Smooch Valentine Party

Smooch. Smoochie. Smooches. I took this Valentine party up to a personal level. Because if you don't send your love grossly affectionate words of endearment, do you even have a Valentine?

This party was planned with my dear crafty friend, Craft E Magee, and it is the starter project of a big idea we have to continue to put together parties that we love. We're just getting started on some serious baby baby steps, but you can find more of our parties in the future over on Party in Lou. We'd love to have you stop by and follow our instagram, too. You know, if parties are your kind of thing.

Craft E Magee worked her magic on the seriously adorable pompom banner and I designed the Smooch cake topper and lip kisses in Silhouette. The cake was from Kroger and I can't get over its cuteness with the Valentine sprinkles and tri-colored cake layers. It's simple to add your own flair to cakes with personalized cake toppers and decor. Parties should be fun and not stressful, so take a look around your grocers' bakery to see what they're offering and don't be afraid to cut corners with store-bought cakes and pastries.

Here's to lots of love and smooches this Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, DIY'ers!

julee

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Unicorn Birthday Party

What girl right now doesn't want a unicorn birthday party? I mean, hello cuteness! My young friend Ava was no exception when she was celebrating her 12th birthday this year, and her mama was happy to oblige. She used a lot of Pinterest inspiration for this party, along with the purchase of some Etsy printables and delicious treats from local bakeries. 

The unicorn face focal wall was really the highlight for this party setup. The unicorn eyelashes and unicorn horn were purchased and downloaded from Digital Curio on Etsy and then printed to size at Staples. The flowers were purchased at a craft store and we drew out the greenery and unicorn ears freehand and cut the pieces from poster board.

With a pink and rose gold color scheme, we kept the desert table minimal. The gold polka dot table topper was a roll of wrapping paper and a gold table skirt from a party supply store finished the look. The gorgeous cake was from local Plehn's Bakery.

The unicorn cookies were from local baker Sweets by Millie. White chocolate dipped pretzels with sprinkles and unicorn dip rounded out the sweets on the dessert table.

It looks like the birthday girl really enjoyed her unicorn party!

Happy party planning, DIY'ers!

~julee~

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Vintage Library Wedding Reception

Alternate title: The Reception of a Writer and Bibliophile.

When my friend Liz told me she wanted to create her cake and punch wedding reception with a vintage library vibe, I may have squealed in delight. Squealed, I'm telling you. Because vintage. And library. Vintage. Library. As in, the stuff my dreams are made of.

We centered our inspiration for decorating the tables around a vintage suitcase and the bride and groom initial book cut-outs, purchased at a local shop. (I have since found them at Michaels if you're looking for a set.) Everything was set in the brides favorite colors - deep, rich, jewel tones.

The reception hall was a beautiful old building set back in a local park. The gorgeous exposed brick walls and large fireplaces on each end of the room created the perfect warm and cozy atmosphere for wanting to curl up with a great read.

The stunning three layered cake was made by a family friend of the bride. The baker used seasonal flowers as the topper and to decorate the perimeter. The flowers were purchased at Kroger and we used the remainder bunches split up in vases on the tables.

For the tables, we raided our personal libraries for hardback books plus we took a few trips to Goodwill to look for books with pretty decorative spines. Every table held flowers in jewel-toned bottles and vases, plus small tea light candles in holders.

We also found various small brass elements to compliment the gold on the book spines and table settings. Goodwill had plenty of brass tchotchkes to pick over. A few decorative skeleton keys found at Michaels added in nicely.

Finally, to finish off the table center pieces, I took to the internet and printed off several love quotes from various books and authors and placed them in simple black frames. Each table had a unique quote which became my favorite element of the tables.

An easy way to add visual depth when decorating a table is paper. The gold polka dot paper was a roll of wrapping paper cut to size. On top of that I used 12x12 scrapbook paper in the jewel tones. Easy and very effective at creating layers that tied all the tables together.

We also set up a kids table full of vintage Golden Books and coloring sheets and crayons.

Overall, this reception embraced the writer and bibliophile personalities of the bride and groom perfectly. Using many pieces from their home and personal library, as well as vintage elements found at thrift stores, we were able to keep this wedding reception highly personal and affordable. 

May they live happily ever after...

Happy party planning, DIY'ers!

~julee~

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Super Bowl Party with Ross Dress for Less

I asked my husband what he would like to have at his Super Bowl party, and he promptly replied with, Beer.  Ok.  What else?  Food that goes with beer.  Ok.  Anything fun and cute?  *blank stare*

So, when Ross Dress for Less asked if I would like to shop for my Super Bowl party at their store, I knew it would be the perfect opportunity for me to deviate a little from my typical cutesy parties and put on something a little more…manly.

I had a mission to look for party set-up pieces in woods and darker tones.  Ross did not disappoint.  The first thing I found were the fun nesting crates with yellow chevron.  I hesitated since yellow wasn’t one of the Super Bowl team colors this year, but they are versatile enough that they don’t distract from the theme.  I used those crates as my main inspiration and added the other pieces from there. 

The chalkboard is a really cool shutter turned on its side.  I found it hidden behind some wall décor and it fit into my theme so perfectly that I felt like I found a hidden gem!

 

Ross has a great selection of beer mugs, pilsner glasses and pint glasses.  I chose the handled mason jars because they came with lids and I knew I would use them again.  When looking for party pieces, I try to shop wise and purchase items that I can put to use around my house or for future parties.

My absolute favorite find was the wooden six-pack carrier.  Absolutely perfect for this party!  Also, the galvanized bucket was great for keeping extra drinks cold.

For food, I served a big pot of Cincinnati-style chili and a hot dog bar.  Chili is always a Super Bowl crowd pleaser. 

For party snacks I found a few of my husbands favorites in the gourmet food aisle: hot and spicy snack mix, wasabi peas, and toffee popcorn.  The selection was great and it was hard to not go overboard picking out snacks and sweets.

I loved that this party came together without the need to add a lot of extra DIY touches.  Finding perfect décor pieces and yummy snacks at Ross Dress for Less meant that I had to prep very little to put this party together.  This easy party set-up is great for those who are busy but still want to impress their guests with great party style.

What are your plans for the Super Bowl this year?  Any favorite party food recipes you’d like to share in the comments sections?  I’d love to check out your blogs!

~julee~

**A gift card was provided by Ross Dress for Less to share my shopping experience.  All opinions are my own.

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Oscar Party with Ross Dress for Less

It’s quite fun to do something a little more fancy than a typical movie night for an Oscar viewing party.  We may be snuggled on the couch in our pajamas watching to see if The Academy awards our favorites the Oscar, or we may be sitting around with our best pals snarking on who’s wearing what, but Ross Dress for Less has a way of making each of us feel red carpet worthy. 

You probably know that Ross carries  top brand fashion at affordable prices, but did you also know that they have a home section full of great values, too?  By adding just a few of my own touches and baking just one dessert, I was able to shop at Ross for all of the essentials to put this  Oscar party dessert table together. 

I found a large selection of classic white dishes in all shapes and sizes at Ross.  Whether you’re serving a full dinner, hor dourves, or desserts, white dishes are the perfect base for any party table.  Investing in white party platters will save you money if you plan on entertaining frequently as they will easily adapt to any theme or occasion.  Here, I purchased a large white bowl, a beautiful scalloped edge cake stand, and a set of beveled edge salad plates perfect for serving Oscar desserts.  On the cake stand I added gold paper under the mini-cakes to coordinate with the red, black, and gold Hollywood theme.  Scrapbook paper is just one easy way to tailor white party ware to your event.

Ross had an amazing gourmet food section full of delicious sweets.  Being a great hostess doesn’t have to mean spending hours and hours in the kitchen.  To help save on time, mix a few store-bought desserts with handmade ones.  For this party, I purchased caramel corn, chocolate covered cookies, and truffles from Ross to serve along with the mini red velvet cakes that I made.  I added pop sticks to the truffles to make them party perfect, and set everything out on the new white dishes.  You’ll be stress-free, and your guests will be thinking you’ve added gourmet baker to your repertoire.

I also found a great selection of glassware at Ross.  Drinking glasses, stemware, barware – they had it all.  I snagged these great stem-less wine glasses and glass pitcher to create the perfect set for serving white sangria with berries..  To make my barware Oscar ready, I used gold metallic paint to give the glasses a personalized touch.  I couldn’t resist dressing up the pitcher in a fine bowtie.  The Oscar statue stirrers were created with the Silhouette Cameo.

Delicious food and drink, versatile serving pieces – those are just the basics of party planning.  The perfect party also has special touches and elements that are unique to the host/hostess.  For me, that was using  dizzying chevron table and wall covering, adding bowties around candles and on the table, and painting my wine glasses.  Bring your own flair to your parties and your guests – and you! – are sure to have a wonderful time!

What are your favorite party planning tips?  I’d love for you to share them with me in the comments.

Happy party planning, DIY’ers!

~julee~

 

This post was written as a collaboration with Ross Dress for Less.  A gift card was provided to share my shopping experience.  All opinions expressed are my own.

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Pink Paris Party

I don’t usually gush too much over super-duper girly things, but you guys, this gorgeous Pink Paris Party is seriously making my heart sing.  This first birthday celebration was for the niece of the mighty talented Jilli of Mia Bella Photography, who was kind enough to let me share these photos.  I am in love with the ultra girliness of this beautiful party – the combination of Eiffel Towers with feathers and polka dots is swoon-worthy.

I love that the dessert table was kept simple.  When you have a cake this beautiful, no other sweets are necessary.  The birthday girl’s smash cake matches the top tier of the birthday cake, switching out the Eiffel Tower for the number one.  Framed photos of the birthday girl in matching black, white, and pink frames personalizes the cake table.

Pink tulle topiaries on the cake table and as centerpieces on the tables, set off with the same pink and black feathers and silver Eiffel Towers, ties all of the tables together.   Black and pink chevron straws are perfect for pink punch, and what party guest wouldn’t be happy taking home a poodle and Eiffel Tower goodie bag?

To see more pictures from this beautiful pink Paris party, including the smash cake photos of this adorable birthday sweetie, check out the full album on Mia Bella’s Facebook page.

Happy party planning, DIY’ers!

~julee~

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Easy Kids’ Thanksgiving Table

   

This week on WDRB in the Morning, Craft E Magee and I collaborated to create an easy kids’ Thanksgiving table.  The idea was to create something fuss-free, entertaining for kids, and easy for adults to clean up.

Instead of a traditional tablecloth, Liz used brown kraft paper and set out adorable branch colored pencils so kids could easily draw on the table as they waited for food to be brought out.  At each place setting, she set out mini pumpkin pies, flanked by  a feather name card.  To create the names on the feathers, she used kraft and letter stickers found at Target dollar-spot.  Simple and super cute!

Keeping with the kraft paper theme, we filled small paper bags with Thanksgiving trail mix made by mixing popcorn and candy corn.  We used stamps and bakers twine to decorate ours, but you can also use these as name/place settings.

Finally, we used my Thankful Tree as the table’s centerpiece.  Set out leaves at each place setting for kids to write (or help them write) what they are thankful for this year.  Be sure to add a date on these to keep as mementos each year.

After dinner, you can roll up the kraft paper tablecloth and recycle.  Easy!

You can find more details and photos at craftemagee.com.

Do you create a special table for the kids at your Thanksgiving dinner?  Any additional tips for keeping kids busy while they patiently wait for dinner to be served?

Happy Thanksgiving, DIY’ers!

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