Italian Dinner Party

In addition to her safari themed wedding brunch Ellen was also hosting the wedding rehearsal dinner the night before.  The dinner was to be held in an Italian restaurant but Ellen wanted to do something to jazz up the table decor and make it prettier!

Here’s a fun idea I found on a website that I thought was great.  I love it when you can use part of your meal as decoration on the table -filling glasses with biscotti and breadsticks!  It has a definite romantic, Tuscan feel to it!

I also loved the look of the large urn with roses and grapes.

I can’t wait to hear how Ellen’s big wedding weekend turned out!

Idea Board}Safari Wedding Brunch

Ellen recently contacted me about helping her put together some ideas for her son’s wedding brunch.  The brunch would be held at a hotel the morning after the wedding for all the out of town guests and as a final send off before the bride and groom left on their African Safari honeymoon.

Ellen’s main concern was not letting it look too much like a child’s party.  She wanted a sophisticated look but one that celebrated the adventure the bride and groom were going to be enjoying!

Here is the idea board I put together for Ellen’s party.  She also received a list of links to the ideas shown.

If you  have an upcoming event or party you would like some help with please visit my Shop to see the various packages I offer.

Party Guest}Pioneer Party

My friend Sarah is amazing.  Not only is she a talented photographer and an amazing party planner she is also the mother of six, yes I said six, of the most adorable little girls you will ever meet.  And on top of that she home schools them!  I told you she was amazing.

Sarah use to be my neighbor until they moved out to the country.  We miss those cute little girls (and Sarah and Chris too).

Fortunately I can keep up to date on the whole family through Sarah’s blog.

Recently Sarah shared a fun Pioneer Party she put on for her daughter Autumn’s birthday.

Today I am excited to share with you Autumn’s amazing party.

One of the benefits of living out in the country is that you have friends and neighbors with barns which is the perfect setting for a pioneer party.

And farms and barns usually come with animals!

Sarah sewed up a batch of pioneer bonnets and aprons for each of the party guests – I told you she was amazing!  Don’t they look cute in their little pioneer gear!?  Hannah would look cute in anything!

In addition to playing with the animals there was a lot going on at Autumn’s party!

There was candle dipping…

and the candles made cute little table favors too!

There were also potato sack races, feeding the goats and chickens

felting eggs,

and making the biscuits and butter.  What a great idea – let the party guests make the party food!

OK, I’m tired after just typing all of that!

Autumn has pronounced it to be her best birthday party yet.

Happy birthday Autumn and thanks Sarah for sharing your fun pioneer party!

Cookie Bouquet – Part Two, the Assembly

Cookie Bouquet – Part One, the Cookies is here.

The next day, after the cookies had dried over night I was ready to put the bouquet together.

For supplies you will need:

A container. I used a piece of green florist foam inside of a white gift bag that I had added black dots to to resemble dice.  I cut off the handle of the bag and turned the upper edge into the inside of the bag to reinforce the bag a bit.  You could also use a vase, a box or just use your imagination!

Filler: You will need some kind of filler, shredded paper etc. to place in and around the cookies once they are placed.

Cookies: Go here for directions.

Misc. Decor: In addition to the cookies I used other items that related to the show – Guys & Dolls.  All the crapshooters in the show wore red carnations in their labels so that was the perfect flower to use to fill in and around the cookies.

I also found some great chocolate bars wrapped like dollar bills at the dollar store!  I hot glued them to bamboo skewers.

I also bought a deck of cards at the dollar store along with some dice.  I used different card hands “full house” etc. and glued the cards together in a fan shape and attached them to a bamboo skewer too.  I also hot glued on a few dice for a finishing touch!

I didn’t end up using the red and black ribbon but it would look cute tied around some of the sticks.

After putting your foam into the container start inserting sticks into the foam.  Be sure and vary the height of your sticks to give it some variety and interest.  I put the larger items in first (candy bars,etc.) and then filled in with the smaller items such as the cookies.

I made a little printed sign for the front cutting the shapes out on my fun Cricut machine and attaching it to a lollipop stick.

Fill in around everything with your filler and you are finished!

Who wouldn’t love their own personalized cookie bouquet!?

Cookie Bouquet – Part One, the Cookies

I have always loved those cookie bouquets you can buy from places like Cookies by Design etc. but they were always just a little too expensive and frankly I didn’t think they tasted that good.

I decided that it was time I tried my hand at making my own cookie bouquet – how hard could it be anyway?

Well, I learned a lot during the process and there is definitely room for improvement but it turned out pretty cute for my first try.

I went to an expert cookie baker I Am Baker to find a sugar cookie recipe and frosting recipe that would work well.

I knew I needed a thicker, firmer sugar cookie than I usually make.

I used this recipe.

I have never been a big fan of rolling out sugar cookies.  Mainly because I can never seem to get them an even thickness.  Thanks to my friend Dawn, who is an amazing cook, for this great tip for rolling out cookie dough.  She told me to get two clean paint sticks and set them on either side of my dough.   Placing my rolling pin on top of the sticks gives you a perfectly even cookie dough  – so easy!!  I rolled my dough out to about 1/4″ but next time may try making it a bit thicker.  You could double up on your paint sticks to do this.

Before baking the cookies I was going to use for the cookie bouquet I pressed a white lollipop stick (you can get them at the craft store or a cake decorating store) into the back of the cookie – about an inch or so up into the cookie. Being careful not to push it all the way through the dough. I then took a small, flat piece of dough and covered over the stick on the back of the cookie.  Use a little water to dampen the dough and it will stick a lot better.  Smooth it out with your damp finger.

I forgot to take a photo of this part of the process – sorry!!

So pretend these cookies have sticks in them!

I used a square shaped cookie cutter for the dice and found the heart, spade, diamond, etc. cookie cutters are at our local cake decorating shop.

I also used I Am Baker’s frosting recipe.

You will need two “strengths” of frosting.  One stiffer than the other.

With the stiffer frosting fill a bag and use your smallest, round tip.

Here’s a great tip for getting the frosting into the bag.  Stand the decorating bag up into a tall glass – it keeps it wide open for you to get the frosting in!

I then outlined each cookie with the stiffer white frosting.

Using the runnier frosting and a bigger round tip, flood each cookie with frosting.

I used my little offset spatula to spread the frosting into the corners that didn’t fill in.

I then let the white layer dry and mixed up my black frosting.  I found that the best way to get a real black frosting is to use the brand by AmeriColor.  I found it at my local cake decorating shop but it is also available online through Amazon.  It makes a real black color, not gray!  Their red is great too – you get red, not pink!

Using my smaller tip I outlined each cookie in black and added my dice dots.

I used this same method for the spade, hearts, diamonds etc.

I then let the cookies dry overnight.  The frosting needs to set up before you start working with the cookies or you will have a mess.  I think the cookies taste better the second day too!

Stay tuned for Cookie Bouquet – Part Two, The Assembly!

Olympic Dinner Party

Have you been watching the Olympics?

I must admit I’ve had so many projects going on lately I have only watched a few highlights but my husband has kept me up to date on all that is going on!

Thanks to my niece Michelle (yes the diaper cake Michelle) who shared this great idea for a fun  family Olympic Dinner Party that her sister in law, Heather,  put on.

You still have a few days to pull this together and it might be a perfect way to watch the closing ceremonies on February 28nd!

Why not enjoy a Canadian feast prior to the ceremonies.  A great way to learn a little about another country.

Here’s the menu from Michelle’s Olympic dinner party:

Salmon from British Columbia

Wheat bread from Saskatchewan

Potatoes from Prince Edward Island

Pouding Chomeur from Quebec.

So I had never heard of Pouding Chomeur and I am even half Canadian (my dad was born and raised there) so I had to google it.  Come to find out it is a dessert that comes from Quebec and actually means poor man’s pudding.

It was created by female factory workers in 1929 during the Great Depression. It consists of a mix of flour, water, brown sugar, and other cheap ingredients that were common during the era.

I found a recipe for it here.  If you try it – let me know what you think!!  It’s got maple syrup on it (which makes it even more Canadian) so it can’t be that bad!!

(Heather admits her menu was loosely Canadian and none of the food actually came from Canada )

Heather put together a pretty table complete with maple leaf place cards and used the red and white colors of the Canadian flag for her table decor.  She even ad an Olympic Torch centerpiece!

If you are looking for a few more last minute fun Olympic ideas check out The Idea Door.  Who wouldn’t want to win a chocolate chip cookie medal!  Check it out!

Thanks to Michelle and Heather for sharing this fun Olympic family dinner party!

Diaper Cake

Today I want to share with you another fun idea for a party cake.  This cake doesn’t taste quite as good as the candy cake idea I shared last week but it is super cute and useful!

My niece Michelle is a cake decorator extraordinaire! She recently helped host a baby shower and this is the amazing cake she made for the party.

Isn’t it darling!?  I loved the color scheme for the party – red and teal.  Do you recognize that cute little cupcake?

Here’s a close up view.   Michelle is a master with fondant!

Michelle made another cake for the shower too.  This cake didn’t taste quite as good but it was just as cute and very useful!

It’s a cake made out of diapers!

I asked Michelle to share with us how she put together the cake.  Here’s her great tutorial.  Thanks Michelle!

Supplies you will need:

*2 big packages of Pampers Swaddlers- it needs to be Swaddlers for a few reasons:
1. They are all white.
2. They seem to be a little bit stiffer and hold shape better than other diapers when you roll them (I used 117 diapers for this cake, you may need more or less depending on how tall you make it, and if you have other fillers in the middle)
I recommend using a size 2 diaper instead of a newborn or size 1. That way, the mother doesn’t need to take it apart right away to use it before the baby grows out of that size diaper.
*4-5 yards ribbon (I used two colors, but I didn’t do any bows. Had this been for a girl, I would have used more to make some big bows)
*Cans of formula, or bottles for the center (Or more diapers to fill it in)
*Baby socks
*Other baby supplies like pacifiers, small clothing, etc. almost anything for baby can be added to the cake.
*Card with poem (you can get that off my blog)
*Card board circle or something sturdy to put it on. I used my kitchen lazy susan, but a big Pizza Pan works well, and it’s only about $3 at Walmart (and is best if you are transporting the cake somewhere- they can get heavy)
*Rubber Bands
*Wooden dowel- this will go through all the layers to hold it all together. The circle decor thing (I don’t know what you’d call it- I found it in the floral section at Hobby Lobby) was all attached to it’s own dowel, so I just used that.
I also like a cute kind of topper. I used the stork and baby (it’s a topper for a real cake) but I have seen signs made from paper that say “Welcome ________” (baby’s name) I have an embroidery machine, so I actually had that embroidered right on the ribbon that I was using around the tiers. Sometimes a baby item, like a little pair of shoes also makes a great topper.

Assemble:
Once you have the supplies, take a diaper, roll it from the end to where it folds, put it inside a rubber band (I use the big ones that my mail comes in) as you roll more diapers, keep adding them to the inside of the rubber band until you get the base the size you want. If you are including a can of formula, that would actually go in the middle, with the rubber band around it, and you would keep adding the diapers around the can. Bottles work well, too, if they are the same height as the diapers.

Do the same for the next layer, making it smaller that the base by 1 row of diapers. Make as many tiers/layers as you would like. I did 4 layers, but 2 or 3 look just as nice.

Take your widest ribbon and cover the rubber band with it. It works best to safety pin the ribbon closed in the back. You can cover the pin with something, or even use diaper pins (if you can find them- I couldn’t) to secure it. I alternated the ribbon, you can do that or use the same- just use your creativity!

When all the layers are made and the ribbons attaches, stack the cake and insert the wooden dowel through the, placing it as close to the middle of the layers as you can.

Now the fun part: Decorating the “cake”

To make the sock roses, unroll a sock. Starting at the toe, roll it back to form a rosette. If they are lacy socks, the lace will look great turned back up a little around the base of the rosette. You can use some extra ribbon to be the leaves. I also used a wash cloth around a group of socks. Secure the rosettes individually with a small rubber band. These can then be inserted in between the diapers, or laid on top, however you think it looks best.

Add other baby items. You can use floral wire and sticks, or double stick tape, or even tie things on with ribbon. You can add as few or as many other items as you would like. Blankets can even be folded the width of the diapers and wrapped around one of the layers.

Michelle display the cake along with this cute poem:

Here is a cake made with love

Though I wouldn’t call it yummy

For the ingredients used go on the baby

Not inside your tummy.

Flour, sugar, milk, and eggs

will make a cake so sweet

But diapers, formula, and baby socks

make a handy treat.

Photos courtesy of Little Starling Photography.

Thanks Michelle for sharing your amazing talent with us.  Please let us know if you have a fun cake – edible or not that you have created.  We’d love to share it here on Your Homebased Parties!

Holiday Table Decor

A few weeks ago I hosted my annual Holiday Breakfast.  It is something I do every year for my first line team members who work with me in my direct sales business.

I’ve got the menu pretty well down for that event.  You can check it out here.  Because I can do that breakfast almost on auto pilot it gives me time to think about my table decor.

I always serve the breakfast buffet style so I like to do something to decorate the table or counter from which I serve the food.  Usually I serve off my large kitchen island but this year I decided to do it from the kitchen table.

I pushed the table up against the wall to give people a little more room to move around the table.

I love magazines and have quite a collection at my house.  My favorite thing to do is tear pictures of pretty things out of them and file them away.  I use the photos for ideas or inspiration. In this year’s December issue of Better Homes & Gardens I found a photo that inspired my table decor for my holiday breakfast.

They had used an old wooden sled on the table with a grouping of glass cloches with ornaments underneath.  When I saw the photo I remembered that up in my attic I had an old vintage wooden sled I had picked up several years ago at an antique store.  It was one of those purchases that my husband had said “What are you going to do with that?”  Actually he says that quite often.  My reply of course was “I don’t know, but I’ll find something!”  I knew I loved it and sometime I would need it!

So my nice, kind husband crawled up into the attic to retrieve the sled for me.

Very rarely do I ever purchase something specifically for a table decoration, except for fresh flowers but a lot of times those just come out of my garden.

I love the challenge of looking around my house to see what I have and what I can re purpose as table decor!

 

For this decor I used a glass cloche that I have.  I placed it on top of a small green cake stand I had previously purchased at Home Goods and filled it with some ornaments I hadn’t used on my tree.  A few of them I actually removed from the tree to use!  The other little cake stand I also had.  My little addiction to cake stands comes in handy sometimes!

 If you don’t have any glass cloches you can also use glass vases and just turn them upside down!

 
 
I added a few pieces of artificial greens around the base of the cake plates or if you have cut down a fresh tree use a few of the branches you cut off to get it into the tree stand.

I then just scattered a few more ornaments in the greens.  I think it looks great and I love the height that the sled gave the centerpiece!

Next up was the dining room table where we would be eating.  Again I looked around the house to see what I could use – re purpose!

I decided my little collection of glittery vintage santas would look great as part of the centerpiece.

I used a piece of green chiffon fabric as the base for the centerpiece.  I have a collection of different colors of chiffon squares to use as an anchor for centerpieces.

Here’s an example from my Little Princess Tea Party.

 

Just purchase a yard of fabric and then serge the edges or do a small folded hem.  I have even been known to leave the edges raw and tuck them under.

 
 
I grabbed another one of those cake stands I am so fond of and a few more ornaments off the tree (my tree has lots of ornaments so these weren’t missed!), another sprig of greens and a few more candles that usually sit in my kitchen windowsill.

I positioned the santas so they were facing different ways so that no matter what side of the table you were on you had a nice view of Santa!

 

What fun things have you found around your house to use as table decorations?

Little Princess Tea Party} Decorations

I think one of my favorite types of parties to do is a tea party.  I think it must be all that English blood flowing through my veins.

I love everything that goes along with a tea party – usually pink and frilly!  And then those scones aren’t so bad either.

Last month my daughter Tessa had the role of the evil Miss Minchin in Little Princess at her high school.  As part of the performance they offered a tea party with a special visit from some of the characters in the show.

The tea party was a project for one of the Marketing students and I volunteered to help.

I couldn’t resist – I offered to help with the food and decorations.

Since it was a fund raiser the budget we had to work with was rather limited but we made it work!

We decided to go with a pink and purple color scheme.

The party was being held in a bare, ugly teacher’s lounge so we tried to add a little softness and color to the room.

I was able to use the tissue paper pom poms from Tessa’s Pink Birthday Party.

I added in some pink chinese lanterns that I bought online – very reasonably priced – from Luna Bazaar.  I hung the pom poms and the lanterns using clear fishing line and thumbtacks from the ceiling.

For the tables we used plastic tablecloths from the dollar store (small budget) and pink and purple paper goods from there also. One of the teacher’s brought her china teacup set so the grownups could drink their tea from real teacups.

For the table decorations I took about a yard of pink tulle per table and created a little pink cloud in the middle of each table.  I placed a cake stand in the center of each cloud (ones I had at home).  I went to Goodwill and found some inexpensive teacups, they don’t have to match.  I stacked them one inside another and glued them together and placed the teacup stack on top of the cake stand to create a whimsical, cute and inexpensive centerpiece.

 

A piece of ribbon tied to one of fhe teacups was the finishing touch.

We also created a little vignette just outside the teacher’s lounge so people would know where the party was.

 

Next post:  Little Princess Tea Party} Food

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