busy bees...

for orin's birthday, we had a party/sleepover this past saturday.

ever since he was 6 years old we have done this...he & randy & ethan have a tradition to sleepover at each other's houses for each of the others birthdays. it is awesome! they will go months without seeing each other, as we homeschool & they do not & we all participate in different activities. but each time they see each other it as if no time at all has passed. i love that he is blessed with such amazing friendships!

at any rate. last week we spent a good deal of time making favors & things for his party...

project #1, balancing butterflies...

ariella, from childhood magic, posted these as i was mulling over what to make for favors this go round & knew at once that orin would love the idea!

we, too, designed out own template. i made a couple to check the 'difficulty level' & then aydin volunteered to make the rest.

so easy & absolutely gorgeous!



project #2, handknit pokemon card pouches...

orin has recently gotten into pokemon, very much so, in fact. he asked specifically for me to knit pouches to carry his favorite pokemon cards around in, something with a string to wear over his shoulder/around his neck.

i found the pouch pattern on ravely, & orin fingerknit the straps.





project #3, the cake...

orin was asking for an ice cream cake, when he spotted this recipe on the side of a breyer's carton...problem solved!

easy as pie ice cream cupcakes...

1. bake pound cake using your favorite recipe. i used "grandmother's pound cake", which makes 3 cakes & froze the other 2.

2. line a muffin pan with cupcake papers.

slice the cake horizontally into 3 pieces. cut each piece into 2" round or so (you want them to fit in the bottom of a cupcake liner).

3. top with a couple of (large) tablespoonfuls of your favorite ice cream.

i let the ice cream melt a bit so that it would meld & hold together better. then i packed a bit more on...it is a birthday party after all! :)

4. freeze for an hour or so, or until ready to serve. i would suggest letting them thaw for 10 min or so before serving as our cake was a bit hard straight from the freezer.