Kids Party on a Budget

So July is a birthday month for 2 of my girls (5 days apart) and this year, after getting away with limited parties for nearly 9 years, I decided it was time to do one at home for a group of friends.  My daughter was turning 8 so it was all things Frozen.  I wanted to decorate without breaking the bank and have things for the kids to do rather than just playing for 2 hours.  So here's a few of my things which were easy do and thanks to Dealz cost very little.

Craft table - get some blanks (in this case card fairies, socks, crowns) and some bling (feather boa cut in pieces, pipe cleaners, pom poms, stickers, wiggly eyes) and just let the kids loose with their imaginations.

Kids love this sort of thing and it doesn't need to be complicated, come with instructions or expensive.

I had planned on making Olaf with the socks but the kids just did their own things.

Decorating doesn't need to break the bank either.  I had lots of banners up.  Then made tissue paper globe thingys.  I also strung cotton wool balls on clear string for 'snow' and painted some branches with silver glitter paint for the forest going up North mountain.

I think they all liked it.  The only problem I faced was each ball had to be hot glued onto the string cause they kept slipping down.

And of course the most important part of any party is the food.  The proper food went down a storm - sausage rolls, chicken nuggets and cocktail sausages.  I also had crisps, sweets and buns.

These ones are my high heels.  So easy to do and again don't have to break the bank.  Simple cupcake with buttercream icing.  The 'sole' is a lotus biscuit (like the ones you get with your coffee in the shops) which  you can get in Dealz.  The 'heel' is a wafer biscuit which though I had seen loads of times before found difficult to get this time but you can get them, otherwise try using chocolate fingers.  They are simply stuck on with some buttercream.  Then decorate the top as you like.

 Now the cake is a different story.  I don't normally make these kind I usually just make it simple but I said I'd do something special this year.  It's basically a 3 tier chocolate rice krispie cake.  The topper is printed wafer paper from Sweet Creations which I stuck on with chocolate and because it was wafer paper it stood up perfectly.  The blue 'snow' is just roll out icing available from Sweet Creations, as are the white snowflakes.

I also had chocolate snowflakes which were tasty but too big, I sprinkled them with blue sugar.  The 'trees' I had fun with though.  They are ice cream cones piped with green buttercream.  Then I just kept them in the fridge until last thing so they wouldn't slide :)  I just thought they were super cool.

Needless to say this went down a treat and my daughter loved it ... she's already planning next years one.

Now I've to go and do another cake for my youngest :) I'll post you a pic when I have it finished.  I hope you like this, if you have any questions or comments please do ask and share xx

The Stories Behind Some of my Favourite Photographs

 One of my passions is photography.  I took it up in earnest over a year ago and have since loved capturing some magical moments with my children.  It's great that I can combine it with lots of my other favourite things too, such as food :)

 This was one of my first 'staged' food photos.  I made them purely because of the name ... Knock You Naked Brownies ... and if you make these for your loved one that's what will happen.  These truly are the most amazing brownies I've ever had and incredibly easy (I'll post the recipe soon I promise).

 When my kids are off school I try and get out somewhere.  This pic was taken in the Collins Barracks Museum in Dublin (the one near Heuston).  Now the more professional photographers among you will point out the many, many things wrong with this pic and it's not one that would print well but I love.  I just love the lighting in it.  And I may add the museum is a fab spot to spend a day.

 Many of you will have seen this pic before as it's probably one of the most photographed rooms in Dublin.  It's the Long Room in Trinity College.  It's housed in the same building as the Book of Kells.  Absolutely gorgeous and the smell of old books and peace and quiet means you could stay all day and just chill.

 My mum and dad recently moved into a new house next door to me.  They have the most fabulous garden, especially at this time of year when the flowers are all coming out.  I'm not sure what this one is and neither are they so they asked me to photograph it so they could ask in garden club.  It was a beautiful morning with a light frost from the night before.

 I love this one if for no other reason than I got to eat cake afterwards :)  My poor countertop hasn't been as shiny since.  I wanted to try and capture what tea should be like ... china teacups and cake on a stand.  I like the reflection too it just seems to work well.

 Found these little guys on a shrub which was being thrown out and ended up in my garden.  We were checking if it was actually alive.  I love the way the red and brown just work.

 This was a sad, sad day.  I had bought my tickets and I was ready to go but then the Garth Brooks concert last year got cancelled :( I was not a happy bunny.  So I donned my skinny jeans, cowboy hat and guitar and took this one.  This was my first selfie with an actual camera not a phone and I really like it.  All it's missing is the pint of Guinness ready to be sipped between sets :)

 Every year we head off nice and early to Tullamore Show (for those outside Ireland, or city folk, it's the largest county agricultural show in Ireland).  Last year I had my camera in hand and snapped the day away.  Just wandering around I came across this beauty and it's my favourite shot of the day (out of about 500 pics!!!!)

So that's it folks.  Just a small selection but I hoped you've enjoyed them.  I'll leave you with a panoramic view of Laois / Offaly.  On a beautiful day you can truly see for miles and I think it shows off our little country quite nicely.  See you soon xx

Chocolate Sprinkles Cake

So I was asked the other day if I would make a chocolate cake from my friends' daughter whose birthday is this weekend.  Of course, no problem ... a load of ideas started running through my head and I went through Pinterest :) as we all do.  But then I went to my press.  How many of us have bought bottles of sprinkles that look pretty, or the big tubs with 4 sections????  I had lots of bits but not enough of any.  So I bunged them into a bowl, gave them a mix and ta-da the result was colourful, different and looks yummy.

Now the cake itself had to be chocolate - so many possibilities.  So I went through my MANY cookbooks and found this one for a lovely light madeira.  The icing, however, is usually my downfall I just can't seem to get it nice and light and fluffy.  But I found one that was a cross between a ganache and a buttercream.  Very tasty.

For the Cake:

225g / 8oz Margarine ( make sure it's soft.  the tub stuff works best for cakes or zap the block stuff in the microwave for 20 secs - out of the wrapper of course)

225g / 8oz Caster Sugar (definitely works best in baking and is often cheaper than the granulated stuff these days)

4 Eggs, beaten

175g / 6oz Self Raising Flour

55g / 2oz Cocoa Powder

1-2tbsp Milk (if needed)

Preheat your oven to 180oC / 350oF / Gas Mark 4.  Line a 8" round tin and grease the sides.

Cream the sugar and marg until light (almost white in colour).  Add the beaten eggs and cream further.  Sieve the flour and cocoa into the mix and incorporate (the recipe I found said to fold but I just put the mixer on as low as possible).  Add the milk if you feel the mix is a little dry.

Put it into the tin and level the top.  Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes.  Leave it cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Icing:

150g / 5 1/2oz Plain Chocolate, finely chopped

200ml / 7floz Double Cream

140g / 5oz Butter, soft again (butter is always better in icing than marg)

280g / 10oz Icing Sugar

Heat the cream to just boiling, but don't boil.  Add it to the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and stir until the chocolate is melted.  Leave to cool for about 20 minutes until it's thickened a bit.

Cream the butter and icing sugar until creamy.  

Beat in the chocolate mix.  Chill in the fridge for 15-20 minutes until it's set enough to hold but not so hard that you can't spread it.

Assembling:

Slice the cake in half.  I used a gadget for this but a knife is fine it doesn't have to be perfect ... if your guests complain cause it's not even don't give them any :)

Get a paper plate (8" again) so it hides under the cake.  Smudge some icing on the plate and put on the first layer of cake - I used the top of the cake and turn it upside down that way if you have a little  hill on the cake it matches with the shape of the plate.  This icing stops it from moving around.

Spread on some icing, about 2-3tbsp and top with the other layer.

Holding the cake in one hand on the plate spread the icing evenly all over.

As I said earlier I had mixed up my medley of sprinkles in a bowl and holding the cake at a slight angle over the bowl I scooped up the sprinkles and let them stick to the icing with the excess falling back into the bowl.  And continue until you've covered the cake.

And voila!!!!  I'll try get a pic when it's cut tomorrow before it gets demolished :)

I hope you enjoy making this as much as I did.  Let me know how you get on xx