A little girl's 2nd Birthday Party-Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice!

I want to apologize since I haven't blogged in a while.  I've been super busy with events these last few weeks and haven't had the time to sit down and write.  I've missed blogging, and promise not to go this long again.  I can't wait to share what I've been up to!

I designed this party for two-year-old Katie.  We held the party at her parent’s home, Front Porch Farms located in Ashland City, Tennessee.

Front Porch Farms is not only Kathy and Brian Best’s family home, but also a wedding and event venue!  

For Katie’s party, I wanted to use soft pastel colors, including pinks, greens and yellows.  In addition, I wanted to create a unique outdoor party by utilizing indoor furniture pieces.  Don’t be afraid to bring indoor pieces outside and use them in your party décor! 

Custom Cake Designed by Jay Qualls from Maple's Wedding Cakes

Dessert Buffet

Marshmallow pops dipped in pastel chocolates

Ingredients:

Large Marshmallows

Wilton Chocolates, (I purchased a brand new product called “Colorburst pastel chocolates”)

Pink cake sprinkles

Ribbon

Lollipop Sticks

Melt the chocolate according to package instructions.  Immediately take a skewered marshmallow and dip in the chocolate.  Gently tap over a bowl to remove the excess.  Allow to stand upright in a block of foam to dry the chocolate-covered marshmallow upside down.  Then, immediately coat with sprinkles.  Tie with a ribbon to finish it off.


Rice Krispy treats shaped in stars on sticks 

Directions:

Make Rice Krispy treats according to package directions and pour in a jelly roll pan.  Once it’s cooled, cut using assorted cookie cutters.  Put on lollipop sticks.  Tie with a ribbon to finish it off!  These can be done using a variety of shapes and different colors of ribbon.  Kids are great helpers with this recipe as well.  I placed these in various containers filled with pink cotton candy.

Cupcakes with frosting and topped with sprinkles

I cheated this time and used a store bought cake mix.  When you’re doing a dessert buffet, you have several options.  You can bake from scratch, buy a cake mix or purchase from a bakery.  Do whatever your schedule allows!  I dressed up mine with whipped frosting and a simple pink cake sprinkle garnish. 

I also baked half of the batch in ice cream cones filled ¾ths of the way full.  You can place the cones in a muffin pan and they’ll stand upright in the oven.  Use the same baking time as you do for cupcakes and check with a toothpick for doneness.  Frost with icing and top with pink sprinkles.  I displayed these in fun ice cream cone holders. 

 

 

  

Pretzel rods dipped in white chocolate and covered in pink sprinkles

Ingredients:

Wilton’s Melting Chocolate

Pretzel Rods

Assorted Toppings, sprinkles, coconut, nonpareils, etc.

Melt chocolate according to package instructions and dip one end of the pretzel rod into the melted chocolate.  Immediately roll in your toppings and place on wax paper to cool and harden.

Raspberry thumbprint cookies-A signature recipe that I'll keep secret!

DIY Projects:

Paper mache letters-I purchased 2 “K”s of different sizes.  I spray-painted each of them with a soft pink spray paint.  On the smaller K, I hot glued green button mums to fill the entire “k.”  On the larger one, I hot glued pink carnations to fill the entire letter.  I hung them using ribbon in coordinating colors.

Drink Tags:

Materials:

Straws

Cardstock or scrapbook paper

Scissors

I thought drink tags would be a fun addition to this dessert table.  I simply cut a circle using various scrapbook papers.  I then cut a smaller scalloped card, and affixed it to the larger circle with double-sided tape.  I finished it off with a cute sticker and matching pink ribbon.   

Purchase a custom scrapbook puncher in various shapes to keep it easy! 

Vendor Credits:

Heather Sisemore Photography-for these amazing photos.  Visit her on the web at http://blog.heathersisemore.com/

Lisa Sarmento, a Nashville-based graphic designer, created custom tags for each of the desserts.  She made cupcake toppers, candy jar labels, and the lemonade label.  She also made the custom birthday banner for Katie.

Lisa Sarmento is a nationally-recognized and award-winning creative professional in Nashville. She has a decade of experience as an advertising art director, graphic designer and interactive designer.

Florals:

Terry White, of the English Garden, designed the 4 floral arrangements on the front porch steps.  

The birthday cake was custom designed by Jay Qualls from Maples Wedding Cakes.  Jay took the two inspiration boards I designed for this party, and developed a custom creation.  Here is some information about Jay, as featured in The Tennessean recently.  Since he opened his shop in 2005, cake designer Jay Qualls has created cakes for the likes of Sara Evans, Jo Dee Messina and Martina McBride. Recently a Qualls-created seven-layer pink fondant wedding cake with hand-piped scroll work also graced the pages of Martha Stewart Weddings magazine's 15th-anniversary issue.  You can find more of his fabulous cake designs and information about his store at www.maplesweddingcakes.com.

Here’s a little history on Front Porch Farms:

They completed the development of this countryside estate at Front Porch Farms and opened it as a Nashville wedding venue in 2007. Kathy has also been a publicist in the country music industry for over 16 years.  She moved to Nashville in 1993 and started her artist management company, FrontPage Publicity, in 1997.  Kathy has been the publicist and manager for some of country music’s biggest superstars, including the Dixie Chicks, The Judds, Taylor Swift, Brooks & Dunn, Dierks Bentley, and many others.  Currently, Kathy represents George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Rodney Atkins, Patty Loveless, Joey + Rory, and Stealing Angels.

Brian is the landscape artist and estate developer at Front Porch Farms.  He was in charge of designing and constructing the 3-story main house, as well as other facilities on the estate.  Brian is also a proud Nashville firefighter, continuing a rich family legacy of firefighting.

-I hope you enjoyed reading about this party, as much as I enjoyed planning all the details.  

~Stephanie Alexander