Bomb Cupcake Pops

As a kid, did you make a mad dash when you heard the ice cream truck? As soon as we heard that truck comin, all of us kids made a bee-line for the couch cushions hoping to find just enough change to get a delectable treat. It was the thrill of the chase...to find the money (just enough) & race our little legs out to the street in time to catch that magical ice cream truck. 

One of the ice cream truck staples was the Bomb Pop - 

These were delicious but you were racing time before the sun melted it away. 

I decided to make my own version that wouldn't melt...at least not as fast. :-) 

That's how the Bomb Cupcake pops were born. 

(Side note: Imagine me, in my workout gear, bending down to take photos of this on our back porch. I stoop down to take a bite out of one of these pops for the picture & notice my neighbor on her back porch looking at me. Oh goodness!) 

These pops took several tries. The first fail was attempting to bake the cake in a tomato paste can (minus the paste, ofcourse). As soon as I slid that bad boy onto the pop stick...boom...cracked in half & fell right over. It was just too heavy. Second fail happened using a regular cupcake pan. 

The regular sized cupcakes were too heavy as well. 

I am beginning to sound like Goldilocks & the three bears. 

Thankfully, I found one that was just right, using mini cupcake pans. 

I really scored with these because I found 3 pans for less than $2 at Goodwill! Score! 

What you need: 

Mini Cupcake Pan

Cake Mix 

Food Color

Cake Pop Sticks

Chocolate Melts or White chocolate chips 

Icing (homemade or store bought) 

1. Make the cake mix according to directions & separate into three bowls. 

2. Add red food coloring to one bowl & blue to another. 

3. Pour batter into mini cupcake pans & bake according to directions. (I cut out a few minutes on the suggested time due to the size.) 

4. Melt your white chocolate melts/chips. Dip the end of your pop stick in the chocolate. 

5. Take a blue cupcake & frost the top then slide onto the stick with the chocolate. 

6. Dip the stick again in the chocolate & do the same thing with the white cupcake & repeat with a red cupcake. 

Tips: Cool & refrigerate/freeze cupcakes for at least 30 minutes before arranging on the pop stick; Trim the "rim" of the cupcake for easier frosting. 

Ice each cupcake with the corresponding icing color. If you're a professional baker you may have a better idea regarding icing these. I'd love to know what you think! I'm definitely not a pro baker/icer so I just gave it my best shot. :p 

No melting with these Bomb Cupcake Pops! These would be perfect treats for your 4th of July bash! 

What was your FAVORITE ice cream from the ice cream truck? 

p.s. You can now LIKE Parties for Pennies on facebook! Click here.

Linking Up To: 

The 36th Avenue 

The Lady Behind the Curtain

Itsy Bitsy Paper

SerenityNow 

Tatertots & Jello 

Weekend Wrap Party - Food Trucks & Improv

Oh hello, friends! I hope your weekend was wonderful! 

This is the weekend wrap party...I'll share what I did over the weekend & you share what you did. I would love to get to know you better & I thought this may be a great way. Just let me know in the comment section or on the Parties for Pennies facebook page what you were up to! 

We started our entertaining weekend off by seeing Sting at Chastain park on Thursday night. I got the tickets for Mike for his birthday/anniversary present. We were pretty far back but it was still a jaw-dropping performance. 

(This was the highest zoom my camera has ever seen! ;p) 

That night I realized the value of having date nights in a relationship. We needed a night away from work & responsibilities that we were able to be "Mike & Heidi" & date again. It was a really fun night...I love those gifts that you get to benefit from too! ;p 

The rest of the weekend, we celebrated the birthday of one of my bffs, Kauri. Another one of my best friends, Rachael also came, along with Elaine (a friend from college) & Amy (Kauri's close friend & a girl I've loved getting to know). 

(Rachael, Me, Kauri - bday girl, Elaine & Amy) 

The celebrations kicked off at the Atlanta Food Truck park. Most of you in New York or Chicago have  been on the food truck wagon for awhile, but we here in Atlanta are just jumping on & loving every minute of it. 

Most of the girls got some grub from the Sweet Auburn BBQ truck but I had to try the Blaxican truck. It had the longest line so I figured it must be pretty good.  

But Kauri, with all her beauty & charm...

...Got free steak tacos from the Blaxican truck. The guy from the truck made the wrong thing so he picked Kauri out & said...you get some free tacos! I got the tilapia tacos & they were pretty amah-zing! 

After the Food Truck Park, we all went to Whole World Improv Theater. Have you ever been to an improv show before? It is so fun! You get to be a part of the show by giving suggestions. In fact, for one of the skits...they used all of our "life mottos" for the whole thing! 

Here were the "life mottos" we gave (this obviously is a comedy show....not our real life mottos): 

"Sexiness is on the inside." (words of wisom from Kauri) 

"It's been a good date when you don't end up projectile vomiting." (From a real life experience by Elaine...hilarious story) 

"Don't leave home without your spanx." (from me...you never know) 

This was Brian, one of the actors. We had to take a picture of him because he had a bar code tattoo. We had to show our college friend Warren. Long story but it involved a prank (sortof) & I've never seen anyone with a bar code tattoo. 

Talk about something great to look at! ;p He really got into his character & just looking at him I laughed so hard I snorted. I couldn't control myself. (Jenny Ruark...we so wish you could've been there & see this is what you were missing out on!) 

I made this cake for Kauri. It was really good & super easy...a perfect summer dessert. Here's the link to the recipe. It's a Kraft recipe & you use a box of white cake mix & strawberry jello. However...

I would recommend icing the cake then putting it in the fridge to chill for awhile & adding the strawberries at the last minute. I got impatient & they ending up drooping. 

Rachael likes to cheer on her friends when they're attempting to blow out their birthday candles. ;p I love this picture! 

That's what good friends are...they still eat your cake, despite the droopy strawberries. ;p 

The whole weekend was soo fun & I had to show you this card Kauri gave me. She also gave each of the girls a similar one. The top picture is a picture from our freshman year. The bottom one was from the past year. It's so funny because in college I never thought I'd look back & say "what was I thinking wearing that or doing my hair like that." The day has arrived when I definitely am saying that. My friends are still just as gorgeous as in college, though! 

The next morning we made banana pancakes with chocolate chips! Rachael was the star flapjack flipper! 

It was such a refreshing & fun weekend. I cannot tell you how thankful I am for amazing friends. They make me laugh so hard my cheeks hurt, yet they cry with me through struggles. We had a wonderful time at breakfast & Kauri even read a little devotional that really touched each one of us in different ways. 

I hope you had a weekend full of laughter, good grub & encouragement! What did you do this weekend? 

Stop back in this Wednesday for a really fun 4th of July treat! And...still hoping to bring you some big news some time this week. 

p.s. You can now LIKE Parties for Pennies on facebook! Click here.

Friday Feature - Star Wars Party

How has your week been? Either way, the weekend is here...woot woot! :-) 

Last Friday, I met a beautiful mom of two little boys, named Michawne, is someone after my party planning heart! She did an incredible job planning this Low Country Boil party! She was telling me about a Star Wars party she did for her oldest son & it sounded the bomb diggity so I asked her if I could share it with you.

Why yes, that is a Death Star cake & yes Michawne did it herself. Uh huh...that's pure talent right there! 

Love the hanging light sabers. 

Did anyone else have nightmares about Jabba after seeing Star Wars? Jabba & that open pit thing with the teeth, as well as the snake scene in Indiana Jones...man they caused some crazy dreams! ;p 

It's a little blurry so if you aren't able to tell, this says "Hans Solo Hoagies." 

Pin the saber on the Yoda! Love it! Oh...and all those light sabers to the right of it...Michawne made them out of PVC pipe & the swimming noodles. Brilliant, huh? 

This is the Death Star pinata which I think almost resulted in Michawne's death. ;p jk She tried many times to craft this. 

The kids had to go through jedi training! 

Get Darth Vader with your light laber, get him! ;p 

Michawne also made these jedi robes for each of the kids. 

And this was the birthday boy, Lucas! 

Great job, Michawne! Check back to Parties for Pennies next week because I'm going to be announcing some BIG news! 

p.s. You can now LIKE Parties for Pennies on facebook! Click here.

DIY Sparklers (fire free)

Just as I was getting used to May, June decided to creep up! So why not just go with it & say hello to July? The 4th of July to be exact.  

I love the 4th of July...celebrating our freedom, the food, the colors & ofcourse...the fireworks. If you have kids (or if you're clumsy like me ;p) you have to make sure there are certain safety precautions. Unless...you're dealing with fire-free sparklers. 

This is a fast & easy craft you can do with your kids. If it's on Parties for Pennies, you know it's not gonna cost a fortune. 

MATERIALS: 

Washi Tape

Dowels 

Foil

Glue gun or tape (depending on if you're doing it with your children or not) 

1. Tear off a 9" long piece of foil 

2. Fold it over three times. The width should be 3". 

3. Cut 2" strips down the length of the foil, leaving about an inch at the base. 

4. Glue/tape the end of the dowel to one end of the foil. 

5. Roll the foil strip around the end of the dowel. 

6. Glue/tape the end of the foil strip to the dowel. 

7. Take your washi tape & start wrapping it around. 

These could be great 4th of July centerpieces, a fun kids craft or you could do smaller dowels & use to decorate a cake. 

Have you ever had a "fire oops" happen during 4th of July...or any time for that matter? 

I'd love to hear about it. Thanks so much for stopping by! This Friday, we have a kids birthday party feature that is literally out of this world...Star Wars style. Pop back in this Friday! 

p.s. You can now LIKE Parties for Pennies on facebook! Click here.

Weekend Wrap Party - Low Country Boil Party

Thank You so much for stopping by! You're probably expecting to see a Low Country Boil Party! 

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! 

Party Feature - 1 year old birthday

Hope you've been having a great week! 

Mike & I took off yesterday & today to...paint. Yeah...we're two wild & crazy kids. ;p We are so close to being done painting so we wanted to knock this sucker out. And I have to say, we've been kickin some booty & takin numbers. ;p Once the rooms are set up, I'll try & share it with you. 

I normally don't post on Fridays, but an old friend of mine threw an adorable one year birthday party for her little girl & I had to share her pictures. My friend's name is Jacqueline & we used to work together years ago. She lives in Florida now so I don't really get to see her very much but thank goodness for facebook. Jacqueline is an interior designer & ROCKS at it! Seriously! I would like to "pin" the heck out of her house! ;p It's no surprise that she created a picture perfect birthday party to celebrate her daughters first year. 

Isn't that the most gorgeous banner?! 

What a fun way to greet the guests! 

Now do you see what I mean when I say her house is amazing?! 

I love the steel-looking letters that say, "one." 

Again, another gorgeous banner!

Not too many things more beautiful than a lantern chandelier! 

I absolutely adore that tablecloth & the centerpiece is so stylish yet simple. 

And here's her daughter Annie! She is beautiful just like her mother! 

See...beautiful just like her mother! I just had to show you Annie's adorable little bday outfit! So cute.

Hope you have a great weekend! Mike & I are headed to a really fun themed party tonight & I'm so excited! Hint: It has something to do with the East Coast. I'll share the pictures with you on Monday's Weekend Wrap Party. 

p.s. You can now LIKE Parties for Pennies on facebook! Click here.