St. Patrick's Day - Rainbow Cupcakes

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

Yesterday the boys and I whipped up some easy Rainbow Cupcakes for a bake sale. We are competing with donuts, a bake sale favorite, so this year we decided to take it up a notch. Yes it's still tastes like a white cupcake… but it looks much more fancy with a little lot of color!

Here's why it's easy--
White Cake Mix (I used Pillsbury Moist Supreme)
Eggs
Vegetable Oil
Buttercream Icing Mix (I used Wilton)… I don't usually like frosting, but this one was good.
Butter
Milk
Food Coloring (I used Wilton Gel)… The color is very concentrated and you don't need much.

Enlist the help of eager leprechauns to mix, stir & dollop.

Bake it…

Let it cool then… Frost it.

I didn't even bother with a frosting tip. I put the frosting in a ziplock bag, cut the corner and squeezed.

We'll see how these do at the Bake Sale!


It just occurred to me that the last time couple of times I've posted were also "holidays"… in February. Whoops, I really mean to post more often, but it's been a busy month (heck, a busy 6 months) and time keeps getting away from me. I do have a project that I'm working on… If it turns out I'll share it in the next week or so. Crossing my fingers, because it's a science experiment of sorts.  Have a great rest of the week!

Make // St. Patrick's Day Conversation Bottles

Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day? While we're 100% not-Irish, we're still a family that loves corned beef & cabbage, leprechaun & rainbows, and pretty much anything green & gold.

Here's a festive way to serve up beverages for St. Paddy's. The bottles can hold a special tonic or, in our case, chilled water. And if flat water is not your thing, just remove the labels on some new Pellegrino or sparkling cider bottles and start decorating. Or, if you want smaller bottles, there always green beer bottles as well. Any way you serve it up, these conversation bottles will add a bit of flair to your tabletop on March 17th.

Click "Read more" for the Free Printable & Tutorial

[Make] Homemade Marshmallows

After years of wanting to try my hand at homemade marshmallows, I finally made some this weekend. I don't know why I waited so long! They were pretty easy to make and the recipe that I used turned out perfectly. They taste so much better than the store bought stuff too.

If the marshmallow shamrock looks ginormous... that's because it is. :)

Click "Read more" for the full post

Oh Martha Monday - St. Patrick's Day

My favorite part of St. Patrick's Day is not beer, wearing green or even a lively parade. My favorite part is a good hearty serving of corned beef and cabbage.  Mmmmm good! My son is fascinated with leprechauns and the tricks that they play, so I may do something simple with green... How about you? Do you do anything special for St. Patty's? 

Here are some St. Patrick's Day ideas from Martha Stewart--

shamrock straw toppers

irish butter shortbread

shamrock green peppers

[Make] Shamrock Window Clings

Today I was in full-blown Easter mode when my 5 year old threw me for a loop with this question-- "Way-da-minute mommy...What about St. Patrick's Day?".  Wha?  Oh yeah... Evidently leprechauns have been playing tricks at his school so he's really into it this year.

I've been using washi tape to hang the boys' artwork on our kitchen windows (my favorite place to display their colorful art) and noticed their nice translucent quality.   Then I got to thinking-- pretty colors, removable, easy to cut into fun shapes... And that's how these washi tape shamrock window decals were born.

the hardest part of this project was trying to photograph them against the light...

{GREEN} day

In honor of St. Patrick's Day here's a round-up of my favorite GREEN creations from around the blogosphere:

{fun cake}
via i am baker :: as seen on twig & thistle

{yogurt-covered pretzels}
via sun scholars :: as seen on be different, act normal

{free printable!}
via one charming party

{shamrock boutonniere}
via the crafts dept

{free printable!}
via how about orange

{rice krispy gold bars}
via twig & thistle

Not the same caliber, but here's the green buttermilk pancakes that I made for the boys. 

It tasted yummy, but me thinks green food is better left to mother nature.  ;)

Happy Saint Patty's!

Good Food - Chasing Rainbows

Rainbows are hard to come by in Southern California.  It's either bone dry or, when rain does decide to pay a visit, the sky is blanketed in a solid gray sheet of neverending clouds.  Smarty Pants hasn't seen a real, live rainbow yet and talks about it constantly every time it rains.  A few weeks back, when we were blessed with cumulous clouds and simultaneous sunshine and showers, we drove to the highest point in our neighborhood in our quest to find an elusive rainbow with a pot of gold at the end-- Smarty Pants is adamant that every rainbow HAS TO HAVE a pot of gold.  Unfortunately, no rainbows or leprechauns that day, so we continue to wait.

I came across this idea in my latest Family Fun mag and thought it'd be a great snack idea for Smarty Pant's preschool class.  He was thrilled and the teachers were happy that it was a healthy snack--

And with mini carrot cake muffin "clouds".  I was in a hurry, so no time to style the photoshoot ☺--

This would work for a St. Patty's Day snack too.  Family Fun used marshmallows for the clouds and bananas in a ramekin for the "pot of gold".  Unfortunately, this great idea wasn't posted on their website, but here are some other St. Patrick's Day ideas.

~♥♥♥~