Suburban Events: April 2013

Have you ever attempted making cake pops? If you have, it was probably the first and last time you have ever made them! Cake pops are tedious and time consuming if you ask me.

You can thank me later, but below is a quick and easy way to make cake pops. You will ask yourself, "Why didn't I ever think of that!?"

Materials:

Donut holes
Candy melts
Lollipop sticks
Sprinkles

Step 1: Melt the candy melts according to the directions on the package. Optional - you can add 1 teaspoon of shortening (such as Crisco) to keep the candy melts from hardening too quickly.

Step 2: Dip the end of the lollipop sticks into the candy melts (about 1"). Then insert the candy coated lollipop stick into the donut holes. This acts as a glue to adhere the donut hole to the stick.

Step 3: Place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to harden the candy melt.

Step 4: Dip the donut hole into the candy melts until the outside is fully coated.

Step 5: Top with sprinkles while the candy melts are still wet.

Step 6: Place the opposite end of the lollipop stick into a piece of cardboard or styrofoam in order for the cake pops to dry. This also allows the any excess candy melts to drip off the cake pop.

Not only is this easy but you can do about 50 cake pops in under and hour! Enjoy!

Recently, I was approached by Party On! Designs to provide event planning ideas for their customers by utilizing products they sell. This particular company sells personalized party supplies and decor so you can plan your own unique event! I waited in anticipation for my first "box" of goodies to arrive. Not knowing what would be in the box, I became extremely excited about what I would be creating for my first project!

The box contained the following items: recycled berry boxes and wooden utensils

Let the brainstorming begin! What could I make with these two fun items? For those of you who live in Minnesota, you know that the winter weather is still in full force. All I am waiting for is spring to hit! With spring in mind, I decided to use the berry boxes and utensils for an exciting kid's picnic.

First thing is to making these utensils pop! Ombre is very popular right now and this is an easy tutorial on how to add a little pizazz to the wooden utensils.

Materials needed for ombre utensils:

Wood utensils
Paint brush
Masking Tape (or painters tape)
Two colors of your choice (try and stick to the same color family... I chose red and light pink)

Step 1: Use the masking tape and mark off the handle for where you will be painting.

Step 2: Pour out the paint for the two colors you have selected (make sure to leave a little space between the two colors...you will see below why we did this).

Step 3: Paint one end of the utensil with the lighter color and the other end with the darker color. Leave the middle section unpainted.

Step 4: Combine your two colors until you get the desired hue. Use this mixture to paint the middle section of the utensil.

It is picnic time! Using leftover fabric for my basket liners, I wrapped up a few PB & J sandwiches, some goldfish and veggies to fill my berry boxes. Using mod podge and glitter, I made initial tags to personalize the picnic basket for each child attending.