Tradewind Tiaras

Kitchen Renovation: Solution for Dark Cabinet Interiors

2012-02-01T10:41:00.000-08:00

When I first bought our cabinets from Cabinets to Go, at first I thought, "oh how lovely, the cabinets are so nicely finished inside as well as out!" And then I put the first cabinet on the wall.

When the light spills in from that window over the sink, you open the cabinet with the dark interior finish, and it's a dark cave of mystery. I don't want to wait for my eyes to adjust to the lower light just to be able to find a cup. I also don't want to paint the insides of my nice new cabinets.

Enter Ikea's Dioder battery operated drawer lights:

I wondered if these could be re-purposed for cabinets as well. I'm happy to report that they work brilliantly!

They automatically turn on for 15 seconds when you open the cabinet door, and turn off five seconds after closing the door. The only problem now is that you can totally see all the awful spots all over my glasses while I've been doing my dishes in the bathroom sink. ;-)

Kitchen Renovation: An Improvised Cutting Board Holder

2012-01-31T09:01:00.000-08:00

I saw a cutting board holder from Rev-a-Shelf online, and thought it was a brilliant idea! The only problem was that it came with a cutting board. I have plenty of those already.

I also had scraps. Perfectly stained-to-match wooden scraps left over from when my father created our double oven cabinet (out of half a 30" base cabinet turned upside down, two fridge panels, and a 18" tall wall cabinet).

It looks perfect, doesn't it? If you can see it past all the construction mess. My father is such an incredible wood-worker!

I, on the other hand, am a woodworking dilettante. I know just enough to think I can do far more than I really can.

This project turned out to be within my capabilities, however. A few scraps, a few screws, and a few L brackets from the garage, and I made myself my very own vertical behind-the-door cutting board holder!

Man, these little things make me so happy. When I eventually get vertical pan storage, you will see glee. Unmitigated glee.

Kitchen Renovation: Refinish That Old Table!

2012-01-30T09:42:00.000-08:00

When we moved into our current house about four and a half years ago, we bought a new kitchen table off Craigslist. The chairs were great (aside from the upholstery, which I finally fixed in the last post), but the finish on the top of the table wasn't in the best shape. Still, it was solid wood, the perfect size and shape for our new kitchen, and a great deal.

The years between purchase of the table and now haven't been kind to the table. Years full of craft projects and kids, and kids with craft projects.

I never took particularly good care of the surface, because I always intended to refinish it. Someday.

With the whole kitchen getting a makeover, this felt like the right time to do it! We're just waiting for the granite to get installed at this point, so I had a bit of a lull in projects, and decided it was time to tackle the table.

The first step was to fill in those awful grooves. I liked the look when we bought the table, but I quickly realized that they were beast to clean. They capture every crumb and glimmer of glitter. They make it impossible for my daughter to do her homework on the table without placing a book beneath her paper.

First, I had to clean out those nasty channels.

TSP and a green scrubby and elbow grease got the job done.

Next, it was time to fill in the grooves.

Sandable, stainable wood putty turned out to be an easy, inexpensive solution.

Once the putty was dry, it was time to sand off the old finish.

Coarse sandpaper made pretty quick work of this step, and fine sandpaper at the end made the surface fabulously smooth and ready for staining.

I used some stain we had left over from the pergola we built in May, and the deep espresso color worked perfectly with the rest of our decor.

You can still see the where the grooves were, but it's nice and smooth, and so much better! Since I already had the stain, the only cost for this project was the $3.67 for the wood putty.

Ready for more years of service!

Kitchen Renovation: How to Re-Cover a Kitchen Chair

2012-01-19T08:23:00.000-08:00

Latest progress on the kitchen project: Three full base cabinets installed, hooray! And I made my new curtains, too. It's amazing what a difference hanging new curtains makes in a room.

I'd bought more curtain fabric than I'd needed, so I decided to give my sorry-looking kitchen chairs a quick makeover while I was at it.

Those cushion seats weren't in the best condition when we bought the set off Craigslist, and it certainly hasn't improved in four years of living with kids. I've seen simple chair seats re-upholstered hundreds of times on home improvement shows over the years, and knew it was simple, but had simply never gotten around to it. Well, I got around to it last night! In less than an hour, I had fresh, coordinated chair seats!

I simply turned the chair upside down and unscrewed the upholstered seat. It came off very easily with a simple screwdriver--no need to hunt down the super-long bit for our drill.

I then set the ugly old cushion down on my fabric, and cut a large enough piece so that I'd have plenty of overlap and would be able to staple all the the raw edges neatly on the underside of the cushion.

Then it was just a matter of finding the staple gun in our garage (the hardest part of the project!) and stapling the fabric in place. I took care to keep the fabric design neatly lined up with the lines of the chair as I was stapling.

Once the fabric was firmly stapled down, it was a simple matter to put the cushion back on the chair and screw it back in place.

What a very satisfying transformation for $15 and 45 minutes! This is another one of those "I should have done this years ago!" projects, for sure.

Next on our list: adapting the sink base cabinet to work with the gorgeous stainless steel apron front sink we bought. I wish my dad were still in town to help us with the carpentry!

DIY Project: How to make a Wrapping Paper Table Runner

2012-01-17T08:04:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite budget party tips is using wrapping paper to make decorative table runners.

I used this technique for the sparkly red and aqua table runner at our annual gingerbread house decorating party this past year.

In fact, I used at last year's Swedish themed gingerbread house decorating party, too!

If you can even see it under all that candy. ;-)

This year's table runner was incredibly easy to make. I knew I wanted my sparkly blue wrapping paper to echo the design elements from elsewhere in the party. So I simply took a 6 foot length of wrapping paper, and cut it roughly down the middle, in nice wavy lines, so that the white table cloth below the runner would look like snow-covered hills.

I then simply cut some triangles from some red wrapping paper I had on hand and glued them to the curved bottom edge of the paper runner. Instant table runner to match the rest of the party decor!

And the best part about making wrapping paper table runners? Better than the low price tag? Better than how incredibly quick the craft is? Better than how perfectly matched and custom it is? Better than being able to stock just white table cloths and still match any party decor? You know what's better than all that? The cleanup! Toss it! Normally I'm all about re-using party elements, but sometimes, after throwing a party, all you want to do is sink down on the couch with a glass of wine. A paper runner gets you there that much faster.

Website Issues

2012-01-13T08:56:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone--just a quick note to let you know that we're experiencing some server issues on tradewindtiaras.com, so I'm not getting emails and the main website isn't loading. But we're working on it, and should have the issue resolved today. I'm so sorry for any inconvenience this causes! In the meantime, please feel free to leave me a message on our Facebook page.

And for a little eye candy for you, here's the latest from the kitchen renovation project!

Aqua kitchen cabinets

We're only replacing the base cabinets along the wall at this time, just to help spread out the hit to the budget. We're targeting May (when my hero of a father will be back in town!) for the uppers and the island cabinets. So we'll have a bit of a hodge-podge kitchen for a few months, and as long as it was going to look mismatched, I decided to have some fun. I should have done this years ago! Goodbye ugly honey oak cabinets, hello aqua! At least the contrast looks purposeful now.

My eight year old daughter is a huge fan. We'll see what my husband thinks when he gets home from his business trip tomorrow. ;-)

DIY Project: How to make a Cookie Display Backdrop

2012-01-11T11:05:00.000-08:00

For some reason, ideas for backdrops are usually the last bit of inspiration to come to me. I have no idea why, but it's awfully inconvenient. I had the idea for the backdrops for the tables at our gingerbread house decorating party at just about the last possible moment for me to be able to pull it off.

Now, at our gingerbread house decorating parties, there is absolutely no need for a dessert table. We have an obscene amount of candy for decorating the houses, and everyone nibbles on the sweets (and usually some of the icing, too).

Caught!

No, no need for a dessert table as well. But savory food to provide a salty antidote to the sweets and beverages are definitely necessary. Still, when I came up with the idea for a table backdrop that was a cookie display, I just had to add sugar cookies to the party to-do list!

I envisioned a winter countryside scene, one reminiscent of folk art paintings. I chose this for two reasons: first, it's charming, and second, the style of painting is pretty simplistic and easy to mimic. There's a two-dimensional quality to folk art, a lack of perspective and proportion. In other words, if I did a poor job on the perspective of a house, or if something wasn't really the right size, I could say, "Yes, that was a stylistic choice, completely intentional and in the style of the genre!" ;-)

Making the backdrop itself was very simple. I just bought two 4x8 foot Styrofoam insulation sheets from Lowes. I cut one in half to make the basic backgrounds, two 4x4 foot squares. I was using four-foot long tables, so the size was ideal.

I then simply used my utility knife to cut pieces of the second Styrofoam insulation sheet in random wavy lines to resemble snow-covered hills. I glued them together with a little construction adhesive, and I was ready to paint.

And by paint, I don't mean anything fancy. I wanted to tame down the tell-tale sheen of the Styrofoam, so the snow-covered hills got a coat of white craft paint. The sky was painted a deep blue. I threw a little glitter on the hilltops for good measure--I can't resist sparkle--but it was incredibly easy.

I did a little bit of shading to help define where each layer of hills met, but really, it was a subtle thing and not necessary.

The things that made it all come together, however, were the cookies.

I simply hand-cut out shapes of buildings for my little town. Barns with silos, houses, a church, etc. All very simple structures, again inspired by folk art paintings. I used three sizes of Christmas tree cookie cutters, a leaping reindeer, a sleigh, a Santa, and a snowman cookie cutter for the rest of the cookie shapes.

You'll notice that I cut curves on some so that they'd fit better against the snowy hills I created for the backdrop. I did not have an exact plan. I just knew I'd place some on tops of hills, some at bottoms, and some on slopes going up, some on slopes going down. I did it completely randomly, and chose where to place the cookies after they were all baked and decorated. No need to over-think this and engineer it to the closest millimeter. Just winging it worked beautifully.

Once the cookies were iced and completely dry, I used royal icing to adhere toothpicks to the backside of the cookies.

One was enough for small cookies, like trees and snowmen, but larger cookies got two toothpicks. I originally thought I'd use bamboo skewers, but that Styrofoam turns out to be tougher than it looks, and it was way easier to slip in the slim toothpicks.

Once the skewers were completely dry and attached, it was simply a matter of placing the cookies on the snowy hills and vales, and admiring my display.

They made the perfect whimsical, magical, Christmastime backdrop, especially when flanked with red curtains so they looked even more like gazing out a window on a tranquil winter scene.

The only problem? People had to be vigorously encouraged to eat any of the cookies! They didn't want to take anything away from the display. But with a little nudging, they got over it. ;-)

DIY Project: How to Make Mixie Sticks Hot Cocoa Flavor Mix-Ins

2012-01-10T11:45:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite elements from our annual gingerbread house decorating party this year was the concept of "Mixie Sticks," flavors the guests could add to their hot cocoas, in the style of the classic candy Pixie Stix.

I came up with about fifty fun flavor ideas, but eventually pared myself down to just three. I'd bought three types of paper straws from Shop Sweet Lulu, and decided it would be easiest for all concerned if I made each straw color a different flavor.

How to Make Mixie Sticks Hot Cocoa Flavor Mix-Ins

1/2 cup sugar per flavor
flavorings of your choice
paper straws
hot glue gun

1) Choose your flavors. There are so many fun possibilities out there!

Just in my pantry, I found three really delicious options. King Arthur cinnamon, King Arthur Espresso Powder, and PB2 powdered peanut butter. I was very sad that the peanut butter didn't make the cut, because it is seriously delicious mixed in hot cocoa! But I thought that mint would be a logical choice and go very well with the green straws I'd bought.

Be creative thinking up flavors! Malt powder works gorgeously, for example. And you can use any of the LorAnn Oil flavorings to make practically any flavor you can imagine. Eggnog. Horchata. Raspberry. And mint, of course.

2) Less intensely flavored powders, like the PB2 and malt powder, can be used straight. But when working with intense flavorings, like the King Arthur cinnamon or espresso powder, or the LorAnn oils, the flavor needs to be cut. Initially I tried using powdered sugar, but found that while that made a lovely mix-in, it was impossible to get in the straw! Using regular sugar proved the best choice.

For each flavor, mix 1/2 cup regular sugar with your flavoring, to taste. I liked the flavor of two teaspoons of the King Arthur powders added to the 1/2 cup of sugar. It added a distinct taste of the flavor without being too overwhelming when added to the hot chocolate.

Making flavored sugars with the LorAnn oils was just as simple. Simply add a few drops of the oil flavoring of your choice to 1/2 cup sugar, and mix thoroughly. Now this is important: let it dry completely before putting the flavored sugar in the straws! Otherwise you'll have a heck of a time trying to get it back out.

3) Form your Mixie Sticks from the paper straws.

Fold over one end of the straw two times. You can certainly do this with just your fingers, but I found it handy to use a pair of flat nosed pliers.

Use a glue gun to secure the folded end so you'll be sure not to spill out sugar accidentally.

4) Fill the Mixie Sticks with your (completely dried, remember?) flavored sugars. You can make a tiny funnel by making a tiny parchment cone, but I found it just as easy to hold the straw vertically over the bowl of flavored sugar, and spoon the mixture in directly. Sure, at least half of the sugar spills over the side of the straw and back in the bowl, but enough gets in that the straw fills up very quickly.

5) Leave about 3/4 inch empty at the top of the straw. This will give you plenty of room to fold down the top. Fold it over twice, the same way that you did to seal the bottom of the straw. I tried gluing the top and not gluing the top, and decided that not gluing was the best option. Those paper straws are pretty tough to tear, and it was much easier for kids simply to unfold the and pour rather than rip. The straws stayed nicely crimped on their own, though I'm glad I chose to glue the bottoms.

Kids and adults alike went nuts for these. One adventurous girl tried the cinnamon in her mulled cider, and pronounced that delicious as well!

If you add Mixie Sticks to your hot cocoa bar this winter, let me know what flavors you choose to make, and what your guests liked best! Cinnamon was the clear winner at our party, though I think the espresso would have been more popular with a more adult crowd.

Kitchen Renovation: How to Make a Secret Toekick Drawer

2012-01-09T12:32:00.000-08:00

So my husband is out of town for work this week, and I'm just waiting for the plumber to do his thing tomorrow and have slowly started assembling cabinets.

Looks like a nice, normal base cabinet, right? Right?

NO!

Behold my crafty craftiness, and see the hidden toekick drawer:

Usually, the toekick area is just dead space, sealed up and unavailable. I stumbled on the concept of a toekick drawer in my kitchen renovation googlings last week, and became completely obsessed. I had to have them. Extra drawers in every base cabinet! And they're secret!!

How to Make a Toekick Drawer

Ikea Rationell drawer kit
scrap wood (2x4s were perfect for my project)
1 1/2 inch wood screws
drill
miter saw
table saw
small carpenter's square
measuring tape
marker
drawer hardware

I have to note that this might be possible if you have existing cabinets, but it is clearly far, far, far easier if you are building/assembling/installing new ones. It was incredibly beneficial to be able to rest the cabinet on its back, exposing the toekick area where I was installing the new drawer.

1) Choose a Rationell drawer kit smaller than your base cabinet size. This was a 30" base cabinet, and I used a 24" Ikea drawer kit.

2) Measure measure measure. The external dimension of the Ikea drawer was 22", the drawer rails added an extra 1/8th inch to either side, and the interior dimension of my 30" cabinet was 28.5" wide. That meant that I needed to cut a piece of wood 3 1/8 inch wide for each side of the drawer. I used our table saw to rip a 2x4 to a 3 1/8 width, then used the miter saw to cut 14" lengths of the wood.

3) More measure, measure, measure. I measured the height of my toekick area. I measured the height of the drawer box. I measured the clearance I would need to let the drawer work smoothly. I decided that I needed 3/4" of clearance from the bottom, and clamped my wood filler pieces accordingly. I then used 2" wood screws to secure the block in place.

4) Again, more measure, measure, measure, this time to figure out where to place your drawer glides. Screw the drawer glides to the wooden spacer blocks, again using 2" long screws.

In the end, I finally figured out that the drawer glides should be secured as far toward the back (wall) as possible. That made the process substantially easier.

You know that woodworking saying, "Measure twice, cut once?" Yeah, for me on this project, measuring three times turned out to be my minimum for my comfort level while figuring out this project. ;-)

5) Attach the toekick board to the front of the drawer. The toekick is designed to fit snugly, so you'll probably find, as I did, that I needed to rip just a wee bit off the height of the board. Especially since I wanted to use a kitchen door pull that fit over the top lip of the drawer, so it would be invisible unless you were lying on the floor.

And voila! Super secret extra storage drawer for about $30. I can't decide what I'm more in love with, the top-secret-hiding-place part or the efficient use of previously useless space. Both! I can't decide!

I still need to touch up the drawer with a bit of matching varnish, but even without those final touches, I'm completely in love. What a brilliant place to store those unwieldy platters! Stacks of pre-cut parchment paper! Napkins and placemats! All my cake decorating food colors and disco dust and icing tips!

(Puff chest) I'm so proud of me. ;-)

How I Spent My Christmas Vacation

2012-01-03T10:39:00.000-08:00

I had all these grand plans of sharing lots of tutorials from the gingerbread decorating party, having all sorts of relaxing time to write blog posts, over the Christmas/New Year holidays. We weren't hosting extended family this year, my husband had the week off work and could take care of the girls--yes, this was going to be a productive yet stress free week!

And then my oven broke. A few days before Christmas.

Now, I've never been in love with my kitchen, but I did see the potential in it.

But we'd just bought a new washer and dryer in November, and weren't planning on re-doing the kitchen for at least another year!

We were going to get another 30" range and slide it in, but if I had to buy a new oven, it was darn well going to have a gas range. We have gas to the house, but it was never piped to the kitchen. That means plumbers and permits and inspections. My husband got a bit of sticker shock when I presented the oven I wanted to get. "Is there something else we could find? Something on Craigslist, maybe?" he asked.

Why yes, dear. Yes there was. In fact, it seemed like the deal of the century. But it would involve more elbow grease and re-imagining our kitchen a bit.

I bought a gorgeous set of Thermador double ovens, a 36" Thermador gas cooktop, and matching 36" Thermador hood, all for $700. In perfect condition, just a few years old. They're SOOO PRETTY!

In the end, we'll end up spending more than just the new slide-in range would have cost. But we'll end up with an entirely new kitchen, with gorgeous appliances and sparkling new granite countertops. We're doing most of the work ourselves, and this is pretty much what our kitchen looks like now:

That's my completely awesome dad being an incredible help while he was in town. He built that double oven cabinet for us, since Cabinets to Go doesn't have double oven cabinets. Can you believe we hosted our annual New Year's Eve pizza party in this chaos? Lots of paper plates and plastic cups and good friends who forgive our messes. It's good to have the outdoor kitchen and gorgeous weather in the forecast!

The cabinets come in at the end of the week...

...and as long as everything is ripped out, of course I'm going to repaint! I still love the orange I painted when we moved in, but after four years, I'm ready for a change.

This is about the grand sum of our cooking facilities at the moment:

So I've been pretty preoccupied recently, but it really is my resolution to be a better blogger this year! I swear, I really do have fun tutorials and posts lined up...at least conceptually. ;-)

Real Parties: Red and Aqua for Gingerbread 2011!

2011-12-24T13:13:00.000-08:00

In our family, it just wouldn't be Christmas without gingerbread. Specifically, gingerbread houses. Even more specifically, scores of houses, whole developments of houses, covering every available surface in the house. We make them for neighbors, friends, teachers, every kid in the girl scout troop, in the preschool, in the class, etc.

Gingerbread planned communities take over our lives for the first few weeks of December, and I wouldn't have it any other way. My mother made gingerbread houses for all my little friends and classes and teachers through my childhood, and those are some of my most cherished memories. I couldn't not do it for my girls.

This year, the theme and decor was influenced entirely by Frog Prince Paperie's Merry Little Christmas set of printables:

I knew from the moment I saw them that they'd influence and inspire the rest of my party design.

At our gingerbread parties, we always have tons of candy. Tons. I always buy way too much, because I like having a marvelous variety of candies for decorating. And quite a bit of the candy and icing ends up in mouths at our decorating parties, so there's no need for a dessert table. But as I was planning the beverage and savory food tables, I came up with a background idea so marvelous (I say humbly) that I had to make some extra desserts.

My table backdrops WERE dessert displays! I made layered styrofoam backdrops that looked like rolling, snow-covered hills. Then I baked and decorated sugar cookies to look like houses, trees, snowmen, etc., to create a snowy country scene.

I was inspired by folk art paintings of winter country scenes when creating the design for the cookie-display. I propped up the backdrops in front of the two windows in our kitchen, and hung red curtains (from the living room) on either side, so it would resemble looking out on a charming bucolic Christmas scene. Much more festive than looking out on our warm Phoenix backyard.

Hot beverages included homemade cocoa and mulled cider. I found styrofoam cups with lids--important with all the kids running around hyped up on sugar--and made my own custom cup cozies inspired by Frog Prince Paperie's designs. The cup cozies were a fun take-home gift from the party as well as nice custom decor.

My daughter loved that I made her shirt to match the cup cozy designs.

One of my favorite elements of this party were the "Mixie Sticks" I created. Think homemade Pixie Stix, but with flavor mix-ins to add to the cocoa.

I made cinnamon, espresso, and mint flavors. These were a huge hit with both kids and adults, and one little girl reported that the cinnamon was delicious in the mulled cider, too.

A simple turquoise punch was the perfect cold beverage for the kiddos, and for the adults, we served pomegranate-lime white sangria (fun Christmas colors!), wine (with FPP's amazing labels), and a selection of beers.

Just the right selection to make everyone merry!

This year I moved teh candy display to the kitchen island, so that kids could access it from all sides. It made that initial rush for the candy table a lot less chaotic and crowded this year.

The main attraction of the party was, of course, decorating the houses! We invite the same families year after year (just adding new ones as we make new friends), so some of these kids are experts by now! I adore seeing what new, creative things they come up with each Christmas. I've been doing this since I was an infant, and yet they never fail to surprise me with new ideas. I'm constantly learning from them!

As each family left, I had them pose for a photo with their magnificent creations. Do you recognize the backdrop from the Sugar Plum Fairy party last year? And how about those Santa Beards--look familiar from the Gnome birthday party a couple months ago? The red curtains above? Not only from my living room but also used at the Egyptology party! I love recycling party elements in new ways!

My littlest wasn't in much of a mood for taking pictures (for once! She's usually such a ham and begging for photos!), but I still love her forced pouty face.

I have to mention one more vendor: Modern Frills. I'd already made the skirts for the girls, but hadn't figured out how to do the shirts yet, when I saw Modern Frills post the shirt my two year old is wearing for sale. It was the right size! It was the right color! It was the perfect design! It was MINE! It's just gorgeous, my daughter adores it, and here's something I didn't know about Modern Frills clothing: they clean up really well! My little one got it pretty spectacularly messy at one of our gingerbread parties, including some nice splotches of black food coloring. I thought we'd seen the last of the shirt, especially because I am not sophisticated about laundry. Toss it in, add some soap, wing it with the default settings and hope--that's about as good as my laundry skills ever got. But a little spray of stain treater and the shirt came out looking as good as new!

Happy holidays to everyone! I'll be back with tutorials--including the Mixie Sticks--on Monday after Christmas.

Featured on Amy Atlas! Gingerbread 2011

2011-12-22T07:17:00.000-08:00

We're delighted to have our annual gingerbread house decorating party featured on the Amy Atlas blog this morning!

We'll have the full post with tons of pictures and all the details tomorrow!

In the meantime, do you remember last year's Swedish themed gingerbread house decorating party?

And the Sugar Plum Fairy birthday party, where all the kids decorated gingerbread houses as an activity?

Feel free to browse those to get your gingerbread fix until the full post of this year's party tomorrow!

DIY Project: Potsherds for an Archaeological Dig

2011-12-14T12:05:00.000-08:00

Making your own mock archaeological dig for a party, school, or scout project? Potsherds are a fabulous thing to include. Easy to make, incredibly inexpensive (about $1 for a whole bunch of pottery bits), and authentic enough to make your young diggers feel like real archaeologists!

All you need is a Sharpie, a terracotta pot, and a hammer.

Draw whatever symbols you want on the pot, and then--you guessed it--smash.

I bought the pot from the dollar store, so the entire project cost me only $1 plus tax. It was the perfect addition to our dig at the Egyptology party.

Recipe: How to Make Marzipan (and Marzipan Pyramids)

2011-12-13T06:50:00.000-08:00

When I decided to make marzipan pyramids for the Egyptology party, I didn't intend to make my own marzipan. Really. I know I make pretty much everything myself, but this was supposed to be an easy little addition to the dessert table.

I had the pyramid shaped mold, but chocolate wasn't an option in Phoenix in October. My daughter loves marzipan, so I thought it was the perfect solution, and bought two tubes of the stuff at my local grocer.

But it seems that I'm the only person who has ever bought marzipan from my local grocer, because it was so ancient and rock hard it was completely unusable. I googled the problem, I tried the tricks for re-softening it, but it was too far gone. I didn't trust any of the other local grocers to have better stock turnover on marzipan, so I was faced with making my own. Luckily, it turns out to be pretty simple.

Basic Marzipan Recipe

200 grams ground almonds (I bought almond flour from Trader Joe's)
200 grams powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 egg whites

1) Mix the ground almonds and powdered sugar together in a bowl.

Then mix the other stuff in. Yep, it's pretty simple. You can use a few tablespoons of water and brandy if you don't want to use raw eggs.

This is a great basic marzipan for modeling. The Trader Joe's almond flour is nice, but they grind the whole nut, including the skins, so you do end up with little flecks of darker brown. I decided it looked like weathered stone--perfect for a pyramid--and didn't care. But if you're modeling figures, you'll probably want to find almond flour in a more even tone.

To make the pyramids (or other shapes) spray your mold with Pam or an olive oil spray, then smush the marzipan in the cavity.

There's not really a whole lot of art to it. Then turn the pyramid out on the counter, and trim away any excess material at the base.

If desired, spray with gold luster dust spray, or dust with gold luster dust. I always desire a little bit of bling on my desserts.

And that's it! No baking required. I think of marzipan as a somewhat sophisticated taste, but the kids at the party really loved these!

DIY Project: How to Make a Full-Sized Sarcophagus Prop

2011-12-12T07:01:00.000-08:00

This may seem a little out of season, but as awesome as this project is for Halloween, Egyptology is never out of season!

As soon as my daughter requested an Egyptology party, I knew I wanted to make some fun large-scale props in general, and a sarcophagus in particular. Actually, my first idea was to rent some large-scale props from a local prop shop, but holy cow, that was expensive! Just renting the sarcophagus case would cost more than my entire party budget. And that's why I always come back to DIY projects--so much more bang for the buck!

Egyptian Sarcophagus Prop

You'll need:

Styrofoam block
various cutting devices (hand saw, EPS-cutting heat tool, electric kitchen carving knife, etc.)
plaster of paris
protective gloves
gold spray paint
craft paints in chosen colors
burlap, cut in strips

1) First you need to find an EPS (generic Styrofoam) block. I buy mine from a local shop that specializes in architectural foam shapes and insulation. It's really inexpensive if you can find a local place and don't have to pay for shipping! I think I paid about $20 for this entire project.

I had them cut two blocks for me (grand plans for two sarcophagi--ran out of time and just made one) in 2'x1'x4' size.

2) Use cutting tools to first cut a rough shape of a sarcophagus. I printed out photos of real sarcophagi from the right era to use as a reference when I was creating the shape. On this project I first used a hand saw and a jig saw for the basic rough shape. For the standing stone circle at last year's Cornish Fairy party I used an electric carving knife (you know, from the kitchen, the knife meant for carving turkey). They all work, but the next time I embark on a project like this, I'm driving up to my parents' house and borrowing my dad's reciprocating saw. Now that would have sped things up!

3) Once you have the rough shape cut, use the heated Styrofoam cutting tool (basic ones available at any craft store, better ones available online) to smooth out and refine the shape.

4) Once you've cut the shape, it's time for the fun--the decorative stuff that makes the sarcophagus come to life (figuratively ;-) ).

Spray the foam shape with spray adhesive, and glue the burlap strips to the sarcophagus to give it that linen texture.

5) Don't worry about smoothing the edges down perfectly; the entire point of the burlap step was to give it some of that woven, wrapped texture.

Mix up plaster of paris. Remember to use gloves to protect your hands from the plaster. I always have food service gloves in my pantry, and use those for these kinds of art projects (and dying my hair) all the time.

The plaster dries quickly, so only mix up as much as you can use within a few minutes. I found an old 9x13 pan held just the right amount of plaster that I could use before it started to set. An old spatula made a darn fine plaster mixing tool, too.

Smear the plaster all over your sarcophagus form and let dry completely.

6) Spray paint entire sarcophagus with gold spray paint for a base coat, then use craft paints to add extra details.

I painted the basic shapes, and then used a black Sharpie to outline and create extra definition. The sharpie was also just the right tool for copying the hieroglyphics on the stripe of white on the front of the sarcophagus.

Yes, this project was a fair amount of work. I spent several hours on the driveway, making a snowy mess of foam shavings. That time, however, would have been cut down considerably had I been willing to drive the 15 minutes to my parents' house. And the end result was completely worth it, even if I did use inefficient methods to make my prop. There's just something marvelous about making something really big (or really, really tiny, for that matter). The size makes it completely marvelous and magical.

Not feeling up to carving it yourself? Here's a fun tip--a lot of the EPS suppliers will sell you cut out shapes, either from their stock collection or according to your design! Just imagine! City skylines! Giant monograms! Dinosaurs rampaging through your backyard! Those are more two dimensional shapes, but would still be absolutely brilliant at any celebration.

Christmas Recipe: White Chocolate Peppermint Bars (No Bake!)

2011-12-05T10:28:00.000-08:00

My grandmother was an exceptional baker, and worked out of her home kitchen as a cake decorator to help support her family. At the holidays, her kitchen was a magical place. She always had towering trays full of so many kinds of cookies, from elaborately decorated sugar cookies (she was a magician with royal icing!) to simple bars. One of my very favorites, both then and now, are her Creme de Menthe bars. No-bake chocolate minty deliciousness. It's almost like a fudge in texture, but infinitely easier to make. (I have yet to make a successful batch of real fudge--it's my candy nemesis.)

I wanted to make a special treat for my dear friend Liz, who helped me make dozens and dozens of gingerbread houses this weekend. But she doesn't like chocolate. (I know! And we're still friends?) So I decided to come up with a new recipe based on my grandmother's Creme de Menthe bars, using white chocolate instead.

Having sampled these delicious treats, I can safely say that they are a great success, and will definitely be making future appearances on my holiday cookie trays!

White Chocolate Peppermint Bars

First Layer:
Combine:

1/2 cup butter, melted
2 T white chocolate instant pudding mix
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten (can use ultra-pasteurized egg beaters or egg whites)
2 cups Nilla Wafer crumbs
1 cup finely ground nuts (I used almond meal, but walnuts or pecans also work nicely.)

Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Refrigerate for one hour.

Second Layer:

Beat together:

3/4 cups butter, melted
4 T peppermint schnapps (The clear variety. If you use Creme de Menthe, your filling will be green. Which is also pretty, but not what I was going for here).
3 cups powdered sugar
4 T instant white chocolate pudding mix
red food coloring (I used a small squirt of Americolor Super Red gel food coloring)

Beat together and spread over the first layer. Refrigerate until set (at least 30 minutes).

Third Layer:

Melt 1/2 cup butter and 2 cups chocolate chips together. Mix, and spread over the second layer. If desired, melt some red candy melts and dollop the red chocolate on top of the white. While both the red and the white chocolates are still warm, use a toothpick to swirl the red and white chocolate together to create a marbleized effect.

Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Cut into small bars, and take care not to touch the top of the bars when cutting to avoid fingerprints. Store in the refrigerator.

I think they'd be great with crushed candy canes on top instead of the swirls, too. That would add an interesting bit of crunchy texture to the bars. Next batch!

DIY Project: A Present Chain Advent Calendar

2011-12-02T13:48:00.000-08:00

We typically just get those little cardboard advent calendars filled with waxy chocolates from the grocery store each year. And the girls like them, but I've always wanted to do something more special. I've been dropping heavy hints for a fancy advent calendar for years, something like this:

But alas, Santa hasn't produced one. So this year, I decided to do something different, something more special. Enter the Advent Calendar Present Chain:

Advent Calendar Present Garland

I wrapped up 24 tiny gifts. Seriously inexpensive things, all under $1. Some are candies, some are toys, some are art supplies, some are inexpensive jewelry, etc.

I wrapped them up and tied them all together using silver cord to make a garland of presents, one for each day leading up to Christmas.

Yesterday's debut of our new advent calendar was a spectacular success. I really like how visual this method is, too. Those cardboard chocolate holders look pretty much the same no matter how many chocolates you've eaten. But as the chain of presents grows smaller, Christmas grows nearer. What a fun way to build up the anticipation. I guess I'll have to cross that advent calendar off my wish list, because I don't think the girls will allow me to do anything else from now on!

How to Do Your Own Glitter Tattoos

2011-11-30T15:52:00.000-08:00

Temporary tattoos have long been a party staple. You know, those kind of slimy decals that you apply with a wet washcloth. But now there's something so much cooler: glitter tattoos.

Eye of Horus Glitter Tattoo

If you need a glitter tattoo RIGHT NOW (and who could blame you?), head over to Michaels or Joann Fabrics, where they've started selling small at-home kits. Those are ok, they're fun, and they're good for instant sparkly gratification. But there are some really wonderful products out there that work better and are less expensive if you're doing glitter tattoos for a party crowd.

Unlike face painting, where you have to have real artistic talent to create anything beyond a vaguely heart-shaped blob, glitter tattoos can be done by anyone. It's a no-fail process. This is thanks to the fact that you use a stencil rather than draw the shapes yourself.

Simply apply the stencil to clean skin. I absolutely love the fabulous stencils I bought from Faketoos. They already already had a couple of perfect Egyptian designs (out of hundreds and hundreds of other fabulous themes), great prices, and fast and inexpensive shipping. And the product was exceptional. Easy to use, easy to peel off the top layer, and the edges were crisp and defined but the stencil didn't hurt the kids when it was peeled off. Faketoos has a customer for life. They also have some great tutorials that tell you all sorts of tips and tricks for applying the glitter tattoos. Definitely worth a read if you're thinking of doing this for a party!

Next, you paint on the special body glue. After doing some research, I found that a favorite among professionals is the glue sold by Glimmer Body Art. It comes with an easy-to-use applicator brush and the glitter tattoos lasted considerably longer with this glue than the stuff we bought at Michaels.

Once you've painted on the body glue, immediately cover with glitter. Then simply peel off the stencil, and use a fluffy brush (like a blush brush) to dust off any stray glitter.

I also bought my body glitter colors from Glimmer Body Art. I bought the larger size container, opting for the "poofing" method of applying the glitter and anticipating (correctly) that my children would be obsessed with glitter tattoos and want many, many more in the future. These are going to last me a LONG time. I've applied well over 100 glitter tattoos since I bought the supplies before the party, and you can barely tell I've used any of the glitter.

The sparkly tattoos were a big hit with all the girls at the party, and were just as much of a hit with the boys in my daughter's classroom the next week (where they were studying ancient Egypt).

I've always been a fan of consumable favors, because I don't like buying a bunch of plastic junk that's just going to get broken or thrown away. This was a real hit, and a great alternative to candy. (They got enough sugar at the dessert table!)

Real Parties: An Egyptology/Archaeology Excursion (Part 3, the Fun!)

2011-11-29T07:51:00.000-08:00

I got a little distracted with Thanksgiving, but I'm back for the final installment of the Egyptology party pictures! This time it's all about the fun that was had at the celebration.

I always like to start off a party with some sort of craft or individual welcoming activity that doesn't require all the kids to be there. I'd hate to start the games before all the kids arrive, but I still want to keep them entertained. This year, it was all about the glitter tattoos.

So easy to do, so inexpensive, and the kids loved them so much! I was so delighted to find a marvelous supplier that had Egyptian stencils available. I'll have all the details on where to get the supplies and how to do your own glitter tattoos in tomorrow's post.

Even the adults couldn't resist the fun of the glitter tattoo!

While kids were waiting for glitter tattoos, they could wander over and have their pictures taken in our Sphinx photo prop.

And for yet more sparkle, we also had a hair tinsel station!

I bought the hair tinsels at Hair Flairs, where they have an incredible selection of colors, fabulous prices, and full instructions for doing it yourself. We had a a lot of happy, sparkly seven and eight year old girls!

These activities took enough time that all the guests had arrived, and we could move on to the main event: the archaeological dig.

I staked off a section of the yard, and buried dozens of treasures under paver sand (it was less expensive than playground sand, and perfectly good for my purposes).

The shovels were on clearance at Michael's, only $.40 each! At that price, I could afford to buy one for each kid. I also had a selection of brushes so they could gently unearth their finds.

Each girl was given a muslin artifact bag, where she could collect the treasures she found in the dig.

And dig they did! I tried to teach them some proper excavation techniques, but in the end, they were too excited and just went for it. It's all about the fun at a party, after all--if I can teach them a little bit, too, it's a bonus!

The girls found scarabs (made from Fimo clay), potsherds with Egyptian symbols, golden coins, golden nuggets (over-spray from when I painted the torches on the gravel), necklaces, bracelets, and Egyptian figurines.

The older girls loved it, of course, but it was perfect for younger siblings, too.

After the archaeological dig, the girls learned how to make paper, and learned a bit about how Egyptians invented papyrus, the first paper.

Wet, squishy fun!

Next up was the toilet paper mummy contest.

Followed directly by the Who-Can-Pick-Up-Toilet-Paper-the-Fastest contest. ;-)

The girls played in the warm evening, ate pizza from our wood-fired oven, and of course, had dessert!

I have fun tutorials coming up on how to make many of the elements of this party, so stay tuned!

Real Parties: An Egyptology/Archaeology Excursion (Part 2, the Desserts!)

2011-11-22T11:08:00.000-08:00

Mmmm, dessert! A highlight of any children's birthday party, certainly. And a wonderful place to have fun and be creative around a theme. I spent some time googling Egyptian desserts, but ultimately, my dessert table wasn't terribly authentic.

The centerpiece of teh table was, of course, the cake. A simple golden pyramid of chocolate cake with salted caramel buttercream. I decided not to do two layers this year, because people invariably want the flavor I haven't yet reached when I make a carved cake. This managed to please everyone, even those who weren't particular chocolate lovers.

A sparkling 8, an obelisk, and a sphinx embellished this pretty stark (for me, at least!) cake. The hieroglyphics around the door say "Happy Birthday Ainsley." ;-)

Baklava is my daughter's most favorite dessert, so when it kept coming up in my searches for Egyptian desserts, I knew it would be making an appearance on our dessert table. I haven't made baklava since I was about 9, making it with my mother, so this was a bit of a culinary adventure. Still, it came together pretty easily and my daughter proclaimed it the best baklava ever made. She's the one I wanted to please most!

Marzipan pyramids were a big hit with the kids. I was a little surprised by how much the loved them, in fact. I tried to take the easy way out and buy marzipan at the grocery store, but evidently my local grocer doesn't turn over their marzipan stock often enough, and the tubes I bought were rock hard and impossible to recover. So I ended up having to make my own anyway. It wasn't difficult, but since I didn't have super fine almond meal, the texture wasn't quite as smooth as I'd wanted. I'm very good at rationalizing, though, and decided that these satellite pyramids were just weathered by the desert sands. ;-)

I absolutely love the Egyptian cookie cutters from Fancy Flours! The design of the cutter leaves an imprint on the cookie that makes it very easy to do intricate decorations.

Mummified Oreos were a big hit with the guests. These are typically made with chocolate, but I decided to use royal icing instead, because it can be very hot in Phoenix in October, and using chocolates on a dessert table is a risky thing.

See? These little guys were melting even before the guests arrived. Still tasty, but a bit messy! We called them "Hidden Peanut Butter Treasures," but they're actually dark chocolate peanut butter wafer bites from Trader Joe's, embellished with royal icing in Egyptian designs.

The golden Egyptian plates are simple inexpensive chargers bought at the craft store with Sharpie marker hieroglyphics.

And what Egyptian table would be complete without dates? Naturally sweet and absolutely delicious. Several children tasted dates for the first time at the party!

A simple white tablecloth and linen overlay covered the table, and the table was surrounded by a small tent structure originally designed to cover a grill. I bought it off craigslist a year ago, and have used it so many times. I just love the way it sets the dessert table apart (a little extra safety never hurts around kids and desserts!) but is beautiful and draws people to it. I love how easy it is to put a backdrop on the table in the tent. I love how different I can make it look with a simple change of curtains (these came from our living room). My kids love to put their small table under it and dine and play in their own little pavilion when it's not being used for a party.

In case you missed it, be sure to check out Part 1 of the Egyptology party, and stay tuned for the final installment tomorrow.

Real Parties: An Egyptology/Archaeology Excursion (Part 1)

2011-11-21T19:30:00.000-08:00

this year, my daughter chose the best birthday party theme ever: Egyptology. Not just an Egyptian party, but a party about the history and discovery of that history. You couldn't have pleased this English/Anthropology major mamma more.

I knew immediately I wanted to go old-school. Think canvas tents, torches, Howard Carter. Late 1800s/early 1900s, when so many important finds were made in Egypt, and all things Egyptian were very much en vogue. I decided to set the scene around the excavation of the tomb of Senusret I (the second king of the 12th Dynasty of Egypt), in the year 1911.

The invitations were made to look like leather-bound archaeological field notebooks. They were, for the most part, blank, so the children could write in their own observations and notes during the archaeological dig. But I included a cipher for hieroglyphics and a map of the tomb of Senusret I to give the kids a bit of tantalizing history in advance of the party.

I'm sure none of the kids noticed, but I found an awesome old typewriter font, printed on 100% cotton paper, researched the firm that conducted the excavation of Senusret I's tomb in our period, and researched archaic formal British letter writing styles. See a pdf of the invitation letter here. I love those kinds of small details! They make all the difference in the world to me.

I love creating large, dramatic decor elements to help set the scene as soon as the guests walk into the party.

This year, that meant a full-sized Egyptian sarcophagus! (I planned to make two, but ran out of time--now what am I going to do with that second large block of Styrofoam in the garage?)

I fashioned the style of the sarcophagus after several 12th Dynasty examples. The anthropoid-shaped outer coffin became popular in the Middle Kingdom (our tomb's time period), so I got to carve that classic mummy shape. Turns out to be harder than I anticipated. Next time I'm springing for the more expensive EPS carving tools.

Some burlap, plaster, and paint later, I had my mummy case! The hieroglyphics are copied directly from the text on a sarcophagus from the correct era.

When we started planning the party, I immediately pictured a camp at the dig site, and knew I wanted to create it in our backyard. I thought I'd have to make my own tents, and even started down that path. And then I discovered that the military has been using the exact same tent design since the 1800s, so I was able to get some very inexpensive military surplus tents off Craigslist and have them be absolutely perfect for our period!

Some golden torches (end-of-season tikki torches on sale spray painted gold), large floor pillows we already had on hand, and Moroccan lanterns (with LED candles) helped to set the scene and create a comfortable place to hang out. A large woven basket, an Egyptian ladle, and a real camel saddle helped to add to the mystique of our campsite.

Actual ladle from Egypt (thanks, Mom, for letting me borrow it!).

And the camel saddle! Really! I'm so lucky to have such an awesome mother with such an amazing collection of things nearby.

The second large-scale decor item was the backdrop to the dessert table. I covered a Styrofoam insulation sheet with plaster to get the right texture, then painted on a tomb scene inspired by my research. It looked fabulous, if I do say so myself! (If you ignore the too-short arm on the guy on the right. How did I not notice that until I was halfway done with the painting?)

More colorful Moroccan lanterns hung above the dessert table. I wanted more light than candlelight would provide, so I simply hung the lanterns in front of a light kit.

Golden torches also provided a warm, flickering glow to the scene as the sun went down.

Bright, punchy poms and real papyrus (or at least the dwarf variety I was able to find at a local nursery) made the perfect floral arrangements for this party. Seriously easy, too. I didn't even re-pot the papyrus.

Adding the real papyrus to the dessert table really made a big difference, visually. I'm glad I bought two extras, even though having them on the table wasn't part of the original plan .

The last major decorative element of the party was the Sphinx photo prop I painted. Again, I used Styrofoam insulation sheeting from Lowe's for this project. It's light, it's inexpensive, and it's easy to cut. I didn't bother covering this one in plaster, and just painted directly on the foam surface. The kids loved it, and it was a great activity to keep the kids entertained while waiting for their glitter tattoos as they all arrived.

I love Riley's "Sphinx face!"

Want to know the best part about these large decor items? My daughter's class happened to be starting a unit on ancient Egypt two days after the party! I got to get credit as being a totally awesome mom-helper, make their classroom look even more awesome, and get the stuff out of my backyard. I'm seriously considering collaborating on themes with her teachers every year. ("American revolution? I can work with that!")

Featured on Amy Atlas! Our Egyptology Party

2011-11-18T10:53:00.000-08:00

My daughter chose what I consider to be the best birthday theme ever for her 8th birthday: Egyptology!

See the debut of this party on the Amy Atlas blog today! Then next week, we'll have all sorts of archaeological fun on the blog here.

DIY Project: How to Make Twisted Fabric Roses

2011-11-15T11:31:00.000-08:00

I end up buying fabric for most parties I throw--for various crafts and decor--and end up with inevitable scraps. I'm always fighting the battle between not wanting something to go to waste and wanting to de-clutter. Here's a project that will help you use up some of those fabric scraps and feel resourceful, rather than slightly disappointed in yourself when you throw the fabric in the trash bin.

How to Make Twisted Fabric Roses

felt
strips of fabric at least 12 inches long
hot glue gun

1) First, cut a circle of felt the size you want your flower to be. Cut a long, thin strip of fabric. It doesn't need to be a specific width. If you want more and thinner coils, cut the fabric thinner; if you want fewer and thicker coils, cut the fabric wider.

2) Hold the fabric at both ends and just twist! Don't worry if you can see some of the "wrong" side of the fabric, or if you get a bit of fraying--that just adds to the charm. In fact, I usually rub the edges of my fabric a bit to get a little extra fraying. I like that texture in the flower.

The use your trusty (low temp!) glue gun and start gluing. Start in the center, and spiral your way out, until you've covered all of the felt base.

When I made my scrap fabric flowers for the gnome birthday party, I originally had no clue how I was going to use them. I just knew they were pretty, and used up scraps of fabric from my other projects for the event. I ended up using them for...

...decorations for the presents...

...and to make headbands for each girl...

..and to bind together each bundle of toadstool colored pencils.

Getting to use up scraps that would otherwise be thrown away and carry the theme through more parts of the party? Awesome!

DIY Project: How to Make a Great Gnome (or Santa!) Beard

2011-11-07T09:48:00.000-08:00

No gnome party would be complete without fluffy white beards--even if the party is for all girls!

They're silly fun, and make fabulous photo props.

How to Make a Gnome or Santa Beard

white felt
wool roving
thin elastic cord

1) First, cut a piece of white felt approximately 4"x 3" in size. Basically, just big enough to cut a mouth hole and have something to attach the fluffy bits to.

Cut a mouth shaped hole in the middle. Trim the corners of the rectangle so that the shape follows the general lines of the mouth cut-out. You don't have to worry about this part looking pretty; it's all going to be hidden under the wool.

2) Pull apart lengths of roving as long as you want the beard to be. Mine were between 6 and 10 inches long.

What is roving, you ask?

Wool Roving

It's...well...I'm no knitter/spinner/textile person. But it's fluffy wool ropeish stuff you can get from yarn shops. Spinner/knitter/textile type people could probably give you a much better description and definition. But I can tell you it's really inexpensive, and makes completely awesome beards! It comes in a variety of colors and can be dyed, if you don't need a white beard.

Now, if you just grasp the roving with two hands and pull apart, nothing is going to happen. That stuff is strong. But if you start pulling it apart width-wise at the point you want to separate the roving, it quickly loses that integrity and strength and can be easily pulled apart.

Sure, you could cut the roving with scissors, but pulling it apart will give you a tapered, natural end to your beard. Way better than a blunt cut.

3) Sew or glue the roving for the chin part of the beard to one side of the felt.

Once the chin bits have been sewn on, flip the long part of the beard over the seam, so you don't see where it's sewn to the felt.

4) Make the mustache.

First, pull a length of roving for the mustache. You can make it as ridiculous and huge as you'd like. Fold the mustache roving in half, and stitch at the fold. Unfold, and you have a gorgeous mustache, ready to go!

No sew version: Take a piece of white string or thread, and tie a knot tightly around the center of the roving. That will give you a very similar effect, without having to pull out the sewing machine.

A little body adhesive or double stick tape and this would make a really awesome costume component all by itself! (Barbershop quartet photo booth props for an ice cream party? Wild west party? 'Stache bash?) Glue the mustache to the top part of felt foundation (the only part still visible at this point).

5) Attach the elastic to create a band that goes around the head. I used a stapler for this part of the project, but you could easily just punch a hole through the felt and tie the elastic on.

I may have made these for a gnome party, but you can bet they'll be making an appearance in the photo booth at our annual Christmas party! (Maybe without the four-ply braids, however. ;-) )

DIY Project: Easy No-Sew Personalized Napkins

2011-11-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

Once I'd figured out a plan for fancy custom glass plates for the gnome party, I couldn't exactly use paper napkins and plastic silverware. I had some wooden silverware left over from the Cornish Fairy party last year--perfect for our rustic woodland vibe. I wanted something a little more permanent than disposable paper napkins, a little more whimsical, a little more elegant. But not expensive. And so I came up with this project: easy, no-sew napkins made to match the theme of the party.

How to Make Easy No-Sew Napkins to Match Your Event

fabric (two contrasting types)
pinking shears
fusible interfacing
an iron

1) First, cut the fabric into squares. I made my napkins 12x12 inches, but you could really make them any size.

2) Trim edges with pinking shears. In truth, this is an optional step. But the angled edges minimize fraying (good for no-sew projects), and look adorable. You could eliminate the first step and just cut the squares with the pinking sheers. I'm pretty awful at cutting straight lines, though, so that's why I opted to use the rotary cutter first.

3) Iron fusible interfacing on the "wrong" side of your contrast fabric. This will do two things: it will stabilize the fabric so you can cut out intricate shapes easily, and it makes the cut out shapes an iron-on patch. Cool, cool stuff, fusible interfacing. And really inexpensive, too! It hides behind the cutting counter at your local fabric store; you have to ask for it. Took me a long time to figure that out.

4) Sketch out your design on the paper backing of the fusible interfacing. If you're doing lettering, remember that you have to sketch it out backwards! Cut out the shapes with a pair of sharp scissors. It's surprisingly easy to cut out very intricate shapes in the fusible interfacing-backed fabric.

5) Follow the instructions that come with your brand of fusible interfacing to iron the design on your napkin.

And you're done! This project took perhaps 15 minutes and looked so perfectly adorable at the party. I may never go back to paper napkins again!

DIY Project: How to Make Toadstool Colored Pencils

2011-10-31T09:42:00.000-07:00

These fanciful colored pencils were a fun and incredibly easy favor to make for the gnome birthday party.

How to Make Whimsical Toadstool Colored Pencils

a set of colored pencils
glue (hot glue or wood glue)
craft paint
wooden furniture buttons

1) First, purchase a set of colored pencils. I found these at the dollar store--only $1 per set, and pre-sharpened, even! Buy craft paint to match each colored pencil.

2) glue the unpainted wooden furniture buttons on the end of each pencil. I found these at my local Michael's and Joann Fabrics in the section with wooden craft pieces. They're designed for furniture building, to plug holes and mask screws, so they're probably available from hardware stores, too. They already look like adorable little toadstools, and are the perfect size.

3) Once the glue is dry and the toadstools are well attached to the pencils, paint the dome of each toadstool to match its pencil.

4) Once the basic color of the toadstool is dry, paint tiny white polka-dots on the mushroom tops.

My girls have a rather large collection of craft paints already, so my only cost for this project was the $5 for the five sets of colored pencils from the dollar store. These are so simple, but so utterly charming, and were a huge hit at the party.

DIY Project: Toadstool Stools

2011-10-28T17:49:00.000-07:00

Painting circles is hard. At least circles that look like actual circles, not the lumpy freehand amoebas that look more like my two-year-old's drawing efforts. When I decided to paint unfinished wooden stools to resemble classic red and white toadstools, I knew I needed a crutch to get those circles just right.

I bought the unfinished footstools from my local Michael's and Joann Fabrics, strategically buying them one at a time with my 50% off coupon one week.

Then a coat of primer, and I was ready for the design. To get those perfect circles, I simply traced around round cookie cutters with a pencil.

A jar or a glass would work equally well. After that, all you need is a little red and white paint and you'll have a whimsical toadstool stool, a pint sized seat just the right size to go around a coffee table, and utterly adorable in a child's bedroom after the party.

DIY Project: How to Make your Own Custom Glass Plates

2011-10-27T16:50:00.000-07:00

I wanted the gnome party to be elegant, but whimsical. I knew I wanted to use plates that were more refined than paper plates, even nice paper plates. At the same time, this was a children's party, and I didn't want to use nice, fragile china. Especially not in the middle of a field.

I considered purchasing some heavy stoneware. I found some designs that would have been alright, but I wasn't in love with any of the options. Plus, remember, I'm cheap. I didn't want to spend money to buy five sets of dishes for no other reason than a party.

And then, one day, it all came together in my mind: the perfect solution. I love it when that happens. LOVE. Perfectly customized glass plates that would only cost just over $1 each. That I was willing to spend.

How to Make Your Own Customized Glass Plates

plain glass plates
tissue paper
spray adhesive
scissors

1) First, spray the underside of your glass plate with spray adhesive. You could paint on a different type of glue, but you wouldn't get the same kind of even application, and the wetness of the glue would make your tissue paper more translucent. The dollar stores in my area always stock glass plates.

2) Next, spread a sheet of tissue paper on the table, and carefully set your plate down, centering any design carefully.

3) Turn the plate over and smooth the tissue paper to all tacky surfaces on the bottom of the plate. At first, I tried this with scrapbook paper, but that turned out to be too stiff, and the pleats where the plate angles up were really obvious. Tissue paper worked gorgeously. Once the tissue has been glued to the bottom of the plate, use a pair of sharp scissors to trim away the excess tissue paper.

So much more elegant than paper plates, on theme, and incredibly inexpensive. You could do this for a wedding and spend less than what it would cost to rent the plates.

It's easy to wash off the tissue paper after the party, too, so the plates will be ready to customize for your next event.

DIY Project: Felt Gnome Hats

2011-10-21T10:23:00.000-07:00

Dydh da dhiworth Kernow! (That means "hello from Cornwall" in the Cornish language. We have a break between sightseeing, scrambling on the beach, and the festivities of the Lowender Peran festival, and I'm taking the time to write the first of the tutorials from the Gnome party.

A gnome-themed party needs gnome-themed hats, of course!

And happily, these darling hats are extremely easy to make.

How to Make Gnome Hats

felt by the yard
scissors
measuring tape
sewing machine, needle and thread, or glue

First, you need to cut the basic hat shape out of felt. It will look like a triangle with a rounded bottom. I measured the heads of my children and discovered that I wanted a roughly 20" circumfrence, so I cut my fabric 21" wide to allow for a seam allowance. We have large heads in our family, so you may want to adjust the dimensions for your gnome.

Felt is great to work with. Easy to cut into clean shapes, and no need to hem because it doesn't fray.

Next, all you need to do is fold the felt triangle in half, and sew the straight edges together.

Turn the hat inside out, and voila, you have a gnome hat! If sewing really isn't your thing, you could easily use fabric glue instead. Or even staples. Now that I think about it, staples would be awesome.

I embellished the gnome hats for the gnome party by clipping on a simple flower hair clip. Not only did it dress up the basic hat for the party, but it functioned as a favor the girls could enjoy after the celebration.

I'll be back with more tutorials as I can sneak more time from our anniversary trip fun! Clearly we're having a great time, given the lack of posts this week. ;-)

Real Parties: A Fall Gnome Birthday Party

2011-10-17T23:46:00.000-07:00

I am so, so very excited to showcase this party. I got the idea for a gnome-themed birthday party when I came across a new edition of Gnomes by Wil Huygen, with amazing art by Rien Poortvliet.

I loved this book when I was a kid, and spent many hours pouring over the field-journal-like text and gorgeous illustrations. As soon as I was reminded of this childhood favorite, I knew I wanted to use it as inspiration for a party. Happily, my friend had a little girl turning four, and she liked the idea as well!

Color is always important in creating the look of any party, and red, the traditional color of gnome hats, was an obvious choice. I also decided to use a warm, saturated yellow--the color of fall leaves, the color of the amazing fields of wildflowers we get in the mountains of Arizona in the fall.

I think of autumn, I think of yellow. I had my color palette.

Next came the invitation, and I didn't have to look far to find the perfect one: an adorable design by the amazing designers at Frog Prince Paperie. Paula customized this house-warming design for us in record time.

Now, when I think of gnomes, I think of miniature things. Miniature houses, miniature clothes, adorable miniature food. I wanted everything at this party to be on a small scale, from the food to the table.

The low table is actually a coffee table, a Craigslist find. I painted unfinished stools from my local Michael's craft store to resemble toadstools. They were the perfect size for my miniature guests.

I had so much fun making the tiny desserts for my dessert table. Miniature chocolate-covered Oreo "cakes," miniature homemade cherry pies, tiny edible krumkake (a Scandinavian wafer cookie) baskets of berries, sugar cookies, and of course, the cake.

The idea for this cake came to me all at once. I knew exactly what I wanted to make. I wanted a miniature dessert table sculpted entirely out of gumpaste, and a gumpaste gnome tripping on his way to add more sweets to the table. I always like cake bunting, but I love how it makes sense in this context. The miniature picket fence ringing the cake was another craft-store find, and an easy way to decorate the table.

But as much as I love how my cake turned out, my favorite items from this party, by far, were the amazing painted cookies. My love of the Gnomes book has a lot to do with the gorgeous artwork. I knew I wanted to honor that part of the inspiration, and when I saw the painted fondant cookies that artist Jenni Price had started making, I knew I'd found the perfect solution. She painted this absolutely exceptional fondant toppers for the cookies. Love. Love them. So much. Wanted to frame them and keep them forever and pet them fondly twice a day. But I let the kids eat them, because they loved them just as much as I did, and no matter how gorgeous, cookies are meant to be eaten.

I made apple cider caramels (Soooooo good. They taste like fall!) and packaged them in these utterly adorable muslin goodie bags from Crafty Clementine. Talk to Brittany for all of your favor-packaging needs--this woman can make anything!

For the table setting, I wanted something more elegant than paper plates--but we are talking about a children's party, so I didn't want to use anything too nice or expensive. I came up with a clever idea (if I do say so myself) for making custom red toile plates for just over $1 each.

Jelly jar sippy cups and lemonade kept the girls happy and hydrated.

I really love small parties, because you can do some really special things for the guests on a very reasonable budget. The girls at the party all received adorable gnome-themed outfits from Havilah Ashby, a copy of the classic Wil Huygen Gnomes book, a set of toadstool colored pencils, a hat with a detachable flower hair clip, headbands, and finger puppets.

For activities, the girls colored with their colored pencils, played a gnome ring toss game, and had free time to play and enjoy the company of their friends.

I'll have tons of tutorials coming up soon, but the timing might be a little sporadic, as I'm getting on a plane to England for a 10th anniversary trip in just a few hours!

Featured on the Amy Atlas Blog! A Sweet Fall Gnome Birthday

2011-10-17T07:28:00.000-07:00

What a great delight and honor to be featured on the Amy Atlas blog today! I had so much fun designing this Gnome party for my friend's daughter.

Come back tomorrow for all the details--and later this week, of course, many tutorials!

Sneak Party Peek

2011-10-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

I'm furiously working on the last-minute details for my daughter's 8th birthday this Saturday, but I have a ton of exciting stuff coming up! Here's a little sneak peek at the invitation:

Can you guess what the theme is this year?

DIY Project: How to Make a Large Glittery Letter Decoration

2011-10-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

Want and incredibly easy, inexpensive way to add a custom element to your party decor? All it takes is some paint, glue, glitter, and cardboard.

How to Make a Glittery Letter Decoration

craft glue
paintbrush
paint in your color
glitter in the same color
a cardboard letter form (available at major craft stores)

1) Paint your cardboard letter with a base coat of your color, so you won't notice if some of the glitter doesn't have complete coverage later on. Let dry completely.

2) Paint one side of the letter with craft glue (school glue, Mod Podge, whatever you have on hand--if it's sticky it will work). Sprinkle generously with glitter immediately.

3) Let that side dry before flipping the letter over and glitzing up the back side.

This makes a fabulous, easy party decoration, of course, but both of my girls love having their names on a high shelf in their rooms. I love party props that have a life after the celebration!

DIY Project: How to Make an Easy Circle Garland

2011-10-07T14:38:00.000-07:00

This was such a last minute project. It was the morning of the Star Wars party. I'd completed all my planned projects, and had a little time and a lot of sparkling paper scraps. An idea occurred to me--and not just any idea, but a super easy, super fast idea for a glittery garland that would compliment my space theme perfectly.

10 minutes later, I'd whipped up three 8 ft. long garlands. I wasn't sure where I would use them at the party, but I knew I'd find a good use for them.

How to Make Glittery Garlands

Paper
string
paper punch
hot glue gun

1) Use your punch to cut out piles of circles out of your paper. I used glittery wrapping paper (so much less expensive and more sparkly than the glitter scrapbook papers out there!) and a 2" circle punch. But really, you could use any kind of paper and any punch shape you want.

2) Cut a length of string (I used silver cord I had on hand, but any type of string or yarn would work--even clear fishing line). My strands were approximately 8 feet long each. Use the glue gun to glue the paper circles to the string. Glue a second circle to the back side of each first circle, sandwiching the string in between the two shapes, so that it will be beautiful from any angle.

These looked fabulous on the Astronomy party setup, and my eldest daughter already called dibs on them for her Christmas tree in a couple months. These could be done in any shape for any kind of event. Can you imagine raindrop shapes cascading down from a ceiling? Leaves in fall colors? A flurry of snowflakes for the holidays? Hearts at Valentine's day?

DIY Project: How to Make Planet Pops

2011-10-05T13:09:00.000-07:00

When I started thinking about the cake idsplay for the Star Wars/Space party, I immediately thought of planet cake pops. I typically only like to make cake pops when there's a reason for the thing to be on a stick in the air. Flying snitches? Awesome. Planets orbiting my cake stand? Yes!

Two problems with that idea, though. 1) No cake scraps in the freezer. I'm not admitting who ate them all, and I wasn't about to bake an entire cake just so I could smush it up. 2) I'm really, really bad at making cake pops.

The first problem was easily solved. I wouldn't actually make cake balls. Instead, I'd make peanut butter planet pops. Chocolate and peanut butter is never a bad idea! So I whipped up a batch of a favorite childhood treat.

Healthy Peanut Butter Balls Recipe

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 cups dried, fat free milk powder
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1) Mix in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Roll into balls. That's it. I love one step recipes! I purposefully made my balls all different sizes--I didn't want my solar system having just one size of planet, after all.

How to Make Peanut Butter Planet Pops

chocolate melts, various colors
peanut butter balls (or cake balls, if you'd prefer)

1) Use the lollipop stick to poke a hole in your ball. Melt a bit of one of your chocolate melts, and dip the end of your stick in it, then immediately insert into the hole you made in the peanut butter ball. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm.

2) Melt your other chocolate colors. Dip your peanut butter ball in a base color, then drizzle a second (and third, and fourth, if desired) color on the still-melted chocolate coating. Twirl the planet pop until the chocolate firms up slightly (I often stick my hand in the freezer to help this along), and the planet pop can be inserted in Styrofoam to cool down without dripping the coating all over.

3) Make some chocolate rings by piping circles of chocolate on waxed paper. I didn't measure; I just piped random circles. Once the chocolate rings are completely hardened, you can peel them off the waxed paper and try them on cake pops until you find one that fits. Use a little melted chocolate to attach the ring to its new planet.

And there you have it: peanut butter planet pops. I displayed them on the bottom tier of my sweet stand by covering a foam ring (from the craft store) with silver glitter and sticking them in at odd angles. I also trimmed the length of some of the planet pops so that they would orbit at different elevations.

So how did I overcome problem #2 (that I suck at cake pops and the like)? Rationalization. The bumps and lumps and misshapen chocolate on my peanut butter planet pops were not mistakes, I decided, but rather depictions of the roiling gaseous clouds of the planets' atmospheres. Works for me.

DIY Project: How to Make Glitter Playdough

2011-10-04T14:13:00.000-07:00

Playdough is a hit with all ages. Sure, we might buy it for the kids, but you can't tell me once you have that malleable material in your hands you're not sitting down at the table and squishing it with delight.

You know what makes playdough even better? Glitter.

I made color-coordinated, star-flecked stellar playdough for the Star Wars party to serve both as an activity and a favor.

Homemade Sparkling Playdough Recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup salt
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
food coloring
glitter

1) Add food coloring to water for easiest, even distribution. This is especially helpful if you're using a gel or paste food coloring.

2) Place flour, salt, colored water, oil, and cream of tartar in a large saucepan. Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until it turns into playdough.

3) Turn dough out onto the counter to let sit until it's cool enough to knead. Flatten a bit on the counter, and sprinkle generously with glitter. Knead the glitter into the playdough. If you want more sparkle, repeat this step.

4) Store in an airtight container. One batch of this recipe filled four jam-jars perfectly.

DIY Project: Princess Leia Buns Star Wars Headband

2011-10-03T08:59:00.000-07:00

At any party, I like to give the guests some costume element to help them get in the spirit of the party. Wings, tiaras, and tutus for a fairy party, for example.

Pirate hats and princess crowns for a Pirate-Princess-Madeline-Dora the Explorer-Pink party (yeah, my daughter can't be confined to just one theme).

So for the Star Wars party scene I planned for pottery barn kids, Princess Leia buns and Yoda ears were the obvious choice.

How to Make Princess Leia Buns

Materials:

headbands
brown yarn
brown felt
scissors
glue gun

1) Gather approximately 20 strands of yarn together and tie at one end, like a long tassel. The yarn tassel should be about two feet long.

2) Cut a circle of felt for the back of each bun. These can really be any size, but mine were about three inches in diameter.

3) Twist your yarn tassel into a loose rope.

4) Use the glue gun to glue the yarn on the felt circle, starting in the center and coiling out. When you've completely covered the front of the felt circle, trim off any excess length of yarn, leaving about an inch and a half to tuck on the back of the bun. Use a scrap of yarn to tie off the end of the yarn tassel, and hot glue it to the back of the felt circle.

5) Use the hot glue gun to glue your buns on the very ends of the headband. Think low. Think earmuff. If you place the buns too high, it'll look really strange when you wear the headband. Trust me. I learn these things the hard way. ;-)

And there you have it, the perfect accessory to help little girls get in the Star Wars mood. These make fabulous party favors or the start of an adorable Halloween costume. Or both. I'm all about getting more than one use out of a party item.

Real Parties: Star Wars and Astronomy at Pottery Barn Kids

2011-09-30T12:05:00.000-07:00

I was recently invited to style a birthday scene for pottery barn kids at the Chandler mall. They, like pbk stores all over the country, were having a Star Wars event to help launch their new Star Wars themed products for the holidays. They asked me to design a party setup using some of their products, to help give people inspiration for using objects from around the house in a party plan. I absolutely love doing that kind of thing (no single-use purchases for me!).

The showstopper was the backdrop for the goodie table, definitely. I had been wanting to make a fiber-optic star ceiling for my girls for some time now, and this was the perfect opportunity. I wanted everything in this party (or nearly everything) to have at least two purposes. I'm all about re-using, multi-purposing, and getting as much value as possible out of any purchase! It shimmered and sparkled and changed colors and looked fabulous, even in the bright store lights.

I had a plastic cupcake stand with a hollow core, and I immediately thought of filling the center core with glow sticks so that it would look like a lightsaber. I diffused the light by rolling the glow sticks in waxed paper. It looked spectacular! But the scalloped edges on the clear plates did not look spacy. Or Star Warsy. Or boy. At all. That problem was solved with some cardboard cake rounds, glittery silver wrapping paper, and a glue gun. Temporary plate caps to make the cake stand look like a sleek space station? Check!

On the top of the cake stand was the cake, a small round ball, painted black and dusted with sparkly edible glitter to make it look like the deepest space. It was topped with an edible, sparkly silver cake topper. Pralines and Cream flavor.

The middle two tiers housed the "galactic" sugar cookies--planet and shooting star shapes. Many people asked if they were real cookies. Absolutely! What fun are fake cookies? Sheesh.

I also made peanut-butter planet pops for the lowest tier. Think Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, but in a cake pop style. I had three planets with rings originally, but the rings melted off two of them on the walk from my car in the parking lot to the nearby door of the mall! Phoenix weather is still brutally hot. Note: I'm perfectly awful at making cake pops of any sort. But I decided that lumps and bumps on my pops were not imperfections, but rather the roiling, gaseous clouds of the atmospheres. I totally meant for them to look like that. ;-)

Chocolate pretzel lightsabers, glowing meteorite rock candy, and sparkling shooting star lollipops (they also make excellent edible wands for princess parties) rounded out the dessert offerings.

I made glittery "Stellar Play Dough" for the children to play with--a hit at any age.

And yarn and felt Yoda ear and Leia buns headbands.

I knew I wanted to play with light as well as color when I designed this party, so I conceived of this celebration as a nighttime pajama party. The darker night hours would show off the glow sticks on the cake stand and the dessert table labels, as well as the fiber-optic star panel. And what better time to have a star or Star Wars themed party, complete with a viewing of the movie? A nighttime party was absolutely perfect for this event, so that's what the invitation reflects. I burned a little bit of the invitation and added glittery red laser beams to add some extra spice and interest to the card.

Dual purpose items in this party:

From Pottery Barn Kids (items that could be taken from your child's bedroom, or used to redecorate your child's bedroom)--Desk, kid-sized table and chairs, Star Wars pillows, red and blue rug, rocket lamp, Star Wars lunch bag.
Fiber-optic star ceiling--Kit from StarCeiling123. Initially created for this party, but will be an enthusiastically welcomed feature in my daughter's bedroom. (I think I'm going to record my seven-year-old's exclamation "You are the BEST MOM EVER!" and make it her ring tone when she's 15.)
Play Dough containers--recycled jam jars. I liked the diamond pattern on the glass for this event.
Cookie cutters--of course I use those many times! For play as well as cookies.
Garland--I made this for the party, but with a punch I already had, using glittery wrapping paper I'd already bought for the cake stands and a punch and silver string I already owned. And I'll give them to my daughter to decorate her Christmas tree in a couple months.
Cupcake stand--these can be used again and again, especially if you can adapt them to your needs like this one!
Meteorites--I created the glow by resting the rock candy on top of Aquabrites floral lights I originally bought for my daughter's Cornish Fairy party and have used many times since.
Glittery A prop--made for this party, but will be used to decorate my daughter's room afterward.
Shooting Star lollipops--used a vase I had on hand, extra Styrofoam I had on hand from the giant paper flower backdrop I made for the Secret Garden baby shower, and fake ice that was left over from the Neapolitan Ice Cream April Fool's Day Party.

Reuse I do. Recycle, yep. Reduce? Working on that one. My stash of party stuff just seems to keep growing, despite how much I love to re-use!

Being a tiara designer as my main profession, I, of course, had to design a sparkly hair accessory for me to wear to this event. I thought it evoked an atomic-age style with Swarovski sparkle.

It still needs a name. Suggestions, anyone? I've already vetoed "Chewbacca." ;-)

Pretty Pretty Papel Picado--Mexican Paper Banners

2011-09-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

I'm a sucker for paper crafts. Have been ever since I was old enough to get into our household's store of tape and scissors. So when I came across these gorgeous Mexican folk art banners from Ay Mujer, it was love at first sight.

Customized, hand-crafted, delicate, decorative, and beautiful. What could be more romantic and fabulous?

Can you imagine the incredible skill and patience it takes to do that kind of intricate work? On tissue paper? Magnificent.

I'm showing custom wedding banners here, but Ay Mujer makes all sorts of party designs. This is the kind of beautiful element that makes me want to create an entire celebration around that one spark of inspiration.

Trend Watch: Stunning Succulents

2011-09-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

Here in arid Arizona, we're big on succulents. They might not be exactly what you think of when you imagine a front lawn, but landscapers can do absolutely gorgeous things with desert plants.

So can florists. I am really loving non-traditional arrangements using succulents.

I just love this opulent floral table runner mixing roses and succulents. Gorgeous color palette.

And how easy would this favor/table card/centerpiece be to DIY? It looks so striking and modern, but with a rustic edge.

(All photos found on Pinterest. Check my wedding ideas board for the original attributions.)

And to carry the theme through the whole event, wouldn't these miniature succulent garden cuff-links make a fabulous groomsmen's gifts?

And don't forget the bridesmaids! I just love this necklace, also from Woodland Belle.

I really, really want one for myself! It only took 11 years, but maybe I finally am getting used to living in the desert!

How to Make Paper Flower Topiaries

2011-09-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

When I was done with the paper flower background for the Secret Garden shower, I still had paper left over. Not content to let a single scrap of paper go to waste, I decided to make more paper flower party decor to sprinkle through the rest of the party, and came up with the idea of paper topiaries.

If you've been following the blog, you've probably already read about how to make this paper flower backdrop:

The best part about this tutorial is that if you've read the paper flower backdrop tutorial, you already know everything you need to know to make the topiaries!

To make a paper flower topiary, first, you need to make a bunch of flowers.

Like this.

And this.

And this.

Except smaller, this time. Unless you're making a really giant topiary. Wait a minute. That could be a GORGEOUS version of a Christmas tree! Lit from the inside. Great, now I want to make it, and where am I going to put that in my house?

You need some sort of base on which to glue all the flowers you've made. You could use a foam cone from the craft store, of course, but I just made a paper cone using the same technique I used for the center of the roses.

Once you have your cone made, simply start hot-gluing the flowers on the cones.

I placed my topiary cones in some milk glass compotes I had sitting around, but they looked great just sitting on the table, too.

If I had a mantle, I'd have these guys all over it this holiday season.

Pottery Barn Kids Star Wars Event Tomorrow!

2011-09-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

I've been invited to style an event for Pottery Barn Kids to help launch their Star Wars line for the holidays--what fun! Here's a little sneak peek for you.

Planet and Shooting Star Cookies

I have a lot of work to do before the event tomorrow, but it's starting to come together.

If you're in the Phoenix area, come by the Chandler Fashion Center mall and join me at Pottery Barn Kids for a great sale, lots of Star Wars fun, and me! You'll be able to pick me out of the crowd easily--I'm the one with the hot pink hair.

How to Make a Custom Paint By Numbers Canvas

2011-09-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

I was so tickled when I came up with the idea of creating a custom paint-by-numbers canvas for the Secret Garden Baby Shower. A party activity, a loving reminder of everyone who came to celebrate the arrival of the new baby, and a gift for the parents, all rolled into one.

I used the bedding the parents had registered for as the inspiration for my canvases.

The design had very simple graphics, so I decided just to sketch the design by hand on my canvases. But if it were a more complicated design, I would have used Color By Number 4, a software program that easily converts any image into a paint-by-number pattern. Had I gone this route, I would have printed on transfer paper and ironed the design on the canvases.

As it was, I bought two 10x10 pre-primed canvases from my local craft store, and a selection of craft paints in the colors I planned to use.

I simply sketched my design on the canvas, decided which color should be which number, and labeled all the sections. Don't forget to use a marker to write the number on the lid of the corresponding color right away! I forgot to do that when I first mapped everything out, and it took a surprising amount of time to figure out what I'd intended to do when I went back a few days later to label the paints.

I painted a band across the bottom of each canvas, and when it was dry, I used a fine-tipped Sharpie marker to write "Painted with love by" on each painting. After painting a bit of the image, each guest could sign her name at the bottom with the same Sharpie, creating a truly unique, custom memento of the occasion.

I could see this working magnificently at a wedding as well as a baby shower. What if you took a photo of the venue ahead of time, and had a large canvas printed up for all your guests to paint and sign? Best guest book ever!

Pantone Color Report for Spring 2012

2011-09-08T10:09:00.000-07:00

The Pantone color report for Spring 2012 is out! I love these looks ahead at color and fashion trends.

Don't you think Swarovski's brand new color, Denim blue, would look marvelous with the Sodalite Blue?

I'm always happy to see pink in the forecast. Hey, the Cabaret matches my hair color really well. I'm a trendsetter!

And Swarovski's new Crystal Pink Color would look fabulous with the beachy blues and tans.

Are you planning a wedding or event with any of these colors?

Featured on Catch My Party: How to Make Flower-Shaped Mini Pies

2011-09-06T21:48:00.000-07:00

Did you like the flower shaped mini lemon tarts from the Secret Garden baby shower?

Well head on over to the Catch My Party blog to see just how easy they are to make!

How to Make Mirrored Cake Stands

2011-09-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you see something in a craft store, or a hardware store, and inspiration just hits. When I saw the octagonal mirrors at Joann Fabrics, this project immediately popped into my mind. Cake stands! Sparkly, shiny, tiered cake stands!

I'm going to write this tutorial two ways--one incredibly easy, one a little more involved and complicated, but completely awesome.

Simple Mirrored Cake Stands:

Mirrors in graduated sizes. I used 12, 10, 8, and 6 inch diameter sizes.
Candlesticks
E6000 glue

1) Turn the mirror over and find the very center (balance is important for cake stands!)

2) Use the E6000 glue to attach the candlestick to the bottom of the mirror.

Told you it was easy!

Now, I made it more complicated for myself. When I found the crystal candlesticks I knew I wanted to use, I noticed that there were matching candlesticks in two different heights. Wouldn't it be cool, I thought, if I could switch out the bases depending on how high I wanted the cake plate to be? I had to figure out a way to do it.

How to Make Mirrored Cake Stands with Interchangeable Variable Height Bases:

Mirrors in graduated sizes. I used 12, 10, 8, and 6 inch diameter sizes.
Candlesticks (in two different heights)
E6000 glue
super strong magnets
Fimo dough, in white or silver

1) As in the easy version, first flip over your mirrors and mark the very center of the mirror. Glue one of the strong magnet disks to the center of the mirror.

2) Make a ball of Fimo clay, and create a plug for the candle holder. Fuss around with it until it's just the right size. Your goal is to make it tall enough to make a platform where you can glue the second magnet, so that it will touch the magnet you've glued to the underside of the mirror when assembled.

3) Remove the Fimo clay from the candlestick and bake according to the instructions on the package. Once baked and completely cool, glue it into place in the candlestick using the E6000 glue.

4) Glue another magnet on top of the Fimo plug. Be sure you double check and triple check to be sure that you glue the magnet the right way! You don't want the nasty surprise of finding that you've made a cake stand that repels itself. Let the glue dry overnight! You want it to be completely cured before you assemble your stands. Those magnets are strong.

There you have it. Fabulous sparkling tiered cake stands with removable bases in two different heights. This makes the set of cake stands incredibly versatile, and easy to disassemble and transport. For the Secret Garden baby shower, I used the top three stands for the brush embroidery cookies.

And I used the 12" mirror without any base as a tray for the lemon tartlets.

These cake stands would be every bit as gorgeous if you make them the easy way, but I'm utterly delighted with my versatile versions.

How to Make Brush Embroidery Cookies

2011-09-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

This post is all about those brush embroidery sugar technique sugar cookies from the Secret Garden shower.

I'd been intrigued, but intimidated by, brush embroidery technique for some time. WOW, am I glad I decided to give it a try, because it's insanely easy, and the effect is absolutely stunning and elegant. If I were getting married again, I'd definitely make these for my favors.

How to Make Brush Embroidery Sugar Cookies

You'll need:

sugar cookies (I like this recipe best) in basic shapes, like circles or squares
Royal Icing (I use the recipe on the container of meringue powder)
a clean, new small paint brush
clean, damp washcloth
disposable icing bags
waxed paper
white nonpareil sprinkles

This is easy, I promise, but it does take a couple days to make. You need time to let the royal icing dry between the stages.

Day One:

1) Bake cookies and let cool completely.

2) Make a batch of royal icing. Thin out some of the icing to flooding consistency. Basically, when you pipe a shape, you want the icing to be runny enough to flow and puddle, so any peaks and points flatten themselves out. Here's a fabulous tutorial showing exactly what I mean.

3) Pipe a bunch of circles on to waxed paper with your runny icing. While the icing is still very fresh and wet, sprinkle with the white nonpareils. Be generous! Mound it on! You can always reclaim the excess after the icing has dried.

These are the centers of the brush embroidery flowers. This is an easy, clever way to be able to add texture from the sprinkles just to the center of the cookies. Let these dry overnight.

4) In the meantime, tint some of that nice and runny flooding icing pink and flood the cookies with a base coat of icing. Let that dry overnight, too. Put any leftover icing in a Tupperware container in the fridge.

Day Two:

Pull your extra icing out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. It will have separated slightly, but you can whip it back into shape, either with a quick turn in your mixer, or even just by mixing vigorously with a spoon. Today you'll want the icing to be pretty stiff, so you won't want to thin out the icing.

1) Pipe an outline of the petal shape on the base-coated cookies. Start at the outside and work your way in. Just do the exterior ring of petals first.

2) Use a damp, clean paintbrush and simply drag some of the icing toward the center.

Once you've done the exterior ring. pipe a second, interior ring of petals, and repeat the dragging process. If your brush gets dry, or a little too messy, just wipe it off on a clean, damp cloth.

3) Once all the petals have been piped and brushed, simply plop down one of your pretty, dried, sprinkle-covered flower centers.

Let dry completely before packaging or storing the cookies.

The technique is so simple, but makes cookies that look so incredibly intricate. If you're so inclined, give the cookies a spray of super pearl aerosol luster dust to make it look extra special. I can't wait to try this on a cake!

How to Make a Paper Flower Backdrop: Let's Finish It!

2011-08-31T14:20:00.000-07:00

And here we are, at the final part of our How to Make a Giant Paper Flower Backdrop tutorial. In case you missed it, learn how to make all the other flowers for this backdrop in Part One and Part Two.

Paper Flower Dessert Table Backdrop

Today we'll learn how to make the last flower, what I call the Rolled Cone Flower. As before, you'll need more of that roll of paper, scissors, and a glue gun. Tape is handy for this one, too, but not necessary.

This is what I mean by Rolled Cone Flower:

These are incredibly easy, and you can make them very large. This is good for two reasons. First, because the large scale is dramatic. Second, the larger your flowers are, the fewer you have to make!

First, cut your petals. They should look like slightly tapered U shapes (narrower at the top of the U). But don't knock yourself out worrying about getting it just right. Rhatever you cut will be just fine. Really.

Roll each petal into a cone, and secure with tape or hot glue. Tape is faster, but the glue gun works just as well.

Arrange the cones so that they form a circle, with the points meeting in the middle. I usually used six for each flower, but it really depends on the size of your petals. Use as many as you need. Glue together using the glue gun.

Make a fringe flower center, if desired, and glue to the center of the flower.

The only other element on the backdrop were the leaves. These were insanely simple to make, and were great filler. I used a lot of leaves.

The instructions for these are pretty darn obvious. Cut out leaf shape. Fold in half to give some dimension. Voila, leaves!

You've done the grunt work--now let's see it all come together into a thing of beauty. To make the paper flower backdrop, you'll need:

your trusty glue gun
your mountains of paper flowers
a 4 x 8 sheet of foam insulation sheeting from your local Lowes or Home Depot

The foam insulating sheet is lightweight, easily can be cut to whatever size or shape you want, and is very inexpensive. I think I paid about $6.50 for mine.

Now all you need to do is use your glue gun and start sticking on those flowers!

Use the leaves to fill in the cracks between the flowers. A little bit of the Styrofoam will still be visible, but when you're doing a white-on-white background like this, it just looks like part of the design. If you were to do this project in a different color (I'd love to try it with wrapping paper!) I'd paint or cover the Styrofoam first.

I hope you've enjoyed learning how I made the backdrop for the Secret Garden baby shower. I can imagine a ton of other applications for this type of project. The most incredible photobooth backdrop ever? cover cardboard columns and arches to make an insanely beautiful focal point for a wedding ceremony? Me, I'm planning to re-use the backdrop as an art piece in my bedroom, whenever I get around to re-painting the awful purple sponge painting left behind by the previous owners.

How to Make a Paper Flower Backdrop: Part 2, Roses

2011-08-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

Here we are at part two of making a giant paper flower backdrop like the one from the Secret Garden shower. Today it's all about the roses.

In case you missed yesterday's post, Part 1 of making the paper flower backdrop, this is what we're making:

You'll need the same materials as yesterday: the same roll of paper, scissors, and a glue gun.

How to Make a Paper Rose

I'm talking about these:

First, you need to make a cone for the center of the rose.

Cut a rectangle of paper (top left image above). Roll it into a cone (image on the right above). I left a gap at the tip, because that looked like the center of a rose, and was easy. Tape or glue the cone shape in place. Then gently squish the cone flatish (bottom left image above--don't crease it, just squish it enough to trim both sides at once) and trim an arc on the bottom. You'll be left with a perfect cone. Or perfect enough. Remember from yesterday, this project is not about perfection. As long as the cone kind of sits reasonably on a flat surface, it'll be great.

Next, cut the petals. You want shapes that are roughly teardrop shaped, and about the same height as the cone, or a little bit taller.

Then simply glue the petals around the cone. Place three petals directly on the cone. Five petals on the next layer. Seven petals on the next layer (if you want a rose that big). Once the petals are glued in place, you can gently curl the tops of the petals down, which makes the rose look even more fabulous.

How to Make Spiral Roses

As much as I love the look of the regular roses, they were the most time consuming flower to make on the backdrop. The spiral roses were a great filler flower, because they were so darn simple and fast. I'm talking about these guys:

First, cut a circle of paper. Then cut it into a spiral. Be messy, be wobbly--that will make the petals have different lengths and give you extra texture.

Then just start rolling up the flower, starting on the outside of the spiral. Once it's all rolled up, a dab of glue will stick it all together. Did that make sense? If not, watch this video I found. It's great.

I want to mention one tip for making this project a lot faster: cut more than one item at a time. Cutting petals? Cut strips of paper and cut four or five at a time. They'll all be exactly the same size, and you'll be done that much more quickly. I spent about four or five hours on this project all together, but it would have been far more tedious if I'd been cutting one element at a time.

Tomorrow we'll learn how to make the last few elements of the paper flower backdrop, and will see how easy it is to put it all together.

How to Make a Paper Flower Backdrop: Part 1, Basic Flowers

2011-08-29T14:19:00.000-07:00

So you want to know how to make this backdrop from the Secret Garden baby shower?

It's easy! Inexpensive (about $15)! And really gorgeous, of course. I'm going to break this down into several posts. Not because it's complicated, but because I made quite a few different types of paper flowers. It's too much to cram into one post.

You'll need one roll of easel paper (like for kids to draw on. I bought mine at Michael's).

You'll also need scissors and a low temperature glue gun.

Let's get started!

How to Make A Basic Giant Paper Flower
This is a sort of generic any-flower. I wasn't trying to replicate anything in real life. I'm talking about the flower on the backdrop that looks like this:

First cut three or so circles of paper in graduated sizes.

Then cut them into petal shapes. Four petals, five petals, six petals, it doesn't really matter.

Simply use a dab of hot glue to nest the petals together. Curl the petals inward slightly, if desired.

Make a simple center by cutting a narrow strip of paper, cutting it into a fringe, and rolling it up.

Glue that in the middle of your flower, and you're done!

How to Make a Pom Paper Flower
You'll notice some similarities in technique here, but you end up with a dramatically different effect. I'm talking about the ones that look like this:

First, cut two or three graduated circles of paper. Then cut the circles into a fringe. Cut almost, but not quite all the way to the center.

Then, simply stack the fringed circles, starting with the largest on the bottom, and glue together with a hot glue gun. Finally, pinch the flower from the back. Just scrunch it. Don't worry about not doing it right--I promise it will work.

Ta-da! Pom flower.

I want to make one very important comment about these flowers. Don't worry about perfection! Go back and look at my photos. Notice how wonky the circles are, how the petals are nowhere near symmetrical. It's ok! This is not about the perfection of a single flower, but rather about the power of a mass of them. Nobody will notice those imperfections, I swear, and that's the key to making this an easy project. If you obsess about getting everything just right, you'll drive yourself insane.

Tomorrow on the blog: learn how to make more types of giant paper flowers! And then we'll put it all together on the backdrop.

Edit: Here's Part 2 and Part 3.

DIY Project: How to Make a Onesie Bunting

2011-08-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

One of the easiest but most effective projects from our Secret Garden baby shower was the onesie bunting. Such a simple no-sew project, completely customizable for the colors and style of any party. And it just screams, "baby shower!"

Onesie Bunting for a Baby Shower

To make this onesie bunting craft, you'll need:

paper template of a onesie shape
pencil or marker
freezer paper
fabric
scissors
twine or string
miniature clothespins

1) Cut out a template of a onesie shape. It's pretty easy to free-hand, or you can print out a picture of a onesie from the internet, and cut around it. Trace the shape on the dull size of the freezer paper.

2) Iron the freezer paper to your fabric, shiny side facing the right side of the fabric. This makes the freezer paper stick to the fabric, so it will be stable and easy to cut out the shape beautifully.

3) Cut out the onesie shapes and peel off the freezer paper.

4) Cut twine to desired length and clip the onesie cutouts to the string with the miniature clothespins. The clothespins are available at any major craft store. I bought mine at Joann Fabrics.

And there you have it! No glue, no sewing. Just a little cutting. You don't even strictly need to do the step with the freezer paper, but your shapes will turn out much better if you do. It's worth the little bit of extra effort.

On Monday I'll start the tutorials for the paper backdrop at the shower. It will probably have to be broken down into two or three posts, just so I can explain how to make all the different flowers. But it's easy, I swear!

Real Parties: The Secret Garden Baby Shower (And Happy Blog Birthday!)

2011-08-25T09:37:00.000-07:00

This August, I was delighted to have the opportunity to create a baby shower to welcome a new little girl into the world. When the hostess told me that the theme was The Secret Garden, I was utterly delighted. That Frances Hodgson Burnett novel had been one of my very favorites when I was young. Turns out, the theme wasn't actually a reference to that children's book, but I still used it loosely as my inspiration to create a magical scene of a garden that felt almost like something from another world.

I immediately thought of the Chanel 2009 runway show, and knew what I wanted to do for my backdrop. A garden wall of paper flowers, all white. I wanted to play with texture, with light and shadow, more than color for this party. I'll be posting a tutorial for how to make one of these show-stoppers for yourself, and you'll be amazed at how inexpensive and easy it is.

I wanted pink to be the predominant color of the desserts (it was a shower for a little girl, after all!)

Raspberry mousse is a delicious, delightfully pink dessert. And any excuse to use my mini trifle dishes is a good one!

The brush-embroidery cookies were so easy to make, and looked so amazing (if I do say so myself!)! I also love how my mirrored cake stands came out, and I can't wait to share the tutorial for those as well. They added just the right sparkle and flash to the display.

The cupcakes were inspired by Zalita of Cupcake D'Lights. Her cupcakes always astound me, and are so amazingly creative and detailed. Head over to her Flickr stream for some serious beauty and inspiration.

When thinking about pink confections, I remembered these biscotti. Pink pillows of deliciousness with a light vanilla and anise flavor. The subtle sweetness of this traditional Italian recipe is absolutely addictive. Good thing the recipe made a huge batch--plenty of cookies for me to taste test. You know, for quality control. Many thanks to the Zappanti family for sharing their family recipe with me for this party!

I carried the paper flowers theme through the table tents as well, using simple paper punches to create a miniature version of the backdrops. Wouldn't these make absolutely stunning place cards for a wedding?

Pink Lemonade Tea Cakes were a fun and successful experiment. I created the recipe as a riff on Russian Tea Cakes/Mexican Wedding Cakes. All that buttery, tender goodness with a bright citrus flavor and pretty pink color. Want to learn how to make them for yourself? Pop over to The TomKat Studio blog for a how-to post and the recipe!

The lemon tartlets weren't pink, I know, but the flower shape and lemon flavor made them irresistible for the party.

This was a baby shower, after all, so I created this simple, but utterly adorable onesie bunting.

The beverages had white-on-white textural floral signs, too.

As did the simple thank-you tags. It's amazing how much elegance and dimension one little paper flower can add to a package!

Savory snacks included pork tenderloin mini sandwiches with a horseradish mustard spread.

Cheese and crackers are so much more special when the crackers are homemade rosemary sea salt crackers, and the plate is garnished with adorable miniature champagne grapes and raspberries.

The bacon, date, and goat cheese streudel was a huge hit, and was so simple! It's a great make-ahead appetizer.

For an activity, I came up with the idea of making custom paint-by numbers canvases. The design was inspired by the bedding the mother-to-be had registered for. Each guest at the party could paint a piece of the picture using the easy color-coded canvas and paints.

And after adding their contributions to the artwork, the guests signed the canvas. An activity, a gift for the parents, nursery decor, and a loving memento of the people who came to celebrate the new baby, all rolled into one!

I'll be starting the series of how-tos for this party tomorrow, so be sure to come back for lots of great info!

And I have to note that this post marks the one year anniversary of my blog. What a marvelous adventure this has been so far. Thank you so much to all my readers for your comments, support, and friendship. Here's to many more years to come!

Featured on The TomKat Studio Blog: A Secret Garden Baby Shower

2011-08-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to The TomKat Studio for featuring our latest event, a Secret Garden baby shower. Check out the post on The TomKat Studio blog today, then come back here tomorrow for all the details and the start of a string of really fun DIY project posts!

Floral Arrangements Incorporating Fruits and Vegetables

2011-08-23T08:53:00.000-07:00

I just love creative, unexpected touches in floral arrangements, and one of my very favorite unconventional touches is the use of fruits and vegetables. They can add such a dramatic element--often at a very affordable price if you take advantage of what's in season.

This strawberry bouquet made me swoon. So fresh, so innovative!

And how incredibly sweet, simple, and beautiful is this arrangement with raspberries? It conjures such happy memories of my grandparents' raspberry patch, and utterly spoiling my dinner with those sweet, sun-warmed berries. That's exactly what a good floral arrangement can do: set the scene and evoke a feeling.

I just love this color palette. And raspberries and peaches--my two favorite fruits!

In the fall, take advantage of bountiful apples to create striking but simple arrangements. Something like this looks absolutely stunning, but is very easy for a DIY project.

I don't think I've ever seen a more elegant fall bouquet. Apples and some filler. How easy??

We often associate lemons with summer and lemonade stands, but they actually ripen in January. They last an incredibly long time on the tree, however, and I can find all the free citrus I can handle here in the Phoenix area until early May. I love simple lemon arrangements like this! Another absolutely doable, easy DIY floral project.

Don't forget vegetables! How fabulous is this bouquet with artichokes?

What a clever way to arrange the table cards! It looks like a succulent garden.

Think beyond roses and carnations! Don't be afraid to incorporate fruit, grasses, seeds, succulents, etc., in your floral arrangements. Often these items are right out your back door--perfect for the do-it-yourself entertainer.

(All images found via Pinterest. Click here to find the original sources.)

New Veil Edging: Embellished Pencil Edge

2011-08-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

Silk tulle veils are absolutely gorgeous. The fabric flows and drapes like nothing else in the world. But that incredible softness and flow does behave very differently than standard bridal illusion veils, and sometimes edgings that work brilliantly on one fabric just aren't great on the other.

As a designer, you have to work with the fabric. Understand its strengths and its limitations. And figure out ways around the issues.

One such example is our pearl and crystal veil edging.

Now, I love the pearl and crystal edging. I love it so much that I wore it for my own wedding (that's me!). But as fabulous as it is with a bridal illusion veil, it just doesn't work all that well with silk tulle. The pearls and crystals are just a little too heavy for the oh-so-soft and delicate fabric.

So I started brainstorming ways to develop a new edging that would have a similar effect, but would work with the silk tulle. The result is our embellished pencil edge.

The pencil edging gives a bit of extra structure to the delicate silk tulle fabric. Just enough to be able to sew on an embellishment. Shown here with all Swarovski crystals, it also looks spectacular with the same pattern of pearls and crystals on our pearl and crystal edging.

We can do this with any pencil edging, but I especially like the silver pencil edging. The silver defines the edge lightly, but because it reflects the light more than a white or ivory edging would, the effect is actually much more subtle. And that lets the pearl and crystal embellishments really shine.

So you want a silk tulle veil? You want some sparkle and dazzle, too? This is a fabulous option that takes advantage of all that silk tulle has to offer.

Real Parties: The Perfect Rainbow Pool Party

2011-08-11T23:54:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you live in Arizona, and your kid has a summer birthday? Pool party, of course! But this was no ordinary pool party. Nope, it was a spectacular Rainbow party dreamed up by the birthday girl and her mother, K., a gifted artist and designer. This is one not to be missed.

It's such a simple thing, but I love when the kids get involved in planning the party and creating the decor. Party planning is full of fun, creative, enriching projects and make the kids feel like a valued member of the family. Plus, their little touches are just downright adorable!

Such simple materials, but such a dramatic piece to greet the guests as they arrive! I am so completely in love with this rainbow installation.

More rainbow streamers adorned the ceiling of the dining area in the kitchen, where the food was displayed.

Paper circles and ribbon--more simple materials used to such dramatic effect!

I know very little about flower arranging, so I love seeing extremely simple but striking arrangements. I can do something like that, and it looks amazing!

Fruits and vegetables arranged in rainbow stripes fit the theme perfectly. A delicious, kid-friendly, healthy snack.

Veggies, too!

I love how the birthday girl's artwork was used to create the printables for the party!

Activities included a necklace-making station...

...and of course, fun in the pool!

My 2 year old wore her very favorite rainbow dress in honor of the party. Of course, she loves it so much that it would take a great deal of convincing for her not to wear the dress.

Rainbow cupcakes delighted the guests, large and small alike. In a brilliant move, K. made both standard and miniature cupcakes. The small ones were the perfect bite-sized morsels for the parents and the smallest guests. I'm totally stealing this idea for all my future events.

Rather than a birthday cake, K made a rainbow slushie "cake" made from otter pops. Fabulous for a hot summer day!

Favors included bags of rainbow-hued candies, and homemade rainbow play-dough stashed in freezer-canning jars. Affordable, bright and brilliant, and so much fun for all ages!

Thanks so much, K., for sharing your absolutely amazing rainbow party with our readers! I can't wait to see what you come up with next.

Real Parties: An Amazing Atlantis Birthday!

2011-08-05T06:53:00.000-07:00

Marnie from Phoenicianista throws amazing parties. Her attention to detail and creativity blow me away every time. That's why I'm so excited to debut her latest party here on the blog, an under-the-sea Atlantis extravaganza for her daughter.

Marnie made gorgeous tissue paper to deck the house. The length of the tissue, the organic look of the torn and crumpled material, the raffia stringing it--all added to a dreamy, wavy, undersea atmosphere.

Simple, inexpensive, but exquisite touches were everywhere, like the shell necklaces adorning the beverage dispensers.

I love how even the glass of the containers she used looks like sea glass.

The centerpiece of the food display was the spectacular cake (made by Marnie herself!). Not only do the abundant sparkly white-chocolate shells look fabulous on the cake, but it's always a good idea to have enough so that each child can get some of the decorations, even if he or she has an interior slice of the cake.

Chocolate caramel popcorn--aka "Coral Crunch." It really did look like coral sitting there!

Rock candy--so very pretty, and such a kid-pleaser.

I just love these "mermaid jewels," homemade hard candies in jewel shapes.

Lobster Skewers (the hard candy lobsters were also made by Marnie). And in the bottom right corner, those "octopus eyes" were the most delicious rice crispy treats I've ever tasted. I can't make rice crispy treats. Mine turn out tooth-breakingly hard every time. But these were absolute perfection. Better, somehow, than just regular rice crispy treats. Marnie reports that her husband, who was in charge of this treat, has a few secrets to making his own truly exceptional version. I don't know what they are, but I can report that they make a difference!

Saltwater taffy, of course!

Remember the cookies I made for two parties on the same day? This was one of those parties!

Seanut Butter and Jellyfish sandwiches!

Ham and Cheese "sushi" rolls. Those little starfish toothpicks are real starfish!

Mini squid (hot dogs) were a big hit.

And just take a look at this amazing pinata Marnie had custom made! It was as big as the birthday girl.

It was also extremely well made!

The kids broke two sticks, then admit chants of "Tear her down! Tear her down!" Ryan's father pulled the pinata apart. Mermaid carnage!

What an exceptional celebration in every respect! I'm so delighted I had the chance to share it with you today. I hope it was as inspirational to you as it was to me.

New Product: Chalkboard Wine Charms!

2011-08-04T09:08:00.000-07:00

I just love creative uses for chalkboard paint. Love. Love love love.

Do you remember my post on the chalkboard labeled glasses?

And how awesome is this idea for a chalkboard table runner from Rock-ur-Party?

Or how about this amazing yet simple dessert table backdrop featured on the Amy Atlas blog?

Yep, I'm enchanted. So I was particularly pleased with myself when I came up with this new idea: wine charms made from natural stone that work just like a chalkboard.

Hooray, a fun chalkboard item that I created! I feel like I finally got to join the party. Already for sale on our Etsy store, and soon to be available on the tradewindtiaras.com website!

A Vow Renewal--Vegas Style!

2011-08-03T12:09:00.000-07:00

First, let me apologize for being a bad, bad blogger. I guess I just needed a little bit of a summer vacation. But I have all sorts of wonderful posts lined up, and I'm so excited to share it all. It feels great to say "I'm back!"

Let me start with the natural follow-up to my last post. Grandma came to watch the girls, and my husband and I drove to Las Vegas to celebrate the 10th anniversary of one of my best friends, Elspeth. It was four days of great fun, grand Vegas kitch, and a lot of love. And ridiculously tall drinks.

What Vegas vow renewal would be complete without a showgirl and Elvis officiating?

Elspeth wore the tiara I'd designed for her ten years ago, and I'm happy to report that it was as sparkly and gorgeous as the day it was made! I can't wait to see it again in another 10 years.

The very special ring Elspeth picked out for the ceremony. I love this girl--such style, beauty, and a great sense of humor!

Congratulations, Beth and Dan! I love you guys, and am so glad I was able to help celebrate this wonderful milestone in your lives.

Vegas Bound!

2011-07-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

I'm heading to Vegas for a few days, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of one of my very best friends in true Vegas style. She's the inspiration behind the Elspeth tiara:

She's smart and funny and insightful and determined and kind and beautiful and strong and everything you could ever want in a friend. I can't wait to go spend a few days in Las Vegas with her, celebrating 10 years of her marriage, complete with an Elvis-officiated vow renewal.

I wanted to do a little something special for this very notable event, and I remembered the favors that they gave out at their wedding included a recipe card, with a favorite cookie recipe from each side of the family.

Scottish shortbread from the bride...

...and Biscochelos from the groom.

That's the original favor/recipe card from their wedding! It's had a place of honor in my recipe box these last ten years.

Just a little sweet treat to show that I cherish and remember that happy day, and am so delighted to be honoring these past ten years and looking forward to many more.

I hope they like it!

Ocean Cookies--One Batch of Cookies, Two Parties

2011-07-11T10:14:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure this past weekend of making cookies for not one, but two friends who throw absolutely amazing parties. Mindy of Mimi Marie Designs threw a mermaid party for her daughter, and Marnie of Phoenicianista threw an Atlantis themed party. One big batch of No Fail Sugar Cookies later, I had the perfect cookies for both parties.

Just wait until you see the pictures from the parties! These creative women blow me away.

Happy 4th of July! (A Little Late)

2011-07-08T07:26:00.000-07:00

I was out of town this past week, on a family vacation in Washington, D.C. What a magical experience!

From educational fun at Fort McHenry, where we got to try on a soldier's hat...

...and help raise a full-sized replica of the original Star Spangled Banner...

...to the zoo...

...and watching fireworks over the capitol at the Air Force Memorial...

...and museums and Assateague island and Shenandoah Caverns and monuments and the Archives and everything else we did, it was an amazing trip.

Thanks for being patient while we were away on our fabulous journey! I'm back to work and up to my elbows in crystals and silk tulle now, and packages are flying out the door.

I have to mention that the dresses my girls wore for the 4th...

...were made in record time using the great tutorial at Heart Break Kids. They're made out of a t-shirt and knit fabric, and were so soft and comfortable, and the girls adored wearing them. Just try to be gloomy if you have a ruffly bustle to shake around.

Preferred Vendor Award for Tradewind Tiaras!

2011-07-07T09:55:00.000-07:00

I'm delighted to announce that Tradewind Tiaras was just awarded a Preferred Vendor Award at MyPartyPlanner.com!

Preferred Party Planner

2011

Here's what one of our customers wrote when he nominated us:

"I would like to nominate Tradewind Tiaras, Inc. for the Preferred Vendor Award. During my last event their assistance was outstanding and greatly appreciated by all of my guests.

Thanks,

Robert"

Thanks so much, Robert! We have the best customers around!

New Product: Chiffon Flower

2011-07-06T11:25:00.000-07:00

A sneak peek at another new product, a frothy, fun, romantic chiffon and tulle flower.

Perfect for brides (wouldn't it look fabulous with our new birdcage veils?), bridesmaids, flower girls, or just little girls who appreciate a "pretty hair," as my two-year-old calls hair clips.

Available now on our Etsy shop, and shortly on our website.

Think Pink

2011-06-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's good to be my own boss in a creative field. Recently, on a whim, I decided to dye my hair. Pink.

And my seven year old wanted in on the action. Why not? It's summer! It'll fade out by school time.

The two year old desperately wanted in on the fun, too. Luckily, we had some pink hairspray left over from Halloween. A few washable spritzes, and she joined the fun.

A full line of sparkly accessories available for my use and the freedom to color my hair pink. Yeah, being a tiara designer pretty much rocks.

New Product: Birdcage Veils!

2011-06-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

I'm delighted to announce that we'll soon be offering birdcage veils on our website. I love this classic look. It has a vintage vibe, of course, but styled with today's gowns and accessories, looks perfectly modern and bold.

We'll be offering:

Birdcage/Visor veil, 9" long, bandeau style (attached with two small combs at either side of the head).

Birdcage veil, 9" long, gathered style (gathered on one single comb).

Birdcage Veil, 18" long, gathered style.

Bridal illusion and silk tulle birdcage veils will also be available. Photos of those items coming soon.

Until my programmer/husband gets these items on the main Tradewind Tiaras website, feel free to email us at info[at]tradewindtiaras.com for information about pricing and styles.

Many thanks to my photography assistants, aged two and seven, who helped me set up the lighting. This business is a family affair. ;-)

Fabulous Product: Rustic Muslin Favor Bags

2011-06-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned Crafty Clementine before, for her magnificent upcycled cake plates. But she keeps coming up with amazing new products, and I'm completely in love with her new line of muslin favor bags.

Rustic, vintage, sweet, refined--they're the perfect blend of Arcadian charm and elegance.

And she has designs perfect for all occasions! Birthdays, weddings, showers--you name it, she has it. And if Crafty Clementine doesn't have it yet, I'll bet she can make it for you!

What an awesome, affordable wedding favor idea: coffee beans!

Check out the full collection of fabric favor bags and be inspired.

DIY Project: How to Make Votives to Match Your Party Theme

2011-06-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

I completely forgot I had one more tutorial prepared from the Tykki-dyw butterfly birthday party! How to make easy translucent votive holders to match any party theme.

Candles always set a romantic, soft mood. And whether they're real flame, or one of the great LED candles (the only kind I use if the candles are within the reach of the kids), they add a special magical glow that feels like a celebration.

Plain glass votive holders are great, but it's fun to dress up those inexpensive glass cylinders to match the party theme. It's just one of those "She thought of everything!" details I love so much.

How to make tissue-covered votives to match your party theme:

Materials:

Glass votive holders (straight, not tapered are easier to cover)
Tissue paper in your party colors
Mod Podge or white craft glue and a clean paintbrush
Scissors
Craft punch and complimentary scrapbook paper or cardstock

Instructions:

1) Use the craft punch to punch shapes out of scrapbook paper or cardstock that compliments your party colors. I used two different butterfly punches (bought at Michael's), for my project. You want to use a heavier paper for this, like cardstock, so that it blocks more of the light when the candle is lit. That way you see the beautiful shapes both in the light and the dark.

2) Cut out rectangles of tissue paper to fit your votive holders. It's better to make the paper slightly large rather than a little bit too small.

3) Paint the glass with Mod Podge, and quickly adhere the tissue paper to the votive holder. Take care to align the top edge of the tissue paper with the top edge of the glass. Don't worry much about anything else at this point.

4) Use more Mod Podge to coat the exterior surface of the tissue paper. You might get some wrinkles in the tissue, but I actually wanted that to happen, since I loved that varied parchment look. If your tissue paper extends below the base of the votive holder, simply glue the excess paper to the bottom. It gives the candle holder a lovely, finished look.

5) Use more Mod Podge to glue the paper punch shapes to the outside of the votive.

All that remains is to let the glue dry, light the candles, and enjoy the beautiful glow!

We Love Custom Work! A Wish for a Birthday Tiara

2011-06-13T10:58:00.000-07:00

We love working with brides here at Tradewind Tiaras, of course. But it's so much fun when I get the chance to mix things up and design a special custom tiara for a different kind of event.

When Paula from Frog Prince Paperie told me the theme for her daughter's birthday, Make a Wish, I was completely enchanted. I immediately started imagining a fabulously sparkly, pink and silver tiara (because that's what color wishes are, according to the birthday girl--how precious!). This is what we came up with:

Is she not the cutest, happiest, sweetest little thing you've ever seen? I just LOVE this photo (by the talented photographer John McLaughlin).

I'm happy to report that the birthday girl loved her sparkling crown, and I'm delighted we had a chance to help her wishes come true!

You really must see the rest of the photos from this utterly amazing Make a Wish party. Every detail is better than the last. I'm honored to have played my small part in this celebration. Thanks for the opportunity, Paula!