Sweet Halloween

I just wanted to wet your whistle to check out this fab Kid's Halloween soiree that Melissa from Buckets of Grace did! OMG, I'm tired just looking at all of the wonderful stations she created and it looks like TONS of fun for the kiddos. Melissa, you never ceased to amaze me!! You are such a super mom with super duper talent!!

Check out all of the party pics and details here!! Melissa, are those body scrubbers on the tree??? I have been wanting to use that in some sort of party decor....you beat me to it!! Now it's going to look like I copied! LOL

Halloween Playlist

So you are having a Halloween party this weekend?? Don't forget the music to complete your perfect soiree! I have bought some Halloween CDs before and have always been disappointed so I made my own playlist this year!~get your IPODs ready! Here are a few suggestions:

*A MUST is Thriller-Michael Jackson

Disturbia-Rihanna

Werewolves of London- Warren Zevon

Witchy Woman- Eagles

I Put A Spell On You- Creedence Clearwater Revival

Ghostbusters- Ray Parker

Purple People Eater- Sheb Wooley

This Is Halloween- from The Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack

Monster Mash- Bobby Pickett

Spooky- Atlanta Rhythm Section

Witchcraft- Frank Sinatra

Devil Went Down to Georgia- Charlie Daniels Band

The Addams Family Theme Song- from The Addams Family

The pic is of Maddy today at her daddy's work for Trick or Treat. She LOVES Toy Story 2 and carries Buzz and Woody around everywhere and sleeps with them too. She had a red braided wig like Jessie's on but it didn't make it long enough for any good pics!

Tomorrow she has Trick or Trunk at the church then Sunday's Trick or Treat in the neighborhood. Gosh, we are going to have way too much candy.

Seeing Green

I LOVE this Halloween tablescape by Eddie Ross! URRGGH!! Why didn't I think of green to go with the black and white Halloween decor for the store! I just love everything about this table - those owl plates...I die!

Well, there is always next year. Sorry for the short posts of last couple of days. My schedule is so full~I'm not sure how to handle it all. The store Halloween decor comes down tomorrow and start decorating for Christmas. I totally hate to skip Thanksgiving but Fox Channel 10 is coming to do 3 live feeds from the store on November 8th!! I'm very excited and feel very blessed! I must have the store completely decorated inside and out for Christmas and have kids doing crafts for filming.

November's schedule is ridiculous but I still will be sharing with you some of Maddycakes events as well as the "muses" I find~ some posts just may be shorter than usual. Would love to see your Halloween tablescapes and parties so send them my way!!

Maddycakes schedule for November includes:
Travel Inspired dessert buffet

VIP Vegas Weekend

Store Christmas Decor

Super Mario Party

2 Christmas theme dessert buffets (still working out themes!!)

....and the usual Maddycakes signature parties plus Thanksgiving....YIKES!! Such exciting times.

Fireworks Cake Candles

Saw this photo of Kim Kardashian's birthday cake and fell in love with the candles!! Found them on EBAY under indoor firework candle for $3.95 but the shipping was $10.99! What?? I know some savvy person knows where to get these?? These would be a show stopper on any cake even though it says it's safe~ I still wouldn't use for the wee ones though.

Owl-O-Ween Party (Part 1)

Madison's Happy Owl-O-Ween party was Saturday. I 'm not into "scary" Halloween decor so this theme was perfect for the little kiddos. Woodland theme parties are very popular right now so many components from this Owl-O-Ween party could easily be used.

Chocolate dipped pretzels are really easy to do. I found this great basket at Saver's ~local thrift store. I always check out the great deals at local thrift stores. You can find such amazing and inexpensive items you can use for your entertaining and parties.

Found the pumpkin cookies at Dollar Tree! The buckets were green...nothing a can of pumpkin orange spray paint can't fix. Then added a cute wood owl, spanish moss, ribbon and custom tags.

I LOVED the Owl Cake Pops! So did the kids.

I simply typed the names of food onto cardstock then used a lighter to burn the edges and completed by stamping owls and branches. I used the pine cones to hold food labels keeping with the whole "woodland" theme.

I made S'mores marshmallow pops and owl lollipops.

S'mores cupcakes were on top of a wooden bowl turned upside down to use as cupcake stand.

I liked the Hershey chocolate and bone graham crackers in the marshmallow icing. Although, everyone keep calling the graham crackers~ dog biscuits! More pics to come.

Photos by Amy Fraughton Photography

Owl Tags~ Bella Luce Originals

Owl Lollipop molds~ Bake It Pretty

Owl cake pops~ Heavenly Cake Pops

Haunted Forest Centerpiece

I'm not a fan of black licorice but you got to love this centerpiece from Parents.com. Too cute!! If you want to make~get the 411 here.
Madison's Happy Owl-O-Ween party is tomorrow! I cannot believe that it is almost Halloween already. This year has completely flown by...it seems like I just put Christmas decorations away!! I should be working on Maddy's party stuff or sleeping...but I started surfing the internet for some inspiration for other parties...next thing I know it's 2 am!! Does anyone else get caught up looking at blogs for too long as well! :)

Spellbinding Cookies

I fell in love with these owl cookies from Bake It Pretty. So I ordered the owl cutter and fondant eyes from Bake It Pretty of course! So tomorrow after the shop closes, I will be in serious baking mode to get all of Madison's desserts done for her Owl-O-Ween party!

You can check here for the recipe and a free download of the tags seen on both cookies. How great is that??

Grand Opening of Maddycakes Party Location

I know!!!! Finally a post of pics of the Grand Open House!! It has been so crazy trying to get the old house ready to open for business!! The Open House was all day and I wanted to have a few treats on hand for all who stopped by. I decorated the party space for Halloween which worked perfectly. That same evening, Historic Glendale had it's Friday Night Lights with the theme of Treats no Tricks~where kids were all decked in their costumes and families went from shop to shop gathering goodies. I had a huge cauldron at the door filled with treat bags. I literally was still painting the night before and had so many things left to do with the store that I had NO time for preparations for the food display!! Thank God for Paula of Frog Prince Paperie!! I got her gorgeous Trick or Treat party printable. I LOVE this printable ~ I really wished that I had more time to use everything from the printable package. However, the great thing about purchasing printables other than the fact that it is so convenient, inexpensive and color coordinates everything....is that it is yours to use whenever and as often as you want. So since I didn't get the chance to use all of the items this time..it's okay..I have all of the files to use next year! If you are planning a Halloween party...it is not too late to get this...check out Frog Prince Paperie...Paula is super duper talented and equally sweet! Paula customized the food label tags. This is an option I think is totally worth doing!

The back containers needed some height so needed a quick solution~ I took cardboard square bowls and flipped upside down, wrapped them with white duct tape and used double sided tape to stick on cupcake toppers. So the original plan was to take these popcorn balls from Walmart and put them in cellophane bags and tie with coordinating ribbon and add the circle tags from Frog Prince Paperie. Time just ran out ...at least the popcorn ball wrapping was orange and black!

Remember my fireplace Craigslist find for $90, right?? Well, here it is all decked out for Halloween. I filled my spray painted Goodwill iron bowl with Dollar Tree glitter skulls. I adore old window panes so when I saw this one at a yard sale for $2, I almost broke my neck trying to get to it! I added a black feather wreath with spray painted black pine cones. What is the proper name for this dish, anyone?? Got this lovely from Goodwill for $3~ it's real marble people!! I thought spidey would be comfortable inside.I not a matchy match type of girl hence the different plates. I always like to mix things up with different patterns.Close up of the Halloween table display. Here is how the sideboard table looked on opening day. Got the frame idea here!

I needed a little orange and found this lovely glitter pumpkin at HomeGoods.

One of my favorite clients turned friend came to open house and saw that I had a TV still in box in the kitchen. She asked why it wasn't up and I told her that it cost too much to have mounted so it would have to wait. The next day she was down to the shop with her whole family and had my TV installed! Isn't that amazing!! I actually cried and still get teary eyed when I think how blessed I am to have this wonderful woman in my life and to think it all started with her little girl's birthday party!! So here is a pic of my new digs~ of course it's on a swivel mount so can be viewed throughout the space!! BTW, the hubby surprised me with the TV!

Here is the hallway that leads to the boutique, bathroom and activity room. More details pics to come. I must go work on Maddy's party and a Super Mario party. Having a hard time with the Super Mario theme~ I'm not a gamer and have no idea about it so I rented the game for my Wii to see what inspiration I can get!! (Yes, we own a Wii but I played it once....such a shame!) If you have some suggestions, I'm all ears!

I want to thank all my blogging peeps who stopped by to visit. It meant the world to me!! Especially want to thank Kendra from Me and My Insanity for bringing her 4 children and spending time with me!! Girl, you rock!! It was so awesome to finally meet you. Kendra and I think it is HIGH time us Phoenix blogging girls get together... I happen to know of a good party location!!

Owl Cake

Madison's Happy Owl-O-Ween Party is on Saturday. OMG!! How did it sneak up on me!! I am just starting to clean my house, haven't even begun the planning or forget about the styling of it all!! So today, I go to order the cake. I described how I wanted this 3D owl cake. The price estimates ranged from $450- $1000! What?? Are you kidding me??? This is not for a wedding or even Sweet 16! It's not even for a birthday party. So instead of getting rid of my grand idea for the cake~I'm going to try to do it myself. I know, I know it is harder than it looks but to save hundreds of dollars~I'm willing to try! You know I'm not a baker either but I found some awesome tutorials on Parenting.com for all sorts of fab cakes. They have 61 unique birthday cakes with step by step tutorials!! Cross your fingers and wish me luck. I will bring you along the journey with me!

Cupcake Kabobs

Candy Kabobs are all the rage now on candy/dessert buffets. How about these cupcake kabobs??? Oh, I can just see the possibilities!!! I see marshmallows on these...you know I love my marshmallow pops...I think I may have another must have!! (Photo- Cupcakes Takes the Cake)

I got a lot of emails regarding the TV segment yesterday...I posted an update on yesterday's post of the link to view segment. So scroll down to see my TV debut!! Thanks for all of the kind comments and support. I really feel the love! I am in a time of harvest and thank God everyday for my many blessings.

Many blessings to you my peeps!

Am I ready for my close up???

UPDATE: HERE IS A LINK TO SHOW~ Please tell me what you think!!

I interviewed for a chance to be on Good Morning Arizona last week but didn't say anything to anyone due to not wanting to get my hopes up. However, I found out last Thursday that I got it!! The station was looking for someone to do a segment on a couple of easy DIY pumpkin crafts. I am very blessed that I was contacted to come in for a meeting and send some pics of additional crafts. Long story short, I am on the air LIVE tomorrow featuring their chosen pumpkin crafts. With the grand opening of the store on Friday and the Front Porch Festival on Saturday~it gave me only today to prepare for it. Used real pumpkins for all crafts. Here is my finished pumpkins. This one is spray painted copper, used copper wire for feet, inserted a cup which will be filled with water and real mums tomorrow. This pic was taken while still wet..sorry....used napkins and mod podge. The station asked for this bling pumpkin. So here is one that I did to show a quick and easy bling pumpkin. I spray painted the pumpkin black and used pink glitter glue to make spider web. The glittery spider is one of those spider rings with the ring part cut off. Used spray adhesive on it then sprinkled glitter. Easy~cheesy!!

I am praying that I act normal and don't show my nervousness. I will let you know how it goes!! I have been told that this could be a ongoing segment on the show!! Such a dream!! SO if you live here in Phoenix, tune in Monday at 9:45 ~Good Morning Arizona/Channel 3!!

I promise to post the pics of the Grand Opening plus share in my other huge news!! Many blessings!

Sneak Peek into Maddycakes Grand Opening

Today was the grand opening of Maddycakes party venue and boutique. Needless to say I am wiped out but have a full day tomorrow at the store. Historic Glendale is having it's Front Porch festival so stores will be pulling their products outside to showcase. It is 4 am and I must get up in 2 hours so just going to share a quick glimpse of the room. I will share pics and details tomorrow. Some AMAZING things happen to me today!!! I can't wait to tell you!! Here is my Maddy taking a nap at the store. She has been such a trooper through this whole process with mommy. Today, I was rushing around trying to get last minute things done and being short with her~she came up to me and gave me a hug and said mommy it's okay I love you~ our store is beautiful. That stopped my heart~ and made me feel bad about how I was acting - after all it was her grand opening as well.

A Totally Target Halloween

Shauna Younge of Sweet Tooth has done it again! This time designing a dessert table using only items you can find at a Super Target~ingredients, supplies, dishware, and desserts.

Love how she displayed the date!

I adore the brooms made out of 2 paper bags. Shred one and place another un-shredded bag inside! Shauna used ice cube trays as molds to make custom white chocolates- great tip!! Check out all of the details and more pics here. Tomorrow is Maddycakes party location store opening! It is not 2:30 so I better get some sleep. I will take pics of everything and share tomorrow! Many blessings my peeps.

Campfire Birthday

Maddycakes Party location and Boutique Grand Open House is this Friday from 10-8! I can't believe it is in 2 days! I am frantically trying to get everything done in time for opening. (it's not helping that the hubby is gone for work all week!) There will be sweets and treats so if you are in the area please stop in to visit with me and see the new space. I would really love to meet you. On Saturday Historic Glendale is having it's Front Porch Festival so we will be pulling out our stuff to display in the front of the store. I can't believe I am actually a store owner. God is so good!
One of the talented, beautiful and lovely HAP girls ~Anne sent in her daughter's Campfire Birthday. I love all of these ladies and their blog which is Haute Apple Pie (HAP) ~musings for the modern homemaker.I get many emails from mommies who tell me they just don't have the time or energy to create those fab dessert/food buffets they see throughout blogland. This is an awesome example that you don't have to stress yourself out with "styling" a buffet for a kid's party. I just love the simplicity of this.

Look closer and check out this unique detail of labeling the food using jagged cut wood signs painted with black paint. EEEEKKKK too cute!

Guests were served “bug Juice” in mini canteens adorned with name tags.

OK...this one you will be seeing again from me for Maddy's Owl-Oween party next week...YIKES~~~NEXT WEEK! I ADORE these!!!

S'mores buffet

Loving the take home S'mores

All the kids left with bandanna knapsacks filled with treats and small toys. Don't you just love this? Thanks so much Anne for sending this my way. Check out their wonderful blog for more pics and while your there check out all eye candy wonderful recipes.