It's the first day of October!? Holy cow!

That means Fall is for REAL here and we are all about to be swallowed up by the holidays!

I'm sharing some of my Fall picks over on the Joyful Scribblings blog today!! Go take a peek…I bet you'll find some things that will get you excited about doing some entertaining this holiday season.

I, myself, am going to host my first annual "Friendsgiving" in November.

I've been talking about it for 2 years but THIS is the year!! I'm determined to make it happen!

KEEPiNG iT REAL

I'm SO happy Dawn from Joyful Scribblings reached out to me about sharing some of my favorite picks on her blog. I met Dawn at SNAP! Conference earlier this year and she is just the sweetest!! 

Truth be told…she is really, really patient too. She had to wait for WEEKS to get the information from me in order to get the post up and I'm so happy to she didn't give up on me! 

Oh! and that Friendsgiving I mentioned? I hope to have a fire pit built and ready for some after-dinner s'mores! You hear that J?? *wink*

We've I've been talking about filling in the koi pond and turning it into a fire pit. Now is as good a time as ever! Right? *wink*

SHARE | DIY Spring Carrots :: SNAP! Creativity

Hello everyone! I'm sharing how to make these adorable mini "Spring Carrots" over on the SNAP! Creativity Blog! They are really simple and make creative snacks for Easter or any of your celebrations this Spring. Check out the post HERE.

I promise to get back to the Rainbow Unicorn party details I still want to share with you. (see the PARTY HERE and the COOKIES HERE).

I've still got a recipe and the how-to on the fun Pastry Pedestals and platforms PLUS a closer peek at those NEW clear table labels.

KEEPiNG iT REAL
Been prepping for my trip to Salt Lake City later this month.
If you don't know, I'll be attending SNAP! - an amazing 3-day blogging conference.
On top of all of the informative classes and amazing sponsors that I'll get to rub shoulders with…
I'm also looking forward to the 80's themed prom night and pajama party night.

I've been keeping myself busy with planning out the 80's themed outfits, designing and ordering new business cards, picking up little gifts for the "secret sister" portion of the event…all in an effort to distract myself from the fact that I don't like to fly…travel alone or be away from my family. (just breathe, Jessica).

PRETTY PARTY SKEWERS | Cupcake Toppers

Hello friends!!
If you thought the Pretty Party Skewers I just recently launched are only for creating cute party kebabs...think again!!

I LOVE how beautiful they look as a CUPCAKE TOPPER on this Snickerdoodle Cupcake!

(delicious cupcake from Cupcake Delights)

Just tie on a little fabric (or not) and add some cute printable party flags (or just one).

Instant CUTENESS!

The best part? Aside from how chic they look...

Pretty Party Skewers are REUSABLE!! 

No more throwing away the lollipop sticks you keep buying for cupcake toppers & cake bunting!

Create place settings too - just add a party flag with the name of your guest!!

I hope you love how these turned out!!

Can you tell I'm gearing up for Fall with my fabric and color scheme selection!?

KEEPiNG iT REAL

If you missed it, I was fortunate enough to be published in this month's issue of All You Magazine as one of two of the bloggers selected to participate in this month's craft challenge!

I've received some WONDERFUL support with the voting so far...

but I'm STILL behind and would love it if you would take a minute to vote for me, if you haven't already.

Just go to the All You Magazine FB Fan Page.

Select the "Pick Your Fave" tab at the top. (It will appear if you have "Liked" the All You Fan Page).

Once you click on that you'll be directed to the "Take This, Make That" page where you'll find me and the "VOTE" button! *wink*

Thank You! Thank You! I so appreciate those of you who've already voted!

And I'm sending advance thanks to those of you who are heading there right now!!

RECiPE RADAR | Infused Water

Spa Water...

Herbal Water...

Citrus Water...

Fruit Water...

Botanical Water...

Whatever you choose to call it...

I've been toying with the idea for some time now...
to get out one of my pretty drink dispensers...
fill it up with some water...
and infuse the water with some citrus, herbs and/or fruit.

With Summer approaching...
the idea sounds more and more appealing everyday.

Not only will it look pretty on my countertop...
it'll be a great way to encourage myself and my family to drink more water!

I decided to do a little search on Pinterest to see what I could find...
and I thought you might be inspired to create your own in your favorite flavor combos.
There really are no rules!

Here are a few of my favorites...

Lemon Mint Cucumber Water

by Sweet Designs

CRAFT | Scotch® Duct Tape Decor

The good folks at Scotch® sent me some of their fabulous NEW Duct Tape Designs...
and I'm here to share with you some fun, simple ways to incorporate it...
into your home decor,  entertaining and party decor.

Although these ideas are geared towards the upcoming Halloween festivities...
simply change up the fabulous color combinations and designer patterns and you
can adapt these easy diys for any holiday or celebration.

Scotch® Color & Pattern Duct Tapes

Shown here: "Plaid to Meet You", Green Apple, Tangerine Orange and Black

Double-sided decor is a cinch. 

Great for creating mini banners (see below), food picks and cupcake toppers

Mini Banners

Great for outdoor displays too since the Scotch® Duct Tape is weather-resistant

Tissue Tassles

Wrap a small piece of Scotch® Duct tape to add a splash of color and secure your homemade tassles

Decorative Water Bottle Wraps

Shown here: "Lace Vegas"

Tissue Roll Party Favors

Add some pizzazz by simply wrapping some Scotch® Duct Tape to the center of favors 

 Secure ends with an additional smaller strip of Scotch® Duct Tape

Wacky & Whimsical Gum Ball Party Favors

Secure a cupcake liner to the top of a gumball tube with a small strip of Scotch® Colored Duct Tape

Use scissors for fringing the cupcake liner.

I hope you're inspired to get creative with the many patterns and vibrant, colorful duct tapes available from Scotch®.
If you try them out...email your results to: pnpflowers AT live DOT com

And if you've already created some fun things of your own - I'd love to see them.
Include a link in the comments section and I'll go check them out.

KEEPiNG iT REAL

My week so far?

My 13 year old is on crutches for the next 3 weeks (result of her spraining her ankle skateboarding)

My 3 year old woke up this morning with an icky tummy.

With that said...
Scotch® Duct Tape is so FUN to use...
even my "hop-along" 13 year old daughter contributed something creative...
with her ankle elevated, of course.

Scotch® Color & Pattern Duct Tape Witch Hat

Shown here: "Plaid to Meet You" + Black

She's finishing up a wallet she started too! *wink*

STYLiNG | Witch Themed Halloween Snack Table

I'm so excited to share with you...

the Halloween Snack Table I styled and was recently featured on Hostess with the Mostess.

I thought I'd TRiCK you by not including any TREATS on this festive table.

I figured some salty snacks were in order to help balance out the sugar rush from the excessive amounts of candy we'll all be consuming.

I hope you'll find some inspiration for your upcoming Halloween festivities.

Toil & Trouble Witch Themed Snack Table

THE INSPIRATION BEHIND IT
This snack table was designed to provide a festive salty grab-and-go snack station for Halloween.
The snacks were kept simple so you can spend your time enjoying the festivities that await.
Guests (and little ones) can quickly grab some salty snacks...
to off-set the sugar-induced comas they are likely to fall into either before or after the Trick-or-Treating begins.

The great thing about this table?
Set it up in your home at the beginning of October as part of your Halloween decorations.
Just add the snacks mentioned below on party night. 
OR create an interactive Halloween focal point in your home for the entire month of October...
Simply package up the snacks individually in cellophane bags.
This allows your kids or any guests that pop by to grab a quick snack on their way in or out.

FOOD and BEVERAGES
Snacks were kept super simple and included edible broom handles (mini pretzel rods...)
curdled screams (popcorn)...
and frightful fingernails (pumpkin seeds). 
If you want to serve something a bit more savory...
you could try crackers, chips, cheese trays and hot appetizers.
Customized Water Bottles...
bottles wrapped in decorative tissue paper...
keep things simple as well as provide another way to wash down all that sugar.

DIYS and CRAFTS
Decorative tissue paper water bottle wraps along with a simple Black Magic book cover are a couple of ways you can easily add some pizzazz to your decor. See links to tutorials:
• Black Magic Book Cover
• Tissue Paper Water Bottle Wraps

SOURCES/CREDiTS
• Styling, Photography and Apothecary Jar Labels: Pen N’ Paperflowers
• Decorative Tissue Paper: 7Gypsies

INSTAGRAM + BLOG FOLLOWERS

FREE Apothecary Jar Labels just for you Wednesday - Friday at midnight!
Grab them here while they are available ---> FREE Printable Apothecary Jar Labels


KEEPiNG iT REAL
Even though the original snacks for this photo shoot sat out for about 2 weeks in prep for the photo shoot...
(everyone knows not to touch things until Mom gives the "okay")
I still caught everyone snacking on stale popcorn and stale pumpkin seeds. Ha!!
Even Ella, (my 3 year old), kept grabbing the pretzel cups to take with her
as snacks in the car.

I will obviously replenish everything with FRESH snacks for Halloween night. *wink*

STYLING | Rustic Popcorn Bar

Updated CHALKBOARD POPCORN BAR can be seen HERE!

Well it's about time I posted the full details from the Rustic Popcorn Bar I created for the September issue of
The Party Dress Magazine...

The inspiration behind its creation was my Family Reunion this summer.
I wanted to do something special for our "movie night"...
We'd be watching a slideshow of family photos I was asked to put together...
So....
a POPCORN BAR was the perfect answer!
I mean really...
What goes better with watching a movie, afterall?
(and it WAS a movie - the slideshow ended up being one hour and twenty minutes long) *gasp*

Repurposing this cart as the focal point along with some borrowed rustic wooden barrels...
I designed the popcorn bar to be interactive so that everyone, (even the kids), could customize their own bags of popcorn.
The food prep was SUPER simple since I bought bags of fresh pre-popped popcorn I ordered from my local grocery store.
I picked up some salt shakers from a local restaurant supply store...
dressed them up with some labels...
and filled them with a variety of popcorn seasonings I ordered from Kernel Seasons.
Additional candies and peanuts were offered for those wanting a sweet and salty mix...
and there were also Popcorn Balls from Kernel Encore available for the kids.
The kids LOVED those almost as much as I loved displaying them on The Pastry Pedestal™ *wink*

I also ordered five unusual popcorn flavors from Kernel Encore, (no easy task from their 200+ flavor selection),
and created a simple game called "Mystery Popcorn Flavors".
(the person to guess all five of the flavors was the winner).

Okay - that's enough explaining...
I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking...

I hope you feel inspired to create your own popcorn bar...

It's seriously one of the easiest "dessert" buffets I've ever put together.

And just to make things easier...

All of the printables you see here are now available for purchase in my shoppe!

Everything comes in a "Printable Bundle"

• 24x36 Olde Fashioned Popcorn Poster

• 8 Popcorn Seasoning Salt Shaker Labels

• 4 Candy Topping Labels (including label for Popcorn Balls)

• Mystery Popcorn Game Label and Coordinating Numbers (1-5)

• Coordinating 8.5 x 11 "Instructions" sign for guests

KEEPiNG iT REAL

First of all...

As I mentioned before in this post...

The Popcorn Bar looked nothing like this for my family reunion.

The cart was damaged in transit so my plans/vision were drastically changed...

everything was set up on the kitchen counter instead. *frown*

(Not quite the effect I was going for - but thankfully my family appreciated everything anyway). *wink*

Once the cart was put back together (only good enough for the photo shoot, mind you)

I had to recreate everything for the magazine feature. 

On a different note...

I enjoyed some WONDERFUL and much needed alone time over the past three days.

Aside from spending an evening with my mom watching movies and eating stir fry...

most of my precious, quiet hours were spent working...

on projects...

on design work...

on filling orders...

on painting my studio...

and on a gorgeous photo shoot I can't wait to share with you!!

press | The Party Dress Magazine • September 2011

Remember me mentioning the Rustic Popcorn Bar I created for a family reunion from over the summer? (here & here)
Well...I'm happy to announce the details have officially been published in

the Fall issue of The Party Dress Magazine...

                           

The entire issue is filled with absolute eye candy and Fall inspiration from other fabulous contributors:
Beth Beattie Branding, PR
Christi Bennett - P is for Party
Christina Nease - Celebrations at Home
Glory Albin - Glorious Treats
Kim Stoegbauer - The TomKat Studio
Maggie Hemsworth - Delish Catering Chicago
Rebecca Propes & Shannon Helliker - Fresh Chick Designs
Vana Chupp - Le Papier Studio

Be sure to check out all of the pages...

You'll be itchin' to get your "creative" on...trust me!!

KEEPiNG iT REAL

It's with a grateful heart that I'm happy to be able to start off the week with a post filled with some fun news!

The weekend was filled with so many emotions...

related to the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

It's amazing that although it was 10 years ago...

the rush of emotions from the ceremonies and documentaries...
well...
it made it seem it was just yesterday.

It's certainly a day I will never forget...

A somber day that has profoundly effected me forever...

as well as our entire country.
Sending Prayers of Peace for us all...

sunshine in the forecast...despite the forecast

With Hurricane Irene off the East Coast...
and the forecast full of potential wind and rain...
I wanted to give you a peek at the fun details  of the "real party" feature I'm working on for tomorrow...

The vibrant colors of this celebration are sure to chase away any approaching rain clouds...

Hope you are enjoying your Wednesday everyone!
For me...
it's been the most productive day I've had, (work-wise), in months.
It's amazing how much more I can get done when my mom comes to spend the day with Ella. (thank you Mom)!!!

Tomorrow is the last day to enter the Blush Envy giveaway!
Don't miss out on your chance to win one of their super cute accessories!!

KEEPiNG iT REAL
I'm still not nearly caught up on all that needs to be done.
But a definite weight has been lifted from my shoulders...
knowing what I've been able to get done today.

And I've stolen the cutest idea to do for my girls.
(In celebration of getting through their first week back-to-school)!
I promise to share...

real parties | Simply Teal & Red First Birthday Party - Candice Boekweg

I'm in need of simplicity around here...
So when I received these party photos from a reader named Candice...
I knew TODAY would be the perfect day to share this simply fabulous REAL PARTY!

Party girl: Candice
Celebration Type: First Birthday
Color Palette: Teal & Red

As a lover of the ever-popular teal & red color combination...
as well as lover of simple, clean designs...
I couldn't help but adore the simple diy's Candice created to help personalize Greyson's 1st birthday party
• mini cake bunting
• cupcake toppers
• and a simple bunting backdrop.

They add to the simple charm of the simple homemade desserts Candice baked
and then displayed on a simply gorgeous piece of furniture.

This fabulous mom proves you can host a "simply" adorable party...

all on a very simple budget!!!

The birthday boy is SIMPLY adorable too...is he not!!!???
Thanks for sharing your creative talents with us Candice...
I know there will also be LOTS of people appreciative of you keeping it simple!!

In Candice's own words...

I went with an aqua/teal and red theme, complete with paper staws, bunting (the mini cake bunting freebie from the TomKat site), oreo truffles, chocolate fudge cupcakes, and a rasberry filled white cake.  It was really simple and shows that you can still throw a cute little party on a budget. Most of the party decor I made, such as the accordian folded rosette cupcake toppers, bunting over the buffet, oreo truffle pops, cupcakes, milk glasses, etc. I used my own version of the mini cake bunting freebie on the TomKat site.  I also purchased the red and white paper straws and bakers twine from ebay seller twocrazyladies.

I hope this simple inspiration helps to kick start your weekend...
a reminder to all of us to keep things simple and that often less is more!!!
Hugs!!