Cake Balls (Pops)

I know, I know, this is a scrapbooking blog!  BUT everyone once in a while, I get carried away and try something new for a party.  Austin's birthday is coming and I thought these cake pops (or balls) would be cute as mini "bombs" for the boys.  I decided to do a dry run and see how they would turn out.  I searched the internet for recipes and came up with a simple one:

• 1 box cake mix, any flavor
• 1 can frosting, any flavor
• chocolate to melt
• sprinkles or decorations if wanted
• lollipop sticks ( I couldn't find them, so I cut kabobs and used them!)

 They turned out really cute, after I figured out a way to have them dry! (NOTE TO SELF: FIGURE THIS OUT BEFORE YOU HAVE ONE IN YOUR HAND NEEDING A SPOT!) I used a pizza baking pan that had holes in it, which I balanced on top of a glass! I carefully dropped the stick of each cake pop through a hole and let them dry on the pan. This kept the top of each ball nice looking!

They tasted wonderful!  Each one tasted like a little piece of fudge and they weren't cakey at all!  While I really enjoyed them and they were simple to make, I decided they took too long to make for Austin's party.  (The recipe called for a lot of cooling and chilling and various steps!) 

Instead, I decided to make one large "Bomb Cake!"  I baked 2 boxes of cake mix, one at a time, in a medium size pyrex glass bowl.  They took almost an hour EACH to bake because they were so thick in the middle.  I then turned the two half circles together and used frosting to stick them into a ball!  I frosted the entire outside of the cake and even added a frosting "bump" at the top.  I then used a piece of red licorice for the fuse!  The boys loved it and it was really good!

Spy Party Invitation

April is the busiest month of the year for us!  We have three birthdays in the span 6 days!  My nephew is April 18, mine is April 20 and my son's is April 23!  To add to the chaos, Easter was on the 24th!  We also have both sets of parents in town for the big events!  None the less, it is now the beginning of April and I am able to blog some of the projects I did for the "big events!" 

Austin is all about spies and wanted his kid birthday party to center around his love for mystery and disguise. We decided to do the party at our house, so we started planning.  I made these invitations for Austin to hand out.

Using the Cricut, I created the file folder using George and Basic Shapes.  I cut it out on cream paper and then inked the edges in brown for an aged look. I wrote "Top Secret" on the file tab.  I then used Indie Art and cut the bomb out of red paper and the shadow out of black.  I used a watermark pen and added the small red highlight on the left side of the bomb. I then added Diamond glaze to the explosion part of the bomb for some shine and dimension.  I had to create the magnifying glass using George again, combining a rounded corner rectangle and two circles! Lastly, I had my son apply his thumb print underneath the magnifying glass for the finishing touch!

Inside, I adhered the note that set the stage for the party inviting all the kids to come be trained as secret service agents.    The boys loved the invitations and it really helped the theme come alive!