Good morning! The Young Explorer Birthday Party that I styled for Pottery Barn Kids is now published!
I’ll be posting all about it next week, but in the meantime, hop over and check out all of the photos, printables, recipes + videos!

Pottery Barn Kids Young Explorer Party

Well, the day has finally arrived. The much anticipated first book by sweets stylist, Amy Atlas is available for preorder. You all already know how much I love and respect Amy and her incredible, beautiful work. I have admired her from day one of starting my blog, had the pleasure of meeting her in NYC at Martha Stewart event and had the incredible opportunity to design tags for her fabulous Ice Cream Party feature in InStyle magazine. She is just as sweet as her designs!

So, what are you waiting for? Go pre-order your copy today and be the first to get your hands on a book sure to be filled with more eye candy than you can begin to imagine! I just did!

Order it HERE!

By the way, her book is currently the #22 Bestseller on Amazon and it just launched yesterday!

Congratulations, Amy….so well deserved!

Hi there, it’s Carrie from Half Baked.  I’m excited to kick off the New Year with a bright and refreshing dessert that won’t weigh you down with pounds of guilt.  This time of year, everyone is feeling a little remorseful about indulging over the holidays and resolving to eat healthier.  But that doesn’t mean you have to ditch the cake {gasp} and  serve up carrot sticks at your January parties.  Being a January baby myself, I have a go-to cake that often appears for my birthday.  Angel Food Cake!  So today we’re taking this naturally low-fat cake to the next level, adding a creamy lemon yogurt and light sprinkle of lemon sugar.  Deceivingly decadent and oh-so-delicious…. I hope you enjoy my {Angelic} Lemon Yogurt Mini Parfaits!

It’s sweet.  It’s tart.  It’s a small indulgence that won’t leave you feeling guilty.  Granted, it’s still cake.  {I’m not claiming it’s health food!}  But as far as desserts go, it’s a lighter option that will still satisfy your sweet tooth.  Plus, including mini portions on your dessert table gives your guests the opportunity to ‘be good’.

{Angelic} Lemon Yogurt Mini Parfaits
Angel Food Cake (store bought, baked from a mix, or made from scratch)
Fat Free Cool Whip
Lemon Yogurt (recipe below)
Lemon Sugar (recipe below)

Lemon Yogurt
1 quart plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Line a strainer with paper towels, coffee filters or cheesecloth.  Place over a bowl and add yogurt.  Allow to drain for several hours or overnight, in the refrigerator.  Yogurt will become nice and thick.  Discard excess liquid from bowl.  Scrape thickened yogurt into empty bowl and add lemon juice, honey and zest.  Stir until well combined.

Lemon Sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Stir zest into sugar and break up any clumps.  The oils from the lemon zest will perfume and flavor the sugar.  {This is also delicious sprinkled over fresh berries.}

To Assemble

1. Cut angel food cake into slices, approximately one inch thick.  Using a cookie cutter the same size as your dessert glass (or one of the actual glasses and a knife), cut out circles of cake.  Set aside for layering.
2. Put the lemon yogurt in a large plastic bag.  Seal, snip off the corner and squeeze a small layer into your glass.
3. Repeat step 2, but with FF Cool Whip.
4. Add a circle of angel food cake.
5. Top with another layer of FF Cool Whip, then lemon yogurt.
6. Finish with a sprinkle with lemon sugar and enjoy!

TIPS:

• When assembling, layer up one glass and then taste it.   Adjust the amount of each layer according to your taste – more or less on the lemon!  Then assemble the remaining parfaits.
• Enjoy these soon after assembling to avoid the angel food cake from becoming soggy.  If you need to prepare them in advance, hold off on the top layer of yogurt until the last minute.
• Cutting cake rounds leaves behind scraps of cake.  If you’re trying to be more frugal this year, make trifles instead.  Just cut the cake into cubes and layer with yogurt and whipped cream.   This will utilize all of your cake, making it stretch further.

Whether you create mini dessert parfaits or serve a traditional slice of cake drizzled with yogurt and sprinkled with lemon sugar, I hope you try this sweet and tangy combination.    Enjoy!

Here is a little peek of the second project we worked on for Pottery Barn Kids! If you are planning a birthday party anytime soon, you may want to wait to see this Young Explorer collection! The full feature with a party plan, recipes, craft tutorials and printables will be published later this week on potterybarnkids.com. It is perfect for both boys and girls and the neutral color scheme is so easy to work with. I LOVE how this party turned out and just wait until you see our little models (including Kate) in the photos. It was such an amazing experience to see it come to life!

Stay tuned for the full feature!

{sources}
styling/printable designs :: the tomkat studio
photography :: pottery barn kids
cake stand :: williams sonoma
cake/recipe :: decadent delights
zebra cupcake topper :: two sugar babies

We are so excited to be partnering with HP to tell you about a fabulous creative contest they are hosting right now. Plus, one of our lucky TomKat readers will win a HP Envy printer next week! Perfect for printing all of our printable designs at home! First, let’s chat about the contest. Here’s how it works. “LIKE” HP on Facebook and you’ll be able to enter your HP Photo Creations project for a chance to win a family vacation package worth up to $6,000! I could use a vacation, couldn’t you?

A little bit about HP Photo Creations:

HP Photo Creations software, powered by RocketLife, is the fast, easy way for people to make amazing projects with their photos. The system combines next-­‐generation consumer photo software with a global production network to produce high-­‐quality, personalized products that look like nothing else.  

I am working with the software right now to create a photo book filled with photos of the parties and photo shoots I have styled recently. I always thought it would be nice to have the photos printed in a nice, professional book to show people what I do if I attend events or conferences. I will share it with you once it done!

HOW TO ENTER HP’S PROJECT GETAWAY CONTEST:

“LIKE” HP ON FACEBOOK
DOWNLOAD HP PHOTO CREATIONS SOFTWARE
CREATE A PRODUCT
(we know our readers can get creative with this! no purchase neccessary, you can do a print at home project or submit a screen shot of your project)
TAKE A PHOTO WITH THE PRODUCT

SUBMIT THE PHOTO HERE

CONTEST END ON JANUARY 31, 2012. VISIT HP’S FACEBOOK PAGE FOR FULL DETAILS AND RULES. THIS IS A SPONSORED POST. THE TOMKAT STUDIO MAY HAVE RECEIVED PAYMENT, TRADE AND/OR PRODUCTS IN EXCHANGE FOR PROMOTING.

KEEP AN EYE OUT NEXT WEEK FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN THIS HP ENVY ALL-IN-ONE printer!

LOOK at what I got for Christmas…..

Yep…a personalized SIGNED copy of Martha Stewart’s new Entertaining book!

Seriously, I nearly burst out in tears at our fave lunch spot when they gave this to me.

Could they be any more thoughtful?

{in case you didn’t know…Martha is my idol!}

Thank you, Toni + Molly….so much!

#1 :: Vintage Train Party Collection

#2 :: Nautical Crab Party Collection

#3 :: Vintage Surf Party Collection

#4 :: Candy Circus Party Collection

#5 :: Firetruck Party Collection

Are you planning a party for a BOY this year?

We would love to hear your theme ideas!

#1 :: Lollipop Party Collection

#2 :: Fairy Garden Birthday Party Collection

#3 :: Alice in Wonderland Inspired Party Collection

#4 :: Glamour Girl in Paris Party Collection

 #5 :: Cotton Candy Birthday Party Collection

So there you have it! 5 pretty themes for sweet little girls! 

Tell me, which one is your favorite?

A big thank you to my incredible photographers, Laura Winslow and Vicki Tamburrelli for an amazing year filled with fabulous parties and photo shoots! Looking forward to more fun in 2012!

Just a beautiful cupcake photo to start your week off sweet! Have a great one!

photo :: zitaaa on flickr

To celebrate, we’re hosting a FOUR HOUR FLASH SALE today…

1/13/12 from 9:00am – 1:00pm {MST}

40% off ALL Printable Party Designs

Use code :: FLASH40

CLICK HERE TO SHOP!

*Offer only valid on printable pdf files, not valid on party crafting tools or shipped party supplies.  

photo courtesy of laura winslow photography