Snapshots of Our Little Picnic Party

I love rain and thunderstorms.  A whole lot.  So it is a big deal that I am a little mad at Cumulonimbus right now. 

Oh you may know him as Rain but I think our tight relationship gives me due cause to call him by his proper name. Like how everyone calls my oldest Cati but I usually call her Caitlyn or CATE when I am not happy. And Cumulonimbus caused quite a stir on Saturday as I finished decorating for the girl's birthday party and he decided to show up as soon as I was done.  

And he was SO not invited.

But thankfully, as I commenced my breathing in and out of a paper bag...he decided to not overstay his welcome in time for the party. YIPPEE!

And Y'all?  It was HOT. 

But oh so fun. :)

Here are only a few shots that I could get.  They are not very good so I fancied them up a bit to make them fun and hide the fact that there are only a few. I was attempting to be a good hostess and prevent my friends and family from melting. 

Oh and the above photo is the table where everyone could make a picnic basket and take it back to their blanket.  Fun, right?

We stuck to a simple menu:

Deli sandwiches from Publix

Homemade mac and cheese served in individual cups

Strawberry salad with candied walnuts in individual cups

Vegetable and Pita chips in small brown paper bags

Watermelon

 The striped wax paper gives these a totally cute, homey look.  Loved how they turned out!

I got here too late to snap a photo.  The kids literally swarmed me when I brought out the lemonade in mason jars.  This is what was left on a little end table that usually happily sits in my living room. 

I meant to make a drinks sign but you gotta just know when to quit.  The open drawers for the waters was a pretty nifty idea and I think I will do that again for some other entertaining endeavor I do.

Those of you have been reading here for the past 2 years know I do this every year and the recipe is super simple and somewhere on this blog but I will post it again so here you go...

You will need: 

8 Ice cream sandwiches and 1/2 gallon of ice cream (I used chocolate) and a spring form pan.

For real.  That is it. How stinkin simple is that? 

The tricky part is the prep and only because things melt fast.

1. Cut you ice cream sandwiches in fourths. First lengthwise and then across to make four pieces each. The way I did this is to clear out the freezer for the cake(s) and then set a plate inside the freezer.  I grabbed each sandwich one at a time and cut them and placed the cut pieces back onto the plate each time. 

2.  After they are all cut, begin lining them up around your spring from pan.  It depends on what kind of pan you have but I recommend you keep it unlocked when doing this.  Push each piece really close together, lock it and then put the spring form pan back in the freezer.

3. Thaw out your ice cream a bit on the counter to soften it up and then take out your spring form pan, and fill up the center with all the ice cream. I smoothed the top out and then froze it overnight.

4.  I chose to put the hot fudge on it early and then freeze it again but you can do this right before serving (or whatever topping you would like). I made homemade whipped cream using whipping cream, confectioners sugar and a splash of vanilla.  I eye ball everything.  And then topped it off with a cherry.

Release it from the spring from pan right before you top it and serve.

Enjoy!

At the last minute, I decided to do a photo booth.  I downloaded some fun mustache and glasses props and covered them with clear contact paper so they would last the whole party. I also made signs from some bubble labels I had already downloaded to feed my love of digital things. I put fun messages on the bubble labels, sized and printed them out and hot glued them to white cookie sticks. I found them at the Friendly Scrap and you can find the direct link for them here.
Here is a link to download the Colorful Lips & Mustache Set by The Paper Dolls Shop at Catch my Party.

I cannot find the link for the black glasses and mustache set because the download does not refer me back to a site.  But here are a couple of other great great ones I found for you...
Oh Happy Day and this one too!
Lil Blue Boo
Living Locurto

The kids looked so cute and had a blast with them! 

My lovely friend, Shelya, who is a professional photographer brought the background screen for me to use.  She is such a sweetie! And the cutie girl in the bottom center, who should seriously have been paid $100 for all her help at the party, took all the photos of the kids.  She did AMAZING!

And some shots of my girls I got at a restaurant.  This was the end of their party packed birthday weekend.  

Happy Birthday to my precious, sweet girls.

When I have more photos to show you...I will. 

But hopefully I will have new projects to share soon!