Everyday Celebrating

Moving on to the holidays!

Aren't these beautiful?
With Thanksgiving finished, we're moving on to the holidays with full force!
Well, of course, I have to take a break and throw in some birthday party stuff, right?

These beautiful chocolate dipped peppermint sticks were Sweet Paul's first Christmas post of the season.  Have you been to his site?   He has amazing sweets and culinary delights and amazing photos of them too!  His site gives directions on how to make these easy treats!

Stay tuned!  These don't have to be just for the holidays!  I'm making chocolate dipped pretzel sticks for the birthday party!

Photo credit: Frances Janisch

More airplane birthday....

So the party is a week away and I have fabulous details coming in from everywhere!
I'm using several etsy vendors for some super cute details... like the one above.

These are cupcake cups.  Well, they haven't been put together yet, but they will be. 
Kimberly used my birthday logo and incorporated them into making 3D cups.  They are in the mail!
I was thrilled to see a sneak peak of them over at her blog, The Cupcake Cuppy

She does some amazing work with all types of themes!  And they are super affordable!
Can't wait to show you the finished product with the delicious cupcakes in the middle!

I'm also going to use some super cute cupcake toppers... stay tuned!

He's making a list... and so should you!

'Tis the season... as they say!  And not only does it mean gift receiving, but gift RETURNING.
Here's the best way, hands down, for you to be on your merry way to receiving the gifts you WANT!

Wishpot is a web based list service.  It's a fabulous way to make a wish list of all the things you'd like to have not just for xmas... but the whole year through! 

It's super easy to use!  You can add the Wishpot icon to your browser's toolbar, so every time you run across something on the web that you love, you go to your toolbar, click on the icon and it automatically adds it to your wishlist!

You can make as many lists as you'd like and share them with your friends and family. (I have lists for myself, my husband and my son!)  So during a gift giving season such as now, there's no wondering by friends and family what would be the perfect gift to give.    When they view your list, they can go from your list right to the item and purchase immediately.

(Check out some of my lists by clicking on the Wishpot Wedding Expert icon on my sidebar.)

And now, Wishpot has branched out so you can use it for a wedding or baby registry and now you can use it for people to make contributions to things like your vacation or honeymoon, etc.  Perfect for those that don't like to give a cash gift.

Get on over to Wishpot and create a list now!  Santa will thank you for it! ;)

Also, Wishpot has been nominated by Mashables for the Open Web Award in the category of Social Shopping.    Please take a moment to stop by and VOTE!

Airplane birthday - invitations!

So my son's birthday party is less than 2 weeks away.  Invitations are out and I'm knee deep in details including painting props, etc.

Since the invitations have been received, I'm safe in posting them here.  :) (Click on the photos for full size views)

Above are the envelopes.  Etsy seller picklehead made my custom map envelopes.
They are #10 envelopes and she was great enough to even make them out of the states where the party would be!   

Then I used the Special K Air logo on the address labels.

Invitations mocked airline tickets.  Remember those?  LOL

The template of the invitation and logo are available in my Etsy store

Up close

A minty cool yule!

Anyone who can use a hot glue gun, can put together this super cute peppermint tree!
Match the mints to your decor! 

All it takes is a floral cone, mints and glue gun!

Follow this link to Better Homes and Gardens where they show not only how to make this one, but photos of trees made with red hots and candy canes!

Even Dr. Seuss himself would be proud!

My friend Natalie of Little Shindigs recently threw a super cute Cat in the Hat birthday party
that I wanted to share with you!   Lots of great pics!   In Natalie's words....

"It was incredibly tough to find Dr.Seuss party ware so we scored on a couple things on E-bay, scoured teachers supplies websites and then had to get resourceful. I made table center pieces to mimic scenes of the book  {The Cat in the Hat} hence the talking fish, thing one & thing two and of course the Cat himself."

The full room perspective!

Adorable centerpieces!

This is my favorite part!
Green eggs and ham!
Made from a tupperware bowl, felt, foam and a green plastic ball.  So inventive!

More cute centerpieces!

Love the blue treat bags with the hat logos!

Cupcakes!  Love the sparkly letters and how it towers atop the stand.

More from Natalie....

"The menu was of course green eggs and ham along with some other morning goodies. My team and I wore all black with white aprons and a floppy red tie in Honor of the cat himself. The guest wore Pajamas. We had a fabulous balloon twister onsite{ Miss.Twister} and had a special visit from the cat himself {Parties by Stacey} The Favors were placed under the Grinch's x-mas Tree which included Horton hears a Who elephant sacks for the youngest of guests. Cupcakes were by Sprinkles in Beverly Hills ad I built a "Wacky Wednesday" inspired cupcake tower (the little clients favorite Dr.Seuss book of course). It was a fabulous little shindig!"

Natalie's company Little Shindigs, specializes in children's events in the Southern California area.
She has fabulous ideas and shares many of them on her blog.  Drop by and give her some love!

One of my most asked questions...

Probably one of my most asked questions this time of year is how to tie various types of bows.
Several people are like myself and can't stand the premade, 50 bows in a bag, type of bows and they want to create something beautiful to adorn their gifts during the holidays.  

This website shows how to create just about any type bow you'd ever need.
I must throw caution out there that making nice bows (especially during the holidays when there are many packages to wrap)... isn't a cheap venture. Just the sheer volume of ribbon needed to make a nice fluffy bow is sometimes one whole roll!  

I get a lot of my wired ribbon at the Dollar Tree this time of year.  They usually have a nice selection and you won't break the bank on packaging when you've already spent money on the gift itself.  Also, while you're there, you can pick us inexpensive trinkets to attach to the bows to make your packaging more interesting.

Here's to having packages that your loved ones ALMOST don't want to open!

Gobble Gobble GOOD!

Oh how I love World Market!  Here's two fabulous details that would do double duty at your Thanksgiving.

Above are turkey place cards.  But wait... they are made out of DARK CHOCOLATE!  Too cute and yummy to boot!  LOL   The World Market ad says they are 4 for $6.99, however, you can get them for $4.99 on the website.  Children will think they are festive and fun as well!

And I thought these were really interesting and useful.  Decorative parchment leaves.

These are fully covered in parchment.  Which means they are safe to be around food and perfect for lining baskets or like you see above, covering a cutting board.  Perfect for appetizer or cheese trays! Adds yet another festive accent to your table!

Featured!

Over the weekend, my strawberry trees were featured as a DIY project on Elizabeth Anne Designs.
These served as the centerpieces to my Christmas wedding in 2003.  They were fabulous conversation starters and devoured by guests!  LOL

Super easy to make!  Great for upcoming holiday celebrations.  Learn the how to at the link above.
Many thanks to Elizabeth Anne Designs for featuring them!

It's as easy as this...

As I get older, I really find myself getting into magazines such as Family Circle.  Isn't it odd how your tastes change with where you are in life?  

Anyway, in the November issue of Family Circle, they showed this easy way to spruce up your fall gathering.

Grab a few mini pumpkins or gourds, run a rich satin ribbon in between them, pull a few sprigs of berries to add to the tops of your pumpkins.and you're done!
You can use raffia, ribbon, even nuts or fruit mixed in.    Great for small bookshelf or on a buffet or counter or even nightstand.

Great idea for those with little time or little creativity!  And it's inexpensive!