Lollipops & Paper

Nativity Tablescape & FREE Printable {Christmas Tea Part 2}

2011-12-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

As a mentioned in a previous post, I decorated three tables for our church's Women's Christmas Tea. For one of the tables, I chose a gold and silver color scheme and used my nativity figurines.

My husband folded these napkins for me which held the silverware

I wanted to incorporate some sort of saying or theme so I designed some Joy to the World tags which I used to dress up some plain favor boxes.

As my Christmas gift to all of you, I am sharing these tags with you.

They would be great as cupcake toppers, gift tags, etc. There are three tags, each with a line from the song, "Joy to the World," "The Lord has come," and "Let Earth receive her king." You can use either a 2 inch square or 2 inch circle punch for these. You can download theme here.
As always, please do not resell these and credit to Lollipops & Paper is much appreciated.

Enjoy & Merry Christmas!

Christmas Tea 2011 ( Part 1)

2011-12-18T19:50:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite church events, our annual Women's Christmas Tea was simply amazing and the tablescapes this year were beautiful as I expected. So many people put in so much work to make this event come to life. I feel so blessed to be part of this event again.
About a thousand women attend this event each year and the male members of the church sign up to be our butlers.
I decorated 3 tables, two for my personal guests and one for the church's guests. I'll go into detail for each of my tables in another post but here's an overview of my three tables as well as photos of other tables hosted by some talented women of the church

This is the Rustic Glam table I set for my guests, with gold pine cones and paper mache reindeer.

I have a set of Paris plates I've been meaning to use so I set a Joyeux Noel tablescape

I also set a table for the church's guests where I used my beloved gold dessert stand and nativity scene

The following are a few tablescapes by some talented women!

More photos of some gorgeous tables are on the facebook page

Blue & Orange Headband birthday

2011-11-22T08:30:00.000-08:00

If there is one thing that my daughter Catelin is obsessed with, it's headbands. She is always wearing a headband, even when her hair is in a ponytail, she will still put on a headband. So when it came time to plan her 5th birthday, the theme pretty much picked itself.

I wasn't sure how I was going to pull off a headband themed party but then I saw this beautiful party from the always amazing TomKat Studio and decided to use it as inspiration.

Catelin wanted the color scheme to be blue and I added splashes of orange since her birthday is in the fall and to give it a modern feel. I started with a silhouette image by Jessica Weible Illustrations and a chevron pattern by Sprik Space. I added a blue headband and orange flower to the silhouette.

The indoor playground where we had the party provides invitations as part of the party package but I of course, still had to make my own.

We were hoping to have the party at the same place we had Cate's 4th birthday but they were fully booked so we settled on an indoor playground. The downside to this venue was I wasn't able to decorate as much as I had hoped. I wasn't able to set-up a sweets table as I had hoped since there would be a party in the dining room right before our party. I also wasn't allowed to tape anything to the walls.

I settled on making centerpieces for the tables to carry the theme. The centerpieces were white take out boxes that I filled with orange Hershey's Kisses ( on clearance after Halloween), Oreo pops, hard candy pops and a larger version of the cupcake toppers.

I made Nutella, pumpkin and Oreo cupcakes and put some cupcake picks I designed on top

I made favor boxes out of plain white Chinese take out boxes by folding the tops in and adding a thank you sticker on the front. The girls got 2 headbands and a hair clip. The boys got a stationery set and play dough.

My friend Kit of Cupkits Edible Creations once again did an amazing job with the cake. I had seen some beautiful ruffle cakes online and she took the idea and created such a feminine and elegant cake. She also made beautiful sugar cookies with the silhouette made out of fondant.

When I was looking for Catelin's birthday outfit I stumbled on this chevron print Missoni dress on clearance at Target and it was the perfect match to her party theme!

Happy 5th birthday to my sweet baby!

more photos of the party can be viewed on the Facebook page

Free Printable: Allergy Info Dessert Tags

2011-10-02T16:50:00.000-07:00

Our family has been blessed to be allergy free but we still have to be cautious of those with allergies when sharing food. I all too often hear people at parties and potlucks ask if something contains nuts and more often than not, they don't get a clear answer.
At bake sales, treats are taken out of their original packaging and displayed on a table so any allergy info listed gets lost in the hustle and bustle of things. At potlucks, I see the same thing happening-- someone has an allergy question and no one can answer it because the person who brought the dish can't be found.
I bring a lot of food to a lot of places so I've decided to label my things to help minimize any confusion. I've designed 3 labels, "Contains Nuts," "Nut Free," and "Gluten Free" that I'd like to share with everyone. I made them in fall colors just in time for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Even if your treats aren't homemade, sometimes store bough foods are removed from their original packaging so they could use some extra warning.
Print these out and use your favorite puncher (up to 2 inches) to make cupcake toppers. You could print these on sticker paper and have them work double duty to seal treat bags.

Any way you use them, I hope these help you out at you next gathering.
You can download all three labels here

Enjoy!

Katy Perry Inspired Candyland Birthday

2011-09-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine asked me to help out with her daughter's 7th birthday party and I happily agreed. She then told me the theme was Katy Perry / California Dreams which stumped me. Now I admit I am a bit slow on the pop culture so my husband told me to watch the music video so I could understand the theme.
For those are also a bit pop culture dificient haven't seen it, you can watch it on YouTube. But the quick version is, it really is a cute video, white trees with pink cotton candy, cotton candy clouds, ice cream cone castles and the Candyland board comes to life except, Katy Perry is also pretty much either naked in most scenes or shooting whipped cream from her bra while singing lyrics not suitable for children.
I figured Jazley, the birthday girl, saw the video and fell in love with all the pretty elements and Candyland setting in the video and everything else (hopefully) went over her head. So together with her mom, we decided to use the video as inspiration for our "Jazleyland" table. I had done a candy themed party before and you can view that post here, but I wanted this table to really showcase elements from the music video and not just be a candy table.

In the video Katy Perry's hair is bright blue and she is wearing a headband with a purple heart on the side. I really thought this was cute and carried the idea to the cupcakes. The cupcakes were strawberry with blue cream cheese frosting and a purple candy heart on top.

Jazley's mom Aprile made these adorable lollipops out of paper plates and balloons. She also found these beautiful flowers at the doller store. She set the lollipops and flowers up against the walls to mimic the candy forest in the video.

I made a bunting banner that spelled Jazleyland that we attached to the tablecloth

I also made paper plate candies which I taped to the wall with a poster of Jazley in a blue wig above the candy table.

The table was filled with both handmade candy and store bought favorites.

mini white chocolate cupcake candies

Ice cream cone cakes with meringue icing

While I tried to bring down the theme to be appropriate for a little girl, I couldn't help but have a little fun with the gingerbread people which were actually sugar cookies.

I also made centerpieces with larger paper lollipops that coordinated with the cupcake toppers and candy jars labels.

Jazley's mom also set up a photo booth complete with props. The kids posed in front of a green screen and we were emailed our pictures with our trip to Jazleyland Photoshopped in.

This is what it looked like when guests posed for the photos

And this is what we were sent. Pretty cool, huh?

It was a sweet party for a very sweet little girl. Happy Birthday Jazley!

more photos can be viewed on the facebook page

Tangled Garden party

2011-09-12T12:12:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Audrey's 6th birthday party came so fast. She was just a helpless baby yesterday and today she's this amazing little girl who energetically made poms for her party, gave input on the centerpieces and decided what games we should play.
After spending the past few months watching Tangled every moment she could and using lines from the movie as part of our conversations, her party theme was pretty much set in stone. I have nothing against character themed parties really, except they tend to be a little cookie cutter sometimes. I used a lot of poms and flowers to give the party a garden feel. When I watch the movie, something that stands out to me is the bright flowers in the forest, in her hair and in the village so I really wanted to play that up.

When I started looking for inspiration, I found Paging Supermom's blog where they featured a Tangled party. They offered a very cute invitation tutorial and a free downloadable template which I was very tempted to use. I took their wonderful invitation as inspiration and instead designed something similar, with a triangle top like the tower in the movie.

Paging Supermom, being the wonderful and generous, also designed these free downloadable sun bunting banner like the ones that hung above the village in the movie. I printed those out and hung them above the picnic area and made centerpieces. I also made a coordinating bunting banner with my daughter's name.

Our party happened to be right smack in the middle of a heat wave. It was 5 p.m. and it was still well over 90 degrees. Luckily, all our sweets survived the heat. My dear friend Kit of Cupkits Edible Creations did an amazing job with all the goodies she made. The cake was covered in fondant and had royal icing trees and details. The brownies also had royal icing trees which had no problem in the heat. Kit also made a smaller Rice Krispy cake which held the magic flower made of fondant with young Rapunzel under it and Mother Gothel nearby.

Although I knew it would be a warm day, I didn't plan for a heat wave. My candy display did not include my usual lollipops and handmade chocolates. Instead, I opted to include things that could be out in warm weather. I offered animal crackers, popcorn, lemon drops, wafer sticks, banana marshmallows and pretzel sticks. The pretzels were drizzled with yellow chocolate but they still held up.. To my relief, My Oreo cupcakes with Oreo cream cheese frosting held up in the heat. Thankfully, the guests ate a lot of it before the icing had a chance to go bad. My mini blackberry pies also made their debut.

I bought one of those mini figurine sets at the Disney Store and used them throughout the table. Here, we placed Maximus near an apple tree.

On the sweets table, my tree arrangements, which made previous appearances at a Minnie Mouse party and 50th birthday party, were decorated with bright purple, pink and yellow poms.

I bought several white photo holders at Ikea to display signs at the food table and art table.

Disney Family offered several free downloadable Tangled themed activities on their site. I printed out several of the activities for the kids to do at a Rapunzel Art Studio table since she loved to paint. I also whipped up a couple batches of homemade play dough for the kids to sculpt and create with.

Happy birthday to my sweet little girl, Audrey!

More photos from the party can be viewed on the Facebook page

Cupcakes, mini pies, printables & styling by Lollipops & Paper

Cake, brownies & royal icing decor by Cupkits

invitation inspiration and printable sun bunting banner by Paging Supermom

Printable activities by Disney Family Fun

Photos by Cupkits and Lollipops & Paper

9.11 Memorial Free Printable

2011-09-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow marks the 10 year anniversary of the attacks and I was trying to find a way to remember and honor the day with my children who are really too young to understand.
I designed these printable tags with a request for everyone. To honor those who lost their lives that day, let's thank those who served and are currently serving our country. So I say, today and tomorrow, how about we bake a batch (or two) of our favorite treats, add these toppers and deliver them to a local fire station, police station, veteran's center or someone we know who served our country.

You could also create a care package for someone on active military duty and decorate the package with these. Although they may not get the care package in time for the anniversary, we can still show our gratitude.

I printed these on white cardstock and alternated between using a 1 1/2 in. and 2 in. circle punch.

you can download the labels here

Black & White 50th Double Birthday

2011-08-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend my family came together to celebrate the 50th birthday of my twin aunts, Nel & Lulu. For as long as I can remember, these two aunts of mine, with their wit, humor and mischief, have always been the life of any party. So under the leadership of my cousin Carla, our family members worked together to throw a party fitting for these two.

I was asked to make cupcakes and help set up the cake table. I made chocolate Oreo cupcakes with Oreo cream cheese frosting. I designed personalized toppers for the cupcakes and they were on my favorite cake stand from a Broadway Glam party I did earlier this year.

Carla made these beautiful cake pops and marshmallow pops

The tablescape carried out the black and white theme with a touch of hot pink. I first used these tree centerpieces for a Minnie Mouse party last month. For this party, I used black tissue poms. Carla wrapped the base with hot pink ribbon and added pillar candles on the table. She also hung white poms across the lawn.

My cousin Karren gave these personalized for our aunts. The glasses are inscribed with " Cheers to 50 years" and each of their names.

My aunt Beth ( in the background) bought the delicious cake which was also black and white on the inside. She also made the birthday banner below.

More photos from the party can be viewed on the Facebook page.

Bee themed baby shower + FREE PRINTABLES

2011-08-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

I don't get to attend many baby showers where the parents-to-be choose to not know the sex of the baby. With ultrasounds getting more detailed and home gender test kits being so readily available, most parents are so excited to find out what the sex of their new addition. This is precisely what made this shower exciting to plan because everyone has been waiting to know, "What will it bee?"

Several months ago, my friend Sheila co-hosted a baby shower for a good friend of hers and asked me to make some lollipops, cupcake picks and poms ( which we lovingly refer to as fluffy balls). After looking through photos and other inspiration for a gender neutral shower theme, she decided on a bee theme, specifically, "Baby number three, what will it bee?"

She chose to go with a bright yellow and black color scheme instead of sticking to pastels which some people do for baby showers. I think the brighter yellow gave the party a more modern feel.

I wish I had more photos from the shower to share but my dear friend to this day, has not given me any photos!

Yesterday, another friend asked me if I had any gender neutral baby shower themed printables available and I remembered the bee shower. I figured, heck, if I'm sending her the party set, I might as well share it with everyone else.

So here they are- party circles which can be used as cupcake toppers, favor tags, napkin rings, etc. I used my scalloped edge punch which I think has a 1.5 inch diameter but I think a 2 inch circle punch would also work well. I am also giving you a bunting banner that spells out " What will it bee?" that can be hung above a dessert table, doorway, mantle or anywhere for that matter.

Download the party circles here

Download the banner here

If you do use these, please give credit to Lollipops and Paper, do not resell them and please please please, come back and share pictures!

Thanks!

Minnie Mouse Inspired 3rd Birthday

2011-08-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

My goddaughter Analene celebrated her 3rd birthday with a Minnie Mouse inspired party. I use "inspired" because while her mom Ana and I wanted to include her love of Minnie in the celebration, we didn't want it to competely take over the party.

Instead of using Minnie's image in everything, as most character themed parties tend to do, we used the the red and white polka dot pattern in the party and just added touches of Minnie throughout.

Ana expressed to me that they she wanted to use the classic Minnie colors of black, red and white. We encountered some difficulty in finding character items like the pinata in this color scheme as Disney has shifted to using the newer pink Minnie design.

We started with these invitations

The sweets table included a tower of red velvet cupcakes and cupcake brownies, dipped pretzels, caramel popcorn, Swedish fish, sour bites, Reese's dark chocolate, licorice, cotton candy flavored hard candy, mini marshmallows and dipped giant marshmallows.

One thing I did not originally plan on doing but I think worked well were the manzanita arrangements on the sweets table. I had bought the manzanitas for my daughter's party next month but I spoke with Ana we decided that since we had them anyway, we might as well use them instead of having them collect dust for a month. I attached small tissue poms to the branches and a couple leftover tags I had from the cupcake toppers.

The table centerpieces were simple potted plants wrapped in red paper.

Ana's mom and sister covered an orange drink dispenser

with polkadot fabric and added ears on top.

Happy birthday sweet Analene! You are growing up so fast.

More photos from the party can be viewed on the facebook page

RECIPE: Party Punch

2011-07-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

Walking through Pottery Barn one day, I fell in love with this double drink dispenser but not the $109 price tag. A few weeks after seeing the dispenser at PB, I saw a similar one at Home Goods but like an idiot, I skipped on it.

With my daughter's party coming up I've recently been searching Home Goods, TJ Maxx and Ross and could not find it again- until today. There it was, on the shelf, waiting for me, this beautiful double drink dispenser that looks so much like the one from PB, except this one cost me $28 with tax!

So with this new knockoff double drink dispenser of mine, I am sharing with you 2 punch recipes that I plan to use for my daughter's party.

The first is a variation of a punch they served at a church I used to attend. It's simply refreshing and as a child I looked forward to the end of church every Sunday when I could get a cup of it. It is now a drink staple at my parties.

The second is a recipe I got from a book. If I knew the the title or author, I'd totally give credit now, but I don't, sorry.

Grapefruit punch:

1- 2 liter ginger ale

1- 64 oz bottle ruby red grapefruit juice

a good splash of grenadine

mix all ingredients together, chill and serve

Pineapple punch:

1- 64 oz bottle white grape juice

1- 48 oz can pineapple juice

1 liter ginger ale

mix all ingredients together, chill and serve

If you have a punch recipe you'd like to share, please feel free to post it in the comment area below.

Broadway Glam Graduation Party

2011-06-19T22:51:00.000-07:00

I love it when parties think beyond traditional themes, and this party was a wonderful example of choosing a theme to fit the guest of honor. I was asked to help out with a college graduation party this past weekend and I love that we did not use a single cap and gown or diploma image in the decor.

Family members decided to throw a surprise graduation party for a wonderful young woman, Anne Marie who received her degree in Film and Theater Studies. Her family approached me with the idea of using a Hollywood and Broadway theme for the party since Anne Marie wants to work in the entertainment industry. She also loves Broadway productions and has been part of several school plays. In addition, she is also an avid Harry Potter and Disney fan, specifically Snow White.

The centerpieces were inspired by centerpieces made by Hostess With the Mostess. The feathers in the Eiffel Tower vase totally reminds me of Hollywood glam and stage costumes and I knew it would be a good match for this party.

The favors were mini clapboard place card / photo holders. Anne Marie's aunt printed mini playbills and movie posters from Ann Marie's favorite plays and movies which we attached to the holders.

The sweets table included cupcakes, dipped giant marshmallows and jars of movie theater candy favorites like popcorn, licorice, Whoppers and chocolate covered raisins.

Anne Marie's family said they really wanted a Snow White incorporated into the table since she loves Snow White. I was worried that using a Snow White doll or figurine would look childish but I found this beautiful porcelain figurine that worked wonderfully. At the end of the party, Anne Marie took the figurine home as a remembrance of her graduation party.

Congratulations & best wishes as you start your career Anne Marie!

More pictures from the party can be viewed on the Facebook page

End of the year class gift- S'mores Kit + FREE PRINTABLE

2011-06-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast the year has gone and my baby's year in kindergarten is coming to an end. The class is having a party to close the year and I wanted my daughter to give each classmate a parting gift.

The idea for a s'mores kit came to me last week when, during a writing assignment about her summer vacation plans, my daughter said she wanted to eat s'mores during summer break.

I figured this would be an easy and affordable gift to give each child. I designed the labels which I printed on sticker paper and stuck to small plastic bags. I also printed directions (as if anyone needs instructions for making s'mores!) on sticker paper which I then used to seal the top of the bag to the back side of the package.

I've modified the labels I made for my daughter which you can download for free here. There's a spot where your child can sign his/her name. If you are using these, I'd love to see pictures. Please don't forget to give Lollipops & Paper credit for the labels.

I made 24 kits using 4x6 bags, 1 family size package (28.8 oz) of graham crackers, 24 fun size Hershey bars and 2 1/2 packages of stacker marshmallows.

Have a fun & safe summer!

DIY: Gift Card Garden

2011-05-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

This week my daughter's school hosted an art festival that included a silent auction consisting of gift baskets in various themes. Each grade level was given a theme ( movie night, coffee, family game night, etc) and had to make a basket filled with goodies relating to the theme. Our grade's theme was "Gift Cards Galore" and I was asked to put the collected cards in a basket for the auction. Being that out items were cards i knew I couldn't present them in a traditional gift basket. I had seen several ideas online during Mother's Day and Teacher Appreciation Week for gift card bouquets so I decided to run with the idea. Instead of using a flower pot, I made my arrangement to look more like a planter box.

I was lucky enough to have left over die-cut flowers from another project and my daughter's teacher also had some spare die-cut flowers. If you don't have access to a die-cut machine, you can use a paper puncher or even cut the flowers freehand.

Materials:

baby wipe tub with the lid removed

wooden clothespins

wooden popsicle sticks

die cut flowers made from construction paper and / or scrapbook paper

hot glue

floral foam block

Instructions:

1. To make the stem, hot glue 1 popsicle stick to 1 clothespin, with the mouth of the clothespin facing upward. To vary the height of the flowers, you can glue two sticks together for some flowers.

2. Glue the clothespin part of the stem to the flower

repeat steps 1 &2 til you have as many card holders as you need

3. Place a floral foam block inside a baby wipe box with the lid removed

4. Stick the stems into the foam, arranging them in various heights

5. You can cover the foam in several ways. I cut a piece of green construction paper in half lengthwise then fringe cut it to create grass. You could also cover the top of the foam with green shred, small stones or even crushed crackers to look like dirt.

I also attached flowers to the popsicle sticks (without the clothespin) to cover any gaps or holes.

I think this would be a really cute way to present gift cards or even notes and greeting cards.

TEEN PARTY: Neon / Glow in the Dark Sweet 16

2011-03-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

Many moons ago, I was a 16 year old girl who, when at my friend Michelle's house, would play with her baby niece Ariane. I carried her, played with her and even danced her to sleep a couple of times. Fast forward to 2011 and Ariane is turning 16 and I am signed on to help with her party. Wow, did this party make me feel old.

Ok, back to the party. Ariane told me she didn't want a sweet look to her party. She wanted it to feel more like a school dance or club. She decided on a neon / glow-in-the-dark color scheme and I had so much fun helping out.

Our friend Ana baked all the cupcakes and made all the frosting. I was in charge of icing the cupcakes. The cupcake flavors were chocolate, vanilla, cookies n cream and classic white. All the cupcakes were frosted with buttercream frosting that we colored neon blue, neon purple and neon green. I also made red velvet cake pops, dipped pretzels and lollipops.

The cupcakes were displayed on three cupcake stands and on inverted martini glasses

The candy table was covered with a black tutu tablecloth. We hung silver streamers behind the table and poms above.

Marsha, Ariane's mom, ordered LED candles, tea lights, glow bracelets, glow drink sticks, light up serving trays and fiber optic centerpieces from Windy City Novelties.

Buffalo wings, egg rolls, meatballs and parfaits were served on mini plates from Smarty Had A Party

Happy Birthday Ariane. It has been such a joy to see you grow into a beautiful young woman. May you have many more birthdays to come. More photos are up on the facebook page

KID PARTY: Go Lakers

2011-03-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe this day came so quickly. My baby Jacob's first birthday was something I started thinking about very early on, but it still felt like it came too fast. Jacob loves balls, especially basketballs so a ball theme party came naturally. My husband's birthday falls on the same week as Jacob's and I decided we should also throw that into the mix. Sine my husband is a Laker fan, the basketball / Laker theme party was pretty much a done deal.

We started things off with this invitation from 4LeafBoutique

In designing the candy table, I wanted the focus to be more on Jacob and not on the Lakers. This party was all about my baby ( and my husband). While the party and table were definitely Laker inspired, I didn't want to go overboard so the only thing that said Lakers was the banner we hung behind the table.

I designed party circles which I used for cupcake picks and lollipops stickers.

I also printed larger circles that I hung from the ceiling, made into centerpieces and put out in the from lawn to welcome guests.

Cupkits Edible Creations made an awesome Rice Krispy basketball cake. Everyone loved how the ball's texture looked so real.

Cupkits also made Ube cupcakes. Ube is a popular Filipino dessert made of taro ( similar to Hawaii's poi).

I made white chocolate crunch basketball pops and hard candy pops, purple and yellow striped cupcakes, giant dipped marshmallows, mini white chocolate cupcakes and dipped pretzel sticks.

The candy table also included Jell-O, , blueberry wafer sticks, lemon bites, lemon drops, dark chocolate Kisses, golden Oreos and polvoron ( a Filipino candy).

I don't usually have pinatas at my party. I never understood the concept of loving a character so much that you'd have children whack it to its destruction. For this party, I stickers with the rival teams' logos crossed out and stuck them onto a basketball shaped pinata. Now doesn't it make more sense to beat the rival teams' logos than that of the Lakers?

Favors included these adorable towel sundaes made by my cousin Carla, books, and Laker pens, notebooks, pencils I found at the 99 cent store.

Happy birthday to my boys!

More photos of the party are on the Facebook page

Rainbow cupcakes

2011-03-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

I was introduced to rainbow cupcakes last year when one of the moms in my oldest daughter's preschool class brought some in for rainbow day. The kids just loved how the colors were layered and biting through each cupcake was just pure joy for each child.

One year later, it's time for rainbow day again, this time for my second daughter and just as I was thinking of making them, Tip Junkie posted a tutorial on how to make them! The most time consuming part was layering the batter.

I opted to put a small cloud of icing instead of adding a full thick layer because preschoolers and icing are not the best combination, on so many levels.

My girls really enjoyed making them and they are well worth the effort. I have to figure out how to pour each color so that it layers more evenly.

We will probably make them again for St. Patrick's Day.

I could repost the tutorial here but you can just head on over to Tip Junkie or Family Fun for complete instructions.

Recipe: Date & Nut bars

2011-02-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

If a biscotti and a blondie had a baby, it would be these date & nut bars. My husband originally got this recipe from a family friend and I made a couple adjustments. The original recipe called for only, you guessed it, dates and nuts. I reduced the sugar amount, dates and nuts of the original recipe and added toffee and white chocolate chips. I love them with my morning coffee and that's why they remind me of biscotti but they're also a great alternative to the traditional brownie.

I don't always bake things from scratch but this is very easy to make.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 cup softened butter

3/4 cup toffee bits

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped dates

1/2 cup chopped walnuts ( you can also used pecans or macadamias)

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

If you are starting out with whole dates, pit the dates and roll them in a bit of flour before chopping to avoid sticking. If you are using pre-chopped dates, skip to the next step.

In an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and eggs

add flour, baking powder and vanilla extract to the creamed mixture until combined.

remove the mixing bowl from the mixer and using a spatula, fold in dates, nuts, toffee bits and white chocolate chips

spread onto a lightly greased baking sheet (note: I find it easier to spread the mixture onto the sheet using the palm of my hands rather than a spatula)

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is light brown.

Enjoy!

Recipe: S'mores bars

2011-01-24T09:00:00.000-08:00

Let me start off by saying I can in no way take credit for this recipe but it's so good and very easy to make that I thought I'd share it anyway. My friend Cassondra gave me the recipe and she got it from a cookie swap party.

I also saw a version of this online where everything was made from scratch- the crust, the brownie layer, etc., but really, I think I'm more of a boxed mix kinda girl and that's why I love this recipe.

You will need:

Graham crackers ( I used about 1/2 of a 14 oz box)

Boxed brownie mix ( any brand you like, prepped according to the directions on the box)

2 cups mini marshmallows

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2/3 cup peanuts - optional ( I think walnuts or macadamias would taste great also)

Directions:

preheat oven to 350 degrees

arrange graham crackers in a single layer on a greased pan

prepare brownie batter according to package directions and pour over graham crackers

bake according to package directions minus 5 minutes

Sprinkle the marshmallows, chocolate chips and nuts and finish baking for the remaining 5 minutes or until marshmallow tops brown slightly.

cool completely before cutting. ENJOY!

note: my husband reheated them in the toaster oven the next day which browned the marshmallows a bit more and gave them the freshly baked taste again.

Christmas Tea ( Part 2)

2010-12-14T09:00:00.000-08:00

Seeing all the amazing tables at the Christmas tea, I felt like a kid in a candy store. Each table had its own unique personality, reflecting the styles of more than 100 women.
The following are just a few of my favorites. I really wish I took pictures of each table.

More pictures of some gorgeous tables are up on my Facebook page.

What a clever way of adding some style to clear plates

I like how this host used silver with touches of gold

The beautiful place setting was set on top of scalloped edged cake boards

The silver branch in the silver urn was stunning

I was completely in love with the contrast of the subtle tones of the nativity scene and the big, glittery star

This table reminds me of the children's book series Fancy Nancy

This table used origami birds and stars

Christmas Tea (Part 1)

2010-12-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas Tea at my church is a wonderful annual tradition that I was so blessed to take part in for the first time this year. More than a thousand women gathered this weekend to kick off the season with tea and friends for the afternoon.

I (along with dozens of other women) signed up to host tables for the tea. Hosting a table required us to provide all the plates, cups, glasses, etc and decorations for our table. I am still amazed at all the beautiful and creative tablescapes (which I will share in another post).

Shopping for my tableware, decorations and linens were so much fun and I did it on a budget. I found some amazing deals!

- white salad plates from HomeGoods: A set of 12 plates $10

- all purpose goblets from Crate & Barrel : $1.50 each

- butter knives : A set of 6 for $5 at Ross

-teaspoons: a party pack of 12 was $10 at Ross

- satin overlays from efavormart.com : $ 7.99

- cloth napkins from efavormart.com- 5 pack for $ 2.79

-tea cup saucer rental was $.40 per set at my local party rental company

I hosted two tables, one for my personal guests and the other for women who signed up to attend through the church. The church provided each table with a plate of scones, tea, cream and sugar and each guest was asked to bring a plate of tea sandwiches or sweets to share. The treats the guests brought were collected upon arrival and distributed to each table.

We started the afternoon with a service in the sanctuary that included singing and a reading of A Cup of Christmas Tea. The service was followed by the tea where the men of the church served as our butlers.

I had a red and silver theme for both tables. My centerpieces were inspired by the mod table tree centerpiece on Hostess with the Mostess.

My awesome husband folded and ironed the napkins. Didn't he do a great job?!

Tea sandwiches and sweets await my guests coming from the sanctuary

KID PARTY: Red & Aqua Oliva Carnival birthday

2010-11-22T09:00:00.000-08:00

My daughter Catelin just turned 4 and we celebrated with an Olivia /carnival themed party. The place we were having the party had several themes to choose from and my daughter chose their carnival package. We decided to add Olivia the Pig into the mix since she likes the show and book series.

You know those times when you have something in mind then you see someone else with a similar idea and the light bulb already shining in your head shines even brighter? Well, this was one of those times. I was already planning the party then I saw this post from Kara's Party Ideas on a wonderful Olivia carnival party by Emma's World. I liked everything they did for that party. Then I saw a post on Hostess with the Mostess of a red and aqua Ni Hao Kai Lan party and fell in love with the color scheme. I was totally inspired by both parties and combined the ideas to make a red and aqua Olivia the Pig carnival party. Whew! Try saying that with a mouthful of cake.

We kicked things off with a red and aqua invitation

The adorable circus tent cake was made of two layers of white Oreo crumb cake, two layers of chocolate Oreo crumb cake, Oreo cream cheese filling and covered with marshmallow fondant by the amazing Cupkits Edible Creations.

The treat table included cotton candy flavored lollipops, white chocolate crunch lollipops, Oreo pops, licorice, yogurt covered pretzels, sour cherry slices and dipped apples.

I have been waiting for an occasion to make these "popcorn" cupcakes and I think they turned out well considering this was my first try.

At another table, we had a fruit tart that we decorated with a red mini bunting banner. It's a free download over at TomKat Studio and matched our theme perfectly.

For something with a little less sugar, we gave out animal crackers in small snack bags with a bag topper thanking the guests for coming.

Happy birthday to my baby Catelin!

More pictures of the party can be viewed on the Facebook page

Photos by Lollipops and Paper & Cupkits Edible Creations

Almost Christmas Tea Time

2010-11-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

Every year our church holds a Women's Christmas Tea to kick of the holiday season. This is my first year to participate and I will host two tables. I've already been shopping around for my supplies and I must say, I've found a new love for ALL things tea!

I really like this idea for a centerpiece

I am in love with this damask Christmas table from Plum Party and may use it as inspiration for my table.

Aren't these invitations adorable? Our church provided us with invitations but I like these from Birthday Boutique .

As part of the celebration, each guest is asked to bring tea sandwiches or sweets to share. I found some great tea sandwich recipes here. These holly shaped tea sandwiches at Taste of Home look delicious.

How cute are these teapot tape measures for favors from With This Favor ?

KID PARTY: Hello Kitty

2010-11-14T07:00:00.000-08:00

My friend Emerald asked me to make some lollipops and cupcake picks for her daughter Emma's first birthday last month. She did such a cute job I really can't take credit for anything.

I made white chocolate Hello Kitty lollipops and round hard candy lollipops with personalized stickers

Look at the cute centerpieces she made using the lollipops

The cupcake picks matched the frosting almost exactly and cupcakes were yummy too!

photos courtesy of Emerald Yu

DIY: Treat bag toppers

2010-11-04T01:01:00.000-07:00

My son's baptism is this weekend and we are giving out Jacob's ladders as favors. His name is Jacob and the toy has a Biblical reference so we thought it was a perfect fit.
I bought the ladders from Rhode Island Novelty and they came individually wrapped in tissue paper. I wanted to package them in bags and attach a tag explaining the toy's history and also thank our guests for joining in the celebration.

Recently, I've seen a trend in favor packaging- bag toppers. After this project, I've realized it really is easier than cutting out a tag and attaching it to a bag with ribbon. I may just convert to using these all together. I also like them because it gives a more professional, pulled together look to the treat bag. For this project I used cello bags but I heard they also work with plastic sandwich bags.

This is a great way to repackage and seal bulk candy and small toys. There are several sites that offer downloadable templates for bag toppers but I decided to make my own. If you don't want to design your own label, cutting out pretty scrapbook paper that coordinates with your theme would also work nicely.

The back of the label

The front of the label

Here are some cute bag topper ideas I've found on other sites

Christmas candy bags from Stitchin' N Stampin' on Paper

Just in time for Thanksgiving from Yapha Stamping

I love these from the Celebration Shoppe

Halloween with kindergarteners

2010-11-03T11:00:00.000-07:00

For my daughter's class party, I decided to do two edible activities with them. We did marshmallow Frankensteins and spider Oreos. I mixed a little food coloring with water so the kids could paint the marshmallows. The black food coloring I used to color my chocolate for Frankenstein's hair and face turned our grayish but I think they still turned out cute.

The spider Oreos were also a good counting exercise for the kids because they had to show me that their spiders had eight legs before they could eat them. I opted to use pretzel sticks instead of licorice to cut down the kids' sugar intake.

For the Frankensteins you will need:

lollipop sticks

marshmallows

green food coloring

water

melted chocolate ( either milk chocolate or white with black coloring)

For the spiders you will need:

Oreos ( double stuffed works best)

thin pretzel sticks ( broken in half)

melted chocolate( to stick on the eyes)

M&M's or Skittles ( for eyes)

Witches Wands

2010-10-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

For my daughter Audrey's Halloween class party, we made chocolate covered pretzel sticks that we will call witches wands. With pastel sprinkles they can be fairy wands. These would be great magic wands for a Harry Potter themed party too.

I used Accent the Party's free printable circles and orange ribbon to wrap the wands. It was so great that she offered a witch hat & wand design!

Happy Jack-O-Lantern Pops

2010-10-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

My daughter Cate and I made these happy face jack-o-lantern pops for her class party. I used a free printable circle from Skip to My Lou and yellow ribbon to finish them off.

Halloween & 5-year-olds

2010-10-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

This year, I am the room rep for my daughter's kindergarten class. I am so excited to take on this role because there are so many crafts and ideas I want to do with the kids. The teacher told me I could do a Halloween / fall craft with them during the class party next week. I've decided to do an edible project that they can either eat during the party or take home and enjoy. With so many cute ideas out there, I'm not sure which one to choose. I'm looking for something easy enough for 5-year-olds to do in about half an hour. Help!

Here are a couple of my choices:

Frankenstein marshmallows from Family Corner

Bagel Witches from Pizzazzerie

Cookie witches hat from Betty Crocker

Oreo spiders as pictured in A Creative Project

Which one do you like best? Do you have a better idea I could use?

ADULT PARTY: Karren & David's candy table

2010-10-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

My cousin Karren got married this month in Northern California and asked me to do a candy table for her reception. I of course seized the opportunity to do my first wedding candy table.

We would be driving in the day before which posed a couple challenges for me. First, this meant anything I made had a chance of melting en route to the wedding. In addition, Karren was buying the glass jars and platters which made it harder for me to completely plan out the look of the table and the amount of candy I needed. Lastly, I have never been to the site so I didn't know what kind of table I would be using, where the table was going to be placed or the type of lighting and background the table would have. Nonetheless, I did what I could with the cards I was dealt and totally enjoyed the opportunity.

Their color scheme of pink and brown made it easier for me to do the table since I could use almost anything chocolate. With October being breast cancer awareness month, pink candy is also readily available. I bought white popcorn boxes at Walmart ( thank you Pizzazzerie for the tip!) and attached labels on the front then filled them with caramel popcorn. I decided that the 5 hour drive to the Bay Area meant I shouldn't be making too many things myself as the possibility of candy melting or breaking would only mean disaster. I ended up only making strawberry hard candy lollipops and dipped Oreos.

The candy spread also included traditional and strawberry flavored Whoppers, strawberry marshmallows, Hershey's Bliss, Ghirardelli chocolate raspberry squares, Red Vines ( yes, I know they are neither pink or brown but it was the bride's request) and strawberry and chocolate wafer sticks.

Clear bags, the popcorn boxes and the the labels for the candy had a pink damask and brown design.

Whoppers

I love these popcorn boxes

My Oreos survived the trip! Not one melted!

KID PARTY: Ice cream!

2010-09-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

My daughter Audrey turned five this month and all she really wanted to do to celebrate was to eat ice cream with friends. As much as I wanted to throw her a bigger party with friends and family, she asked for something with some former preschool classmates. She still however, wanted lollipops, sweets and all the treats. We decided on a small party at Michael's ( yes, the craft store-- they do awesome parties!) with us just bringing pizza and ice cream to incorporate her wish for an ice cream party.

I really wanted to go a bit fancier with our ice cream & dessert table but being that the time and space were limited, I opted to go on the simple side. The most important thing is my baby had a good time doing crafts, eating her ice cream and celebrating turning the big 5.

Toppings!

Ice cream cone holders held caramel popcorn.
This is a FREE download from Tangarang and you can download the file here

mini brownies & cheesecakes

ice cream shaped chocolate lollipops

Happy Birthday to my baby!

My first bake sale contribution

2010-08-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

My oldest daughter started kindergarten a couple weeks ago and it is a completely new world for the both of us. I am still getting used to the homework, piles of papers that come home everyday and all the upcoming school activities that need parent participation.

Tonight is back-to-school night and the PTA asked the parents to donate items for the bake sale. I originally planned on mini cheesecakes but we are going through a heat wave and I didn't feel like turning on my oven when it's 108 degrees outside. In addition, I imagined a table already filled with several types of brownies, cookies, muffins, cakes and pies and figured I'd try to contribute something other than those. Did I mention we've had triple digit weather all week and I did not want to turn on the oven?

I decided to turn to my beloved chocolate candy melts and I just happened to have some pretzels handy. I didn't feel like I had enough pretzels so I went out and bought cookies and dipped those as well.

I printed out circle tags from Paper Glitter and attached them to the pretzel and cookie bags. She has a couple free school themed circle tags and I chose the pencil design. You can download it here.

So here it is, my first contribution to a school bake sale. I'm sure this will be the first of many in my adventures through my kids' education.

{DIY} Free printable boxes

2010-08-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

So I just stumbled upon this really awesome site, Paper Box World that offers free downloadable templates of really cute boxes in several themes. I am so excited to share this discovery. These would make really cute favor boxes or even gift boxes. All you have to do is download the FREE files and print on heavy card stock. For projects like these I have the files printed at Staples for around $1 per sheet because they have a variety of card stock to choose from and it doesn't work my printer so much. With a little cutting and gluing you'll have some really cute boxes you can use as decorations, centerpieces or favors. Here's the link to the site again and I hope all of you enjoy this as much as I do.

photos from: Paper Box World

Trash to Treasure Fashion: 365 days, 365 dresses for $365

2010-08-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of Julie & Julia, Marisa Lynch is taking on a year-long project of buying fashion disaster dresses at thrift stores for $1 each and transforming a dress a day into a creation fit for any fashionista.

Talk about trash to treasure, she's created some really cute pieces fit to be sold at the designer stores. Check a couple of my favorites, day 261, 184 and 178.

What a creative way to go green, make use of thrift store & garage sale finds and utilize talents on the sewing machine!

You can read the article on her project here and follow her blog here.

This would also be an awesome project to do with clothes already in your closet.

photos from: newdressaday.wordpress.com

{DIY} Nesting box envelope holder

2010-08-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

For my cousin's wedding, I wanted to make a container where guests could put their monetary gifts and gifts cards. Back when I got married, the money box my mother-in-law purchased cost around $30 which in hindsight I think is way overpriced. Since then, I've found that hat boxes, nesting boxes and plain gift boxes can easily be glammed up to become a more cost effective and creative way to hold cards and gift cards.

This would also be great for guests to insert recipes or advice cards at a wedding or baby shower. Just make sure you label each box accordingly.

I found these boxes at Home Goods for $9 ( $5 for the larger one and $4 for the smaller one). The flowers were $4 on sale at Michael's and the ribbon was about $3, making the project cost about $16. Not too bad considering some wedding envelope boxes I've seen cost between $30 and $100.

you will need:

boxes in 2-3 different sizes depending on how many tiers you want

ribbon
hot glue

X-acto blade/knife

embellishments such as artificial flowers or rhinestones

1. using the x-acto knife, carefully cut out a slot for the envelopes to be inserted. Make sure the slot is big enough to accommodate large cards.

(steps 1 & 2)

2. Cover the slot edges by gluing thin ribbon around the edges

3. Squirt a round of hot glue on the bottom of the smaller box and quickly place on the top of the larger box

4. wrap both boxes with ribbon

5. glue artificial flowers to the op of the smaller box.

* If you're using plain gift boxes, wrap the boxes in gift wrap matching your theme before proceeding with step 1 and your container will look like a stack of gifts!

I've been featured!

2010-08-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

Check out my interview posted on The DC Ladies on throwing successful children's parties!

Back to School Free Printables | Living Locurto - FREE Printables, recipes, party ideas and crafts.

2010-08-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

My daughter starts kindergarten this week and I was looking for some printables I could use to label her things, put in her bag, etc. and of course I turned to one of my favorite blogs, Living Locurto. This site is awesome! She compiled links to FREE printables, some are her own design and others from various other sites. Enjoy.

Back to School Free Printables Living Locurto - FREE Printables, recipes, party ideas and crafts.

ADULT PARTY: Alvin and Kara's reception

2010-08-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

My cousin Alvin and his wife Kara were married in Shelley, Idaho two weeks ago and I am so glad we took the road trip to attend their celebration there. Their reception, held in Kara's parents' backyard, was absolutely darling. Here are some pictures from their Idaho reception.

This adorable sign welcomed guests

Isn't this the cutest ride ever?

White paper lanterns and purple flowers decorated the area

Kara's mom Lori made this beautiful cake. The bottom tier is actually made from Rice Krispy Treats!

My aunt hosted a dinner here in California this past weekend for those who didn't take the road trip. I am so thankful she actually trusted me with helping with her. My ideas can get crazy, overboard or overambitious at times and I'm grateful she went with them and as a result I have some projects to share! For this celebration, I helped out with flower arrangements, napkin rings, envelope holder and favors.

I'll be posting DIY pics and instructions this week!

{DIY} Flower headbands

2010-07-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

I almost feel silly even posting this super easy DIY project because it's so east you don't even really need instructions but here it is anyway.

On Friday I took my girls to the mall where we saw these cute flower headbands being sold at an accessory store. My girls tried on the headbands and looked so adorable. I was about to buy each of them a headband ( $4 each) but decided that making them ourselves would be a better route.

First, we are always trying to teach our girls about money. I explained to them that for the price of one headband we could make a few of our own for less. Second, if we made them ourselves, they could customize them because they get to choose their own flower colors. Lastly, I saw it as another craft we could do together.

A quick trip to the Dollar Store yielded us 6 headbands ( 2, 3-pack headbands) and 2 types of flower bunches for a total of $4.

Our custom headbands took literally minutes to make. The girls were so excited to pick which flowers go with which band. They were also excited to have 3 headbands each instead of the 1 we would've bought.

Instead of simply buying the ones at the store, we had an impromptu craft that my girls enjoyed.

I think these would make a great addition to a tea party, dress-up or fairy party and could double as adorable favors. They would also be great for flower girls at weddings with the use of fancier flowers and the addition of other embellishments.

To make these flower bands you will need:

Artificial flowers
headbands
hot glue gun

Remove the flower from the stem and trim off any extra plastic that may be sticking out

Add a pea sized drop of glue to the headband

stick the flower to the side of the headband and hold for about a minute until it sets

See, I told you it was super easy!

{DIY} Wine cork card holders

2010-07-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

My friend Heather ( you can follow her blog at Bicoastal Bride) recently had a beautiful wedding that included several DIY projects. These simple and classy escort card holders were so adorable I just had to share them with you.

Heather says she and her fiance Stephen wanted to reflect their California roots and love of wine in their "California Romance" themed wedding. However, with ready-made wine cork escort card holders costing around $2 each, they decided to make this a DIY project.

For their project, they bought a package of 100 corks with a preprinted grapevine design for $15 from Winemakers Depot. While they had a lot of fun making these holders, Heather advises not waiting until the last minute to do this project as it took them a few months to complete it.

I think these would also work well at a wine and cheese party, adult birthday party, engagement party or bridal shower. They can hold place cards or cards labeling food and drinks.

Heather was kind enough to share instructions on how to make these beautiful card holders.

You will need:

a small hand saw
small vice to hold the corks in place
protective gloves and glasses
corks
small sharp knife
permanent markers

Directions:

* Please wear protective gloves and glasses when working with sharp objects*

1. secure the cork tightly in the vice
2. using the hand saw, cut the cork in half lengthwise
3. using the knife, cut a slit on top of the cork long enough to hold your card
4. decorate the cork as desired with markers

What a wonderful project! Thank you Heather for sharing!

photos: Alex Neumann Photography

The Amazing Glass Jar

2010-07-20T00:49:00.000-07:00

My kitchen cabinet holds an amazing treasure- a collection of glass jars waiting to be reused and repurposed. Every time I empty a jar of pasta sauce, the crafter/ eco-conscious/ semi-hoarder in me says not to throw them away. I know there are plenty of uses for them, I just had to find those ideas.

My main purpose for glass jars is storing used frying oil. Once I fill a jar with oil, I toss it in the trash. Kind of a waste of a perfectly good jar, I know.

My last issue of Family Fun magazine had a great article on meals in a jar. It's the perfect outdoor meal that the kids will enjoy putting together. They used canning jars for their meals so I'm not sure if my pasta jars will work but it's still a great idea worth sharing. They had recipes for omelets in a jar and cakes in a jar.

Determined to find more uses for these jars, I asked my always crafty and creative friends on Blog Frog for ideas. The response was amazing and they also came up with some great projects for reusing glass jars. Here are some of my ideas and their suggestions for reusing jars.

Serving:
1. Use the jars as drinking glasses. Perfect for a western or outdoor themed party. Check out this cowboy themed baby shower on Hostess With the Mostess where they used jars as drinking glasses.

2. Fill with salsas, relishes and sauces at parties.

3. Fill with candy and place on your desk at the office.

Storage:
1.In the kitchen store dry foods such as pasta, beans or cereal. You can even label the jars with vinyl lettering with instructions from Martha Stewart.

2.In the garage, screw the lids to the bottom of a board. fill the jar with small items like nails, bolts, etc. then screw the jar back to the lid.

3.In the craft room, fill with scrapbooking embellishments, buttons, threads.

4. In the office, use as a pen/pencil holder or fill with paper clips and other supplies.

Crafts:

1.Responsibility jar for kids-- decorate the jar then fill with a marble each time they make a good decision or complete chores. Once the jar is filled, they can receive a reward.

2.Use as a candle / votive holder

3. Group jars of various sizes together and use as flower vases.

4. Create a fairy jar

5. There are several science experiments to do with the kids using glass jars. Martha Stewart has a few ideas here.

Gifts:

1.Cookie mix in a Jar- fill the jar in layers with the dry ingredients needed for a cookie recipe. Cover the lid with fabric, tie with a ribbon along with instructions on adding the wet ingredients.

2. Mix your own bbq sauce or salsa. attach your own personalized label and ribbon to finish the look

3.Hot glue jelly beans to the lid and seal with mod podge. Tie a ribbon around the edge of the lid. Fill with jelly beans.

4. Fill with bath salts. Cover the lid with fabric and a ribbon coordinating with the color of the bath salts

So which idea will you try at home? Got a glass jar project we didn't cover? Post it here!

And the winner is...

2010-07-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Annette Fay ( Mommy Spirit) will receive a copy of my new favorite book Along Came You.

Thanks to all those who participated in my first giveaway!

The plain white box- you are my Everest

2010-07-13T16:00:00.001-07:00

So I'm doing favors for my cousin's wedding. I've decided to take on the plain white box. Versatile, fits all occasions and a blank canvas for great things, I'm really hoping a creative light bulb will ding in my head soon. I bought these at Michael's-- $10 ($19.99 with my 50% off coupon of course) and I want to do something different, cute, amazing and yet affordable. I'm really hoping for more than just a bow around it.

I have round tags that I've already printed that I may or may not use.

Any ideas/ suggestion / tips on what I should do?
Stay tuned to see what I end up with.

Check it out: pink and green turtle baby shower

2010-07-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

Take a look at this adorable baby shower from Kara's Party Ideas
kara's party ideas: pink and green turtle baby shower

{Fun for the kids} Homemade play dough

2010-07-10T11:00:00.001-07:00

With summer in full swing, I'm sure many of you are looking for easy and affordable ways to entertain the kids. One of the things my girls love to do is make our own play dough. I love it because everything I need is already in my kitchen cupboard and I can just throw it out when we're done. It's easy, cheap and stirs up their imagination.

I use the recipe my daughter's preschool gave us and I like the texture better than store bought play dough because it's softer and it doesn't have that smell that comes with the store bought kind. I also like how we can color it to whatever color we feel like that day and even add our own oils and extracts to make it smell nice. I'm not sure how long the batch will keep. We usually throw ours out after a couple of days.

This is a great activity for parties or play dates though I suggest already whipping up a big batch before the kids arrive. For smaller groups, you can have the kids help measure the ingredients and add their own color and extracts. Then provide rolling pins, plastic cookie cutters, silicone baking cups, etc and let the kids create! I think this would also be a great party favor. Divide the dough into sandwich bags or plastic containers and add a plastic cookie cutter.

Recipe:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup salt

2 tablespoons cream of tartar

2 tablespoons oil

2 cups water

optional: a few drops each of food coloring, flavor extracts

Directions:

In a shallow pan, mix the first three ingredients together then add oil and water. Cook on medium- high heat until you get the play dough consistency. Add coloring and extracts

* My girls love to add the coloring themselves so I usually turn off the heat when the consistency is still a bit wet. I wait until it's cool enough to touch but still a bit warm then I put a glob of the dough on a paper plate and let the girls add the coloring then they mix it in with their hands.

GIVEAWAY: Along Came You

2010-07-09T01:43:00.000-07:00

Okay moms of daughters, this one is for you. Along Came You is about a mom who tells her little girl how her life has changed since motherhood. This heartwarming book chronicles what we go through when we take on the most important job of our lives, from how we decorate our house to how we eat our breakfast.

I came across this wonderful book through the book order club at my daughter's school. I ordered one copy for me, read it once and fell in love with it. I wanted to share it with my other mommy friends so I bought several more copies. It's one of those books that will leave a soft spot in your heart and will be a favorite bedtime read.

This giveaway isn't sponsored by an outside company, the author or the publisher.

I bought copies to give as gifts and I would like to share one copy with you.

You can enter three different ways. Do all three and increase your chances!

1. Become a follower of this blog then leave a comment on this post telling us what changed most about you after motherhood.

2. Like us on Facebook (and leave a separate comment here saying you did)

3. Follow me on Blog Frog (and leave a comment here saying you did.)

Contest ends Tuesday, July 13 at midnight and I will randomly choose a winner.

The copy I will send you is a paperback version. If you want a copy sooner I highly recommend going out and getting one, it really is a wonderful read.

New name, Still me

2010-07-08T01:31:00.000-07:00

So I've decided to change this blog's name. Mommy Ces was something I wanted to use to write about my adventures with motherhood. I may still do that eventually but I figured this blog is about my love for celebrations, crafts and other fun things and the name should reflect that.

Thanks for the support everyone.

My first order

2010-07-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

My first order has been completed. I must admit it was definitely a good learning experience. As much as I enjoy making favors and my chocolates, I must admit there was a different feeling doing it for someone I didn't know. I never really thought of what my time is worth in the past since it was always a labor of love.

I had a real deadline this time, unlike when I do it for friends and family, where I work at a leisurely pace, in between chores and I don't really think of the possibility of an unhappy customer.
This was also a good test for my cost / profit margin if I were to sell my products and services. I'm still on the fence about how much to charge and would really appreciate some input.
Overall, I'm happy with the way they turned out. What do you think?

Personalized dipped pretzels

White chocolate butterfly crunch

...with a personalized sticker on the back

pink and purple flowers

How much would you pay?

2010-07-06T08:19:00.000-07:00

When I started this blog, my main goal was to create a place where I could share my love for the things I create and put together. If I received enough interest and positive feedback, I would eventually open up shop on Etsy.
So last week, a friend of a friend saw some the work I've done and contacted me about ordering some candy. YAY, my first real customer! I've always done invitations, candy, flowers willingly and passionately for friends and family, but never for a fee. For this order, I pretty much charged my cost. I figured I could use the pictures to share with all of you, plus it would be good practice for me to see how much time and money a "real" candy order would take.
Now I need some feedback. Below are pictures of some of the things I've done. I am able to do almost any shape and color candy to match a party theme. How much would YOU be willing to pay for my homemade lollipops & candy? How much would you be willing to pay for a complete candy buffet display?

Any feedback, advice, personal experience would be great.
Thanks!

Pirate & treasure pops

Graduation pops

It's a Boy pops

Butterfly white chocolate crunch

Sugar pops

Flower pops

GIVEAWAY: A sweet givaway from Milan Maternity

2010-07-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

Milan Maternity is giving away 3 different prizes!
you can win:

1.A $100 E-Gift Card to Milan Maternity

2.A $100 E-Gift Card to Babies 'R' Us

3.A $50 Gift Card to Applebee's and 2 movie tickets to Regal Entertainment theaters

check it out at http://milanmaternity.blogspot.com/

SNEAK PEEK: Alvin & Kara's wedding

2010-07-01T11:24:00.000-07:00

I'm helping my aunt throw a party to celebrate my cousin's upcoming marriage.
My cousin Alvin and his fiance Kara are getting married in Idaho Falls, ID but we will be having a party here in the Los Angeles area for friends and family who can't make it to the festivities in Idaho.
I happily volunteered to help with a few things and this is one of the things I'm working on.

We've been featured!!

2010-06-30T16:42:00.000-07:00

Cassie's candy party was featured on Tiny Prints!

You can see the feature here: http://blog.tinyprints.com/designs/a-sweets-party-from-tiny-prints/

KID PARTY: Butterflies and Dots

2010-06-22T00:35:00.000-07:00

My daughter Audrey was obsessed with butterflies. Months before her birthday she was asking me for a butterfly cake for her big day. We both fell in love with this butterfly themed cake from Pink Cake Box.

Audrey of course wanted pink as the color scheme. I wanted something bright and festive. Her party was in the summer, at the beach, so I wanted bolder colors. I went with hot pink, orange and lime green.

I designed the invitations to match the cake.

We had her party at Pacific Park, an amusement park on the Santa Monica Pier. It was of course the hottest day of the year. The icing on the cake started to melt long before we were ready to sing Happy Birthday but she was so excited with everything going on she didn't even notice. We were under a yellow tent which gave some of my pictures a yellow hue. None the less, the party was great and my little girl was happy.

In addition to a smaller version of the inspiration cake, I found matching dot sprinkles at my local cake supply store which I used to top some cupcakes. I also made butterfly and flower lollipops to go with the theme.

I could hardly contain myself when I walked into Gap Kids and they had tops that matched our theme! I could not have custom made a better outfit for my girls.

Audrey loved her party and wants another butterfly cake this year. Now I have to find another look she'll love.

KID PARTY: Cassidy's Candy Birthday

2010-06-21T01:16:00.000-07:00

My niece Cassidy recently celebrated her 9th birthday. You can imagine how excited I was when her mom Sheila asked me to help out with the candy table. Cassidy didn't want a childish character theme party.She is after all a young lady turning 9! Instead, she chose 3 colors that she loved, pink, turquoise and purple, and we designed the party around those colors.

To me, making lollipops is like therapy-- yummy therapy, so I happily volunteered. For years I've been making my pops and candy with chocolate but I've been wanting to venture out into hard candy but always hesitated. The thing with hard candy is you have to work much quicker and I've heard that sugar burns are one of the worse types of burns you can get. Nonetheless, I saw an opportunity to try making sugar candy and I must say, I find it easier than chocolate making.

For this table we decided to mix things up, using both homemade and store bought goodies. If you've ever done a candy buffet, you know that buying specific colored candy can get expensive, even with bulk pricing. We had to get creative. While we did buy M&M's and Whoppers in pink, we stuck to regular Hershey bars and kisses and wrapped them to match our theme. We did find gum, ring pops and sour belts in our colors at great prices.

Sheila made two kinds of cupcakes, some covered in ganache and some with traditional butter cream. We topped them with sprinkles and cupcake picks.

Some of the homemade treats included dipped pretzel sticks, Rice Krispy treats, Oreos we decorated with icing and sprinkles and butterfly chocolates.

I love love love the paper poms that have been so popular lately. I kind of went crazy and made more than I initially planned.

ADULT PARTY: About to Pop Baby Shower

2010-06-20T00:11:00.000-07:00

Several months ago my good friend Anya hosted an intimate baby shower for her friend Susette. Anya asked me to help her with the decor and favors for the shower. I was about 7 months pregnant at the time which was great because my brain was already in "baby mode." I suggested we think outside the rubber ducky & rattle themes typical of baby showers. I had seen an "about to pop" theme online and thought it was fresh, modern and different. I was so happy to give the idea our own twist. I only wish we had better pictures.

A red banner welcomed guests.

For centerpieces, popcorn containers were filled with popcorn and balloons.

Anya rolled with the theme and used popcorn containers to hold utensils.

For favors, we took microwave popcorn packets and packaged them in paper popcorn bags bought at the local party store. We added our own labels and ribbon and voila! They're perfect to celebrate a mom-to-be about to pop.

ADULT PARTY: Baby Blue Shower

2010-06-19T11:44:00.012-07:00

For my good friend Jhoanne's baby shower I was in charge of the invitations and cupcakes. I love this woman, and we were pregnant together. Throughout her pregnancy she shared her ultrasound pictures with us and seeing a baby grow through the different stages of pregnancy is always amazing. I figured using those pictures on the invitation would make it more personal than some generic baby clip art. I wanted to again do something different, away from typical baby shower themes but she said she wanted blue! So blue it was!

For the invitations, I fell in love with a timeline invite on Tiny Prints and used it as inspiration to make my own.

This is the Modern Timeline invite from Tiny Prints

This is what I ended up with

I also made cupcake picks to top chocolate and red velvet cupcakes. I found blue argyle print scrapbook paper at Michael's. I made round labels with the baby's name, initial and "sweet baby boy" that I then glued to the argyle printed paper.

I love making lollipops. I bought an "It's a Boy" lollipop mold during my last pregnancy knowing I'd put it to lots of use. I first made them for my girls to take to school to announce the birth of their brother. Next, I used them for Jhoanne's shower. I added personalized stickers on the back of each pop.

ADULT PARTY: Emma's Garden Party

2010-06-19T10:24:00.013-07:00

I love throwing parties. When I'm out of occasions of my own, I love helping friends and family make their parties memorable. Last year I helped my friends throw their mom a surprise birthday luncheon. The birthday celebrant, Emma, has been like a second mother to me so helping throw her party was very important.
This woman does it all, she cooks, gardens, decorates and more. She is our very own Martha Stewart. For the party, her love for gardening and flowers inspired the theme.

The invitations were a simple green and brown floral inspired design

The centerpieces were cymbidium orchids submerged in a tall cylinder vase with curly willow and natural colored stones. We alternated between green and white orchids.

To celebrate her love of gardening, we gave out seed packets as favors. We took already packaged seeds and inserted them in personalized envelopes.

A table filled with photos of Emma with her family, friends, and during her travels around the world made for great conversation.

Hello World!

2010-06-19T00:59:00.001-07:00

So I finally did it, I started my blog. I'm new to this. I'm nervous and excited. I want this site to be a place where we can all share tips and ideas not only for parties but to make everyday special for our kids. My 3 kids are growing up way too fast and my goal is to fill their memory banks with as many wonderful memories as possible. From small special moments during ordinary days to big birthday parties, I want to celebrate them all and share them with you.