Remember this Spiders + Spirits themed Halloween party I styled and shared for Tuesday Morning a few years ago? 

Well I got to thinking about the fact that I've never shared all of the photos here on the blog and since it's still one of my very favorite themes for a Halloween party...well...it's just time the details were no longer kept under wraps..."mummy" wraps in this case since it's a Halloween party.  *wink*

Besides, I wanted to make sure you had access to the FREE "Spiders + Spirits" sign and matching food labels in order to make hosting your own party easy peasy lemon squeezy.

And let me just say, I'm not even a drinker and yet these Pumpkin Bourbon Milkshakes slay me. ("slay" is the current trendy term used to imply you are impressed or amused by something - my kids keep me on point folks). 

Links to the FREE "Spiders + Spirits" sign and food labels along with the recipes for the milkshakes and pumpkin bars are all at the bottom of the post!!  

Did you love all of the details?

Sure hope you're feeling inspired to host your own Spiders + Spirits themed party?

Or at least try out the spooktacular recipes for some added Halloween fun! *wink*

xoxo my sweet friends!!

Jessica

LINKS I KNOW YOU'LL WANT:

Pumpkin Bourbon Milkshakes Recipe <-------click

Whiskey Caramel Glazed Pumpkin Bars <----click

Spiders + Spirits Dessert Bar 12x24 Sign  <---click to download

Spiders + Spirits Dessert Bar food labels <----click to download

KEEPiNG iT REAL

Aside from wanting to provide you with the free printables from this party, the main reason I decided to post this on my blog is because the links to the original post on the Tuesday Morning site don't work anymore and although I was able to finally find it, who wants to have to do all of that digging around every time you want to see it again? *hand raised*

SHOPPE | NEW! Caramel Apple Bar Collection

24x36 Caramel Apple Bar Chalkboard Sign

Have you all ever created a Caramel Apple Bar for a wedding, birthday or celebration?
I, personally, have NOT...but I've definitely been inspired to do so!

I think something like this would be so fun at a Fall Party, Neighborhood Party, Craft Night, Classroom Party or even as part of your Thanksgiving Day or "Friendsgiving" celebrations!!

I've had a lot of customers reach out to me to create a Caramel Apple Bar Collection for them and
today, I have made it available in the shoppe as an easy download! (It works just like the Chalkboard Popcorn Bar Collection!!)

Along with the printable 24x36 Caramel Apple Bar chalkboard sign you'll also receive...

Two different 8x10 "Directions" Signs 

"Take Home" edition + "Enjoy Now" edition

A set of Caramel Apple Bar Topping Tags

leave square or use a 2.25" circle punch to create round labels

If you need ideas for how to set up a Caramel Apple Bar, check out my APPLE EVERYTHING Pinterest board where you'll find tons of ideas! I personally think I would go with this "Apple Wedge" approach when setting up an interactive Caramel Apple Bar. It just seems more cost-effective and way more practical since I think kids and adults are less likely to eat an entire apple.

Besides that, I like the thought of being able to try a couple of different flavor combinations instead of being stuck with only one - who's with me on that? *wink*

If you are on the fence about whether or not you want to create a Caramel Apple Bar this Fall...I'm offering $5 off the NEW Caramel Apple Bar Collection for the next 24 hours!

EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS ENJOY $10 OFF - emails have just been sent!

Maybe that will convince you? All you have to do is go to the Chalkboard Caramel Bar Collection in my shoppe and enter CARAMELAPPLE during checkout!!

I hope you've been inspired!
I'd love to know if you've created one before and if you have any tips + tricks you think will be helpful as I scheme on what to do for mine this year!!

xoxo,
Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL
I took these photos last week.
It's all still sitting on the floor in my studio. (even the caramel) *gasp*

Speaking of the caramel...
When prepping for the photoshoot, I just so happened to see the jar in the overflow fridge when I was grabbing the apples. Which means I didn't have to make some or buy some to use in the photos. AND...I'm pretty sure it's from last Fall, when I made caramel apple pie! *hands over eyes*
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STYLING | Alice in ONEderland First Birthday Party

I'm so excited to share the details of this beautiful Alice in "ONE"derland themed first birthday party with you today. 

The thing I love most about this party is that although the theme isn't original, the black and white party decor and party printables I created using the famous illustrations from Sir John Tenniel are (1) fresh and (2) extremely versatile!

Take for instance the custom designed 32x40 dessert table backdrop you see above!

It makes a bold statement serving as the focal point of the table but also fades into the background allowing the color from the adorable pastries, cakes and sugary treats to bloom and pop beneath it.

Of course, it's the little details that always make my party-styling heart do cartwheels...
like these carefully crafted custom tea bag sugar cookies from Flourish Sweet Shop.

Fairytale pinks, yellows, greens, (along with the famous "Alice Blue"), were used throughout the mix of sweets on the dessert table to add an element of magic and "wonder".

Beautiful, floral "Cheshire Cat Cupcakes" created by Taylor at Cupcake Delights, "Queen of Hearts" chocolate covered oreos made by moi, "Mad Hatter Macarons" from my fave local French bakery - Le Petit Sweets,  as well as the tea bag sugar cookies from Flourish Sweet Shop were all beautiful individual treats that filled the dessert table. They were almost too pretty to eat. 

Then there were two pretty cakes...

The cute Teapot Cake from Nikki Bakes Cakes was the smash cake. (shown above)

Nikki also made the fondant Alice and Hat cake toppers you see on the blue "Alice Cake". (below)

Cupcake Delights made the Alice cake and then I placed the fondant toppers from Nikki on top. I also added the "Ryot is ONE" that I designed and cut out from gold card stock using my Cricut. 

One of my favorite party elements was the printable paper table runner I designed. (pictured above) and the party banner on front of the table. Both really added just the right amount of contrast to the solid blue table cover and pretty desserts on the table. (yep, that's one of those cheap, blue, plastic table covers)! *gasp* *wink*

And here is the adorable birthday girl, little Miss Ryot Merie, all dressed up in her cute Alice in Wonderland birthday romper!! Could she be any cuter?? 

There were so many other party details that I (1) didn't snap photos of or (2) got photos of but just weren't post-worthy due to the mix of poor lighting and my old camera that has since been replaced. *wink*

For instance, there was a DIY photo booth area set up with a black and white backdrop I designed that matched the other party printables. Not to mention a lot of fun Alice in Wonderland themed photo booth props for party guests to go crazy with.

For those interested, all of the party printables will be in the shoppe by the end of the week. (In fact, when that happens, I'll update the direct links listed below).

I hope you've been inspired to host your own Alice in Wonderland (ONEderland) themed party!

I really enjoyed putting this together for Ryot's mama and daddy...but most especially for Ryot! *wink*

xoxo,

Jess

PARTY RESOURCES

Gold Custom Cake Topper: Pen + Paper Flowers

Banner on front of Table: Pen + Paper Flowers

"Ryot in ONEderland" Party Sign: Pen + Paper Flowers

Paper Table Runner: Pen + Paper Flowers

Chocolate Covered Oreos (Queen of Hearts Cookies): Pen + Paper Flowers

Tea Bag Sugar Cookies: Flourish Sweet Shop

Macarons: Le Petit Sweets

Floral Cupcakes: Cupcake Delights

Birthday Cake: Cupcake Delights

Teapot Smash Cake: Nikki Bakes Cakes

Fondant Cake Toppers (Alice and Hat): Nikki Bakes Cakes

Mini Favor Cake Domes (plastic) - with a single white gumball inside - that's how small they are!

Teapot mini cupcake stands

Alice in Wonderland Romper

KEEPiNG iT REAL

Sharing this party has been a long time coming! It was hosted and styled last December for my sweet second cousin, Ryot. Her daddy is my cousin and just knowing he's actually a daddy now completely melts my heart! 

Also, I have to mention...

Lisa, from Flourish Sweet Shop is the sweetest to work with! 

She's always so open to my creative, (and specific), ideas and the tea bag cookies were no exception.

She was actually in the middle of a move when I reached out to her about this cookie order. Despite the chaos of her current life situation, she was willing to work with me. In order to keep things as simple as possible for her, we decided she would make and bake the tea bag cookies and then only complete the white royal icing details I'd previously sketched out and sent to her. Once I received the "flower-less" cookies from Flourish Sweet Shop, I used frosting to glue on the flowers you see on the finished cookies. Didn't they turn out adorable? 

STYLING | Lemonade and Lollipop Stand Party Idea

It's mid July friends, which means those of us in Florida have been enduring the sweltering heat.

With record high temperatures, I figured there's no better time than right now to share this adorable Lemonade and Lollipop stand I created in collaboration with Hershey's.

We all immediately think of chocolate when we think of Hershey's, right?  But did you know Hershey's is also the maker of Jolly Ranchers® (not to mention about 35 other candies which include mints and gum). That's right. I personally didn't realize that myself and when I discovered these Jolly Rancher® Lollipops, well I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them!!

My idea behind creating the Lemonade and Lollipop stand was to inspire it's use for a variety of celebrations.  The obvious party idea would be to create this for a Lemonade and Lollipop themed birthday party OR set this up in your neighborhood for your young entrepreneur as a new and improved spin on the classic lemonade stand - like Ella did with her friend.

But what's even better is that this stand would be perfect for any Summertime celebration...pool party, baby shower, family reunion, and how about a back-to-school neighborhood party? 

You could even spike the lemonade and invite your girlfriends over for an afternoon of poolside fun. 

All you really need is some lemonade, Jolly Rancher® lollipops, napkins and some cups and you've got yourself a lemonade and lollipop stand.

However, in order to make things super cute there were a few special little details I incorporated to make the stand extra adorable for guests and to really showcase the Pink Lemonade flavored Jolly Rancher® Lollipops:  a two-tier lollipop cake, lollipop topped cupcakes,  crushed lollipop rimmed lemonade glasses, and lollipop stir sticks.

Do you love the Chalkboard Lemonade + Lollipops Sign? FREE DOWNLOAD HERE!

(dimensions are 21.5" x 9.5")

Of course the tiny bows used on the Jolly Rancher® lollipops were a cute way to finish off the cupcakes and tie in the color scheme of the lemonade and lollipop stand.

Tip: I  found it easier to tie the ribbons separately and then hot glue them onto the lollipop sticks.

This was a really "sweet" and fun concept to put together and is such a timeless theme.

If you are considering it for your next celebration, stay tuned for the DIY for the Jolly Rancher® Pink Lemonade Lollipop Cake as well as the how-to on the sugar- rimmed glasses.

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THIS IS A SPONSORED POST BY HERSHEY'S.

PEN + PAPER FLOWERS HAS RECEIVED COMPENSATION AND/OR PRODUCTS 

IN EXCHANGE FOR CREATING CONTENT AND SHARING PRODUCTS.
  AS ALWAYS, FRIENDS + READERS, I ONLY WORK WITH BRANDS 
AND SHARE CONTENT I'M PERSONALLY INSPIRED BY 

AND ESSENTIALLY FEEL WILL INSPIRE YOU TOO!

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Sending you all a cyber "clink" as I pretend to sip a glass of ice cold lemonade with you! Cheers!

xoxo,
Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL
This is the first Summer ever where I am completely without kids for a small period of time.
Ella is in Illinois with her dad for the next 5 days as they visit her grandparents.
Ema is leaving for Tennessee today with a friend and will be gone for 10 days.
Clara is 20 years old and has her own life and schedule.
So basically...it's just Hamilton and I at home together.
Kind of weird to have such an empty house.
But kind of nice to have some absolute quite time to myself.
Things might get a little crazy on Snap Chat with all of this free-time! *wink*
Not that things aren't already crazy at times over there.
Curious about the "crazy" side of me and my silly sense of humor?
Find me at: pnpflowers
#nojudgezone *wink*

STYLING | Kisses + Confetti Baby Gender Reveal Party :: Hershey's

If you follow me on Instagram, then you know I've been working behind the scenes on some exciting projects for a fabulous company...Hershey's!!  This brand has been a long-time favorite of mine...as I'm sure it has been for most of you as well!!

I'm not sure what your Hershey's favorites are but my love of peanut butter and chocolate developed early on as a kid thanks to my first two-pack of original Reese's cups. They are still a favorite of mine to this day. 

I've since developed an addiction for those delicious Hershey's Nuggets - specifically the toffee and almond combination. Oh my YUM!! I use them as part of my entertaining or celebrations whenever I can. Remember the custom watercolor wrapped nuggets I created for Clara's graduation party a couple of years ago?

With all of that said, you might say when Hershey's approached me about coming up with a few creative party ideas to help promote their newly released line of color foiled chocolates, I was ecstatic. I was obviously excited about working with one of my favorite candy companies, but even more excited about all of the color foil options now available to make party planning and dessert table styling even more fun!!

Today, I'm  happy to be sharing the first of three party ideas...

Kisses and Confetti Baby Gender Reveal

Baby Gender Reveal Parties have become really popular over the last few years with more and more expectant parents choosing to find out the sex of their baby in front of an intimate gathering of friends and family. (or expectant parents that already know the sex of the baby who then choose to turn the big announcement into an interactive, suspense-filled celebration for close family members and friends, again, using a creative reveal).

The "Kisses and Confetti" theme I chose for this gender reveal made the desserts, styling and reveal ideas extra fun since I was able to integrate Hershey's Chocolate Kisses and confetti thoughout all of the party details.

I decided on a Pink + Mint Green color scheme versus the traditional pink and blue, and incorporated some touches of gold.

I whipped up a simple invitation to highlight the confetti and balloon reveal idea of the party. (I'll talk more about the balloon in a bit).

I chose to do a simple dessert table/voting station combination.  The extent of the desserts were chocolate kisses, of course, as well as yellow cake cupcakes with a classic buttercream frosting. I topped the cupcakes with pink and green sprinkles and finished them off with a single wrapped Hershey's kiss, in pink or light green foil. I think they're adorable and tie beautifully into the theme!

For the dessert table, I filled the front drawers of a dresser with pink, gold and green foiled Hershey's kisses!

I created a centerpiece on the table using a beautiful cake plate and some KISSES + CONFETTI POPPERS!

These actually have three potential purposes.
1. A darling centerpiece on the table....as shown.
2. Favors for guests to take home.
3. A fun interactive "reveal" - guests pop them open simultaneously to reveal candy and confetti that corresponds to the sex of the baby.

See the full DIY Kisses + Confetti Poppers to see how easy they are to put together!!

As part of the simple dessert table, I included a "voting station" for each guest to cast his/her vote as to what they believe the sex of the baby to be. (just pick a mint green or pink hershey kiss and drop it into the corresponding glass carafe at the back edge of the table).   I created a quick DIY label holder using an individual Hershey's kiss. I just attached my label to a wooden skewer using a glue dot and stuck it right into the chocolate kiss. It worked beautifully and it's really cute...and simple.

I decided it would be fun to fill a giant black balloon with confetti and kisses to be used as part of the party decor, but also, to pop in front of guests to reveal the sex of the baby.

See the DIY for the Kisses + Confetti Balloon right here and to see a video of the balloon popping!

Such a cute idea, right? I just love it!!  I especially love that this theme can be used for a variety of celebrations - not just a baby gender reveal. Think bridal showers, Sweet Sixteen, graduations, birthday parties, baby showers and more.

Grab these FREE Kisses and Confetti Tags + Labels to use at YOUR "Kisses + Confetti" themed baby gender reveal!!

All of the cute party decor you see in this post came from Paper Crush!

My friend, Holly, owner of Paper Crush, has an online party store and just recently opened a brick + mortar as well! I'm so excited for her and hope you'll show her some love and support by using her pretty party products for your next celebration!

LINKS TO SOURCES
FREE Kisses + Confetti Tags + Labels - Pen + Paper Flowers
Kisses + Confetti Invitation - Pen + Paper Flowers
Blush Pink Paper Fans - Paper Crush
Gold Paper Fans - Paper Crush
Mint Paper Fans - Paper Crush
36" Black Balloon - Paper Crush mine was empty and I filled it with confetti + kisses *wink*
Balloon Tissue Tassels - Coral, Mint, Ivory + Gold - Paper Crush
Rectangle Confetti - Blush, Mint + Ivory- Paper Crush
Large Ivory Ruffle Cake Stand - Paper Crush - couldn't find the direct link to this one
2 Small Ivory Ruffle Cupcake Stands - Paper Crush
Light Green Foil Hershey's  Kisses - Hershey's
Pink Foil Hershey's Kisses - Hershey's
Gold Foiled Hershey's Kisses - Hershey's
Cupcakes - Cupcake Delights
Plastic Push Pops with Lids - Hobby Lobby
Gold Polka Dot Tissue Paper - Hobby Lobby - couldn't find it online to provide you with a link. *boo*

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THIS IS A SPONSORED POST BY HERSHEY'S.

PEN + PAPER FLOWERS HAS RECEIVED COMPENSATION AND/OR PRODUCTS 

IN EXCHANGE FOR CREATING CONTENT AND SHARING PRODUCTS.
  AS ALWAYS, FRIENDS + READERS, I ONLY WORK WITH BRANDS 
AND SHARE CONTENT I'M INSPIRED BY AND THINK WILL INSPIRE YOU TOO!

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KEEPiNG iT REAL
I wasn't kidding when I said the original Reese's Peanut Butter Cups were what kicked off my addiction for peanut butter and chocolate. You would've never known that in 9th grade, at 14 years old and barely 97lbs, my daily school lunches consisted of a pack of Reese's Cups, a bag of Cheetos and a carton of chocolate milk. *blushing*