Over the past year I’ve seen a beautiful trend in the party world…the increased use of buntings as party decor. Buntings can be made of paper or fabric, and may include wording, like a banner, or used simply as decoration. I made a paper bunting/banner for my
daughter’s candy party earlier this year and I really loved the way it completed the candy buffet (shown below). I’ve continued to see buntings of all colors, shapes and sizes adding beauty to birthdays, showers and weddings. Below are a few of my favorites. These may give you some ideas as to how you could include a bunting (or two or three) in your next celebration.
~ (above) Photo details ~
(top left) Gorgeous paper banner designed by
Pen N’ Paperflowers, as displayed by one of her customers, Heather Sullivan.
(bottom left) Perfect bunting/banner for a boys party from
Hello Naomi (party by
scissors, paper, cake).
(bottom right) Beautiful fabric bunting available on Etsy from
Blue Moon Studios.
Of course most anything that looks great full sized, looks even cuter when it’s tiny! Check out these adorable mini buntings (below) use to dress up cakes and cupcakes.
~ (above) Photo details ~
(top left) Gorgeous cake bunting available from Etsy seller
Kiki La Ru.
Above image from Rileigh of Blue Satin Sashes.
Isn’t the photo above is just magical? It makes me want to drop everything and go set up a pretty tea party!
But first, I need to go make some buntings!
*All images used with permission*
I usually try to post recipes or ideas on this blog that have at least some shred of creativity, or originality… and I’m not sure that this recipe fulfils that in any way! But sometimes you just can’t argue with delicious! So, although this may be a recipe that exists in every cookbook, and on every baking site, here it is anyway.
Think of this as simply a reminder of how delicious cinnamon, sugar and butter can be!
Snickerdoodles
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
For rolling-
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
~ Directions ~
1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F).
2.) Cream together butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat until fluffy (30 seconds).
3.) Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
4.) Mix the 2 tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
5.) Using a large cookie dough scoop, make balls of dough, and then roll each ball into the bowl of cinnamon/sugar.
6.) Place dough 3 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.
7.) Bake 8-10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove from baking sheets and cool on a cooling rack.
Recipe source- Slightly adapted version of a widely available old-fashioned recipe.
Happy Baking!
As promised, here is the delicious recipe I used last week for the cupcakes on my Halloween treats table. I’ve made this recipe many times and it’s just such a nice way to welcome fall. This recipe has a nice blend of spices, without being over powering.
Pumpkin Pecan Cupcakes
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. nutmeg (freshly grated if possible)
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional, but really add a nice flavor and texture)
~Directions~
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
In another large bowl whisk pumpkin, sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla.
Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir until completely combined.
Stir in chopped pecans.
Scoop batter into cupcake pan, lined with paper liners. Fill cups about 3/4 full. This batter perfectly makes 12 standard sized cupcakes.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350 (F) degrees for 22-24 minutes.
Let the cupcakes cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Then transfer cupcakes to the wire rack and let cool completely.
Frost with vanilla cream cheese frosting (recipe below).
Recipe source: Adapted slightly from Cupcakes by Shelly Kaldunski.
Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
½ cup (1 stick/8 Tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (always use pure vanilla extract if possible)
4 cups powdered confectioners sugar
1 to 2 Tablespoons heavy cream, heavy whipping cream (or milk- although I do like the richness that cream adds)
~Directions~
Place butter in a large mixing bowl and blend slightly. Add cream cheese and blend until combined, about 30 seconds.
Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar (1 cup at a time) and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.
Slowly add the heavy cream, a little bit at a time until desired consistency is met. (Don’t add too much if you want the frosting to stay in place when piped on cupcakes.)
Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
Use at once or keep refrigerated. (This frosting will keep well in the refrigerator for several days, but you may need to re-beat it for the best texture.)
Recipe source: Similar recipes widly published, this version by Glory Albin.
Note- The frosting recipe as listed above will frost 22-24 cupcakes with a nice swirl. If you are only making one batch of cupcakes (1 dozen, using the recipe listed above), feel free to cut the frosting recipe in half.
Photo above is from my Halloween treats table, using printable cupcake toppers from Tomkat Studio.
Recipe for a Halloween treats table….
Take two party loving bloggers,
Add some fun graphic designs from one,
Some yummy cupcakes and cookies from another,
sprinkle in some candy,
add lots of fun polka dots…
and POOF!
A Halloween treats table so cute it’s spooky!
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This past week I worked on a fun project to help Kim of The Tomkat Studio debut her new line of Halloween printables. I printed out all of the cute designs and then I baked, shopped and decorated to create this Halloween treats table.
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I’ve seen a trend of using canning jars as drinking glasses, and I thought they could add some character to this table as well. I filled these with orange soda and added a gummy worm for a bit of Halloween flair. I think a scoop of vanilla ice cream would look great with the orange soda, or some lemon-lime soda and a scoop of lime sherbet would make a nice creepy looking drink too.
I baked and decorated some special cookies to coordinate with the cupcake topper designs, and included a fun little message for Kim (above).
~ All the details ~
Cupcakes, cookies, table styling and photos by Glorious Treats.
Paper details (cupcake toppers, labels, straw flags and banner) designed by The Tomkat Studio.
Candle holders from glassybaby.
Table runner (black spiderweb design) from Pier1.
Cake stands from Costco (they were only sold for a short time, sorry!).
Glass jars- The two matching ones (with pretzels and cheese-its are from Target, and are also available at Wal-Mart, Crate and Barrel). The other jars I’ve collected over time from antique stores.
Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe
Sugar Cookie Recipe
The lovely Kim over at The Tomkat Studio has a weekly blog feature called Cupcake Monday. Sounds like a great way to start the week, right?!
This past week, Kim and I teamed up and had a little fun! Kim designed a fun new Halloween set of printables (I even got to add some input on the designs) and I spent the weekend “playing” with them!
Today, in the spirit of “Cupcake Monday,” I’m sharing the cupcakes I made to accompany Kim’s cute cupcake toppers. The cupcakes are delicious Pumpkin Pecan Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and I’ll be sharing the recipe later this week.
Happy Cupcake Monday!
Tomorrow I’ll have lots more photos of the other treats I put together for a fun Halloween photo shot with Kim’s new set of Halloween printables.
Cupcakes and photos by Glory Albin.
Cupcake toppers designed by Kim at The TomKat Studio, and will be available in her SHOP.
Candle holders are from glassybaby.
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