{Party} Ladybug Picnic 3rd Birthday Party & a Cupcake Recipe

I can't believe Abbie is already 3!

Even before her Minnie Mouse Birthday last year...

I knew I would do a Ladybug party.

On Abbie's actual birthday,

Matt and I were out of town.

So we celebrated it on March 18th...

Which also happened to be my FIL's birthday.

He was a good sport about having to share a pink ladybug party with Abbie:)

The colors for the party were 

Fuchsia Pink, 

Pale Pink, 

Lime Green, 

Brown Chipboard,

Robin's Egg Blue, 

and Pale Blue

I wanted the party to have a picnic feel to it, and I also wanted everything to be mini.

Mini Menu

BBQ Sandwiches

Mason Jar Baked Beans

Mason Jar Potato Salad

Corn Muffins

Corn on the Cobb on skewers

Ladybug Oreo Truffle Cupcake Toppers

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Watermelon Slice Cookies

Shoestring Potato Chips

Veggies and Dip

Raspberry Lemonade

When a craft store was going out of business last Spring,

I bought a bunch of the Ladybug Clothespins for $.20/piece.

I lightly brushed them with pink paint so they tied in with the party colors...

They worked as excellent food markers.

One of my favorite ideas from the party were grass centerpiece food displays.

There were two white picket fence grass plots from Hobby Lobby on sale for $7.99/piece.

I cut a circle out of the middle, the diameter of the base of my glass cake stands.

I saved the grass pieces to by used or removed in the future.

I stacked the cake stands high with BBQ pulled pork sandwiches...

Topped with mini pennant banners.

Using baking twine and wooden taster's spoons,

I decorated the mason jars for a simple rustic feel.

The little jars were adorable with the potato salad and baked beans nestled inside:)

Using a white cake mix I made 

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

1 box White Cake Mix, made as directed

Zest of 5 Lemons

1 1/4 Blueberries

Gently fold the zest and blueberries into the prepared cake batter.

Fill each cupcake liner 2/3's full.

Bake as directed.

The heat of the oven will infuse the cupcakes with the fresh lemon taste and smell.

Light Cream Cheese Frosting

2 oz Cream Cheese, softened

1 stick Butter, softened

2 lbs. Powdered Sugar

1 T. Vanilla Extract

Milk to desired consistency

Leaf Green Gel Paste Color

Rainbow Disco Dust, optional

Beat the cream cheese and butter together. 

Slowly add powdered sugar 

Add Vanilla and 2 tablespoons of milk.

Add more milk if necessary.

Dip the tip of a clean butter knife about 1/2 inch into the leaf green gel paste.

Wipe it off into the frosting bowl and mix to incorporate the color.

It will be a sage green/ guacamole color:)

Dust with disco dust, then add the Ladybug Truffles.

There are no detailed pictures of the watermelon slice sugar cookies I made...

Because once the blessing was said, 

Asher dug in with vigor:)

There are glimpses of what they look like in the pictures above.

When I told everyone at the party that there were only three cookies left...

Asher heard me, and grabbed them while trying to be sneaky, and licked and ate them.

We were all laughing to hard to be angry:)

Even with all the planning and help from family... I still ran out of time.

It came together, and everyone had a blast.

The anticipation built for Asher and Abbie both.

This was such a fun party to plan.

Linking to~ Happily Mother After, Tip Junkie, Chef in Training, The BruCrew, Topsy Turvy, Alderberry Hill, The Gunny Sack, My Favorite Finds, 
Vintage Wanna Bee, A Pinch of Joy, Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom, Southern Lovely, Sugar and Dots, Lil Luna, Ginger Snap Crafts, Uncommon, Someday Crafts, 52 Mantels, The Taylor House, Two Yellow Birds Decor