A New Little Prince - Aubrey Aquino's Baby Sprinkle

This weekend, I hosted a Baby Sprinkle for my dear friend Aubrey Aquino-- a Television Host and Reporter in Miami.  What is a “sprinkle” you ask? Well, it’s a celebration to help Mom welcome baby #2 or #3 and so on. Basically you’re not showering the mother with gifts, but rather sprinkling her with a few goodies! I had to make a few special items, including my Huggabeans Crocheted Crowns for the -"New Little Prince!"

Check out this yummy treat- Dipped Marshmallow Pops. 

Click here for instructions! 

 

 

Let's toast to the babe with some bubbly! A great shower favor from the Mom & Dad!

Huggabeans Crochet Crowns used for the Sweet/Candy Table

 

The party was hosted at City Hall the Restaurant in Miami! Wonderful service and food! Special thanks to Erika Biancospino for helping me plan the event!

Chic Baby Shower- Welcome Baby Zoe!

Who says you need diaper cakes and silly baby games at your shower?? People are finding brand new ways to snaz up the event-- by really taking it beyond a backyard barbeque.  My sorority sister Angela Jones from Texas hosted her shower in the heart of Houston's Galleria Area at the Living Room Bar & Lounge.  It's an upscale club with a sophisticated taste!  From the food to the decor, this is far from your traditional baby shower!

Nontraditional location for a shower, but create the perfect mood

Simple & Elegant Decor

Pretty Pink Cake--for Baby Zoe!

Who doesn't like an open bar?? Perfect at ANY party!

Gumbo Shots-Fancy!

You have to do at least 1 silly baby shower game-- "The Diaper Changing Game: was a huge success!

Prop Explosion Giveaway- Huggabeans Partners With I ♥ Crochet!

Want some free goodies! Here's your chance to win dozens of free baby props and hats in the massive 6K Fan Giveaway with I ♥ Crochet, One Shot Beyond Photography and Huggabeans Crochet Creations! 

There are 3 ways to win!  Just "LIKE" Huggabeans on Facebook and ALL the other vendors listed below! Come back and comment on your favorite vendors!  

You can also share the giveaway on your own business, personal or blog page! Or just tweet about the giveaway--tagging OneShotBeyond!

Here are the vendors-- you HAVE to check out to win!

Huggabeans Crochet

 I <3 Crochet

One Shot Beyond Photography

Angel’s Purple Pantry

Photo Prop Floors & Backdrops

Blue Bonnets

Hoo Loves You Baby, LLC.

Wheeler’s Boutique

Swanky Stitch

Trendy Ties

The Crochet Barn

Handcrafted Crowns

I Love Lucy’s Tutus

Newborn Photo Props

Tu Cute

Happy Acres Farm

Turbo Crochet

THE GIVEAWAY WILL END NEXT WEDNESDAY (8-15-12) AT 9:00AM (PST)!

Check out some of the goodies!

Whimsical Dr. Seuss Birthday Party!

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish! Dr. Seuss Themed Birthday Parties are so much fun! This week--my handsome godson Mason turned 3! His parents threw a wonderful whimsical party with Seuss-worthy ideas.

Nothing beats a cold drink on a hot day! These little water covers are a great way to continue the theme throughout the party.

 Kool-Aid Jammers, Water and Straws—so cute!

 Colorful Cupcakes add to the fun!  Along with a clever feather display! Love this! 

 Keep it simple—what kid doesn’t love hot dogs and burgers! 

Here’s the Birthday Boy! I think he had tons of fun!  

 

Lego Birthday Cake! Yum!

What a cute idea!

I found this clever little birthday cake on Facebook and I had to share!  Angela Truscott from Melbourne, Australia made this new yummy creation!  What a perfect idea for your little Lego Maniac. What other ideas do you have for a child’s birthday cake?

How to Make a Diaper Cake

Do you know someone who is having a baby and you want to get something special? Well, a diaper cake makes a great gift for a new mom! If you are the crafty type-you can make this fabulous gift by yourself! It’s super easy and fun!

A diaper cake is simply a bunch of diapers that are stacked together to resemble a cake!  They are decorated with baby items like teething rings, rattles and baby wipes! Once the baby is born, mom can take pieces of diapers off the cake and use them! It's a very practical and fun gift for the new mom!

Here are some step by step instructions.

What you need:

65-90 diapers ( at least size 2 or 3)

8 ounce baby bottle

4 ounce baby bottle

70-95 rubber bands

Five additional big rubber bands

roll of 1/2-1.5 inch wide ribbon

Hot glue gun

Baby Toiletries

Stuffed Animal

Step 1: Start by rolling the diapers. When you roll a diaper, wrap it with a rubber band so that it will keep its shape. Try to keep the prints on the diaper hidden.

Step 2: To make the bottom tier of the diaper cake- I decided to use an 8 ounce bottle-filled with candy for the mommy. Start wrapping the diaper logs around the base with the rubber bands. This will serve as the first layer of the diaper cake.

Step 3: Next, you need to expand your bottom base. You can do that by adding more diaper logs around the first tier. Make sure you wrap rubber bands around the tier to make sure it’s secure.

Step 4:  After you are done with the bottom tier, we need to start making the second tier of the diaper cake. The second tier will be smaller than the bottom tier—to resemble a cake. Start off the same way you did with the first tier. Make sure everything is secured with a rubber band. Also—stuff some sweet treats in the diapers—as a surprise for mom!

Step 5: If this is going to be a 3 tiered cake, be sure to use a 4 oz baby bottle. Grab about 8 diapers and use a rubber band to wrap around it.

Step 6: The is the fun part—decorating.  Use a wide ribbon to wrap each tier.  The ribbon should hide the rubber bands.

Step 7: Once you have that done, you can further decorate the cake with more ribbon and bows. I like to put little travel size baby toiletries in the cake.

Step 8: Finish it off with a stuffed animal at the top of the cake!

Special thanks to my sister--Stacie Ellis- for the diaper cake pictures!

Cake Balls—Yummy!

For those who haven’t heard of this yet- here’s the recipe. Instead of cupcakes, make bite- sized cake balls! They will be a hit at any party or event! The possibilities are endless!

Ingredients

1 box of cake mix

Eggs

Milk

Oil

1 container of prepared frosting

1 container of candy melts

Sprinkles and other decorations

Directions

1. Prepare the cake—following the package directions. After baking, let it cool. Then, crumble it into a big mixing bowl.  Combine with the frosting until it is well blended.

2. Use a melon baller or your hands to form the balls.

3. Warm the candy melts in a small bowl in the microwave (follow instructions on package).

4. Dip the balls in the candy melt using a toothpick, spoon or fork.

5. Place them on wax paper to harden and decorate

You can use any kind of cake and frosting you like-- yellow, chocolate, lemon! Let your imagination run wild!  Also--instead of candy melts-- you can opt for chocolate or almond bark coating- Yum!

Milk and Cookie Bar

We all know about dessert bars and candy tables at showers—but there’s a new craze hitting the shower scene.  Milk and Cookie Bars!

A great alternative to the traditional dessert buffet- Milk and Cookies serve as the main event.

As many of you know, my god-daughter is expected to make her appearance any day now.  Earlier this year, a shower was held in her honor—with the theme around sweets!  

The possibilities are endless—you can even pick a signature cookie for your event!

As party favors, you can pass out cookie mix in a beautifully decorated jars!

Special kudos goes out to one of my dearest friends—expectant mother Shayla Jiles- who was inspired to create this bar!

Dipped Marshmallow Pops

Forget about the cake and cookies—pass over the marshmallows!  These little treats are a great way to make something totally unique for a party! 

They are super easy to make and great for all types of events.  Here, we used strawberry marshmallows from Kraft to match the theme of a baby shower. There are tons of color combinations you can try for birthdays, holidays or other parties!

Ingredients

Lollipop sticks (you can find at any craft store)

Large marshmallows

1 cup of milk chocolate morsels

Decorating icing

Other candies and nuts

Instructions

1.       Place wax paper on a baking sheet

2.       Push lollipop sticks through the marshmallows

3.       Melt chocolate morsels and quickly dip the marshmallows in the chocolate.

4.       Repeat the dipping process once more

5.       Sprinkle decorations on marshmallows

6.       Allow the marshmallows to cool down and serve


*Special thanks to Shayla Jiles for sharing the idea! :)

The Baby Shower Sweet Shoppe!

Cupcake Tower

Yummy!  This table of sweets was designed by Jessica Hill and Kim Williams. 
It was the perfect theme for a Houston baby shower- for Shayla Jiles! 

Presley's Sweet Shoppe!

Thank You Lollipops!

We all know-- little girls are made out of “sugar and spice and everything nice!”  What better way to welcome Baby Presley—than with a Candy Buffet!

Lots of Chocolate

"P" for Presley!