Under the Sea Birthday Party Feature

Hello!  I'm busy trying to finish up last minute valentines for a party we're going to tomorrow, and recovering from the big UP-themed event I planned for our girls and their parents at church last night.  I'll be sharing more details about it soon, but if you follow me on Instagram you have probably already seen a sneak peek of what it looked like…

Here's a couple Instagram shots of the event, called New Beginnings.  If you're not already following me on Instagram, I'd love for you to join along!  I'm not going to lie, Instagram and Pinterest are my favorite forms of social media to use- I just love a  pretty picture! ;)

It was a lot of fun, and as much as I loved planning it, I am breathing a big sigh of relief now that it's over!

I wanted to share with you that my daughter's under the sea party that I shared with you a couple weeks ago is being featured on Smart Party Planning today, so be sure to pop in and check it out, as well as some of the other fun parties that Catherine has shared on her blog!

xo, Laura

Edible Sea Glass Recipe

Are you planning an under the sea, ocean, or mermaid party?  Then I've got the perfect treat for you to serve!  One of my favorite parts of my daughters under the sea party was the edible sea glass that I made.

It is really easy and inexpensive to make, and makes a huge impression on guests because it looks SO realistic!  If you remember when I posted how to make homemade suckers, it is basically the same process, but without the molds.  If you want to wow your guests at your next party, here's the how to…

Edible Sea Glass Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1 tsp oil flavor (if using LorAnn's oil, it will be the whole small bottle, 1 dram)- I used mint.
• food color (regular food coloring or gel food coloring both work great)
• Powdered sugar 

Directions:

1.  Spray a light coat of Pam or other cooking spray onto a metal cookie sheet. 

2.  Combine sugar, water, and corn syrup over medium heat.  Stir until sugar is dissolved.  Continue stirring, and cook to hard crack (300 degrees F).  When my thermometer is almost to 300 degrees, I go on to the next step, because the mixture will continue heating...

3.  Remove from heat- add flavor and food color.  I used mint flavor and various blues and greens (one color per batch).  When you add the flavor, it's a good idea to turn your head.  These oils are very strong, and when they hit the hot candy mixture there is a little smoke that puffs up that is very strong- best not to sniff it!  Stir approximately 2 minutes, to ensure that the color and the flavor are evenly mixed.

4.  Carefully pour the mixture into the baking sheet, and let cool.  Once it has cooled and hardened, cover the pan with a dish cloth and use a hammer to break up the candy into pieces.  Try to get them the same size as real sea glass so they look realistic.  Don't go too crazy with the hammer, or your candy will get too crushed!

5.  At this point your sea glass candy will look very shiny and sharp.  To make the candy look more realistic, rub some powdered sugar onto each piece to give it that frosted, tumbled look of sea glass that has been battered around for years by the ocean waves and currents.  I also tried to sand down the edges with a dish cloth so that the pieces weren't so sharp.

The kids and parents all LOVED the edible sea glass at the party, and it was so fun to see their reactions when I told them they could eat it!  I told the parents and kids to be careful, because some of the pieces were a little sharp, and as with all hard candy, don't give it to small kids as it can be a choking hazard.  I served mine on a bed of brown sugar and graham crackers mixed together to look like sand, along with some white chocolate sea shells.

You can see more details of the Under the Sea party here and get more inspirations for your next bash!

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura

Sharing here:  Show and Tell

Under the Sea Ocean Birthday Party Details

I'm very excited to share this Under the Sea party with you that I put together for my daughter's birthday.  Her party was at the very end of summer, and for the first half of the party we ate and chatted, and the last half we swam.  There are so many fun details that I'd love to share with you!

I chose to use turquoise and white for the colors of the whole party to give it a nice soft natural look.  I wanted the tables to have an ocean feel to them, so I covered them in layers of tulle and net. 

I scattered sea shells, starfish, and those little round glass marbles (they reminded me of bubbles) all over the tables to add to the under the sea theme.  

I also had some tiny little metal crab name card holders that I bought a few years ago from Pottery Barn that I used to hold the names of the food that fit perfectly.  I created the printable signs and all of the food signs with waves on them so they all coordinated and matched.  

There are so many sweet treats that you can serve at an ocean party!  

One of my very favorite things that I made was this edible ocean sea glass.  It is a hard candy that you can suck on (I made them mint flavored), but looks EXACTLY like pieces of sea glass that have been battered around by the ocean waves.  For the directions and recipe, just click here!

I even made them look frosty, like real sea glass!  I'll include a tutorial for those soon, because they're very easy to make, but are very impressive to serve.  Everyone loved them!

They looked great with the chocolate sea shells that I made.  These too were very easy, but looked great on the table.  I also used graham cracker crumbs mixed with brown sugar underneath some of the food to make it look like sand, to add the the ocean feel.

I made these fun oyster cookies with a "pearl" in the middle, and they were a hit!  I'll write a tutorial for these soon.  

I made some homemade salt water suckers in two different shapes (no salt water inside, I just like the name) using this tutorial I shared with you last year.

Seaweed popcorn was such a pretty color, and was easy to make using this recipe.

You'll never guess what the secret ingredient is that gives the popcorn its' color!  

I made this sign, and placed it in front of the candy and treats, along with these cute little cups from Wholeport that matched perfectly.  The kiddos all loved filling up their cups with candy themselves!

 The kids all devoured these gummy sharks!

What under the sea party would be complete without salt water taffy?  I bought the turquoise, blue, and white colored taffy to go with my party colors.

Now for the dinner… yes, I did start with the treats first! ;) I served a build your own taco bar, with tons of different options and toppings for everyone.

The tacos were absolutely delicious, and it was easy to put together since I did all of the prep work ahead of time.  Plus, everyone could make their own the way that they like it!

Then came the cake.  I just love how it turned out!  I made a lovely four layer hombre cake, with each layer a different color of turquoise and blue.  

I added more graham cracker and brown sugar "sand" to the top, along with some chocolate shells.  Please excuse the darkness of this picture.  I had to get all the kids out of the pool to sing happy birthday and cut the cake, and it was dark outside by then.

I also whipped up a handful of these hanging jellyfish that really added to the party theme.  I love the way the long tendrils would slightly flutter in the breeze.  I could watch real jellyfish for hours at the aquarium, and these were the closest I was going to get to having jellyfish at the party! ;)  I'll write up a tutorial for these, too, because I really had a lot of fun making them.

And now for my sweet birthday girl.  I made her a starfish barrette with just a starfish, some tulle, a clip, and some hot glue.  I also made her a freezer paper stenciled shirt with a dolphin and her name on it using the tutorial I shared with you here.  She wore a blue tutu as well that her sister wore for her Minnie Mouse party.  I always try to make some kind of shirt or outfit for the birthday boy or girl to make them feel extra special!  

I didn't plan any games for the party since all the kids swam for hours after we ate.  The party was a huge success, and I honestly had so much time planning it!  Thanks for letting me share with you!  If you have any questions or comments, feel free to ask below!

For more creative party ideas, check out my son's Jungle Safari party!  From free printable safari passes to a homemade base camp where the kids get outfitted, this party is tons of fun!

Throwing a party doesn't have to cost an arm and a let!  See how I decorated inexpensively with Duck tape for my daughter's Minnie Mouse zebra print birthday party.

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura

Sharing here:  Show and Tell

Off to CHA!

I have an amazing Under the Sea Party that I put together for my daughter's birthday party that I had planned on sharing with you today, but it has been SO busy this week!  I'm trying to get everything ready to go to the CHA winter show this weekend in Anaheim, and I am thrilled to be going!

If you haven't heard of CHA before, it's short for the Craft & Hobby Association, and every year they hold two shows, the one in January being the larger of the two.  Basically, it's where all of the big manufacturers of craft and scrapbook supplies show their new products that will be released to the public soon.

The show is not open to the public, but is attended by store owners, craft designers, CHA members, craft celebrities, and some press members like me.  Ever since I started scrapbooking over a decade ago, I dreamed of going to CHA and meeting some of my favorite crafters and seeing all of the amazing craft products and eye candy that will be everywhere during the show.  It's like Disneyland for crafters, and I can't wait to experience it first hand for the first time.

I'll be meeting with some great companies this weekend, and will be posting lots of photos on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, so if you're not following along yet, I'd love for you to join me!

In the meantime, here's a little preview of the party I'll be sharing with you next week…

There are so many details I can't wait to share with you!

I've also been busy designing some fun Valentine's Day cards that I just love, mainly because of this cute guy I created from scratch today.  My son is already begging to take his valentines to school, which is a good sign, right?

Have a great weekend!

xo, Laura