Shirley's party advice thread part 2

[stealthsquiggle]

...can I take the liberty of starting another thread, since the other one filled up?

Uploads? Uploaded.

Loving the logo on apron etc. Cake is looking very promising. Just revisited your profile and i always mean to say how spooky it is that baby pic of ds and dd looking the same but also now im struck how much your niece looks like your dd!

Yes, I have a picture of my Niece in my lounge and visitors always think it's DD. They're definitely related :) DD is just 7 months older than Niece too which makes the similarities more obvious I think.

Glad you like the logo. I was ridiculously pleased with how they turned out this morning

The cake looks great - just like a deep pan base. And the aprons look b professional, I'm impressed.

Got one question (at the moment, there's plenty more to follow!) re DS's party. Do you think I should suggest guests come in costumes? As the theme is knights/princesses the costumes should be easy, but I don't want to piss off his friends' parents (most of whom I don't know that well, and bear in mind I want them to like me ). Of course if I did suggest costumes then I'd like to make it clear it's entirely optional, but I don't want to turn the invitation into an essay (as I seem to be doing with this post!).

I would say it depends when the party is silver and when you're going to send out the invites.

There's always costumes about if you look for them but it was Book week last week so the shops will be full of cheap ones at the moment and have a better variety. In a few more weeks time, it'll be back to just a few more expensive ones. Either way, it's probably best to make sure people have enough time to mail order outfits too.

Some people will always hate dress up parties because they're grumps but if you give them enough time, it shouldn't be a deal breaker. Personally, I love dress up parties but being as I'm on this thread, I doubt that would surprise anyone

The aprons were really cheap from Baker Ross and the transfer paper was from Amazon. They've cost less than £2 each to make and I doubt they'll last forever but they'll look brilliant at the party and be much nicer than the rip off plastic ones they supply at Pizza Express

I've been looking at the pic of the brilliant cake pizza again. I think the 'peppers' are made out of jelly cherries. Imaging the stalks cut off to make the green peppers and semi circles taken out of the cherries to make the red peppers.....

Maybe?

I think you're right about the cherries. They look like quite large ones though, I thought jelly cherries here were smaller than that?

Our party is 22 April and I was planning to send out invitations last week of march. I was hoping that people wouldn't have to buy costumes as all the girls i know have princess costumes (and like to wear them at every opportunity, some wear them to non dress up parties). My DS and at least some of the others invited will have knight costumes. I wouldn't like people to feel they had to buy something. We will be decorating shields (courtesy of baker Ross) and I'll give them each a foam/inflatable sword for the piñata that they can take home (needless to say, that will be towards the end of the party!).

Maybe I'll put something like "knights, princesses and civilians all welcome" on the invitations. Or do you think that sounds crap? I know 'subjects' is prob a more appropriate term than civilians, but I think it sounds wrong.

If you know most of the invitees already have outfits, I'd go for it. "knight, princesses and civilians" sounds fine to me

I've just been looking for food to take with us to Legoland the weekend after the party for DS's actual birthday and have found these Going to have to make them now :)

Hello all - sorry, this dropped off my "threads I am on" again.

Blathers - will have a proper look at pizza cake tomorrow and see what I can see. I am really truly not here, since as soon as the washing finishes I am going to bed because tomorrow I have to drive a 300 mile round trip into central London again (and get the DC to school with all relevant posessions first). I have been trying to forget this fact all day by baking, so now I will be taking cake with me to work.

No, there is no logic there, so no point looking for it..

Oh - and re civilians - I just always put "fancy dress OPTIONAL" on invitations - which works both ways as sometimes people have / want to make costumes and are worried as to whether you are expecting them to dress up. If you have / can borrow any spare stuff, you could always take it along in case someone comes not dressed up and then decides they want to be.

Pizza cake base looks good, Blathers . I think those peppers are definitely made from jelly cherries - I wonder if you can get giant ones, perhaps? Have you seen these mushrooms or these? more mushrooms

Those are one of my favourite sweets MrsKitty :)

I have a play doh mould for the mushrooms on the cake. I might get some of those to embed in the choc pizza if I get around to it though.

I've had a look for giant cherries but can't find any.

Might have a play with those and just red ready roll and see which looks best

Just saw they sell those jelly pizzas on that site that mrskitty linked to - I don't know if you've bought yours yet? They're £1.97 for 5 I think. That site is amazing.

I used 'A quarter of' for DS's last birthday when he wanted an octonauts theme. I got Pirate and fish-y type stuff and he loved it :) I've already looked to see if they have jelly bacon for the cake.

I've got the jelly pizzas already though. I found a stall on the market that did them and I paid about 30p each.

raw materials for pizza toppings - how about these or these. I had convinced myself that the ones in that picture were number '3's, but the only jelly numbers that I can find are not right.

I am sure fruit winders are the key to pepperoni, though.

I've got some fruit leather from Holland and Barrett which looks a lot like this I think if I cut it out into pepperoni sized circles, it could look quite realistic.

Fruit winders look too thin but might work for the peppers

ooh yes fruit leather looks fab

you could put chilli peppers on - or the slices of tomato from these

I am getting obsessed with this now

It's a nice dark red and has a good mottled texture.

I'm thinking half and half grated yellow ready roll and white chocolate for the cheese...

Possibly halved ferrero rocher for 'meatballs'?

Those jelly chillis are really hot! I bought some for my chilli crazy BIL and even he said so.

DS is a wimp like me and doesn't do spicy. There's one kids that doesn't eat cheese and tomato - I daren't feed him chilli jellies!!

Those jelly hamburgers are tiny in RL. About 1.5cms across. I think the tomatoes from them might look a bit dwarfed.

I'm already obsessed Stealth. Welcome to the craziness

halved ferrero rochers is just too cool to resist, I have to say.

I think more may be less here - a realistic number of toppings is probably best.

Do the sugar paste mushrooms and whatever else you had moulds for work OK? If you want them to look "wet" you could paint them with piping gel

I need to test them out. I think we've got mushrooms, tomato slices and pineapple chunks.

More may very well be less as you say though. I was going to go for DS's favourite toppings - the one's he will most likely choose while we're there - so mushrooms, ham, pepperoni, peppers and cheese.

The meatballs are very cool though so I'm tempted to add them anyway.

That fruit leather looks revolting. Will make excellent pepperoni though