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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Gold Dipped Wine Glasses

When planning for my Oscar Party, I knew it was the perfect time to jump on the gold painted wine glass bandwagon and create some fancy-pants glasses for the occasion.  I found these affordable stemless wine glasses at Ross Dress for Less that were perfect for the look I wanted.

Pinterest is full of some really great ideas, but my favorite look (and seemingly most popular pin) was Martha Stewart’s gilded glasses.  Dipping the glasses creates an easy, smooth finish that’s hard to recreate with a brush or sponge.  Only, to create Martha’s dipped look, she instructed you to use heavy-duty clamps, and some sort of hanging contraption so the excess paint will drip off of the glass flawlessly.  Now, I don’t know about you, but even as a crafty gal with a room full of crafty hoard, I don’t own either of these things.  And I had no desire to buy or build them, either.

So here is my alternative method for creating a similar look, without the need to hang the glasses for drip-drying.



Gold Dipped Wine Glasses



Supplies needed: Wine glasses, gold glass paint, washi or painters tape, exacto knife, bowl or container that will accommodate the wine glass (I used a paper bowl), and a drying rack or small items to sit the glasses on while they drip dry (I used tealight tins turned upside down).  You’ll also want some newspaper to cover your workspace.



1) Tape off the bottom of the glasses.  2) Use the exacto knife to cut off the excess tape so that only the bottom is covered. 3) Dip the glasses in the gold paint, coming up the sides to create the look you want.  Shake off as much excess paint as you can for at least 30-seconds.  4) Set the glasses on your drying piece(s). 5) Let dry before removing the tape from the bottom.  6) If you still have globs of paint on the bottom, use a scraping to tool to smooth.  7) Refer to the directions on your paint for curing time and procedures.

If you want more paint on the bottom or other side of the glass, you can do that.  If you want a more uniform look to each glass, use painters tape to create those lines. 



Have you attempted to paint or dip wine glasses?  What are your best tricks for getting a smooth finish?  I’d love to hear your tips and see your pics!

Happy glass painting, DIY’ers!

~julee~

Watch me demo this project on WDRB in the Morning:

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Mini Red Velvet Cakes

I made these mini red velvet cakes for my Oscar Party and, naturally,  I’m in love with their cuteness.  (And their tastiness is pretty awesome, too.) 

Because I have never pretended to want to be a baker, I have no shame in telling you that I used a box mix for these little cuties.  However, I used Belle of Beechmont’s alternate red velvet donut recipe.  No fancy pans needed for these; this batter bakes perfectly in your cake pan to create a more dense cake that is easy to cut into round, bite size cakes before filling with cream cheese frosting. 

Red Velvet Mini Cakes

1 Box Red Velvet Cake Mix

1 Stick Butter

1 Cup Whole Milk

2 Eggs

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 Stick Butter

4oz Cream Cheese

2 Cups Confectioners Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

Mix the cake mix with the wet ingredients.  Line cake pan with parchment paper so that the ends come up and over the side.  Thinking about the thickness you want your cakes, pour  a thin layer of  batter into the pan(s).  Spread the batter as evenly as possible.  Bake at 350-degrees for 10-15 mins.  Let cool in the pan for ~10-mins, and then using the parchment paper sides, pull out of pan and let cool on a cooling rack until ready to cut.  Using a round cookie cutter, cut circles from the cake.  Fill layers with cream cheese frosting, and add a dollop of cream cheese frosting on top.  I garnished my cakes with stars cut from chocolate and powdered sugar.

Mini cakes = cupcake’s fancier cousin.  Perfect for parties, and easy to gobble down.

Happy baking, DIY’ers!

~julee~

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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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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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Last Minute Halloween Cupcakes

Looking for a quick but cute last minute Halloween cupcake decorating idea?  Create ghost cupcake toppers out of white bark.  It only takes a few minutes to create these cute, edible ghosts.

Not every party calls for time-consuming homemade desserts.  I am the queen of throwing a party and setting up dessert tables last minute, so I make sure I always have boxes of cake mix, cans of frosting, and white chocolate bark in my cabinets.  Even with these basic items, you can make your Halloween dessert table look fabulously festive.

To create white chocolate ghosts, simply melt the white bark in the microwave according to package directions and spoon the melted bark into a plastic baggie.  Then, snip of a tiny corner of the baggie to create your piping bag.  Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and pipe out a ghost shape.  You can also draw a ghost form on a piece of paper and slide it under the wax paper as a template.  Once you have all the ghost shapes you need, pop the cookie sheet into the freezer for a few minutes. When they are hardened, gently peel them off the wax paper.  The back side will be smooth.  Use icing or gel to create a ghost face and they are ready to spook atop your Halloween cupcakes.  So easy and cute!

Add a few extra elements to up the fun factor on your dessert table.  This bitty cupcake stand and these jack-o-lantern cupcake liners are from Wholeport.  They give your dessert table the perfect spooky vibe for your edible ghost toppers.

Other last minute Halloween dessert table ideas include filling decorated paper cups with store-bought candy and making Peep suckers by adding a lollipop stick.  These adorable black and white polka-dot cups also come from Wholeport.  Paper straws always add a festive element to your party.

What are your favorite last minute decorating tips?  Share in the comments – I’m always looking for ways to save time on party planning!

Happy Halloween party planning, DIY’ers!

~julee~

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Football Party Table Setup Video

Yesterday Craft E Magee and I displayed our Football Rivalry Party on WDRB in the Morning. 

We decorated our football party table with our two local teams, Louisville and Kentucky, but you can use these easy ideas to create a similar table for your hometown games.  These ideas also work great for a Super Bowl Party.  Simply create a  football field using green felt, and masking tape to create the field lines.  Keep your table visually appealing by creating a mirrored effect on each side of the faux 50-yard line.  We did this by using the exact same setup on each side of the table in the alternate team colors.

Check out the video to see more of our tips for creating this fun-spirited party table.  You can also download Craft E Magee’s Louisville and Kentucky team spirit party printables for free on her blog. 

Remember, our craft segment airs on WDRB every two weeks and you can watch each of my morning show segments on my YouTube channel.  (And Craft E Magee’s YouTube channel, too!)

Thanks for watching!

~julee~

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Football Rivalry Party

If you don’t live in Louisville then you might not understand the sports rivalry against the teams from University of Louisville and University of Kentucky.  If you do live in Louisville, then chances are, loyalties to your favorite college team is divided among your household or friends.  Things get thick around here when UofL and UofK play against each other in football or basketball.  (And by thick, I mean downright crazy.)

Instead of picking sides, Craft E Magee and I created a football rivalry party for this weekend’s Louisville/Kentucky football showdown.  In true sportsmanship, we made sure to represent each team equally in this fun party setup.  Hosting your own football party this weekend?  Use some of these details to impress your guests no matter which team they’re cheering for!

The first thing we did was to create a football field table cloth.  We used green felt purchased by the yard at the fabric store and made yard lines using masking tape.  We then divided our teams straight down the middle of the table, and set up each team’s side equally using Kentucky blue and Louisville red partyware filled with game day snacks.  Creating symmetry is key to keeping your party table visually appealing.

How cute are these water bottle labels?  Craft E Magee designed a set of party printables for each team that includes water bottle labels, pennants, and cupcake toppers.  (Print the free UL vs UK party set here.)  Although each team’s colors and  logos are different, the chevron print helps bring everything together.

All of the fun details like team logos and cheers tie the party together even when creating sides for two teams.  You can easily use these ideas to plan for any sport or  football rivalry party, including Super Bowl parties.

Craft E Magee shares more details on assembling the pennants and making the football brownies over on her blog.

Whichever team you’re cheering for this weekend, I hope you have a fun and safe celebration!

Happy party planning, DIY’ers!

~julee~

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Luau Pool Party

Undeniably, the best part of having a summer birthday is having an excuse to throw ultimate pool parties.  Like our Under the Sea Pool Party last year, and our bestie’s Mustache and Splash pool party earlier this summer, our luau party was a great way to celebrate summer’s fun and sun.

I let my daughter do all of the planning for her party this year.  She really liked the look of the vintage hula girl, so we tried to incorporate that vibe as best as we could.  I had minimal time or energy to plan or make decorations, but we perused Pinterest together and I helped her organize her plans.  I had a small budget to work with, so we used many things that we had on hand.  Fortunately, the dollar stores are overrun with luau themed party supplies in the summer, and that helped make this a very budget friendly party.

My daughter specifically wanted red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting.  I found the petal cupcake liners at the grocery, and the hula girl on the top tier is from the dollar store. 

We kept our luau party food very simple and kid friendly:  “crab” sandwiches, pasta salad, palm tree fruit kabobs, chips and a veggie tray.  Because we had a pinata filled with candy, the only sweets we served were cupcakes and a few little candies on the table.

We saw these crab sandwiches on Pinterest and could not pass up the chance to make them for our party.  Seriously, how cute are these?  Use croissants for the body, sliced black olives for the eyes and radishes for the mouth.  (Except our crabs have tongues because our radishes wouldn’t stay on, so we had to use toothpicks to attach them.)

Hawaiian punch and pink lemonade.  The pineapple straws were bought at the dollar store and the cups were ordered from Oriental Trading (along with the leis and grass skirts).  I made the hibiscus flower decorations on my Silhouette machine.

Of course, our party also had lots and lots of swimming.  And pinata smashing.  And limbo-ing.  A luau just isn’t a luau without the limbo dance.  Or so I’m told.

This was a fun party to celebrate my daughter’s 10th trip around the sun and to wrap up another great summer.  Have you been to any fun pool parties this summer?

  Happy party planning, DIY’ers!

~julee~

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