Our Favorite Summer Crafts: Part 1

Hey there Make A Birthday Wish readers 🙂 We hope you had a great week and are as excited as we are for summer! Today we wanted to share some of our favorite summertime crafts. These are perfect for beating boredom once school is out and make great decorations for summer parties & BBQ’s and even great gifts! Here is our first installment of summer craft ideas… be sure to check back next week for even more!

Paper Umbrella Wreath – How perfect would this wreath by Camilla Fabbri from Family Chic be for a luau themed birthday party or BBQ? It’s super easy to make and the results are gorgeous!

Paper Umbrella Wreath – Image & Tutorial by Camilla Fabbri of Family Chic

DIY Bohemian Dream Catcher – How romantic and adorable is this dream catcher? The Little Sage has a great tutorial for creating your own bohemian inspiration. These would be a great party craft or a beautiful gift. 

Image from Ruby Wing, Tutorial from The Little Sage.

DIY Kite – We aren’t sure if anything says summertime fun the way a kite does. And don’t bother buying one when you can make your own! This tutorial from Sweet Jack will have you catching the wind in no time flat.

Image & tutorial from Sweet Jack

What kind of crafts do you usually during the warmer months?

DIY Cake Batter Ice Cream

Hi there everybody! Are you ready for Memorial Day Weekend? We are! And if you are looking for something to make for your BBQ this weekend why not try homemade cake batter ice cream? We’ve got 3 different recipes to choose from, including one for Vegans! Who doesn’t love ice cream on a hot day? And who doesn’t love cake batter 🙂

Funfetti Cake Batter Ice Cream – This recipe from Sweet 2 Eat Baking is both beautiful and delicious! We love the pink and cheery color of this ice cream, and we don’t think the nopariels sprinkles are optional… go big or go home!

Funfetti Cake Batter Ice Cream – Image & recipe from Sweet 2 Eat Baking

Vegan Funfetti Cake Batter Ice Cream – Just because you are going without dairy or animal products, doesn’t mean you can’t have ice cream, and birthday cake ice cream at that. This delicious and simple recipe comes from One Year of Hippiness.

Vegan Funfetti Cake Batter Ice Cream – Image & recipe from One Year of Hippiness.

Birthday Cake Remix Ice Cream  – If you love this ice cream from Cold Stone, you will love this copycat recipe from Life, Love, and Sugar! It’s bursting with birthday cake flavor (it has a box of funfetti cake mix in it for goodness sakes) and doesn’t require an ice cream maker! 

Birthday Cake Remix Ice Cream – Image & recipe from Life, Love, and Sugar.

So which is your favorite take on cake batter ice cream? Have you ever made ice cream at home?

Rainbow Jello Squares

 

This adorable recipe comes from my boyfriend’s mother, and I made it for his college graduation party this past weekend. It was one of the few requests he had for the party menu, (as the colorful squares brought back fond memories of family gatherings as a child :)).  These pretty and yummy little squares would be great for a summer birthday bash or a BBQ! It’s pretty simple, just takes a little patience to let the jello set!

Ingredients:

• 2 envelopes of Knox gelatin
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1- 12oz. can evaporated milk
• 4 flavors Jello – small boxes (such as: lemon,orange,lime and strawberry)
• 1 cup of boiling water for each of the boxes of Jello – 4 cup total

Directions:

1. Dissolve together Knox gelatin and 1 cup of boiling water. Mix together the cold water,sugar and milk. Add dissolved gelatin. Set the mixture aside.
2. To each box of Jello add 1 c. hot water. Set aside.
3. Construct the layers! Use a large rectangular pan for thinner layers, or a smaller pan for thicker layers.
4. Pour 1 flavored Jello into pan for first layer. Gel in your fridge then add 1 c. of milk mixture for second layer. Allow the milk mixture to gel, then another flavored layer.
5. Continue alternating, ending with flavored Jello. Each layer is about 1 c. of liquid.
6. When completely gelled, cut into cubes.

Note: Since the jello is concentrated it will tend to set at room temperature if you let them sit out for a long time.

What recipes remind you of family gatherings from childhood?