Food |

When Life Hands You Lemons….

May 9, 2013 Leave a Comment

You make Lemonade, right? I’ve got some SUPER fab lemon and lemon-related ideas for you today… just in time for Summer!

Check out the adorable Lemonade Stand Party, from The Frosted Petticoat:

Ok, this is really a Pinkalicious party post from vixenMade, but oh my goodness… check out the lemonade stand, based on one of the Pinkalicious books. From a recent posts – here’s how to make Pink Popcorn.

An absolutely FAB lemon/lime cake… from a gallery on Catch My Party:

And a recipe for Strawberry Lemonade popsicals, from Willow Bird Baking… because… yum!

Filed Under: Decor, Decorations, Events, Recipes Tagged With: birthday, food, ideas, lemon, lemonade, party, pinkalicious

Ocean, Boat, and Nautical Party Ideas

April 30, 2013 1 Comment

I live in the desert, and I rarely make it to the coast, but I love, love, love to DREAM about the beach… the ocean… boats and crashing waves. I recently decided to “surf” the web (ok..groan) for nautical theme party ideas. Here are some of the great posts I found!

From 6th Street Design School, a fab post full of nautical party ideas! I especially love her “drink station”. And she lists all sources as well as several ‘how-to’ links.

I’ve posted a link to this one before, but you HAVE to check out the Nautical Christening post on the Hostess Blog:

Here’s a fun link to making life preserver cupcakes. You could also purchase white frosted donuts and add, with red frosting or piping gel, red stripes!

And another nautical party from the Hostess blog, this one with a more vintage feel. Octopus (octopi?) are so popular right now…Oh – and check out the Spaceshipslaserbeans shop for very cool printables used in this post.

And you need to click right on over to Diaper Style Memoirs – she has a FABulous post filled with amazing ideas for simple Nautical Party decor. LOVE the photo booth with props!

Filed Under: Birthdays, Decor, Events Tagged With: birthday, food, ideas, nautical, party, theme

DIY Graduation Ideas

April 23, 2013 Leave a Comment

It’s coming… that magical, wonderful day that all students look forward to each May or June… the last day of school! My kids have literally 26 more school days left before they are done for the year, and you KNOW they are counting them down. I don’t actually have any graduates this year, but that hasn’t stopped me from pinning and bookmarking lots of fun graduation party ideas. Here are a few of them!

From the evite blog, graduation confetti throwers – easy, fun, and festive!

Check out the very cool “Keys to Success” Graduation party inspiration from Celebrations at Home. Love the shabby chic, Anthropologie inspired look!

I’m not sure if all schools allow for decorating of the graduation cap, but check out these fun DIY ideas from the Daily Party Dish! They could be done for after-parties, at the very least!

If you have little ones graduating from kindergarten, these Blow Pop Graduation favors from Life in Wonderland would be super fun:

For most unique, but BEST GIFT EVER, I nominate this idea from Your Homebased Mom. She teaches you how to make a Money Lei!

And not to toot our own horn or anything, but we do have some pretty fabulous Graduation Party Favors in the Diva Entertains shop

Graduation Fans ~ Graduation Hat Favors ~ Graduation Cookie Pops

Filed Under: DIY Diva Tagged With: decorations, DIY, favors, food, graduation, graduation cap, how to decorate, how to make a, ideas, money lei, party

Theme Thursday – Hollywood!

January 24, 2013 Leave a Comment

In case you weren’t aware, February 24th is Oscar night… which means, lights, cameras, glitz, glamor, and divas everywhere! And really, such a perfect theme for a party! So, today’s post is all about the Hollywood glam. Whether you are planning a big Oscar party for next month, or a Sweet 16 Hollywood Theme party… we’ve got some ideas for you!

I found a great “red carpet” theme cake in a photo album over at Catch My Party. Be sure to click through and check out all the photos in that album – some GREAT ideas for a Hollywood theme. L!ove the hollywood star signable picture frame and the red velvet cake.

A seriously gorgeous post about doing a vintage Hollywood theme… check out the ideas from The Sweetest Occasion:

MissParty has a fun idea for using frames and classic photos of stars to decorate for your Hollywood theme party:

From the Hostess blog, a fabulous Oscar Party planning post… with FREE Hollywood printables. (It’s a post from last year, but there ARE blank printables so you can use them for this year too!)

I’m not a huge hot-dog fan, BUT these tuxedo wrapped dogs from Family Fun magazine make for fun Hollywood party food… and I bet your guests would get a kick out of them too.

And finally… do you want to let your guests dance the night away in comfort? Check out the grippy socks a customer purchased for her daughter’s Bat Mitzvah…Hollywood Theme, of course!

Filed Under: Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, Decor, Decorations, DIY Diva, Events, Favors, Free Printables Tagged With: food, free, hollywood, idea, old hollywood, oscars, party, printables, theme, theme thursday, vintage hollywood

Theme Thursday – Dr. Suess Parties

January 17, 2013 Leave a Comment

It’s time for another Theme Thursday, and this week we are getting bright and colorful and fun with Dr. Suess! There are so many directions one could go with this one, and for a variety of ages too!

From Design Addict Mom, an incredible 1st Dr. Seuss birthday party theme:

Another 1st birthday party, from the Hostess blog a Cat in the Hat Birthday party. There are some AMAZING photos with this one, so be sure to click through and see all the ideas! She provides sources at the end of her post. Aren’t the Cat in the Hat Hats adorable!

Check out this cute idea for Dr. Seuss themed photo booth, from Catch my Party: A red frame and a blue background (if you can’t find cat in the hat fabric or gift wrap) will work just fine!

The Party Wagon has some FAB photos and ideas with her Dr. Seuss party post… I love the yarn-covered bottles as centerpieces. There are so many fabulous ideas in this post – make sure you scroll down to the end of the post to find sources!

And from Hank & Hunt, check out this SUPER EASY, but fab Lorax Cupcake for a Lorax party… Truffula Trees:

Filed Under: Birthdays, Decor, Decorations, Events, Kids Birthdays Tagged With: birthday party, cat in the hat, dr seuss, entertainement ideas, food, hats, lorax, lorax cupcakes, party, theme thursday, thing one, thing two

Super Bowl Party Planning

January 9, 2013 1 Comment

My husband doesn’t watch a ton of sports overall, but he IS a huge football fan. And this year, his team (go Broncos!) clinched the division title and are the top seeded team in the playoffs, which means… well, I have no idea what it means EXACTLY, but I do know it made my husband happy, and this put his team just that much closer to the elusive Super Bowl game. (First they have to get through the play-off games.. this much I DO know, because he just told me so today).

So, in the expectation.. hope.. possibility of his team making it to the BIG game, I started making some plans for a Super Bowl party food (because to be a great party it has to have great food!!

First, from Make Merry, check out this awesome tutorial for making football whoopie pies. And here’s a whoopie pie recipe from Bobby Flay with the wonderful marshmallow creme filling!

Rust and Sunshine has some GREAT ideas for throwing a super bowl party… I especially like the simple touch with the diy silverware caddies. SO easy, and a great addition to the table or buffet. Her football cupcakes look easy to duplicate and she even has some super bowl party games for kids.

For a yummy goodie for kids.. and BIG kids alike.. check out the football rice krispies from snackpicks.com:

Check out the fun super bowl spread put together by Shelbi Rene:

And finally.. we LOVE nachos in our house, and so when I saw these nacho CUPCAKES by Sweet Simple Stuff… I knew I’d have to make them for the big day! She provides a step-by-step photo tutorial. You just know these are going to be a hit!

Filed Under: Decor, Decorations, DIY Diva, Events, Recipes Tagged With: food, football rice krispies, football whoopie pies, for kid, games, marshmallow creme filling, menu, nacho cupcakes, planning, super bowl food, super bowl party, whoope pie recipe

Last Minute Thanksgiving Fun Food Ideas!

November 20, 2012 Leave a Comment

This is a VERY busy week for hostesses all over the United States! I am personally cooking TWO turkeys this week, along with ALL the traditional fixin’s for Thursday’s big feast day. I’ve made lists and more lists to keep myself organized, and in between making lists, I’ve browsed for ideas for making our holiday fun and unique! I was thinking mostly about foods my kids would enjoy (or could help with the making), but these ideas are great for “kids” of ALL ages!

From Living Locurto, some SUPER FUN Thanksgiving veggie tray ideas for the holidays:

From 7th House on the Left, she teaches how to make turkey cookies (adorable, no bake!):

From Dash Recipes, check out these teepees!!

And from Woman’s Day, super cute pilgrim hat cookies!

Filed Under: Appetizers, Desserts, Holidays, Recipes Tagged With: creative, food, foods, fun, how to make turkey cookies kids, pilgram hat cookies, recipes, thanksgiving, vegetable tray, veggie tray

Arrghh, Matey! Pirate Party for Boys And Girls

October 2, 2012 Leave a Comment

Pirates NEVER go out of style, it seems, and these days both boys AND girls are getting into pirate-themed parties (“princess & pirate parties” are huge). I have some great inspiration for you today if your kids are wanting to make their guests walk the plank!

First, from the Amy Atlas blog, a great pirate ship themed dessert table, with ideas for a pirate party bunting, cupcake toppers and more!

From the Hostess blog, a very traditional black and red and white pirate-theme party. LOVE these pirate marshmallow pops. For $35 you can purchase the download to create much of this party:

From our favorite cookie maker Sweet Sugar Belle, a tutorial for how to make pirate cookies:

From Kara’s Party Ideas, a fab post full of photo inspiration for styling a Captain Hook Pirate Party:

And just look at these amazing photos of a beautiful GIRL pirate birthday party, from B. Couture Photography… love the pink tulle mixed with PIRATES!

If you are REALLY ambitious, you can read about how to make a REAL LIFE “walk the plank” accessory for your party. From Kammy’s Korner, check out this DIY project:

Are you ready for some pirate fun?

Filed Under: Decor, Decorations, Events, Kids Birthdays, Uncategorized Tagged With: boys, decoationns, food, games, girls, hats, how to make pirate cookies, ideas, pirate birthday party, pirate party, pirate theme, pirates, princess

Halloween Party Planning

September 12, 2012 2 Comments

It’s that time of year! The weather begins to cool, the children go back to school… and the Halloween party planning begins! My kids are talking their costumes and are thinking about witches and ghouls and zombies… and I’m thinking butterflies and action heroes. We may have some heated discussions before we are through!

Anyway! I have some great Halloween party ideas for you today, and I will follow up next week with some more. Ready?? Here we go!

First, from the Hostess blog, a STUNNING Black Cat Ball – such a beautiful, glamorous FUN way to celebrate a kids or adult Halloween party. As always, scroll through the amazing photos, get inspired by the styling, and check out the credits and details at the end for tips on how to do something similar.

From Anders Ruff, an incredibly GLAM Halloween party collection – all downloadable/printable – makes party planning EASY! These are not free Halloween printables, but they are inexpensive and I thought they were worth sharing!

How about some specific tutorials for Halloween party food? From The Girl Who Ate Everything, some incredibly fun (and easy) DRACULA DENTURES. My boys LOVE this idea!

From our favorite cookie maker, Sugar Belle, comes a unique idea… Pumpkin Pops, made SUPER easy with suckers and icing!

Better Homes and Gardens has a series of great Halloween party games for kids but I think some are great for adults too. I think this “Guess How Many Candy Corn” may be my favorite one, just for ease of putting together and ease of “playing the game”.

And Martha’s Stewart’s “Pop The Balloon” Game is sweet perfection – easy to set up, and FUN for the kiddos!

There are SO many, many ideas out there, I may just have to write a second (or third) post about Halloween party planning! Are YOU getting ready for a Halloween event? We’d love to hear about it!

Filed Under: Decor, Decorations, DIY Diva, Events, Favors Tagged With: adults, childrens, favors, food, game for kids, games, Halloween cookie recipe, Halloween party, Halloween printables, how to plan a, ideas, kids, planning, printables, pumpkin pops, theme, tips

Dinosaur Theme Birthday Parties

August 30, 2012 Leave a Comment

I don’t know ANY little boy who doesn’t dream about dinosaurs at some point. Dream about, talk about, read books about… you get the idea. Dinosaurs are just one of those serious obsessions for the 10 and under male crowd. (And occasionally the 10 and up crowd too, for that matter!)

So, for all the mommies out there who need some help with the next Dinosaur Birthday party, this post is for YOU!

First, from the See Kate Sew, check out the photos from her son’s 1st birthday party. We can’t all sew like Kate, but we COULD create a party with some of these fabulous ideas…and there is a link to the wonderful “RAWR” poster in blue -grey or orange-blue !

From the Hostess blog, check out all the fab photos, AND the ideas and party detail links at the bottom of the post. Rawr Your World… rocks mine!

From Kara’s Party Ideas, an Orange and Green Dinosaur Birthday party – again, great photos and a list of details and info for how they styled it:

I just love this cute idea for having a Dinosaur Egg Hunt, from Wants and Wishes. You HAVE to click over to see the photos AND the how-to on making your OWN dinosaur eggs.