DIY Project: How to Color Sugar

Looking for the post on how to color sugar?  It's moved to its new home at Tikkido.com!

DIY Project: Edible Garnishes for Glasses

Looking for the post on how to make edible garnishes for glasses?  It's moved (along with the rest of the blog) to its new home at Tikkido.com.

Signature cocktail rimmed in pink sugar and embellished with a rice paper edible butterfly.

A Swedish Styled Gingerbread House Decorating Party

Looking for the Swedish Gingerbread House Decorating Party?  It's moved to its new home at Tikkido.com.

Fabulous Product: Customized Galvanized Tubs for Beverages or Centerpieces

Sometimes I stumble across something so fabulous that I feel the need to plan an entire party around it.  The gorgeous customized galvanized tubs from Brody and Ma definitely fall into that category.

They're obviously fabulous for filling with ice and beverages.  But why stop there?  How about using a smaller one as a floral container for a centerpiece?  Filling a tub with inexpensive flip flops for the ladies who want to keep dancing, but have reached the end of their tolerance for high heels?  Filling a bin with toiletries and emergency needs and setting it out in the bathroom (sewing kit, lotion, mouth wash, hair spray, etc.)?  

Since fabric is used to embellish the tubs, the options are basically limitless, and you could easily find something perfect for any wedding scheme.  What a gorgeous way to carry the theme through all of the decor!

And best of all, they're really a great deal.  I have a very strong DIY streak, and as soon as I saw these I started googling wholesale galvanized tubs.  Between the cost of the materials and shipping and handling (not to mention labor!), I'm definitely ordering from Brody and Ma whenever I have a need.  (Need?  Who am I kidding.  I'm just looking for any excuse at this point.  LOVE.)

Fairy Party: DIY Magical Twinkling Beverages

Looking for the tutorial on making your punch twinkle and glow?  It's moved (along with the rest of the blog) to its new home at Tikkido.com

Fairy Party: Part 2, Details! Many, Many Details!

Looking for Part 2 of the Cornish Fairy party post?  It's moved to its new home at Tikkido.com!

Recipes: Simple Syrup Makes Everything Sweeter

Welcome back to day three of punch mania!  One of the key elements of making a good drink (whether it's homemade lemonade or something with a little more power like mojitos) is a simple syrup.  Sure, you could buy a bottle for only a few dollars at the liquor store.  But it's so incredibly easy to make, why would you?

When you make simple syrups yourself, you also have the opportunity to infuse delicious flavors into the syrup, to make amazing, delicious, complex, gourmet drinks that are astonishingly easy!  Lavender infused lemonade for a French-themed wedding, anyone?

Simple syrup is nothing more than equal parts water and sugar, heated until the sugar dissolves.

Sugar and water just combined and starting to heat up.

Making an infused simple syrup is just about as easy as a plain one.  Let's use a mint-infused simple syrup as an example.

Take a few sprigs of fresh mint.

Fresh mint for the simple syrup.

Toss the mint in with the equal parts sugar and water, and heat until the sugar dissolves. 

Remove from heat, and let steep until the syrup has cooled to room temperature.  Remove the mint.  Want a more intense mint flavor?  Use more mint, or crush the leaves a bit with a muddler or mortar and pestle to help release the oils.

Infused simple syrups are so easy to make, but they add such a magnificent layered flavor to drinks, alcoholic or not.  Try making a memorable signature drink for your wedding or party!

Delicious Punch Recipes Please a Crowd

Yesterday I showed you some gorgeous beverage dispensers that would be absolutely perfect for a wedding, shower, or really any party.  But what to put in them?  Punch!

No, no, banish thoughts of high school prom and your brother's cub scout potlucks.  I'm talking classic, historic, elegant punches.  They're just cocktails in a great big bowl, after all.  Mixing them up as a punch is a fabulous way to have and serve a signature cocktail at your wedding.

Here are some of my favorite recipes:

Mojitos by the Bucketful (serves 75)

• 1 quart mint-infused simple syrup
• 2 750ml bottles of champagne (a sweet, inexpensive kind is perfect)
• mint leaves for muddling and garnish
• Enough limes to juice for 1 quart lime juice, plus have left-overs to slice and add to the punch dispenser and garnish glasses.  This really depends on the size of your limes, but 30 is a good place to start.
• 1 1.75 liter bottle of rum (try the Cruzan brand.  Delicious, and less expensive than Bacardi)
• 2 liters club soda 

Mojitos are typically made by the glass, and the mint and lime oils are infused through the drink by muddling (basically squishing and pounding the dickens out of the lime rind and mint leaves).  It's too much work to do that on this scale, so instead, we have a couple tricks to get that great flavor without so much work.

The first is to make a mint-infused simple syrup (recipe in tomorrow's post!).

The second shortcut is to make use of the lime rinds.  Juice the limes, but once you're done, keep the rinds.  Throw the rinds in the rum for 24 hours, then strain them out.  That delicious, aromatic lime oil will remain in the rum, and add complexity to the mojito when it's all mixed together.

Mix simple syrup, lime juice, and rum together.  This can be done a couple days before the event, as long as the mixture is kept in a covered container.

At the last minute, add the club soda and champagne.

Add lime slices, ice, and fresh mint leaves to the punch.

Remember to have a bowl with lime wedges and sprigs of fresh mint next to the dispenser for guests to use as a garnish.

Classic Red Sangria (makes one pitcher)

1 bottle red wine (it should be a drinkable red table wine, but doesn't need to be expensive)
1/2 cup brandy
1/4 cup cointreau (or other orange liqueur like Triple Sec)
1 cup simple syrup
1 liter club soda/seltzer water
1 apple, cored and cubed
1 peach, pitted and cubed
1 orange, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
1 lime, sliced

Combine wine, brandy, cointreau, simple syrup, and chopped up fruit.  Let sit at least overnight to let the flavors meld.  Right before serving, add the club soda.

Note 1)  Any fruits work really well in sangria.  I like the crunch of the apples, so always include those, but throw in mango, grapes, cherries, pears, whatever you have on hand!

Note 2)  When I serve sangria in a beverage dispenser like the one shown above (rather than a pitcher), I always make extra boozy fruit to put in a small serving dish beside the drink.  The fruit is half the fun of Sangria!


White Peach Sangria (makes one pitcher)

1 bottle dry white wine
3/4 cup peach schnapps or peach vodka
1/2 cup brandy
1 12oz can peach nectar
1 liter club soda
1 lemon, sliced
1 cup green grapes, halved
3 peaches, pitted and cubed
1 apple, cored and cubed

Combine wine, peach schnapps, brandy, simple syrup, and all fruit.  Let sit for at least 24 hours in the fridge to let the flavors meld.

At the last minute, add the club soda and ice.

Notes 1 and 2 above are relevant to this recipe, too!


Classic Champagne Punch (20 servings)
1 cup Triple Sec
1 cup brandy
1/2 cup chambord
2 cups pineapple juice
2 liters ginger ale
2 750ml bottles of champagne

Mix everything but the ginger ale and champagne (this part can be done a day or more ahead of time).  Add the bubbly stuff right before serving.

If you want to go kitschy classic, add in some sherbet to keep things cool!


Interested in an article on the history of punch, and links to some great and classic recipes?  Check out this Chowhound article on the topic.

Punch! An Elegant and Inexpensive Way to Serve a Crowd

When it comes to entertaining large crowds on a budget, especially when alcohol is involved, punch is a perfect option.  And with the gorgeous beverage dispensers available these days, one can be found to suit any theme or look.

For a wedding in a rustic local, how charming is this mason jar dispenser from Pottery Barn for $69?

Or how about these?  Gorgeous!  Photo courtesy of photographer Sergio Mottola:

Want a more elegant look?  How about these from Z Gallerie?

For 69.95, look at this clever dispenser!  Imagine a red, rose, and white sangria in this!  I have this one myself, and can tell you, it holds a lot of punch for a lot of people.

Or for only $49.95, this apothecary beverage dispenser?

Want a more vintage, shabby-chic vibe for your wedding?  A collection of antique milk glass punch bowls would make a spectacular display.

Come back tomorrow for great punch recipes to put in these gorgeous containers.

Fabulous Products: Chalkboard Glasses!

I'm completely in love with these chalkboard stemless wine glasses from Pier One!

They're only $3 in the store, which is a very reasonable price.  But I've heard rumor that they're only $1 at Pier One outlets!  That brings them down into the same price as rental stemware.  Save on rentals, have a really cool, useful product at the wedding, and a favor all in one.  Awesome!

Feel like a DIY project?  Check out this awesome tutorial from The Inadvertent Farmer.

Beautiful DIY chalkboard paint canisters from The Inadvertent Farmer.