Summer Party Themes

Summer is almost here and for some of you lucky ones, you have already started your summer break. We only have 5 weeks of summer vacation here in Switzerland and it doesn't start until mid-July!  I'm already dreaming of sunny skies and warm nights and thinking about what summer parties we can have.  In doing that, I took a look at some of the themes I've designed and thought I would share with you some ideas for your summer parties.

1. Pool Party

If you have access to a pool, a pool party is a great idea for summer.  It's a fun theme for both kids and adults, and it's really simple to set up.  All you need is a pool, and the kids are kept busy and are happy swimming.  Always make sure someone is watching the kids in the pool to be safe.  The food is easy as well.  You can BBQ or have easy finger foods like mini hot dogs and chips. It's definitely an easy-going party and is perfect for summer! See how we styled our pool party for more ideas.

2. Nautical Party

Summer is the time to be by the sea, so why not have a seaside nautical inspired party? We used our red, white and blue printable collection to have a party by the sea. If you can't be by the sea this summer, bring it to you by decorating with lots of red, white and blue, and adding some anchor or nautical decorations to your dessert tables.

3. Camping Party

This is a fun one for the kids! I know I always wanted to sleep under the stars in the backyard, and how much more fun would that have been if my friends would be there too! Set up some tents in the backyard, roast s'mores, tell ghost stories and you have a recipe for a great party. And if the weather doesn't cooperate, you can always have it indoors.  We had our camping party indoors.  You can take our ideas and bring them outside for more fun!

4. Ice Cream Party

What is summer without ice cream? Have an impromptu ice cream party for friends and enjoy chatting and catching up. Isn't that what summer is for anyway?

Sweet Mondays: Coffee and Strawberry Lime Popsicles

Since it is Memorial Day today in the USA and as it usually signals the beginning of summer, I thought it would be great to feature popsicles for today's Sweet Mondays post. And no, not coffee and strawberry-lime together in one popsicle.  Two separate ones, of course! And since I couldn't decide which one I wanted more, fruity and fresh or creamy and rich, I made both.

Here are the strawberry-lime ones which were very refreshing, but the lime parts were REALLY sour. I was hoping to make a striped popsicle, but it didn't turn out as nice as I hoped. Oh well, it still tasted good. My husband and kids are big fans of sour candy, so this one was a big hit! Here's how I made it:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pureed strawberries

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 teaspoon sugar (add more if you would like it sweeter)

Directions: 

1. Mix in the sugar with the lime juice.

2. Depending on how many stripes you would like to have, pour the strawberry puree about 1/3 of the way into your popsicle mold and wait until it is frozen.

3. Once it is frozen, pour the lime juice mixture on top of that until it fills another third of your popsicle mold. 

4. Wait until the lime juice mixture is frozen before repeating step 2.

5. Freeze until they are ready. It usually takes about 6 hours if you are using regular popsicle molds.  I used the Zoku quick pop maker and it took only about 20 minutes for the popsicles to be ready(I am not getting paid to say this, I just use it and really like it!)

Makes 1 popsicle depending on your popsicle mold size*

*Note: I had enough strawberry puree to make one more popsicle. I made one using just the strawberries and it tasted great.  Very refreshing! No extra sugar needed.

And this one is the coffee flavored popsicle.  Coffee ice-cream lovers will enjoy this one!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of cooled coffee

1/4 cup milk

2 teaspoons of Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

1. Mix all of the ingredients together.

2. Pour into your popsicle mold and freeze.

3. Once it is frozen, enjoy!

Makes 1 popsicle depending on your popsicle mold size.

I'm so excited that Summer is almost here. Let popsicle-eating season begin!

10 Things to Make with Cupcake Liners (other than cupcakes)

If you're like me, you have a lot of extra cupcake liners around. I always use them for one set of cupcakes and then have just a few leftover. Or, I will use them for one occasion and need another style for a different occasion.  Either way, I've ended up with a lot of cupcake liners.  I've had a lot of parties lately and that means even more than the usual amount of extra cupcake liners are lying around.  I searched Pinterest for what to do with them, and here are 10 good ideas I found.  Hope it helps you find something to do with all of your cupcake liner "leftovers"!

Image source: A Pretty Cool Life

1. Make party hat cupcake toppers like these from A Pretty Cool Life.

Source: Family Chic

2. Pretty up your gifts with a colorful gift topper. This idea is from Family Chic who says "10 cupcake liners, a stapler, a pair of scissors and a few minutes are all you need to make this simple gift topper." Sounds like a great way to make something look special in a short amount of time!

Photo Source: Spoonful

3. Make these fortune cookies and put them in the kids' lunch boxes for a special lunch time fortune.

Photo Source: Saved by Love Creations

4. Take an old frame and make it fresh again by adding cupcake liner rosettes. Gorgeous! Get the tutorial at Saved by Love Creations.

Photo Source: Real Simple

5. Get creative and make a lei with all of your extra cupcake liners.  This is a great idea not only for Halloween but for all of those summer parties coming up! Get the tutorial from Real Simple.

Photo Source: Muffin Tin Mom

6. Make a handmade card for Father's Day or to send to a loved one.  Such a great idea from Muffin Tin Mom!

Photo Source: The Craft Train

7. Use this cupcake liner flower garland to decorate a room.  So pretty and fresh.  Plus it will last a long time! Get the tutorial from The Craft Train.

Photo Source: Project Nursery

8. If you don't want to have a garland of flowers, make them to put in a vase like these from Project Nursery.

Image Source: Confetti Sunshine

9. I love these DIY award ribbons.  This would be perfect for a horse party or give them to the winners of your birthday party games.  I'm sure the kids would love to wear one of these and say "I won!". Get the tutorial over at Confetti Sunshine.

Image Source: Martha Stewart

10. And last but not least, use them to cover your drinks at your next BBQ or anytime you dine al fresco.  It helps to keep the bugs out of your drinks and looks cute too!


Of course, you could just save the liners for your next party. But then you can't buy new ones ;-)

Sweet Mondays: Polka Dot Cupcakes

Image source: Las Recetas de la Felicidad

I am in love with these adorable polka dot cupcakes! Interestingly enough, they are cooked using steam and not baked in an oven.  View the instructions and recipe on Las Recetas de la Felicidad.

We've been featured on Hostess with the Mostess!

Our spring tea party was featured on Hostess with the Mostess today! I am so excited since it's been a dream of mine to have a party featured there.  I love the website and the parties they feature are always so pretty.  If you are coming from there, welcome!

To view the feature, visit Hostess with the Mostess.

Mother's Day Gift Tags - Free Printable!

This year is going by so quickly and Mother's Day is this Sunday already! For those of you that need a last-minute gift tag, I created this free printable for you to download. 

I wish all of you moms out there a great Mother's Day!

Watermelon Margaritas

My husband and I have been trying to eat healthier.  We just got off a Whole30 diet a couple of weeks ago and feel really good.  Now that it's almost Cinco de Mayo, we wanted to try to have some margaritas but didn't want to have one with a lot of sugar in it.  So, I tried a few variations and came up with these watermelon margaritas.  It's so simple and only has three ingredients...watermelon, lime juice and tequila.  The watermelon probably has a lot of sugar in it, but at least it is fruit sugar and not processed! These are really refreshing and go well with chips and salsa. Make up a pitcher and have a Cinco de Mayo party!

Watermelon Margaritas

Ingredients

3/4 Cup Pureed Watermelon

1-2 Shots of Tequila (I used Patron Silver)

Juice of 1 Lime

Ice

Salt to rim your glass.

Instructions

1. Salt the rim of your glass and fill it with ice.

2. Add the pureed watermelon, 1-2 shots of tequila to taste, and the lime juice.  Mix together.

3. Enjoy!