Monday, October 31, 2011

{Party Bee} Quick and Easy Halloween Dessert Table

Using the free Halloween printables that I created this year, I set up a little table of goodies for tonight's festivities. Now I have fun decor for my family to enjoy, ghoulish goodies for the guests, and candy for the trick or treaters. I think we are set!
 
 The printable banner from my collection really makes it feel like Halloween and could be used in several different ways.
 The candy bar wrappers were a lot of fun to do! Who wouldn't want to have one of these?
 
 
 
 And of course the cupcake toppers are so simple to create and look adorable!
 
 Inspired by a cake by Snowy Bliss, I decided to try making cupcakes. The result was pretty cute!

Have a Safe and Happy Halloween! Eat, Drink and be Scary!

Friday, October 28, 2011

{Party Bee} Free Halloween Collection Printables


With Halloween being one of my favorite holidays, I thought I would spread the cheer and add to the fun and festivities by providing my readers with a little treat! I am now offering all my lovely readers with free downloads of my Halloween collection. So if you are looking to add a few extra touches to your decorations or just want to create something fun with your kids, just get your free downloads of the Sugar Bee Bungalow's Halloween printables!

To get your free download click on one of the following: Halloween Circle Tags, Halloween Candy Wrappers, Halloween Banner.

Go batty and start crafting!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

{Busy Bee} Martha Stewart Halloween Ideas

Leave it to Ms. Martha Stewart and her team to come up with so many great ideas for Halloween! If you are looking for some last minute ideas for your Halloween party or to decorate for this weekend's festivities, look no further than Martha Stewart's website. There are tons of ideas, instructions, clip art, recipes...you name it and they probably have it. I have chosen only a handful of ideas to share with you, but it seems as though Martha's ideas are endless!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

{Busy Bee} Halloween Goody Inspiration

Halloween is almost here and I am so very excited! I have always found this holiday to be so much fun ever since I was a little girl. It all started when I was young and my parents would turn our house into a great haunted house for kids and their parents to walk through before getting their candy. Ever since then this holiday has been a day to have a lot of fun with. Now with a child of my own I want to start Halloween traditions that we can enjoy together as a family. I probably will never be able to live up to the phenomenal haunted house my parents used to put on, but I think decorating cookies and cupcakes would be just as memorable. So to gather inspiration I looked online and found some amazing treats!
Country Living has some great ideas for simple yet elegant cupcakes and cakes.
The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle created these fantastic Leggy Witches this year. She even provides a tutorial! Can you believe she reused a onesie cookie cutter for these? Absolutely incredible!
Anj from Snowy Bliss created this jaw dropping cake decorated with an adorable spider on top. Even more, when you cut into this cake there are orange polka dots!
These super fun witch hat cupcakes were made by Loali on Cake Central. I love the bright neon colors of the cupcakes...so cheerful yet still Halloween!
Simple Jack O' Lantern cupcakes that kids would love to help make!
How creative is this Halloween Mummy Head Cake by Inspired by Michelle! This looks like so much fun to make! I can picture this on the center of a dessert table at a Halloween party....guests would just die!
Following the mummy theme...here are some mummy cupcakes created by King Arthur Flour. These look pretty easy to make and turn out adorably! Not to mention how fun it would be for the little ones to get one of these!
I am such a sucker for pumpkins and Jack O' Lanterns...they are so cute and represent the holiday so well! Not to mention even the youngest of children aren't scared of pumpkins. Here are some sweet faced pumpkins created by Rolling Pin Productions. I am so impressed with the shadowing technique of the actual pumpkin!
These Sugar Ghost Cupcakes featured on Taste of Home are sure to be a scream!
These Eyeball Cupcakes created by Cupcakes by Lynn are so different and so fun! Kids would love the eyeballs!
If you haven't ever checked out The Painted Cookie, you are in for a treat! This sugar artist and mother of two creates some spectacular works of art! I love the Grim Reaper and Halloween Cupcakes! She is also featured on Copper Gifts website...you must check out this site, I get so many of my cookie cutters here...they are awesome! 

Hope you have been inspired to create some spooktacular treats this Halloween!

Monday, October 17, 2011

{Queen Bee} Cake Surprise!

A couple months ago my husband and I found out that we are expecting another baby and the entire time that has passed we have been waiting in anticipation to find out what exactly we are having. It is very hard for us to be patient with things like this...we always want to know right away. Especially because it is hard not to go into the baby section of the store and not buy something.
 (The front of the cake)
I am finally half way through my pregnancy and we just found out the baby's gender! But of course my husband and I like to do little surprises here and there for our families, so this time we surprised my parents with a cake. This wasn't just any ordinary cake, but a special cake that once cut into would reveal the gender of our baby. It was a lot of fun and they were happy and excited beyond words! Can you tell what we are having?
(Yes, we are having a girl!!!)
Now our little family will be complete and we will have a little boy and a little girl! Life is good! And so is this cake!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

{Sugar Bee} Mocha Espresso Cupcakes

Buon Giorno everybody! I have been M.I.A these past couple of months due to some heavy traveling...most recently to ROMA! Let me tell you, the city was AMAZING and the time spent abroad was absolutely awe-inspiring. Everywhere I looked was history and art...two of my favorite things! And of course I couldn't come back after viewing the Colosseum, Vatican City, The Roman Forum, numerous art museums, and eating the most delicious food without being inspired to create! Thus, I wanted to create mocha espresso cupcakes in honor of my trip to Rome where the coffee is completely divine!

After researching online, I came across a recipe by the incredible Brown Eyed Baker and made what is indeed the most delectable mocha espresso cupcakes I have tasted thus far. I of course wanted to add a little something extra and I put a dark chocolate covered espresso bean on top to garnish the cupcake. I definitely encourage you to give these a try!

Mocha Cupcakes: (Created by the Brown Eyed Baker)
Yield: 12 cupcakes

1 1/3 C. All Purpose Flour
1/3 C. Unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. Baking soda
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 C. Whole milk
1/2 C. Strong brewed coffee
1 1/2 tsp. Espresso powder
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1/2 C. (1 stick) Unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 C. Granulated sugar
1/2 C. Light brown sugar
1 Egg, at room temperature

1. Mix the espresso powder into the brewed coffee until dissolved; set aside to cool to room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard size muffin tin with paper liners.
3. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Beat the butter and both sugars together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until combined. In a measuring cup, combine the milk, brewed coffee mixture and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture, alternating with the coffee mixture.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 liners. Baking for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting the cupcakes.

Espresso Buttercream Frosting (Created by the Brown Eyed Baker)
Makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes

1 C. (2 sticks) Unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 C. Powdered Sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. Espresso powder

1. Mix the espresso powder into the vanilla until dissolved; set aside.
2. Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, waiting until it is mostly incorporated before adding more. Whip until fluffy, about a minute or two. Add the espresso and vanilla mixture and continue to mix at medium-high until it is completely incorporated. If the frosting appears too runny, add a little powdered sugar until consistency is to your liking.

Here I am with my mom in the middle of the Roman Forum.

Ciao! And Happy Baking!