{Recipe} Lucky Charms Krispie Treats

This easy, yummy treat was the first thing to go at Abbie's birthday party.
I got the idea HERE.
The empty plate was proof to me that this was a hit!

Lucky Charms Krispie Treats

Ingredients-

1 box Lucky Charms Cereal

10.5 oz. bag Mini Marshmallows

1/2 stick of Butter

Lime Green Wilton Candy Melts, optional

Directions-

Pour cereal into large bowl.

Melt butter over medium-high heat.

Add mini mallows and stir constantly until melted and smooth.

Pour the mixture into a lightly greased 9x13 pan.

Melt a small amount of the candy melts in a ziplock bag according to directions, in the microwave.

Snip off the corner of the plastic bag and drizzle the candy melts across the top.

Cut into squares and serve after the mallows have had a chance to set for about 10 minutes.

Notes~

When I make these again, I plan on adding more mallows.  I like my krispie treats to by extra gooey.

These were drier than I like, which can be solved by taking out some of the cereal or adding more mallows.

Linked to- Whipperberry

{Recipe} Dulce de Leche Bars

 I have seen all over the Internet through investigations...

That you can make Homemade Dulce de Leche

Using a can of Sweetened Condensed Milk, Water, and a Crockpot.

Having never had Dulce de Leche before...

It wasn't bad, and it was a set it and forget for 8 hours type of thing.

I have wanted to make this homemade confection ever since Cheerios came out with a Dulce de Leche Cheerios.

This treat is super sweet and reminiscent of a rice krispie treat. 

I brought these to work where they were promptly gobbled up by coworkers...

 Which is good because I didn't need them around the house taunting and tempting me.

Dulce de Leche Bars

5 T  Butter

16 oz Marshmallows

7 cups Dulce de Leche Cheerios

1 1/2 cups Toasted Coconut

3/4 cup Mini Chocolate Chips

2 cans Dulce de Leche

Directions

Mix the cereal, tasted coconut, and chocolate chips in a large bowl, set aside.

Butter 2/3 of a jelly roll pan/cookie sheet.

Melt Butter on low heat, then stir in marshmallows.

Stir constantly so that the mallows melt, and so that it doesn't scorch.

Pour on top of the cereal mixture, carefully stirring and folding, until evenly coated.

Gently spread and press the treat in the pan.

Once it has set, and the Dulce de Leche is completely cooled,

Spread approximately 1 1/2 cans on top of the treat.

Cut, serve, and enjoy each sticky, gooey, sugar coma inducing bite. 

Reality Check~

Next time I make these, I am adding more toasted coconut and less chocolate according to my flavor preference.

These tasted better the second day, because the Dulce de Leche had time to meld flavors together, as well as adding additional moisture to the bars.

Toss the mixture around before pouring on the mallows, or all of the coconut and chocolate will be on the bottom.

Linking to~

BruCrew Life, Topsy Turvy, Vintage Wanna Bee, Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom, Tip Junkie, Sugar and Dots, Southern Lovely,
Lil Luna, Uncommon, Ginger Snap Crafts, Someday Crafts, 52 Mantels, Whipperberry, Happy Go Lucky, One Artsy Mama, Ladybird Ln, Answer is Chocolate, 

{Recipe} Hot Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

Hot Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

7 cups Rice Krispies or Cocoa Krispies

16 oz Mini Marshmallows or 16 oz large Mallows cut in half

7 T Butter

1/2 cup Stephens Milk Chocolate Hot Chocolate Powder

1 cup Dehydrated Marshmallows, optional

Melt butter in a pot on medium heat.  Add hot chocolate powder and mallows, save the dehydrated for the end.  Stir until mallows have melted and is smooth.  Pour over rice krispies in a large bowl until everything is evenly coated.  Add the dehydrated marshmallows and pour entire mixture into 9x13 pan.

Hot Chocolate Frosting

3 T Butter

1/2 cup Shortening

2/3 c Hot Chocolate Powder

1/2 c Cocoa Powder

1-2 cups Powdered Sugar, I did 2

1 t Vanilla

Milk to desired consistency

Cream the butter and shortening, then add vanilla.  Add the rest of the ingredients, pouring a little milk at a time, until mixture is well incorporated and smooth.  Immediately spread onto rice krispie treats and top with fun Christmas sprinkles.

Notes:

The frosting has a slight crunch to it due to the undissolved hot chocolate powder... I like it.

It will have more of a chocolate flavor if you use cocoa krispies... I didn't have any.

I didn't use 16 oz of mallows.  I only used 10 oz, and they dried out before the end of the night.  I think Rice Krispie Treats should be GOOEY, so I bumped up the mallows to 16 oz. I will be making it that way next time.

Enjoy this little Christmas Treat at your next party, candy night, Christmas Eve.

Linking to~
The Gunny Sack
My Junk Drawer
The Girl Creative
Marvelously Messy
Vintage Wanna Bee
Tip Junkie
The Blackberry Vine
Topsy Turvey
Lil Luna
Whipperberry
One Artsy Mama
Happy Go Lucky
Ladybird Ln

Nutella Rice Krispie Treats

This treat is easy to make, and great if you need a pick me up, it is also great if you don't;)

I got the recipe from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody.  Peabody has amazing recipes, and she is hilarious to boot:)  I didn't have enough marshmallows, so I think these turned out a little on the dry side for this batch.  The Pirouette Wafer Cookies add a nice little surprise for your mouth, and each bite is Hazelnut Heaven.  Click on the above link, and try the recipe out.  You can make for less than $10 in less than 1 hour.

{Party} Turquoise Blue & Sunshine Yellow~ Bridal Shower

On Saturday, I helped my SIL Andrea out with a Bridal Shower she was co-hosting for one of her friends.  The colors were Turquoise Blue and Sunshine Yellow.

We made extra creamy Double Dipped Oreo Truffles~ Drizzled with coordinating candy melts or dipped in coordinating non pareils.

We also made Homemade Soft Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting.

The cookies were then topped with Rainbow Disco Dust and a tiny white Sugar Paste flowers with a tinted blue center.

For the drink we made lemon water with sugar, citric acid, lemon emulsion, water, freshly sliced lemons, and tiny restaurant style ice cubes.  I wish I would have brought my white back drop, but it wasn't my house... though I wish it was;)  The co-host of the party already had the cute little tissue paper pom poms hanging up.  Everything came together nicely, and tasted excellent. 

All of the food was gone, and the Bridal Shower lasted more than three hours... I say it was a SUCCESS!

Linking to~

Keeping it Simple

Craftomaniac

Making the World Cuter

Miss Crafty Pants

Today's Creative Blog

The Blackberry Vine

Topsy Turvy

Tip Junkie

Vintage Wanna Bee

Young Nester

Reasons to Skip the Housework

Lil' Luna

Sister's Stuff

Sew Much Ado

Sugar and Dots

Trendy Treehouse

My Girlish Whims

Free Pretty Things For You

Paisley Passions

Shabby Chic Cottage

Whipperberry

My Insanity Party Party 2012

Cupcake Apothecary

{Party} Minnie Mouse Birthday Party

I had so much fun planning Abbie's 2nd Birthday party.  She always talks about "Ninnie Nouse," so I thought Minnie Mouse would be the perfect theme for her birthday.  I learned so much while setting up this party and I love that I get to evolve and grow during each event's process.

I made Abbie's shirt using a $3 white ruffled sleeve t-shirt, and some Tulip Fabric Paint in Glossy Black that I had leftover from Matt's race project. 

For the white backdrop I used this tutorial and made my own version.  It cost me $4 for the white sheet and $3.50 total for the pieces of wood.  The excellent thing is... now I can customize the backdrop for each party.  I can paint the sheets, use vinyl cutouts, draw images with a projector, use different colored sheets.  It is a most affordable asset to have for my parties. 

I did learn with the frame, that I either need to cut 6" off of the bottom of the frame, or use a taller display table.  I don't like the ratio of blank space to decorations.  I also learned a lot about proper table set up, which did not occur this time around;)

I made the pennant banner for $5 and the letter "A" was only $1.50.  Affordable and easy.  My goal is to get one of each letter of the alphabet, but we'll see.

These balloons met their demise the day after the party, when Asher found a pink party fork and had a happy time demolishing the balloons.  (My mom introduced them to balloon popping and the kids LOVE it... I prefer to watch them fly away in the sky, but whatever)

I got two cute mini pink metal buckets with white polka dots that I filled with marbles and black crinkle gift paper to tie the balloons to as weights.  The buckets were $1.50 each at Hobby Lobby and the crinkle paper was $1.50 at Wal Mart. It all comes together in the little details.

I finally got to use my Mickey Mouse Cookie Cutter I got at Disneyland last year.  The ears are more fragile than I realized, but they were all gone by the end of the night:)  I frosted them with melted chocolate that I dyed pink, and sprinkled with edible white pearls.

Because the gel paste food coloring is water based, I had to add some shortening to the chocolate because the water made it start to seize up.  Next time I know to use powdered coloring.

I was proud of my ingenuity for the cupcakes.  I used white cake mix divided three ways. One bowl was left white, one bowl was dyed Fuchsia, and one bowl was dyed black.  The cupcake wrappers were leftover from Asher's Birthday, I used my Buttercream Frosting Recipe,  and I made Oreo Truffles with Oreo Mini's as the ears.  I will do a recipe post on these later.

This was the Photobooth Backdrop I made for the party.  It cost me $2 for the crepe paper, $4 for the Fuchsia fabric, and everything else I had on hand.

I just used thumb tacks and hooked it straight to the wall, because we still have to finish the living room, so I wasn't worried about leaving holes in the wall.

My mom helped me so much, and it was her birthday too.  I made the Minnie Mouse Headbands as props for the photobooth (Tutorial coming soon, cost me $0) My mom was great to let me practice with my camera, and to see how this was all going to come together. 

I learned more of what can be done beforehand, and what needs to be done the day of the party.  I didn't utilize my mom's help to the best advantage, so not all of the treats got made for the table.  the best pictures are taken during the daylight hours, because there is only so much you can do with exposure and photo editing.

The party still turned out great, and Abbie had a blast... which really was the most important part:)

{Party} No Place Like Home- Young Women in Excellence Theme

For Young Women in Excellence last November, we had a theme of "There's No Place Like Home" from The Wizard of Oz.  I was in charge for this one and I loved it.

The point of this theme was to let the girls know, that like Dorothy, we already have the ability to get "Home" inside, but we have obstacles and trials along the way that sometimes makes us forget that ability.

Some of the topics that each leader took was...

Tinman- Heart...Charity

Scarecrow- Knowledge

Cowardly Lion- Be Strong and of a Good Courage

The Wizard- (I can't remember which way the Bishopric took this one)

Dorothy- The way to get Home to Heavenly Father

I had different ideas for desserts, so I talked with the other Presidency members, and this is what I came up with.  Not everything listed was made, but I have the ideas for a future birthday party:)

Desserts

"Poppy" Corn

White chocolate covered popcorn that I dyed the colors of the poppy flower.  This stuff is so addicting.

Chocolate Covered Clouds

Marshmallow suckers dipped in white chocolate and covered with Rainbow Non Pareils

Rubies and Rainbows Cupcakes

White cake mix dyed the colors of the rainbow. Similar to what I did for Abbie's Birthday, but without the fruit.  I used a homemade buttercream frosting dyed red, topped with edible glitter flakes and a cupcake topper.

Lollipop Guild Pops

Sugar cookie dough, marbled with food coloring, rolled into a 1/2 inch wide by 12 to 18 inches long.  Coil the dough, place the sucker stick and bake.

Wicked Witch Elixir

A green punch made similar to this recipe, just without the worms:)

Yellow Brick Road Bars

Rice Krispie Treats dyed with yellow food coloring.  Possible topped with yellow sprinkles or sanding sugar.

I made all of the printables myself.  It seemed like the stripes took forever, but it really wasn't that bad. 

This one can be used to create your own practically from scratch.

I think that this would be a fun birthday party to do when Abbie is a little older, and I can have more time to make props.  The theme worked really well for the Young Women as well, so it is very versatile. plus, I figured it was about time I had seen The Wizard of Oz all the way through, since I hadn't before this event.  The bright colors of the movie make it fun to plan a party around, and the meanings behind a lot of the quotes, especially the ones between Glinda, Dorothy, and the Witch at the beginning of the movie, make it perfect for teaching a lesson. 

You can use whatever you want, if it works for your own theme or party.  Please just link back here, and leave a comment... I would love to see how you used them:)  Just right click and save.  Pull it up into any photo editing software and have at it.  I use Picnik.com because it is free and works okay for my needs right now.

{Party} Asher's Birthday Bash Part I

(Asher's favorite was the "smoke" in the root beer. I think Claire was thinking, "Why is is he spitting/blowing in the rootbeer?")

It was Asher and Claire's 3rd birthday, so I decided to celebrate them together with a Younger Cousin Halloween Party.

 I let Asher choose and help with a lot of the details, and we had a blast together getting it ready.

I can't believe that it has already been three years.  He is so smart, and when he uses big adult words, with his little voice, it cracks me up.  He is the biggest percentage wise, that he has ever been, at about thirty one pounds and 30%.  He is 38 1/2 inches and missed being able to ride Splash Mountain by an inch and a half.  Maybe next time:)  I love that he plays the "Save Me Tickle Game"  Matt tickles Asher and his giggle makes my heart soar.  He then gasps for me to save him and waits for daddy to return.  His imagination grows each day, and it is awesome to see where the adventures take him, and us.  I love the fact that he wants to be such a helper with the farm, with cooking, and with crafting.  He is going to be an awesome missionary one day:)

Onto the party...   

The Favors

Multicolored Crayons

 Asher helped break the crayons and I put them in a silicone mold to bake at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes.  At first I wanted to to what Jill at Homemade by Jill did, but I didn't have the time or patience. The crayons looked so cool, but a tip if you make these...

 Don't unwrap 96 crayons by hand, it will take FOREVER! I used scissors and dug into the paper and the crayon, it is going to be broken anyway.  Also, Crayola Crayons are the best, don't try and use the cheap stuff or they won't turn out as well.

Homemade Sidewalk Chalk

I used the same silicone jack o lantern mold as the crayons.  I got the idea on How Does She, it was so easy to make, and works great.  You can use any of the Wilton Cake Gels, and make a variety of colors.  The options are endless.

The Food

Creepy Cupcakes

 Asher knew months before his birthday that he wanted a purple cake.  I used a white cake mix dyed purple and my homemade chocolate cake and marbled them together for his cupcakes. I got some fun lime green polka dot liners, black polka dot liners, and vibrant purple liners to go with the Halloween palette we chose. I got an awesome deal at TheTomKat Studio for some of the Halloween cake toppers.  I made the "beware" toppers using Picnik.  Asher of course wanted bright purple frosting, so I made a yummy homemade butter cream frosting.

Franken Fingers

Asher helped dip the pretzel rods, and he and Abbie loved eating the leftover sprinkles. Bright, fun, and super easy.

Spider Web Cookies

 Asher told me that I had to use the sparkles on the cookies, so after I made the spider webs with Royal Icing, I used the edible Disco Dust.  They were soft and yummy, though it seems like my royal icing is never going to harden like it should. Oh well they were eaten, so no worries.

Yummy Mummies

I got the idea for these mummy suckers over at How Does She.  Asher helped make them at the same time as the pretzel rods.  They were easy, and the perfect salty sweet treat:)

Witches Wands

I wish I knew how to make these:) They were my favorite growing up, so I had to get some for Asher too.  Luckily, the local party store has many different flavors and colors. (The root beer is the best, but brown suckers would have totally thrown of the color theme) 

For dinner, my mom and step mom helped make Monster Eye Mini Pizzas, Bone Breadsticks, and Homemade Rootbeer.

The Decor

We used my awesome spooky tree that I made last year, and my mom's dungeon backdrop with "flickering" wall torches.  We also used here spooky candelabras and my creepy spider webs.  The only casualty was a picture frame that I will fix someday:)

 It was fun to set the stage of spooky magic for the little kids.  The cousins that were older, like Porter, noticed the small details like the skeleton bone ladle for the root beer.  None of the kids were scared, so the night was a success even though we started a little late.


Linked to- Life in the Motherhood

Onesie Cookies

My cousin had a baby shower for her soon to be arriving little boy Ryker.  I love this onesie cookie cutter, and so I volunteered to make some yummy cookies.  I still want need to get the larger cookie cutter, because then you can add more details to the onesies:) 

The cookies were so soft and fresh; baked and stored from the night before, just begging to be covered.  The frosting was a buttercream that melted in your mouth.  I just threw it together, but forgot to write down my concoction.  Hopefully I can remember how to make this buttery goodness next time I need it!

Asher actually gave me the idea to make the baby block cookies.  When I frosted the white on it looked like a W to him, and I thought that an R for Ryker would wonderfully.  Asher was also super excited when I whipped out my edible disco dust to give the cookies a fun but still boyish sparkle.

I made Allie two onesies for Ryker and some homemade Baby Legs out of tube socks.  I love the look of argyle, and the argyle onesie was so easy to make. 

Supplies

onesie- mine was Gerber brand 12 month old

Stretch Blue Denim Fabric

Wonder Under

Needle

Coordinating Embroidery Floss

I fused a strip of Wonder Under in size I needed onto the fabric.  I then free handed the diamond shape and ironed it onto the onesie.  I threaded the needle and stitched the pattern I wanted.  I had everything on hand, so the cost was great:)  I want to make a girl version for Abbie to wear. It is so easy! 



For the Firetruck Onesie, I purchased a felt firetruck iron on patch.  Ryker's daddy is a firefighter, and this was added to the collection of all of the cute firetruck oriented presents Allie got.  All I had to do was iron it on, though I would like to figure out a way to do these on my own:)

Allie looked pretty, and she was so happy at the shower.  It is always a blast to get presents, especially when you are so close to having the baby in your arms.  Saturday was such a fun day... relaxing, not rushed.