LALALOOPSY BIRTHDAY PARTY.....PART 2!!!

Here is the second part of my little doll's Lalaloopsy Birthday Party.  This nice big banner came with the backdrop.  I hung it on the wall so everyone saw it when they came in.

The livingroom was done all in Lalaloopsy Buttons, they were my daughter-in-laws idea.  Colourful paper plates from the Dollar Store and construction paper for the dots.  I put them everywhere and what a great, inexpensive way to decorate.  The Happy Birthday Banner was from the local Party Store.

I found some really cute Lalaloopsy twirly things to hang from the ceiling and of course balloons.  It is hard to tell but there are 12 helium balloons floating on the cieling.

We had one large very special balloon just for the Birthday Girl.  I think every child held that balloon at one time or another through the day including our little baby Sebastian with the help of his Pa.

 

The sweets table turned out really nice.  I loved making the Button Cookies, the dough resembled Play Dough, there were not too sweet because they were made with cream cheese as well as butter.  I had Lalaloopsy Confetti, which I am still picking up.  I got some cute Valentine Jelly Beans and decorated the containers with Lalaloopsy stickers.  Unbelievable one whole jar got eaten the other one is doing double duty at the Girls Night Out Fundraiser for Rescue Dogs Match on Saturday.  Whoever gets closest to the count wins.  The Cupcakes were cute with Rice Paper Lalaloopsy transfers.  I don't know if I would use them again you put them on wet, soft icing and they are suppose to soften but my stiffened and curled but they still looked cut.

It was a lot of fun putting this party together but the best part was seeing the smile on my little sweethearts face when she came through the door.

LALA FOR LALALOOPSY!!!!

This weekend was our beautiful little darlings 3rd. Birthday.  She is so into Lalaloopsy that of course it had to be a Lalaloopsy Birthday Party.  Since my son and daugher-in-law just had our new little guy I thought it would be nice to have it here on the farm.

 I always loved giving parties for our son.  I love kid's parties.  Once I got started on the Lalaloopsy Party it just snowballed.  I had Lala everything.  I made button cookies and Lalaloopsy cupcakes.  Those are my Lalaloopsy's sitting on the table, I like the big ones my little sweetie likes the minnies.  I found a great Lalaloopsy backdrop and little buckets and great banners, I will do another part 2 post and show the livingroom later.  I had big jars of jellybeans I decorated like Lalaloopsy candy and I covered the table with horns, bracelets, mini snowglobes, stickers, chocolate coins and candy jewellry.  We just let the kids take whatever they wanted.  Everyone had a great time and I was so proud of my little sweetie, there were no meltdowns even though she was so  excited.  When she came into the house she said " Oh, Bella it's beautiful" that made it all worth while.

Of course I had to make a Lalaloopsy Birthday Cake too.  Her favourite Lala pet is the Polar Bear so a Polar Bear cake it was.  She loved everything.  She may not remember as she gets older but there are tons of pictures to look at.  It was a wonderful day and a lot of fun to do.  Now I am finding Lalaloopsy confetti and stickers everywhere.  I think I will being cleaning up after this Lala Party for a while.

SOOOO BUSY....PUPPIES, FUNDRAISER, BIRTHDAY PARTY, MORE PUPPIES!

Well, it has been a busy couple of days here on the farm.  Where do I start.  First, I would like you to meet Eda and her brand new 5 puppies.  Rescue Dogs Match rescued poor Eda from a deplorable situation.  She was in Northern Ontario, chained outside in the cold, pregnant and starving.  She came here last week and settled right into her warm, safe Foster home.  Yesterday Eda gave birth to 6 puppies, unfortunately one was stillborn.  Rescue Dogs Match is having a Fundraising Campaign to vet the pups and mom.  I have issued a challenge to everyone to donate the money they would spend on coffee or tea from their favourite coffee place, you fellow Canadians know I mean Tim Horton's, and donate that money, not matter how small, to Eda.  Here is the link if you are interested.

http://www.gofundme.com/6vveno

Also from the same area came these four little girls.  The one black pup was frozen to the road but she is fine now.  We are fostering them.  One of the beige pups is already in here Forever home.  I have named the little black girl Nikki & Nora, I was watching the Thin Man when they came.  I named the little beige girl Winnie because she reminds me of Winnie the Pooh.  They are happy little girls, full of energy.  Nikki and Nora are 2 months old and have been adopted together, they go to their family next week.  Little Winnie is 3 months old and misses her sister and she is still up for adoption.  These beautiful little darlings were going to be "Culled"  that is what they do to deer when they are overpopulated.  The area they came from is overrun with dogs so the local authority shoots them.  When Rescue Dogs Match heard of this they spread the word and took the four pups and Eda.

The other thing that has been keeping me so busy is the annual Girls Night Out Fundraiser for Rescue Dogs Match.  This is a great one with lots of Tarot Readers, Masseuse, Reiki , a Vendors Market and I just had a group of Mediums volunteer to do a show, so exciting!

Every cent will go to vet the dogs.  At around $350.00 per dog, that is with a discount, it adds up fast so if you want to donate anything, anytime just go to Rescue Dogs Match or blog about it.  Also, would you kindly, please go to Rescue Dogs Match Facebook Page and "Like" them.  Brenda is trying to built up her networking to spread the word about the dogs.

It is our little Sweethearts 3rd. Birthday on Sunday so we are giving her a Lalaloopsy Party here on the farm.  With the new little guy it is a lot of work so we decided to do it here.  I am making button cookies, Lalaloopys cupcakes and cake and lots and lots of Lalaloopsy decorations.  I hope my litte Doll does not go into Lala overload!  I will post losts of pictures next week.

So, that is my week, how about yours?

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!

LIFE IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES!!!

When I was a little girl, my grandmother had a Valentine Chocolate Box that she saved sitting on a shelf in the upstairs hallway of our farmhouse.  It was so pretty and delicate, I never touched it but every time I went upstairs I would look at it.

It was quite large and quilted in satin with lots of lace and ribbon and delicate flowers on the top.  She did show it to me a couple of times and inside were all of the empty wrappers from the eaten chocolates kept neatly in their place as if they had not been touched.  I never asked who it came from, I am sure it was from my grandfather, but it must have meant an awful lot to her that she kept it intact for so long.

With Valentine's Day tomorrow, this got me thinking about boxes of chocolates and life today.  The stores are brimming with boxes of Valentine's chocolates in every flavour and shape you can imagine.  Although the boxes are pretty they just don't have the love and detail of the vintage boxes. 

I am sure that in some high end shops you may find some lovely decorated boxes but I really do not think they have the care and workmanship of the old Valentine's boxes.  Whatever happened to the silks and satins, the delicate laces wrapped around the edge and fastooned with beautiful handmade flowers sitting on top beckoning to be opened to reveal the sweet treats inside.

Perhaps this is a reflection of our lives now.  Everything seems to have to be instant.  Does anyone take the time to make things that have meaning, made with care, the things you save forever and look back and remember the moment you received that very special gift.

We live in a disposable world.  It does not have to be that way.  There are artist who create beautiful things now the things you cherish.  I can only imagine receiving a box of chocolates, all hand done, covered in beautiful silk flowers, and staring at it, not really caring what was inside but the true gift was the box that I would set on a shelf, look at when I walked by, and remember the love that went into choosing it just for me.

SWEETS FOR MY VALENTINE!!!!

I love to make desserts anytime but I especially love Valentine's Desserts.  The red, pink and white colours are just so inviting and enticing.

Why not start the morning off with a delicious Valentine Hot Chocolate.  These Heart Shaped Marshmallows are easy just cut the middle out of a regular marshmallow with a small heart cookie cutter.

Cookies have always been a favourite Valentine gift for me.  I adore the shapes and decorations.  Those little love notes and envelopes are so sweet and the plate of pastel cookies are delectable.  My favourites are the striped heart cookies I am making these for Valentine's Day.  Nothing is simpler than wrapping one lovely cookie and tying a bow on the package.  I think this is a nicer gift than a box of chocolates.  And feeling really ambitious, why not a cute Cookie Bouquet.

 And let us not forget the Cupcake.  They have become so popular the past few years and now some Culinary Snobs think they are "Out of Fashion" well I still love them.  A little decorated single cake just for you what could be better. I love the simplicity of the first three.  You do not have to be a cake decorator to do these.  Pipe some icing or just hand do some and buy the sugar heart decorations.  I love the way the first one seems to have the little hearts floating on the icing.

Sprinkles and a candy rose adorn the next one and you can buy Valentine picks just about anywhere now.  Mind you the hearts inside the cupcake are a little more difficult.  How about a cupcake bouquet or just put a bouquet on a cupcake.

Valentine dessert does not have to be high calorie either.  Just look at these.  The Strawberry Brownie Kabobs are simple and low cal, check them out at ERICA'S SWEET TOOTH BLOG.

And the Perfect Hot Chocolate and Hot Chocolate Cookies on CHOCOLATE COVERED KATIE'S  THE HEALTHY DESSERT BLOG are to die for.

If you don't have the time or inclination to bake why not do one of these simple treats.  A store bought Cheese cake, some jam puree, whipped cream and berries and voila you have a dessert that looks like you worked for hours.  Store bought pink wafer cookies dipped in icing and some sugar decorations added look delightful.  Put some strawberries on a skewer, dip in coloured white chocolate and use store bought tube icing to make a swirl and you have a bouquet for you honey.  Now this is something I can have even on my diet.  Luscious strawberries sliced in four and filled with whipped cream, low fat for me.

I have saved my favourites for last.  I just crave anything Red Velvet.  Just look at these Red Velvet Oreo Brownies from PIZZAZZERIE.COM  these almost make me want to go off of my diet...almost!

These fabulous little Red Velvet Cupcake Pots from PLACE OF MY TASTE  are just so sweet, who would not want these for Valentine's Day.

Whether you choose to go really elaborate or keep it simple do something a little different this Valentine's Day.  I would love to hear some of your ideas.

The first and last photos are credited to ELIZABETH ANNE DESIGNS.COM