Super Why Party

As you know, I did very little advanced prep for this party.  It was a comedy of errors last week; every time I tried to do something, something happened.  So, baking the cake on Tuesday so I could dirty ice it Wednesday and decorate it Thursday or Friday?  We had no eggs.

Then we had no buttermilk.

Then I forgot to let the butter soften and didn't want to start baking a cake at 9 p.m.  5 a.m. comes early!

And then, yes, I ended up making the entire cake Friday.   I was up 'til 1, which really wasn't bad considering that I also had to make banners, Super Why masks, pretzels, cookies, and about a zillion other things.  Poor WHM, I was NOT on the ball for his party.  There was so much I wanted to do that I didn't do, and so much (his big Super Why welcome sign -- you'll see it in the photos below) that I wanted to do differently and better that just didn't happen, for lots of stupid reasons, but not the least of which wasbeing spread too thin and being a vicious combination of exhausted and lazy the past two weeks. 

Not to worry; despite my insane stress levels Saturday morning, things came together pretty well (even if not at all the way I had envisioned).

The best part of all, though, was how excited WHM was.  I mean, the kid was up with me at 6:30 Saturday morning, sitting on the couch while I did party stuff and everyone else slept.  He was just plain giddy that it was his party day.  It made everything worth it.  It was his own personal Christmas morning, and it was the first year I think he really got it.  It was so much fun to see him, and especially when it was just the two of us.

Here are some photos -- I've put descriptions in the captions.  And in the meantime, if you have wisdom about fondant technique, please share.  I'm desperate.  Both cakes this past month have been awful compared to what I was able to do last year, and I can't for the life of me figure out what I've done differently -- but clearly, I am doing something wrong.

--Jen

Before the party, watching some Super Why on tv to keep busy.

Super Why coloring pages and Super Why masks.  I made six masks and ran about 100 copies of various Super Why coloring pages. 

Super Birthday Boy!  (His teeth are NOT this yellow.  Camera/lighting issues again.)

Okay, I am totally proud of those "Why Writers."  They were tricky and they worked!

That's right.  I iced us some cookies.  YUM!  They are a pinterest recipe that doesn't require refrigeration before rolling, and I've never done dipped icing before.  I'd say the cookies are okay; a bit dry, but the look of the iced cookies was, I hope, pretty cool.

Just a little table art.  Also, I am in love with the fabric I used for a table cloth.  It was the perfect color and pattern!

All around the table, I put Super Why rings.  They were little wearable confetti, and the kids LOVED them!

Centerpiece now ... cake topper later!  (There is a funny story about this. I'll put it in the p.s.)

See those streamers?  I hand cut all the Super Why medallions to tape to them.  The effect was pretty cool!

Little snack cups of m&ms

Boys ...

... wrestle!

Before. I should say that there are only 4 kids in WHM's class, including him, and one girl couldn't come.  So there were the three classmates, CAM, and Bob's granddaughter.  It was a perfect size for the kids -- and the grown-ups.  See the black cube in the back right?  We also did frame decorating like we did at CAM's party... 

Coloring to start the day.

Popcorn and Super Why watching.

It was so nice to not have to empty the living room of all furniture for this party!  And it worked out well for "movie time."

The cake!  The fondant REALLY didn't like me, and it was over 90 degrees out so the buttercream was melting.  I'm not happy with this cake. If you don't know anything about Super Why, the Super Readers fly into Storybook Village, where the buildings are in the form of books.  I tried to replicate that and to help myself out because I was failing so epically, I labeled the bottom "STORYBOOK VILLAGE."  There are some amazing Super Why cakes on Pinterest.  This will never be one of them.  All I did all weekend was lament to Mick that I REALLY need to go to a cake decorating class.  Or twelve.

See all the folds and puckers?!

I kinda like the books.  I drew them with food markers and then made the sculpted one.

I also drew that Super Why logo.  It's okay.  Not the best ever.

Birthday boy wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate middle.  The cake may have looked ugly, but it was pretty tasty, I have to admit. 

Check out CAM's plate:  pretzels, cake, m&ms ... and a Why Writer!  SUGAR HIGH!

Carnage!  Oh yes, after cake we made ice cream sundaes. 

I painted this.  It was supposed to have all four characters, but that didn't happen because I ran out of time (and my transfer method wasn't working well).  Also the letters are too small.  But it's okay.  And WHM loved it.  I may work on it more once school gets out and put it in the kids' playroom.

Running around outside!

Sucking on ice. 

I love this picture. 

Showing off one of his gifts, a Rescue Bot.

Our Birthday wreath.  This has been a big hit this year!

The "Super Why" banner that I literally finished about 20 minutes before the party started.

a detail shot

For CAM's party, this banner was purple and white.  I love paint!

Since it was a Super Why party with Super Readers, each kid also got a book to read with a sheet of Super Why stickers.  I'm not a big fan of "junk" party favors or candy.  So they took home some rings, their frames, their coloring, a book, and stickers.  I hope the parents appreciated that I at least tried to contain the sugar binging to the party hours! 

p.s. -- The story about the centerpiece.  Remember I told you how hard it was to find anything Super Why?  Last weekend by dumb sheer luck, my mother-in-law took the kids to the treasure hunt store and WHM found this.  I'd not mentioned a word to anyone how hard I was looking for this stuff.  She picked it up for less than $10!  It's practically brand-new ... and made the absolute perfect topper, since I couldn't find anything on my own and am NOT ready for gum paste sculpting!  There was an angel on our shoulders with this, and I love it.

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