Emerging Trends in Celebration Decoration Day 4: BIY Bars
July 3rd, 2011 § 1 Comment
… as in Build-It-Yourself! I’ve already done a couple of postings on the Mac and Cheese Bar as well as the Slider Bar at the mother’s day party. Guests love the flexibility and opportunity to be creative and it gives the host less to prepare aside from setting out the ingredients. I’d suggest framing suggestions for combinations for guests that may need some extra help.
Perfect for summer- this build your own hot dog bar includes toppings like banana peppers, onions, cheese, chili, jalapenos, pickles, mayo, green onions, salsa, cole slaw, ketchup and mustard. From Hostess with the Mostess. Clearly the author Jennifer has never had a Seattle Special- bratwurst with caramelized onions and cream cheese. You’ll thank me later.
The old favorite- Ice Cream Topping Bar, via Eat Drink Chic. Do a healthier version with frozen yogurt- those Red Mango-like shops are pretty much taking over Seattle.
This one has to be my favorite- Benedict Bar via Local Social. They have bacon, smoked salmon, and asparagus for main toppings- I’d also add tomato, avocado, and crab cakes.
Hot Cocoa bar from Katie Grace Designs. So creative with chocolate and white chocolate covered spoons, toppings like marshmallows, crushed peppermint, chipped cream, and peanut butter chips, and different flavored syrups. Where’s the Baileys?
YES! Thank you Apartment Therapy for the idea. A fondue party first of all would be amazing because cheese is pretty much the tastiest thing on the planet- second of all a fondue bar makes a great addition to an Achorman, Mad Men or any other 70′s party. The Melting Pot is a chain that specializes in cheese, broth, and chocolate fondue- their menu is a great source for ideas on fondues and dippers.
Picnic themed barbeque with Slider Bar feature
June 14th, 2011 § 1 Comment
My family had never seen me go into full-blown party panning mode until this Mother’s Day- as a present to my mom I offered to not only style the party she hosted for my giant army of aunts/uncles/cousins, etc. but also do all of the cooking and baking.
Chalkboard paint put to good use.
I printed out the “Lemonade” sign from my computer before tracing over the black ink with chalk- one of my favorite party tricks. I like to smudge the paper a bit to give it the chalkboard effect. 
The best part was the slider bar!
The guests loved being able to try different combinations of gourmet toppings without the commitment of an entire burger.
Grilled pineapple, caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, cheddar, and blue cheese.
Spreads in mason jars- I loved the idea of using clothespins for the labels. Avocado, barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce, mayo and ketchup.
And yes, it may take some hunting but some of the fancier grocery stores actually sell slider buns- brioche is a good alternative and there’s always dinner rolls.
My little creations.One grilled pineapple/onion/mayo/teriyaki sauce. The other sautéed mushrooms/blue cheese and bbq sauce. SO good.
A Pixie Party
April 11th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
As promised- here are pictures from the pixie party I threw for a friend’s daughter and Tinkerbell’s biggest fan. The whole party theme was inspired by the cupcake tower topper- this made a cute alternative to a cake with Tinkerbell’s face frosted all over it.
The colors were mossy green, chocolate brown, with hints of pink and sparkly silver (like pixie dust!) I wanted to throw in some 50′s retro touches to make the decor more whimsical to reference the original Peter Pan (as much as I love the new Pixie Hollow movement, I’m a purist.) 
I found this pixie punch which was well-used. I loved the idea of having the pixie silhouette.
The dessert table. I came up with a great technique for making the birthday sign from something I learned in high school art class. We used to take pictures from magazines, place on a light box, and trace the images. I was able to do the same thing using my laptop- copy and pasting the images into Powerpoint and resizing. I then placed a sheet of white printer paper and traced the outline of the image to make a template. The font for the sign is from this amazing site filled with Disney-inspired fonts. Download away!
Cupcake tower! A simple $15 Wilton Cake stand with a facelift.
Chocolate cupcakes with fudge frosting, rolled in crushed Oreos to give them a woodsy dirt look. I designed the cupcake wrappers with vintage 50s looking stars. You can download the template here.
After a couple of tries I have become a cake pop pro. So glad I had silver disco dust on hand. According to the birthday mom- these were a huge hit. I guess the cake pop phenomenon has yet to hit Seattle! Recipe here.
We also had Pixie Punch served in cute brown cups and pink and white striped straws, a green candy bar in apothecary jars complete with green pixie sticks, and tiny white pails filled with chocolate covered almonds. Special thanks to my friend Monica for handing me the reins and letting me use her fancy-schmancy camera to capture the details.
St. Patty’s Day Cupcakes
March 8th, 2011 § 3 Comments
I love St. Patrick’s Day- every year my mom hosts a party for the family to celebrate the half of my dad’s side that is Irish with corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and lots of Green River and O’Maley’s Irish Cream (never Bailey’s.) At some point as the night goes along she coerces me into doing what little Irish dancing I learned when I was 10.
Since this year for Lent I am (gasp) giving up alcohol (Yes. It’s true ) I thought I’d post some amazing St. Patty’s Day treats I’ve seen that I want to try and make this year.
Lucky Vanilla Cupcakes by Sprinkle Bakes. The green dusting is actually pistachios and how freakin’cute are those chocolate horseshoes?
You can’t have St. Patrick’s Day without these two staples. Guinness and Bailey’s Irish Cream Cupcakes from Annie’s Eats.
Leprechaun-sized “Green” velvet cake balls from Bakerella
…speaking of leprechaun’s I found these adorable rainbow cupcakes here.
And what goes at the end of the rainbow? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I looked all over the web to find the perfect gold or pot-o-gold cupcakes and found nada. Guess I have my work cut out for me!
A new theme to obsess over
February 18th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
What do you get when you take the whimsical eccentricity of Alice in Wonderland and twist it with the dark romance of Twilight?
… another reason to host a girls night. Here are some event ideas for you to bring to your hood.
Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.
I’m in love with this Snow White themed dessert table (or “sweet table” as she calls it- so cute!) from UK’s Belle Amour. The whole look and feel of it makes you feel like you’re in a snowy fairytale forest. To help you create your own I scourged the internet and found these deer cupcake toppers, this stitched heart button, instead of white dwarves- find some mismatched wolf statues from Goodwill and spray paint them white a few coats to get a nice opaque finish.
This fairy event had amazing detail- I loved the cake stands made from tree trunks and the topiary pops to add to a forest theme. I would do the topiaries with red velvet cake pops instead of lollipops- lucky you there is a tutorial posted here.
Birch candleholders- $24 for the set
What to do with the big bad wolf now that grandmother has escaped? He dined on her- now dine on him. Faux Fur table runner inspired by this wedding in Atlanta.
Moss accents gives the feel of an old-growth forest- moss balls- $4.95 each, moss runner- $10.00, and mossy rocks- $7.99.
Love it. Moss and bamboo, burlap and grapevine, and apparently eight hours to kill. Props to Katie Grace. Consider swapping the bird for a black wolf or red hooded silhouette.
I’m really hoping to execute on this one but for the time being I’m helping a friend throw a Tinker Bell party for her daughter. First hurdle is to get the birthday girl away from the request of a cake that has the potential to be the target of a Cakewrecks joke. Wish me luck.
“Bride to Bee” Bridal Shower
November 21st, 2010 § 1 Comment
Let me start by saying I know, it’s been far too long! I got a new job. This will also explain why I’m posting in November about a bridal shower that I threw last August. 
The lowdown on the bride- Shiloh, super cool hip cousin of mine. Gave me complete creative control- YESSSSS! I knew I wanted to throw her a brunch bridal shower since breakfast has probably the best food of any meal- you’ve got your sweet, you’ve got your savory, something for everyone. Add a Mimosa bar and BAM! You’ve got yourself a nice little party.
SO because brunch=yellow colors and I heart black and white stripes, and that’s what sparked the Bee theme. Everything was sunshine yellow, white, and black and white striped.
Recognize the DIY cake stands from this post? Well they got a little costume change 
Actually at this moment they are black (halloween party)
The food and drink stations were adorned with “Bee Treated” and “Bee Refreshed” banners.
The menu: bagel bites with salmon spread, potato pancakes with sour cream, yogurt/honey/strawberry parfaits, and assorted mini-quiches
I thought I’d be clever and have a “Pan Cake” that guests could cut into like a cake- I think I ended up making it too tall so it was an issue- not to mention my horrid altercation with a certain can of whipped cream. Too bad because they were FANTASTIC- I topped regular pancakes with grilled pineapple slices, and a sauce made from melted butter and brown sugar- a pineapple upside-down pancake!
Deviled eggs! As you can see, frosting dispensers are not just for cupcakes!
Cherry-vanilla granola in cute black/white striped cones lined with parchment, nestled in a bed of Honeycomb cereal [nudge, nudge]
A brunch-y alternative to cake pops- donut holes!
A fabulous brunch wouldn’t be complete without mimosas.
For the mimosa bar I had a giant ice bucket with three kinds of champagne and carafes of orange, cranberry, and grapefruit juice. Sliced strawberries for garnish; next time I want to also include blueberries and raspberries as an option. You can also have cranberries for a holiday party.
The invitations and all of the decorations were either handmade or vintage with a little facelift, I’ll post with instructions soon!
Birthday party with a twist of citrus
April 11th, 2010 § 1 Comment
Ok I have definitely been reading Amy Atlas’s blog too much- it’s official. Regardless, the display I created for my friend Vivian’s birthday party turned out awesome. I learned a couple of tricks too which I’ll share.
This was for a cocktail party so I centered the color theme around the lemon and lime centerpiece- it truly felt like a Spring party. Here are the details and how to:
- The cute flag banner was made from some damask scrapbook paper from Michael’s (trust me it so hard to find chic paper at Michael’s among all the cutesy baseball and stick figure children prints {gag} but I was persistent) and thin yellow satin ribbon I picked up for $0.50 a spool. Just cut the paper into triangles, and using an exacto knife and a cutting board, I cut 1/4 inch long slices near the top corners to thread the ribbon through.
- The lemon lime centerpiece was made by taping a thick satin ribbon along the edge of a glass cake stand.
Now you want to know how I made these glitter letters look so good- no I don’t own a special printer that prints everything in glitter but that would be awesome. I found the right font in Word and printed out all the letters and then placed a clean sheet of printer paper over it and traced the letters with my glue pen, followed by glitter. I used a cup and my ribbon spool to trace the circles.
I used Photoshop to create Vivian’s birthday tea recipe. I simply found a pattern I liked online, then selected and used the paint bucket tool to change all of the colors to match the theme. Then I made a transparent green box to set the stage for the text. I bought the frame a few months back on sale from Urban Outfitters for only $5!! Still kicking myself for just buying one. It makes a great display for party menus, recipes, etc.
I found all the mismatched bottles for drinks, the mason jars for the flowers and the yellow scarf on the table at the Goodwill. To make sure all the color shades were exact I cut off small pieces of the flag paper, yellow paper, and green ribbon, and taped them all together to create a swatch which a I held up against my choices. The Goodwill is my favorite place to look for party props and supplies because it’s cheap, it’s recycling, the money goes to a fantastic cause and…….
…who knows you might find that one thing you’ve been looking for ever since you moved into your apartment! I couldn’t believe my luck.
Alice in Wonderland Theme Parties and Tea Parties- best on the web
March 11th, 2010 § 2 Comments
Earlier this year I posted on my Mad Dinner Party with an Alice in Wonderland Theme which was an unbirthday for my real birthday. Now that the genius Tim Burton has taken the magical story into his own hands everyone seems to be throwing unbirthday parties and Mad Hatter tea parties and royal croquet tournaments. I have compiled my favorite ideas and saved the best for last (seriously it will knock your mismatched socks off)
Cute hand-painted oversized teacup tower makes a big statement- this is something you can make from teacups from the thrift store, some paint and a glue gun. This post came from a kids party featured on Party Wishes complete with a white-roses-painted red bush and a croquet court.
This rose wreath is adorable. Way to stay on theme. This one is from a toddler Alice party on Lark and Lola Idea Blog- even better they have detailed how-to instructions (with pictures!) here.
Classic Sir John Tennian style cupcake toppers from Fancy Flours
http://www.cupcake-decorating-ideas.com/mushroom-cupcakes.html
“One side will make you grow taller, the other side will make you grow shorter”- The Caterpillar. Mushroom cupcake how-to featured on Cupcake Decorating Ideas.
Seriously? You people and your darn creativity. See the full details on the birdcage bird at The Mama Dreamalogues.
“A” for authenticity! Alice in Wonderland decorating ideas from Instructables
The Queen of Class Amy Atlas had to join in on the fun. See the full posting here- love it!
Another darling kids’party featured on Hostess with the Mostess, Japanese lanterns are key.
Ok here’s my all-time favorite and you’ll see why…
I couldn’t just pick one picture so I have a few
This was from a teenager’s coming out party
If this party wasn’t featured on MTV’s “My Super Sweet Sixteen” it should have been!
I don’t even want to know how much this cost but it leaves for fantastic ideas. See the full article at Trendhunter.
And of course we can’t forget the fabulous Miss Gwen Stefani’s take on the tale- so what you waiting for? (skip ahead to 3:30 to bypass the intro)
Grown-up Disney Princess Party
March 5th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
For my last birthday I thought I’d combine my three favorite things: Disney, theme parties, and great friends.
I started with the Disney Scene Setter; two plastic rolls that turned my apartment into an illustrated Disney wonderland. The rolls combined came up to be eight feet wide and covered twenty-three feet of wall. The five-ft castle and princesses were add-ons that I simply taped to the background you can find an entire party package here. Its not just for kids- all of my friends loved it!
Here’s my Snow White theme bathroom. I cut the mirror frame out of a large sheet of gold poster board and used a sharpie and acrylic paint to make it look just like the one in Snow White. Using an exacto-knife and a cutting board made cutting out the center a breeze.
“Mirror Mirror on the Wall” was written with a glass market bought at Michael’s
Glittery “poison” apples were placed on the sink to complete the scene. Click here for full instructions to make your own.
A pink-themed dessert bar was set up featuring chocolate covered strawberries and other sweets. The cake stands I made from candle holders and glass plates I picked up at a thrift store. See how-to instructions here.
I made “Princess____” drink tags- guests put their real name and princess names on the tags before tying to the glass stem with the ribbon.
Activities included coloring (I found Disney Princess printable coloring pages here)Princess crown making (I used the Princess Tiana Tiara cutout for my pattern) as well as a Disney Princess Trivia game- the prize was a Snow White DVD.
Other party elements:
- I served champagne with strawberries and Snow White’s Apple Potion (Absolut Pear, Absolut Peach, Cranberry juice, Apple juice, and lemon-lime soda)
- White tissue paper poufs hung from the ceiling to look like puffy clouds (click here for the how-to)
- Pop-up tiara invitations were sent to the guests (click here for the how-to)
All of the guests came dressed as their favorite Disney Princess would have if she lived in 2010 (this was my Snow White costume)
One of my girl friends Holly was so sweet and made cupcakes just for the party. I wish I had thought to take pictures before they were gobbled up! She put in the cutest Princess cupcake toppers she found at Williams-Sonoma. The party was so great- an excuse for a bunch of almost grown-ups to have the dream princess party.
Tissue Paper Poufs
March 4th, 2010 § 1 Comment
It’s the new, cheap Japanese lantern! And much more eco-friendly as you can recycle these when you’re finished or simply disassemble them for gift wrapping or packing. I would love to re-use this idea using newspaper, maybe for a black and white party, a New York party or a 20′s era party.
I hung about a dozen of these from the ceiling at my Disney Princess Party to create the feeling of puffy clouds. You will need eight sheets of tissue paper in the color of your choice and string or floral wire. Idea inspired by Martha Stewart’s Tissue Paper Pom-Poms.
- stack all eight sheets on top of one another
- fold lengthwise back and forth accordion-style until you have one small long stack
- tie around the middle with the string or wire
- turn the stack on its side and begin pulling the sheets apart and to the center until you have one giant sphere of paper
- tie around the middle and hang from the ceiling
