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!