24x36 Caramel Apple Bar Chalkboard Sign

Have you all ever created a Caramel Apple Bar for a wedding, birthday or celebration?
I, personally, have NOT...but I've definitely been inspired to do so!

I think something like this would be so fun at a Fall Party, Neighborhood Party, Craft Night, Classroom Party or even as part of your Thanksgiving Day or "Friendsgiving" celebrations!!

I've had a lot of customers reach out to me to create a Caramel Apple Bar Collection for them and
today, I have made it available in the shoppe as an easy download! (It works just like the Chalkboard Popcorn Bar Collection!!)

Along with the printable 24x36 Caramel Apple Bar chalkboard sign you'll also receive...

Two different 8x10 "Directions" Signs 

"Take Home" edition + "Enjoy Now" edition

A set of Caramel Apple Bar Topping Tags

leave square or use a 2.25" circle punch to create round labels

If you need ideas for how to set up a Caramel Apple Bar, check out my APPLE EVERYTHING Pinterest board where you'll find tons of ideas! I personally think I would go with this "Apple Wedge" approach when setting up an interactive Caramel Apple Bar. It just seems more cost-effective and way more practical since I think kids and adults are less likely to eat an entire apple.

Besides that, I like the thought of being able to try a couple of different flavor combinations instead of being stuck with only one - who's with me on that? *wink*

If you are on the fence about whether or not you want to create a Caramel Apple Bar this Fall...I'm offering $5 off the NEW Caramel Apple Bar Collection for the next 24 hours!

EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS ENJOY $10 OFF - emails have just been sent!

Maybe that will convince you? All you have to do is go to the Chalkboard Caramel Bar Collection in my shoppe and enter CARAMELAPPLE during checkout!!

I hope you've been inspired!
I'd love to know if you've created one before and if you have any tips + tricks you think will be helpful as I scheme on what to do for mine this year!!

xoxo,
Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL
I took these photos last week.
It's all still sitting on the floor in my studio. (even the caramel) *gasp*

Speaking of the caramel...
When prepping for the photoshoot, I just so happened to see the jar in the overflow fridge when I was grabbing the apples. Which means I didn't have to make some or buy some to use in the photos. AND...I'm pretty sure it's from last Fall, when I made caramel apple pie! *hands over eyes*
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MAKE iT | Sparkle + Shine Chocolate Covered Oreo Cookies

You guys - I'm totally IN LOVE with these darling, "Sparkle + Shine" oreo cookies.
And you won't believe how easy they are. Like SUPER EASY!

When I showed up to the school last week with a basket of them for Ella's class Valentine's Day party, I had someone ask me where I BOUGHT them. And then when I told her I MADE them she told me I should SELL them!? *blushing*

They DO look a bit fancy, don't they?!
But they are SO NOT FANCY at all.
It's amazing how a little bit of

GIVE | Mini Hot Cocoa Cup Gift Idea

Hi everyone! Have you seen anything more adorable than these miniature beverage cups? I'm in LOVE! I love all things "kraft paper" so these immediately caught my eye in the TKS Shop.

I was on The TomKat Studio yesterday sharing how to turn these into a super simple (and ridiculously cute) idea for holiday gifting!

These are something that would be darling for party favors, classroom parties, Secret Santa gifts and maybe even for "Elfing".

Join me over there for all of the details and then come back here to print off your very own...

FREE Mini Cup Wrappers and Instructions Tags

Download the FREE Mini Cup Wrappers HERE!

DOWNLOAD the FREE Instructions Tags HERE!

Did you notice these match the FREE Holiday Gift Tags I shared in the TKS Holiday Gift Guide?

Hope you love the idea and will use it in your gift-giving this Holiday Season!

And hello weekend…looking forward to wrapping my arms around you!!

KEEPiNG iT REAL

I seriously about fell over when I opened the box and saw how tiny and adorable these mini kraft ripple cups are! The mini beverage lid is crazy cute! LOVE them!

SUGAR | Holiday Classroom Party Treat • Rudolph Cookies

I grabbed some cute red Sixlets from Sweetworks last week and used them to whip up these adorable Rudolph Cookies. Red Sixlets make the perfect Rudolph nose and really gave these cookies some character! I love how they turned out. They look even more adorable served on this beautiful cake plate filled with red sixlets, shimmer white sixlets and shimmer lime green sixlets too!

I made these chocolate covered Peanut Butter Oreos™ in a snap using my Spinning Leaf Cookie Molds. (see THIS TUTORIAL and MORE EXAMPLES HERE). Once the chocolate was hardened, (10 minutes in the fridge), I popped out the cookies from the mold and I added the pretzel antlers, googly eyes and a red Sixlet for Rudolph's nose. The leftover melted chocolate from covering the Oreos™ is what I used as the "glue" for attaching the decorative edible elements.  Allow the decorative pieces to harden and dry - about 30 minutes. Easy and cute!

Ella was stalking the cookies the whole time I was photographing them so she got herself wrangled into the photo shoot. I promised her she could eat one if she'd let me slap a dress and red sweater on her and take some pictures of her with the cookies! We were both very happy with the deal we made. *wink*

Of course Ella's favorite part of the photo shoot was when she was finally allowed to bite into one of the cookies…and nibble off the antlers.  See the peanut butter filling inside of these PB Oreos™? YUM!

I threw this last photo of Ella in here…just because I think it's cute!

I'm going to make more of these for Ella's class party next week.
I'll substitute regular Oreos™ instead of the peanut butter ones - just in case there are kids with peanut allergies? (that's a safe substitution, right?)

I hope you'll make them too and share your results with me!

IMPORTANT TIP:
Do NOT put your finished cookies back into the refrigerator after you've put on the red Sixlets noses.
The change in temperature causes the shiny red finish to dull.
Just carefully store these in an airtight container on your kitchen counter to keep "Rudolph's nose so bright"..until you are ready to devour serve them! *wink*

KEEPiNG iT REAL
I shared the important tip with you above because I made that mistake.
So when I went to photograph the cookies they weren't nearly as cute and pretty with a dull red sixlet.
No big deal. I popped off the dulled red noses, reheated the extra "chocolate glue" and attached shiny new ones. You would've never known, *wink*

I totally thought I'd deleted these photos from my camera when I couldn't find them on my computer the other day. I was really upset about it. But the more I kept obsessing thinking about it, the more I remembered looking at them on my computer so I KNEW I had to have uploaded them from my camera. So...with a little more searching on iPhoto I finally found them. Anyone else have issues with photos loading into the "Photos" folder instead of "Events" within iPhoto? Maybe I just don't understand how the whole process works - that's probably my bet. *wink*

PEN N' PAPERFLOWERS (PNPF) RECEIVED FREE PRODUCT, COMPENSATION OR OTHER PERKS FROM SWEETWORKS® FOR REVIEWING AND SHARING THIS PRODUCT. BE ASSURED PNPF ONLY POSTS/REVIEWS PRODUCTS I LOVE AND FEEL YOU WILL LOVE TOO!

RECiPE RADAR | Party Popcorn by My Baking Addiction

Looking for a quick treat for St. Patty's day?
Need to send something in with your little one for that class party?
Thinking of surprising the office with a festive treat?
Or just want to do a little something special for your sweet family?
Well you are in LUCK!

Party Popcorn from My Baking Addiction

What I LOVE about this:
– only 3 ingredients
– quick prep time
– adorable outcome
– versatile for all occasions

This is definitely on my RECiPE RADAR!!
Go HERE for the recipe and instructions.

If you haven't checked out Jamie from My Baking Addiction yet...you are truly missing out.
She's been my go-to source for recipes since stumbling upon these delicious morsels I made
for the Lemonade and Sunshine Party I hosted for my two older girls.

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese frosting

Any recipe posted on My Baking Addiction I've ever tried has never disappointed...

I encourage you to 

Friend her...

Follow her...

Find her...

Here's all of the My Baking Addiction social media links to feed my your ADDICTION:

Website - www.mybakingaddiction.com

Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/bakingaddiction/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/bakingaddiction

Instagram - http://followgram.me/jamiemba/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/mybakingaddiction

I'll be back this week with the follow up on the RECiPE RADAR post from last week...

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend...

KEEPiNG iT REAL
My weekend turned out kind of quirky!?
J and Ella were gone all weekend - a short visit to Illinois with J's family.
I had grand plans for accomplishing all sorts of things while they were gone.
Instead,  I found myself in the middle of things I wasn't planning on;
...purchasing a bed for Ella.
...an unexpected afternoon visit with my mom that turned into a visit to Williams-Sonoma followed by dinner out with her.
...several trips to JoAnn's for things I never planned on purchasing.
...random last minute running around that turned out to be a HUGE time-waster
and quite unproductive.
None of it really made any sense.

However, I did manage to paint my nails with gold confetti!
Which may or may not make any sense either? *wink*

SHARE | FREE Valentine's Day Cards • Chalkboard Style

If you missed the buzz about these yesterday on my Facebook Fan Page or on my Instagram feed...

You've still got time to print and use these FREE printables I designed before the big day tomorrow...

"You are the Sprinkles to my Cupcake" Valentine's Day Cards

I think they turned out adorable and I hope you do too!
Download these adorable Valentine's Day cards HERE!

****************

UPDATED MAY 7TH 2013 TO INCLUDE INSTRUCTIONS FROM MY ORIGINAL POST ON SKIP TO MY LOU 

****************

Here's the VISUAL How-To

Here’s the VERBAL How-To:


1. Print Cards onto white card stock.

2. Trim to size using scissors or a paper trimmer.

3. Fold in half.

4. Use a 1.5″ Round Craft Punch to create a circle through the middle of the 
folded card.

5. Unfold card and have your child (or yourself) fill it out with a fine-tip sharpie or pen.

6. Fill a mini ziploc bag a little more than 1/2 full with sprinkles of your choice.

7. Refold card and slide the mini ziploc bag filled with sprinkles in between both sides of the card.

8. Staple the card closed – being sure the staple penetrates through the top of the mini ziploc bag.

Check out all of the other creative ideas submitted by so many other talented designers over on Skip to My Lou!
If you've already got your Valentine's Day Cards finished...
you can always "pin" all of the ideas you love for next year! *wink*

A super huge thanks to Cindy over at Skip to My Lou for inviting me to participate!

KEEPiNG iT REAL
Ella started her first day of preschool yesterday.
I'm totally using these for the classroom Valentine's Party tomorrow.
I'm a little hesitant since it'll only be her 3rd day there and I'm not sure I'm ready to be labeled as "THAT mom" - if you know what I mean?

But I did get to send one home with her sweet little friend, Elise, after their "Friendship Party" we had at our house yesterday. All of the sweet details coming soon.

SHARE | Favorite Christmas Party Ideas for Kids

Looking for creative things to do for a Classroom Holiday Party?

Or just looking to be inspired for the upcoming holidays?

Here are my favorite pins from the Pinterest Party I invited you to attend last night.

It was an hour of pure inspiration focused on "Christmas Party Ideas for Kids"!

Christmas Pancakes with Chocolate Peppermint Syrup 

for hosting a Santa's Breakfast Party

source: Raspberri Cupcakes

Adorable Clothespin Advent Calendar 

Use this idea for displaying party favors...and as a Christmas Card Holder too!

source: Designspiration

Cupcake Liner Christmas Trees

source: Tatertots and Jello

Milk Men

source: Bakerella

Adorable DIY Felt Ribbon Candy

source: Snap!

Reindeer Noses Party Favors

source: Bloom Designs Online

Snowman Macarons on Red Velvet Christmas Snow Cake

source: Raspberri Cupcakes

Candy Cane Float

source: Spicy Ice Cream

Adorable Gingerbread Man Packaging

source: a•muse studio

Candy Cane Clothespins

source: The Shabby Creek Shop

Peppermint Cake Pops

source: Jenny Cookies

DIY Candy Cane Cupcake Toppers

heat candy canes just enough to "shape" them as toppers

source: Icing Designs Online

Thanks to everyone who participated with us!

I was so inspired by all of the ideas that were shared.

I hope you were too.

And congratulations to the FiVE winners who received $50 Gift Cards from Pottery Barn Kids!!

A very special thanks to Pottery Barn Kids for sponsoring the Pin Party last night!!

If you missed out...

You can still see the entire "Christmas Party Ideas for Kids" Board 

there's a Pinterest Party happening every Tuesday night...

through December 18th.

A different topic every week!

Here are the links to all of  the Holiday Entertaining Pinterest Parties that have taken place so far:

Thanksgiving Entertaining Ideas

Merry Metallics Holiday Entertaining

Christmas Party Ideas for Kids

KEEPiNG iT REAL

As if I didn't already have an entire list of cute things I want to make for the holidays...

my list just got even longer after the Pinterest Party last night.

Maybe I should number the projects and do a raffle type drawing to determine which ones should get done? Ha!