My Party File - blog

Posts Tagged ‘pool’

This looks just like a soft serve icecream, but it is actually a cupcake. Pretty cool, hey?  This fabulous cupcake was made by Jayne Harrison, and she claims they are easy to make.

How to make icecream cone cupcakes

Use a cake batter of your choice, and pour it into flat-bottomed cones - filling no more than halfway.  Then cook according to your cake recipe or packet instructions.   You may need to keep checking the cakes with a skewer to ensure the cake batter is cooked through until you’ve worked out the perfect cooking time (afterall, it will depend on the size of the cones you use).  When the cake is cooled, trim any excess (you can see she has scooped a little of the cake out before adding the icing), then pipe vanilla buttercream on top, and then push a Cadbury flake into the icing.  No more effort than normal cupcakes!

Alternative:  For some extra scrumptiousness, use a bismarck piping nozzle to pipe some jam or chocolate spread into the middle of the cake before icing it.

Good, healthy food can be served at a kids party.  There are always ways to make it exciting for the kids - even just putting it in the right dish can make a difference.

I served vegetables, crackers and dip at Bella’s mermaid party in this gorgeous starfish platter I picked up from a variety store.  Yum!

Anything can become a part of your theme with a little creativity and a hot glue gun.  I purchased these starfish decorations sure I could add them in some way to my daughter’s mermaid party - and I did.  Using a hot glue gun I stuck them on to cheap hair ties.  Perfect for any little mermaid!

I made these plaster shells for the guests to paint at Bella’s mermaid party.  It was a great activity to start the kids off with as they waited for other guests to arrive.  We glued magnets on the back after so that they could take them home and put them on the fridge.

Plaster mix and moulds can be found at most craft stores - this was, in fact, a chocolate mould!  You could also make these as party favours for the guests to take home and paint.

We’ve had a few requests for our starfish labels, so here is a template for you.  We recommend printing on pink card for the best effect. You can use them for:

• goodie bag labels
• party favour labels
  • mermaid sweets
  • mermaid bath fizz
  • mermaid bath colour
• invitation labels
  • message in a bottle

I thought I’d try out a Martha Stewart project - and I’m pretty sure I picked out the easiest!  These sponge balls are good clean fun and are a great alternative to water balloons - easy to fill, no broken pieces to pick up, they are reusable, and softer and splashier than balloons!

Fill a few large buckets of water and let the kids splat each other, and afterwards they can take home a fun party favour!   These are also good for a pool party, and make a good bath toy (a great party favour for a rubber ducky theme - keep them in the theme colours of blue and yellow).

To make sponge balls you will need:

• Sponges (4 sponges will make 3 sponge balls)
• Scissors
• Dental Floss

Step 1: Cut each sponge into six equal strips.

Step 2: Grab eight strips and stack them into two layers of four sponge strips (as shown), into any pattern you like. Place a length of dental floss under the pile.

Step 3:  Tie dental floss around the middle of the sponges and pull tightly,  drawing strips together into a pom-pom shape. Knot the dental floss and trim.  Fluff and twist the sponges to get the desired shape.

Tips:

• You can use zip/cable ties instead of the dental floss.
• These are machine washable - just let them air dry.

Have a look at this wonderfully creative idea I spotted on Cap Creations’ blog.   I had to look twice when I came across it - it’s not a real fish in a bag - it is soap!  What a wonderful idea for a prize or party favour for an Under the Sea theme.  Check out the tutorial on how to make these at Cap Creations.

Any little girl will be excited to find nail polish in their party bag.  You can add it to all sorts of themes, from princess and mermaid parties to circus and movie parties.  I found these small bottles in a pack of seven, which made them very affordable - about $1 each.  I also included a coloured nail file, which you can get in bulk from a variety store.

Alternatively, use these as prizes or even make an activity out of painting guests’ nails.

Making necklaces can be a fun activity as guests arrive, or you can add them to the party bags.  For this mermaid party we picked up an assortment of beads including shells and rocks.  We used stretchy nylon (which you can pick up from a craft or variety store) to make it easy for the kids to thread and simple to tie together without the need for fixings.  Guests were invited to make a necklace as they arrived and while they were waiting for other guests.

Another idea is to create small necklace making kits for goodie bags.  Put some beads in a bag or jar and cut some necklace string.  The kids can enjoy the activity at home.  If you have an assortment of buttons accumulating in your cupboard add these to thread - buttons make gorgeous necklaces and add wonderful character.

Add these bath fizzers to your party bag.  I picked up these in bulk and added starfish tags to keep with the mermaid theme.  They are sweet and guaranteed to be hit in the kids’ bath.

(Just make sure you label these so that the kids don’t try to eat them!)