Cake + Ice Cream.

It’s one of those pairings that just goes together… kind of like you and a favorite someone on Valentine’s Day. ;) So, when Cold Stone Creamery recently asked us to help spread the word about their new Valentine’s Day ice cream cake, which just happens to be shaped like a heart and aptly named “They Call It Truffle Love”, the following things came to mind:

1. ice cream cake + fudge ganache + giveaway = good stuff!
2. “i heart cake and ice cream” would make for an awfully cute Valentine’s Day party theme!
3. If I designed printables for that theme, they could double as a Valentine’s day gift for readers
4. My kids are missing their classroom V-Day parties this week, so we really should do a little something at home
5. I am very good at finding excuses to work on things that sound yummy ;)

So, it was all settled! We had a fun & simple little family Valentine’s Day celebration at home yesterday with the kiddos, complete with fudge-truffle ice cream cake and one seriously chocolate-covered 2 year old (see below).

Gift Card Giveaway + Free Printables

Please Note: The Coldstone Creamery giveaway portion of this post was from 2014 and is now closed! I’m also giving away the “i heart cake & ice cream” themed Valentine printables to ALL of our readers. Hope you like them!

Scroll down to download the FREE PRINTABLES, and to check out a few party details on how to recreate this {simple} celebration at your own home.

PARTY DETAILS…

This was a little family celebration, so I wanted to keep it simple, sweet, and totally doable. Here are the highlights:

Ice Cream Cake Centerpiece

Since it had both cake and ice cream in one shot, the only dessert necessary was the Cold Stone Creamery fudge truffle ice cream cake, and it also doubled as the table centerpiece. I love it when things are efficient! ;)

For a cute cake display, I lined the edge of one of our basic white cake stands with pink tissue fringe, using glue dots to adhere. I also designed a printable paper cake topper (also called “accent silhouette” below). I cut 2 of the toppers out by hand so the front/back designs would be different, attached them to cute straws using glue dots, and stuck the straws into the cake. Since the cake is frozen, you will need to make the holes with something stronger first, before inserting the straws. We used an ice pick.

Ice Cream Shaped Place Settings:

Another efficient thing? Reusing past ideas. These “ice cream” place settings were first used in the Ice Cream Shoppe Birthday Party I designed a while back. Napkins folded into a “cone” + scalloped plates for the “ice cream scoop”. I also embellished some Sucre Shop wooden spoons (that were leftover from a past event) with Queen & Co. washi tape to make them match this party’s palette.

Details & Accent Decor:

• Themed “Milk bottles” made from recycled Starbucks Frappuccino bottles + printable party circles
• Striped and polka dotted straws embellished with printable party flags
• Homemade table “confetti” made from heart and circle craft punches
• Chairs embellished with tissue fringe + paper hearts  & printable silhouettes
• XO banner strung on baker’s twine, accented with more party circles

Download The Free Prinstables:

• Party Circles (4 designs)
• Party Flags (2 designs)
• XO Banner (4 different panel designs)
• Accent Silhouettes (3 designs, used for cake topper & chair backs)