Shindig Parties TO GO

Superbowl Party Printables

2012-02-01T05:42:00.000-06:00

Are you all geared up for the big game this weekend?

SUPERBOWL XLVI IS HERE!

And just in time for your party plans, Shindig Parties To Go

is offering a special price on complete printables sets for each time.

Whether you're a die-hard Patriots or a gigantic Giants fan,

we've got the perfect way to celebrate easy and stress-free!

Each set is packed full of printables and based on Shindig's popular

FOOTBALL PARTY SET shown here:

You'll find everything you need for a fabulous football bash including cupcake toppers, football lace cupcake wraps, pennants, toothpick flags, door signs, centerpiece signs and more!

Each set is only $19.00 in the shop now.

PATRIOTS PRINTABLE PARTY SET

GIANTS PRINTABLE PARTY SET

Enjoy the game and send me some photos of those great party tables!

Valentines Printables On Sale Now!

2012-01-31T08:01:00.001-06:00

It's time to pull out all the pink and red... doilies and hearts... and share a little love with those closest to our hearts. Yes, Valentines Day is only two weeks away! It's time to order those printables and download those freebies for sweet parties, treats and gifts for teachers and friends.

Shindig's VALENTINES DAY PRINTABLE set is only sale now for only $9.00 and includes everything from cupcake toppers to banners, favor tags to activity sheets for kids, heart cut out for decorations and the list goes on and on. It's packed full! I hope to reveal more photos from the photoshoot featuring this collection very soon.

And don't forget to download all of Shindig's Valentines freebies, too!

These are wonderful for classroom parties and favors.

Enjoy Everyone!

Football Party {Customer Shindig}

2012-01-30T05:37:00.001-06:00

I have a sweet customer party to share today with some fun ideas that you could use for your own Superbowl get-togethers. Alissa, contacted me last fall to design a Kentucky Wildcats theme using Shindig's FOOTBALL PARTY PRINTABLES. Her little boy, Yates, was turning one and Alissa wanted to celebrate with her favorite team colors.

Using the goal post idea from Shindig's Football Party table, Alissa made an eye-catching centerpiece for her dessert table which is a great starting point for any party. For the rest of the party food, Alissa says, "I kept if very low key! My mother-in-law made homemade hot dog chili and we had hot dogs and chili buns. I also ordered a Chik-fil-A nugget tray which is always a hit."

For activities, Alissa says, "It was freezing cold and very windy the day of the party, which was not expected. We had a football toss, giant football kick, obstacle course and bean bag toss planned for the kids. We only ended up doing the obstacle course and bean bag toss because of the weather. The kids all got little trophies from Oriental Trading Company at the end of the games."

Thank you, Alissa!

What a wonderful celebration you created for your big boy's first birthday!

VENDORS:

Party Printables: Shindig Parties To Go

Invitations: Paperstyle.com

Football cookies: Whimsical Originals

Lanterns, Tissue Balls, Obstacle course supplies, blue treat bags and stuffers: Oriental Trading Company

Balloons, Plasticware, Plates, Napkins: Celebrateexpress.com

Football bean bag toss: Celebrateexpress.com

Football cupcake toppers (on rice krispie treats): Michaels

Cake: Shockley's Sweet Shoppe (local)

Blue wire container for plasticware: Dollar Tree

Island Centerpiece: Dollar Tree footballs

Yates' outfit: Glorimont

Maclaine's shirt and tutu: Sweet Couture

I sometimes link to: Craftomaniac, Tater Tots and Jello, Skip to my Lou, Under the Table and Dreaming, Blue Cricket Design, Someday Crafts, House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, Tidy Mom,Romantic Home,Shabby Nest, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Finding Fabulous, The Girl Creative, Be Different Act Normal,Today's Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, C.R.A.F.T., Tea Rose Home, The Shabby Chic Cottage,The Trendy Treehouse, Beyond the Picket Fence, Mad in Crafts, Sugar Bee Crafts, Whipperberry, Sassy Sites, 30 Handmade Days, Between Naps on the Porch

Transportation! {New Shindig Collection}

2012-01-25T07:54:00.000-06:00

I'm so happy to announce there is a new, fun transportation theme in the shop now.

TRANSPORTATION PRINTABLE COLLECTION

With adorable cars, trains, and planes and inspired by a popular Robert Kaufmann fabric, this set will be perfect for all your little ones who love things that GO!

To jump-start the party theme you can find an adorable TRANSPORTATION INVITATION SET here

The set is packed full of files including a door sign, cupcake toppers, water bottle wraps, candy bar and mini candy bar wraps, Hersheys Kiss stickers, napkin wraps, favor tags, centerpiece flags, treat bag toppers, a banner and more.

I hope to have some fun party photos soon featuring the new set. Until then you can find the set in the shop now.TRANSPORTATION PRINTABLE COLLECTION

Snowman Winter ONEderland Party {Customer Shindig}

2012-01-23T05:46:00.005-06:00

What a sweet party my customer, Judy, sent me over the weekend for her little boy Carson's first birthday.

Judy loves to craft and created much of the party decor herself as she says, "far in advance winding down at night." She did a fabulous job, don't you think?

So many cute ideas here from the Snowman Centerpiece she made using my tutorial to the adorable fondant cake Judy made herself and topped off with an absolutely 3D fondant cake topper from Edible Details which matched the SNOWMAN PRINTABLES SET perfectly!

Judy also used the tutorial for my Snowman Marshmallow Pops to make sweet treats for the dessert table and just look at those sweet snowman cake pops she made as well.

The ribbon wreath (an idea from She's Kinda Crafty and polka dot balloons from Polka Dot Market added the perfect whimsical touch to the party display.

And how wonderful is this high chair bunting. I just love the ribbon badge, too. So cute!

About the party Judy says, "We only had our parents and siblings over for dinner and made a make-ahead crock pot lasagna so my husband (I can't cook) could enjoy our guests and didn't have to do a bunch of work. We also had easy clean up with cute snowman plates and polka dot napkins from Target. I actually had the wrapping paper from Christmas (purchased at Party City) and wrapped random boxes around my house to stagger the heights. Easy, quick and cheap way to show off all the goodies."

Thank you so much, Judy, for sharing your wonderfully sweet party with us! You have given us so many great ideas and fabulous inspiration!

VENDORS:

- Snowman Printables Set - Shindig Parties To Go

- Cupcakes, cake pops and marshmallow fondant cake - Homemade by Judy

- Fondant Snowman cake topper and fondant cupcake toppers to match the printables - Edible Details

- Cookies- The Cookie Jar

- Carson's shirt- Lilshabebe

- Photography - "Fotography by Veronica"

- Balloons, gift boxes and gumball pipettes- Polka Dot Market

- Polka dot ribbon wreath, ribbon #1, and monthly photo timeline - ideas from Shes Kinda Crafty

- Paper plates and napkins - Target
- Wrapping paper on boxes - Party City

I sometimes link to: Craftomaniac, Tater Tots and Jello, Skip to my Lou, Under the Table and Dreaming, Blue Cricket Design, Someday Crafts, House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, Tidy Mom,Romantic Home,Shabby Nest, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Finding Fabulous, The Girl Creative, Be Different Act Normal,Today's Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, C.R.A.F.T., Tea Rose Home, The Shabby Chic Cottage,The Trendy Treehouse, Beyond the Picket Fence, Mad in Crafts, Sugar Bee Crafts, Whipperberry, Sassy Sites, 30 Handmade Days, Between Naps on the Porch

Valentines Sweet Shoppe Party

2012-01-18T05:31:00.001-06:00

Today I'm sharing a little Valentines party I put together for my own girls a couple of years ago before I really entered the party business. This was a fun idea for a party.... my girls' names both start with the letter "M" so we came up with an "M&M Sweet Shoppe" party. Each daughter invited a few friends over for Valentines crafts and some yummy sweets, too.

For the invitation, I decided to created a lollipop-look in the shape of a heart and wrapped in cellophane. We took the invitations around to each of the girls houses to get them excited about the upcoming party. The reverse side of the invitation had all the party information.

These were my first attempt at fondant roses. I guess I've learned a little since then but they turned out pretty cute.

The parfaits were a fun idea, too. I made some red pudding and some pink pudding and layered them in champagne glasses with a little whipped cream on top. I learned through this experience that putting the pudding into cone-shaped icing decorating bags or a ziploc with the corner cut would be the perfect way to get the pudding in the small glasses without making a mess.

Store bought items like these cookies sticks embellished with a little white chocolate candy coating and Valentines sprinkles make party food so much easier and they're pretty, too.

My girls had such a fun time with their girlfriends celebrating the day.

For crafts, I had some felt circles cut into spirals ready for the girls to roll into felt roses. I also had stuffed some mini flower pots with green tissue paper to resemble leaves and the girls then used a low-temp glue gun to glue their roses to their pots.

The girls loved their take home crafts and
enjoyed a day with their girlfriends even more.
________________________________
I sometimes link to: Craftomaniac, Tater Tots and Jello, Skip to my Lou, Under the Table and Dreaming, Blue Cricket Design, Someday Crafts, House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, Tidy Mom,Romantic Home,Shabby Nest, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Finding Fabulous, The Girl Creative, Be Different Act Normal,Today's Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, C.R.A.F.T., Tea Rose Home, The Shabby Chic Cottage,The Trendy Treehouse, Beyond the Picket Fence, Mad in Crafts, Sugar Bee Crafts, Whipperberry, Sassy Sites, 30 Handmade Days, Between Naps on the Porch

Valentines Teacher Gift Idea {Guest Post}

2012-01-17T17:35:00.005-06:00

Hi there, it's Kate from And Everything Sweet guest posting today on Amanda's blog.

Ok, before I get started let me introduce you to my new favorite pen! How great is this guy?! I got him today. Doesn't he just make you want to smile? Everyone needs a pen that makes them giggle while signing all their money away during bill time.

Jealous of my new pen? Well, you can have one too! He is at the Dollar Tree where you'll be visiting to get the supplies you need to make my Dollar Tree magnet frame as seen in the tutorial below!!!

Grab your pen (hehe) and take notes!

Ok, so have you seen the new Valentines Collection at Shindig Parties to Go ? It's is a must have for only $9.00!! And the minute I saw her FREEBIE for Hershey kiss covers (check them out), I immediately thought about bottle caps.

Bottle caps are a great embellishment for hair bows, necklaces charms, embellish any craft, magnets...did someone say MAGNETS! I want to make some bottle cap magnets! (I'm such a loser)

So I did.... Then I needed something to do with all these silly magnets. So I made something else. A little magnetic frame/message board. I made it for a little over a couple of dollars, kids. You still with me?

Step One: Go to the Dollar Tree and get yourself one of these fancy-smancy “silver” serving platters. I chose the square design. They also have ovals and rectangles, too. And here is the
1" VALENTINE CIRCLES FREEBIE DOWNLOAD
I used from Shindig’s Valentines Day collection. I also used one of the chevron pattern sheets from the VALENTINES COLLECTION for the paper background.

(immaturely giggling)

Once the paint has dried (or before you paint) make yourself a template of the inside. It makes cutting the paper you’ll be using so much easier. Then, using your template as a guide, cut out your paper to fit on the inside of the platter.

It already looks cute!

If you want to make your frame/message board a hanging one you’ll need to get a hammer and a screw driver and knock two holes in it to tie ribbon through.

And don’t be hatin’ on my hammer y'all! It may not be much to look at, but it does the job!!

I want mine to be a desktop frame/message board so I let the long ribbon fall to the back (incase I change my mind) and tied a pretty little ribbon for the front (I tied it first and then hot glued it on). Sit it on a little frame easel (another dollar store find). And look how precious.

It needs just one more thing…

I added a little “P” to personalize. (I found the P at Hobby Lobby...50 cent). The magnets are bottle caps. I got the bottle caps and covers here on Etsy.

OR you can always get your bottle caps the fun, good old fashioned way.

Either way, you need to paint them with spray paint (I used red and pink), used my one inch hole punch to punch out the insides (design from Amanda’s collection), glued them on the inside of the bottle caps and then put a bottle cap cover over the paper. Then I attached magnets (again, found at Hobby Lobby) to the back of the bottle caps. DONE!

Doesn’t this make the cutest frame!?!

Wait! Pause! Bring it in a little closer. Look how sweet and precious that little baby is!?!? Whose children are those?! Oh wait, their mine.

Except that sweet little baby is no longer a sweet little baby anymore. She is 2 going on 3 (in two months) and she is mean as a snake now! ;) (ok, not "mean" just really mischevious...the word hell-raiser kinda comes to mind) But doesn’t she look so sweet and unassuming in this picture.

Ahhhh, memories.

By the way this is a 5 by 7 picture. Perfect size for this “frame”.

And don’t forget! This can be used as a message board too. Here it is hanging on my pantry door.
Its always good to have a nice little reminder...
Wouldn't it make a great Valentines Day present for your kids' teachers?!

Whaaaaaat's up Mrs Phillips!!!?!?!?

I hope you're not reading this right now b/c this one's for you! ;)

(just kidding...it was going to be, but I have since come up with another idea for you)

It may be early, but at least its not late...here goes anyway... Happy Valentines Day!!!!
_____________________________
I sometimes link to: Craftomaniac, Tater Tots and Jello, Skip to my Lou, Under the Table and Dreaming, Blue Cricket Design, Someday Crafts, House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, Tidy Mom,Romantic Home,Shabby Nest, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Finding Fabulous, The Girl Creative, Be Different Act Normal,Today's Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, C.R.A.F.T., Tea Rose Home, The Shabby Chic Cottage,The Trendy Treehouse, Beyond the Picket Fence, Mad in Crafts, Sugar Bee Crafts, Whipperberry, Sassy Sites, 30 Handmade Days, Between Naps on the Porch

FREEBIE Valentine "Sucker for You" Card

2012-01-16T05:28:00.015-06:00

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It's another FREEBIE DAY here at Shindig Parties To Go!

Today I'm sharing a sweet Valentines card for your child

to give to his or her classmates.

This is so easy! Just print, cut, attach a sucker and you're done.

DOWNLOAD FOR FREE VALENTINE SUCKER FOR YOU CARD

If you download the FREEBIE, please be sure to become a
FAN ON FACEBOOK of Shindig Parties To Go HERE (Just click "LIKE")

and a FOLLOWER of the Shindig Parties To Go Blog HERE

to keep up with all of Shindig's latest freebies and giveaways. Thank you!

What You'll Need:

- FREEBIE Valentines "Sucker for You" Card print out

- Premium photo paper in matte or soft gloss finish or you may use a matte brochure paper

- Scissors

- Scalloped edge scissors

- Valentines suckers such as whirly pops or Tootsie Pops

- Exacto knife or small hole punch

- Glue stick

- White Cardstock

STEP 1:
Download your freebie card cut-outs and print onto a premium photo paper or brochure paper. Cut each card out with scissors.

STEP 2:
Optional: If you have a corner rounder punch, you may use it to punch the corner of each card. I LOVE this little tool. It quickly takes the ordinary rectangular card and makes it special and professional looking. I bought mine at Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon and only spent about $4.00.

STEP 3:

Next, using the glue stick, glue the back side of the card and place it on a piece of white cardstock about 3/8" from the edge. Press the card down on the cardstock to secure.

STEP 4:

Cut a decorative edge on your white cardstock around the card with scalloped scissors.

STEP 5:

Using an exacto knife or a small hole punch, create two small slits or holes large enough thread your sucker stick through. That's all! Cute and EASY!

Be sure to check out

Shindig's VALENTINES PRINTABLES,

in the shop now for only $9.00 for 46 FILES! It makes Valentines easier and more fun, too, and includes everything you can imagine for Valentines Day parties and decorating....

cupcake toppers, signs, labels, centerpiece picks, banners, heart cut out and more.
____________________________________

I sometimes link to: Craftomaniac, Tater Tots and Jello, Skip to my Lou, Under the Table and Dreaming, Blue Cricket Design, Someday Crafts, House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, Tidy Mom,Romantic Home,Shabby Nest, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Finding Fabulous, The Girl Creative, Be Different Act Normal,Today's Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, C.R.A.F.T., Tea Rose Home, The Shabby Chic Cottage,The Trendy Treehouse, Beyond the Picket Fence, Mad in Crafts, Sugar Bee Crafts, Whipperberry, Sassy Sites, 30 Handmade Days, Between Naps on the Porch

FREEBIE Valentines Classroom Favor Idea - Tic Tac Toe

2012-01-12T05:00:00.002-06:00

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Today I'm sharing Shindig's VALENTINES CLASSROOM PACK FREEBIE from last year. This is wonderful for those class treat bags and Valentine's parties.

Included in the set are some "Toad-ally" Awesome froggie cupcake toppers, cupcake wraps, a sweet heart shaped tic-tac-toe game to use as a favor for friends, and a ziploc sized favor bag topper, too.

So be sure to grab your set...

VALENTINE DOWNLOAD HERE

and have those treat bags ready early this year!

If you download the FREEBIE, please be sure to become a

FAN ON FACEBOOK of Shindig Parties To Go HERE (just click "LIKE")

and a FOLLOWER of the Shindig Parties To Go Blog HERE

to keep up with all of Shindig's latest freebies and giveaways. Thank you!

Here's what you'll need for MATERIALS:

photo paper (premium paper in a soft gloss finish)
printables files
scissors
scotch tape
hot glue gun
1" circle craft punch
2" circle craft punch
ziploc bags (quart size)
stapler
ruler
butter knife
coffee stirrers or lollipop sticks
ribbon (optional)
cupcakes

Now let's get started -- it's really easy to put these together as long as you have a 1" and a 2" circle punch. If you don't have the punches, you can purchase them from Michaels, Hobby Lobby (use a 40% off coupon) or Amazon.com. You may use white cardstock if you like for printing, but the photo paper produces much more vivid colors and professional looking results.

Download, save and then print your FREE Classroom Pack using soft gloss or semi gloss premium photo paper (for best results) or white cardstock.
To make cupcake toppers, first cut the 2" party logo sheet into columns
Using the 2" circle punch, punch out all 12 Valentine's logos
Use your 1" circle punch to punch 1" circles from the tic-tac-toe game sheet. Cut out the heart-shaped game boards.
Using a hot glue gun, put a small amount of hot glue onto a coffee stirrer or lollipop stick. Cut off approximately 1" from one end of the coffee stirrer.
Hot glue the coffee stirrer to the back of the 2" logo
Finished cupcake topper
Using the favor bag topper sheet, cut along the outside line of each design with scissors. Place a ruler down the middle of the backside of the treat bag topper and score a folding line with a butter knife. Fold the topper in half and make a center crease.
Insert one game board, 5 "X" game pieces and 5 "O" game pieces inside a quart size ziploc bag and seal. Fold top of ziploc bag over one time (approximately 1" fold) and insert ziploc top inside of folded treat bag topper.
Staple topper to ziploc on each side and in the middle.
To make cupcake wraps, cut along inside edge of each printed cupcake wrap approximately 1/8". If desired, cut top edge of wrap (the longest side) with decorative scallop scissors. Wrap around a cupcake baked in a liner and secure along back with scotch tape or a dot of hot glue.
You're done! Now you have an adorable Valentine's party set -- perfect for your child's classroom Valentine's party.

I hope you all love your new printables!

__________________________________________________

Valentines "Owl Always Love You" Party

2012-01-11T05:24:00.002-06:00

One of my favorite Valentines Parties from last year was the on Kate from And Everything Sweet created for her two little girls' Valentines playdate. I love the sweet little owl and all the details..... Kate is such a creative whiz!

We moms know how much fun it is for our kids to make crafts and Valentines Day is the perfect time to let them go at it with stickers, markers, glue and all the rest. Kate used store bought tin mini mailboxes and let the kids decorate their own to take home with them after the party.

Thanks Kate for always providing such wonderful inspiration to us all - your cakes, cookies and cupcakes are divine, and it looks like Olivia and her friends had a spectacular day!

Valentines Printables - New Collection!

2012-01-10T06:22:00.002-06:00

All you need is LOVE, right? And I just love Valentines Day!

Today I wanted to share a few photos of the new

Valentines Collection

in the Shindig Parties To Go Shop now. I've been working for
the last few weeks on creating a sweet Valentines Day party to
showcase the new designs and will hopefully reveal some fun photos of the tables next week.

In the meantime, you can take a peek at just a few of the many, many designs included in the set like cupcake toppers, 2" Valentines circles, favor tags, a pillow box, lots of signs, a banner, Hershey Kiss stickers, cupcake wraps, an activity sheet with puzzles for the kids, candy bar wraps, water bottle wraps, bubble and napkin wraps and more, more, more!

The set is on SALE for only $9.00 for 46 files! I just love a good deal!

You can decorate the house, make sweet gifts for teachers and classmates or even host a fun Valentines party with all the versatile designs in this set.

I hope you all LOVE it, too!

Valentines Rocket Freebie

2012-01-10T05:00:00.008-06:00

I'm so happy to share a guest post I did over at Skip to My Lou last week

with a fun Valentines Freebie, too!

Let's face it, Valentines is pretty much for the girls. If you've got boys, you're probably searching the Valentines aisles for plain-jane commercialized Star Wars or Transformers cards to give out to classroom pals. It seems that everything cute for Valentines is pink and frilly and most definitely "pretty."

Well, the search is over! Today I'm sharing a cute Valentine that even the boys will like. It's a rocket made from a rolo candy roll.

Fun! This project is pretty quick and most definitely easy (my kind of project!).

With just a few supplies, and the

FREE ROCKET ROLO PRINTABLE DOWNLOAD,

you and your son can work together to make some sweet classroom treats that he'll be proud to hand out to his best buds.

SUPPLIES:

- FREE Printable rocket craft download

- Rolo candy rolls (find them for about $.89/each in the grocery store)

- Photo paper or brochure paper (can use white cardstock but the photo paper will print much more vividly)

- Hot glue

- Scotch tape

- Scissors

- Orange and yellow tissue paper

Step 1: After printing your rocket craft files onto photo paper or brochure paper, cut each of the designs out with scissors.

Step 2: Take your orange and white striped rocket piece and wrap it around one tube of rolos. Use scotch tape to secure.

Step 3: Take the blue rocket top piece and roll it into a cone shape. Hot glue it closed, or you may use scotch tape (sometimes hot glue doesn't adhere to photo paper).

Step 4: Put a generous amount of hot glue at the top of the rolo tube and the place the blue cone on top. Hold until the glue dries.

Step 5: Cut stacks of the yellow and orange tissue paper into triangular shapes and then cut the wider base to resemble flames. Place 2-3 sheets of your cut yellow pieces on top of 2-3 pieces of cut orange tissue and scrunch the top into a point. Place a dab of hot glue on the point and glue it to the bottom of the rolo candy cylinder. Next put another dab of glue onto the tab of the cloud cut out and glue it down at the base of the rolo candy on top of the yellow tissue paper.

Voila! Cute!

Be sure to put your child's "to" and "from" information on the back side of the clouds before you hand them out to classmates.

And don't forget those sweet girls.... you can make them for the girls in your son's class, too.

I think those girls might be jealous if only the boys got their own rockets and rolos!

Happy Crafting! I hope your boys love their rockets!

FREEBIE Valentines Hershey Kiss Stickers

2012-01-09T05:09:00.120-06:00

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It's FREEBIE Time Again!

Today I'm sharing some free SWEET TREATS from Shindig's new

VALENTINES PRINTABLES Collection....

Hershey Kiss Stickers and Treat Bag Toppers. These would make perfect little gifts for classroom friends on Valentines Day. Not too expensive either.

DOWNLOAD the VALENTINES FREE HERSHEY KISS STICKER SET

If you download the FREEBIE, please be sure to become a

FAN ON FACEBOOK of Shindig Parties To Go HERE (just click "LIKE")

and a FOLLOWER of the Shindig Parties To Go Blog HERE

to keep up with all of Shindig's latest freebies and giveaways. Thank you!

The last time I gave away a free set of Christmas Kisses, I had so many people asking how to make these. Sometimes I guess I forget that not everyone out there is familiar with printables and just how simple they are to use. So today, I'm going to show you how. Easy peasy!

Here's What You'll Need:

- Adhesive Paper (sticker paper) - my ABSOLUTE first choice is the fabulous sticker paper from Online Labels. It prints vividly even on an inkjet printer. I use the full sheet 8.5"x11" white glossy paper found HERE.

- 3/4" Circle Craft Punch - mine is the EK Success brand which you may find at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Amazon and many other crafty places (use a 40% weekly coupon)

- Hershey Kisses

- Scissors & Stapler

- 4" x 6" Ziploc Bags - found on the jewelry making aisle of craft stores such as Hobby Lobby, Michaels and Walmart

STEP 1: Download your Valentines Freebie Hershey Kiss Set. Print it using the borderless 8.5"x11" or full bleed letter paper printer setting.

Cut the page into strips with scissors, cutting close to the circles so that you can punch them with your 3/4" circle punch.

STEP 2: Using a 3/4" circle punch like the one above from EK Success or this one on Amazon from Marvy Uchida, you are now ready to punch your circle stickers.

STEP 3: Turn your circle punch over and line up a Hershey Kiss sticker with the circle on the back of the punch. Press the lever to punch out each circle.

STEP 4: Peel off the paper backing from each sticker.

STEP 5: Place your sticker onto your Hershey Kiss

STEP 6: Print the sheet of ziploc bag treat toppers to coordinate with your Kiss stickers. Cut out each topper with scissors.

Grab your 4"x6" ziplocs like the ones above (you can find them on the jewelry making aisle of craft stores and Walmart).

STEP 7: Using a ruler as a guide, score the center line of the treat bag topper with the backside of a butter knife or with a scoring tool to make a crease before folding the topper over.

STEP 8: Fill your ziploc bag with about a dozen candies. Place the treat bag topper over the ziploc bag (fold over the bag a few times to make it smaller and tuck it inside the treat bag topper).

STEP 9: Staple to attach together on each side of the treat bag topper.

And you're done! Cute and perfect for class treats.

If you like the VALENTINE FREEBIES but need more items to coordinate, be sure to check out Shindig's Valentines Printables set in the shop now for only $9.00 for 46 files. It's packed full of every item you'll need to decorate your house, throw a sweet Valentines party or just have some fun items to take to your child's class Valentines party.

{Guest Post} Homemade Pixie Sticks

2012-01-05T06:32:00.004-06:00

Hello! It's been a busy start to the year for Shindig and I'm working on a new Valentines set to reveal soon.... yes, it's already time to think about the next holiday!

So many wonderful occasions to celebrate! While I get a few things done for the new photo shoot, my talented contributor Brittany from Edible Details is here today to share a WONDERFUL idea for

HOMEMADE PIXIE STICKS.

How fun!

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Happy New Year!!

Brittany from Edible Details here to start off a year of tutorials with one I have been super excited about sharing with you all!

My take on the childhood favorite...

Pixie Sticks!

These sweet sticks are so simple to make, and with NO preservatives, you may have just found your natural alternative to the classic sugar rush.

Play around with your favorite flavors and let me know how they turn out, I would love to hear from you!

The best part about these is that because it calls for "Freeze Dried" fruit (AKA - REAL fruit!), it tastes like the real thing!

INGREDIENTS:

Freeze Dried Fruit
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Pick up "Freeze Dried" fruit in an assortment of flavors at your local Trader Joe's (A little goes a long ways!), Sam's Club or order online from a variety of different vendors.

In a thoroughly cleaned coffee grinder (Unless coffee and fruit is your preferred taste) combine 1/4 cup granulated sugar and aprox 1/8 cup fruit.

Use on the "Pulse" setting and grind for about 5 seconds and check,

grind more if needed but never going more than 2 seconds at a time.

Grind until all fruit checks are gone.

Bend the bottom of a paper straw (I bought mine from Shop Sweet Lulu and make a paper cone with a hold just large enough to fit inside your straw.

Slowly sprinkle in your pixie powder just a little at a time so it wont clump up at the end, fill about 8/10 full and fold the other end to seal.

Store in a moisture free area and enjoy!

TIP: If your powder gets too powdery and doesn't want to pour nice, you can simply fold a piece of paper and "slide" the powder into the straw this way rather than making a cone. Texture of the powder may very depending on the food processor used and the humidity conditions in your home.

FABULOUS, Brittany!

I love this idea and can't wait to try this with my own kids. I think I might actually try it myself first..... "fool" them and let them LOVE it. Then I'll break the news that it's not colored sugar but REAL FRUIT!

-XOXO
Amanda

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{Customer Shindig} Firetruck Party

2011-12-30T09:17:00.007-06:00

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Hello Everyone! I'm so happy to be back after a wonderful holiday with my family. I hope you all had a fabulous holiday season, too. Although I've still been super busy with my shop and orders, I took a bit of a break from blogging for the last week or so.

Today I wanted to share a sweet firetruck party my customer, Rachael, sent in of her son Nolan's 1st birthday party. Rachael is one lucky girl.... having not one but TWO photographers in the family! Oooh how I would LOVE that!

Rachael wanted to create a special FIRETRUCK PARTY for her little boy's

big celebration, complete with Shindig's

FIRETRUCK PARTY PRINTABLES

and a real firetruck, too.

What little one wouldn't want that!

I think this is such a beautiful photo.... the party sign in the foreground

with the fire engine in the background.

Rachael put together a beautiful spread for the party table including lots of colorful cupcakes, candies and lots of polka dots and stripes in all the party decor. And that tablecloth... spectacular!

That little Nolan is one adorable sweetie pie!

Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful party photos, Rachael.

It looks like Nolan had a wonderful first birthday!

-Amanda

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{Guest Post} Christmas Frame Wreath

2011-12-22T05:04:00.000-06:00

Hi there SHINDIG readers!It's Kristyn, from Lil' Luna!Wanted to share with you this Christmas Frame Wreath Tutorial that I hope you LOVE!
One thing you may find all over my blog is WREATHS.I'm kinda addicted!
I DID NOT like my Christmas Wreath from last year so I decided to make a new one this year.I loved my Valentine's Wreath so much that I decided to do something similar for Christmas.

Do you like it??I totally copied my own creation from earlier this year and then also found the inspiration for the Tree HERE {so cute!}
If you would like to make one too, here is what you'll need....
SUPPLIES:-Berry Wreath {I always get mine after Christmas when they are 75% off}-8x10 Frame {Got mine for. .50 at Goodwill}-Spray Paint-Sand Paper-Christmas Song Printable-Scrapbook Paper {of various colors}-Hot Glue-Ribbon

DIRECTIONS:1. Begin by spray painting your frame and then letting it dry. Distress when you are done if you like that look.

2. Print out your Christmas Song Printable {from Altered Artifacts} to 8x10 size. Cut off excess and set aside.

3. You will then want to make your tree. To do this I made 5 two-inch strips of varying lengths. I made mine 12 inches, 10.5 inches, 9 inches, 7.5 inches and 5 inches long. I zig-zagged them back and forth and I also cut along the strip with my scalloped scissors for an added touch. Then I hot glued them to my sheet music starting with the bottom strip first.

4. Continue gluing strips on to the sheet music. At the top you will add your star. I cut mine out of some glitter paper and added it to the top.

5. From there, I stuck the page into my spray painted 8x10 and then added some ribbon to the back. I hung my wreath on the hook and then tied the ribbon from the frame around the hook so the frame laid on top.

SUPER EASY AND CUTE!I {heart} it!
I hope you like it too!!Be sure to come on over to Lil' Luna to say hi!
ENJOY!

_______________________________
Thank you, Kristyn! You always come up with the cutest ideas. I've been wanting to make one of those accordion fold Christmas trees myself so I love the idea of putting it on the door in a wreath. Just a few more days everyone.... are you ready??

Peppermint Swirl Icing from Edible Details

2011-12-21T05:30:00.003-06:00

Hi everyone!

Brittany from Edible Details here to share my
personal trick to making the perfect
"Peppermint Swirl Icing"
for any last minute holiday cupcakes this week.

This tutorial shows the use of a white icing with red stripes, however it would also be really cute done with red stripes and pink icing for either Christmas or Valentines Day.

With the addition of just a hint of peppermint extract to your icing, you'll really get the wow factor from your guests. Try it on a chocolate cupcake, or perhaps a peppermint flavored white cake.

Mix together approximately 1 tsp red GEL food coloring and 1 tsp white royal icing. (This will thicken it enough to paint with and make the dye less concentrated for eating)

Using a paint brush, paint the mixture in streaks inside your piping bag, no wider than 1/4".

Fill your painted bag with your favorite white icing that has been infused with a bit of peppermint extract. My personal favorite is "Italian Buttercream", however any recipe will work.

Pipe icing onto cupcakes, trying to keep at 2 swirls per cupcake.

To add a little more detail (and cuteness) Top with a shiny red candy,

such as a large "cherry Sour"

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas with your family!

XOXO

Brittany

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Thank you, Brittany! I've always wondered how the experts make this work. Great trick!

Be sure to visit Edible Details for the most amazing

fondant creations to coordinate with any party theme.

FREE Merry Christmas Tags and Gift Idea

2011-12-20T05:36:00.004-06:00

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Over the weekend I was busy finishing up gift projects for neighbors, friends, and my kids' teachers and friends. Always on the lookout for fun, homemade gift ideas, I sometimes make my own Chex Mix in large batches to give away at the holidays. With the baking involved in making Chex Mix, however, it was going to take a bit more time than I had to give this year.

Instead, I came up with a new, no-bake version that actually turned out really yummy. I packaged the mix into quart size mason jars and used Shindig's latest FREEBIE MERRY CHRISTMAS TAGS to make stickers for the front of the jars.

You can

DOWNLOAD the FREE CHRISTMAS TAGS HERE

And if you download, I would LOVE for you to support Shindig Parties

by becoming a FAN on FACEBOOK HERE.... Just click LIKE!

The freebie set includes a page of 2" circles and a page of 3" circles. You may use circle craft punches to punch the designs out or you may carefully cut with scissors if you don't have access to the punches.

I recommend printing onto glossy sticker paper from ONLINE LABELS HERE.

After printing, cut close to the designs with scissors and then punch each one out with your circle craft punch.

Once you've got your labels printed and cut, it's time to make your

No-Bake Chocolate Chex Mix.

SUPPLIES:
- Chex Mix Muddy Buddies (I found large size bags at Sams Club)
- Box of Chocolate Chex cereal (I found mine at Walmart)
- Bag of Mini Pretzel Twists
- Bag of Christmas M&Ms

I LOVE that you can find Muddy Buddies already made up this time of year. If you can't find the mixture, here is a recipe for this part of the mix: MUDDY BUDDY RECIPE

Pour the contents of all your store bought ingredients into
two large bowls and mix together.

TO MAKE THE JARS:
1. Use Quart size mason jars. I found a dozen at Walmart for about $11. Fill each jar with your Chocolate Chex Mix
2. Place the circle lid on the top of the jar
3. Cut circles from a Christmas fabric approximately 5 1/4" in diameter. Use pinking shears for a fun edging if you have a pair. Screw on the jar lid over the fabric circle.
4. Using hot glue, adhere an approximately 3/4" wide ribbon to the side of the jar lid.
5. Wrap some red & white bakers twine around the jar lid a few times and tie into a bow.
6. Add a candy cane under the bow for a sweet embellishment.

You can make jars and jars of these in just a few hours.

No excuses.... go spread some cheer through the neighborhood!

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Customer's Classroom Christmas Party

2011-12-19T05:59:00.001-06:00

What a wonderful CLASSROOM CHRISTMAS PARTY my Facebook friend, Kristi, sent over to me. She and her mom worked to put this adorably sweet party together for her daughter's third grade class using the CANDY CHRISTMAS printables set.

Kristi used polka dot plates from Target to make clean up easy but just look at how perfectly they coordinate. Great find! She also incorporated some red and white dot wrapping paper into the party which is such a smart idea. Wrapping boxes as cake pop tiers and also using the wrap to make placemats for each girl is fabulous.

I love that Kristi downloaded the FREE REINDEER FOOD printables set and created some great favors for the girls to take home with them, too.

The sweets included Hershey Kisses, chocolate covered peppermint sticks, marshmallow pops, candy canes and some cute chocolate covered pretzels.

Wrapping bottles of whipping cream with the printable paper is a good way to make the "not so pretty" tie in with the rest of the table display. These small but thoughtful touches mean so much and turn the ordinary get together into something special for the kids.

And I'm sure the girls had a ball with all of the toppings for their hot chocolate, too. Small ramekins filled with add-ins such as m&m's, chocolate chips, sprinkles and more would make any child happy.

Thank you, Kristi, for sharing your hard work and adorable party with us!

Gift Wrapping with Printables

2011-12-16T05:19:00.005-06:00

My new blogging friend, Stacy, from She's Kinda Crafty shared a sweet idea
yesterday on her blog using Shindig's CANDY CHRISTMAS printables set.
I love how creative mamas like Stacy find new uses for printables.

Stacy took the 2" logos from the set normally used for cupcake toppers
and made some adorable gift tags for Christmas presents.

Looks like a cupcake topper.....

But no.... look! Cupcake topper turned gift topper.... how cute!

Maybe you can find some new and different uses for your printables, too. Place the printable circles on top of bows.... make garlands from them to string on your mantels or party tables.... or use them as tags for classroom favors.

Be sure to visit Stacy over at She's Kinda Crafty. This girl is an
amazing source for fabulous Christmas crafts.... and they are easy, too!

Just take a look at a few of her fun creations.

Stacy's become a bit "internet famous" for her absolutely adorable ribbon wreaths like this Christmas version. She even sells the kits in her Etsy shop for those of us who don't want to find all that ribbon ourselves.

If you have a ribbon wreath, you must have a sweet ribbon Christmas tree, too.

A MINI RIBBON WREATH ORNAMENT...

what a fantastic gift this would make for a friend.

And how about this super cute 15 MINUTE STOCKING idea with a full tutorial.

Thanks, Stacy, for your wonderful holiday inspirations!

FREE Reindeer Food Tags

2011-12-15T05:25:00.003-06:00

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Reindeer food is certainly not a new idea but my kids have loved it each and every Christmas for about 10 years now. It's become a Christmas tradition to go outside before bed on Christmas Eve and pour the reindeer food out on the lawn.... waiting, waiting, waiting for those reindeer to come!

This year I decided to create a sweet little tag and poem for my kindergartner to make gifts for his classroom friends. And today, I'm going to give the designs away to my readers and Facebook fans, too. I hope it will help you with those last minute treats for your kids' class parties next week.

To make the gifts, you'll need to gather your supplies to make the reindeer food....
no worries... it's easy, peasy!

REINDEER FOOD SUPPLIES:

- Oatmeal (I used the whole can for 21 kids)

- Bottles of Christmas colored sugars

- Christmas sprinkles

- Glitter

Pour everything together in a big bowl and stir to mix.

Employ your best helpers to spoon the mixture into small plastic bags. I found these in a pack of 100 on the wedding supplies aisle at Walmart. To keep the bag open for my little one, I used a toilet paper roll inside the bag and had him spoon the reindeer food over a plastic bowl. This caught much of the spills so that I won't find glitter and oatmeal under every crevice for the next 3 months.

Once you get your bags filled, punch holes in your printed reindeer food tags and string some ribbon or tulle through to seal off the bags and make them pretty.

The tags will explain to your child's friends just how this reindeer food works....

Here's our basket full and all ready to go.... one class down.

Now to come up with ideas for my older children's friends.

Grab your

REINDEER FOOD DOWNLOAD HERE

If you haven't become a fan on FACEBOOK you can click

LIKE here to keep up with freebies and other fun party ideas.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

__________________________________________________

{FREEBIE} Letter To Santa Printable

2011-12-13T05:07:00.005-06:00

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We're less than two weeks 'til Christmas.... can you believe it? Every year it seems like there is less and less time to fit in all of the fun holiday activities. There are just so many fun things to do this season! One holiday tradition in our own house is writing a letter to Santa and a sweet note to him, too, on Christmas Eve.

So today I thought I'd share a little FREEBIE with all of my Facebook Fans and blog Followers for a Santa Letter Pack. It includes a letter to Santa, an address label to the North Pole and a little note for Santa to leave by the fireplace on Christmas Eve. Set it right beside his cookies and milk, and Santa will love hearing from his biggest fans.

Before you download, be sure to do the following:

- Become a FACEBOOK FAN HERE: Just click "Like"

- Become a BLOG FOLLOWER: Click "Follow" on my left sidebar of this blog

- Become a PINTEREST FOLLOWER HERE: Click Follow

Now you'll be able to find out about all Shindig Parties To Go's latest FREEBIES and specials, too!

Here's the link to the DOWNLOAD

After you save the file to your computer, you can just print it, then cut it out and let the kids fill in their wishes. You can cut out the address label and glue it to the front of an envelope or you can print it onto sticker paper (mailing label paper) and apply the sticker to your envelope.

Enjoy!

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{Guest Post} Easy Holiday Banner

2011-12-12T05:56:00.000-06:00

Hi there!
Kristyn from Lil' Luna here!

Did you know there are SO many inexpensive but CUTE crafts you can make around the holidays?

This next craft I’m going to show you cost $1.50 if you buy the supplies, or if you are like me and have lots of scrapbook paper laying around it’s FREE! You heard me right – FREE!

Here is how you can make a super easy and cute
JOY sign for cheap…

SUPPLIES:

-Cardstock Scrapbook Paper

-Patterned Scrabook Paper

-Glue Stick

-Scissors

-Hot Glue Gun

-Tulle

DIRECTIONS:

1. Decide on what kind of shape you want to use for the banner. I did a Pennant Shape, but you can do circles or even triangles. Make your pattern and make two sizes of it {one a tad smaller than the other}. Trace the larger pattern on to your cardstock and then trace the smaller pattern onto your patterned paper. Cut out.

2. You will then glue the smaller pattern on to your larger pattern.

3. From there, I made paper accordions. To do that, cut out strips half the width of what you would like your paper accordion to be. For example, if you want a 4 inch accordion, then cut your strips 2 inches wide. Your will need 2 strips per accordion. Then, siz sag the entire length of the paper. You will hot glue the beginning and the ends of the paper to your other zig-zagged strip. Then you will in the edges of the paper and place a dab of hot glue. Hold until it dries.

4. Hot glue your accordion onto your paper letter shapes.

5. Then trace your letters onto your glitter paper. To do this I cut out letters {Coney Island Font} and traces it backwards onto the back of my glitter paper. I then cut it out and hot glued it to the center of my accordion flowers.

6. Hole punch the tops and string with ribbon or tulle.

Voila!
A super easy, cute but inexpensive Banner!

I hope you like it.

Be sure to come on over to Lil' Luna and say Hi!

Would love to have you AND Merry Christmas!!

________________________________
Thank you, Kristyn, for your fabulous guest post today! I love how this project can be used for all sorts of occasions. Change the colors, the wording and you can have a personalized banner for all kinds of events.

GNO Wrapping Party!

2011-12-09T06:45:00.001-06:00

My friend, Kate, of And Everything Sweet has done it again. This girl's creative mind just doesn't stop! She came up with the brilliant idea of having a Girl's Nite Out Wine and Wrap.... how much fun!

Gather a few girlfriends together, display some of your favorite wrapping supplies, throw in a little wine and VIOLA! You have a fantastic excuse to get together and you'll get a lot accomplished, too.

What I love most about Kate's display is how she took the familiar "dessert table" and created a WRAPPING TABLE. In fact, she took Shindig's CANDY CHRISTMAS printables set and created her own labels for the table using the blank tent cards that come with the set. Using glass apothecary jars, cake plates, topiaries, and platters, Kate turned ordinary wrapping supplies into an adorable party table.

There are so many great ideas here, so I'll just let the photos do the talking.

I'm so in love with Kate's gift box topiaries.

What a fun, easy and inexpensive idea for any holiday party table!

The backdrop is adorable but such a simple concept to re-create. Using a rolls of wrapping paper, Kate adhered them red/white dot wrap to the wall in two strips and then covered the seam with the lime green dot paper cut as strips of ribbon. Add a store-bought bow and you've made a stunning backdrop in no time at all.

How cute is this! Display ordinary supplies just as you would cake pops or other dessert treats.

Tags from the CANDY CHRISTMAS collection were printed,

cut and ready for all of Kate's friends to use to wrap gifts.

Thank you so much, Kate, for sharing your creativity and wonderful ideas with us!

Now I must go wrap some presents!

Candy Napkin Wraps

2011-12-08T06:36:00.006-06:00

Want to add that special touch to your holiday celebrations, but don't want to invest
lots of money or time? Well, who doesn't!

These little CANDY NAPKIN WRAPS will do the trick.

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Simply print out the 2" peppermint logos from the Candy Christmas Printables collection, punch a hole on either side with a small hole punch, and thread throw a small piece of white ribbon. That's all! So quick and easy and it will add that something special to make your guests say, "Wow! How cute!"

At your holiday parties or dinners, set up a festive station for utensils, plates and drink glasses
for a even bigger "Wow" factor. These are simple projects that really make your party
stand out but don't break the bank or take lots of time to create.

I hope you're all getting those trees decorated and the lights plugged in!
Oh, how I love Christmas!

__________________________________________________
I sometimes link to: Craftomaniac, Tater Tots and Jello, Skip to my Lou, Under the Table and Dreaming, Blue Cricket Design, Someday Crafts, House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, Tidy Mom,Romantic Home,Shabby Nest, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Finding Fabulous, The Girl Creative, Be Different Act Normal,Today's Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, C.R.A.F.T., Tea Rose Home, The Shabby Chic Cottage,The Trendy Treehouse, Beyond the Picket Fence, Mad in Crafts, Sugar Bee Crafts, Whipperberry, Sassy Sites, 30 Handmade Days, Between Naps on the Porch

Santa's Hat Pop Holders Tutorial

2011-12-07T06:30:00.006-06:00

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Did you notice the little "cake pop" holders from the Shindig Candy Christmas party table?

They were one of those little things that "popped" in my head when designing the table.....

what better than a Santa hat to hold a cake pop!

The Santa's hat holders add so much to the display with very little effort.

Those special, extra touches that turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.

The idea was to make a cake pop for the pom pom, but being on a pretty crazy schedule these days,

I decided at the last minute to substitute a true cake pop for something even easier to make....

a Lindt Truffle Pop. Yes, yummy truffles are small and round, store bought

and make a perfect little pom pom for Santa's hat.

Quick and easy treats.... just my style! Here goes the process....

SANTA'S HAT POP HOLDERS

Gather your materials:
- Printed pages of patterned paper from the Candy Christmas Collection (or heavy-weight cardstock)
- Small bit of white furry fabric
- Hot glue, scissors, pen and paper to make a simple triangular shaped cone template
- White Chocolate Lindt Truffles
- White coffee stirrers or lollipop sticks

Step 1: Create a basic template for a cone that is approximately 5" high. Trace your template onto the back of your printed red/white dot paper from the Candy Christmas printables set or a heavy-weight cardstock.

Step 2: Cut out your cone template and roll the triangular shape into a cone shape.

Step 3: Using hot glue, secure the cone closed. I added a little piece or two of Scotch tape on the seam to make sure it wouldn't pop open.

Step 4: Cut out a small, approximately 1.5" wide strip of furry white fabric for the cuff of the hat.

Step 5: Glue the fur strip to the bottom of your hat shape with hot glue.

Step 6: Stand them up, ready for your cake pop. (Note: I think if I were to make these over again, I would also add something inside of the base of the hat to stabilize it better..... maybe a criss-cross of popsicle sticks hot glued to the inside base of the hat. The hats had a tendency to fall over once they ha the pops inside).

LINDT TRUFFLE POPS

Gather your materials:
- Lindt Truffles
- White coffee stirrer or lollipop stick
- Agave or light corn syrup
- Clean, small paintbrush
- Sparkling white sugar from Wilton

STEP 1: Push a stick into the truffle to create a pop. Next, take your clean paint brush and dip it in your agave syrup (or light corn syrup) and cover your pop with something a little sticky.... not too much though.

STEP 2: Dip you sticky pop in a bowl full of white sparkling sugar and that's all! You have a super easy and tasty pop.

So cute! I think these would also be wonderful without the pop,

filled with treats in a cellophane bag and given away as classroom treats.

They look adorable on any holiday party table, too.

You can find the Candy Christmas Printables Set on SALE here for only $9.00.

Quite a deal for 30 versatile files!

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and will be making some of your own Santa's hats this season!

__________________________________________________

Christmas Candy Trees {Tutorial}

2011-12-06T08:08:00.005-06:00

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Did you notice the sweet candy and eyelet trees on Shindig's Candy Christmas party table?

Those were a quick DIY project and best of all, if stored well,
will keep to use for a few Christmas seasons to come.

Making topiary trees is so easy but can sometimes be expensive if you buy the cone styrofoam forms.

To save that added expense, I decided to create my own cones from poster board.

This is a simple project, especially if you have a pre-made cone at home.

Here's what you'll need:

- Cone form (I used some Christmas cones that I purchased at Walmart a few years back)

- Plastic toy cone from the Dollar Tree (used as a water toy)

- White poster board

- Hot glue, scissors, pen, tape

- Peppermint candy (I purchased a large size bag at Sams)

- Eyelet

- Cherry fruit slices (Walmart)

I used the red cone I already had on hand to make my taller cone and then used a Dollar Tree plastic toy that has a cone shape for the smaller topiary form. Because this form was to hold lots of candy, I kept the plastic form inside the poster board cover I made for it.

For the larger cone, however, I removed the red cone and just left the poster board since it would only be holding the eyelet and a small amount of candy.

To make the larger cone:

1. Roll the poster board around the cone to make sure it will fit properly.

2. Unroll and then mark the bottom of your cone onto the poster board with a pen as you roll up again to create a template to cut your cone from.

3. Cut out the cone shape from the poster board.

4. Roll your cut poster board cone around your cone form, tape with scotch tape to secure and then remove the cone form to leave only the poster board cone.

To make the smaller cone: (follow the same basic instructions as above)

1. Roll the poster board around the cone to make sure it will fit properly.

2. Unroll and then mark the bottom of your cone onto the poster board with a pen as you roll up again to create a template to cut your cone from.

3. Cut out the cone shape from the poster board.

4. Roll your cut poster board cone around your cone form, tape with scotch tape to secure and then remove the cone form to leave only the poster board cone.

It's time for candy!

1. Using your small cone with the plastic toy cone inside for support, you're now ready for adding candy.

2. Gather candies together and unwrap if needed.

3. Using hot glue, place eyelet around the bottom of the cone form and glue to secure. Then alternating glueing rows of peppermints with rows of fruit slices (or whatever candies you choose).

4. Keep glueing candies until you reach the top of the topiary.

You're done!
I placed mine on a thrift store candlestick painted white and
added a saucer on top to support the candy topiary.

For the eyelet tree, follow the same basic instructions as the candy tree, just using rows of eyelet and peppermint instead of all candies.

Aren't they pretty on the table?

I just love topiaries for the holidays because they can be used just about anywhere from a mantel to a kitchen display, a party table or even a bathroom decoration.

I hope you all will make your own candy topiaries!

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Christmas Tree Cupcake {Guest Post}

2011-12-05T05:39:00.008-06:00

Today I'm so happy to have Kate Petronis, the amazing cake and fondant designer from And Everything Sweet guest posting with a wonderful holiday treat.... a

CHRISTMAS TREE CUPCAKE

You are going to love this one! So creative! I'll let Kate show you how......

_______________________________________

Don’t you just love the holiday season!?!?

Every time I turn around there is something special going on, some kind of celebration.

And where there is a celebration there is a need for sweets!

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This morning I woke up early to make these cupcakes for my girls’ daily advent calendar surprise. They were easy and WELL received. If you like frosting you’ll love these!!!

Supplies: First, (and you probably already knew this) you need cupcakes. I baked red velvet mini cupcakes b/c I didn’t want to sugar my kids up toooo much, but I think these would be great as big cupcakes as well.

Then you need icing in a pastry bag with a 2A tip. (I used cream cheese icing to compliment the red velvet). You’ll need green candy melts, some mini m&ms, and some yellow Laffy Taffy or yellow Starburst.

Stick the iced cupcake in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes to let the icing really firm up and chill. You’re going to be dunking it into melted candy so you want the icing to be nice and cold so it survives the plunge. This step is important to avoid any icing melting and falling off into the candy melts or losing its shape under the heat of the candy. Trust me, that’s no fun and it might make you say things out of frustration that you’d like to later take back. And no need to have the candy super hot…just warm enough to be melted.

While your cupcakes are chillin’ in the freezer melt your candy melts in a cup or bowl tall enough for dipping. I used a little drink cup since I was dipping mini cupcakes. It worked perfect. I also added a little spoonful of shortening to the melts to make it just a little thinner.

Pull it out…

And.....

Now you can trim the tree! Act quick before the candy completely dries. I used mini m&m's for the ornaments and I heated up a Laffy Taffy in the microwave for a couple of seconds to soften it up so that I could roll out a “snake” to wrap around the tree. The star is also Laffy Taffy (Starburst works as well).

Here’s an inside look…As you can see its about 70% icing, 20% cake and 10% candy. My girls said, “Is it real? Can I eat it??” In their eyes (as icing loving girls) it looked too good to be true!!!!

Check out the size of that bite! That’s what I call goin’ for it!!!!

Hopefully you have a little fun with baking this holiday season.

And whatever you do, try to forget about the calories!

(that’s what New Years resolutions are for!!!)

Merry Christmas and happy baking!!!!

_____________________________________________

Thanks so much, Kate, for your wonderful tutorial. Who knew Christmas Tree cupcakes could be so easy to make, and I have a couple of those "icing girls" myself who would love to take a big ole bite, too!

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Hot Cocoa Bar Ideas

2011-12-02T05:26:00.009-06:00

As promised, today I'm sharing the photos from the Hot Cocoa Bar which were a part of the dessert table photo shoot I styled for Shindig Parties To Go's latest Christmas printable set, Candy Christmas.

This is such a fun and inexpensive idea for holiday parties. Include lots of candies and sweet toppings for family or children's parties or add some mix-ins like Kahlua or peppermint Schnapps for adult parties. It comes together quickly, too, with mostly store-bought products.

Food labels from the Candy Christmas printables set were used to label sundae glasses filled with various store bought yummies like M&M’s, chocolate chips and toffee. Batting was used under the glasses to simulate “snow” and some "softness" to the metal stand.

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I love to have a backdrop behind all of my party tables, and this hot cocoa was no exception. Using various widths of white ribbon and white tulle stapled onto a 1”x4” board created a simple ribbon backdrop. Adding some craft store snowflakes hung on fishing line completed the wintry look.

Peppermint marshmallows, chocolate covered peppermint sticks and chocolate peppermint spoons were placed close to the cocoa mugs for fun stirrers.

Mugs were embellished easily with some tied ribbon, a plastic candy cane (from a garland purchased at Hobby Lobby) and a printable "Yum" logo.

An oversized snowman made from styrofoam balls was a fun focal point for the bar. If you'd like to find out more about how to make your own, you can click here: SNOWMAN CENTERPIECE.

Covering your thermos' and other containers with a little decorative tissue paper, ribbon and a printable logo turn the not-so-pretty into something perfectly fitting for your cocoa bar.

Covering peppermint sticks with white candy coating and adding some sparkling sugar makes wonderfully sweet cocoa stirrers.

A hot cocoa mug logo from the printables collection was used as a focal point on the front of the table. The garland was made using some strips of white tulle and Dollar Tree snowflakes.

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The CANDY CHRISTMAS printables set is available for only $9.00 in my Etsy shop right now and includes the hot cocoa bar printables, too!

To see more photos from the dessert table using this printables set, just click here:
DESSERT TABLE

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