Opal 28 Birthday Bash

Opal 28 just celebrated their 3rd birthday with a BASH!  I had to attend because Opal 28 is where I held my first event, #FizzyPartyTropFest  . I love this space.  The rooms are just the right size and the outdoor patio space is perfect.

That brie has my name written all over it ;)  My friend got a hold of the olives and said they were really good.  Platters of cheese, olives, crackers and bread are easy to put together for parties.  No cooking and less stressful then trying out a new recipe.  Leaving you more time to enjoy your party.

My friend and I didn't know what kind of cheese that was in the front of the picture there with the sauce over it but it was good.  Putting together a platter of appetizers like this is a great way to try a lot of new cheeses.  Pair a platter like this with wine, add some friends and you have a great afternoon of fun.

Desserts at Opal 28's birthday bash were made by Lux Sucre Desserts.   I knew the desserts were not only going to look good but taste delish.  How did I know?  Because Lux Sucre Desserts made the desserts for #FizzyPartyTropFest 

Sparkly cake pops in purple to match Opal 28's colours.  When my friend and I arrived at the event I went straight for the cake pops. Tasty and moist, just like cake pops are suppose to be.  I refrained and only had one.  I could have easily eaten 2 or 3 ;)

These happy birthday cookies had the perfect amount of shimmer and sparkle to them.  These cookies were perfectly baked and tasted really good.  I was tempted to load my purse up with them.

This cake looked amazing.  My friend and I didn't stay long enough to try a slice but I know it tasted good because I've had Lux Sucre Desserts cake before.

In the back room of Opal 28 Smirk PhotoBooth Co set up.  Of course I jumped right in to get my pictures taken.  Pop over to my Instagram to see my pics.  I loved the sparkly shimmery backdrop choice, the fact that the space was big enough for a whole group of people and you get your pictures right then.

Smirk PhotoBooth Co had a lot of great props to choose from.  My friend, who rarely does photo ops even jumped in and did it.   I think it was because of the great photo props and the fact that you get your pics right then.  The owner, Skylor is super nice and fun too. She makes you feel at ease and gets you to have fun in front of the camera.  Check out all the party fun from the event here.

No event or party is complete without some swag.  When throwing a party you don't have to break the bank when it comes to swag bags.  Little items like stickers, candy and other small items make great swag bag items.

Related: Smirk Photobooth Co Birthday Party 

Lux Sucre Desserts Grand Opening

Lux Sucre Desserts  just opened her very own shop! It's located in the Charbonneau Golf Club shops just off I-5 toward Wilsonville, Oregon.  Totally worth the drive. The drive to the shop is so relaxing on a slow tree lined lane.   I went to her grand opening and her shop was packed!!  So proud of her. A group of ladies were sitting outside her shop enjoying their cupcakes and cookies and I heard one say, "This place is dangerous".  Oh yeah, they'll be back. ;) 

A fun little consultation area to discuss your wedding and party treat needs. I love the collage of Lux Sucre Desserts work.  It not only gives you an idea of the different styles of cake she does but it inspires you too.

While you're in Lux Sucre Desserts picking up some cupcakes for a party or house warming you were invited to, grab a hostess gift of these fun mugs.

Not in the mood for cookies or cupcakes?  How about some crispy treats? Dipped in chocolate and covered in fun sprinkles.  Kids can't resist these.

YUM!!! The first time I tried Lux Sucre Cupcakes was a few years ago at A Classic Affair Bridal Show.   So good. I only sampled one and was super tempted to sneak a few more ;)  Her frosting melts in your mouth and the cupcake is so light and delicious.

Getting married, big milestone birthday coming up, retirement party and need a cake? Lux Sucre Desserts has you covered.  How beautiful are these cakes.  I love the sedums on the cake. It makes me want to throw a sedum party so I can get a mini cake with these sedums sitting on top.

Such a pretty watercolour cake.  Love the edible flower work too. This would be a show stopper at your wedding.

I saved my fav cake for last.  So many great details. That rope work, the heart beautifully painted and the big flower. I love the touch of the arrow through the cake too.

If you're in the Portland metro area go to Lux Sucre Desserts.  Get out of downtown Portland and venture out of the East side and explore a great bakery.  The drive to the shop is so relaxing.  A nice slow drive through a tree lined street.

Top 5 Cake Trends of 2016

I've been taking a break from throwing parties because I'm planning an event for Fizzy Party's 5th birthday.  While I'm busy planning the party lets take a look at the top 5 cake trends of 2016 and how you can incorporate those trends into your parties. 

1. Geod

You could try your hand at this technique on cupcakes or incoporate a few geods into your dinner party or BBQ.  Pick up some geod coasters to set your drinks on, add a few geod rocks to your table centerpiece with some flowers or you could make place settings with geods.  

Cake by Three Tiers for Cake

2. Marble
Pop down to your local home improvement store and pick up a marbled tile to set in the middle of your table and place flowers on it.  Or pick up smaller tiles and use them as coasters. Your local rock shops have some great marbled looking stones too, you could use them as place cards.  Marbled balloons are inexpensive and easy to add to your party decor.
Cake by Lemon Tree Cakes 

3.Candy topped cakes
Now we're talking. I'm such a candy lover. In fact, excuse me a moment while I go grab some Twizzlers.  Ok, all good. Now we can get back to talking about candy topped cakes. This is actually an easy trend you can do.  Whether you make the cake yourself or buy a store bought one, just top it with your favorite candy. And lots of it! You could even top cupcakes with candy.
Cake by Marguerite Cakes 

4. Meringue peaks

Another easy cake trend you could do.  Meringues are pretty easy to make and how cute would they be on cupcakes.  Your friends will be impressed.  For my birthday party this year my cake was topped with meringues. My friends and I loved the look. 

Cakes by Truffle Toronto 

5.Watercolour

Invite some friends over to do some watercolour painting in your backyard or local park. Pick up some inexpensive watercolour paints at your local craft or art store and use them as party favors or place cards.

Cake by Queen 

Which cake trend is your favorite?

Aries Birthday Party

 Every year I throw myself a birthday party.  I look forward to coming up with a theme every year.  I've had an Ice Cream parlor party , taken my friends on a road trip,  and gone from Pink , to Tiffany Blue .  This year I went zodiac.

I hinted to the party theme with these invitations from Tiny Prints.  My guests thought we were going camping. Boy did I fool them.

I took the sign of my zodiac, Aries and had Small Moments create a backdrop with the symbols and some characteristics of the sign.  My red wall came in handy for this party.  Aries is the symbol of Fire. No wonder I love red. I scored that great rams head at Home Goods.  It was white but I whipped out the spray can and grey'd it up to match the invitation.

Since Aries is the queen of the zodiacs Fancy and Fold  made me a fancy crown for the cake. weee heee :D

Delectable Baked Goods  made a delish vanilla lime cake with coconut buttercream.  This cake was delish.  My man who doesn't eat a whole lot of cake made a sizable dent in this cake so you know it was good. If you're in the Portland metro area, order a cake from her.  And don't you just love those firey meringues from Gingerhead Cookies .  Since Aries is the fire symbol I had to have some fire on my cake.

Creating Awesomenessity  did an amazing job with the cookies. Not only did she nail my zodiacs star symbol but the ram looks exactly like the backdrop!

Who wants some cake?

Showing off my custom tattoo for the party by Love and Lion.  These are awesome for parties. My guests were like little kids when they saw the tattoos.  They all put them on immediately.  If you've got an Aries birthday and want one, I have a few left. Just let me know.

Happy birthday to all my Aries sisters out there.

Shop this party!
Photography: A Well Crafted Party 
Invitation: Tiny Prints 
Gold sequin table linen: Joann 
Backdrop: Small Moments , Kim can make you any backdrop to fit your party and ship to you.
Paper gold glitter cake toppers:  Fancy and Fold  , You need a paper cake topper, Stacy can make it.
Cookies: Creating Awesomenessity  , any theme you need, she can make them.
Temp Tattoo: Love and Lion, have them create a custom tattoo for your party.
Cake: Delectable Baked Goods , If you live in the Portland Metro area, get on her calendar for a cake
Meringues:  Gingerhead Cookies 

Salted Caramel Apple Snickers Cake

When I saw Salted Caramel Apple Snickers Cake on Half Baked Harvest's blog  I knew I had to try it.  Her photo's had me hooked. All that delicious caramel dripping down the sides of the cake and the chocolate ganache, oh my my.  When I told my co-workers I was making it they immediately said, " You ARE bringing in left-overs right?"

Half Baked Harvest warns you that this cake has a lot of steps. She wasn't kidding. There's A LOT.  She assures you the cake is worth all the steps.  Myself and everyone who tried it would agree. 

Now, my cake does not look as pretty as Half Baked Harvest's. As you can see, there is no chocolate ganache showing.  This would be because I accidentally burnt the chocolate and heavy cream which would have been the ganache. It was getting late at night when this happened so I improvised and grabbed the Hershey Syrup in the fridge and used that. Hee hee 

 You can also see the caramel didn't get as thick as Half Baked Harvest's too. Once again, I didn't wait for the caramel to cool enough. My friends, bless their hearts said the cake looked really good and they couldn't wait to try it.  The mmm's and the way they devoured the cake told me they all really enjoyed it. Yeah! 

Don't you love the faux twigs in the apples. Those are forks from Party Pail inc. I love these forks. They're realistic looking, dishwasher safe and every one of my friends commented on how much they liked them.

Have you ever seen baked goods on blogs that look picture perfect and think, mine won't look like that so why even try to make it?
Just look at mine! That's why. Although mine looks nothing like Half Baked Harvest's it still tasted amazing, my friends appreciated it and I learned new baking skills.  So try those baking recipes you've always wanted to try. 

50 Shades of Pink

 You're invited to my birthday party! 

Don't forget to RSVP

Welcome, come on in. 

I found these perfect pink drinks at New Seasons, attached straws from Hoopla Events  and added diamonds from the invitations created by Swishprintables. 

Time to Party!  

Mini cups dressed up with cupcake liners from Hoopla Events are filled with tasty pink Jelly Belly's jelly beans. 

Extra sweet chocolate covered Oreo's by Kima Konfections. 

It was really hard not to eat these cake pops by Kima Konfections before the guests arrived. They smelled so good. Like strawberries. Of course we enjoyed them after lunch and they are so moist and delicious. 

The night before the party I glued these feathers onto the cake pop sticks because I'm all about the details. The cake pops look so pretty nestled in the sanding sugar on the platter from Vintage Mingle Rentals. 

It's just not a birthday party without cake. This fun topper by Bella Grey Designs  was just perfect for the ombre ruffle cake by Dream Cakes.  I just love how the cake looks on the pink cake stand from Vintage Mingle Rentals. 

Beautiful butter cream ruffles. 

 The top of the cake looks like a flower. 

 All of us were excited to see the inside of the cake. We all loved how Dream Cakes made the cake ombre to match the outside of the cake.  The raspberry filling tasted like summer. 

Don't forget to stop by the favor table on your way out. 

Fun mason jars from Always the Occasion  for the favor table. 

 The light pink ribbed footed bowl from Vintage Mingle Rentals  held the party favor bags from Hoopla Events. The bags were filled with little pink notebooks from Michael's and pink pens from Ecru Modern Stationer. 

Thank you for coming!! 

If you're interested in hosting your own Pink Party or any party really, see these fabulous vendors:

Fizzy Party- Styling, glitter Pink letters, and mini banner on the favor table.
Bird's Party- Sparked the idea for the party.
Swishprintables-Invitations
Kristyn's Kreations- Get Your Pink On sign 
Hoopla Events- Straws, cupcakes wrappers and favor bags.
Pick Your Plum- PARTY letters 
Sweet Works- Gum balls and pearl candies. 
Jelly Belly- Jelly beans 
Kima Konfections- Chocolate covered Oreo's and cake pops. 
Bella Grey Designs- 50 Shades of Pink sign 
Dream Cakes- Ombre butter cream ruffle cake
Vintage Mingle Rentals- Platter, cake stand, and footed bowl
Joann's Crafts- Table Linen
Always the Occasion- Mason jars
Oriental Trading-Tissue balls