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A Well Crafted Party

{Real Party} Woodland Baby Shower

2 Comments A Well Crafted Party
I recently (January) had the pleasure of hosting a Sprinkle for some dear friends to celebrate the birth of their second child. We wanted to celebrate the upcoming birth of a new baby, but also help the couple get some much needed supplies for the new addition. 
Their first child was a boy and their second is a girl! 
We went with a Woodland Animal theme as it was also going to be the theme for the nursery.
I did a lot of easy DIY projects to help decorate for the Sprinkle. 
The baby shower was centered around sweet activities, yummy food, and the happy family.
 I am not a big fan of baby shower games. Instead of shower games I put together a few simple activities for the guests to do as they chatted and treated themselves to foods and drinks.

Pretty fresh flowers, fun fabrics, and woodland characters decorated the sprinkle.
As guests entered the room they were asked to leave a message for the family in a children’s story book.
I sent my husband to buy the book. I told him it needed to have Forest Animals in it..He came back with Bear In Underwear by Todd H. Doodler— not what I had in mind for a baby girl. But, it was a cute little book! Oh, and the underwear on the bear on the cover were made of real cotton underwear-like material.
I bought a selection of different sized onesies and left out some fabric paint and markers for everyone to decorate onesies for the new baby girl. There were some really cute ones in the mix!
One of the big focal points was the Dessert Table with cookies and three kinds of cupcakes.
We had Toadstool Cupcakes, Spice Cupcakes, and Owl Cupcakes at the party…. check back tomorrow for recipes and tips!

“Rabbit Food,” “Caprese Toadstools,” and “Tree Ring Pinwheels” rounded out the foods. Check back for recipes tomorrow!
Small Jars of Strawberry Freezer Jam went home as favors.
Seriously, how cute is this family?
Check back later this week for recipes for 
Woodland Themed Party Snacks
 and Activity Ideas for a Sprinkle, Baby Shower or Sip & See!
The adorable woodland creatures were bought in a package from Peach Pops Clip Art.
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A Well Crafted Lady

{Real Party} Fancy Pants Birthday Party

2 Comments A Well Crafted Lady

My birthday falls right before Christmas… Which means that funds are usually low and my mind is always somewhere other than on planning or enjoying a party. But, it is also among my favorite days of the entire year. I typically use it as an excuse to get dressed up and hang out with my friends. So, this year, with a lot of help from my friends, I threw together a Fancy Pants birthday party.

This is the first year I’ve used Christmas decor in my birthday party. I typically like to keep it all separate. But, it turned out to be a inexpensive and festive way to decorate. I created the paper goods for the party, created fun appetizers with the help of trader joes, made some fun signature cocktails, created a few activities, and had a great time! Over the next few days I’ll post about the recipes, decor, and activities. I’ll even add a few freebie printables so you can have your own fancy pants party!

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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A Well Crafted Pantry

{Recipe} Sweet Potato Cake with Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting

3 Comments A Well Crafted Pantry
Mmmm… birthday cake. Is there anything better?
I really enjoy making my friends birthday cakes or cupcakes. I like to play around with flavors and frostings. I like using things I have on hand or going to buy something special. I made this cake  (featured in the Rustic Birthday Party Post from yesterday) using some of the sweet potatoes that came in my weekly veggie box delivery.
And, boy oh boy was it a good use of vegetables!
The cake didn’t look perfect. My frosting job was a little wonky. But, it tasted pretty awesome.
The sweet potatoes made the cake moist. The marshmallow gave the frosting a fun kick.
Then, the crunch of the walnuts made me want another slice.
Sweet Potato Cake Recipe
Recipe loosely based on epicurious.com recipe
changes and additions made by me
INGREDIENTS:
  • 4 8-ounce red-skinned sweet potatoes(yams)
  • 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

  • Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting (see recipe below)
  • Walnuts (or pecans)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Poke yams with fork and bake until tender (about 1 hour at 375 degrees F). You can also do this in the microwave or used leftover mashed sweet potatoes ( approximately 2 cups worth). Peel yams and smash once done.
2. While yams are baking prepare a pan for cooking. You can use a muffin tin with liners for cupcakes. I used a springform pan and sprayed it with a little cooking spray and dusted it with a little bit of flour to prevent sticking. Preheat oven to 325 F.
3. In a medium bowl sift together (or put in bowl and stir around with a whisk or fork) flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. In a large bowl mix 2 cups of (cooled and mashed) yams with sugar, vegetable oil and syrup. Then mix in eggs 2 at a time. After mixing in eggs add in the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Add in vanilla extract and mix one last time. (I use a hand-held mixer, but if you are lucky enough to own a kitchen aid stand mixer then I’m sure that would work as well.)
5. Pour cake batter into prepared pan. Bake at 325 for about one hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
After the cake was done and cooled I sliced it in half, brushed the tops with a little bit of whiskey (a simple syrup would work as well) to keep it moist, and then frosted it. I put marshmallow icing and walnuts on the first layer before addign the top layer. I then frosted the entire cake with marshmallow icing and topped with walnuts.
Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting
I improvised this frosting recipe using my basic butter frosting as a base
INGREDIENTS:
  • 2 sticks butter- room temperature
  • 1 8 oz jar of Marshmallow Cream
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • milk or cream if needed for consistency
DIRECTIONS:
1. Whip up two sticks of room temperature butter until fluffy. (I use my handheld mixer.)
2. Add in 1 8 oz jar of Marshmallow Cream- whip until incorporated. I spray my handheld mixer with a little bit of cooking spray to help keep the marshmallow cream from sticking to my mixer.
3. While mixing, slowly add in powdered sugar.
4. Add in vanilla and salt and mix.
5. If the frosting is too thick add in tsp of milk or cream. If it is too runny add in a little bit more powdered sugar. I found that I usually don’t need any additional milk or sugar.
Add candles and a song and then you’ve got yourself a birthday cake!
I’d love to know if you decide to make this cake.
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