It's A "Mystery"

If you haven't seen this Nancy Drew birthday party from Piece of Cake, please check it out. I've included some of my favorite ideas which could be incorporated into any Murder Mystery Dinner party or Cocktail party. Don't you just love the fingerprints and footprints?!!! It sets the scene Perfectly!
They also did a popcorn bar! What a cool and different take on the candy bar. The paper cones are the perfect container for kids(and grown ups). Don't be too surprised by all this imagination, though. Afterall, it was done by the same creative minds that bring you the printables at Paper and Cake! Great Job!

Candle Wraps

Wrapping candles to match party decor has become fairly common these days. Here are 2 beautiful ideas from Hobby Lobby (via It's A Jaime Thing) that I just had to share. With all the great color combinations, patterns, and designs available in paper these days, the possibilities are literally endless!

Filet With Rich Balsamic Glaze

Wanna see what I had for Valentine's dinner? This delicious recipe from Allrecipes graced the plates of hubby and me. The glaze, made from red wine and balsamic vinager was rich and a little sweet, and soooo easy. We served it with mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. Give it a try!

Mardi Gras!

It's that time of year again. Fat Tuesday is less than a week away so I know some of you out there will be throwing a Mardi Gras party this weekend. Here's a little inspiration to get you going.

Let's Do An "Oscars" Party

I love any excuse for a party. And when the party details combine gold, and glitter, and glitz, and glamour, then all the better! It doesn't get much more glitzy than the Oscars so here are a few elements you may want to use for an Oscars party:

Roll our the Red Carpet for all of your guests. You could even make the party "formal" dress if your crowd would get into it.

Of course you need lots of golden Oscar statuettes. You could have a betting pool for the key winners such as Best Actor/Actress, Best Picture, Best Director, and give a statue to each winner.

These Walk Of Fame sticker sheets are PERFECT to create a table runner with each guests name. Or, if you are doing a sit-down dinner, they could be used as personalized placemats.

You can't visit Hollywood without seeing the famous Hollywood sign, right? Go to your nearest craft store and get the wooden letters to spell out HOLLYWOOD for your buffet table or dinner table.

More party decorations include a clapboard and movie reel case.

Create a fabric backdrop for all the photo ops your guests will have. Choose red, black, or gold fabric.

Don't forget the Champagne!! Cheers!


Hollywood sign image from hollywood50tips.com
Champagne image from wineenthusiast.com

2-in-1 Party Stand

How Much Do You Love This Idea?!! I think we are all familiar with the old "punch bowl/cake pedistal" trick, but this combo takes on a whole new direction. Use it as a cake stand, or use it as an ice cream cone holder, or use it as a paper cone favor holder, or whatever else you can come up with. You can find it at Wrapables where they always have such interesting things.
Oh, best part...It's on Sale!!!

CHEERS Valentine!

I found this beautiful and delicious looking cocktail at Good Cocktails. I think it fits the bill perfectly for tomorrow night. And don't forget the garnish!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry

2 oz. Strawberry Liqueur
1 oz. Crème de Cacao (White)
1 oz. Cream / Half & Half
Garnish: Chocolate Covered Strawberry or Strawberry
Pour all ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass

Chocolate & Romance

How can you possibly have Valentine's romance without a little chocolate?


Here are 2 totally tempting desserts from Southern Living, that are perfect for the occasion. Have a little "fundue" with fondue! Nothing is more sensual than feeding each other warm, drippy chocolate....ahem, but this is a "G" rated blog, so I won't go there! But you may want to get the recipe. Fondue is surprisingly easy to prepare.

Maybe you want to put together a couple of individual sized brownie tiramisu trifles. They are the perfect size so you can sit in front of the fireplace and enjoy.

A Pokemon 8th Birthday Party

This is for an 8 year old girl's birthday, and she loves Pokemon!
It starts with Color! Pokemon are categorized into "types," water, grass, fire, electic, etc. So luckily I was able to design around some primary colors that would represent the different "types" of Pokemon.

She had plenty of Pokemon figures that could be used throughout the tables.

Below is the buffet table serving lunch. All the food was labeled according to different Pokemon characters, such as Chimchar Chips, Combee Corndogs, and Cubone Carrots. I used Pokemon trading cards for the labels.

We divided the kids into 2 teams and did a treasure hunt with a different Pokemon activity at each "clue" station. There was "Pin the tail on Picachoo," "Bagon Boulder Count," create a "Chikorita Necklace," "Evolutionary Matching Game," a maze, and Pokemon bingo. The kids loved the treasure hunt and activities, which was managable with a small group.

Pink Centerpiece Idea

This is one of the more unique centerpiece ideas I've seen lately. It uses some of the usual components like a glass cylinder, and decorative paper and ribbon, but it is budget friendly with its use of a pink paper pomander(say that 3 times fast), instead of real flowers. And the garland drop adds the unexpected touch. I've got to find a reason to make this!!!

picture: Project Wedding