Marshmallow Pops – kerricreates

Nightmare Before Christmas Movie Night

Published on October 31, 2022October 31, 2022 by kerricreatesblogLeave a comment

I am always looking for any opportunity to make memories for my kids in creative ways, so earlier this month, when my daughter started talking about Halloween movies that she likes, I suggested that we host a movie night on the weekend before Halloween. I’m not a fan of super scary, especially for middle schoolers, so we decided on Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and went to town browsing Pinterest for fun ideas. I found a super cute and inexpensive backdrop on Amazon and gathered a few things that I already had: white lights, a black backdrop, and a plastic pumpkin. I grabbed a purple plastic tablecloth, a black and white striped runner, popcorn boxes, and some black bowls and made some really fun food labels with names of the movie characters. I also printed off Jack & Sally faces to hang from the ceiling and I made a door hanger, using my Cricut Maker 3, with a black chalkboard style hanging that I found at the Dollar Tree and white vinyl. I’ve included the PDF of the printables that I created for you to use for your own party. #commissionsearned

Nightmare Before Christmas PDF Download

Planning the food for this party was so much fun! Here’s a list of what was on our Nightmare Before Christmas Food Table.

Oogie Boogie Guts: Sour Gummy Worms
Sally Hair: Red Vines
Jack’s Pumpkins: Brach’s Pumpkins
Zero Kibble: Scooby Doo Graham Crackers (dipped in white chocolate candy melts)
Mummy Dogs: Hot Dogs Wrapped in Crescent Roll Dough
Lock Corn & Finkelstein’s Food: Popcorn
Mayor’s Munchies & Nightmare Noms: Potato Chips
Tricks & Treats: Apples With Lemon Juice (one healthy addition)
Skellington Sweets: Jack Skellington Oreo Pops
Sally’s Sweets: Sally Marshmallow Pops with Nerds Candy
Barrel’s Beverages: Mini Waters & Mini Sprites

I’ve included some helpful tips if you are making Jack Oreo Pops, Sally Marshmallow Pops, and Zero Kibble:

For the Jack Pops, use Double Stuf Oreos, and be sure to dip your lollipop sticks in white candy melts before you push them into the center of the Oreos. Let them set up in the refrigerator for a few minutes and then dip fully in the white candy melt. Without this step, the Oreos will fall apart when you dip them. Use black candy melts for the eyes, mouths, and bow ties. A toothpick and squeeze bottle will come in handy for the face details. Print out the Jack faces from my PDF and cover with parchment paper. Use the black candy melts in a squeeze bottle to trace the bowties.

For the Sally Pops, use flat toothpicks for the toppers. I used my Cricut Maker 3 to cut the black circles. Glue the toppers to the toothpicks before you make the pops. Pour Rainbow Nerds onto a plate with high edges and leave the pops to set on the plate of Nerds before transferring to your table.

The Scooby- Doo graham crackers actually say “Scooby” on the front, so dipping that side in white candy melts will hide the name and also gives them more of a bone look. Search my blog for “Cookie Pops” & “Marshmallow Pops” for more detailed tutorials on how to make these tasty treats. #commissionsearned

Our movie night was planned for 5:30 pm -8:30 pm, which seemed like enough time, but I think I would have extended by another 1/2 hour if I was to do it again. My daughter has the sweetest group of friends, and although it was loud with 15 middle schoolers running around my house, they were so respectful and everyone had SO MUCH FUN!!! We set up corn hole in the backyard and we have tether ball as well. For the first hour, the kids ran around outside, and the entire group greeted each person as they arrived. The Nightmare Before Christmas is only 1 hour and 16 minutes long, so it’s a great length for a movie night and left enough time for a game before everyone got picked up.

My daughter and her friends love this version of the “telephone game” using paper and pencils. You can order the actual game Telestrations, on Amazon.com but we just cut up paper and it works really well. Here are some simple instructions:

Cut paper in fourths and make a stack for each player. The stacks of paper should contain the same number of papers as the number of players. We had 15 kids, so each kid got a stack of 15 pieces of paper.

Have each player write a phrase (any phrase) on the top of piece #1. Then each player passes their ENTIRE STACK to the right. The next step is to read the phrase and then put that top paper on the bottom of your stack, facing up. The players will then draw a picture of the phrase on the top of page #2. Once everyone is finished drawing their picture, everyone will pass their ENTIRE STACK to the right. Now each player will see the drawing on the top and will have to guess what the phrase is that inspired the drawing. They will place page #2 on the bottom of the stack, face up, and write that phrase on the top of page #3. The process is repeated, phrase, pass, drawing, pass, phrase, pass, drawing, etc until each player ends up with their original stack of paper. Be sure to take some time to read through your entire stack out loud and be ready to laugh until you have tears streaming down your face.

This is where that extra 30 minutes would have come in handy. Unfortunately, we ran out of time for all of the kids to read their telephone stories, so they just had them read their original phrase and the last phrase to see how much it had changed. It was still a ton of fun and I love that the entire group of kids sat and played together. I definitely see us hosting more movie nights with this amazing group of kids in the future. My daughter was smiling from ear to ear the whole time and I had so much fun with all of the party prep. It was a win-win for sure!

Tween Girl Birthday Party Sleepover

Published on June 11, 2022June 11, 2022 by kerricreatesblogLeave a comment

My beautiful girl turned 12 last week! I can hardly believe we are just one year away from the having another teenager in the house! Karis could not decide on a theme for her party, so I asked her if she wanted me to come up with something fun. She agreed, so I went to work, browsing Pinterest for ideas. Around that time, I was dropping my son off at youth group and I saw a stack of wooden pallets behind the dumpster of a neighboring business. I called and asked if I could take some of the pallets and they said that was fine, so I grabbed a couple and started dreaming of creating an elegant pallet table for my girl and her friends to enjoy during the party.

I took inventory of what I already had at home: extra pillows, a white king sized sheet, twine. Then I made a list of the things that I wanted to purchase: paper lanterns, mason jars, tea lights, flowers, twinkle lights, material. I walked the aisles of Hobby Lobby trying to come up with a color combination, and because Karis is a big fan of pastels, I settled on peach, light green, white, and some pops of dark teal. I bought 6 white paper lanterns in various sizes, a string of white battery operated lights, some aqua tinted mason jars, two larger clear jars, white and peach flowers, tea lights, and material to use as pillow covers and a table runner. I also picked up some fancy gold paper plates and gold number candles. #CommissionsEarned

I set the table a couple of days before the party so that I had plenty of time to get my house cleaned and to prep for the food and games. I found some amazing game ideas on Pinterest and hit up the Dollar Tree for supplies. Karis wanted to swim, make s’mores, and play games. We started the party at 5:00 pm and I put together a simple charcuterie board style dinner with a variety of meats, cheeses, crackers, fruits, and veggies. The girls loved eating a “fancy dinner” by candlelight (I turned the main light on to get this photo).

I saved the “Beach Ball Question Game” from our New Year’s Eve party and that was once again, a huge hit with 11 & 12 year old girls. They actually played this game several times throughout the party. All you need is a beach ball and a sharpie marker. Blow up the ball and then write questions all over it with the sharpie. Some favorites are: What do you want to be when you grow up? What is your favorite book? movie? food? place? What superpower do you wish you had? Who do you admire? The ball gets tossed around and whoever catches it has to answer the question that is under their right hand when they catch it.

My favorite game/activity of the night was called “Foil Fashion Show.” This is where the Dollar Tree came in handy. I picked up a roll of tin foil for each girl, as well as several crafty type items: tape, pom poms, ribbon, pipe cleaners, glowsticks, and some flowered leis that we pulled apart. I told the girls that their goal was to create an outfit and when they were done, we would have a foil fashion show. I honesty expected them to take about 15-20 minutes on their creations, but they surprised me and took at least an hour. Some of them went all out, creating jewelry and headbands. One even made a super long train that dragged behind her as she walked the living room “runway.” The giggles and chatter were so fun to take in as the girls went to work, helping each other put together their best looks. I found some “runway” music for kids on youtube to play while they strutted their stuff and it was pure entertainment from start to finish.

The last game we played is a form “telephone” only with phrases and drawings. The girls played two rounds at night and then another round in the morning. All you need is blank paper and pencils. Cut paper in fourths and make a stack for each player. The stacks of paper should contain the same number of papers as the number of players. We had 7 girls, so each girl got a stack of 7 pieces of paper.

Have each player write a phrase (any phrase) on the top of piece #1. Then each player passes their ENTIRE STACK to the right. The next step is to read the phrase and then put that top paper on the bottom of your stack, facing up. The players will then draw a picture of the phrase on the top of page #2. Once everyone is finished drawing their picture, everyone will pass their ENTIRE STACK to the right. Now each player will see the drawing on the top and will have to guess what the phrase is that inspired the drawing. They will place page #2 on the bottom of the stack, face up, and write that phrase on the top of page #3. The process is repeated, phrase, pass, drawing, pass, phrase, pass, drawing, etc until each player ends up with their original stack of paper. Be sure to take some time to read through your entire stack out load and be ready to laugh until you have tears streaming down your face. This is definitely a perfect game for tweens, teens, and adults alike.

It was an unusually cool day in June this year, so we had to slightly modify our original plans. The girls actually braved the cold and jumped in the pool for a short swim. Fortunately, one of the things that I got for them was matching pjs, so they dried off after a bit and got comfy for the night. My husband got me a Cricut Maker 3 for Mother’s Day this year and I haven’t had a ton of time to use it, so I made sure to test it out on a couple of things for Karis’s party. I found some adorable moon and star pj shorts for a great deal at Walmart and bought plain black t-shirts to make personalized tops to match the shorts. I tried out holographic iron on for the first time and it was such a cool product. I found a free moon and stars SVG online and watched a few tutorials. I must say that for my first try at making shirts with my Cricut, it was pretty easy and I loved the way they turned out. #CommissionsEarned

I used my Cricut Maker 3 for a couple of other decorations as well. I found a free Happy Birthday cake topper SVG and cut it out on two pieces of gold card stock. I used the smaller one as an accent for the Marshmallow Pops I made. Karis is not a fan of cake, so every year, I make marshmallow pops as an alternative. This year, I used Jett Puffed S’more Marshmallows and diluted orange candy melts with white ones to make a pastel peach color. I mixed blue and green candy melts with a bit of white to create teal for the flowers, and I used gold colored sprinkles on white candy melt dots for the centers of the flowers. They were the perfect complement to the colors of the elegant pallet table and Karis loved them! For more marshmallow pop inspiration, check out some of my marshmallow pop tutorials.

I decided that the door needed a “Happy Birthday” sign at the last minute, so I used the larger gold cutout and gathered some items that I already had laying around. A wooden embroidery hoop, leftover material from the table runner and the pillow covers, and the leaves that I pulled off of the peach and white flowers came together beautifully as an elegant birthday wreath. I used three long scraps of fabric that I twisted and hot glued to form the flowers. It added the perfect finishing touch to my girl’s elegant 12th birthday party.

The rain picked up as the night went on and Karis still had her heart set on making s’mores. Dad to the rescue. He grabbled our little propane camping fire pit and set it up on the front porch. Before the girls settled in for the night, they sat outside on the porch, roasted marshmallows, and made s’mores. It was actually a very sweet moment seeing them all circled around, chatting under the overhang in their matching pjs while it rained.

You would think that after late night s’mores it would be hard to settle 7 girls down for bed, but after dinner, swimming, a foil fashion show, and paper telephone, they spontaneously grabbed the beach ball for another round of the question game. They got their beds ready and snuggled in for some late night chats. I only had to come out once to remind them to keep it to a whisper and I actually got some sleep myself. Twelve is a fun age, and I am so thankful for the sweet group of girls that my daughter gets to do life with. I would have to say that this was one of the most enjoyable parties I’ve done, and the joy on Karis’s face always makes it so worth the creative effort it takes to pull of a memorable birthday party.

For more fun ideas for tweens and teens check out some of my other blogposts…

The Amazing Race Birthday Party

Retro Video Game Room (Arcade) For Teens

Wings of Fire Birthday Party

Hot Cocoa Mug (Christmas) Marshmallow Pops

Published on January 5, 2022 by kerricreatesblogLeave a comment

Christmas came and went, and while I had great intentions to add some new holiday posts to my blog, I was too busy enjoying all of the fun activities to get to the blogging part. I guess these little Hot Cocoa Mug Marshmallow Pops can be tucked away on a Pinterest board for next Christmas 🙂

The past couple of years, our church has done a drive-thru Christmas Caroling event. My friend asked me to make cookies to pass out, but festive mallow pops are more fun than baking cookies for me, so I set out to make some really cute and Christmassy pops. These little guys were a bit trickier to make than I expected, but I think they turned out pretty cute.

Here’s what you will need to make your own Hot Cocoa Pops: peppermint candy canes (the ones I used were in between the typical big and small size), Jet Puffed Marshmallows, pretzels (broken up to create handles), candy melts in milk chocolate and bright white, Kraft Mallow Bits, various holiday sprinkles, parchment paper, and a Wilton’s squeeze bottle. #CommissionsEarned

STEP 1: LAY EVERYTHING OUT ON PARCHMENT PAPER SO YOU HAVE AN EASY WORKSPACE

STEP 2: MELT A SMALL AMOUNT OF THE CHOCOLATE CANDY MELTS. DIP A CANDY CANE IN THE CHOCOLATE AND PUSH INTO THE CENTER OF THE MARSHMALLOW. REPEAT

STEP 3: MELT A SMALL AMOUNT OF THE WHITE CANDY MELTS. DIP THE ENDS OF THE BROKEN PRETZEL IN THE WHITE MELTED CANDY AND SECURE TO THE SIDE OF THE MARSHMALLOW. REPEAT.

STEP 4: MELT THE REMAINDER OF THE WHITE CANDY MELTS. DIP EACH MARSHMALLOW, MAKING SURE TO COAT ALL THE WAY UP TO THE TOP OF THE MARSHMALLOW AND COVERING THE PRETZEL HANDLE. YOU MAY NEED TO WIPE OFF SOME OF THE DRIPS FROM THE BOTTOM BEFORE PLACING ON THE PARCHMENT PAPER TO DRY.

STEP 5: MELT THE REMAINDER OF THE MILK CHOCOLATE CANDY MELTS AND TRANSFER TO A SQUEEZE BOTTLE. WORKING QUICKLY, BEFORE THE CANDY MELTS SOLIDIFY, DRIZZLE MILK CHOCOLATE ALONG THE TOP OF EACH POP AND ADD A FEW FESTIVE SPRINKLES AND MALLOW BITS. THIS IS WHERE THE TRICKY PART COMES IN BECAUSE IT’S DIFFICULT TO ADD THE TOPPINGS AFTER THE CHOCOLATE HAS SET, SO YOU HAVE TO WORK FAST.

STEP 6: ENJOY!!!

These little Christmassy Pops are perfect for your holiday party or for adding to your plate of Christmas treats. I used a pretty cake platter in mint green next to my display of mini Christmas trees for some photos and then sent them off to be handed out at the Drive-Thru caroling event. #CommissionsEarned

For more fun Christmas Ideas check out the following blogposts:

Polar Express & Graham Cracker Trains

Turn Dad Into A Snowman

Advent

Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses

Glittery Christmas Tree Silhouettes

DIY Rustic Christmas Tree Banner

Wings of Fire Birthday Party

Published on June 16, 2021February 7, 2022 by kerricreatesblog13 Comments

My sweet girl turned 11 last week, and what a joy it was to have an in person birthday party after last years Art Party over Zoom. Karis is a huge fan of the Wings of Fire book series, so we went with a dragon theme for her party. Pink, teal, and yellow may not be typical colors you think of if you are a Wings of Fire fan, but Karis loves Kinkajou the pink and yellow dragon…so she became our inspiration.

My first project was to create a dragon mobile. I already had an old hula hoop and some teal spray paint, so all I had to purchase was colored card stock and fishing line. After printing out a couple of different dragon silhouettes, I went to work tracing and cutting various dragons out and hung them along the painted hula hoop so that they cascaded down in a circle.

Karis and I browsed Pinterest for dragon themed food ideas and came up with some fun options including Dragon Egg rice crispy treats, Bugels as Dragon Claws, Dragon Scales (Fritos), and Goldfish Crackers for Seawing Prey. We cut up fruit for Rainwing Food and included animal cookies for the Skywing Prey. We also grilled up some hot dogs since her party was at dinnertime.

In addition to the dragon mobile, I lined a wall with a large black piece of material that I used for a previous New Years Eve photo booth, and because I keep everything…I already had the silver door streamers and the pink and teal lanterns to add to the backdrop. I made a birthday sign out of the left over cardstock from the dragon mobile and included a printout of the dragonet prophecy and a letterboard with the phrase “The dragonets are coming…” #CommissionsEarned

Karis loves art, and always wants to incorporate some crafty activities during her parties. We decided on three things 1. A dragon egg hunt 2. Make a dragon eye ring, and 3. Paint a dragon silhouette. We had a ton of old plastic Easter eggs that we turned into “dragon eggs” with the help of some spray paint. Karis’s friend came over to help her stuff over 60 eggs with candy and the kids loved going on an egg hunt in June.

For the dragon eye rings, I purchased some clear beads, metallic paint and metallic sharpies, adjustable rings, and some jewelry bonding glue. The kids started out using a black sharpie to create a pupil on the round part of the bead, then added a metallic outline and flecks with the silver and gold sharpies. They painted over the flat part of the bead with a couple of coats of the paint color of their choice and let it dry for about an hour. Once dried, a dab of glue bonded it to the ring and they were able to go home with the coolest dragon eye rings.

I grabbed a couple of packs of canvases at a great price at Hobby Lobby and added a variety of new colors to my acrylic paint collection. I also invested in some paintbrushes. I cut several different sizes of dragon silhouettes out of cardstock and some castles as well, and I printed out a collection of pictures to use as inspiration. I rolled out a long line of painters paper to save our concrete and then let the kids go for it. Some used the silhouettes and others sketched their own pictures. Most of the party guests were Wings of Fire fans, so they were all happily chatting about what type of dragon they were painting. The only drawback to this project is that I should have planned for less activities or more time because it took a lot longer for them to paint than I anticipated and some brought home 1/2 finished canvases. #CommissionsEarned

June weather can be hit or miss where we live, but on the day of Karis’s party it was over 100 degrees. We thought it would be fun and refreshing to end the evening with a night swim. I found the cutest dragon floaty at Target and decorated the pool fence with some more of the Dollar Tree paper lanterns in pink and teal. The kids were more than ready to cool off with a dip in the pool, but not before celebrating the birthday girl with her favorite treat, marshmallow pops with mini dragons made of Wiltons candy melts. #CommissionsEarned

I made sure to snap a quick photo of all of the kids together before the night ended as this is my favorite way to make thank you cards. I order a set of prints from Shutterfly and back them with cardstock. Karis writes a little note to her friends, thanking them for the gift they got her and for coming to her party and they all have a cute photo capturing the fun they had.

Check out my newest blogpost Wings of Fire Dragon Costume (Kinkajou) to learn how to make this set of felt dragon wings for your favorite Wings of Fire fan.

Warrior Cats Birthday Party

Published on April 21, 2021February 10, 2022 by kerricreatesblog9 Comments

My daughter has been obsessed with the Warrior Cats Saga for the last several years. She is making her way through all 80 books and even creates her own short stories and artwork based on the characters. So, naturally, for her 9th birthday, she chose “Warriors” as her theme and we had so much fun scrolling Pinterest for ideas and coming up with the food, games, activities, and decor for her party.

Warriors is a series about 4 clans of cats who live in a forest. The first arc is about a house cat named Rusty who goes into the woods and meets a clan cat. As the series progresses, Rusty becomes the Warrior known as Fireheart. He fights evil and protects his clan’s borders from rogues who stray into their territory and from other clans. Each arc features a different cat and sometimes a different clan.

Warriors eat their food from a “Fresh Kill Pile.” Our food table was inspired by things the Warrior cats would catch and devour. I included signs for the birds, bones, fish, rabbits, and mice. The birds were chocolate dipped pretzels with an M&M nose, mini chocolate chip ears, and Wilton’s candy eyeballs. Slide mini marshmallows on the end of stick pretzels and then dip in white candy melts to create “bones.” For the mice we used strawberries, twizzlers candy, mini chocolate chips, and small circles of chocolate candy melts (left over from the birds) for the ears. We used blue jello and Swedish fish candies, as well as Goldfish crackers because we all know how much cats love fish, and our rabbits were Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies crackers. Since the party was at dinnertime I made some PB&J sandwiches cut in the shape of cats. in the Warriors books, there is a sacred place on the hills called the “Moonpool,” so we replaced water labels with ones reading “Moonpool Water” and surrounded them with rocks to resemble a pond. #CommissionsEarned

The games and activities kept these Warriors Fans entertained for the majority of the party. We started out with a silly game of “Scoop the Poop.” Fill a tub with Rice Crispy cereal and add some mini Tootsie Rolls to the tub. You will be surprised at how difficult it is to feel those tiny Tootsie Rolls with a blind fold on. The kids took turns “scooping the poop” from our Rice Crispy litter box and of course giggled their way through the game at the same time. We gave them 30 seconds to find as many “nuggets” as they could and they got to keep what they found. I added more tootsie rolls as the game went on.

Cats like to hunt for prey, so our second game was an animal scavenger hunt in the front yard. I created signs with the names of the 4 Warriors Clans and the kids got to choose their clan. I picked up some tiny forest animals at the dollar store and had my older son hide them before the party started. The Clans took off to hunt for rabbits, birds, and little hedgehogs that they would later trade in for candy. We used the mini animals in the next activity as well.

My favorite part of this party was “create your own Warriors scene.” Karis and I spent some time making multiple batches of green and brown play dough in the days prior to her party. We picked up some aluminum tins from the Dollar Tree and a bunch of nature materials. At the Dollar Tree we found blue glass beads to use as water, mossy rocks, leaves, fake flowers and plants, and a variety of rocks. I grabbed some wood rounds and plastic cats from Michael’s and collected twigs from the yard and let the kids use their imaginations to create their very own Warriors scene. They used the brown play dough as dirt and the green as a base for grass and built from there. Each one was unique and they all turned out amazing. I even picked up some little plastic garden signs so that they could name their creations. #CommissionsEarned

My daughter isn’t a huge fan of cake, so we always make marshmallow pops for her birthday treat. This year, I bought the big square mallows that you can use for s’mores and covered them in green Wilton’s candy melts. I used orange candy melts to create little cat silhouettes and put them on the front for the tastiest birthday treats. And in case you are wondering where we got Karis’s ThunderClan T-shirt, I made it using a photocopied image as a template that I printed off from the computer and a small piece of black material. I then used Seam-A-Seam 2 light to iron it onto a white cotton tee after cutting it out of the black fabric. She has worn it many times since her party and it has held up really well.

We always like to send our party guest off with a little thank you and my girl loves Hershey’s chocolate bars. I created Warriors themed wrappers to replace the Hershey ones with a little thank you note on the back for Karis to hand to each of her friends at the end of the party. #CommissionsEarned

Maybe you have a little Warriors fan of your own who would enjoy a Warriors Themed Birthday Party. I hope that this blogpost has made your planning a bit easier and inspired some fun ways for you to celebrate. As the Warriors like to say, “may StarClan light your path!”

Warrior Cats fans will also love this…

Wings of Fire Birthday Party

DIY Lemonade Stand

Published on July 20, 2018February 10, 2022 by kerricreatesblog3 Comments

My daughter has been asking to have a lemonade stand since last summer, so it was a must on our 2018 Summer Bucket List. I saw some cute DIY ideas using wooden crates and thought that we would give it a go. I found the best deal for wooden crates at our local Michael’s Store. My husband had a 36″ x 10″ board cut at The Home Depot. I purchased two different sizes of nails, 1-1/4 inches for the thicker parts and 3/4 inches for the thinner wood slats, and went to work. You can watch my video tutorial for more details on the building process. #CommissionsEarned

Hobby Lobby recently had a huge clearance on their summer stock, so I was able to get two giant yellow pinwheels for just $4 each. They made the cutest sides to hang a LEMONADE banner on. I used my Cricut Expression 2 to cut out the letters for the banner and hung it with twine. A few material scraps cut into triangles made for a mini pennant banner to hang along one of the crates. I created an “Ice Cold Lemonade” sign, a price list for some treats that we made, and lemon cupcake toppers that you can print off here Lemonade Stand Printables PDF

My daughter loves to dance, and every summer her dance studio holds a week long dance camp. We decided that selling lemonade & treats would be a great way for her to earn the $125 tuition for camp. On a Friday evening, we made a batch of cupcakes and marshmallow pops. I have included the lemon template I used for the candy melt lemons. Lemon Template pdf (See some of my marshmallow pop videos for instructions on how to create themed mallow pops)

On Saturday and Sunday, my girl held lemonade stands in our driveway, and not only did she have the best time selling lemonade and sweet treats, she earned $129 in two mornings thanks to the generosity and support of our amazing friends and neighbors. I will never forget the joy on her face when she walked into the dance studio on that Monday morning and paid her entire tuition in full with money she had earned herself. Lemonade stand success!!!

I am so pleased with the way our DIY Lemonade Stand turned out, and have been thinking of other uses for it. Of course she can always use it for imaginary play, but I’m sure we will also use it for birthday parties in the future, bake sales, donuts and juice during our garage sale, and of course, many many more lemonade stands.

My Little Pony (Rainbow Dash) Marshmallow Pops

Published on October 3, 2017October 23, 2021 by kerricreatesblog2 Comments

This week, the much anticipate My Little Pony movie comes out in theaters. My girl and I have been waiting for this day ever since we saw the preview several months ago. To celebrate, I created these fun My Little Pony Rainbow Dash Marshmallow Pops, which according to my kids, are delicious! Whether you are planning a My Little Pony party or just want to make a fun treat on movie day, these Rainbow Dash pops are sure to be a huge hit!

I’ve included my video tutorial, above, with step by step instructions on how to make these tasty mallow pops, and below you will find the free printable Rainbow Dash template for the candy pony silhouettes. I’ve also added Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark in case you’d like to make some for your own pops. You will need white, blue, yellow, and red candy melts and four Wilton’s squeeze bottles to create the cloud and rainbow lightning bolt cutie marks. Square marshmallows are the perfect size for these pops and the rainbow Airhead Extremes are the perfect addition to represent her rainbow tail. Don’t forget to grab a package of lollipop sticks and you will have all that you need to make your own Rainbow Dash mallow pops. #CommissionsEarned

Rainbow Dash Template PDF

For more My Little Pony fun, check out my DIY My Little Pony Capes tutorial.

Moana Birthday Party

Published on June 25, 2017February 12, 2022 by kerricreatesblog22 Comments

We celebrated my daughter’s 7th birthday the first week of June with a Moana Themed Birthday Party. My girl fell in love with Moana after watching the movie in the theater and she’s been belting out “How Far I’ll Go” at the top of her lungs ever since. Her Grandma and Papa surprised her with the soundtrack for her birthday, which made the party even more special to have her favorite Moana songs playing in the background while she swam and played with all of her sweet friends.

I had so much fun planning this party and I’m happy to say that everything turned out just as I imagined it would. I started making decorations several weeks in advance because May and June are always crazy busy with all of the end of school activities, dance recitals, and two kids with birthdays just a couple of weeks apart.

I used my Cricut Expression 2 to make the black and white tribal sewn paper garlands and the HAPPY BIRTHDAY KARIS pennant banner. I also used it to cut some of the pieces for the Kakamora faces. These were all made out of card stock that I purchased from Joann Fabrics. I also found the tribal print material at Joann’s that I used to cover the contents of our two bookshelves.

The Dollar Tree is a great place for inexpensive tropical decorations this time of year and it did not disappoint. This is where I purchased the tissue paper for the giant tropical flowers, the leis, the grass skirts that I used to surround the table, the plastic beach backdrop, plates and napkins, and the Moana and Maui “magic towels” that we gave to the children as party favors. You can also find a lot of beachy party decorations on Amazon.

My favorite part of the whole party, was the Moana Boat and Sail Photo Backdrop (tutorial link below). All the kids were greeted by my daughter and given a lei to wear and the first thing they saw when they walked in was a huge beach scene with a cardboard Moana boat and sail to play in. I even made an oar out of a dowel, cardboard, and twine. We got some super cute pictures of the kids in Moana’s boat. #CommissionsEarned

If you are planning a Moana party of your own, here are three fun tutorial for you as well as a ton of pictures from my daughter’s party. Enjoy!

Moana Marshmallow Pops Tutorial

Moana Boat and Sail Photo Backdrop Tutorial

Heart of Te Fiti Cupcake Tutorial

If you are planning your own Moana party, I’ve included links to some products that you can purchase for your child’s party. #CommissionsEarned

For the Marshmallow Pops you will need- Moana Stickers, Marshmallows, Lollipop Sticks, blue Candy Melts, and Pretzels

Moana Figurines

Moana Party Decorations

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Trolls (Poppy & Branch) Marshmallow Pops

Published on March 22, 2017April 12, 2017 by kerricreatesblog4 Comments

We are a bit “Trolls Obsessed” in our house! The CD currently plays on repeat in my car and my daughter likes to sing the songs at the top of her lungs… which might embarrass her big brothers a bit! Let’s just be thankful that the soundtrack is seriously one of the best kid movie soundtracks ever!

I’ve been wanting to have a special mommy/daughter Trolls day for quite some time, so this week, we made it happen. I rented the movie from Redbox, planned a couple of Trolls crafts, and together, my daughter and I, made these super fun Poppy & Branch Marshmallow Pops. My sweet girl had so much fun…and so did her mama!

Watch our tutorial, above, to learn how to make these Marshmallow Pops for your own little Trolls fans. I’ve included the template that I used so you can print it off to make the candy Poppy & Branch silhouettes.

Trolls Silhouette Template

If you are looking for more Trolls activities, check out this blogpost:

Trolls Craft: Poppy’s Popsicle Stick Frames

3 Simple St. Patrick’s Day Treats

Published on March 14, 2017March 14, 2017 by kerricreatesblog2 Comments

If you are planning on making some St. Patrick’s Day treats, here are 3 simple options for you… Pretzel Shamrocks, Shamrock Oreo Cookie Pops, and Shamrock Marshmallow Pops. All of these treats use Wilton’s Candy Melts, which you can find at crafts stores like Michael’s and JoAnn Fabrics. Watch my tutorial to learn how to make these tasty treats!

SHAMROCK TEMPLATE