Frozen Birthday

My sweet Clarissa turned five last month and picked Frozen for the theme of her birthday. 

I was surprised when I went out to gather supplies for our little party that "Frozen" stuff is actually really hard to find. Luckily, her only real request was that there would be an Olaf piñata.  I knew I could make that and then mix in other items to fit the theme. 

She was thrilled with her Olaf piñata. I used the same method that I used to make Kate's Minnie Mouse Piñata, HERE. Sorry, I didn't take pictures of the process. 

The head was separate from the body (It does not hold candy).  I attached it with hot glue and then tied it to the body using string and a giant needle. I built up the mouth by layering pieces of cardboard cut into the shape. The nose is made from orange felt, and attached with hot glue. There is a great tutorial for that HERE. The rest of the details were cut from card-stock and attached with craft glue. 

For these kids it was the hit of the night!

I kept the decorations super simple with white pom-poms, a few clearance snowflakes from the party store, and white paper doilies.

Of course, I also whipped up a quick banner for the fireplace in Shilouette Studio. I know I say this all the time, but this program is FREE to download and easy to use. You don't have to own a Shilouette to download and use it.  

I also made her a crown, which she loved but only wore for a few minutes, plus pictures. 

The Cake! I ended up really loving this cake. Unfortunately, I forgot something. Do you see it?

I forgot to add Olaf's buttons! Oh well. Honestly, this little guy was a bit of a nightmare. The basic construction was fine. I followed this tutorial by Pucky Cakes, HERE. This was my first time using modeling chocolate, and all those little details kept melting in my hot hands. Arrrggghhh...It took three hours to make him. 

My favorite part of the cake was the snowflakes. They were made using royal icing and Sugar Gems. I got the sugar gems at Walmart in the baking department. I'm pretty sure I paid less than $2 for the bottle. 

I simply piped the snowflakes onto a cookie sheet that was covered in parchment paper. Then I sprinkled the Sugar Gem on top, while the frosting is still wet. *They need to dry for at least 24 hours* After that, they will slide right off the parchment paper. But be careful, they are very delicate! I would recommend making at least double the number you want. I broke several snowflakes in the process of transferring them to the cake. I printed off a couple sheets of snowflake images to place under my parchment paper as a guide, but actually liked my freehand snowflakes more. 

Here is my royal icing recipe:

3 egg whites

1 pound of powdered sugar

1/2- tsp cream of tartar

Beat until stiff, keep covered as it dries fast.

I used some reserved royal icing to glue the snowflakes onto the cake. 

It was a fun night with family, where Clarissa was cherished and spoiled. I'm glad we could make her feel special for at least one day this year.

For me, the intense game of Freeze Dance was the highlight of the party.