary cupcake just won't do, Living Locurto came up with one that is sure to stand out. Don't worry, it won't melt on the way to school. Visit Living Locurto here for the recipe and free printable tags as well.



You Deserve Chocolate!!
Everyone loves getting chocolate, right? Eighteen25 has a cute printable and DIY instructions on how to dress up a chocolate bar for your favorite teachers.



Treat Jars
Okay, you no longer have an excuse for not sending in something cute to your child's favorite teacher this week. This treat jar idea from eighteen25 is cute and super-duper easy to put together.



A BIG thank you to eighteen25 and Living Locurto for all of the great ideas and tips AND to all of the wonderful teachers out there that are so deserving of our appreciation! I hope that these ideas help put a smile on your favorite teacher's face this week!

{Real Parties} A Cupcake Themed First Birthday Party

Get ready...this week is going to be full of Real Party features! The first feature of the week is one of two sent to me by Sara of The Homespun Hostess (the second will also be featured this week. Stay tuned!). Sara created a Cupcake Themed First Birthday Party for her daughter that was inspired by an adorable cupcake dress from Momi Boutique. I love all of the cupcake details throughout the party. So cute. So colorful. So FUN!


A Cupcake Party Hat and Sara's "inspiration" dress:


Some of the fabulous cupcake-themed party decor, which included signs, noisemakers, cookies, and cupcake truffles.



The party favors were bubbles that were beautifully dressed in tissue paper, scrapbook paper, and ribbon. Love them. And aren't the party hats fun!



It looks like someone enjoyed their birthday party!



You can see more of this party at The Homespun Hostess, here. Thank you for sharing your daugther's party with Sheek Shindigs, Sara. I look forward to sharing Sara's other party submission later this week.

*Photographs of the party were taken by Maggie Russo

National Capital Area Cake Show

Thanks to the hubby, I was able to have a girls morning out yesterday with a great friend at The National Capital Area Cake Show. This was my first time at the event and I really enjoyed seeing ALL of the amazing talent that is out there.

The event featured displays of cake and cupcake artwork, vendors, a bake sale, and ongoing demonstrations and classes by world-class sugar artist. There were also Live Cake and Cupcake Challenges that occurred later in the day. Maybe next year I will be able to catch those. I did participate in a hour-long cupcake decorating class with my friend, Mindy. We learned different icing techniques as well has how to work with fondant. Mindy already has mad cake/cupcake decorating skills. I, on the other hand, came away with a few great tips as well as a greater appreciation for the art of cake and cupcake decorating. I think that I will stick to event design! I came away from this event inspired by some pretty creative pieces (and feeling refreshed from a girls morning out!). Here are a few of my favorites: How cute are these Apple Basket CUPCAKES. Yep, they are cupcakes. I know...amazing. Scrabble, anyone? The detail was amazing on this cake. This masterpiece was created using Edible Image decorations. I was not familiar with this type of product prior to the event and was amazed at the endless possibilities that it offers decorators. L-O-V-E this silhouette cake! If I recall correctly, a Silhouette Machine was used to create the images on this cake. How cute would this be for a birthday party! *I wish that I was able to give credit to the artist that created the cakes/cupcakes above. Since they were on display for the challenges, they were numbered and not labeled with specific vendor/artist information.*

A Cupcake Shooters Container Giveaway!

A few weekends ago I had the privelege of getting together with a group of amazingly talented women that are local to the Northern VA, DC, MD area. It was a lunch date filled with inspiration, motivation, and information, not to mention GREAT company! One of these fabulous women was Kate of CupKate's Event Design. I liked Kate from the beginning, but I LOVED Kate after she introduced me to a fabulous new cupcake concept: Cupcake Shooters! I am not sure where I was when these popped up, but I am so glad that I know about them now. Thanks Kate!


Aren't these a brillant idea! What a fun twist on the traditional cupcake for your next Shindig. They could be the main dessert attraction or stand on the sidelines as a fabulous party favor. My own kids tried them out and gave rave reviews. They loved the "fun" factor and I loved the fact that they eliminated the usual crumbly, icing- covered mess that a "normal" cupcake leaves in our house. Major bonus! In addition to offering amazing full party design, custom dessert tables and online event consultation, CupKate's Event Design is now selling push-pop containers over at Etsy. Now you can make your own Cupcake Shooters for your next Shindig!


CupKate's Event Design is this week's Giveaway sponsor and will be awarding one lucky follower with 2 dozen push-pop containers! Here's how you can ENTER TO WIN:

Become a follower of Sheek Shindigs (if you aren't already) and ...

1. Become a follower of the CupKate's Event Design blog, here, and leave a comment that you did so.
2. "Like" Sheek Shindigs on Facebook and leave a comment that you did so.
3. "Like" CupKate's Event Design on Facebook and leave a comment that you did so.
4. Post a link to this Giveaway on your Facebook page and leave a comment that you did so.

This giveaway will be open to entries from now (March 16th ) until Wednesday, March 23rd at 11:59 pm. You must be a Sheek Shindigs follower (or become one) to be elegible to win. Each person may enter up to 4 seperate times. A random winner will be chosen and announced on Thursday, March 24th. So...go check out these fun push-pop containers at the CupKate's Event Design Etsy shop and enter to win!

Good Luck!

{Etsy Shop} St. Patrick's Day Toppers

Only two more weeks until St. Patrick's Day. Are you ready to celebrate? Let Sheek Shindigs help bring a little happiness and LuCk to your celebration with our new St. Patrick's Day Cupcake Toppers, now available in the Sheek Shindig's Etsy Shop.


There are two design options available and yes, you can mix and match! Stop by and check it out, here.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

I love the week of celebration that always surrounds Dr. Seuss's Birthday when you have younger school-aged children. From the decorated Cat in the Hat hats that come home to Pajama Read-In Day and Wacky Wednesday at school, there is always so much FUN associated with this week. Whether you are helping with a classroom celebration or just introducing the great Dr. Seuss to your children for the first time, Katie of Good Life Eats put together some great ideas for celebrating Dr. Seuss's Birthday.

Everyone loves to celebrate with cupcakes, right? Well Katie created these fun Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes for a Seuss-like celebration. LoVe them! You can get Katie's instructions, here.

Katie also created these adorable Dr. Seuss Marshmallow Pops. So easy to make and so cute!



For more fun recipes and ideas to help celebrate Dr. Seuss, visit Good Life Eats here. Have fun celebrating. Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

HAPPY Cupcake to Go {Local} GIVEAWAY!

If you follow regularly, you know that I absolutley LOVE finding local talent that I can share with my followers to help them make their Shindigs as fabulous as possible. Today's featured business will do just that! Let me introduce you to Northern Virginia's newest Cupcake Shop "on wheels":

"HAPPY Cupcake To Go is a full service cupcake shop "on wheels", where the creativity is put in to the customers' hands and the convenience is unmatched! With HAPPY Cupcake To Go, you have the option of choosing delectable cupcakes from a vast array of irresistible flavors or you have the ability to be creative and customize mini cakes for your special event or occasion. From simple and sweet, to layered and filled, or piped and topped; the ideas are endless. To top it off, all cupcake orders will be delivered right to your, or your recipient's, doorstep". What an amazing idea, right? One less thing to have to run out and pick up the next time you are planning or hosting an event. Talk about convenience!

Owner, Kristin Idle, knows first hand the pleasure of convenience. With a family that is always on the go, years of experience in project planning and marketing, a love for baking, a knack for detail and style, and a sweet tooth that won't quit!, starting a business that meshed all these qualities into one seemed natural... and so became HAPPY Cupcake To Go!


HAPPY Cupake To Go offers a heavenly variety of "standard" cupcake flavors as well as a Seasonal Happy Dozen and Mini Cupcake options. All cupcakes are baked fresh on the day of your order, using only the finest ingredients to ensure that the quality of each cupcake is unmatched. Here is a little glimpse at some of the yummies that HAPPY Cupcake To Go offers:





HAPPY Cupcake To Go is sponsoring this week's local GIVEAWAY! If you live in Fairfax, Loudoun, & Prince William Counties (VA), you are eligible to win a GIFT CERTIFICATE from HAPPY Cupcake To Go for 4 Dozen Mini Cupcakes and FREE Delivery! (Gift certificate is valid until 6/30/2011 and is limited up to 2 cupcake flavors)

This GIVEAWAY will be open until from now until Tuesday, February 21st at 11:59pm. One random winner will be chosen and anounced on February 22nd, 2011. To enter to win:

Become a follower of the Sheek Shindigs blog (if you aren't already) and...

1. Visit the HAPPY Cupcake to Go website, here, and leave a comment back at this post with your favorite flavor(s)

2. "Like" Sheek Shindigs on Facebook and leave a comment that you did so here

3. Follow HAPPY Cupcake To Go on Facebook and leave a comment that you did so here

4. Post about this Giveaway on your Facebook page (with a link) and leave a comment here letting us know that you did so

** You may have a total of 4 enteries to win!! **

Good Luck!!

{Party Inspiration} Painter's Palette Cupcakes

I love it when I come across "something" that instantly puts fun new party ideas into my head and inspires me to create. It's even better when that something comes from local talent. Last week I came across a picture taken by Kristin of Kristin's Creative Cakery, a new local business that specializes in buttercream creations. I immediately fell in love with and was inspired by Kristin's Painter's Palette Cupcakes and wanted to share them with my readers. Aren't they fabulous!



Kristin created these cupcakes for her daughter's pottery painting birthday party. Did I mention how much I LOVE them? Kristin took a simple idea and turned it into something that is really creative and fun. Luckily for me, Kristin agreed let us in on how she created these inspiring Painter's Palette Cupcakes (I was really curious about the paintbrush).

Kristin used buttercream frosting that she dyed in various colors to top the cupcakes. She then placed them on palettes that she ordered from Blick Art Supplies (you should be able to find these at any craft store). The paint brush's handle was made from a bread stick and the bristles were made from shredded tootsie rolls, which she first flattened with a rolling pin (use corn starch to prevent sticking) and then cut into strips. Finally, the red ring around the brush is a piece of Fruit By the Foot. Easy to DIY and super creative. LOVE it!





You can visit Kristin's Creative Cakery on Facebook here to see more of what this new business has to offer. Thanks for the inspiration, Kristin! I see a paint-themed party somewhere in my future.

Candy Cane Christmas Tree Cupcakes

Oh my CUPCAKE! Are these not the cutest little creations ever! I was browsing one of my absolute favorite sites for inspiration, Bakerella, when I came across this creation. These Candy Cane Christmas Tree Cupcakes would be perfect for a preschool or playgroup Christmas party. I just love them!



You can find the step-by-step instructions on how to make these Bakerella cupcakes here.
And while you are there, check out all of Bakerella's other fabulous ideas. There's lots of them!

Fab Find: Cupcake Carrier

This week's Fab Find is a tried and true Sheek Shindigs favorite. The Progressive Cupcake Carrier will make your life so much easier when you have to transport (or even just store) cupcakes for your next shindig. This tiered carrier can hold up to 24 cupcakes (or a layered round cake). It features cool little finger indents on each side of the individual cupcake holders to allow for easy cupake removal and it collapses to half its original height for easy storage.



I have used my Cupcake Carrier many, many times over the past year and can proudly say that I haven't had any cupcake casualties yet! This would make a great holiday gift for your favorite hostess, baker, or fellow mom (yep, great for transporting cupcakes to the classroom for birthday or holiday celebrations).



And don't forget about yourself. If you don't already have one, add it to your holiday wish list! For more details, check it out here.