The Party Wall

Valentine's Day, Home-Made Marshmallow Hearts

2012-02-13T21:24:00.001-06:00

Hi folks! Sorry for being MIA. I've been really busy, so I have a whole backlog of posts coming out really soon!!! Here's a few photos of some of the Valentine's Day treats for the Valentine's Day party.

Vanilla cupcakes with strawberry cream cheese icing:

I even made the heart-shaped fondant toppers!! Fondant toppers have terrified me for the longest time, but they are shockingly easy to make--tutorial coming soon!

Heart-shaped sugar cookies with royal icing:

These are from my favorite local cookie boutique--Lily's Cookies.

Home-made marshmallow pops:

I decided to make marshmallows from scratch! They taste amazing!! I'm never using store-bought marshmallows again!! The recipe and a quick tutorial is below.

My little helper was having trouble waiting until the party!!

Home-made marshmallow pops (tutorial):

To make these heart-shaped marshmallow pops, you'll need:

1/2 cup cold water
3 packets of unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
12 oz regular sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Red food coloring
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Nonstick spray
Heart-shaped cookie cutter
Lollipop sticks
Red/pink sugar sprinkles

Here's how:

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer (with the whisk attachment) along with 1/2 cup of the water. Let sit.
Meanwhile, combine 1/2 cup water, sugar, corn syrup and salt in a medium pot, with a candy thermometer clipped to the side. Place over medium high heat and cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes.
Turn the mixer on (low speed ) and slowly pour all of the sugar syrup into the gelatin mixture. Increase the speed to high. Whip on high speed until the mixture becomes very thick, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. The mixutre will still be lukewarm. Add the vanilla and food coloring during the last minute of whipping.
While the mixture is whipping, combine the powdered sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13x19 inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch powder and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining powder to the bowl for later use.
Pour the whipped mixture into the prepared pan and smooth with a lightly oiled spatula. Dust the top with the sugar/cornstarch powder to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the pan to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board, dust cookie cutter with remaining sugar/corn starch mixture ans use it to cut the hearts. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each heart with the remaining powder, using additional if necessary.
Insert lollipop sticks into the marshmallow hearts. Dip the tops in a solution of one part water and one part corn syrup, shake off exceed liquid and dip in sugar sprinkles.
Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Enjoy!!

Here are photos from the party, using Bird's party printables!

Rudolph-themed Christmas Party

2011-12-18T21:28:00.000-06:00

My co-room mom and I selected a "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" theme for our classroom's holiday party this year. I enlisted my dear friend Bird, of Bird's Party, to design a set of reindeer printables for me. She came up with a cute, modern design featuring a white reindeer--how adorable!!

Check out the invitations from the printables collection. I backed the invitations on scrapbook paper, also from the printables collection.

Since we were on a tight budget ($125 total budget for snacks, drinks, activities and favors for 22 children!), there was a lot of DIY and repurposing that went into this party.

The party kicked off with a visit from Santa. The children were then divided into three groups for the activities. We made jingle bell necklaces using red, green and white ribbon and small bells to assign children to each group. The groups then rotated between three stations: (i) Crafts--making reindeer antlers and red noses to wear at the party, (ii) Story Time--the story of Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer (of course!), and (iii) Games--Pin the Nose on the Reindeer (which consisted of pinning "red noses" on a reindeer pinata) and a Magic Reindeer Food station (details below).

To drink, we served hot chocolate with marshmallows and bottled water. The reindeer paper cups were an easy DIY. The water bottles were embellished with bottle wraps from the printables collection.

Red gable boxes (left over from the Spiderman party) embellished with cupcake toppers from the printables collection and inexpensive baubles ($1 for a tube of 12 from Target), housed Rudolph bath sponges ($1 from Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts) and decorated sugar cookies to take home.

The Rudolph cupcakes are chocolate cupcakes, embellished with Nilla wafers, pretzels and M&Ms.

The Rudolph candy canes were an easy DIY. To make, simply twist a pipe cleaner around the top of the candy cane, bend into "antlers", add googly eyes and a red pom pom nose. Easy!

Since we didn't really have a budget for decorations, we reused the red lanterns from the Spiderman party and some red stockings that my co-room mom had from an event she'd previously hosted.

We used bulletin board paper to line the tables, instead of buying table cloths. The gable boxes, reindeer cups, water bottles, reindeer candy canes and red napkins wrapped around peppermints rounded out the tablescape.

For one of our activities, we set up a Magic Reindeer Food station--bowls of oatmeal, sugar sprinkles, marshmallows and crushed peppermint. The children had a great time filling reindeer paper bags with scoops of each item, to take home to scatter on the lawn on Christmas Eve for Rudolph and his friends! A lot of the recipes for Magic Reindeer Food that we saw online contained glitter, but we decided to skip the glitter since it's not biodegradable and could hurt animals if ingested--we used sugar sprinkles instead.

The reindeer paper bags for the Magic Reindeer Food was also an easy DIY, using paper bags, construction paper for antlers, googly eyes and red pom poms.

Snowflake Holiday Party

2011-12-12T22:22:00.002-06:00

We hosted a holiday party for our friends this past weekend.

Snowflake-themed party printables from Bird's Party served as the inspiration for the party...

and for my made-from-scratch snowflake cookies! :-)

Take a look...

I made the wreath using a variety of picks and ornaments from Michaels.

We asked all the guests to bring a new, unwrapped gift to donate to charity.

I'm planning on dropping these off this week with my son. I think it will be a great way to teach him about helping others.

Everyone had so much fun with the photo booth at the Spiderman Party that it has become

a party staple for me!

I decorated with peppermint and candy cane trees and peppermint toparies, which were inspired by some of my very favorite party people at Anders Ruff and Pizzazzerie.

The dessert buffet was very much scaled down from the Spiderman party since this was an adults-only event (I find that adults really don't eat as much sugar as their kiddos!) Also, in an effort to be a little cost conscious, and because I'd been dying to experiment a little, I made all the desserts myself!

This was only my second time experimenting with making my own sugar cookies with royal icing, but I was quite pleased with the results.

The double chocolate fudge cake pops were such a hit that I had to make a second batch the day after the party for some of the guests who stayed over! :-)

I made cupcakes from scratch and even made fondant toppers to top them with! Working with fondant has always intimated me, but these were surprisingly easy to make.

Okay, yes, I did buy (not make) the rock candy! :-)

I used a snowflake-shaped silicone muffin pan to mold the home-made peppermint bark

into snowflake shapes.

We also served a full dinner--also homemade!

But the bar was really the star of the show! :-)

I sent everyone home with a home-made pumpkin, walnut spice bread.

Tutorials on the cookies, fondant toppers and peppermint bark to follow soon.

Little Pumpkin's First Birthday Party

2011-11-02T21:15:00.000-05:00

Fall birthdays are a lot of fun because the season provides so much of the inspiration for the theme. Krish’s mommy wanted to have a pumpkin-themed birthday, but without it feeling like a Halloween party or a Fall/harvest celebration. There are a lot of pumpkin-themed parties out there, but we decided to go with a more retro look by incorporating teal and lots of glitter elements.

The invitations asked guests to “BYOP” (bring your own pumpkin) and wear plaid. Upon arrival, guests were asked to place their pumpkins in the home-made “pumpkin patch”. The picket fence around the pumpkin patch was made from foam board cut into strips (similar to the barnyard party featured previously). The pumpkin patch was used as a photo booth of sorts and provided a nice backdrop to take photos of all of the children. Later on in the party, the children reclaimed their pumpkins to decorate them. Other activities included coloring and making pumpkin masks.

The dessert table featured birthday cake, pumpkin spice cupcakes, pumpkin cake pops, pumpkin sugar cookies, orange, green and teal rock candy and other candy, pumpkin-shaped marshmallows, chocolate dipped crab apples, pumpkin-shaped chocolates. Savory eats included tortilla wraps shaped like pumpkins.

For party favors, the children took home T-shirts with pumpkin faces and, of course, their decorated pumpkins!

Take a look...

The birthday cake was made by Nadler's, a local bakery.

The pumpkin-spice cupcakes were homemade.

They were topped with pumpkin-shaped fondant toppers from Village Cupcakes.

We added sour apple candy to make "stems" for these pumpkin like sugared marshmallows.

I made pumpkin-shaped candy using Wilton candy melts and a pumpkin candy mold.

The rock candy was a HUGE hit with the children AND the adults!

The awesome sugar cookies were from Sweet Lill.

The smash cake was a giant cupcake, topped with a sugared marshmallow.

These fabulous pumpkin-shaped cake pops were from Radiant Cakes.

Here are some of the decorated pumpkins! :-)

Vendor Credits:

Fondant toppers: Village Cupcakes

http://www.etsy.com/shop/VillageCupcakes?ref=ss_profile

Sugar cookies: Sweet Lill, Say it with Sweets

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SweetLill?ref=ss_profile

Cake pops: Radiant Cakes

http://www.etsy.com/people/RadiantCakes?ref=ls_profile

Diwali Inspirations

2011-10-22T14:53:00.001-05:00

Ever year I plan on planning a really over-the-top Diwali celebration for our family, but every year Diwali creeps up on me (with so many other things going on during the Fall) and I run out of time to plan! :-)

So, this weekend, I'm going to be scrambling to pull things together. Here's what is inspiring me this year:

I found a FABULOUS new shop on Etsy. It's called Nirman and it's run by two sisters, Manisha and Priya, from the New York area. They have created a great alternative to traditional rangolis (usually made with colored powder and flour), using bright beads and crystals. These rangolis come pre-made, backed on clear plastic. So now you can use rangolis to decorate your home, even if you don't have an outdoor space! The other great thing about these rangolis is that they can be used over and over. I've ordered one for my house and can't wait for it to get here!! :-)

Check out these mini rangoli patterns made around small tealight candles, by RangDecor. Archana uses small metal stencil boxes that you find in India to create these rangolis by sifting/stamping a fine powder through the stencils. Another way to achieve this look would be to use chalk on a surface painted with chalk board paint or even black paper.

I love these "kolam" patterns made on small pebbles, also from RangDecor. There's something very cathartic about the idea of "painting your prayers".

Another Etsy find: I love these gorgeous diyas by turquioseme. Thank goodness for Etsy, without which it might be difficult to find diyas of this quality and beauty outside India! :-)

Indian sweets (meethai) are a staple of Diwali--talk about easy inspiration for a dessert table! For a fabulous ethnic-inspired dessert table, we needn't look much farther than the blog of my dear friend, Bird of Bird's Party. Since starting this blog, I have seen so many dessert tables; but, I have to admit, I'm still totally in awe of Bird's Bollywood Bling dessert table! I simply LOVE it.

But I have a confession to make--I don't really like Indian sweets! He he! ;-)

So for those of us with an Indian heritage (but not an Indian palate), here are some yummy, Indian-inspired, western, sweet treats!

Chocolate diyas from TwoDotts. I think these would make great cupcake toppers too!

Diya-shaped cookies from Anjalis Designer Cookies.

And how fabulous are these rangoli-inspired cookies from DessArts?!?!?!?! These really look too good to eat!

For other ideas, see last year's Diwali Inspiration, Diwali recap and our Bollywood Karaoke Party.

Happy Diwali and Sal Mubarak!

Tapas or Treats: Halloween appetizer table

2011-10-20T21:20:00.000-05:00

I was thrilled when my dear friend, Bird (from Bird's Party), asked me to use her printables to style a Halloween table for her Fall e-zine. I wanted to do something a little different (and after the Spiderman party I was feeling really sugared out!), so I decided to put together a savory, appetizer buffet. My aim was to make small "tapas" style plates that looked like treats! Although the dishes were not true "tapas" dishes, I liked the play on words of "Tapas or Treats". You can see the feature in the Fall e-zine here.

Here's what was on the menu, if you want to re-create this table, using Bird's printables:

"Spider web" guacamole and chips.

This is so simple to make--just top the guacamole with a spider and a sour cream "web" piped on using a piping bag (or even a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off).

"Swamp dip" (aka spinach dip), served with toasted spider bread.

Cut the bread into spider shapes using a cookie cutter. Serve the dip in tiny "tasting" cups, to keep with the tapas feel.

Goat cheese and poppy seed "bats".

Mix crumbled goat cheese with cream cheese; roll into bite size balls and coat with poppy seeds; use olives for eyes and blue corn tortilla chips for wings.

"Deviled" eyeballs.

Make deviled eggs per your favorite recipe, garnish with hot sauce "blood" and olives.

"Jack O Lantern" naval orange and pumpkin seed salad.

After scooping out the inside of the oranges, "carve" faces into them like pumpkins. Fill with a mixed greens salad, tossed with the leftover orange pulp and toasted pumpkin seeds.

"Blood" orange martinis.

Make the martini with vodka, triple sec and orange juice (or use St. Germaine instead of Triple Sec for an interesting twist); drop candy corn into the glasses and rim with paper bats from the printables collection. The candy corn will bleed a little (no pun intended), creating a nice effect.

I used the paper printables to complete the look.

To make a "pumpkin pom" simple attach a face to a tissue paper pom pom.

For many other great uses for the printables collection, see Bird's fall E-zine.

Spiderman Birthday Party: Part 7, Daily Bugle Staff and Vendor Credits

2011-09-25T21:34:00.000-05:00

This is the seventh and final post in a whole series of posts about my son's Spiderman Birthday Party Extravaganza!! Click here for Part 1: Theme and Invitations, Part 2: Dessert Table, Part 3: Games and Activities, Part 4, Decorations, Part 5: Food and Drinks, and Part 6: Party Favors.

Note: If you're joining us from Amy Atlas, please read on for many more details.

As you can see from the prior posts, there was a lot going on at this party!! And I couldn’t have done it all without help from a lot of amazing people! My mum made the Spiderman capes. Several of my cousins and my brother were gracious enough to volunteer to be “staff” at the party—take photos, man the game stations, do the face painting, be Spiderman (girl), etc. I made them all Daily Bugle “staff editor”, “staff photographer” and “staff reporter” T-shirts and their own Press Passes with their photos, for them to wear at the party (and also to take home as thank you presents for helping out!) And last but by no means least, my husband helped me throughout to cut, glue, stick, paint, print, stapled, melt, mold...you get the picture...and just generally put up with me through a couple months of late evening party planning! :-)

Thanks to everyone who helped out!! I couldn't have done it without you.

In addition to my wonderful family and friends that helped me out so much, the following vendors were critical to the success of the party. They were all awesome to work with and provided stellar products for the party.

Paper Party Printables—Bird’s Party

http://www.birdsparty.com/

Cupcake Toppers—Village Cupcakes

http://www.etsy.com/shop/VillageCupcakes?ref=ss_profile

Cake Pops—Radiant Cakes

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RadiantCakes?ref=ss_profile

Cookies—SweetLill

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SweetLill?ref=ss_profile

Birthday Cake—D’Pasteles

http://www.dpasteles.com/

Photography—Erin Homann

http://www.erinhomann.com/

Spiderman Birthday Party: Part 6, Party Favors

2011-09-25T21:14:00.000-05:00

This is the sixth in a whole series of posts about my son's Spiderman Birthday Party Extravaganza!! Click here for Part 1: Theme and Invitations, Part 2: Dessert Table, Part 3: Games and Activities, Part 4, Decorations, and Part 5: Food and Drinks. Stay tuned for Part 7: Daily Bugle Staff.

Note: If you're joining us from Amy Atlas, please read on for many more details.

I know, I know, Spiderman doesn’t wear a cape, but Spider Boys do!! My fabulously talented mum helped me to sew red and blue satin capes for the boys. I also made red and blue tutus for the girls (embellished with spiders, of course). Rather than giving the children the favors at the end of the party, we gave them the capes and tutus when they arrived so they could wear them throughout the party. Each child was also given a “My name is…” speech bubble label upon arrival at the party, so Spiderman would know their names. Another DIY project/favor: I made Spiderman crayons using a lollipop mold and custom coloring books for the children to take home and/or color in while waiting for other guests to arrive. They also took home their water flasks. I bought comic exclamation tote bags online, so each child could have a bag in which to carry home their favors. They each also took home a graduation certificate from Spidey's academy and lots of treats from the dessert table.

Spiderman Birthday Party: Part 5, Food & Drinks

2011-09-25T21:05:00.000-05:00

This is the fifth in a whole series of posts about my son's Spiderman Birthday Party Extravaganza!! Click here for Part 1: Theme and Invitations, Part 2: Dessert Table, Part 3: Games and Activities, and Part 4, Decorations. Stay tuned for Part 6: Party Favors, Part 7: Daily Bugle Staff.

Note: If you're joining us from Amy Atlas, please read on for many more details.

In addition to all the sweet treats covered in Part 2, I made “refueling lunch packs” for the little Spider Children, complete with juice, crackers, fruit snacks, spider-sandwiches, and strawberries and blueberries, and had “refueling fluid” a.k.a water flasks (embellished with spiders and nutritional labels). The water flasks doubled as one of many party favors that the children took home. We also had red and blue snow cones and old-fashioned red soda (for the older children and Daily Bugle staff). For the adults, we served spinach dip and spider bread, Doctor Octopus tentacles (penne pasta), salad, and Green Goblin punch. The beverage tubs for the beer and wine said “With great beer/wine, comes great responsibility…please drink responsibly.” The adults at this party had about as much fun as the children!

Yum!

Spiderman Birthday Party: Part 4, Decorations

2011-08-28T22:59:00.002-05:00

This is the fourth in a whole series of posts about my son's Spiderman Birthday Party Extravaganza!! Click here for Part 1: Theme and Invitations, Part 2: Dessert Table, and Part 3: Games and Activities. Stay tuned for Part 5: Food & Drinks, Part 6: Party Favors, Part 7: Daily Bugle Staff.

Note: If you're joining us from Amy Atlas, please read on for many more details and lots of photos.

Click here for a tutorial on how to make these Spiderman comic book letters.
Repurpose them after the party: These letters now hang in my son's bedroom!

"Cute as a button" pink and green babyshower

2011-08-28T22:23:00.001-05:00

This past weekend was the babyshower of a dear friend and co-worker. Of course, I jumped at the chance to make her a diaper cake and wash cloth cupcakes...!

For our shower gift, I bought the parents-to-be a collection of classic board books. I bought seven books and attached tags with the days of the week. I used a "Dr Suess" font for the labels and off set the labelling akin to Dr. Seuss book titles. I put all of the books in a cute wooden bin wrapped in clear wrap, with a tag saying "A book a day is the Dr. Suess way..." The buttons on the tags tied in with the "Cute as a Button" theme.

Very Hungry Caterpillar Lanterns

2011-08-28T21:51:00.000-05:00

Do you remember this paper lantern caterpillar from the Very Hungry Caterpillar birthday party that I had for my son's first birthday (i.e., 3 years ago)? Well, look at what I found on the Pottery Barn website recently...I guess great minds really do think alike! :-)

Pottern Barn Kids has a whole line of products based on The Very Hungry Caterpillar at the moment...I wish all this stuff had been around 3 years ago!

Spiderman Birthday Party: Part 3, Games and Activities

2011-08-17T22:22:00.002-05:00

This is the third in a whole series of posts about my son's Spiderman Birthday Party Extravaganza!! Click here for Part 1: Theme and Invitations and Part 2: Dessert Table. Stay tuned for Part 4: Decorations, Part 5: Food & Drinks, Part 6: Party Favors, Part 7: Daily Bugle Staff.

Note: If you're joining us from Amy Atlas, please read on for many more details and lots of photos.

Desserts are great and all, but, after a few awe-struck minutes, children really aren’t very interested in looking at pretty labels on a dessert table, so we had lots of fun, Spiderman-inspired activities for them too.

When the children arrived at the party, they were given a set of Spiderman-shaped crayons and a Spiderman coloring book to keep them busy while we waited for the rest of the guests to arrive. I made the Spiderman-shaped crayons! Stay tuned for a tutorial. I also made speech-bubble-shaped name tags for the all the children too, so Spidey would know all their names!

We had Spiderman (who was actually a girl!) come to the party to “teach” the children how to be super “Spider Children”.

The children had fun just hanging out with Spiderman in the backyard.

We then played a series of party games designed to "hone their spider senses".

The first game, "WEB SLINGING" was a big hit with the children! I found a Spiderman glove that shoots out silly string (at Target) and I used it to create a game where the children took turns shooting at Doctor Octopus, Venom and Green Goblin on the spider web targets that I made.

The second game, "WALL CRAWLING" was supposed to involve an obstacle course race--the children were supposed to race up the rock climbing wall on our outdoor playground, down the other side, through a series of zig-zagged cones, and end with throwing a water balloon at a "bad guy" target. What actually ended up happening was that the children discovered the water balloons first and chased Spidey around the back yard throwing water balloons at Spidey! As long as they had a great time, I consider the game a huge success!! :-)

"WEB SPINNING" was a fun, indoor craft activity, in which the children wove their own spider webs using black wool and paper plates!!

I love classic games (with a thematic twist), so we also played "PIN THE SPIDER ON THE WEB" and "WEB JUMPING" (musical chairs, but with web-shaped mats instead of chairs). The mats for the web jumping game were actually the place mats that I made for the table, which I "recycled" to be the mats for the game.

We also had a spider web "FACE PAINTING" station, which the children loved (not sure about the parents!)

Finally, the children (and adults!) had a blast playing dress-up in the mock “CITYSCAPE PHOTO BOOTH”, which was another building backdrop (similar to the one for the dessert table), lots of old Halloween costumes and dress-up clothes, and speech bubble signs. We had Spidey takes lots of photos with all of the children in the photo booth.

At the end of the party, each child was awarded a BACHELOR OF SPIDER SCIENCE, with "Marvel-ous honors" (for having honed all their spider senses) in a mock graduation ceremony from Spidey’s Superhero School.

Stay tuned for Part 4: Decorations, Part 5: Food & Drinks, Part 6: Party Favors, Part 7: Daily Bugle Staff!!!

Back to "School" Party: Free Printables!

2011-08-17T21:32:00.001-05:00

I'm co-room mom for my son's class this year. For our classroom Back to School party, my co-room mom and I were assigned orange as our table color, so we concocted the theme for the party around that color. We used a cute play on words, with an adorable little school of clown fish. Orange and white polka dots and stripes, little paper boats, and goldfish crackers rounded out the theme, which also eluded to a certain little cartoon fish, who was excited about the first day of school! I enlisted my dear friend Bird to help me with a set of printables to go with the theme. You can get a set of free printables here, courtesy of Bird's Party. Thanks Bird, for being such a great supporter of my blog and being a great friend!!

Stay tuned for the tote bag design that we came up with to continue this theme! :-)

Spiderman Birthday Party: Part 1 & 2, As Featured on Amy Atlas!

2011-08-11T10:02:00.001-05:00

Okay, folks, here it is! As featured on AMY ATLAS!!!! :-)

I'm beyond thrilled and deeply honored that my son's Amazing Spiderman Party is being featured by Amy Atlas on her blog today! :-) Click here to see Amy's post about the party.

For those of you who have been waiting patiently to see these photos, here are the first and second parts in a whole series of posts (which will be added to this blog over the next several weeks) about the long-awaited Spiderman Birthday Party!! Stay tuned for Part 3: Games and Activities, Part 4: Decorations, Part 5: Food & Drinks, Part 6: Party Favors, and Part 7: Daily Bugle Staff.

Note: If you're joining us from Amy Atlas, please read on for many more details and lots of photos...

Spiderman Birthday Party:
Part 1, Theme and Invitations

The Marvel-ous theme for this party came (just as it should!) from the birthday boy himself—he just LOVES Spiderman; so, even though I’m not a huge fan myself and the theme is fairly commercialized, I set out to create an amazing Spiderman party for him! I envisioned something with lots of red and blue, skyscrapers, webs, spiders, and comic flair. I decided to go with the old Marvel Comics Amazing Spiderman, rather than the Hollywood movie Spiderman (which I find a bit creepy for a 4 year old!) I started planning a couple of months ago in order to be able to pull it all together in my limited free time. My amazingly talented friend, Bird, from Bird’s Party, was able to take my vision and design a set of custom paper printables for the party. Please visit Bird's Party for many more awesome party printables collections.

Here's the birthday boy, complete with his Spiderman gear...

If you missed the post about the invitations, click here. I made the invitations myself, using an electronic cutter to cut the black cardstock webbing for Spiderman’s face. The webbing was then glued to red cardstock. I backed the invitation with a Spiderman comic strip and topped it with a vellum sheet with the party details. I hand stamped the envelops with skyscrapers.

Spiderman Birthday Party:
Part 2, The Dessert Table

The focal point of the dessert table was a giant building backdrop that I drew by hand using thick, black permanent marker on foam board. I used foam blocks to connect the buildings to one another. I stuck a Spiderman wall decal on foam board too and suspended him in front of the building backdrop, with webs shooting out of his wrists, to create a 3D effect.

What do you think of the dessert table? I was really thrilled that it turned out the way I'd envisioned it in my head. Erin Homann Photography captured the event with her wonderful photography. Check out Erin's other work at Erin Homann Photography.

I designed the cake myself and had it made by the awesome folks at a local San Antonio bakery, D’Pasteles. Didn't they do a fabulous job?

I found a fabulous vendor on Etsy, Radiant Cakes, to make the cake pops. The cake pops came individually wrapped, complete with ribbon! And I heard that they tasted great; although, I didn't get to taste one because they were gobbled up really quickly by the children at the party! Visit Radiant Cakes for these and many other cake pop designs.

I also bought the Spiderman cookies on Etsy, from SweetLill (which was an equally sweet experience). SweetLill is a new vendor on Etsy, but has a very high quality product. The cookies was as tasty as they were beautiful. She even sent me some mini Spiderman cookies (but those didn't last until the party!) Visit her Etsy store for more cookie designs.

Last, but by no means least, the fabulous fondant cupcake toppers were also purchased on Etsy, from Village Cupcakes. These toppers were so adorable that most of the children took them home to "play with" rather than eating them! :-) Please visit Village Cupcakes for more cupcake topper designs.

And here is more eye candy from the dessert table....

I made the cupcake stands out of tin cans and cake boards! For a tutorial on how to make these type of cupcake stands, visit Bird's blog. I covered the tin cans with scrapbook paper from the printables collection and covered the cake boards with red construction paper. I drew webs on the construction paper and rimmed the cake boards with more webbing.

I also made these Spider lollipops. This is such an easy DIY, but if you need detailed instructions, please check back for a tutorial to be posted soon!

The birthday boy LOVES sugared marshmallows!

Stay tuned for Part 3: Games and Activities, Part 4: Decorations, Part 5: Food & Drinks, Part 6: Party Favors, and Part 7: Daily Bugle Staff.

Handmade Raksha Bandhan cards and rakhis

2011-08-03T21:47:00.001-05:00

Hi folks!

In case you were wondering, the Spiderman party post is turning into a series of about 5 posts! Stay tuned for those posts. But in the meantime, here's something else I've been working on.

Raksha bandhan is a day in the Indian traditional that celebrates the bond of love and affection between brothers and sisters. Think of it as Mothers Day or Fathers Day, but for brothers and sisters! :-) It's traditional for a sister to tie an auspicious thread, called a "rakhi", on the right hand wrist of her brother (or a cousin or someone that she considers a brother figure) and pray for his well-being. The brother, in turn, pledges to protect and defend her.

...cut to the 20th century and, yes, most Indian people still carry out this ritual (even those of us that have never lived in India)! In our hectic modern lives, it provides a reason to make time to catch up with siblings and cousins and reconnect. I'm not a fan, however, of the store-bought rakhis and cards (which, quite honestly, haven't caught up with modern times!) So, as usual, I made my own cards and rakhis for my brothers! Take a look (and read on for instructions on how to make the rakhi).

To make the rakhi:

1. Cut 3 pieces of thin, gold yarn (each one about 12 inches in length).

2. Thread one piece of yarn through a beading needle (use a beading needle with a collapsible head--making sure that the head is small enough to fit through the bead).

2. Thread on beads in your desired arrangement and move them to the middle of the yarn. Tie a knot on either end of the beads.

3. Fold the second piece of yarn in half to make two segments of your braid. Using the yarn on one side of the beads as your 3rd segment, braid all 3 segments of yarn together. Tie a knot about one inch from the end.

4. Repeat step 4 using the 3rd piece of yarn to create two segments and the yarn on the other side of the beads to create the third segment of your braid.

5. You're done! Easy!

Spiderman Party...The Aftermath

2011-07-18T21:18:00.004-05:00

Hi Folks!

Well, the party was MARVEL-ous!! :-)

I think everyone had a blast...especially the birthday boy. I am, however, exhausted! I will post photos soon...but in the meantime, here's a peek.

Sneak Peek: Spiderman Party Invitations

2011-06-24T22:18:00.009-05:00

Hi folks!!

An update is long overdue, I know! I've been hard at work planning lots of fun things...more on that to come...in the meantime, here's a peek at the invitations for the Spiderman party.

I cut the black "web" for Spiderman's face using my electronic cutter!

Even with a cutter, it took hours to make 30 of these!!

The party details are printed on vellum, layered over a comic book page.

And to add the finishing touch, I hand-stamped the envelopes with a skyscraper stamp.

So, what do you think? Feedback, please!

Recipe: Bite-Size Caprese Salad Appetizers

2011-05-22T15:54:00.004-05:00

I got home from work the other day and wanted to make a Caprese Salad to accompany our dinner. I didn't have any large tomatoes and didn't fancy a trip to the store...so, I got creative! I had grape tomatoes, so I decided to make bite-sized Caprese Salad appetizers. Take a look. I think these would make a great appetizer for a party too!

Here's the recipe...

Ingredients:

Grape Tomatoes

Fresh Mozerella Cheese

Fresh basil leaves

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Kosher Salt

Cracked Black Pepper

Slice the top and bottom off each tomato, cut in half, and place on a dish with the middle up. Cut each mozerella ball in half and place on top of each tomato half. Top with chopped basil, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Easy!

Cardboard craze: Box Creations

2011-05-16T12:42:00.000-05:00

Remember the cardboard Buzz Lightyear Spaceship I made for the Toy Story party...

...and the cardboard barn and tractor for the Farm-tastic Barnyard party?

Well, I've got some more cardboard fun in store for the upcoming "Marvel-ous" Spiderman party!

In the meantime, here's some more cardboard inspiration for you from Box Creations. I acutally purchased the priate ship and castle some time ago--now I just need a couple of candidates for a pirate ship party and a medieval knights party!

Inspiration: Mr Men and/or Little Miss Party

2011-05-09T19:10:00.000-05:00

I was so happy this morning when I turned on my computer to see Google's doodles of the day: several Mr. Men-themed and Little Miss-themed doodles to celebrate the author's 76th birthday (hit refresh on the Google homepage to see them all!) :-) I loved Mr. Men and Little Miss books while growing up in the UK. My son loves them too--I bought the whole set of books for him online from a vendor in the UK!! He He. Check out the Google doodles:

I know the Mr. Men aren't as popular in the US, but the doodles are making me want to throw a Mr. Men party! Here's some inspiration...

Party invitations from Invitesbyme on Etsy.

Party plates and cups from Birthday Express.

Check out these magnets from goodtimepartyfun on Etsy. They'd make cool favors, don't you think?

And I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these plush Mr. Men and Little Miss toys from bnwcraft on Etsy.

Parties must have cake. Donna Makes Cakes....but in the UK.... :-(

Donna, move to the US, please?!

How about some fun craft activities at Mr. Messy's craft table...check out these Mr. Men from Crafty Creatures...

Enough inspiration to get the wheels turning. I'm imagining Mr. Small's cottage as the venue (or, rather, my house turned into Mr. Small's cottage complete with white picket fences)...lots of Cleverland animals...Walter the worm decorations...Mr. Men lanterns...Mr. Greedy's dream menu for the party food....Mr. Jelly's jello...rides in Mr. Funny's shoe car...Mr. Bump's apple orchard...Mr. Funny party hats...white and yellow daisies all around...fluffy white clouds...fluffy green trees...ahhhhhh...guess who's daydreaming like Mr. Daydream! :-)

Sneak Peek: Spiderman Party

2011-04-28T23:01:00.001-05:00

I'm about 2 months out from my son's 4th birthday party, so it's time to start planning! I know, I know, 2 months sounds like a long time, but don't forget that I also work, so I have to fit all my crafting into evenings and weekends! He LOVES Spider Man right now and he is insisting that we have a Spider Man party. Personally, I would have loved to have done something more original, but I fundamentally believe that parties should be fun for the guest of honor. So, if he wants Spider Man, then I will give him Spider Man.

I've got several things in the works, so look out for some more sneak peeks over the next couple of months, but try not to ruin the surprise! :-)

First up, a tutorial on how to make these Spider Man comic book letters (which also double as wall decor for his super hero bedroom before and after the party!)

Tutorial: Spiderman Comic Book Letters

These comic book letters make a great decorative accent for a superhero-themed party or bedroom. Rather than tearing up valuable, vintage comic books, I simply printed images from Spiderman comics that I found on the Internet. Alternatively, you could make color copies of your favorite vintage comic book and use the copies. I recycled the wooden letters from my son's previous "monkey"-themed room so this was a cost-free project for me, but you could use inexpensive chipboard letters. I do, however, like the thickness of the wooden letters over the chipboard letters.

Step 1: You will need wooden/chipboard letters, comic book (real, copies or computer printouts), tissue paper, Mod Podge, a brush, scissors and a pencil.

Step 2: Flip over each wooden letter and trace around each wooden letter on the back of a comic book page.

Step 3: Cut out the letters from the comic book pages and set them aside. These will be used later to cover the front face of each wooden letter.

Step 4: Cut strips of tissue paper to about twice the thickness of your wooden letters.

Step 5: Apply Mod Podge to the edges of each wooden letter.

Step 6: Paste the tissue paper strips around each wooden letter, to completely cover the edges of each wooden letter. You may need to cut small slits to get around curved letters, as shown below. Apply more Mod Podge over the tissue paper.

Step 7: Apply Modge Podge to the face of each letter, position the comic book page cut out and apply more Mod Podge over the top of each letter and seal all the edges. It may look a little pasty when it is wet, but it will dry clear.

Step 8: Let the comic book letters dry thoroughly. Coat with a clear coat of varnish to finish.

Voila!

Then I got a little carried away....I did the light switch....

...and the night light! Don't they look cute? :-)

Royal Wedding Cookies

2011-04-27T10:55:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post because I absolutely had to share these awesome Royal Wedding Cookies from my favorite local cookie shop, Lily's Cookies! Aren't they fabulous?!! Enough said!

Inspiration: Scrabble Party

2011-04-24T21:43:00.000-05:00

Here's a random fact about me: I am a complete and utter Scrabble-aholic. There, I said it. I have been playing Scrabble all my life--even during those teenage years when it really wasn't cool to be besotted with something so academic! :-)

Fast forward 15 years and, of course, now I'm a complete and utter "Words With Friends"-aholic! It's my favorite app on my i-Phone. I love the fact that I can play my favorite word game (albeit with Triple Word squares in a different location) with friends and family in distant parts of the country.

But, you know, it's really no substitute for a face-to-face Scrabble match--which brings me to the subject of this post...

I've had this idea percolating in my brain for a while. Game nights and poker nights are pretty popular, but why not a Scrabble party?!! I would, however, recommend vetting your guest list pretty carefully for this one! Even if your guests are not die-hard word geeks, they have to at least be willing to play. (I say this because some of my own family and friends won't play Scrabble with me, for fear of losing!)

I have been scouring the web for some ideas and there are some fabulous ones out there. Here are some of my favorites, with my own twists along the way.

Invitations:

I like this simple and elegant invitation design from amayzndesigns, which uses the Scrabble board as a back drop and Scrabble tiles to spell out the name of the guest of honor.

It also gave me a great DIY idea--make several color copies of your Scrabble board, cut them to size and use them for the backdrop of your invitation. Then, print out your party details on your computer (use velum so you can see the board beneath) and paste the details on top of the board, for a cool "collage" invitation. You can do the same with the letters--check out the free printable Scrabble letters here.

I love the use of the play on words in this invitation below (especially appropriate for a party based on a word game, don't you think?)

Try doing the same with your invitation, by incorporating lots of Scrabble jargon. Here are some more ideas: It's time to mind your Ps and Qs...Don't be a Q without U...Join us for a Scrabble party and get a Triple Word Score...

Party Decor:

Wow, here's an idea for any Scrabble nut out there! Decorate your living room like this. Isn't it fabulous?!! For those who may not want to be stuck with Scrabble-themed decor long after the party, you could achieve a similar look by draping white sheets over your sofas and by adding Scrabble throw pillows.

If you're thinking of hosting a Scrabble party for a birthday, check out this Scrabble Happy Birthday banner.

Food and Drinks:

I absolutely ADORE these wine charms. I think I'm going to get some! :-)

Some people love Scrabble so much, they have Scrabble weddings! Check out this amazing cake from Sweet Things, in Toronto.

Here's another fab wedding cake from Pink Cake Box.

Of course, if you're not in the market for a full-blown wedding cake, then how about the cupcakes or cookies featured above from Pink Cake Box or the delectably "YUM" cupcakes below from Sweet Things? Or you could make your own cupcake toppers with white fondant rolled and cut into squares and a black edible marker--you can buy the edible markers at Karen's Cookies. Use them to write any message matching your theme or event.

If you're not the baking-type (or even the fondant-rolling-type), you can buy fondant toppers here.

The Action:

A Scrabble party isn't just about the Scrabble-themed party goodies (although those are wonderful and would make me want to throw a Scrabble party even if I didn't like Scrabble). It is about the very serious business of playing a good Scrabble match. Depending on how much time you have, you can just set up a few boards and have people play a leisurely game with 1-3 other people or set it up tournament style, with play-offs, ending in a final match between the two winners--if you go the tournament route, you might want to set timers for each turn to make sure the tournament ends within a reasonable time frame.

If your guests don't have the attention span for a tournament (or even a single, full game), then have them play Speed Scrabble. You can do this, with or without a board, by having everyone make the best word (or as many words as possible) using the same 7 randomly-chosen letter tiles, within an allotted period of time.

In any event, make some Scrabble trophies for the winner(s). This is a great DIY project--all you need are some store-bought trophies, some old Scrabble tiles spelling "WINNER" or "CHAMPION" and some hot glue!

You can even combine the Scrabble party with another theme--like the one featured in the culinary Scrabble party invitation above. For example, you get bonus points for making food-related words.

Or how about a Scrabble baby shower? You get bonus points for baby-related words!! :-)

Favors:

If you are planning on sending your guests home with favors, then how about the wine charms shown above for a cool favor idea?! Also, check out these Scrabble gift bags:

So now I'm itching to have a Scrabble party. I just need to find some local friends willing to take on the challenge...or I could fly in my Words With Friends friends! JK!

Pop Diva Party

2011-03-26T19:31:00.009-05:00

Hello to all my wonderful readers. I know I haven't posted in a long time, but events in my "real life" haven't been much to party about lately. I'm now trying my best to move forward from my recent loss and want to tell you about this Pop Diva Party.

My dear friend Bird of Bird's Party asked me to style this party using Bird's Pop Diva party printables, available at her Etsy shop. The party has also been featured in Austin Woman Magazine's March issue and Bird's online magazine.

I think this party is an awesome idea for a tween girl, who has grown out of princesses and fairies and grown into quite a little diva herself!

Part of the challenge of this party for me was that Bird and I thought it would be fun to style the whole party using things I already had on hand. I honestly didn't buy anything, except the "pop diva" glitter letters and the edibles! See if you can spot things I reused from other parties featured on this blog!

Popcorn for the pop divas. I just love the play on words.

This popcorn stand is so easy to make--just make the cones using the scrapbook paper and embellishments found in the printables collection and fix to the base using lollipop sticks. The base is made from a Styrofoam block covered with gift wrap.

I added blue and pink sugar sprinkles to add a "pop" of color!

Check out these gorgeous guitar cookies.

They were generously provided by Lily's Cookies, an awesome local cookie boutique.

Visit Lily's Cookies website for more designs.

Isn't it amazing what you can do with store-bought cupcakes, when you have an amazing printables collection for the toppers and wrappers?

More sweet treats...

...and the final play on words: soda pop!

The following excerpts from my Austin Woman article explain the central features of the party:

When it comes to planning a party, we all know teenagers can be tough, but tweens have their own set of challenges. Rather than wistfully remembering the days when your little girl loved anything to do with fairies and princesses, including the fairy princess tea party you hosted for her when she was six, get shakin’ on planning a pop music-themed birthday that your little diva and her friends will be sure to love.

Set the tone with your invitations. The invitations and party printables featured here were graciously custom-designed by Bird of Bird’s Party for our Pop Diva party and definitely helped set the tone (get the whole collection at birdsparty.com). To build even greater anticipation for the big event, include a backstage pass with each invitation, which will give your guests exclusive access to the “VIP Lounge” and a chance to meet a mystery guest! Or, go a step further and record a short music video “sneak peek” with your daughter and burn it onto CDs to send video invitations to your guests.

Kick-up the beat with your party decorations and turn your party into a concert venue. Set up a red carpet and VIP entrance for your guests, and have Dad or an uncle dress up and act as “security” at the door. Decorate your party venue with both glamour and whimsy in mind. The party featured here uses teal blue, pink and purple, electric guitar and star motifs and lots of glitter! The theme is girly and very fun. Bright feathers, rhinestones and disco balls complete the look. Within your party venue, set-up an area to be a dressing room or hair-and-makeup studio. Set up another area as “Center Stage” and, of course, another area as “Backstage,” so your guests can use their backstage passes to gain entry into the “VIP Lounge.” Have someone dress-up as a well-known pop star or the latest American Idol to meet and greet your guests in the VIP Lounge and sign autographs. The tweens at the party are probably not going to be interested in party games like Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Donkey, so offer activities appropriate for their age group. Here are some ideas:

Hire a professional to do face painting and/or enlist your girlfriends to serve as beauticians to your little guests.

If you have instruments, set those up too, or make some faux electric guitars using poster board and get some fake microphones, so the girls can use them as props. Have the audience vote for their favorite artists, then have a mock Grammy-award ceremony and give out trophies or other prizes to the winners in each category.

Use “Center Stage” as the focal point of your venue and have the girls take turns, either alone or in groups, at karaoke. If you have instruments, set those up too, or make some faux electric guitars using poster board and get some fake microphones, so the girls can use them as props. Have the audience vote for their favorite artists, then have a mock Grammy-award ceremony and give out trophies or other prizes to the winners in each category.

And don’t forget to record the performances. Not only will they provide a great reminder to your daughter of her special day, you can record the videos onto CDs and send them to the guests with thank you notes after the party.

Favors that are sure to go “platinum." Send the little pop stars in-the-making home with some music jams to inspire them. Purchase pop compilations to give out as party favors or work with your daughter to select her favorite pop songs and record them onto CDs to hand out as party favors. Customize the CD cover to include your daughter’s name and birthday.

Now there’s a party fit for a pop star!

--In honor of my little Pop Diva.

A Fairy Tea Party

2011-02-15T10:50:00.000-06:00

I'm so thrilled to share this party with you!! Not only is it absolutely GORGEOUS, but it is proof positive that I actually have readers!!! (Since I'm not a professional party planner, I really do wonder if y'all are out there! :-) But I guess you are...at least a few of you!)

This fabulous Fairy Tea Party was sent to me by Kristi, from the blog "and babies make four". Thanks Kristi, for reading my blog and especially for sharing this amazing party!

For more details, check out Kristi's blog. I especially love the handmade little fairies that she placed on the "mix and match" vintage tea cups at each place setting. I also LOVE her idea of doing a doll exchange, instead of birthday gifts. Awesome idea!

I think any little girl would love to have a party just like this! But don't despair if you think your daughter might have outgrown this party...by coincidence, I've been working on a party concept for an older girl for Austin Woman Magazine's next issue...I can't share the details just yet, but let's just say it's perfect for a tween and even uses a similar color scheme to this Fairy Tea Party!! Check back for details.

Lily's Cookies

2011-02-05T21:12:00.001-06:00

Today, I wanted to bring you some delicious eye candy from a local San Antonio bakery, Lily's Cookies. Lily’s Cookies specializes in beautifully hand-crafted, decorated cookies that taste every bit as good as they look!!! They have dozens of designs to choose from or they can customize cookies to match any theme. Here's just a few of the cookies they offer. Check their website for more designs.

Bee My Valentine Party, Featured on Pizzazzerie!

2011-01-29T13:50:00.001-06:00

I am absolutely thrilled to bits!! Today, Courtney Dial has featured my "Bee My Valentine" party on her fabulous blog Pizzazzerie!!! Pizzazzerie is one of my favorite party sites, so it's hard for me to express how deeply flattered I am that she has featured my party! :-) Thank you Courtney! I am so thrilled!!

Bee My Valentine Party

2011-01-24T10:00:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited to be able to share with you this "Bee My Valentine" party!!

After the success of the Winter Warmer party, I was asked to style a children's Valentine's party and write an accompanying article for Austin Woman Magazine's February issue, which hits news stand on February 1st. I decided to go with a "bee" theme, with cute little pink and black bumblebees. Naturally, I asked my friend Bird from Bird's Party if she'd be interested in helping me with the party printables to match my theme. She agreed and also told me that she'd like to make the collection available at a discounted price in support of Operation Shower. You can visit Bird's blog for more information on downloading the printables collection.

Here's some photos of the party. Check back next week for the accompanying article, to be published in AW, which includes ideas for bee-themed party games, "how-tos" on the bee-themed food featured here, and lots of other fun stuff!!

Black & White Party

2011-01-12T20:55:00.000-06:00

Our New Year's Eve Party this year had a Black and White theme. I got a great start on the decorations by buying Bird's Glitter and Snow Collection. Thanks Bird! I decided to take the theme a couple of steps further than just the decorations, by having a black and white dress code for the party and by having "black and white" food items on the menu! Take a look.

I set up a Black and White dessert station, with black and white brownie cupcakes, chocolate-covered marshmallows, black and white cheesecake bites, black and white truffles, gorgeous black and white damask chocolate-covered Oreos from Sweeties by Kim, and black and white Oreo "bark".

Only regret was not having enough time to set up a black and white back drop before the guests arrived! :-(

Here's a closer peek at the black and white cheesecake bites. I made the cheesecake at home, topped it with black and white chocolate chips, and cut it into cubes before serving it in tiny square cups. The abstract chocolate embellishments were made by piping melted chocolate onto parchment paper.

You can get the entire Glitter and Snow collection at Bird's Party.

Check out these gorgeous damask chocolate covered Oreos! I wish I could claim these as my own creation. But I was lucky enough to find them from Sweeties By Kim.

I used Black and White throughout the rest of the decorations for the party, coupled with glittery black top hats and black and white feather masquerade masks.

I didn't get any photos of the food buffet (as I said, time was tight before guests arrived), but even the savory foods had a Black and White theme. We served white queso with black tortilla chips, black bean dip with white tortilla chips, black bean quesadillas, white cheddar puffs, a black and white cheese and olive platter, and various other black and/or white foods!

We topped off the night with a black and white balloon drop (and champagne toast) at midnight.

Happy New Year!

Winter Warmer Party, Featured By Austin Woman Magazine

2011-01-01T22:14:00.002-06:00

I am so excited to FINALLY be able to tell everyone what I've been working on! In early November, I was asked by Austin Woman Magazine to design a winter party for its January issue, which hit the newsstands today! They asked me to come up with a theme for the party, style the party, and write an article about the party!

Since its cold outside, I thought what better than a Winter Warmer party, with a hot chocolate and marshmallow tasting bar!? Yum! I was lucky enough to be able to enlist my good friend, Bird, from Bird's Party to design a set of custom party printables to match my wintry theme, using frosty blue and white snowflakes, with hints of cocoa. Thanks Bird!

Here is what the article looks like (you can read the whole article in the digital edition of the magazine, by visiting their website at www.austinwomanmagazine.com).

The central concept of the party was a hot chocolate mixing station, where guests could create their own custom blend of hot chocolate, using one of several flavors of hot cocoa and a variety of toppings. Here are some more photos of the hot chocolate tasting bar.

The magazine has asked me to write a second article for their February issue! Yippee!! So be sure to check back next month to see the details from my "Bee my Valentine" kids party, with a cute little pink and black bumble bee theme. Bird will once again be collaborating with me, by designing custom party printables for the party!

Christmas Tree Centerpiece Ideas

2010-12-08T14:50:00.001-06:00

Christmas trees are not only fun to decorate with all your favorite ornaments, they can make great centerpieces for holiday parties! Check out these clever (and easy to make) ideas.

This pretty peppermint topiary from Anders Ruff is made from a Styrofoam cone covered in peppermints. How simple, and yet, so eye-catching!

This candy cane topiary from Pizzazzerie is also made from a Styrofoam cone. The cone is covered with Royal Icing and the candy canes are set in the icing, which hardens when it dries. The tree is attached to a candle holder using a floral tube. Check out this tutorial.

Birdcrafts featured this snowy white trees in her Christmas Candy Land collection. These are also made from Styrofoam cones covered in faux snow and set atop candle holders.
She has a tutorial in her NEW online holiday magazine!!

Okay, so this isn't really a centerpiece, but it could be.

It also makes a great entryway display, from Real Simple magazine.

Here's a cone-iferous advent calendar from Family Fun, but you could easily modify the idea to use numerous paper cones to create a centerpiece.

Or how about these ribbon trees from Crafty Crystal? I love 'em!

How yummy is this gumdrop tree from make and takes?

Holiday Cookie Exchange Party

2010-11-30T21:30:00.000-06:00

I'm attending a Cookie Exchange party this weekend, hosted by one of my dearest colleagues. I've been scouring the web for festive cookie ideas and thought I'd share them here, in case you are also attending one (or even hosting one) this holiday season and are also looking for ideas and recipes.

If you are hosting one, check out the great tips for hosting a cookie swap at Martha Stewart.

If you are attending one, here are some ideas.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies from Martha Stewart.

Green Tea Christmas Tree Cookies from The Tea Chick

Classic Sugar Cookies from Alton Brown

Sugar-Dusted Lemon Bars from Family Fun

Original Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies from The Very Best Baking

Gingerbread Cookie from Alexandra Guarnaschelli

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti from the Joy of Baking

Holiday "Windownpane" Cookies from The Food Network

Raspbery Chocolate French Macaroons from Epicurious.com

Springerle Cookies from Delish.com

Linzer-style Tree Cookies from Delish.com

Yum! Now I just have to decide which to make!

Thankful for Thanksgiving Party Printables

2010-11-23T13:44:00.001-06:00

Still looking for table setting ideas for Thanksgiving dinner, but think you've waited too long to pull off anything really creative and elegant? Well, look no further because there are so many wonderful party printables collections out there to save the day. These collections really will save you hours of work, so you can focus on roasting that turkey! All you need is a color printer, white cardstock and a cutter/pair of scissors! Isn't that something to be thankful for?! And what's even more amazing, is that so many of the most talented and creative party goods designers around are giving away their Thanksgiving collections for FREE!! In this post, I've showcased many of my favorite Thanksgiving party printables collections that are free, but don't forget to repay your debt of gratitude by visiting their collections at other times of year and buying their party printables collections for all of your do-it-yourself party needs!

First off, my all-time favorite party printables designer and friend, Bird from BirdCrafts, offers up her Happy Thanksgiving collection.

Hostess with the Mostess is offering its Grateful Mod Thanksgiving collection in support of a great cause, Operation Give Thanks, which furthers the cause of Operation Shower. This is the collection I'm using for my "Traditional/Mod Thanksgiving".

TomKat Studio is also offering its Give Thanks collection in support of Operation Shower.

Catch My Party members can also get Thanksgiving Party Printables from Lindi from Love the Day, with an elegant grey damask design. How elegant!

Set up this adorable Thanksgiving "kids table" with this Thanksgiving Collection from Paper Glitter.

Check out this colorful collection from Dimple Prints.

Anna & Blue Paperie's Thanksgiving collection features classic fall colors.

I love these Thanksgiving paper chains from Silverbox Creative Studio.

What a lot of awesome and talented folks to be thankful for!

Traditional/Mod Thanksgiving

2010-11-14T12:12:00.002-06:00

Remember the "Mod" Thanksgiving Printables that I featured from Hostess with the Mostess? Well, as I said, I loved them so much, I had to incorporate them (and my son's acorns and leaves) into the Thanksgiving tablescape I'm planning for our Thanksgiving this year. Take a look.

Lilac Babyshower Featured by "Catch My Party"!

2010-11-14T11:35:00.002-06:00

Thanks to Catch My Party for featuring another of my parties as the "Party of the Day" on their website!

Buzz Lightyear Rocketship Featured by "Catch My Party"

2010-11-12T14:29:00.001-06:00

This Party Wall is really taking off (excuse the pun)!!
The rocketship from my son's Toy Story Party was featured by the Catch My Party Blog!

"Mod" Thanksgiving

2010-11-10T19:24:00.001-06:00

I absolutely adore this "mod" Thanksgiving table from my favorite blog of all time, Hostess with the Mostess!! For our family Thanksgiving this year, I planned to go a little more traditional--just yesterday, I had my son help me gather up acorns, leaves and other items from our back yard for our tablescape (more on that later)--but I love this collection so much, I absolutely have to incorporate these printables...as well as my son's natural treasure! So, I'm changing my theme from "traditional" to "traditional/mod"! I hope it will look great, but who knows, it may just come out looking confused...we'll see soon enough!!

Lilac Baby Shower

2010-11-09T19:53:00.004-06:00

Do you remember the sneak peak of the lilac baby shower from a couple of weeks ago? Well, the shower was this weekend and it was a huge success! At the last party I featured on the blog, the Halloween dessert buffet was the star of the show. At this shower, a different type of (inedible) cake served as the focal point! :-) I used lots of paper flowers throughout as the uniting theme. The party favors were lavender recipe cards (lavender ice cream, cookies, brie, salmon, vinaigrette etc.) and sachets of lavender.

Diwali Recap

2010-11-08T21:01:00.002-06:00

The Indian festival of Diwali was this past weekend. This is the rangoli I made at our house. Rather than using the traditional colored powder used in India, I used colored sand (from the local craft store to make my rangoli).

Here is the rangoli at night, lit with diyas.

I also made swastik and om symbols with tea light candles.

Some floating candles in a copper bowl, surrounded by more diyas.

I created a centerpiece by placing votive candles in a copper bowl.

I placed the bowl on a piece of saree fabric and placed flowers around the bowl.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle!

2010-11-08T12:39:00.001-06:00

So, I just have to tell you about this Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle recipe! I am so excited about it because my mum insist on making Trifle for holidays--including Thanksgiving! (Yes, she is still a pure Brit, despite having lived in the US for 12 years!) Now we can combine our love of Trifle with pumpkin/gingerbread goodness! And pumpkin screams Thanksgiving way louder than jelly and custard! ;-)

What a great alternative to pumpkin pie for this Thanksgiving! Thanks Paula!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/pumpkin-gingerbread-trifle-recipe/index.html

Note, in my opinion, this recipe still meets the mission statement of this blog, because it is oh-so pretty to the eye (and I'm sure, the tongue). But, if not, who cares? It's my party (blog), and I'll cry (or do) as I want to!

I've been featured by Birdcrafts!

2010-11-08T09:00:00.001-06:00

I'm so excited to report that Birdcrafts featured my Halloween dessert buffet yesterday! Yippee!! Thanks Bird!!

Well, it's been an action packed weekend with Diwali and the babyshower I was hosting. I'll be posting photos soon, so check back for those!

Project: DIY Halloween Dessert Buffet

2010-10-31T16:16:00.004-05:00

I'm a huge fan of Amy Atlas (who incidentally was a lawyer before building her dessert buffet empire)! And who doesn't love her candy/dessert buffets. Since Halloween is all about tricks and "treats", it's the perfect holiday for a dessert buffet. Of course, Amy's marvelous creations are not in everyone's budget--this includes my brother, who asked me to help him design a last minute "budget" friendly dessert buffet for his Halloween party. The challenge was to create a buffet with the visual impact of a couture dessert buffet, but for under $50. Here's what I came up with.

I used black polka dot gift wrap for the backdrop, with white muslin draped over it to create the effect of cobwebs. I made a "treats" banner out of scrapbook paper, card stock and ribbon, and stuck a few fake spiders on the banner.

The centerpiece is made from a dead plant, which has been sitting at a secretarial station in our office for, well, about 2 years! I stuck candy corn all over it! I also made a creepy candy forest using Twizzlers, graham crackers, and candy corn--I saw this idea in a parenting magazine!

Marshmallow pops are so easy to make. Just put the marshmallows on lollipop sticks, dip in white chocolate and twirl in a bowl of sprinkles!

Rather than buy cupcakes from a bakery, I made some coconut cream cupcakes at home and dressed them up with coconut flakes and orange and black sprinkles. I made the cupcake wrappers and toppers out of candy corn themed scrapbook paper.

Using another idea from the parenting magazine, I made witch boots out of cardstock. The pretzels were dipped in candy-making chocolate and drizzled using Wilton purple candy melts.

I used some square vases, trimmed with polka dot ribbon, to hold candy corn and orange jelly candy.

These Oreo pops were my favorite thing on the whole table! To make them, you simply pull the Oreos apart, insert cookie sticks, put the Oreos back together, let them harden in the fridge for a couple of hours, dip in melted chocolate, let them harden again and then drizzle with Wilton orange and purple candy melts. I wrapped the pops in small plastic bag, glued polka dot ribbon bows on the pops and displayed them on a stand, which I made from a box lid covered in black gift wrap.

I filled small cocktail glasses with Reeses Pieces.

I hung these orange and black bird cages over the table. I found them at the craft store for $1 each! What a steal! I cut crow silhouettes out of black cardstock and stood them up in the cages.

The party was yesterday and my brother called me today to let me know how the party went. I was thrilled to hear that his guests were blown away by the dessert buffet! :-)

This party is linked to:

Farm Party featured by Catch My Party!!

2010-10-28T13:46:00.002-05:00

I think I've died and gone to party heaven! My son's 2nd birthday (a/k/a Old MacSohan's Farm Party) has been featured as the "Party of the Day" on Catch my Party.

Check it out!! http://catchmyparty.com/party-of-the-day/477

Cardboard Craze

2010-10-28T09:10:00.001-05:00

I saw this absolutely adorable "Alice in Wonderland" themed party a month or so ago at http://imprintables.blogspot.com/. My favorite element, of course, is the cardboard rocking chairs! I've been on a mission to find them ever since.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find them in the USA. :-(

They are made by a company owned by two Dutch artists called Villa Carton: http://www.villacarton.com/
If anyone knows of a way for me to get these in the USA, without paying exorbitant international shipping rates, please let me know! Now, if only I had a little girl to throw a party for...!

Real Simple "repurposing" ideas

2010-10-27T12:23:00.001-05:00

I love to "repurpose" things. When I see a cardboard box, I don't see a cardboard box, I see the potential to turn it into a tractor or a spaceship! One of my favorite magazine, Real Simple, always has amazing ideas for repurposing things. The magazine is collecting all of its "a-ha" ideas together to publish a book, which I can't wait to get my hands on! In the meantime, here are some of my favorite repurposing ideas for parties from the Real Simple website.

Create an unique guestbook for a party by having each guest sign the surface of a flat stone with a colored marker. The stones can then be displayed in a tall vase at the party and can serve as a nice keepsake for the guest of honor after the party.

Freeze water//juice/punch in a bundt pan, remove the ice from the pan, and then

float the ice sculpture in your bowl of punch.

Use upturned champagne flutes or wine glasses as elegant candle holders.

Here's one I've done before.

A roll of wrapping paper can make an inexpensive and colorful table runner.

Pick paper to match any theme and use a simple, neutral colored table cloth underneath.

Attach foil cupcake liners to add sparkle to your Christmas lights.

I absolutely LOVE this idea!

Glue name tags on toothpicks and use them to identify the cheeses at your next wine and cheese party.

Have each cheese tell your guests a little bit about himself/herself too! How cute!

Here's another idea that I often use when transporting cakes to the party location.

Toothpicks inserted into a cake can be used to "tent" cling film over the cake, so the film doesn't stick to the icing.

Lollipops can double as drink stirrers that add a twist of flavor to your cocktail.

Choose colors that match your theme.

(Just don't let your kids get hold of them!)

Sneak Peek: Lilac Baby Shower

2010-10-21T22:43:00.002-05:00

I'm so excited to be co-hosting a baby shower in early November for one of my close friends! Preparations are well under way and I wanted to give you a sneak peek.

The theme is a traditional floral theme, in lilac, pink and green (which was selected based on the color scheme for the baby's nursery), with a modern twist...

Halloween at Target hits the spot!

2010-10-21T21:38:00.001-05:00

You really never know what you might find in the dollar bins at Target. This year, Target had an awesome range of Halloween goodies! I stumbled upon these quite by accident, when I was at the store for something else. The whole display cost me less than $20 and only took about 30 minutes to put together! Just goes to show that you don't have to spend a lot of time or money to have a nice holiday display.

The letters and graphics on the jars are actually window gel clings. I added some googly eyes to some ornamental gourds and they were instantly transformed into ghoulish monsters! Spider webs and a few plastic spiders add the finishing touch.

Diwali Inspirations

2010-10-21T13:41:00.001-05:00

Although I've been busy preparing for Halloween parties and a baby shower, the Indian festival of "Diwali" is also coming up soon and I've also been scouring the web for ideas for our family's celebration this year.

Diwali is the festival of lights. The most common traditional decorations for Diwali consist of "Diyas" (candles/lamps), "Rangolis" (intricate floral designs drawn on the ground with colored powder, rice and grains), "Torans" (banners), decorated puja thalis (the plate used in prayer ceremonies) and lots of fresh flowers.

More to come on what I'm planning for Diwali this year, but in the meantime I wanted to showcase some of the great ideas I've found on the web. Of course, I'm also planning on drawing a lot of inspiration from the Indian themes in my recent "Bollywood Karoake Party"! I'm also going to "repurpose" many of the items from that party! ;-)

Check out these amazing diyas from http://reshmi-on-art.blogspot.com/2009/10/making-colourful-diwali-diya-designs.html. Diyas are small clay pots, decorated with vivid colors and designs. They are filled with oil and a home-made wick, which is lit, to create a candle-like effect. Reshmi, you are very talented!

I love this simple, yet elegant, entryway feature from http://rangdecor.blogspot.com/

Here is a very traditional rangoli design from http://festivals.iloveindia.com/diwali/diwali-rangoli.html.

This rangoli from http://diwali-celebrations.blogspot.com/2009/09/floral-rangoli-for-diwali-rangoli.html is made of fresh flower petals. I absolutely love the effect (and fragrance!) this creates. It's also far less messy than colored powder, which is a huge bonus if you've got small children "helping" you!

This design from http://www.theholidayspot.com/diwali/home_decorations.htm combines rangoli and diya elements.

Here is another rangoli created with flowers from http://www.gharexpert.com/.

This rangoli reminds me so much of the "60" sign I made for the Bollywood Karaoke party (see below), which was made with paper flower petals...(I hear the creative wheels turning...)

This idea, also from http://www.gharexpert.com/, utilizes diyas to create a giant "Om" symbol.

The website http://www.bharat9.com/ featured this puja thali, and also contains several "how-tos" on how to decorate your own.

A simple and charming thali design from http://ilesh-myworld.blogspot.com/2008/10/diwali-pooja-thali-decoration-ideas.html, also with a "how-to".

The blog http://diwali-day.blogspot.com/2009/09/diwali-puja-gifts.html has several more examples of thalis such as this.

Well, that definitely got my creative juices flowing! I can't wait to show you what I come up with. Stay tuned...

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-15T20:52:00.006-05:00

My son, my niece and I had lots of fun decorating pumpkins! We chose to use ornamental pumpkins, so the small size would be easier to handle for little hands.

Bollywood Karaoke Party featured by Birdcrafts!

2010-10-11T09:06:00.000-05:00

My "Bollywood Karaoke Party" was featured by Bird on her blog: http://www.birdcrafts.blogspot.com/ on Thursday, October 7th, in her "cool customers" section! Yippee!!

Bollywood Karaoke Party

2010-10-04T19:57:00.004-05:00

Our family hosted a surprise 60th birthday party for my father in law. The theme was "Bollywood Karaoke". With the help of Birdcrafts party printables (visit her shop at Etsy.com) and a Bollywood karaoke machine, we had a party fit for a Bollywood movie star.

I designed a Welcome sign to coordinate with the party printables from BirdCrafts...

...and a Bollywood Karaoke sign to define the karaoke area.

I absolutely LOVE party pom poms, so I had to make some! Only to discover that back in the early 70's in India when my inlaws got married, they had similar paper "torans" at their wedding. This created a lovely nostalgic feel!

Borrowing from the party pom pom idea, I made coordinating paper flower centerpieces.

Rather than filling them with candy, I filled these apothecary jars with flowers, feathers and beads.

I used the labels from the party printables collection to customize some "Filmfare Awards" to honor the best karaoke singers of the evening. The Filmfare Awards are Bollywood's version of the Oscars/Academy Awards.

Each table was named after a famous Indian playback singer and had on it a homemade photo holder, with a photo of the singer and his/her name.The photoholders were made of floral wire and beads. Each table also had on it the party printable elephant centerpieces.

The party favors, placed at each table setting, were small apothecary style jars, filled with candy. I used the party printables and rhinestones to embellish the jars.

Each table also has a karaoke song booklet, containing all the Bollywood songs for the karaoke.

In the entry way, I placed a table with the welcome sign and a guest book. I made a large "60" out of tissue paper flowers to place on the welcome table.

I embellished the guest book with rhinestones too.

I used the party printable banner for the front of the cake table.

I found small decorative elephants to place on the cake table and around the party venue.

I placed cardstock letters along the front of the table (also embellished with rhinestones!)

I made a custom banner to hang over the cake table.

I embellished the elephant cutouts with more rhinestones!

Here are more photos from the party.

I decorated the karaoke area with vintage Hindi movie posters.

I also found some movie-themed coasters to place on the tables.

I used hurricane vases for floating candle centerpieces. I added a few drops of food coloring to the water and floated the candle on top.