Doesn't it seem like there are so many more great DIY wreath ideas out there this year over years of the past?
This one from BHG is made from fishing bobbers! I love it! I'm putting the idea back for next year. I'm thinking of doing a Candy Cane Christmas for next year and this would fit right in! It would even work for Valentine's Day with a different ribbon.
This time of year lends itself to easy, beautiful crafts and food. With the holidays coming up and my wedding anniversary next week, I thought I'd repost this idea for my newest readers.
The picture above was from my wedding six years ago. Each guest table was adorned with a lovely centerpiece of fresh strawberries. Edible? You bet! Guests were encouraged to pull off the fruit and were given chocolate sauce and whipped cream to use as dip.
It made a great appetizer as well as an additional dessert. Perfect with champagne too!
And a great alternative to expensive floral centerpieces.
These are always eye catching and a hit. AND.. .easy! Just get floral foam, strawberries and stick them in with toothpicks. Sidenote: cover the floral foam with lettuce or kale so the fruit doesn't touch the foam.
Don't want to provide a dip? Dip your strawberries in dark or white chocolate before sticking into the foam. A grab and go dessert!
Stay tuned and I'll show you one I'm putting together for a holiday get together!
photo credit: Family Circle
Like the look of imprinted napkins but not the cost?
Create cute personalized napkins to fit in with your decor by simply stamping them!
Get inexpensive white napkins and stamp each one with a theme. One of the benefits of stamping is that you can have many different kinds of napkins for just the cost of a single stamp instead of custom imprinting costs.
These make a great hostess gift as well!
photo credit: Herbert Harper
Along the lines of the candy buffet, comes the decorate your own cupcake display.
This one was featured at a wedding, but the idea crosses all party lines - especially with children.
One thing to think about when planning one is the number of guests who will need to be accommodated at once. No one wants to stand in line forever just to decorate a cupcake. Using a round table like this, place a large stand or maybe even two at different heights at the center of the table. Then totally surround the table with a circle of toppings. Have two or three sets of the same toppings at the table so many more guests can be served at once.
Have you ever sent someone flowers and given the florist specific instructions as to what you wanted sent and then always wondered what exactly WAS sent? Or maybe you didn't tell them what you wanted, but just wondered what that $50 got you? LOL And who wants to ask the recipient, "hey, what DID those flowers look like, anyway?"
I heard this suggestion on the radio and thought it was a great idea and wanted to pass it along.
If you RECEIVE flowers, enclose a photo of the flowers inside the thank you note. Sounds so common sense, doesn't it?
If you received flowers for having a new baby, take a picture with your baby beside the flowers. A) Everyone wants to see the baby and feel like they got a special first look at him/her and B) they get to see the flowers they purchased and C) you're taking care of a thank you note!
So easy and the receiver will love seeing the flowers that were sent in their name.
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Speaking of hearing suggestions on the radio... Celebrations.com (a member of the 1-800-Flowers family of brands) has invited me to be a guest on their radio show tomorrow. This show is hosted by the TV Host Jeanne Benedict of the DIY Network's Weekend Entertaining. I'll be talking about end of summer party centerpieces! It's a 30 minute show airing at 3pm EST on Blog Talk Radio and we'd love for you to join us. If you're not familiar with Blog Talk Radio, it includes a chat feature where you can ask questions and meet other listeners. Note: you do have to log in to use this feature.
Behold, my friends, the cutest cupcake carrier I've ever seen!
If you're a NYC local, you can purchase these at Billy's Bakery and soon, they'll be available for online purchase.
Too cute!
You may have noticed that things have been slow around here last week. I was in Chicago at the BlogHer conference and then spent a few days in Ohio visiting relatives.
There were several parties surrounding BlogHer and of course, one hell of an expo hall with vendors. I took a few pictures while there and I'll post some of the fun event details in coming days.
First, are these floral arrangements from the Suave/Degree booth in the expo hall. The photos don't do them justice. As my friend Dianne says, "you and your fruit!" Yes, I love a fruit vase filler. Just can't help it.
While I'm not a huge fan of the color orange in general, I love the contrast of it with this red.
Of course, you've seen me post before about mixing halved fruit in with flowers. Here's another example:
Bake It Pretty makes me happy!
Lots and lots of adorable accessories and confections to add to your baked goods such as these cupcake liners. And these adorable sugar buttons already made and ready for your desserts.
They have edible glitter and super cute straws like these:
And one of my favorites, the love toast stamper!
May I present to you some of the most beautiful cookies ever???
Monogrammed houndstooth....
Wedgewood inspired!
brush embroidery
cameo!
Can you imagine the tea party you could have with these?
Stunning! Purchase them from SweetAmbs
A great tutorial on how to make these easy and inexpensive centerpieces featuring the tissue paper pom. Find it over at The Wright Family.
She made 38 of these! Wow.
I'm thinking they would be cute to line a sidewalk for a shower or birthday party!
Think outside of the box. Make them in holiday colors for Christmas, Halloween, etc!