Everyday Celebrating

Black and white and stunning!

Loving these feather backed chairs!
See the rest of this black and white inspired wedding at Southern Weddings Magazine blog.

Beautifully easy edged cupcakes!

 

I love these edged cupcakes shown by Woman's Day mag.
Instead of covering the whole cupcake, try edging the cupcake in sprinkles, crushed nuts, crushed M&Ms, red hots, etc.

 

Another tip for icing:
Not an expert in pastry bags or want the expense?  Use a ziploc bag and cut a hole in the corner.
A great way to fill the bag?  Slide the bag down into a tall glass.  Drape the edge of the bag over the glass and fill.

 

photo credit:  Woman's Day

Easy gift wrap!

 

My best friend, Heather, was just put on bedrest this week.  Of course, most expectant mothers don't want to be put on bedrest and it's a frustrating and sometimes scary time.  So. I'm sending her a pickmeup.

I had a box that was a tall square and I wanted to fill it.  I had several gifts that I was sending. I won't say what's in it in case she's reading today.  :)  I wrapped each gift separately in tissue paper and alternated the patterns in stacking.  One big bow on the top and it's ready to go.

It fit just perfectly in the box!  And it gives her a few gifts to open rather than one.  Who doesn't love to open gifts, right?

Color summer drink mixer!

photo: Better Homes & Gardens

Fill glasses halfway with pomegranate, cherry or raspberry sparkling soda or sparkling wine.
Add a scoop of lemon sorbet and top with a lemon slice!

Put them in these stellar footed glasses by ZGallerie.

No kiln needed - Paint it yourself plates - at home.

My friend, Jessica, made this super cute plate for her mother featuring her daughter's hand and footprint. Pottery painting store, you ask?  Nope.  There's a way you can do this, at home!

This is done with everyday sharpie pens.  Yep.  Easy stuff.

Take a porcelain piece (plate, mug, etc.)  (Make sure it's an oven proof item and that it's not plastic.)

Draw your design directly on the item with sharpies.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Sharpies are non-toxic and perfect for children to create their own gift.

Also, how about hosting a painting party of your own!  At your house!  You can get these plates usually at the dollar store.  Buy enough for your friends and several sets of colorful sharpies, open a bottle of wine, whip up some appetizers and have a fun evening with friends!  Father's Day is coming up!  Get your mommy friends together to create Daddy a mug!

Summer fun! Festive decorated cones/bowls!

Dipped ice cream cones or bowls:
(courtesy of Taste of Home magazine)

• 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, vanilla or white chips
• 1 teaspoon shortening
• 12 ice cream waffle cones or bowls
• Optional toppings: assorted sprinkles, chopped nuts, flaked coconut and and small jelly beans

Directions:

In a microwave, melt chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip the top of each waffle cone into chocolate, allowing excess to drip off; roll in toppings of your choice. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set. Yield: 1 dozen.

Don't want your kids to have the ice cream AND the sugar on the cone/bowl?
Want a healthier alternative to ice cream?

Mix up a great fruit salad and put it in a jazzed up cone or bowl. Colorful, fun and healthier than ice cream!

Or. You can have the child that I have that just wants to dig his face into the actual watermelon. 
My son, Keaton:

Everyday sidenotes:
You know what would be cute?   Put sprinkles on waffle cones for a summer party or this weekend (Memorial Day).  Fill them with fruit and display them in a pot like the crunch and munch cones!

Or for a fun baby/wedding shower, go monochromatic matching the sprinkles with the fruit.   Green sprinkles with honeydew melon, etc.

Everyday Events: Mad Hatter Birthday!

Don't you love coming to a blog and seeing real photos of real events?  Me too.  Plus, it's Tuesday and I personally dislike Tuesdays.  Why?  Well, it's not the beginning of the week (Monday) and it's not the middle of the week (Wednesday) and we're not close to the weekend.... my friends laugh because, for some reason, I dislike Tuesdays.

Anyway... moving on.... since I don't like Tuesdays.... let's see fun pictures instead!

Remember that wonderful carnival birthday I showed you about a year ago? That birthday was created and thrown by my friend Kelly of Eventology Weddings (Houston, TX) for her very own daughter Kendall.  Well, another year has passed and it's time for another birthday and this year's theme was the Mad Hatter! 

Held outdoors at a local park, this whimsical birthday included these fun details:

Table centerpieces - floral arrangements in tea cups with one single feather

of course, the traditional topsy turvy cake

with adorable matching cookies

and Ben and Jerry's sundae station! yum!

Guests spent the afternoon painting their own take home teacups

took rides on the Mad Hatter Express

and participated in the "tea cup toss"

Guests took home personalized M&Ms

with Kendall's precious face!

as well as multicolor glazed popcorn balls

Another fabulous birthday!   If you're looking for some help in the Houston area, give Kelly a call!
She's the Knot's Best of Weddings for 2008 and 2009!

Photos courtesy of Sharon Nicole Photography

Also, a reminder that if you've recently thrown a party you're particularly proud of, send it my way!
I love seeing the creativity of others and showcasing here on Everyday Celebrating!

List lovers behold!!!

I've had several of you email me or make comments here about how we're kindred spirits in the world of lists.

Well.
BEHOLD, List Lovers!  Have I got something fabulous for you!
{This is where you click on the photo above to see it larger and let out a gasp!}

This is a totally customizable, super cute list of things for you to do each week.
You send the seller up to 28 things, she creates the list and sends it back to you in pdf.  You print them out forever more.  As many times as you like. 

Get it here. While it's on sale.

You're welcome. :)

The National Stationary Show - My Mecca.

So I'm KICKING MYSELF that I'm not at the National Stationary Show that starts this weekend in NYC.

If you know me, you know I'm all things paper and ribbon.  Cards, stationary, wrapping paper, ribbon, embellishments, etc.  The list goes on.  To say that I have tons of stationary and note cards and the like would be, well, a severe understatement.  Matter of fact, I'm in the process of trying to figure out how to turn a closet into a haven for it all.

Anyway, my good friend Dianne of Colorblind Productions, invited me to go this year and I declined and opted to go to Blogher instead.   Maybe D invited me because she walked me into Kate's Paperie for the first time in NYC, where I literally teared up.  And while I'm excited for Blogher, I'm kicking myself that I'm not at the NSS.  I'm friends with several stationary designers who are abuzz on Twitter about packing up and heading to the show.  It's like being left behind while your friends are going to the carnival.  LOL

But next year is my year.  I'm saying it here and now. D and I are gonna take it by storm!
(I should probably purchase extra luggage between now and then to lug it all home in, right?)

I leave you with photos of a previous show.  As usual, click on the photos for their full fabulousness.

Swoon. Drool. Bliss.

Everyday Events: Another amazing airplane birthday!

As I said in a previous post, I love it when readers share with me how they took a theme I posted, made it their own and went above and beyond even! 

Remember my son's airplane party.  Here and here?

Jennifer of Nounces Design threw an airplane party for her son recently and the details just have to be shared!  Some great stuff here!

First off, her invitations.  She is a graphic designer and created some amazing invitations.  She went the same route I did with the boarding pass and also the map envelopes.  Click on the photo to see it larger.

These invitations are absolutely adorable!  MUCH better than mine!
And guess what?  She sells them!  So all of you folks that aren't crafty with a computer can still have amazing invites.  Buy them at her etsy store here.

Now on to the things we love... details!  Make sure to click on the image so you can get an up close view.

In Jennifer's words:
"For the goodies bags,  I painted a Cheerios box brown, I then cut two pieces of brown paper into the shape of a suitcase and attached one to either side.  To dress it up a bit, I used two stripes of yellow cardstock and travel stickers. I think they turned out pretty good.  The adults were also sent home with a goodie bag, chocolate chip cookies….YUM!"

Don't you love the goody bags????

Moving onto the food.  She served individual lunches in keeping with the airplane theme.  She continued the logo throughout, which really is the key to creating a cohesive event and bringing the theme to life.  Look at the lunch up close.  The banner that the airplane is pulling says what the lunch is "ham, turkey.. etc."  Very creative!

Now for the cake!
From Jennifer:
"I went back and forth about the cake. I didn’t know if I wanted to go with cake or cupcakes. I couldn’t decide…so I went with both! Dan and I made the cake topper airplane out of Crayola Model Magic. Derek loved seeing the airplane on everything. He would get so excited every time he saw it. For the cupcakes, I added flags. Some with the airplane graphic and the others with his age, 2."

How cute is the airplane on that cake?  and I love the clouds!

Another fabulous airplane party!
Thanks Jennifer, for sharing with us.  This will serve as inspiration for many visitors.
Don't forget!  Jennifer has done all the hard work of the invites!  She also creates custom invitations and announcements of any nature.  Over 105 items for sale in her store right now!  Visit her etsy store!