"Build Your Own Crostini" Bar

photo from Southern Living magazine

I don't know what it is this week, but I seem to be posting a lot about cheese & wine, and wine & cheese! Here's another great party idea - "Build Your Own Crostini" bar begining with what else...Cheese! Here's how it works:

1. Begin with sliced baguettes.
2. Provide 3 cheeses: goat, brie, blue, or cream (soft cheeses are best because they are spreadable)
3. Provide 3 flavorings: pepper jelly, apple jelly, peach preserves, honey, fig preserves
4. Provide 3 nut toppers (chopped & lightly toasted): walnuts, almonds, pecans

Set it all out in a pretty display and let your guests make their own little bits of joy!

I'll Drink To That! {Glass Stenciling}

After learning about stamping your party plates with food coloring gel, you can imagine my jubilation when I found this equally fabulous party project, for your glasses! This genius idea comes from The City Cradle, and was done for a Roast & Toast Housewarming party. She simply used stencils, corn syrup, and cinnamon to 'etch' the word temporarily onto the wine glasses. I would love to do this with the word "Cheers" as well, or "Baby" for a baby shower, "Love" for a bridal shower...you get the picture. Read the 'how-to' here, and see more of the Housewarming party.

Cheese, Glorious Cheese! {And Wine}

Simple-Elegance doesn't get much better than Cheese & Wine. The pairing of the 2 works equally well for a rustic picnic, or a glamorous soiree. The photos above offer some great suggestions for serving your cheese with style.

• Consider slicing your hard cheese into 'sticks' and laying them in a criss-cross form...adds height and interest.
• Looking for great ways to label which cheese is which? Use pieces of slate or broken terra cotta pots to write on with chalk, or marker.
• More home-improvement-store materials to use are small slabs of granite, or ceramic tiles.
• Find mirror 'trays' at local craft stores, or use your all-purpose white dishes for a streamlined look.
• For best results when tasting your cheeses, serve on plain baguette slices or water crackers so as not to mask the flavor of the cheese itself.

Good Suggestions for Wine & Cheese Pairings:

• Salty Gorgonzola with Sweet Reisling
• Brie with a California Chardonay
• Goat Cheese (Chevre) with Savignon Blanc
• Edam or Havarti with Pinot Noir
• Gouda with Merlot or Reisling

Some of my favorite wines for around $10-$12:

Cavit Pinot Grigio

Chateau St. Michelle Reisling (not overly sweet...it's just right!)

Barefoot Moscato (around $7, but very good with the taste of muscadine grapes)

Rober Mondavi Private Selection Pinot Noir

Woodbridge Cabernet (not too heavy for a cab)

Have fun planning and tasting your own Cheese & Wine combinations!

A FREE Baby Shower Activity!

Here is your chance to get a free "Celebrity Baby Names" Game for your next Baby Shower. I love this type of shower activity because it doesn't embarass anyone, or make you do anything silly, and it is based on something we all love...Pop Culture! Swanky Chicks is giving the printable file to anyone who will post the "swanky chick" badge on their blog, or become a Fan on Facebook (for those of you who aren't bloggers). It's that easy! Head over to Swanky Chicks blog to read more details about how to recieve this gift. Thanks Swanky Chicks!

Tablescapes From Nesting Newbies

Gorgeous! Amazing! Fantastical!! Just a few words to describe the tablescapes presented in the online magazine, Nesting Newbies.

Seriously?!! A Hanging Buffet?!! I die!

Hot Pink, Black, & White never looked so good!

Check out the entire Winter issue of Nesting Newbies for yourself!

A Lego Birthday Party

Today's adorable party was another favorite in the Most Adorable Party contest at Creative Hostess. It comes from Autumn at Design Dump. Autumn put her Cricut to work to create all kinds of party items from the skewer toppers, to the letters and numbers on the banners and centerpieces, and more. This theme could have been very colorful and cutesy, but I love how she created a sophisticated feel with the colors and patterns, but still kept it bright and whimsical enough for a 6 year old.

Some of my favorite details above are the cute favor tins filled with little Lego pieces, the sporks stamped with the word "eat" on the handle, and the juice boxes wrapped to look like a big Lego. Head on over to Design Dump to read all about it!

Trend Alert: Hanging Ribbon Backdrop

I love it when you can take simple, readily available elements, and create something amazing out of them. In this case, that is done with ribbon!

For the simplest project just hang long strands side-by-side to create a fun backdrop for photos or buffets.

Want to get a little fancy? Clip on some family photos, photos of the guest of honor, or postcards.

Last, but not least, add 'paper tiles' to the ribbon to add even more pattern and interest.

Hanging ribbon streamers not only make for an attractive backdrop, but they can also hide an ugly wall or act as a room divider. These would work really well for kid's birthdays, but given the beauty of satin ribbon, you can see it also works great for weddings, and anything in between!

top: The Wedding Co., My Sweet & Saucy

middle: Green Wedding Shoes, Make Merry! Events

bottom: My Sweet & Saucy

White Chocolate Popcorn Treats

I found this delicious treat on Be different...Act normal. A great addition to your next 'sweets table', take-home goodie bag, or even just serve at a party. The instructions can be found on Make and Takes. This is easy to make using air-popped popcorn (I use this microwave popper I found at Target-needs no oil), chocolate bark, and some m&m's. I think it might be fun to add some small pretzels or almonds as well. Yummmmmm.

A Birthday For A 9-Year-Old

Winter birthday parties for kids can be tough! Especially when you are trying to pull one together in the midst of the snow storms of the century! This was a dinner party/sleepover for a 9-year-old girl. Tacos for dinner and an ice cream sundae bar with mini cupcakes for the dessert. Here is the 411 for this party:

• The decor was simply based on 'red, green, and yellow' as chosen by the birthday girl. I picked 6 fun fabrics to create a flag banner, table runner, and straw flags.
• The place settings included a paper "fortune teller" which the girls where able to customize with their own silly sayings.
• We had to hand-write name cards (as opposed to printing them) because of some last minute uncertainty and changes due to the snow storm (sometimes you've just gotta roll with it!).
• I used acrylic risers on the Sundae Bar to create different levels to display the toppings which included mini crushed oreos, chocolate toffee bits, m&m's, chocolate jimmies, chocolate fudge, caramel, and whipped cream topping. We also had mini cupcakes, piroulines, and cherries. We actually pre-scooped ice cream into the sundae dishes and set them in the freezer on a tray until time to bring them out.
• To help the cherries stand up, I put a layer of sugar onto the dish and nestled the cherries into it.
• Take home favors were large cupcakes housed in a cupcake box (great invention!) and an ice cream lollipop.
• No organized activities were needed for this party as 3rd grade girls are pretty adept at entertaining themselves. The fortune tellers provided lots of laughter and entertainment, as well as the Wii game system, and good old fashioned girl time!

The one thing I would have added is this - I would have wrapped each mini cupcake in the same coordinating papers as used on the dinner table decor. I think it would have helped them 'pop' against the white serving bowls behind them. For better views see my Flickr Set, or Facebook page.

Valentine Packaging

No matter what Valentine gift you give, whether it is a simple card, lovely trinket, or sweet candy treat, here are some cute and crafty ways to present them. All the materials used are easily available and affordable like pretty paper, scrapbook embelishments, glass votive candle holder, paper bags, ribbon, etc. As usual, you can use these ideas for any occasion by changing the shapes and colors used. Click on each link below to see just how easy these are to put together!

Links:

red gift boxes; cup sacks; votive gift holders; bags

truffle cups; brown bag with candy hearts; 'dot candy' hearts; variety of candy wrappers

Passion For Purple

Whether you call it purple, plum, violet, grape, or eggplant, it is THE color this year in event decor! I gathered together some beautiful photos for your own celebration inspiration.

Particularly noteworthy is the mixing of hues. I think the combination of lighter tones with darker ones adds depth and interest to the color scheme.

Collage 1: floral centerpiece, hanging beads (buy beaded curtains here), floral centerpiece, "M" monogram, invitation, vase centerpiece, utensils

Collage 2: cocktails, chair drape, pillow box candies, favor boxes, cotton candy martini glasses, cupcake

Dessert Table

Fantastic Milk & Cookies Birthday Party

 I couldn't wait to share this Milk & Cookies birthday party with you all! This was one of the finalists in the Most Adorable Kid's Party at Creative Hostess. Designed and hosted by Anne Powers of A Party Style in Connecticut, this party is over-flowing with adorable and unique details. Anne is obviously a fabulous baker and cake designer, as she made all the cookies, as well as the amazing birthday cake (those are mini cakes on top, made to look like cookies). Although this is for a 1-year-old's birthday, the ideas here would work equally well for a shower, engagement, or even a wedding.

Some of the wonderful details Anne incorporated are:

• Cup tags made with a picture of the birthday girl (in a sepia tone) and attached using brown and white baker's twine. Guests wrote their name on the back side to help identify their drink.
• Repurposed Frappucino bottles used to hold milk with a bag of cookies attached. These were the favors and cleverly incorporated the number "1" in the labeling (1% milk/1-year old).
• Also attached to the favor bottles were the to-die-for animal print straws!! These were a random find in the clearance bin of JoAnn's fabric store. That's what I call sweet serendipity!
• Flip-top bottles were used to serve milk in, as well as an old family jug from the attic! Flip-top bottles can be found at some home stores, IKEA, or do what I do: I bought Lorina sparkling lemonade from World Market, TJMaxx, Trader Joes, etc.; after drinking it, wash and re-use the bottle to serve any beverage at another event!
• This final trick is sheer GENIUS! Anne has stocked up on plain white plates and stamps them for each event to give them a personalized look. Here's how - Using a new, un-inked stamp pad (making sure it has never had ink on it), she soaks it with gel food coloring (use a knife to spread it all over the pad). Then use a rubber stamp which coordinates with your theme (again, one that has never touched ink) and stamp it into the gel pad and onto the plate as usual. The key is to go straight down and back up so as not to smudge the image. If it does smudge it is easy to wipe off and start again. These are food safe and you will never have to buy a themed paper plate again!

Thank you so much Anne, for letting me share this party and all the great ideas. Keep an eye out for her online bake shop, A. Cakery, which is in the works.

Valentine's Table For Two

Just a few ideas for you to consider when setting up that special dinner (or even breakfast) on Valentine's Day.

Top: This elegant table from Colin Cowie is modern and romantic with its Pucci-style print table cloth, and black vases with red flowers. Next, this table is set simply with black, red, and white touches. The white ribbon ties are used repeatedly, and some whimsy is added with the heart-shaped cookie cutters.

Middle: An understated but sophisticated setting all in pink, but with a pop of yellow! This table from BHG adds extra interest with the small cones of chocolates, inserted into champagne flutes. Get a little crafty with paper hearts, and painted "love letters" for this table.

Bottom: More tables that would work for breakfast or serving the kids a special meal come from 24/7 Moms, and Top Party Ideas. Cut-out hearts hang around the neck of a tall vase, and a napkin rolled on the diagonal and wrapped into the shape of a heart are special touches that everyone will love. Or use heart doileys to a dress up plates, goodie bags, as coasters, wrap around cylandar vases, etc.

It doesn't take much to dress up your table for Valentine's day. There's so much out in the stores to help you on your way. So show someone you love them this weekend with a festive tabletop!

Valentine Treats

Looking for some cute ideas for presenting Valentine treats? All You has some good ones. Here is another example of the match box treats (see another here); Or wrap up some lollipop flowers and stick them into a flower pot; Finally, you can decorate a plain white favor bag and tuck in some heart-shaped cookies. You can make the cookies extra fun by dipping the edges into frosting, and then coating with sprinkles. You can even do this with store bought cookies if you like!

Most Adorable Party Winners!

Big Congratulations to the winners of Creative Hostess' Most Adorable Kid's Party contest!!

Click on Photos to Enlarge. First Place goes to Zuesette of Marizette Paperie for her Vintage Carnival 1st Birthday party. You can easily see all the beautiful details pulled together. I loved the more subdued color scheme and vintage-inspired graphics for this adorable one year old! The centerpieces were sophisticated but theme-appropriate, and the prize board with hanging stuffed animal prizes reminisant of the fairway was genius. More 'Adorable' details of this party were a caricature artist, a photo area, and of course carnival games and food.

Our 2nd Place winner is Jess of Pen & Paper Flowers, with her daughter's Mini French Bakery Birthday party. This party was so original and full of gorgeous designs! The back drop, the colors, and the display all made you feel as though you really were in a French Boulangerie.

Third Place goes to Jessica at Juicy Bits for her son's Construction Birthday party. Her son loves Bob the Builder, and I was so happy to see that she went with a more neutral 'Construction' theme over a pre-fabricated cartoon theme. Jessica thought of everything for this party- A sandbox to play in with lots of construction trucks, a barricade at the entrance made from an old sawhorse, snacks served in toy dump trucks, and 'road sign' party signage. The cute details of this party never seem to end!

I am so honored to have been a judge for this contest along with Jenn, Kelly, Kim, and Jenin. The submissions were nothing short of amazing. I will be highlighting some of the finalists in the days/weeks to come.

A big thank you to the prize sponsors goes to Inkspot Workshop, Seven Cupcakes, Gigglesapu, and Parties by Hardie.

"Football" Food

Continuing our Super Bowl theme, I've gathered together some fun food ideas. It's easy to make these dishes look like a football or football field. Just mold the shape with a knife (or hands), and add 'football stitching' with thinly sliced cheese, or chives. Or, in the case of the guacamole football field & cheese ball, just pipe on the 'yard lines' with a decorator bag and sour cream, and add cherry tomatoes for the 'players.' {football eggs; football sub}

For dessert, carve out football brownies, or decorate team cupcakes (Colts, Saints). Football field cupcakes would be appropriate also. Again, all you need is a piping bag with very small tip. You can also use heavy duty plastic storage bags and snip off the corner (tiny snips!) if you don't have piping bags.

Choosing to do any of these doesn't take a lot of effort but the end result is so festive!

Gearing Up For Super Bowl

Are you ready for some football? We have Super Bowl Sunday in less than a week so I was inspired to put together a table representing the two teams, Colts vs. Saints.

• Simple to create, this design begins with a green sheet for the field and white ribbon for yard lines. The game is held in Miami this year so I used a tropical fabric (I had on hand), as the 'Miami backdrop.'
• Marshmallow pops were made using team colors, and displayed "stadium" style on stacked foam blocks wrapped in brown craft paper. Team penants made with toothpicks, felt pieces, and craft glue were inserted into mini cupcakes.
• A package of cake-topper football players (from the party store) is set on the 'field' and the goal posts are inserted into square vases with faux grass. A $1 wooden football (from Dollar Tree) takes the center spot, attached to a wire note clip.
• Water bottles are wrapped in black and white stripes(referees) and adorned with yellow straws & ribbon(penalty flags).

Finally, white dishes are filled with easy and filling football-friendly food. Add cold beer, soda, or a signature cocktail and you have yourself a party!