paper and cake: April 2010

REAL PARTY: Sail Away 1st Birthday

>> Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Sail Away banner, flag labels, party cone hats, sail labels

You know we love when y'all send in photos of your real parties, but this one took the CUPCAKE!

Abigail (of Abigail's Bake Shop) Giant Cupcake Cake

Abigail (not our Abigail, but this Abigail), used our Sail Away Printable Party to create this incredibly sweet First Birthday Party for her son.

Sail labels, full-pattern sheet, flag labels

You can see more on her blog at Abigail's Bake Shop. Makes you want to go buy some cupcakes, book an ocean charter and Sail Away doesn't it?

Abigail's yummy cupcakes, sail labels

Thanks so much Abigail for sharing!

Dinner with Neighbors

>> Thursday, April 22, 2010

I'm a big believer in the neighbor-dinner. Moving to Southern California I thought I'd never find the kind of quaint neighborhood where kids and grown-ups mingle over a plentiful potluck. I was wrong...

buy pre-made dough or try the recipe below (my tried-and true), roll out with a dusting of rice-flour

spread with your favorite pizza sauce

I can send my kids up the block searching for a cupful of milk and a teaspoon of baking soda....they return with bowls full and "what's for dinner" requests ...

we always do a cheese one, then experiment with the rest...try zucchini, red peppers, pesto, chicken, pine nuts, tomatoes, basil, mushrooms, sausage...the possibilities are endless...

Last night I hosted a small neighbor-dinner of DIY stromboli (or as my son likes to call it..."Strong-boli"). All you need is pizza dough, mozzarella and some fixin's... Everyone can make their own.

I set out bowls of cheese, veggies, pepperoni, linguica, etc...and everyone rolls their own. Bake for about 12-15 minutes in a 450º oven. Serve with a giant green salad and chianti.

Did I mention I really like my neighbors?

about half-way done

So there is no excuse not to host a casual dinner with friends this weekend!

My favorite dough recipe (I always make a double or triple batch to freeze):

Whisk 1 package active yeast and a pinch of sugar into 1/2 cup really warm water. Let sit for 5 minutes (it should bubble). In a large bowl, combine 3 cups white whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt. Mix in 3/4 cups milk and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add yeast mixture. (Add milk if its too dry).

Plop onto a rice-floured surface and knead a couple of minutes. Let rise in a covered, oiled bowl for a couple of hours. When ready to use, dust with rice flour and roll out a rectangle (or whatever shape the dough turns into). Set rolled dough on a cookie sheet (I usually sprinkle mine with corn meal).

Spread with sauce and add the good stuff. Roll and pinch all ends closed.

Oreo Buttercream

Abigail makes THE BEST cakes. The kind that make you melt...

I tried my hardest to make cupcakes for my daughter's 5th birthday... but one little guest, after taking a bite of Abby's beautiful polka dot purple cake, and then my sad deflated cupcake... pointed to said cupcake and said "this tastes funny."

sigh....

While I may not be a baker, my business partner is a baker extraordinaire... and she was gracious enough to fill our cake with Oreo-buttercream... Here's her recipe:

8 oz. unsalted softened butter

4 c. powdered sugar

2 T milk

2 t. vanilla extract

2 t. fresh lemon juice

12-14 Oreos, finely crushed in food processor (centers and all!)

Bag of mini oreos - for garnish

In a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, add 1/2 the powdered sugar plus all of the other ingredients. Beat until moistened. Scrape down the bowl. Add the rest of the powdered sugar and the oreos. If the frosting is still too thick, you can add a tiny bit of milk at a time until it reaches the desired consistency. Garnish with one mini oreo per cookie, alternatively, you can cut the full size cookies in half and insert half into each cupcake.

GO make some! (free shipping to my home address. Just e-mail me for details at kira@paperandcake.com). We'll post the top 3 cupcake creations!

FIESTA FOREVER

>> Monday, April 19, 2010

DIY Papel Picado

Need an excuse to make margaritas? How about Cinco de Mayo? Dia de los Muertos? ..... How about next Friday Night?

Fiesta-Style Pinwheels

Find everything you need to get the blender going in style at the new Paper & Cake store!

margarita-glass charms, invitation, coasters

This bright, festive Fiesta Collection includes:

invitations, menu, cupcake picks, margarita glass charms, pinwheels, papel picado (banner), favor bags, nacho trays, menu, lanterns, coasters, napkin rings/candle wrappers, recipe cards for authentic guacamole and the best margarita ever!

DIY paper lanterns (mini-donkey pinata not included)

You can even customize the papel picado banner, invitations, menu and cupcake picks! How's that for only $14.95?

nacho tray, cupcake picks, guacamole recipe

Stop by the store for your very own Fiesta Decorations!

NEWS

>> Saturday, April 17, 2010

We're happy to announce the opening of our PaperandCake.com. Stop by and tell us what you think!

Salon Party

>> Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Front Door Sign (you can personalize yours at PaperandCake.com)

My daughter Fia...in her Purple Fairy Finery (made by Granny)!

My daughter turned FIVE this month and wanted a "fancy-glamorous-pretty-makeup-paint-your-nails-salon-kinda-party". Immediately I though of our Paper & Cake Printable Pink Polka Dot Party Kit...perfect right?.

But because of fluctuating winds, my daughter wanted purple and chocolate brown.

I re-sized some of the dot rounds (400%) to make them into lawn dots.

No problem... I just whipped that little Pink Polka Dotted Party into Purple.

For favors I found mani-pedi sets at Michael's and popped them into our take-out-style boxes.

Michael's Mani-Pedi kit

DIY take-out boxes from Paper & Cake

For the activities we did face painting instead of make-up...(cuz they're only 5 ya know, and mascara + Hannah Montana can wait as far as I'm concerned).