Super Mario Birthday: Party Baking

I'm back today with my last installment from the Super Mario birthday party series - party baking:

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Disclosure - This post may contain affiliate links.  If a purchase is made through an affiliate link then (at no additional cost to you) I will receive a commission.  You can read more about affiliate links here.

Cake Supplies

For the large layer cake and the mini cake I used French vanilla mix, vanilla icing, Super Mario figurines, and round pans in graduated sizes.

I didn't get a photo of the cupcake supplies but I used a chocolate mix, more vanilla icing and Super Mario figures.

Let's Talk About Pans

Look who got a set of Wilton brand round cake pans, now I can make my layer cakes without trimming down standard cake pan cakes to make different sizes 😎  

The set came with four graduated sizes and I used the three smaller ones for the layer cake.  Best of all I found the set at Salt And Light for only $3.99!

For the mini cake I used my mini pans.

Darken the Icing

Using a bit of chocolate syrup I colored the icing a light beige.  My son wanted the cake to look like one of Super Mario's desert levels, so this toned the bright white icing down nicely.

Layer

Dirt and Sand

I used a combination of crushed vanilla wafers, 

powdered cocoa mix and chocolate chips to give the cake the look of dirt and sand.

Layering the Dirt and Sand

Going from top to bottom I first sprinkled cocoa powder, 

then crushed cookies and followed up with the chocolate chips.

Adding Toys

Using some of my son's Super Mario toys I created a scene with Racoon Mario and Iggy Koopa

You can find the set that includes the rocks and palm trees  here.

Iggy Koopa

Racoon Mario

You can find similar Super Mario figures  here.

Mini Cake

For the coordinating personal cake I added a Boo figure and a number six candle.

Cupcakes

Our chocolate cupcakes were topped with vanilla icing colored in red, blue, yellow and green.  A few star shaped sprinkles dressed them up and the mini figures are from the same play set that includes the palm trees.

And that's it for our Super Mario birthday party.  In case you missed anything:
you can click here to see the invitations,
here to see the party decor
here to view the balloons
or  to here read about the paper crafts.

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I hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes baking post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Studio 27 by Jennifer Adams 2020

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This post was added to the following link parties:

Silver Penny Sundays

Super Mario Birthday: The Balloons

Happy weekend my friends!
It's time to talk about those Super Mario party balloons.  First up, Boo:

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Disclosure - This post may contain affiliate links.  If a purchase is made through an affiliate link then (at no additional cost to you) I will receive a commission.  You can read more about affiliate links here.

Boo was the easiest balloon character to make.  

Just grab a white laytex balloon, a couple of permanent markers and draw on his face.  

We put a face on each side of the balloons, with one side showing Boo's shy face and the other featuring his scary face.  This way as the balloons swayed during the party it looked as though Boo was in action 😊

Goomba:

You will still need your balloon and marker for Goomba, but a bit of construction paper as well.  Inflate your balloon to the size that you want and then hold it 'standing' on top of a sheet of black paper to get an idea for how big you want his foot pad to be.  Cut that out and then use a piece of white to cut out two ovals for eyes and two triangles for the mouth.

Attach the eyes and mouth details with a bit of glue stick or tape.  position your mouth triangles not quite in line with each other so that the mouth will be uneven.

Add eyebrows, pupils and a line for the mouth with your marker and Goomba is ready to grump through your party!

We suspended our Goomba from the ceiling using curling ribbon and kept them close to the walls.  A bit of double stick tape on their backs made sure that they stuck to the wall and remained facing forward.

Bob-omb:

Constructing Bob-omb is almost identical to the Goomba, but you will want to add a penny or some other sort of small weight as well.

After placing your foot pad, tape a penny just behind the feet.  

This will act as a weight to hold your Bob-omb in place and upright.

Stick on the eyes and add pupils to finish the face.  

I also tied a bit of gold curling ribbon to the tops of my Bob-ombs to look like a fuse.

Yoshi Eggs:

I  was busily working away when my daughter came up with the cutest idea for Yoshi eggs- Just inflate blue and green balloons and stick on some circular cut-outs to create spots.  I loved how they turned out, our Goomba and Bob-ombs needed a bit of color 😉

And that's how easy it is to create Super Mario Balloon decor!

In case you missed anything else from the party so far;
you can click here to see the invitations,
here to see the party decor
or  to here read about the paper crafts.

Dollar Tree has a large selection of laytex balloons.
You can click here to browse their selection.

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I hope you enjoyed this balloon decor post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Studio 27 by Jennifer Adams 2020

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This post was added to the following link parties:

Inspire me Tuesday
You're the Star
Tuesdays at our Home
All About Home
Wonderful Wednesday (Oh my Heartsie Girl)
Wonderful Wednesday (Penny's Passion)
Your Whims Wednesday

Super Mario Birthday: Paper Crafting

Remember that Super Mario themed birthday party?

Today I'm sharing how to make these easy star and mushroom paper crafts:

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Disclosure - This post may contain affiliate links.  If a purchase is made through an affiliate link then (at no additional cost to you) I will receive a commission.  You can read more about affiliate links here.

Star Step 1

Using card stock, cut out a simple star shape with oval openings for the eyes and a small bit of black paper.  I used my Cricut Maker to cut the pieces out for me, but you can do this by hand as well.

Star Step 2

Flip over your star shape and tape the black piece of paper in the middle, covering up your oval cut-outs.  Now the eyes will be filled in.

Completed Star

Now your star is ready to hang!

I kept mine one sided and taped them to the walls, but you could stick two back-to-back and suspend them from the ceiling using some clear fishing line.

Mushroom Step 1

Again using my cutting machine, I cut out a large red circle, three small white circles and one white oval for each mushroom.

Mushroom Step 2

Use a bit of glue to attach your white pieces to the red background like so.

Mushroom Step 3

Trim off the extra portions of the small white circles.

At this point I thought the face oval looked a bit weird so...

Mushroom Step 4

...I took it off and trimmed it down.  

Once I had the face in better shape I used a marker to create the eyes.

And that's how you put together Super Mario inspired paper crafts!

In case you missed anything from the party so far;
you can click here to see the invitations
or here to see the party decor.

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I hope you enjoyed this paper crafting post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Studio 27 by Jennifer Adams 2020

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This post was added to the following link parties:

You're the Star
The Really Crafty Link Party

Super Mario Birthday: The Decor

My little guy recently turned 6 and wanted a Super Mario party to celebrate!

Scroll on to see our decor photos of the tables, paper crafts, balloons and desserts.  

I'll have individual how-to posts coming soon:

(You can click here to see the Super Mario invitation tutorial)

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Disclosure - This post may contain affiliate links.  If a purchase is made through an affiliate link then (at no additional cost to you) I will receive a commission.  You can read more about affiliate links here.

Toy Decor

Since my son requested pretty much nothing but Mario toys for Christmas this year, so table decor was as easy as bringing out the toy bin 😎

I chose to cover the tables in yellow and went with red and blue napkins for a simple color scheme.

You can find the Mushroom Castle here
You can find the Bowser Castle here

Paper Cut-Outs

Using my Cricut I cut out a few mushroom and star shapes to hang on the walls and front door.

Balloons

Together my daughter and I made Boos, Goomba, Yoshi eggs and 

Bob-ombs with balloons, paper and markers.

Layer Cake & Mini Cake

Cupcakes

Using toys again, I added detail to the cakes and cupcakes.
You can find a similar set of the miniature figures  here

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I hope you enjoyed this party decor post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Studio 27 by Jennifer Adams 2020

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This post was added to the following link parties:

Silver Penny Sundays
Wonderful Wednesday (Oh My Heartsie Girl)
Wonderful Wednesday (Penny's Passion)
Your Whims Wednesday

Super Mario Birthday - Party Invitations

Welcome back for the first post of 2020, I hope everyone had a nice holiday break!

I had a wonderful time celebrating, relaxing and getting a head start on my spring cleaning.  I've also started to prepare for my son's upcoming 6th birthday party which as you can see, will be themed after Super Mario Brothers.

I've been working with a few different graphic design programs lately (Cricut Design Space and Inkscape are my favorites 😉), but every once in awhile I still like to turn to good old Microsoft Word and I did so for the invitations shown above.  You just can't beat a nice, simple program, am I right?
So today I'm going to show you how you can make up your own:

(You can click here if you are interested in my full spring cleaning list)

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Disclosure - This post may contain affiliate links.  If a purchase is made through an affiliate link then (at no additional cost to you) I will receive a commision.  You can read more about affiliate links here.

After opening a new Word Document, I clicked 'insert' then 'picture' to choose an image from my files to use.  Run your cursor over the dots at the edge of the image to click and drag for adjustment of size.

Where did I get the picture?  A Google search of 'Free Super Mario Image' turned up quite a selection for me, but Pinterest works as well.

With my image in place I dressed it up a bit by adding a border in black.  Just click 'format' then 'picture border' to adjust the weight and color.  I like to use a heavy weight, which creates a thicker line.

Once my photo was to my liking, I then added a shape to serve as the background for my text.  Click 'insert' then 'shape' and choose the shape of your liking.  I went with a plaque design.

I adjusted the settings for my shape as well.  You do this by highlighting the shape and clicking 'format' then 'shape border' to adjust your shape (just like you did for your picture).

I left my shape with a white center, but you can alter the color by clicking 'format' then 'shape fill' and selecting a new shade.

If you want to move the shape around, just click and drag.  You can also adjust the size by clicking, then dragging the nodes (little square dots) at the sides.

 With the shape in place and styled as you like, it's now time to add a text box.  Just click 'insert' then  'text box' then 'draw text box'.  Use your cursor to drag the box into the shape that you want. by clicking on the nodes or move the entire shape by clicking and dragging from the center.  Don't worry about the unsightly outline yet, you can remove that in a bit.  just concentrate on your text right now.

Type out your text and select the font(s), font size and text color(s) that you want.  Once you are happy with your text, highlight the text box and go to 'format' then 'shape outline' to remove the text box outline.  If you chose for your background shape to be another color, then your text box now appears white on top of the shape.  This can be adjusted by clicking the text box, selecting 'format' then 'shape fill' and selecting 'no fill'.  Your text box should now be transparent.

Note:  My invitations don't actually have the weird rectangles over the text, those are just for privacy concerns- but you get the idea 😀

And there you go, a cute and easy party invitation that you can print out or share electronically!

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I hope you enjoyed this how-to post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Studio 27 by Jennifer Adams 2020

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This post was added to the following weekly link parties:

Inspire Me Tuesday
Tuesdays at Our Home
All About Home
Thursday Favorite Things
Home and Garden Thursday