DIY: Cupcake in a Jar

I wanted to have favors to give our guests at our party this past weekend and this cute little idea I found online was perfect for it. Or maybe it was that I found the idea and just wanted an excuse to try it. Either way, I love how they turned out. I found the idea and recipe here.

Now, I'm not a big fan of red velvet cake, but you know how I like to go all out with a theme, and red cake would match so I went with it. I doubled the recipe from the link above to make two batches. And I must say that the red velvet cake from scratch with the homemade icing may have won me over.

First step is obviously to make the cupcakes.  My bowl was barely big enough.

Here's a tip: when making a double batch of red velvet cupcakes, trust me when I say you do not have enough red food coloring. Even if you have the big bottle, it won't be enough. Buy more than you think you need, or else you'll end up sending your husband to the grocery store at 9:30 to get more.

Next, fill your cupcakes 2/3 full.  The first batch I did not use cupcake papers and even though I sprayed the pan really well, they stuck like crazy. The next set I used the papers and it was much, much better. Use them.

Pop 'em in the oven and let those suckers bake!

While the first batch was cooling and the second batch was baking, we made the icing.

Here's another tip: when making two batches of homemade icing, you will not have enough powdered sugar. Even if you have two boxes, it will not be enough. Buy more than you need, otherwise you'll be sending your sweet husband back to the store.

Oh, and we got to use our new sifter for this!

Once the cupcakes are completely cool, cut them in half. (Sorry, bad pic here.)

Place the bottom half of the cupcake in the bottom of the jar.

Next up, squirt some icing in!

After the icing, you want to take the remaining half of the cupcake (the top half) and smoosh it down on top.

And now another shot of icing is needed.

This time, the icing won't be getting smooshed, so make it a cute dollop.

And now they just have to be packaged up. We put the lids on and then topped them with a cute label. (Shout out to our friend Matt for printing the labels. Thanks, Matt!)

What's the point of a cupcake in a jar if it doesn't come with a spoon? The next morning I tied a ribbon and spoon around each jar.

And finally, they were done! Just in time too...we only had a few hours to spare before our guests arrived.

I won't tell you exactly how many of these I've eaten, but it's somewhere between 5 and 10...

Sesame Street Party

In case you thought Bren was the only person in our family turning two this month, I've got pictures of Mr. Parker's playground party from this weekend to share. When we arrived, we saw that Poppy's Playground was decked out in decorations,

and everyone there was already playing hard. Even the big kids.

The birthday boy spent lots of time on the swing. And, as you can see in the pic, he was sporting a new Elmo tattoo.

Bren swung for so long it put her in a daze.

Anna had spent the night with a friend the night before, so we only had Wyatt there with us. I don't think it bothered him that he was older than the others; he played hard too!

In fact, he and Jett got ahold of a beach ball and played a long game of soccer.

(Look at all those bones! It was like a soccer match between the two skinniest players ever...)

Bren took a break from her swinging to enjoy a cold CapriSun.

After getting dried off and changing clothes, Wyatt played a tune on the piano for us. Bren thought he was amazing!

One of these pianists knows what they're doing; the other does not...

Finally, it was time for lunch! I ate with this goofball.

And then after lunch comes everyone's favorite part...cake!  Check out the super-cute cake Erin made.

Parker, with three tattoos at this point, was excited about blowing out his candles.

Some people were so excited about cake that they climbed right up on the table for a piece.

And others just stood back and patiently waited their turn.

Little did we know, that little girl was secretly waiting for everyone else to get their pieces so that she could have the rest of it aaaaalll to herself.

She decided that icing tasted pretty good!

Parker decided it was time to start going down the slide head first,

but Bren kept going on the icing.

Parker got a cool new bike from his parents,

and Bren got another scoop of icing.

Everyone watched as Parker opened his presents.

Well, everyone but Bren. She had a little more icing...

Three generations were excited about playing baseball,

and Bren finally decided she'd had enough icing. Phew!

Surprisingly, the icing overload didn't seem to faze her at all. I guess she's got her momma's sugar tolerance!

And, since my dad refuses to read my blog, I can post any kind of pictures of him I want, right? This is what I got when I asked him to please just smile for one picture.

It was a great birthday party! And I think the birthday boy took a good loooooong nap right after the last guest left. Success!

DIY: Tissue Paper Poofs

I really think these could be called Pom-Poms, but since we've already called our skewers that, we'll go with Poofs.  And, like the fabric banner, there are lots of tutorials for these online. Or you could buy a set to make them. My version's not much different from the others, but here it goes.

Start with 8 sheets of tissue paper laying flat on your table.

Fold all 8 sheets together, accordian-style. I made my folds about 1 1/2 inches - 2 inches wide.

Using scissors, round the edges of the folds.

Next, you need to wrap wire around the middle of the folded paper. I cut small notches in mine to make it easier and so that the wire wouldn't slide.

Here's where you can learn from my mistakes: if you're going to be using fishing line to hang your poofs, go ahead and tie it to the wire now. It's very hard to find once you've poofed out your tissue paper.

Next, fan out the folds in the paper.

Very carefully, start pulling up the layers of tissue paper, one layer at a time. Trust me when I say the paper will tear. Be extra careful.

Continue to pull up the layers on both sides, until you've separated them all.  All the layers pulled apart will create your poof.

Now, if you're like me, you'll be annoyed by how "layer-y" this looks.  Don't worry, it's easy to fix. Grab your scissors and cut slits into the layers, making smaller "petals." I cut each big layer into about 3, 4, or 5 petals, being careful not to cut one layer in the exact same spot as the layers on either side of it.

This picture's blurry, but hopefully you see that it looks less "layer-y" and more like a full poof.

And that's it! If you tied your string on at the beginning, you should be done. I also cut some of my tissue paper in half to make smaller poofs. They turned out pretty cute, and were actually easier than the big ones.

The big party's tomorrow night and I can't wait! I've got more details to show you but those will have to wait until after the party. Can't spoil the surprises!

Swingin' and Bathin'

I'm a little late uploading these photos from last Sunday, but they're just too cute not to share.

Hope you think these two-year-olds are as cute as I do!

NB Diaries: Chapter 8

On our company intranet, we have a section called "Employee Spotlight."  This is not for employees that are being praised for their hard work, ala Employee of the Month. It's more of a get-to-know section for employees. The employee featured changes on a weekly basis and, as far as I know, is chosen at random. This morning, the employee featured on the spotlight has been changed and is our very own NB. So, this chapter of The NB Diaries is written by NB herself.

Employee Spotlight: New Boss Division: Finance & Administration Job title: Director of Accounting Time at [Company]: 5 months Job summary: I maintain the daily operations of the accounting department, including the cash room, accounts payable and general ledger departments. Best part of job: Numbers! City raised in: Tullahoma, Tenn. Childhood ambition: I wanted to be one of the June Taylor Dancers. First job: I worked as a babysitter when I was 12 years old. Favorite TV shows: A&E TV's Hoarders Favorite sports team: Cincinnati Reds (I was lucky enough to see the Reds in the playoff and World Series games at Riverfront Stadium in 1990. In case you've forgotten, the Reds swept Oakland.) Favorite desk/cube accessory: My eraser collection (The Sanford® Magic Rub® is the best eraser on the market today. The PaperMate® Pink Pearl® is way overrated.) Favorite smells: Cinnamon Favorite travel destination: The beautiful, rolling hills of Middle Tennessee Last movie seen: Little Children (a film adaptation of the novel by Tom Perrotta) Last book read: Animals as Persons: Essays on the Abolition of Animal Exploitation by Gary L. Francione Best concert attended: My favorite was Prince at a dress rehearsal on his Purple Rain tour in 1984. Other favorites include Talking Heads (1978), James Brown and Wilson Pickett (1984), Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello (1989), Webb Wilder (1992), George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars (1996), Justin Timberlake (2007) and Lil Wayne with T-Pain (2009). Perfect meal: Peanut butter sandwich made with whole grain bread Morning person or night owl: Night owl Biggest pet peeve: People who ignore or are rude to service workers Biggest fear: Blood Can't live without: The Internet Most people don't know this about me: My husband and I got married in 1987 at the courthouse on my lunch hour.