Caution!

We were invited to a Construction Themed Birthday Party for a very special 4 year old boy, Colin. For this particular party we were asked to make our specialty, Cake Pops. We found the yellow container in the amazing dollar section of Target and borrowed some Caution tape from work.

Once we had the Caution tape in our hands we felt the gift needed some extra attention too. We wrapped Colin's gift with basic white wrapping paper and proceeded with Caution!

Welcome

We are pleased to announce the launch of our blog, Sugar & Bows!  After months of hard work, recipe testing, shopping, and crafting we are ready to show you our site.  This blog has been a labor of love and we want to thank you all for your continued support. 

Sugar & Bows is a culmination of party planning tips, crafts, recipes, baked goods, and inspirations - our "sweet guide to entertaining!"  Take a look at all of the things we have been working on for you, our fans, for the past few months!  If you like something, comment on it!  If you want to learn how to make something, let us know that too.  We are here to help all of you emerging crafters and bakers.

Also, if you're on Facebook visit our page and like us.  Because we sure like you!

Enjoy.

Thanksgiving Cake Balls

For a fun Thanksgiving bite sized dessert, try making some cake balls. 

These were made for a "Friendsgiving" and were a big hit. 

All you need is a sheet cake, frosting, and lots of melting chocolate. 

 Stay tuned for our recipe and how-to guide...

French Macaroons

French Macaroons are something that have been on our baking wish list for a while here at Sugar & Bows.  They are delicious and adorable!  The perfect addition to any dessert table.

This photo has inspired us again, so keep an eye out for a post on how to make these soon!

A Minnie Mouse Birthday

When we were asked to style a very special little girls 2nd birthday party, we were thrilled!  Madison was turning two and loved Minnie Mouse.  After a discussion with her fabulous mom we decided a Minnie Mouse theme with hot pink and zebra print accents was a perfect fit.  We started off with the super cute idea of a Minnie Mouse Centerpiece.  After we spray painted three styrofoam balls, we tacked the Mouse heads to small styrofoam blocks, wrapped them with pink boas, and topped them with pink bows.  After this we were inspired to create the banner, pink lanterns, and party hats.

For our baked treats we made sugar cookies, cake pops, and the birthday girl loves cupcakes so they were a must. The idea of the Minnie Mouse cakes pops came from one of our favorite sites called Bakerella, and although we thought they would be difficult, they came out awesome! These were the hit of the party.

Happy Birthday Madison!  And a special thanks to her mom Jen for all her support!

Pie Pockets

In my most recent trip to Sur La Table I spotted this adorable Petite Pie Pocket Mold and I just had to have it.  The fall season screams pies to me and this was the perfect treat to a chilly afternoon.

To create these pockets I used Martha Stewart's Basic Pie Dough Recipe.  

Once you pulsed the dough to perfection you have to let it chill for up to an hour.  In the mean time I started to make the filling.  I used another Martha Stewart Recipe for an Apple Pie filling.  One particular tool that is a must have when baking with apples is the Apple Peeler.  This genius invention peels apples so fast and it is fun to use. 

Once I had the apples peeled, cored, and sliced, I put together the filling with lemon, sugar, flour, salt, and nutmeg.  Yum!  I then pulled the dough out of the fridge and rolled out each disk to about 12" in diameter.  I was able to make about 10 cuts with the pie mold.  After filling the pie shells with the delicious filling I folded over the top and  press the two together. They looked super cute and I was excited to get them in the oven.  At 350 degrees and 35 minutes later I had my own individual Apple Pie Pocket.

 

Chair Cover

We recently came upon a photo of these decorative chair covers at a Thanksgiving dinner table.  These look simple to make, yet will add a sophisticated look to any dinner table.

What do you think of these, would you like to see how these are made?

Fall Fundraiser

In October we were asked to style and cater sweets for a Fall Fundraiser that was hosted at a home in Connecticut.  As the leaves were changing, and the colors of fall were blooming we knew we wanted to host a party that showcased all of the delicious flavors of the season.

To welcome guests we created a display of different pumpkins and gourds on a stone wall.  The colors of fall work so well in a natural setting like this lawn and compliment the classic yellow house. We also stacked some old wooden crates and stacked up more pumpkins near the front door.  To light the path we created lanterns made from mason jars, floral wire, and sheperd's hooks. Although we wanted to emphasize fall, we didn't stand a chance against Mother Nature as the snow began to fall.      

For our desserts we made a variety of mini, hand-held desserts and displayed them on an antique piano draped in white lace.  Our "cutie pies" made a debut in pumpkin and pecan as did our cinnamon-sugar mini donuts. Per the host's request, we made vanilla cupcakes with buttercream topped with a sprinkle of gold sugar to glam them up.  And last but certainly not least, we have an assortment of chewy (and addictive) chocolate cookies and sugared gingersnaps.

 This party made us very excited for Thanksgiving and for all that we can make!  Hope this inspired you too!