Friday Favorites: Gift Bags

Hi everyone!  I thought this week's Friday Favorites should be different ideas for what to use for gift bags.  Cellophanes bags have their place, but it's always fun to change it up a bit.

Here are some cute idea for kids favors:

[From left to right]

1.  Boxes that can fit treats or toys!  From Oriental Trading Co.
2. Favor bags with name tags on them- a great feature to make sure each kid takes home a bag (and can double as a place setting if needed)
3. Pails! (Buckets work too) but great for a beach theme or pool party- plus the kids can play with the pails themselves.


For grown-up parties!

[From left to right]
1. I love these melamine berry baskets (Found at World Market); these would be great for a summer or garden themed party!
2. Ceramic Chalk Spice Jars- I just thought these were nice keepsakes themselves, and of course they could hold some snacks or other goodies.  Plus, write the guest's name on the chalkboard portion to personalize/use it as a seating card.  (Also found at World Market)
3. Don't underestimate the greatness of a basic canister or mason jar.  Fill the canister with recipe ingredients or let guests fill them up with candy! 

I hope today's post helped you come up with some great new ways to package your party favors!

~Megan

DIY Wrapping Paper...with Potatoes?!?!?!?!?!!!

Hey!

So, I love wrapping presents and I love collecting different wrapping papers and ribbons, but sometimes what's out there just isn't what I'm looking for.  Enter potato-stamped wrapping paper - simple, fun, and totally customizable.  Plus, people are super impressed when you tell them what you did.

My supplies and my stamps: I made a turtle shell/wagon wheel and a stylized totem heart owl.

These are the supplies you'll need:

• a potato - those idaho potatos are good this project, whatever you use, you want something on the long side
• sharp things...like knives, peelers, cookie cutters
• a pen/marker
• ink or paint
• plain wrapping paper (I used just brown paper, but the options are endless, it might be really cool to print over newspaper as well..hmm)
• felt (to use as a mat under your paper - this way you'll get nice even stamps on your paper)

As far as directions go, just trace your design into the potato (simpler is better).  You'll want to remove about 1/4 of the outer potato wall so that you have a nice raised stamp. After you're happy with your carving, gently dry your potato on a paper towel, then cover it nice and evenly with paint or ink and start stamping! You'll want to place a piece of felt on your table, then your paper, and then start stamping - the felt ensures that the whole stamp will stamp cleanly on your paper. You might want to test your stamp on a scrap piece of paper.




My owl paper. My roommate says they're creepy-looking but I like them.

When you're done, let the ink/paint dry totally and then wrap up your gifts! Oh, to avoid waste, I measured out how much paper I needed and cut it out before stamping.

Here's one picture wrapped in my owl paper and below is a picture of the stack of presents I wrapped alternating with my owl paper and some store-bought stuff.





For even better directions and a cool cookie cutter trick, check out this video by Martha!

Have fun with this one!
Malerie

Color Me Tuesday: Orange You Glad You Visited Us Today?

First, I should apologize for using "orange" in a really cheesy title.
Second, I love orange.  The color orange, and particularly the flavor...so much in fact, that I only eat orange candy, so remember that as you continue reading.

Obviously, this week is brought to you by the color Orange, so here it goes:

These are flowers from Martha Stewart, who else.  Even though it's a wedding bouquet, I think the flowers are simple and happy and definitely doable for an everyday (or special occasion) centerpiece.

Some various orange-spirations:

1. Lollipops- they're great favors.  Also courtesy of Martha.
2. Mimosas.  They're perfect for everything; brunch, bridal shower, garden parties, a particularly happy morning.
3. Table linens are a great way to add color without having to invest a lot.  This is orange gingham fabric from Hobby Lobby
4. Another quick way to add color, charger plates.  They are a permanent addition to your dishware collection, but reusable for tons of occasions.  This one is from Bed Bath and Beyond.

Hope this gives you some inspiration to add some orange to your next event!

~ Megan

Friday Favorites: Ceiling Decorations

Hi everyone!  It's my turn to present Friday Favorites- Ceiling Decorations edition.  This post was really inspired by the fact that I love the hanging pom-pom decorations, but I thought some variety would be nice.

(From left to right, top to bottom)
1. Balloon Garland:  Pick a color palette and stick to it.  You can tie ribbon around the ends of the balloons and string them up from the ceiling or off a wall.  It's a nice way to incorporate balloons in a non-childish way.
2. Bunting!:  This is courtesy of Etsy but I love bunting as an alternative to traditional banners.  There's so much more variation with message, colors, and patterns with bunting.
3. Leaf Lights, also from Etsy.  It's a nice way to bring something a little different to the decorations.  String lights are easy to put up since you can use a little clear tape to attach them to the wall.  Use it for lighting itself or to highlight a certain area during the party (like the food).
4 & 5. Pom-poms! and more Pom-poms!  I just love these.  They're great for any type of party, kid or adult.  Especially when they are made out of tulle or tissue paper, they are light, fun, and you can get them in virtually any color.
6. Paper Lanterns.  I like bright spaces, so I think decorating with lighting is great.  Paper lanterns work just like the pom-poms, they provide warmth and dimension to decoration, and again, available in so many colors.  Just do a quick Amazon search.

I hope this helps you think of some great ceiling decorations to use at your next event!

~Megan

Color Me Tuesday - The Mellow Yellow Edition

Hi Everyone! Tuesdays are sort of "meh" - don't you think? They're not as hated as Mondays, not as hopeful as Wednesdays, not as close to Friday as Thursdays, and definitely not as exciting as a Friday/Saturday/Sunday.  Recognizing Tuesday as a total void, Megan and I have decided to spice them up with yet another new featurette - "Color Me Tuesdays!"  We'll be curating our favorites in a specific color each week, hopefully featuring some of our favorite party-related items/ideas...enough typing, on to pictures!

Photo from Martha Stewart

Yes, I exalt at the Temple of Martha - I love everything about this, the vintage French tulip vase, the glorious feathery parrot tulips, and the way the purples and yellows play off one another.  Right now, this flower arrangment is the centerpiece of my yellow life. Now, what to go with these flowers?

• Delicious lemon meringue cookies from Joy the Baker
• A very sun-like yellow-orange blown glass ornament - great for decoration or as a lovely hostess gift from Paradise Art Glass
• Some orange placemats - an easy way to bring a color theme in without having to redecorate your entire house - from Too Cute Custom Crafts - or you could try making your own? I smell a DIY!!!
• A super cute apron from Anthropologie

And that's your yellow Tuesday!

Friday Favorites: Kids' Party Favors

Hi Again!
I just wanted to introduce you all to one of our new features: "Friday Favorites!"  Every Friday Megan or I will scour the interwebs and pull together some of our favorite ideas.  This Friday I had my eyes open for some awesome kids' party favors - enjoy!

From left to right, top  to bottom, we have:

1. Marshmallow-goldfish pops from See Vanessa Craft - pop these in a clear bag and you're good to go!
2. Lollipop Flowers from Oh Happy Day - so cute for a little girl's garden party
3. Sweet personalized dino-cups from Etsy-seller I Have A Favor
4. Some glorious green alligator soaps - excellent for a bubble party favor from Bubble City Soap
5. These awesome geometric favor boxes - a cool DIY for an older kid - directions can be found at Hey Look!
6. Little kids love temporary tattoos...and they'll love this Friendly Cowboy Octopus tattoo from Tattly even more - perfect for cowboy parties, octopus parties, cowboy octopus parties...the options are really endless!
7. Dainty tea party favors from Catch My Party with a cute tea cup, some candy, and a little meringue - what little girl doesn't like tea parties?
8. Crazy-awesome-looking superhero masks from another Etsy vendor, Copus Hagen Designs
9. And of course, leave it to Martha, to come up with classy and delicious personalized chocolate bars

I hope you liked my pics and Happy Weekend!!!!

Valentine's Get Together: "Happy But Not Sappy"

So this is my (Megan's) first post.  Valentine's Day isn't my favorite holiday, I find the abundance of red and pink hearts to be annoying (even if I am dating someone).  Not every Valentines Day is going to be spent with your significant other at a fancy restaurant with chocolates and flowers and maybe something sparkly, so my idea was to have a  “Happy But Not Sappy” Valentines Day get together with friends, one that did not revolve around teddy bears or commiserating over your shared hatred of Valentines Days and boys in general.

I think the perfect get together involves your best friends, some type of activity (I like to cook and bake), lots of food, and music or movies that you can sing/talk along with.

Invitations are always a nice touch.  Here I made one in Microsoft Word using Text Boxes

Food

Potlucks are wonderful.  1.  You get lots of food from it.  2. You aren’t buying and making all of it yourself.

My suggestions are: Chili (which has chocolate in it!), chocolate covered strawberries, baked brie with  raspberry jam, and pink popcorn (!)

1. That's me with the chili; 2. Baked Bree with Raspberry Jam;

3. Chocolate Covered Strawberries; 4. Pink Popcorn

If you don't want anything remotely Valentines-y, then go for comfort food: nachos, lasagna (or any pasta), and a personal favorite, Burger Bar...might as well indulge in an awesome burger with as many toppings as you want.

Getting Your Drink On*

*If you're 21 or over!

Raspberry Bellinis (champagne with raspberry puree in it) are a tasty and holiday-appropriate drink.  But I'm a fan of margaritas and think they are appropriate year round.

1. Just a picture of a margarita (found here)

2. Raspberry Bellinis

My Margarita Recipe:
1.5 oz tequila + .75 oz triple sec +.75 oz lime juice +.5 oz simple syrup
Combine in a shaker, add ice, and shake! 
Also, depending on the strength of your simple syrup you might want to add more,
but start with the .5 oz.

Activities

I know, you usually don’t need to plan activities when you’re hanging out with your best friends but sometimes it’s fun.

Do you remember the candy hearts with little messages on them?  Well you can make them as sugar cookies and write your own message!

(courtesy of Buzzfeed)

You can get a recipe from Martha Stewart and instead of using stamps, just put icing into a piping bag with a narrow tip on it!

Movie Suggestions

Bridesmaids; The Wedding Singer; Father of the Bride; You've Got Mail

If you want to go anti-love on this one then I suggest Die Hard, Jurassic Park, 

Silence of the Lambs or any horror movie ever.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentines Day, even if it is super sappy.
~ Megan ~

Quick Candy Buffet

Hi everyone!  Just wanted to give you a quick candy buffet idea that works great for any party/get together/event.  I did this for my niece's first birthday and it was a big hit.

Step 1:  Pick a color scheme.  Keep it simple though.  For my niece it was pink and green.

Step 2: Pick a nice variety of candy. Try lollipops, chocolate, jellybeans, even bubble gum.

Step 3: Display them.  Use glass, anything.  Glasses, vases, mason jars.  Anything works and I think eclectic looks great.

Step 4: Don't forget to have containers for your guests to put candy in (and utensils to get the candy out).  My sister had takeout containers left over from her wedding and they worked great!  But you could also just buy cute bags.

I bought: Green and Pink Sixlets; Hershey Kisses; Jelly Beans,
Lollipops, and Candy Buttons. 

Tips:

- Keep it simple.  A candy buffet doesn't have to be crazy; it's just a fun and festive thing to have at a birthday party.

- If you don't have a store that sells bulk candy near you, try searching on Amazon, that's where I got the Sixlets, lollipops, and Candy Buttons. (The Jellybeans and Hershey Kisses I got at the grocery store)

- Don't forget to customize!  Use your favorite colors or candies.  If there are a lot of adults at the party, pick a candy that everyone remembers from their childhood.

Hope everyone enjoys this Candy Buffet post!  

~ Megan ~