Simple Spring Cupcake Topper...

If you preferred the cliff notes over the 200lb novel...this post is for you! :-)

Here are simple spring cupcake toppers & will only set you back a few pennies!

Those are cherry-flavored yogurt covered pretzels! You can buy 24 of those pretzels for about $1.75 from the Fresh Market. Stack the icing high on the cupcake, then take two pretzels & place the half circle ends together. Position your butterfly on one side of the delicious pyramid of icing, allowing the "hump" side (I can't help it...I had to take a quick break to let out a little of Fergie's "My humps, my humps...my..." now it's in your head isn't it? sorry :p) to slightly make almost a 45 degree angle. It does look especially pretty when you can swirl the icing onto the cupcake with the round icing tip. 

Here's another view...

For the cupcake stand, I used glass plates stacked on top of glass dishes. And our "runner" was some extra napkins the hostess had in her cabinet. 

What about you? Do you have any penny-pinching cupcake topping ideas? I'd love to hear them! 

Next week, we're going to crash a party & you. do. not. want. to miss out on these recipes. (I hope my English teacher isn't reading my blog :p) 

Luck be a Lady?? Nope...not this lady, at least not tonight

Sure, other websites may have perfect little pictures, easy to follow instructions, amazing tutorials & the WOW factor. BUT...me...I prefer to show you the imperfections...the failures...the "ohmygoodnessdidatwoyearolddothat?" I like to say I help you feel better about yourself! :p

Confession: I always strive to make my party projects something Martha Stewart would be proud of.  But the reality of it is...there are disasters, flops, cry-on-the-kitchen-floor-in-a-puddle-of-homemade-german-chocolate-cake-batter-that-just-cap-sized failures.

This St Patty's day post is one of those times!

I envisioned creating a snack-type kids St Patty's day post.

Problem # 1: I was going to make mint chocolate chip meringue four leaf clovers. Apparently, meringue is harder to make than I thought. I had made meringue cookies before but somewhere between then & now I lost the meringue mo-jo. The usual fluffy, full dollops came out flatter than me...at 9 years old when I wanted so badly to have an excuse to buy a training bra (Woah...TMI, sorry). They were pitiful looking & I SOOO wish I had taken a picture because you would've gotten a great laugh!

Problem # 2: Time...wasn't on my side. I wanted to "set the stage" with a whole lot more pizazz but I ran out of time to get supplies.

Ok...so I guess that's all the problems I ran into. Overall, it just didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it. But let this be a lesson to us all  to me that using our creative juices sometimes gives us watered down lemonade. (Ok, so maybe not the best analogy)


Here are a few ideas if you want to set up a snack station for kids for St Patty's day:

First up...this is so simple, inexpensive & a fun St Patty's day treat that won't give anyone a hang over. Side note: I borrowed these mugs from Mike (my main squeeze) and he definitely mentioned something about his beer mugs being emasculated ;p) 

Taste the rainbow! :-) The hardest part about this was separating the skittle colors. According to my research, the Skittles peeps really do put an equal amount of each color in the bag. Personally, I would be happy if Skittles only came in red & purple. Yes, I discriminate. :p (only with skittles people)

Can I give a shout out to my sister Meg that helped me separate these during our weekly Bachelor viewing? :p 

Like my pot of gold? That is a cauldron I had left from Halloween. I placed a bowl inside, made up some pineapple jello (you could also do lemon, pineapple just looked intriguing to me), cut it into squares & voila...a pot of gold. :-) 

So...not exactly how I wanted it all to work out...but to make up for it, I'm including a couple more ideas from other sites that I thought were really cute.

Aren't these adorable? So fun. The recipe & instructions can be found here: http://familyfun.go.com/st-patricks-day/st-patricks-day-recipes/st-patricks-day-desserts/taste-a-rainbow-cupcakes-842128/

Here is another recipe for Guinness cupcakes...yummy! 

http://www.celebrations.com/article/st-patricks-day-chocolate-guinness-cupcakes

So...there it is...my semi-failure St Patty's day post. I PROMISE you will love the idea I share next week. It is soooo simple, so inexpensive & perfect for Spring. 

Pom Pom's Aren't Just for Cheerleaders...

They're perfect for penny-pinching party-ers!

On my last post, I promised you I would give you a tutorial for making those fun looking pom poms that Taylor & her sister Suzanne made. Well, here it is & I promise you ANYONE can do this & you don't have to buy any supplies...I bet you already have them at your house (unless you want certain colors).

IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE: If you were blown away by the pictures of Taylor & Suzanne's fiesta, like I was...That was all Suzanne! Come to find out, she's quite the photographer. She's done weddings, portraits...she KNOWS what she's doing. In fact, I'm pleading with Taylor right now to talk Suzanne into doing a guest post to give us rookies some great photo-taking tips! If you're like me, the term "aperture" makes me eyes twitch. Which is why you guys have to endure my Iphone pics...but not for long. I just bought a decent camera, but wouldn't you know...I brought it to B'ham last weekend & left it. Yep...that's a day in the life of Heidi.

So...without further ado...Pom Poms (you can also find how to do this on Martha Stewarts website, my hero, but I do add a couple of tweaks)

Here's what you need:

Plus:

I already had the white tissue paper & the tie was from and old loaf of bread. :-) Oh...and you'll also need scissors. I used 8 sheets of tissue paper.

Next....

Fold the tissue paper up accordion style.

Once it is all folded, tie the twist-tie in the middle & secure. 

Take the scissors & cut a round edge at either end. (I did round, but you could do a triangle...or even use one of those paper punchers to make a cute design at the end) 

Then with as much care as trying not to get your freshly painted fingernails smudged (:-), pull apart the tissue layers. This was honestly the hardest part of the whole thing. I did rip one of the sheets. Oops. But my momma always said, "When crafting, there's nothing you can't fix." And I fixed it...with some handy dandy scissors. Here's a tip that may help you: Fan out the bases closest to the twist-tie center to loosen it up, then begin slowly pulling the sheets apart. 

See, my momma was right! :p I just used some old ribbon that I had to hang it from the chandelier. If you didn't want people to notice that it's hanging from a ribbon...also try dental floss or fishing wire. 

Thanks again to Taylor & Suzanne for letting us crash their party & inspiring us by those cute pom poms! Suzanne, we'll be begging on our knees for the photog tips! :-) 

Check back next week because I'll show you some really cute St Patty party ideas! 

Party Crashers

Every time I drive by one of the big fancy smancy mansions in Buckhead & they're having a party...I always fantasize about trying to crash it. But, they'd see my Merona purse & my Walmart flats & I'd get kicked out in 10 seconds flat.

But you & me...we're going to be able to live out that fantasy today! Kinda. It may not be a Buckhead mansion but it's quite the fiesta & no one is kicking us out!

Here's the story: Taylor, my wonderful co-worker & friend, joined forces with her sister to throw her mom a birthday party she wouldn't forget. Without the Buckhead budget (btw...for those that don't live in Atlanta, Buckhead is like the Beverly Hills of the area...swanky), Taylor & her sister were able to create a real-life Mexican fiesta. Let's get busy crashin'...

Isn't that a vibrant table setting? The ladies were able to save some pennies by buying the flowers from Publix for $4.99 & arranging them. By using the tissue paper around the base, it doesn't matter what you use for a vase. That old empty can of baked beans...not only good for your heart but a fiesta flower centerpiece (I'm not sure what they used for the base, just an example. I wanted to clarify before you think of Taylor downing cans of baked beans. Sorry Taylor).

Taylor & her sister were so smart to use solid color plates but to spice it up with some fiesta napkins. Fun napkins are one of the cheapest ways to add some pizzaz without breaking the bank. 

This is one of my favorite party crafts that anyone can do! Don't they just look awesome?? I love the way Taylor & her sister used the different colors too. I will post a tutorial tomorrow on how to create your very own party pom-poms! :-)

Whether you like your margarita with a little somethin' somethin' in it or you like it like Madonna (like a virgin, if you didn't get it), you are going to love how simple & easy these are. Taylor & her sister just mixed sprite & minute maid limeade (add together with some ice in the blender or get the frozen limeade) for their penny-saving margaritas. If you like the somethin' somethin'...just add it to the sprite/limeade mixture. 

Umm...anyone else hungry?? This is the only bad part about virtual party crashing! If you comment some really nice things to Taylor...she may even give me some of the recipes to this spread! She makes this chocolate cake that is out of this world, so I know everything here had to be Rachel Ray good.

Here are few more penny saving things they did:

Decorated the table with yellow, red & orange peppers

For dessert...they bought a $9 key lime pie from Costco

What did you think about your first Party Crashing experience? If this isn't your first, you are now elevated to a new coolness level in my book! :p If you'd like me to crash your party, just take some good quality pictures, along with your tips, recipes, etc to: heidi@heidirew.com 

Easy & Cheap Hostess gift

Thank You so much for stopping by! You're probably expecting to see no-sew apron I did! 

You can find it, by clicking here. It will take you to my blog that is now on Wordpress. 

Sorry about that but you'll find a lot more cool ideas on the new & improved Parties for Pennies page!

It's Amore...and it's moving!!! (My Valentines Dinner)

I hope you had a wonderful Valentines Day. Even when I was single, I always loved the holiday! How many times do we forget to tell the people around us that we really do love them? Ok...I'm going in a mushy direction & we've got a party to talk about. Yeah, I know...it was just a party with me & my fiance but it's not the quantity but the quality of the party! ;p

This year...I wanted to be daring...I wanted to be risky...I wanted to impress...so I decided to work with a LIVE animal! For real.

Meet...Larry...

...the Lobster

That is what my roommate Emily named him, which didn't make it easy to throw the poor guy into the pot. The thought really did cross my mind to stick him in the bath tub & take him back to Publix the next day. My sister would probably be pretty mad if she happened upon Larry when she was going to take her daily shower. 

This will probably be the last time I cook lobster. I didn't even properly get Larry in the pot. I had to resort to picking up either side of the paper towels & flinging him (literally) into the pot. Once in the pot, Larry looked like he could tour with Cirque du Soleil. I quickly put the lid on the pot & asked Larry for forgiveness. Within 10 minutes, Larry was this beautiful red color (which means he's done). About that time, Mike came to the door. He was SOOO excited that I had made him lobster! As we both stood over the pot looking down at Larry, I asked Mike if he wanted to say something about Larry. It went something like this: "Larry, you did not die in vain. You gave your life so that Heidi could make Mike feel very special on this Valentines Day. In a way, you kept the spark of love alive. Thanks Larry." 

(Side note: If you're pretty ticked off at this point that the name of my blog is - parties for PENNIES & it's sounding more like parties for FIFTIES, I apologize! One, let this be a lesson to us all...b/c I didn't know how much lobster cost... lobster...not a good money saving entree. I will have a penny saving tip if you keep reading!) 

Ok...so that is the tale of Larry. I took a picture of him when he was done, but for some reason the picture did not turn out at all. :-( 

But this picture did....

This was our set-up...

1) Red & white salad plates - Home Goods $2.99

2) Crate & Barrel White Plates - Goodwill - a whole set several months ago for $8 :-)

3) White tablecloth - Home Goods $9.99

4) Table runner - Free....aluminum foil

5) Flower arrangement - 2 Dozen roses - Whole Foods $19.99 (Farmers Market $14.99...bonus tip), Black spray painted twigs, Black construction paper wrapped around a vase & tied with some raffia

6) Black stuff around the tea lights - Black Licorice! Mike LOVES Black licorice (He's the only one I've ever known to like that stuff). I scattered some licorice around the tea lights & put the rest in a cut little mason jar

7) Epic Fail - His gift...They are those big glass manly looking mugs (Home Goods $9.99) but I was going to etch them myself with the letter "S" (his last name is Stoudt). Apparently, when you're working with concave-like glasses it doesn't work out too well. So...Mr. Stoudt just got the boring old glasses. :-( 

MENU:

Lobster (I made myself a Salmon fillet)

Steamed Broccoli

Mashed Red Potatoes

Mixed Leaf Salad w/ cucumber, red onion & tomatoes (cut into heart-shapes with a cookie cutter...I know...Oh the cheese) 

Homemade Salad Dressing (I'll share the recipe in another post)

Five Grain Baguette

And...for dessert.... (my favorite)

This was soo easy, so cheap & soo delish! 

Individual Chocolate Eclairs

1 pkg instant vanilla pudding

1 pkg instant chocolate pudding

3 1/2 cups of milk

12 oz of cool whip

Graham Crackers

Mix the vanilla pudding with 2 cups of milk. Once the pudding becomes thick, mix in the cool whip (not frozen). Layer a couple of graham crackers on the bottom of a glass or small dish. Spoon in about 1/3 cup of the pudding/whipped topping mix over the graham crackers. Put another graham cracker layer on top of the pudding mixture. Repeat previous instructions. I added one more layer after this...but you can do whatever you'd like. Once you're done there place the last layer of graham crackers on top. Mix the chocolate pudding with 1 1/2 cups of milk. Once it thickens up, spread a thin layer on the top graham cracker. Refrigerate for at least several hours. I made mine the night before. It is awesome & takes more time to wash the dishes than it does to make this! 

For the final "phase" of the night...I planned some cheapo entertainment...

No, Will Smith did not make an appearance. (Cus I knew you'd think that :p) See, we had been listening to 90s music the weekend before & "Getting Jiggy With It" came on. Mike says, "I've been wanting to take hip hop lessons & learn this dance." I'm not exactly sure where that came from...but my little antennae went "ding, ding, ding". You can learn the Soldier Boy...the electric slide...all on You Tube. Surely I can find how to "get jiggy with it" on You Tube....

Nada...nothing...not even attempts! But I got it in my mind that this would be a free & fun thing for us to do. After dinner & dessert, I set up my laptop & told Mike his dream would come true tonight. (I don't exactly think he was thinking of learning the dance moves to gettin jiggy with it, when I said that) So...since there was no instructional video...we just tried to learn it from the music video (a little more difficult *sarcasm*). It was fun trying & we got a great laugh from it. 

How was your Valentines Day? Did you cook a fabulous meal? Or dine out? Hope it was wonderful & was full of laughter like ours! :-)

P.S. If you would like any tips for cooking lobster...don't ask me! :p jk...seriously, let me know & I'll share the little I picked up from this experience. 

Easy & Inexpensive Valentine Day Petits Fours

Who loves to bake?? Me! Who has time to bake for every holiday, birthday, bar mitzvah, boss day? Not me! So...here is a simple, inexpensive & under 20 minute way to make adorable Valentines Day petits fours! Don't you just love the sound of that? Petits Fours? I feel so prim & proper! Ok...so you ready for this?

Here is what you need from the store:

Plus....

I feel the need to not only point out that I only used two ingredients (plus food coloring) but also did these during the commercial breaks of the Bachelor! :p It's my guilty pleasure, ok... ;p

1) Take the Twinksters out of their packaging (they are about to become more refined) & cut them in half. Once you have two cakes from the original one...trim the ends so they are more of a square/rectangular shape. 

(I apologize for my poor picture...I used my IPhone & I was trying to get back to the TV before the crazy girl Michelle from the Bachelor came back on)

2) Once you divided & conquered the Twinksters, stick them in the freezer for a little bit. I think I left mine in their for about 10-20 minutes. I would actually suggest up to an hour. This will help for the next step.

3) Once you toughen the twinksters, they are ready to become beautiful French petits fours. (It's like the ugly duckling :p) Take your white chocolate chips...or better yet (what I would recommend) is the white chocolate candy bark. Microwave until melted. Reserve about 1/2 cup to 1 cup chocolate. Take your little twinksters, dip either end in the chocolate, then the sides & the top. I left the bottom naked. :p This took a little practice to get it looking smooth. I tried to use the tongs but that didn't work out to well, so I went all prairie & used my hands. 

4) Line your dipped transforming twinksters on wax paper & let dry. 

5) Take your reserve white chocolate & add a tiny bit of red food coloring & mix. If you have a pastry bag & tips...that would work great. I couldn't find mine (and like I said...I was working during commercial breaks :p) so I just used a sandwich bag. If you're using a sandwich bag, cut a small section of the end off & use that to decorate your petits fours! 

And here were a few of the ones I did...

I also think these would work well with some homemade icing or store bought icing. If you want it to go on smooth, heat the icing up in the microwave for just a few seconds. 

I brought these to work today & they were gone within minutes. I asked everyone that tried one how they were & their responses were more like Paula's than Simons...so I'll take that! :-) Happy Valentines Day! I wish I could share what special dinner I'm planning for my sweetie but it's a surprise...so stay tuned.