Let's Talk Dessert: S'mores

I absolutely love S'mores! They bring me back to wonderful memories of summer bbq's at the beach and putting marshmallows on skewers over the fire pit. S'mores are not just for kids there are many different variations and ways to interpret S'mores, which makes them a fun and easy dessert to serve when entertaining.   Here are some ideas for your next summer party...

 Menu to use if you are putting together a S'mores bar

Photo Courtesy of: bevandcuisine

Gourmet marshmallows are a fun addition to s'mores

Photo Courtesy of: theberry

Love the idea of having a "s'mores in a box" party favor for guests

S'mores in a jar

photo courtesy of: livsoysterbar

Nice S'mores bar set-up.

S'mores marshmallows on striped straws

"let's roast mallows and party s'more" Love this idea for a S'mores treat bag!

Photo courtesy of: theflairexchange

Outdoor Movie Party

One of my favorite ways to entertain during the summer is by hosting an outdoor movie party. You can add some  fun touches to your party by putting together a popcorn bar with different toppings and serve coca cola in the old fashioned glass bottles to give your party a retro touch.

The colorful pillows and blankets is a nice touch, which your guests will definitely appreciate. This picture also demonstrates the screen you show your movie on doesn't need to be high-tech it can just been a white sheet that you hang outside

Photo Courtesy of: designsponge

I love this movie marquee sign! 

Here's instructions so you can DIY: http://ohhappyday.com/2012/06/vintage-marquee-diy/

Photo Courtesy of: 100layercake

Popcorn bar! I love the cart and all the different toppings!

Photo courtesy of: Pen & Paper Flowers, you can also buy the signage used on Etsy

Cute signage "Take a Sheet & Grab a Seat"

Photo Courtesy of: designsponge

                                                     

 

Old fashioned glad coca cola bottles add a fun touch to the party! They remind of the outdoor movie scene in the movie Grease 

Photo Courtesy of: 100layercake

Rustic Barn Parties

Since it's wedding season I wanted to share one of my favorite wedding reception themes, the rustic barn theme. I love the understated elegance of rustic themed parties. The combination of burlap, wood barrels and wooden tables always looks great together. Here is some rustic barn party inspiration.

Pictures from top left, to bottom right

1. I love the wooden planters boxes and the gorgeous floral arrangements Photo Courtesy of, Wisnerphotoblog

2. Beautiful dessert table. I love how the wooden barrels are repurposed into a table, such a good idea for a summer party and very versatile as well. could be used for a bar or even as a buffet table.

Photo Courtesy of, Lauren Leonard interiors

3. I love the burlap table runner and lace accents. The J&R marquee sign is also a nice touch. Stay tuned for one of my future blog posts where I will share instructions for a DIY marquee sign.

Photo Courtesy of: weddingpartyapp

4. Upscale picnic table. Beautiful flower arrangements and I think the lightbulbs hanging from the tree is a really cool touch.

Photo Courtesy of: stylemepretty

Rainbow Art Party

I have been noticing a ton of Rainbow art parties on Pinterest and just had to share some of my favorite rainbow party decor ideas. What a cute idea for a kid's birthday party. I know when I was younger I would have absolutely loved a rainbow art party, heck I would still love it, lol! 

I love the crayon melting on canvas backdrop & the coordinating cake!

Photo courtesy of: ediblecrafts.craftgossip 

Rainbow cupcakes on a canvas

Photo Courtesy of: Chalk & Talk

I love the Rainbow colored waters & how cool is that rainbow heart cake!

Photo Courtesy of: TomKat Sudio, one of my absolute favorite sources of inspiration. Stay tuned for a blogpost where I show more amazing pictures from the TomKat Studio blog :)

I love the backdrop  & the cake is cool too!

Photo Courtesy of: HWTM, another one of the best sources for inspiration

Candy in clear paint jars

Photo Courtesy of: HWTM

Cute way to set-up art station, I am a huge fan of chalkboard signage so be prepared to see a ton in upcoming posts

Photo Courtesy of: TomKat Studio

Mexican Fiesta

 What better way to ring in the summer than with margaritas & mexican food!  If you are planning on throwing a mexican fiesta this summer here is some inspiration. 

Individual 7 Layer Dip.  A friend made this during college & I have been hooked ever since!

Photo Courtesy of: Iowa Girl Eats

Taco Bar Sign

Photo Courtesy of: ETSY

Chips & Different Salsas

Photo Courtesy of: Paper and Party Love

Strawberry Margarita

Photo Courtesy of: Spoonfulofflavor

Mini Taco & Mini Patron Bottles

Photo Courtesy of: Off The Page

Flowers & Tomato Sauce Jars

Photo Courtesy of: The French Bouquet 

Churro Cupcakes

Photo Courtesy Of: Lady Behind The Curtain

Table Setting with pretty tapestry & cactus

Photo Courtesy of: Swandive Tumblr

Black & White Strips

I'm back! after a very long blogging hiatus I have decided to start blogging again. For my first blog post I wanted to share one of my absolute favorite event decor trends: Black & White striped tablecloths. I love how black & white makes any color pop and always looks classic & chic.

Black & White striped table runner with pink accents

 

Black & White striped tablecloth with green and orange accents

Photo Courtesy of: Hostess With The Mostess

Black & White strips with pops of bright colors

Photo Courtesy of: Studio DIY

Black & White strips with pink & gold accents

Photo Courtesy of: wedsociety

Black & White stripped dessert table

Photo Courtesy: Wedding Chicks

Black & White with black polka dot accents

Photo Courtesy: Wedding Chicks 

Pink & Gold Princess Party

These are pictures from a pink and gold princess party photo shot I did. I have seen a lot beautiful pink ombre princess parties on various blogs and websites, which had given me a lot of great ideas so I knew it was time to put those ideas into action.  I also love glitter and wanted to add a little sparkle to the party as well. 

The first thing I did for this party was make the gold crown cupcake toppers. I made the cupcake toppers by cutting crowns out of plain computer paper. I then painted the paper with gold paint and then added glitter to the wet gold paint. I also created gold glitter mason jars, which I made by applying mod podge to the mason jars and then applied glitter to the mod podge. 

I also made a tissue paper tassel garland with gold and different shades of pink tissue paper. I followed this tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f71yVgdmisw to learn how to make the tassels. I then added the tassels to white ribbon. I also made a cake topper by using two pink stripped straws and then added some gold and pink bunting to the straws. This was the one craft project that didn't work out as perfectly as I had hoped it would. The ribbon would not stick to the straws and the bunting didn't stay as straight as I wanted. I definitely will have to keep experimenting to get the cake bunting perfect.

Now for the delicious baked goods! I made cupcakes with pink frosting, a cake with pink ombre frosting, pink cake pops on pink stripped straws, star sugar cookies, pink ombre mini cakes, macaroons that I got from Trader Joe's and pink pudding that I served with pink jewel studded spoons. I decided to put the star sugar cookies on cake pop sticks in order to make the cookies look like princess wands. I made the mini cakes by dividing cake batter into separate bowls and adding food coloring to the different bowls so that the batter was different shades of pink. Once the cakes where baked and cooled I used a 2" round cookie cutter to make the cake into circles. For the pink ombre cake I divided white frosting into different bowls and then added food coloring to make the frosting different shades of pink. I then added the darkest frosting to the bottom of the cake and added the lighter shades to the top of the cake.