birthday bash teaser

i really shouldn't be posting this because i'm working on the bean's birthday party invitations and want them to be a surprise, but i can't help it.

we had a quickie photo shoot this weekend, and here's one of the shots:

do you love it??

and so it begins.

serious party nazi mode here.  with the toy story theme in mind, i've been scouring the interwebz for ideas on how to make it a super cute party on a budget.  it's also my goal to incorporate the theme as much as i can without commercializing it too much - like, no preprinted paper plates and napkins and goody bags and stuff like that.  i want it to look really cool, but not cheesy, you know?

and one of the things i'm currently obsessed with is bakerella's toy story cake pops.  i've done her cake balls/cupcake pops before and am pretty familiar with the basic process - but never really done the intricate, detailed decorating before.  observe:

seriously, how cute are those??  and with the cake and candy supply store now just around the corner, it's super easy to gather the supplies and give it a go. 

of course, being a dork to the nth degree. i woke up in the middle of the night and realized that it would be a great idea to take home a leftover cupcake or two after a shift at dot's, smush it up and make a few cake balls out of it, and do a test run to see how hard it would be to make these mini potato heads. 

stay tuned.  you know i'll have a report within the next couple of days.  heh.