Summer Party Ideas That Celebrate Our Seas

BEACH BEAR CUPCAKES

These bears are the life of the party. We were so tickled at how they turned out. And, bonus, the graham cracker sand tastes awesome with the vanilla cupcakes!

Supplies:

• Your favorite cupcake and frosting recipe
• Cupcake liners and tray
• Graham crackers
• Cocktail umbrellas
• Surf Sweets Gummy Bears
• Surf Sweets Organic Fruity Rings
• All-natural blue food coloring
• Cocktail umbrellas

1. Bake your cupcakes and let them cool completely before icing.
2. While they’re cooling prep your frosting to the shade of blue that makes you happy.
3. And, while you’re at it, grind up graham crackers in a food processor. We made extra to keep on hand for ice cream later and are storing it in a mason jar. You could also use brown sugar too, but be conservative with that sprinkling!
4. Frost the cupcakes to make waves. We used the back side of a large ribbon tip to make our waves. If you don’t have a piping set, don’t worry! Frost with a spatula and it’ll look great.
5. For individual beach scenes, sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over half a cupcake and insert a cocktail umbrella. Then, arrange gummy bears and fruit rings to your liking.
6. For a full beach scene, arrange your cupcakes together first so you can assess how much beach/ocean you want and get decorating! This would also work great with a single sheet cake.

Here’s our favorite (and so super easy) cupcake and frosting recipes. If you are looking for a gluten free, dairy free option, we’ve used this recipe to great success.

Now that you’ve got the treats covered, what about a great water-y craft?

CORK BOATS

Put those summer whites and rosés to work! We first saw these cork boats last summer and have been eager to make and share them. They really float and make beach time or bath time all the more fun. We’ve got three ways to customize them, which you can do ahead of time or as a party activity. Even better? They use some of the same materials as our beach bears so you can save on supplies!

Supplies:

• 3 corks per boat
• Rubber bands
• Foam sheets
• Cocktail umbrellas
• Washi tape
• Scissors
• Marker
• Surf Sweets Gummy Bears

1. Place three corks side-by-side and wrap two rubber bands around end-to-end. You want the rubber bands to be taut.
2. Remove the umbrella from the cocktail umbrella. Really! It’s just the right size and the topper means no pricked fingers. If you don’t have cocktail umbrellas, a craft stick or skewer will work too.
3. Trace a sail shape on a foam sheet, a bit narrower on top than on bottom. Foam is easy to cut so once you get the shape you want you can cut a few sheets at once. You can get a wide range of colors from the craft store. A large sheet is about a dollar will give you a bunch of boats or get a range of colors and save the foam for your next DIY adventure.
4. Pierce the top of the sail and run the umbrella through it, then out the other side at the bottom. Leave some space at the top and bottom so the sail doesn’t shred.
5. Either insert the tip of the umbrella stand in between two of the corks or drive it into the cork.
6. Customize your boats! We added a washi-tape flag to one, a toe line made of baker’s twine and a foam initial. Or do all three!
7. Set sail in a backyard inflatable pool or the bathtub. Maybe add some Gummy Bear Captains and first mates?

How will you celebrate World Oceans Day or beach time in general this year? Whenever or wherever you enjoy Surf Sweets, whether in your summer crafts and a lazy summer day, share it with us by tagging us @surfsweets or using #SurfSweets.