Spring It On!

My goofy boys and their friends had a blast with the Photo Booth!

When you live in Central NY, you get used to long, gray-skied winters and spending months wishing for warmer, brighter days. So, when my church asked me to help them put together a family luncheon two days after the first day of Spring, creating a theme was easy - SPRING PICNIC! (of the indoor variety, of course - it is still March in CNY after all!)

So, this afternoon, despite the still-frigid winds and ice on our windshields, we celebrated the start of Spring with kids singing, bright colors, lots of tasty food, giant tissue paper flowers and some seed packet favors.

As usual, I didn't get great photos (I have GOT to learn to get good pictures! *SIGH*) but you can get the idea. I got lots of compliments on the tissue paper flowers and the pink lemonade cupcakes and since they were both easy to make, I've linked tutorials with the photos. You can also download the "SPRING" banner and Photo Booth sign below for free!

Tissue Paper Flower Tutorial from Project Nursery and Design Everyday Blog

Streamer Photo Booth backdrop tutorial by Lovely Indeed (sidenote: instead of taping the ends of the tape strip, our smart crew made little tape donuts that ran the length of the tape strip on the top and bottom AND we used an easy-release painters tape to ensure no paint was harmed in the making of this lovely photo booth)

Download SPRING Banner for FREE! 

*For personal use only and please give credit to Pridmore Event Planning & Design

Download Photo Booth Sign for FREE!

*For personal use only and please give credit to Pridmore Event Planning & Design

These (slightly mis-frosted) Pink Lemonade Cupcakes were a combination of altered recipes. Unfortunately, after a week of the hubs and I being sick, I was out of energy when it came time for making the cupcakes I'd originally planned (Martha Stewart's Strawberry Cupcakes - to. die. for. They're my go-to for instant Spring/Summer taste!). So, I cheated and made some boxed strawberry cake mix. Martha, it was not. But, in a pinch...

The frosting, however, was from scratch. I specifically wanted to make the frosting lemonade-y and I found a million frosting recipes on Pinterest but, as I said, I was super low on energy so when I found one from Better Homes and Gardens that seemed simple and easy, I went for it and it turned out GREAT! (This recipe also includes a cake recipe that I might have to try another time.)

A couple of side notes... I halved the frosting recipe and had plenty for 24 cupcakes (plus plenty to sample). Also, I used the full 1/4 cup of concentrate to up the flavor but I used pink lemonade concentrate instead of plain and I used a little less than 1 tsp Lemon Extract.

Finally, I garnished with lemon slice candies and some cut up paper straws. No cupcake's complete without a little somethin' somethin', right?

Well, that about wraps it up. Wish there were more photos to share but, like I said, I'm just no good at getting pics! (and I'm afraid, trying to stay awake while in sick-all-week-recovery-mode didn't bode well for my already dreadful photo skills)

HAPPY DIY PARTYING!