Chi-O Cookies 2011 Part III: DIY Cupcake Stands

Literally made these the day of Chi-O Cookies.  Since we were short on time and tight on budget, my goal was to create centerpieces that doubled as dessert stands.  Presenting Candy Land Cupcake Stands made straight from the game board!  This project was super easy and inexpensive.  The board games are from thrift stores, wine glasses from the dollar tree, and one dollar movie-sized candy boxes from Target.

Candy Lands as far as the eye can see...

Attach wine glasses to board with a really strong glue.

Fill glasses with colorful candy of choice.

Cut another game board in half, finish off edges with black paint, and glue to wine glass rims.  Finish off with the little gingerbread playing pieces!  See Part II for more decor ideas.

Chi-O Cookies 2011 Part II: The Decor

Grande iced latte in hand and absolutely no sleep the night before, my amazing Philanthropy Committee and I turned our whole sorority house into a Candyland of desserts.  It was a true all-you-can-eat dessert buffet.  From homemade apple pies to oreo cake pops, vegan peanut butter fudge and almond rocha, my XΩ sisters really outdid themselves!  For DIY cupcake stand instructions, see Part III.   

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Started with a quick sketch...

...and had it turned into this AMAZING logo!  These were our shirts :)
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Bunting is all the rage these days, check out this one at The Pretty Blog.
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The results of the Candy Land cupcake centerpieces made from a total of 8 games!
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Placecards for the desserts, especially for the gluten-free, vegan, allergy-specific etc, all made from elements of the board game.
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Giant lollipops with a sprinkle of vintage Candy Land cards.

Chi-O Cookies 2011 Part I: The Dessert

Chi-O Cookies 2011 was a total success!  After sifting through hundreds of blogs for the past few...months...bookmarking photos and recipes for dark chocolate this and vanilla bean that, I had to come to terms with the fact that I couldn't turn our sorority house into Candyland overnight AND bake every single thing that called for flour.  It came down to whatever I could do in the 12 hours before the event.  Naturally, we pulled an all-nighter-baking-bonanza, complete with a 4am emergency frosting run to Safeway.  Here are the pictures of the cupcakes that I made (9 dozen total...yeahhh don't talk to me about it). See Part II for the decor.

Vanilla cupcakes with a caramel center, topped with brown sugar caramel frosting and sprinkled with coconut.

Chocolate Banana cupcakes  dipped in chocolate ganache and topped with a chocolate covered banana.

Dark chocolate cupcake with a chocolate ganache center, topped with vanilla frosting with caramel drizzle.SO. DELICIOUS.

And blue + green cupcakes for Dr. Seuss's birthday! The plastic cupcake containers were perfect for transporting them all to the Chi-O House, I picked some up from the grocery store for a dollar a piece.

You're invited to Chi-O Cookies 2011!

Here are the finished invites that we sent off to the Sacramento alumnae chapter.  This year's theme: Candyland!  I've started bookmarking decor pages, and already have a million ideas in mind.

coho + crafts

No Friday class = relaaaaax and craft.  Finishing up invites for our alumnae chapter for Chi-O Cookies, our annual winter philanthropy event.  I definitely won't stop hearing about the fact that I busted out a paper cutter and adhesive at our booth at the Coho, the on-campus coffeehouse.  Pics of the finished invites will be up soon!

Chi-O Cookies Part 2, the Decorations

Is it too late to declare a major in Party Planning, with a minor in Centerpiece Crafting?  Because that is exactly what I want to do.  I'm super passionate about good design and making everything look aesthetically pleasing.  Color-coordinated papers, ribbons, flowers, buttons--you name it, I love it, and I'll create something with it.

My living room was an explosion of pink for the past month as I created placecards, cake stands, candy holders, and banners for Chi-O Cookies (see Part 1).  With a little bit of mod podge and a hot glue gun, the room was transformed into a colorful candyland of desserts. A big thank you to all my sorority sisters--you girls were such a tremendous help!  Shout-out to my mom, The TomKat Studio, Hostess with the Mostess, and Cupcakes Take The Cake for their wonderful inspiration!

 The hot pink, robin's egg, and chocolate brown color scheme just happens to be my favorite colors, what a coincidence :)

 

Pinwheel idea courtesy of the Paper Source blog

 

I was thrilled when I found this 3-tiered cupcake stand at the thrift store downtown for $4!  Not that I needed another one, but it was so pretty and vintage and I just couldn't leave without buying it.

 

Inspiration for the Chi-O Cookies banner from Design*Sponge

 

  

After reading a post about making your own cake stands (also from Design*Sponge) I knew I had to try it!

  

 

LOVE the idea of painting and mod podging terra cotta pots and saucers! (idea from Once Wed)

Chi-O Cookies Part 1, the Dessert

I am so excited to post these photos from my sorority’s annual winter fundraiser!   I have so many pictures that I'll have to do this in two parts: dessert and decorations.  Chi-O Cookies is an all-you-can-eat dessert buffet and all proceeds from ticket sales and donations go to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.  The event was such a success, and the best part of it was that we got to take the leftovers home...for our roommates of course!

After months of looking at all the eye-candy on the dozens of cupcake blogs that I’ve discovered, I finally got the chance to bake and decorate pretty cupcakes for the enjoyment of the Davis community :)

 

Strawberry Blonde Cupcakes.  I tasted the batter, and it was...interesting.  My friends liked the cupcakes though, so it's all good!  I'm not partial to strawberry cupcakes, that's probably why.  I just like the pretty pink color!

Minty Oreo Cupcakes.  Love the turquoise color.  It's hard to tell, but the cupcake wrapper has white polka dots!

Perfectly Pink Chocolate Cupcakes with Nestle Crunch heart

Need to transport your mini cupcakes? An egg carton works perfectly!  Just make sure the frosting isn't piped too high!

  

Safeway was kind enough to give me these cupcake cases for free!!

   

Lollipop Cupcakes!! These make me so happy!  Idea from Hostess with the Mostess, love this blog!