Leapfrog Leap Pad Price Reduced!

Guess What!

Those of you that were in love with the Leap pad but never got one..........PRICE REDUCED!

Thanks to the new Leap Pad 2 You can get the original now for only 79.99!!!

And just in time for Christmas!

If you haven't had the pleasure of checking one of these out...........I think you should!

Not only has the price gone down on the pad itself, but also on all of the apps at the app center!  We got some games and videos the other day for only $3.00!!  And they LEARN so much making it a safe way for them to learn new technology!  

 

It's Mario Time Part 3

Ready for more?  If you missed invitations and guest tables you might want to back up and catch those :)

The Desert table was the most fun and actually there was alot more that I wanted to do but just simply ran out of time!

Starting with the candy -- a MUST have for any party -- I went with Large swirl pops, rainbow licorice, dipped marshmellows, chocolate and bubblegum coins, gumballs, and some old fashion candy sticks!

I purchased most of the candy from orientalexpress.com.....I love that place!!!

At Michael's you can find plain empty boxes (which I did) and then masterfully turn them into question boxes with a little paint!  Now I know there are a lot of other ways to do this....I've seen cardboard boxes, glass blocks.....but for me this proved to be the most economical!  Plus I was able to cut the Question marks with my beloved cricut!  I used the question boxes to display the dipped marshmallows.  

Now if you haven't had dipped marshmallows before, then you must try them!  Kids love them, they can be done in any coordinating colors and best of all they take very little time!  I chose to use the red melts for my candy dip and sprinkles!  HUGE HIT!

 

 We also found some PVC pipe from orshelen's and painted it green.  These are very inexpensive and give you display pieces that fit right with the theme!  We used these to display our "Fire Power Flowers" which of course were our big swirl suckers!

The rest of the candy we spread out on the table and left our treat bags to be filled up at the end of the party......candy is fun, but I don't want to take it all home! LOL!

And of course what is a party with out hats?  I found these adorable Mario and Luigi hats on ebay and because we had several little girls coming I also picked up some princess tiaras at the dollar store!  After all Mario has to save the princess you know!

 

  The cake I did with a sheet cake pan and a square cake pan and I have to admit I broke the rules a little on this:) I REALLY wanted to use fondant but new that the taste was not the best so I chose to frost my cake with buttercream, and then use fondant for all of the decorating :)  This worked great! And everyone was happy!  For the figures I found a kit on ebay that came with everyone, however I think you can get the same kit at any party store :)

I cut out stars, and made the bushes...........I used buttercream on the very top for billowy clouds.  I also made some pipes, some coins, and some fire power! 

 

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One of my favorite parts of this party was the chocolate mustaches!  I found a candy mold on ebay for less then $2.00 and made the mustaches myself!  You can by ready made ones but they are a couple of dollars a piece and I knew I could make them for a lot less!

Now when you have your party of course dress your little one accordingly!  And you end up with this cute much of Marios, Luigis, and Princesses!  

Have Fun!! 

 

XOXO

It's Mario Time! All about the Decorations!!

It's  MARIO TIME!

Who doesn't love the Mario Brothers!  I fell in love with this game the first time I played it on the Super Nintendo!  LOVE LOVE LOVE!  I used to play with my niece as she was growing up and now the tradition is carried on with the Mario Brothers WII edition!  And It's only gotten better hasn't it? That's why this party was soooo much fun! 

If you missed the first article you will want to check it out because it has some great invitation information you won't want to miss!

For me, as I started this adventure, candy kept getting in the way :)  and before I knew it, Candy became a very major player in my party planning!

Starting with the Primary Colors...........Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow......it was pretty easy for my imagination to just start running away like crazy!

I really like the Red/Yellow combination so all of the tables for guests had Red and Yellow table clothes which I picked up at the Dollar Store.  A nice touch to these are Chocolate Coins the whole length of the table...........that gives everyone a little treat while they are visiting!  These are a little bit more complicated to find.......You can get them anywhere around easter, but if you are having a party in the fall or winter it can be a little tougher........I finally found some at the Cracker Barrel.  You can order them online but it seems only in bulk :)

Another Awesome touch to these tables would be glass jar center pieces filled with skittles or M&M's with a number candle stuck inside (I got this idea from Jac o'lyn Murphy and you can visit her site by clicking the pic :), and cloud balloons down the center of the tables :) The balloons can be found on amazon and birthday express and they are Super cute!

 

 

Keeping things kind of simple on the buffet table..........we went with green tablecloths (from the dollar store) and red and blue plates, green and yellow napkins, and red and yellow plastic wear.  We found all of these items at Walmart for a dollar each..............You can also get very cute Mario themed table wear at birthdayexpress.com which is a store that I LOVE, however for this party I wanted to spend my money on the more whimsical things :)  

This really is the kind of party that the sky is the limit!  

I will be back tomorrow with the Desert Table (which is the most fun by the way)!

XOXO 

It's Mario Time!

Ok so here is the 411!

The next few articles are going to be dedicated to everything Mario!

We recently planned a Mario Birthday Party for a VERY excited 5 year old and got SO many great Ideas that we just HAD to share!

So over the course of the next few articles you will here about different ideas for a Mario themed birthday bash and how to use these ideas for your next party!

A Mario theme is so easy to get into and get excited about because it is just so wonderfully whimsical............and believe me this can snowball!!!

Obviously once you have your date set you are going to need invitations!  Now when searching for the perfect one, I googled......ALOT!  I just love google don't you?

There are so many wonderful Mario invitations out there but the ones that REALLY stood out for me was the ones that were personalized with a photo of your choosing. 

 

This one was my Favorite!  I love the whimsy of creating the illusion that your little one is actually in Mario Land!  Super Fun!

Now believe it or not these were not too terribly pricy AND you get a digital copy so you can make as many as you want or need in whatever sizes you choose!  I love that!

You can find this one in addition to several other options at Kiddie Express Invitations  -- AND that's not all they have!  They have lots of other exciting themes as well!  Check it out!

Another fun touch when sending out an AMAZING invite such as this is to add some themed confetti into the envelope with your invite!  With ours we included gold star confetti to symbolize star power!  This inexpensive touch adds as much whimsy to the act of inviting some one as the actual invitation!  Super Fun!

Have fun picking out your invitations!

  I would love to here what you choose!

XOXO

 

GYMBOREE SALE!

 

IS HAVING A SALE!

GYMBOREE 

Now I don't know about all of you.........but I LOVE LOVE LOVE this store! 

So of course I have to take advantage of this, AND I have to share it with all of you!

30% off Everything right now!

Use these codes:  COFTEXT or GYMCIRCLE

Limited time only so don't wait! 


Have fun!
XOXO

Lets Ramble about Cake Pops!

So today is my Little Boys 5th Birthday........quite a big deal right?  So I thought it was fitting to do my first blog posting today :)  After all our family is our inspiration right?

Ok so Cake Pops........Have you tried these yet?  New little craze, cake on a stick :) 

Well for his class party today I thought I would give them a shot!

Super economical if that is your thing ..... the entire kit (on the baking isle) at walmart for less then $2.00.......Simple enough!  And it comes with everything!  From the cake mix to the sprinkles.........all you need is oil, water and 1 egg!  Easy Breezy!

Let me just say this though  :) As yummy and cute as it turns out -- These are not as simple! LOL

You are going to follow the directions on the box to the letter......but the trick here is not to stick your stick all of the way  into your cake ball.....I had several fall apart while dipping them in the frosting because the stick made them weak!  Luckily for me I only needed 8 good ones LOL!

Let me know how yours Turn out!

XOXO