When I was preparing for my son’s birthday party, I searched and searched for great Lego cake ideas.  I didn’t find many ideas that I loved and/or in my cake decorating skill set.  Most of the cool Lego cake ideas I came across were done by professional cake decorators.  I didn’t want all of our party budget to go to cake decorating, so I got creative.

Edible Lego Bricks

I found this great lego brick mold on Amazon.  I used red, yellow, green, and blue candy melts to make edible Lego bricks to decorate the cake.  The blue candy melts weren’t the color of blue I wanted, so I used some blue oil based food coloring to get them to the perfect color.

I placed four candy melt disks in each brick compartment, then put the mold on a cookie sheet in the oven for several minutes at 225 degrees to melt.  When the candy melts were melted, I pulled the mold out of the oven.

One trick I figured out when making the molds was to tap the mold on the counter to force the air bubbles to come up to the surface and pop.  I put the mold into the freezer until the bricks were setup, then popped them out of the molds.

The Lego bricks were created several days before the party so there was less to worry about on the day of the party.

Chocolate Cake Recipe

My son loves chocolate cake. I turned to my favorite “homemade from the box” chocolate cake recipe that I originally shared here.

Chocolate Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 Box Chocolate Cake Mix
• 4 Eggs
• 1/2 Cup Canola Oil
• 1/2 Cup Water
• 8 oz Sour Cream
• 1 Small Box Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix
• 1 Bag (2 cups) Chocolate Chips

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine the cake mix, eggs, oil, water, sour cream, pudding, and chocolate chips.  Mix until well combined.  The batter will be thick.  Place batter in two or three 9-inch round cake pans and cook for 30-35 minutes.

“Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Frosting Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
• 2/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Melt butter and stir in cocoa. Alternate powdered sugar and milk.  Beat to spreading consistency. If needed, add a small amount of additional milk. Stir in vanilla. Makes about 2 cups of frosting.

Frosting recipe source.

Lego Birthday Cake

After the cake was frosted, I placed the candy Lego bricks around the perimeter of the cake.  On the top of the cake, I cut and shaved down the edges of the candy bricks using a knife to create the rounded edges.

I was really happy with how the cake turned out and my son loved it.

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We recently had an Easter craft night at church and made this bright spring decorations to liven up our home decor.  The great thing about this craft was that it was something we could finish in a couple of hours and it was easy for crafters of all skill level to create.

Easter Wooden Letters

Supplies

• 1″ x 2″ wooden blocks
• Sand paper
• White Paint
• Scrapbook paper
• Mod Podge
• Vinyl Easter letters

The Easter letters were made out of 1″ x 2″ wooden blocks.  The blocks were cut at various lengths.  We sanded down the edges then painted the blocks using white paint.

White the paint was drying, we put the vinyl Easter letters on the scrapbook paper (vinyl lettering can be cut using a Silhouette).  After the paint dried, we used Mod Podge to adhere the scrapbook paper to the wooden blocks.

Easter Chick

Supplies

• 2″ x 4″ wooden blocks
• Sand paper
• Yellow paint
• Dark orange paint
• Ribbon
• Feathers
• Wooden beak and feet
• Buttons

This craft came together really quick.  The first thing we did was sand down the rough edges, then paint the 2″ x 4″ yellow.  The wooden beak and feet were painted a dark orange color.  I believe you can get the beak and feet wooden parts at Hobby Lobby or Michaels.

Once the paint had dried, we covered the front of the chick with yellow feathers.  We stripped feathers of a yellow boa for our chicks.  We used hot glue to attach the feathers randomly around the front of the wood.  Once the yellow feathers were attached, we added the bow, button eyes, beak, and feet.

Bunny Sign

Supplies

• Wooden plaque
• Sand paper
• White paint
• Black paint
• Scrapbook paper
• Vinyl
• Wooden rabbit shape

The first thing we did was sand down the rough edges, then paint the wood white.  While the wood was drying, we added the vinyl lettering to the scrapbook paper (vinyl lettering can be cut using a Silhouette).

When the wood was dry, we affixed the scrapbook paper using Mod Podge. To finish the rabbit, we used black paint to add eyes and whiskers and glued on a pink scrapbook paper nose.  The rabbit was attached to the sign using hot glue.

Our Easter craft night was a fun activity with great attendance and I’m happy to have some new Easter decorations for our house.

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We threw a Lego themed birthday party for my son’s sixth birthday.  He has loved Legos since he was 3-years-old and got his first Lego set. His favorite Lego series is the Star Wars series, but I decided to go with a traditional Lego theme for his party.

We set the stage for the party with a Lego birthday invite, complete with red, blue, yellow, and green Lego blocks.

Lego Party Invitation

Invite Supplies

• Printable Lego Invitation (available below)
• Lego Blocks
• Clear Pillow Box
• Printable Sticker Sheets

The Lego invitation  simple party invitation using the traditional Lego colors.

I liked the idea of displaying the invitation in a clear pillow box.  I love to receive fun mail and thought that it would be fun for the guests to get a peek at the invitation when they went to pick up the mail.

The pillow box also allowed me to include the Lego blocks with the invitation which gave the invitation that added “fun” factor.

I printed a “You’re Invited” sticker and added it to the front of the pillow box, then printed address labels for the back of the invitations.

Lego Birthday Invitation Printable Downloads

The font I used for the main text of the invitation is Myriad Pro and the font for the name is LegoThick.

• Lego Birthday Invitation Download
• You’re Invited Label Download

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Makoodle’s free downloads and printables are for personal, non-commercial use only.  Copyright is owned by Makoodle.  If you have a commercial inquiry, please contact me. 

You are welcome to link to the download on your site, but please link to the original post for the download (please don’t host the original files on your site).

Happy Valentine’s Day!  I was the party planner for my daughter’s Valentines class party today.  I’m not able to volunteer in her class very often because I work full-time, so when I am able to volunteer I try to make it count.  Parties mean a lot to my daughter and I knew I needed to deliver for her and her friends.

For the party, we broke the class into four groups that rotated through four fifteen minute stations.  One of the stations was a Valentines Minute to Win It station.

Valentines Minute to Win It

There were six kids in each group.  For the minute to win it station, they broke into two teams of three.  There were several rounds of minute to win it games and they took turns rotating through the kids.

Heart Stack

For the Heart Stack, they had one minute to stack conversations hearts as high as they could.  If the stack tipped over, they could start over.  At the end of the minute, whoever had the tallest stack received a point for their team.

I tested with the large conversation hearts and the small conversation hearts.  The large hearts worked much better for stacking.

Candy Corn Stick Up

For the Candy Corn Stick Up, they had one minute to place as many candy corns upright as they could.  Whoever had the most candy corns standing up at the end of a minute received a point for their team.

Candy Pick Up

For the Candy Pick Up, there were two plates full of different shapes and sizes of Valentines candy and two empty plates.  Each kid would use chopsticks to move as many candies to the empty plate as they could in one minute.  Whoever had moved the most candies at the end of the minute received a point for their team.

Marshmallow Toss

For the Marshmallow Toss, there were two bowls full of miniature marshmallows and two empty bowls a few feet away.  Each team would toss as many marshmallows into the empty bowl as they could in one minute.  The person who got the most marshmallows in the bowl at the end of the minute received a point for their team.

Heart Relay

For the Heart Relay, there were two cups full of conversation hearts and two empty cups a few feet away.  They had one minute to move as many hearts from the full cup to the empty cup using a spoon.  At the end of the minute, the team that moved the most conversation hearts received a point.

The kids loved this station.  My daughter said that we have to play minute to win it games at the next party.  The great thing about this game is that the supplies are simple and the games are quick, easy to understand, and competitive.

I let the winning team pick a Valentine treat from a treat bag.  For more great minute to win it games check out Sassy Sites for some great ideas.

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Cake pops have been around for awhile and have made quite the impact on holidays, parties, and events – thanks to Miss Bakerella.  Even though cake pops are super cute, I prefer a more simple variation of the this treat on a stick – the Oreo pop.

Holiday Oreo Pops

Oreo pops are easier to make than cake pops and are great treats for a holiday or party.  These fun treats are always a hit at my kids’ birthday parties.  In fact, my daughter chose an Oreo pop (or two) over her cake at her second birthday party.

If you’re looking for a fun, festive treat these Valentine Oreo pops are sure to please.

Heart Sprinkles

My favorite thing about Oreo pops is covering them with sprinkles.  I like the look of the nonpareils the most, but it is fun to mix it up with some itsy, bitsy shapes as well.

To learn how to make Oreo pops, check out my Oreo pop tutorial.

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I am the class party rep for my daughter’s class this year.  There is one more week before the big event. I am just starting to plan the party.  Eeek!

I put together these Valentine’s Day bingo cards last year, but decided to create some new designs for this year.  I used some of the Valentines bag toppers I shared last week as the inspiration for the designs.

Free Printable Valentines Bingo Card Downloads

There are three designs with 14 different cards.  Each design has a blank card so you can write in your own numbers to create more cards.

Subway Art Valentines Bingo Cards

Download Bingo Cards

Pink and Red Striped Valentines Bingo Cards

Download Bingo Cards

Pink Heart Valentines Bingo Cards

Download Bingo Cards

Free Printable Valentines Bingo Cards

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Makoodle’s free downloads and printables are for personal, non-commercial use only.  Copyright is owned by Makoodle.  If you have a commercial inquiry, please contact me. 

You are welcome to link to the download on your site, but please link to the original post for the download (please don’t host the original files on your site).

My son wasn’t too excited about my style when I was putting together my daughter’s pink and red girly Valentines last week.  I decided that my cute little boy needed some “tough” Valentines for his class.

Kids Valentines

I designed four different monster valentine styles.  Check out the DIY Valentine;s Day Treat Bag Topperspost for simple instructions on how to put these together.

I Am Wild About You Monster Valentine

Wild Thing You May My Heart Sing Monster Valentine

Eye Heart You Monster Valentine

XOXO Monster Valentine

Monster Valentine Bag Toppers

Do you want to know the best part about this project?  I got to reuse the monsters I designed for his 5th birthday party a couple years ago. Remember his monster cake?

I showed my friend his Valentine’s and she said, “You bought the solid colored M&M’s!?  Those are expensive…”  I actually bought a big bag of M&M’s from Costco and sorted them into bowls with the different colors.  I know.  I’m crazy!  But, it was worth it – they turned out cute!

Download Free Printable Monster Bag Toppers

• Download Printable Monster Bag Toppers

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Makoodle’s free downloads and printables are for personal, non-commercial use only.  Copyright is owned by Makoodle.  If you have a commercial inquiry, please contact me. 

You are welcome to link to the download on your site, but please link to the original post for the download (please don’t host the original files on your site).

With only a few weeks until Valentine’s Day, I figured it was high time I got my craft on.

This is a simple Valentine’s Day DIY you can do with your kids.  I designed these Valentine’s bag toppers for my daughter to give to her class.  Check out the DIY Valentine’s we made for her class last year.

Supplies

There are only a few supplies necessary to create these cute Valentine’s.  You will need:

• Card Stock
• Printer
• Paper Cutter
• 3″ x 4″ Ziploc Bags
• Stapler
• Candy

To put the Valentine’s together, print your favorite design (free downloads available below) on a color printer.  Next, cut the bag toppers out using a paper cutter.  Finally, fold the bag topper in half, then staple it to a bag filled with candy.

On the back of the bag topper, there is an empty area to write your child’s name.

Pink Hearts – I Heart You Valentine’s Bag Topper

• Download I Heart You Printable Bag Topper

Subway Art Valentine’s Bag Topper

• Download Subway Art Printable Bag Topper

Victoria’s Secret Inspired – Striped “Hugs & Kisses” Valentine’s Bag Topper

• Download Victoria’s Secret Inspired Hugs & Kisses Printable Bag Topper

Hugs & Kisses Striped Valentine’s Bag Topper

• Download Striped Hugs and Kisses Printable Bag Topper

Damask Valentine’s Bag Topper

• Download Damask Printable Bag Topper

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Thanks for stopping by!

Makoodle’s free downloads and printables are for personal, non-commercial use only.  Copyright is owned by Makoodle.  If you have a commercial inquiry, please contact me. 

You are welcome to link to the download on your site, but please link to the original post for the download (please don’t host the original files on your site).

I had a lot of fun planning  my daughter’s 8th birthday party.  We had a family birthday party and a friend birthday party for her with a rainbow art party theme.  For the cake table, I made some melted crayon art.  The cake table was also a display for the rainbow candy buffet.  I also created a Happy Birthday banner using my Silhouette cutter with the darling Elise font.

I made two rainbow cakes.  The first one was “ok”, but after some great advice from my husband, the second cake turned out awesome.  I loved how the melted crayon effect turned out on the second cake.

On my kid’s birthdays, I like to display some of my favorite pictures of them from the last year.  To display the pictures, I spray painted a frame in rainbow colors to make an on-theme rainbow clothespin picture display.

Crayon Birthday Party Invitation

The crayon birthday invitation was the first project I did for the party and I love how it turned out.  It was perfect for the theme and it made my daughter feel special.   I’ll have to admit, it was pretty time consuming to put together, but you only live once! I used the crayon invitation for the family party (less invites to make) and for the friend party I created an easier printable artsy invite.

Rice Krispie Treat Paint Brush Party Favors

For the family birthday party, I made some of my gourmet Rice Krispie Treats and turned them into paint brushes.

Rainbow Party Food

I like to plan the party food around the foods my kids like.  My daughter is a pretty picky eater, but she loves pizza.  When we do pizza for birthday parties we always order The Pie.  They have the best pizza – ever!  I love their cheese pull-a-parts.  We are lucky to have one pretty close to us, so I can even order it delivered so it is one less thing for me to worry about on party day.

I also made a rainbow fruit tray, salad, and had soda in the colors of the rainbow.

Art Birthday Party Games & Activities

For the friend birthday party we had several games and activities for the kids. For the activities, we made artwork, we made bead necklaces, and we created a blindfolded masterpiece.

For the artwork, we painted 8×10 canvases.  This was the first activity we did  so the canvases had time to dry before the girls went home.  To pain the canvases, they used plastic cups dipped in paint.  They turned out darling and the girls loved the activity.

The “blindfolded masterpiece” was a game I came up with similar to pin the tail on the donkey.  We used a posterboard and markers.

Each girl took a turn being blindfolded and each girl had to draw something about the birthday girl.  So someone was assigned to draw her head, another her eyes, etc.  My daughter loved this game and kept the “masterpiece” to remember the party.

For more ideas, check out my Crafts and Fun with Kids pin board on Pinterest.

Rainbow Photo Booth

Last, but not least, we had a rainbow photo booth.  Photo booths are so much fun and a great way to remember a party.  This was a last minute (super easy) addition to the friend party and the kids had a lot of fun making silly faces and posing.

This party was so much fun and I’m already thinking about ideas for her 9th birthday.  I haven’t decided on a theme yet.  Maybe this year we will throw a simple party?  Probably not.  These parties are too much fun to plan!

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I fell in love with candy buffets when they hit the wedding scene years ago.  The different sizes, shapes, and colors of candy are a great decoration as well as a party favor.  I’ve been collecting glass jars for awhile and decided that a rainbow candy buffet would be perfect for my daughter’s art birthday party.

Rainbow Candy Buffet – Party Favor for Art Birthday Party

I’ve picked up most of my glass apothecary jars from Michaels, but I’ve also found some great jars on Amazon in different shapes and sizes.   My apothecary jars have been a great investment because I like to decorate with them for the holidays.

When you’re creating a candy buffet, you want to have a good variety of jars in a varity of heights and shapes.  When selecting your jars, you should also consider the shapes and sizes of your candy as well as the size of the table you will displaying the candy buffet.

Candy Buffet Candy Selections

Selecting the candy for your candy buffet is a bit of an art.  It is best to have a color scheme to bring it all together.  For this party it was a rainbow theme.

When selecting your candy, keep the jar size and style in mind.  For larger jars, I like to select candy that is more substantial and will fill up the jar.

I looked online for candy at a few places.  Candy Crate is a great place to get bulk candy.  You can find unique candy selections and even search by color or theme.  I also found some great candy options on Amazon.

The other thing I consider before selecting candy is how the jars will be organized.  That helps me know how much candy I need and which candies will look good next to each other.

To bring it all together, I like to embellish my jars with matching ribbon and labels.

To help the candy buffet tie into the art party theme, I create a simple rainbow watercolor background in Photoshop, printed the labels on my computer, and cut the labels using a large circle punch.

There you have it!  A great party favor and cute decoration.  I loved a lot of the details about my daughter’s art party, but this may be my favorite.