Back To School Breakfast

School starts tomorrow here in Portland.

Even though it is later than most of the country I am still not ready.

I am not ready for my baby to start her last first day of school!

I decided that this momentous occasion called for a special celebration, a special back to school breakfast.

I knew how unrealistic it was to expect Tessa to be up and ready in time to enjoy a specially prepared breakfast on the first day of school – especially since school starts at 7:30 a.m.!

We decided that we would celebrate a day early so Tessa invited two of her sweet friends to join her for our special Back to School Breakfast.

I made a quick trip to the Dollar Store and to my closet for the decor for the table.

This summer I had purchased these great chalkboard signs from the clearance table at a little gift shop in the Multnomah Village area of Portland.  I got both of them for $7.77.  It was at that time that the idea for some type of back to school breakfast began to formulate in my head.  I mean, how perfect is a chalkboard sign for a back to school breakfast!?  I added a little piece of red ribbon to finish it off.

I love having the menu for any event or party displayed for people.  I don’t know about you but I really like to know what I’m eating!

I carried the chalkboard theme over to the placecards.  I bought some inexpensive ($1.00) frames at Craft Warehouse.  I took out the inside piece that you are suppose to put the picture in front of and sprayed it with black chalkboard paint to turn it into a little chalkboard.  Each girl knew exactly where they were suppose to sit!  Some little stands I found at the dollar store and have used for various other parties were the perfect thing to hold the chalkboards.

I bought a three pack of the little, tiny composition notebooks from the Dollar Store too to put at each place setting along with a crayon in case they felt like coloring.

Two packs of crayons from the Dollar Store worked perfect to fill an small apothecary jar I have for part of the table decor.

I also used a domed cake stand I already owned and filled it with a few red apples.  What’s a back to school breakfast without apples?!

The red cake stand holding the blueberry muffins added color and interest to the table too.

I am loving my new bottle from Ikea (about $2.00.) It that looks great on the table filled with orange juice.  I have been noticing these bottles at a lot of local restaurants lately filled with water and placed on each table.

For recipes from our back to school breakfast be sure and visit me over at Your Homebased Mom.

The girls had a great time eating, visiting and laughing together.  Ready to start their first day of their senior year together!

Do you do anything special for your kid’s first day of school?

Vintage Baby Shower

Several weeks ago I purchased an antique baby scale for my photographer friend Meg. I knew she wanted one for her newborn photo shoots and I wanted to thank her for the amazing job she had done on Tessa’s senior photos. I was excited to find one at a local vintage shop.  When I gave it to her I said there was only one stipulation.  She had to let me borrow it for a baby shower I was doing.  She of course agreed!

I knew that the vintage baby scale would be the perfect thing for the table decor.

It was also the perfect thing to hold a photo of Baby Hope laying in the same scale!  And to hold baby Hope!

I collected other vintage items from around my house and especially Tessa’s room.  I had to dig out the box of baby nursery decor that had been packed away years ago.  There are advantages to saving stuff!  It will come in handy!

The old baby booties with a votive candle holder inside became the perfect thing to put on top of the Peter Rabbit books.

I also covered the table with a lovely old vintage quilt I had picked up in a vintage shop.

And the vintage baby chair I just had to have was perfect!

The pink pom poms from Tessa’s sixteenth birthday party were also a perfect addition hanging from the kitchen nook ceiling.

I also used lots of pictures of pretty Baby Hope on the table.

In frames….

as a collage on a vintage wire rack….

I also hung some little vintage dresses that usually hang as a valance in Tessa’s room on a ribbon clothesline.

Remember that invitation....

I have to say I think this was my favorite part of the decor.  Those old baby shoes came in handy again….

I used my mother’s hostess trays.  I love those things and remember my mother using them at various showers she would hold while I was growing up.

The shower was in the evening so for food I wanted a combination of sweet and savory.

We had fruit salsa and cinnamon chips.

Hummus and Pita Chips

Sundried Tomato Pesto Palmiers (recipe coming soon to Your Homebased Mom)

And this yummy St. Louis Ooey Gooey Berry Cake!  So good!

There were also Lovely Lime Cupcakes.

The food was yummy and the company delightful.  The new mommy and baby got lots of darling things too!    Every new mommy deserves a special party!

Party Guest:Garden Baby Shower

Today’s party guest is Ashley of Little Miss Momma .

Ashley hosted an amazing  baby shower for a dear friend who was expecting a little boy.  Ashley says that this shower  was an extra fun one to plan for because the guest list was for a dozen lovely ladies {rather than 30}, so she was able to spend some extra time on the details–she even used real plates (a girl after my own heart!)

She chose a “spring time” theme in turquoise, lime green, orange and yellow.

So let me introduce Ashley and have her tell you all about her beautiful baby shower.  Almost makes me want to have another baby (not) but I am stealing some of her ideas for a baby shower I am helping host this summer.

Here’s Ashley:

I chose a “spring time” theme in turquoise, lime green, orange and yellow.

I made these Pom Poms using a tutorial from Leanne at Organize and Decorate Everything. I love them so much–I wish I could leave them up all year round {and maybe I will, lol}.

To stay within the “garden/backyard” theme I bought a 12 pack of mason jars at my local grocery store and used them for cups. I used extra large malt straws purchased from Michael’s.

I made this banner using scrapbook paper and pre-cut letters that come in a pack {also available at Michael’s}. I glue gunned each paper flag down on to a long strand of turquoise ribbon.

Here was my nifty little party favor. I made these earrings using this tutorial.

The theme was “Cute as a Button”.

I glue gunned this trim around vases from the dollar store.

I learned how to make these pinwheels from Gillian at All the Small Things.

I threw some of the pinwheels in with my flower arrangements.

Yummy Spring time cupcakes.

Summer salad with strawberries, mandarin oranges, sliced almonds and a sweet honey vinaigrette dressing.

Homemade chicken salad sandwiches on croissants.

Most of my decorations and favors were used with supplies from the Dollar Tree and the sale section at Michael’s {and I’m not just saying that}. If you want to know where I purchased anything specific leave me a comment over at my blog and I will get back to you.

All in all, one rather awesome baby shower!

Ice Cream Social Table Decor

My friend Dawn is a kindergarten teacher.  She is always doing lots of fun and creative things with her students.

One of their end of the year celebrations is an ice cream social.  Dawn put together these darling table decorations and shared some photos with me.

Using empty ice cream containers and fresh flowers from her garden she not only carried out the theme but saved a lot of money too.  I love it!

She just placed jars inside the containers and placed the flowers in the jars.  She also made some mini bouquets with the tiny teeny new single serve
cartons.

Thanks for sharing your fun table decor idea Dawn!

Cute Silverware Idea

One of the things that always throws me while having a party is what to do with the silverware when serving buffet style.

Do I just lay it on the counter? That doesn’t look too good.

What do I put it in?

This weekend we stopped for a beverage at a fun food cart in Portland and I saw this idea  – I loved it.  Could hardly believe it was a foodcart – antique silverware.

I love the idea of putting the silverware in mason jars!  How pretty is that!?

Do you have a fun idea you use for silverware at a party?  Leave a comment and let me know!

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!

Easter Table Decor

So how are you going to decorate your table for Easter dinner this year?  I’ve  been doing some surfing around out there on the web and have seen some pretty cute ideas.

This one in particular!  Loving the use of the Peeps in the vase (I am a Peep lover)  The yellow Peeps with the orange  jelly beans and tulips is amazing.  If you are not an orange and yellow person there are all kinds of different color Peeps available.  I was at Target today and they have lots of different colors.

I think they probably used a vase within a vase and put the tulips in the inner vase.  I’m headed to the Dollar Store to see what I can find!  Our Winco grocery store has individual color of jelly bellies in bulk too!

I also think the idea with the ice cream cones stuck in the wheat grass with  green jelly beans wrapped in cello is brillant too!!

Photo from The Party Dress

Would love to hear how you are decorating your table – please leave a comment and let me know.

Candy Bouquet

Sorry to be a little quiet here on the blog lately.  We’ve got lots of party planning going on around our house.

Last week and this week have been “show week” at our house.  The two weeks the high school musical – this year Guys & Dolls – is performing.  Tessa is a cute little Hot Box Doll and the featured dancer.

I am busy helping pull together the details for the cast party Saturday night as well as some gifts for all the adults that help put the show together.

I counted up the other day how many high school productions my 3 “theater” kids have been in (I have 3 theater kids and one sports kid!) and it is about 30.  Not only is that a lot of performances but a lot of flower bouquets to present to the performer after the show.

In the past I have gotten a little tired of just bringing flowers, especially when it is a male performer.  Another idea I came up with was a candy bouquet.

I have put them together either in a vase/pot or just wrapped up in tissue like a flower bouquet would come.

I tape the candy bars onto the end of bamboo skewers and tie them together with some tissue and ribbon – the kids love it.

Here is a candy bouquet I put together for Tessa when she was performing in Willy Wonka.  This was an easy one to do as I used all kinds of Willy Wonka candy!  I just wrapped a box in some peppermint candy wrapping paper, put a piece of styrofoam in the inside and covered it with shredded paper.  Popped in the skewers with the candy attached and added a bow.  She loved it!

I’ll be back soon to share plans for the cast party I’m organizing as well as some fun cookie bouquets I am putting together – think dice, spades, hearts, diamonds etc…….

Luck be a Lady tonight!!!

Calling All Cakes!

I love it when someone sees a good idea and runs with it and does their own thing!

That’s just what a couple of you have done with the candy bar cake idea we shared here on the blog!!

Thanks to Jenni for sharing her darling version of a candy bar cake.  I really like the smaller size….

and here is Carolyn from Australia’s version!!  Yes, all the way from Australia.  Love her use of ribbon and a candle on top!

And here it is all wrapped up and ready to give to someone.

The other cake idea we shared this week was that cute diaper cake.  My niece Michelle sent me a few more photos of another darling diaper cake she made – so cute!!!  Won’t someone I know please have a baby so I can make one of these!!

Do you have a picture of a fun cake you have made?  Any kind of cake?  I’d love to share them here on Your Homebased Parties.  Just send the picture in a jpeg and brief description of the event the cake was for and I’d love to highlight you and your cake here on the blog!

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!

Next Page »