Birthdays & Baked Goods

Whenever we have a family or friend event to go to, I have a bad habit of volunteering myself to make dessert. Ok so it wouldn't be so bad if I didn't always try to do something new and unusual and totally exhaust myself. (Or, the time when I baked a cake super last minute, only to have it overflow in the oven & burn to a crisp, leaving me no choice to pick up something at the store.) But it's fun! And I love when people are impressed with whatever it is I've come up with.

Of course my niece's 1st birthday party was no exception! I volunteered to do dessert right off the bat, and had planned to do rainbow cupcakes. A few days before the event, she told me there'd be 40 people coming. Yikes. So I tried my best not to procrastinate and do something fun. Even though it took forever, it was pretty simple.

The cupcakes. Ok they came out all cute and dandy & tasted delicious. But can I tell you how utterly retarded it was to find cupcake liners that weren't white, Dora the Explorer or metallic. Such a pain. Glad to get that off my chest!

Some stats on the cupcakes: 3 boxes of white cake mix, divided into 3 bowls & colored pink, yellow & orange. Buttercream frosting from this recipe. The flower idea was stolen from Bakerella, thanks Morgan ;)

I also made a mini cake for my niece, Madelyn.

The death of said cake.

And, last minute I decided to make some red velvet cake pops. I picked up a round piece of styrofoam & fake flowers from Michaels. I cut just the flower parts off the stems and stuck them in the styrofoam & wrapped some ribbon I had around the edge. Voila! Also, if you haven't made these yet I highly suggest it. I don't know what is better than a mixture of red velvet cake & cream cheese frosting, for reals.

And, let me throw some more cuteness into the mix:

Hopefully that wasn't too much cuteness for you. She is the most adorable baby girl ever!