Hi Friends! Thanks for joining us for our DIY Bunny inspired party hop! Thanks for joining me from Bella Grey Designs! Weren’t her bunny party favors the cutest?!

Today I am sharing a DIY Tutorial for an Easter Bunny Peeps cake! This cake is so easy and fun and sure to be the star of your Easter party!

So, let’s hop to it shall we? You can use any cake mix or homemade cake recipe. I chose to keep it simple and use a store bought cake mix.

1. Buy and gather your supplies:

• Cake Mix or ingredients for your cake
• Shredded Coconut
• Green Food Coloring
• Easter M&M’s
• Frosting ingredients
• Peeps in bright Easter colors

2. Make and bake your cake according to directions.

*I grease my pans using real butter and flour and the cake always comes out of the pan so easily.

3. Place shredded coconut in a bowl and add several drops of green food coloring to create the “grass” for the cake.

4. Make frosting – I use my tried and true buttercream frosting recipe from my mom!

Homemade buttercream frosting recipe:

16 ounces of Powdered Sugar

1/2 cup of softened butter

1 tsp of vanilla

A couple of tablespoons of milk

Directions:

*In a medium bowl, beat butter and vanilla on medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth

*Add in powdered sugar and continue to mix

*Add in a tablespoon of milk at a time; you may need to add more milk to get to your desired consistency

5. Frost cake.

6. Sprinkle green shredded coconut onto cake.

7. Add your peeps in alternating colors around the cake-they just stick right to the cake with the frosting-so easy!

8. Sprinkle on Easter colored M&M’s and you are done! How cute is this cake?!

This cake will sure to be a hit with your family and friends at your Easter party or brunch, especially with the kiddos! I added some funny bunny toppers simply by attaching bunny stickers from the Target dollar spot onto cute paper straws!

I displayed this cute cake on my vintage cart that I decorate for the holidays. Perfect spot for it!

I love DIYs that are simple, fun, and cute! And this cake fits all of those criteria!

I hope you make an Easter Bunny Peeps Cake for your Easter brunch or party! They are so fun, easy, and super cute! Kids will love this cake! Now hop on over to Bird’s Party for her DIY Bunny Candy Tubes!

XOXO,

Nicole

PIN FOR LATER:

The post DIY Easter Bunny Peeps Cake appeared first on The Party Porch.

Valentine’s Day is almost here! How are you celebrating? If you don’t know yet and need some ideas, we can help! I am excited to share my Follow Your Heart Galentine’s Day Party as part of a fun Valentine’s Bash Party hop I am a part of; along with 9 other amazing party bloggers! And by visiting each party, you have the chance to win a $200 visa gift card to throw your own Valentine’s Day party! How is that for spreading some love?! Enter the rafflecopter giveaway at the end of this post!

I think in today’s busy world it’s so important to take time for those special friends; aka gal pals in our lives.  We often get caught up in the “I’m too busy” mentality that we forget to take time for what’s important. As women, we need to gift of friendship in our lives. We need it for our soul and overall happiness. To celebrate those special girlfriends in my life, I hosted a “Follow Your Heart Galentine’s Day” party. The overall feel I wanted for this party was pink, pretty and girly! My color scheme was pink, gold and pops of aqua. Sweet treats and pink champagne were a must! We also made our very own 2017 vision boards to go with the Follow Your heart theme!

I found the perfect banner at Hobby Lobby that said “Go Your Own Way.” I just loved the saying and it went so well with Follow Your Heart . Always be yourself, do what you love, go your own way even if other people don’t understand. They don’t need to, this is your journey, no one else’s.

For the cake, I decided to make my own, well semi-homemade (my favorite kind!) and made a pink champagne cake. So yummy! The recipe called for a boxed white cake mix with a few added ingredients and I made my own buttercream frosting. Click here for the cake recipe. My homemade buttercream frosting recipe came from my mom and I have been using it for years! Everyone always asks for my frosting recipe… today, I am sharing it with you!

Homemade buttercream frosting recipe:

16 ounces of Powdered Sugar

1/2 cup of softened butter

1 tsp of vanilla

A couple of tablespoons of milk

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, beat butter and vanilla on medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth
2. Add in powdered sugar and continue to mix
3. Add in a tablespoon of milk at a time; you may need to add more milk to get to your desired consistency
4. Frost cake and serve!

The cake was simple and pretty and so delicious! I added this beautiful “Follow Your Heart” custom cake topper from Christine at Two Chiuahuas. If you are looking for the perfect cake topper or other fun party decor, please check out Two Chihuahuas.

I also had the privilege of working with Lynette from Craft my Occasion. Lynette made these adorable cookies! They went perfectly with my theme! I mean, those ball jar cookies?! I just love how they turned out! I even used a couple of the hearts to decorate my cake! Lynette was so wonderful to work with; she is so kind and supportive; not to mention super talented!

All the cute cookies in the set!

I love adding custom printables to my parties. Meghan from Elva M Design designed the beautiful sign, cupcake toppers and party favor tags.  She made my vision come to life! Here are the cupcake toppers.

I framed the 8×10 sign in a thrift store frame that I painted and distressed, it looked so pretty on the party table.

No party is complete without a cute party favor in my opinion. My parties always include some sort of favor and this party I especially wanted to show the love and give my girlfriends a sweet little gift. I found these adorable pink and gold canvas tote bags at Hobby Lobby and filled them with a wall calendar, a pen, sticky notes, and of course, chocolate, pink Hershey’s kisses to be exact that I found at the Dollar Tree! The perfect touch was Elva M Design’s heart favor tag. It said “Always follow your Heart, Love your gal pal, Nicole.”

When I saw these Follow Your Heart plates and napkins at Target, I knew I had to have these at my party! How cute are these?! Target has the best holiday decor, wouldn’t you agree? These plates and napkins were the perfect addition to the rest of the decor. I also found the paper straws and heart stir sticks in the dollar spot!

For more prettiness, I added some light pink roses to the dessert table. When in doubt, add flowers! They always make a big impact and are so pretty! I displayed them in my beautiful vintage aqua ball jars. I just love my ball jars. I have a whole collection always try to use them whenever possible! Always look and see what you have available to decorate your party in your home; you will be surprised at what you find!

It was such a beautiful evening with my gal pals! My friends loved all the special details and making our own vision boards was so inspiring! We were encouraged by each other’s goals and creativity. I am thankful for my loving and supportive gal pals! And the amazing creative women I collaborated with on this party.

I highly recommend throwing your own Galentine’s Day party! They are so much fun and such a lovely way to celebrate true friendship! And even more fun when you create your own vision boards! This was my first time making a vision board-I have always wanted to do it! Have you ever made one? It was so inspiring to create my board with my girlfriends. We talked about our goals and what they meant to us and encouraged each other with positivity. I provided the following supplies:

• Foam boards (purchased at Michaels -they were buy one get one half off!)
• Scrapbook paper
• Washi tape
• Glue
• Inspirational quotes
• Stickers
• Markers/Pens
• Each guest brought a pair of scissors and anything special she wanted to put on her board.

CHEERS to FRIENDSHIP!

Let’s be gal pals! Join me on Instagram and Pinterest!

XOXO,

Nicole

Vendor Credits:

Party Styling and Photography – The Party Porch

Custom Cake Topper – Two Chihuahuas 

Follow your Heart and Ball Jar Cookies – Craft my Occasion

Follow Your Heart Printables – Elva M. Design

Go Your Own Way banner,  tote bags, gold and aqua box – Hobby Lobby

LOVE Sign, pink glass vases, pink heart plates, striped pink/white and gold heart sign, paper straws, XOXO gold sign, paper fans, party favors (calendar, pen, card), fresh flowers, mini cupcakes, strawberry marshmallows, follow your heart plates and napkins- Target

Light pink Heart balloons and pink Hershey’s Kisses – Dollar Tree

Tassel Banner (I mixed and matched two separate banners to make a pink and gold banner) and Foam boards- Michaels

Don’t forget! Enter to win a $200 Visa gift card to throw your own Valentine’s Day party! 

Enter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to check out all of the parties in the Valentine’s Bash Blog Hop! You will be inspired! 

Chocolate Fondue Party by Fun-Squared ~ Dolly and Me Tea Party by Fawn Parties ~ Valentine Making Party ~ Follow Your Heart Galentine’s Party by The Party Porch ~ Shabby Chic Valentine Tea Party by Pretty Twinkle Party ~ Galentine’s Kisses by SNAP Creativity ~ Valentine’s Day Card Making by Make Life Lovely ~ Donut You Know I Love You Party by Your Everyday Family ~ Galentine’s Party by Tatertots and Jello ~ Cupid’s Cafe Dinner Party by Giggles Galore

The post Follow Your Heart Galentine’s Day Party appeared first on The Party Porch.

Hello and welcome to the 2016 Holiday Party Hop hosted by the talented Deanna from Mirabelle Creations!

I am so excited to be teaming up with 18 other amazing party stylists to bring you lots of holiday party inspiration this season! We kicked off the holiday hop on Monday with Mirabelle Creations unique spin on a hot cocoa bar. To see her party and all the party sites in the 2016 Holiday Party Hop, please start here!

If you are stopping by from Sarah Sofia Productions, welcome! Doesn’t she have the most beautiful holiday party ideas and inspiration?! So stunning!

So let’s get hoppin’! To kick things off today, I am so thrilled to be able to share with you my rustic and vintage inspired Hot Cocoa Sweets and Treats holiday party. This time of year is such a busy time for all of us. There is just so much to see and do! But in the midst of all the activities and to do lists, it’s so important to stop and take a moment to relax and enjoy time spent with our loved ones during the holiday season. For a fun and intimate setting, I created this warm and cozy hot cocoa sweets and treats bar.

Many items you see here I found at my happy place; Target! Not only are the items affordable but you can mix these items with other decor/party supplies you already have or that you buy from another store. I love mixing new items with vintage pieces. Some of the items at I found at Target include the garland, red truck pillow, the pine trees, the deer, skis, JOY sign, bottle brush trees, our cute little reindeer friend, and mini chalkboard.

I am definitely a lover of vintage pieces and enjoy going to estate sales, thrift stores, garage sales, and antique markets to look for vintage pieces I can use in my party and home styling. Some of the vintage pieces you see here include the wire basket, thermos, coca-cola crate, scale, and the bar cart! Can you believe my neighbor was going to throw away this amazing vintage cart?! She now knows to ask me before she plans on throwing any vintage pieces away. And I think it’s safe to say I am slightly obsessed with plaid and little red truck with christmas trees this season. Too much cuteness!

As guests arrived, I gave them a mug to make their own hot cocoa. I placed individual Ghiradelli hot cocoa packets in this plaid tin I found at Homegoods.  I already had steamed milk going on the stove so the guests just had to add their packet of cocoa to the steamed milk and the toppings of choice. So delicious! I set up the hot cocoa station in the kitchen complete with whipped cream, ghiradelli chocolate sauce and marshmallows. The other sweet treats were on the dessert table.

Hot Cocoa prettiness! Red and white striped straws, “be merry” stir stick and a mini candy cane, it’s all about the details!

For the dessert bar, I picked up some cupcakes from my local bakery and added some DIY cupcake toppers. This counts as semi-homemade right? (I’ll show you how I made these quick and easy toppers later in the post)

I didn’t want to stress about making all the desserts so I  purchased the cupcakes and added some candy, marshmallows, mini candy canes, and toasted marshmallow and candy cane Milano cookies to the dessert bar. If you are low on time or just not a baker, feel free to buy what you need.

I found these adorable ball jars with red lids at Target, perfect for the holidays! I hot glued a mini brush tree to the top, I just love how they look. These would be so cute as teacher gifts too. Just fill with a sweet treat and/or gift card and add a little gift tag and you are all set.

I found these little mini sleds at Target too. How cute are they to fill with treats?! I love finding unique ways to display desserts. I filled these little sleds with Milano cookies.

More little red truck decor. This is actually an ornament but I used it decorate my table. When putting together a styled dessert table, look around your home and see what you have; you will be surprised at what you find and what you can use in in different way.

For the cupcake toppers, I realized I had everything on hand to make my own. I had some extra plaid place cards from a pack I purchased at Target. I punched out a circle from the back (that way I can still use the cards if I need them) and attached a cute sticker. I then adhered the circle to a wooden stick and there you go! So easy and they turned out so adorable.

The finished topper! I added some plaid ribbon to this one, love the added detail!

As our guests were leaving, they were given a little favor treat bag. I love giving a small party favor to guests. I think it’s a nice gesture to thank your loved ones for coming. I simply used some red and white favor bags I had on hand and filled them with candy cane dove chocolates from the dessert bar. I attached a cute little tag and added some washi tape and baker’s twine.

All ready for the guests to take one home!

It was such a fun and festive party and the most important thing is that we were able to spend quality time with our friends and family! My boys had so much fun and even let me take a picture of them at the end of the party! Their sweet smiles make my heart melt! This is what the holiday season is all about! Being surrounded by those we love, having fun, and making memories.

Thank you so much for hopping on by The Party Porch and letting me share with you my rustic hot cocoa sweets and treats party!

Be sure to head on over to the next stop on the holiday hop, the super talented Kim from The Celebration Shoppe!

Wishing you and your family a bright and merry holiday season and Happy New Year!

XOXO,

Nicole

Let’s be friends! Join me on instagram for party and creative living inspiration!

The post Rustic Hot Cocoa Sweets and Treats Holiday Party appeared first on The Party Porch.