The so-called "Baby" referenced in the title of this here bloggy blog will be turning six years old later this week. Rather than think about how the hell THAT happened so fast, I've focused my brain cells on preparing for her party.
25 kids. In my house. This Saturday.
The truly crazy part of that situation is that I've done this before. On purpose. And, yet, I'm doing it again.
But! But! I did learn one thing from my previous years of insanity. I have learned that I can't possibly start too early preparing for the festivities. I'm not about to put together the fruit tray just yet, but I did find a project I could start on this far out.
Snowman Pops
These little guys and gals are going into plastic bags and being sent home with the party attendees in place of a treat bag. I've decided treat bags are stupid and I'm not playing that game anymore, but I can't seem to quit them cold turkey, so Snowman Pops are my compromise. Or something.
Anyway, there isn't anything complicated about these, but Alexis is really happy with the results. Considering they were her idea, SHE BETTER BE HAPPY. Ahem.
I started with a few key supplies.
Double Stuff Oreos (And, yes, they MUST be Double Stuff. Regular ones are too thin.)
White Candy Melts (Wilton is the only brand I will use.)
Sprinkles
Lollipop sticks
I had the round multi-colored sprinkles on hand already from another project. I just dug through the jar and pulled out all of the dark purples, which are close enough to black to be used for the coal mouth and eyes. The other sprinkles I found at Michael's. The key is that the multi-pack included some orange triangle sprinkles which are perfect for a nose. If I hadn't found them, I would have wound up cutting up Starburst. That would have been a travesty.
I started by melting the White Candy Melts according to the instructions on the package. Then I dipped the end of a stick into the melted goo.
And I gently twisted it into an Oreo.
A few of the Oreos broke. Sadly, I had to eat the evidence of breakage.
By the time I finished putting a stick into every single one of the Oreos, the first ones were hardened enough to work with.
So then I covered the Oreos one at a time with the White Candy Melts.
I don't dip, by the way. I use a spoon to pour the melted candy over top because I swear I end up with far fewer breaks and disasters that way.
Once an Oreo was completely covered in white, I turned it slowly over my container of White Candy Melts and let the excess drip off.
Turning slowly also helped to even everything out.
And then I stuck the White Candy Melts-covered Oreos in the freezer for a few minutes so they would harden. I know they would have hardened without going into the freezer, but I'm impatient.
(By the way, floral foam works fantastic for holding any sort of pop while you're working. Just shove the stick in and the Oreo Pop or Cake Pop or Whatever Makes You Happy will stand up just fine.)
Once the soon-to-be Snowman Pops were nice and hard, I used the sprinkles to decorate them. I just dipped each little sprinkle into a tiny bit of White Candy Melts and "glued" them on to the Oreo.
Snowman are simple, fortunately. I like simple things.
I used some heart-shaped sprinkles to make bows for some of the Snowman Pops. Er, SnowWOMAN Pops, that is.
Others got earmuffs which were made using some oval-shaped sprinkles and a tiny bit of icing.
Alexis insisted that one needed a hat. I already had the blue icing made, so who was I to argue?
I think they turned out pretty cute. Not perfect, but certainly good enough for the Justin Bieber crowd who will be eating them.
And WAY better than a bunch of dollar store stuff crammed into a treat bag.
