The Great Indoors Party! 

This weekend I had my birthday party (I am turning 12 this year!). The theme was "The Great Indoors."     : o) We played Wii and ate artificially-flavored gummy snacks and other indoors-y things.
For the desert, I made red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing with my mom (she only helped a little). The cupcakes were excellent. I loved them and so did my friends. The frosting was okay, but next time I will try buttercream. I found the recipe at allrecipes.com. You can find it here.

To frost the cupcakes, I used a frosting kit my grandparents gave me for Christmas. It has all the different tools you need to decorate baked goods. It was pretty simple to use and the cupcakes looked great. I added some sprinkles to jazz them up a bit. We put them on a cupcake tower and added a unicorno as a cupcake topper. Unicornos are awesome! Small figurines and action figures are great for topping cupcakes and cakes because they make the cake look special and can be coordinated with the colors of the cupcakes or cake. I did not make the pink cupcakes in this picture. These are gluten-free cupcakes I bought from our Co-op and were for my friend who doesn't eat gluten. I'm going to learn to do gluten-free baking next.

After dinner we all ate the cupcakes. This is a picture of me and my brother (he is wearing my mother's jacket for some strange reason. Probably because he is my brother and he is strange). :o)

Try these cupcakes!! They are delicious!

Fun Stuff for Valentines

I really like Valentines Day because there are so many crafty things you can do to celebrate it. This week I did a few different Valentines crafts.  First I made little gift buckets of candy and other treats for my friends. (I will post pictures of those later!) I also made Rice Krispie Treats in the shape of hearts and decorated them for Valentines day with sprinkles, icing, and melted chocolate. I call them Heart Krispies! My friend and I made them in about an hour and a half. It only took about five minutes to eat them! :)

What you will need: 

• Marshmallows
• Rice Cereal
• Butter or Margarine
• Candy Melts (you can get them at craft and baking stores. I used red, white and brown.)
• Sprinkles (optional)
• Icing (optional) 
• Candies (optional)
• Heart-shaped Cookie Cutter 
• Toothpicks

If you want to package these as gifts, you will also need:

• Cellophane Bags
• Paper Crinkles
• Ribbon

Heart Krispies! 

• 3 T. Butter or Margarine 
• 10 oz. Marshmallows 
•  6 Cups of Rice cereal 
• Red, White, and Brown Candy Melts
• Sprinkles 
• Icing

Directions:
In a pot, melt the butter. Then add the marshmallows and stir until they are completely melted. Next, add the cereal and mix until combined. 

Pour mixture into a 15 x 9 non-stick baking pan and press until the mixture is evenly distributed. I used a rubber spatula to do this. Refrigerate until completely cool. 

Meanwhile, distribute half of each bag of candy melts into separate microwave-safe containers. Microwave for one minute each, stirring and adding time until completely melted. 


  


Working quickly, use your cookie cutter and cut out as many hearts as you can. I used a big heart shape, but a smaller one will work. Be sure to set them bottom side up so that you have the flattest surface to work with.

Using a flat spatula or the back of a spoon, spread melted candy melt mix to cover the top of the heart. Next, use the other colored melts to make designs with toothpicks. You can use sprinkles, candies, and icing to decorate any way you like! You can also drizzle candy melts over for a cool design.

 

  I made one with a narwhal because I am obsessed with narwhals. My brother made a heart devil because he is my brother. ;)

To package these for giving, I used cellophane bags packed with pink paper crinkle and tied it off with a pretty ribbon.

 
                    Happy Valentines Day!