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Unique Wedding Ideas – Invitations, Bouquets, Cake Toppers, Favors and Guest Books

Host Bee — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:01:54 +0000

The Best Of Everything Wedding!

Since my wedding in 1990, the world of weddings and the choices available to brides has grown into an overwhelming array! Where to start? Themes? Favors? Flowers? While this list definitely won’t cover all of your bridal needs, there were just a few wedding things that I loved and made me wish for a second try at wedding planning! Some of the suggestions are over the top and others are very simple, but either way, I think you’ll agree that they’re special – like every bride!

Unique Wedding Invitations

From Posh Paperie – For a look that is completely unique to your celebration, the stylists at Posh Paperie understand that the invitation sets the tone for the entire event! From the colors to the theme to the location, you can be sure that you’ll have an invitation as individual as you are!

Embellishments for Bridesmaids

From Emerson Made – Add a lovely and distinctive touch to any bridesmaid dress with the handcrafted floral sashes from Emerson Made! Dahlias, roses and more in a variety of colors, will add a custom look to even the simplest dress and the sash is a gift that your bridesmaids will enjoy long after your big day!

Bridal Bouquet

From Fantasy Floral Designs – I am in awe of the sentimental and exceptional bouquets hand crafted by Amanda Heer at Fantasy Floral Designs! Each bouquet is one of a kind and features “flowers” that were once vintage brooches. The combination of colors, styles and shapes gives the traditional bouquet a new, yet “old” look – classic, yet eclectic!

Wedding Cake Toppers

Although it seems that most wedding cakes are topped with flowers, it’s nice to have an option that you can enjoy on those future anniversaries!

For a Sophisticated Wedding – From The Knot: A Set of Three Scrolled Initials for the Bride and Groom

For a Sentimental Wedding – From The Tinsel Trading Company: handcrafted from vintage papers and trims, this Three Tiered Box by Wendy Addison is just exceptional!

Unique Wedding Favors

From Kat’s Krafts - It was incredibly hard to narrow down just one wedding favor, but the custom made Elegant Origami Fortune Teller was my favorite! Like the “cootie catchers” from your grade school days, these favors are crafted from paper but now feature lovely calligraphy and wedding related questions!

This wedding favor is a stand out for several reasons:

You can purchase these or make them yourself
The fortuneteller encourages mingling between your guests
And can be customized to coordinate with the wedding décor!
DIY Instructions from Martha Stewart

Keepsake Wedding Guest Book

The best guest book may not be a book at all! Rather, be inspired by the tone and setting of your wedding and create a visual, lasting keepsake. Have guests inscribe their names onto:

Seashells
Polished rocks
Small glass Christmas ornaments
A Wishing Wall*
Fabric squares to be later made into a quilt
An object specific to the wedding locale such as a vintage set of skis, a life preserver, a gigantic Champagne bottle (known as a Nebuchadnezzar!), an LP record or an airplane propeller!

Reception Activity

Old Fashioned Photo Booth – Consider renting an old-fashioned photo booth for guests to use at the reception! The photos can be printed onto paper that’s customized with the bride and groom’s names or monogram and the wedding date and guests can create an “on the spot” scrapbook with one copy, while taking a second home with them.

Wedding Gift

From Documents and Designs – A framed seating chart! I love this idea that memorializes the name of every wedding guest in a beautiful calligraphic keepsake. Each framed chart can be customized with a monogram, decorative accents and wedding details! Here’s a lovely example: Antique Seashell Seating Chart

A Sparkling Sendoff

From Sparklersonline – Make even the last minutes of the evening memorable with a sparkler lit farewell for the bride and groom. Purchase 36” sparklers from the aptly named website, Sparkle, and attach a cute, decorative tag reading “Sparkler Sendoff at 10:30 p.m.” Follow the safety guidelines on the site and be prepared for amazing photos with the perfect finishing touch! (sparklersonline.com)

Are there wedding bells in your future? We’d love to hear your ideas for adding those special touches that turn an event into a personal, memorable and celebrated occasion!

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* It’s Serendipity When the Products We Love are From a Sponsor We Love!

Cocktails on the Patio!

Host Bee — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 23:37:13 +0000

Cocktails on the Patio! Celebrate the End of Summer with a Party for Your Adult Friends!

This is how my husband and I end each summer – with a cocktail party in our backyard over Labor Day weekend! After a summer dedicated to my role as family “cruise director,” this party is a wonderful opportunity to socialize with adults, many of whom we haven’t seen since school ended! Reclaim a bit of summer for yourself and consider hosting an end of summer soiree!

Choose a Party Theme

Before you get started on the specifics, choose a theme for your party! This is my first piece of advice when planning to host any get together! Once a theme has been chosen, everything else will fall into place, from your invitations to the table linens to the menu!

Given that I am currently planning my own party, I tossed up two themes for the event -

A Nautical Theme – Nautical calls for a red, navy and yellow color scheme, with lots of seafood!
A Sea Shell Theme – For a sea shell theme, consider white candles set in sand, simple blue and white linens and perhaps a Mediterranean menu!

With these two choices in mind, here are some specific suggestions to get you started!

Summer Party Invitations

Nautical Themed Invitations

Impress In Print – Two fun choices from impressinprint.com include:

a Life Preserver Die-Cut which features a die cut life preserver attached to a card with a piece of knotted rope (Life Preserver Invitations, 30 blank cards for $67.50)
Nautical Flags, a card with colorful flags flying down the left side of the invitation! Patterned envelopes accompany this invitation! (Nautical Flags Invitations, 30 blank cards for $37.98, pictured) Printing is available for an additional fee.

Invitation Box – From invitationbox.com, a cute sailboat card will convey your invitation! (20 cards for $76, including printing!)

Blue Whale Invitations – Blue Whale Invitations offers another attractive, die cut option, with a sailboat in classic, nautical colors and attached card with the party details! (bluewhaleinvitations.com, $2.45 each)

Sea Shell Themed Invitations

Invitation Consultants – Invitation Consultants offers an “Under the Sea” invitation comprised of three die cut shapes strung together with ribbon- a scallop shell, sand dollar and star fish! (25 for $127 at invitationconsultants.com, pictured right)

Minted – For a more sophisticated look, Minted* offers a clean, classic card featuring two starfish outlined in blue! – (Beyond the sea, 25 cards for $96, pictured right)

DIY – Finally, if you’re feeling crafty -

Print your invitation information on a 4” x 6” or 5”X 7” simple colored card
Punch a hole in one corner and then attach a sand dollar with a pretty ribbon! Sand dollars are perfect because they come with natural “holes!”
Hand deliver these delicate invites!
Another option is to write directly onto a large, white scallop shell, package the shell invitation into a small cellophane bag filled with sand and tie with a ribbon.
You can buy all types of shells online at usshells.com!

Summer Party Menu Suggestions

For a Nautical Party

Consider large glass bowls filled with shrimp cocktail. Upgrade this cocktail party staple with homemade cocktail sauces – one traditional and one that is Asian inspired! See Cocktail Sauce for Shrimp and Asian Shrimp Cocktail Sauce for recipes.
Order mini crab cakes with a dipping sauce from a local caterer!
Visit Blue Crab Bay Co. on-line for a fabulous selection of sea inspired mixes, dips, snacks and more! I love the Sea Salt Nuts and Crab House Crunch – both are little nibbles to set out in bowls. This site also sells mixes for Crab or Shrimp Cheese Balls and Crab, Clam and Shrimp dip mixes! (bluecrabbay.com)

For a Beach Inspired Party

Create a Crostini Display -

Grill or toast a variety of bread types – pita, Italian, Panini and more.
Fill a large basket with the breads and then surround the basket with smalls bowls filled with toppings like olive tapenade, roasted red peppers, small balls of fresh mozzarella drizzled with olive oil, a tiny bowl of sea salt, freshly grated parmesan cheese, Nicoise olives, hummus, grilled or steamed asparagus wrapped in proscuitto, and roasted eggplant. Add or subtract from this list as you’d like!

For Either Party

Choose one signature cocktail to serve along with an assortment of beers, wines, and soft drinks.
My favorite buffet entrée is a sliced beef tenderloin, served at room temperature with sliced French bread and a horseradish sauce. I make my own sauce by adding fresh horseradish to light mayonnaise until the sauce is sufficiently spicy!
For Dessert – plan on offering a variety of finger foods such as brownies, bars, fresh fruit on kabobs, and cookies! Or jump on the latest dessert trend and serve cupcakes to your adult guests!

Decorations

Make sure that your yard and driveway have sufficient lighting. Candles, tiki torches, and strings of white lights can all supplement your yard’s own lighting. Arrange to play music outdoors, too!

For a Beach Party

Fill lots of glass hurricanes with sands, shells and white candles.
Weigh down plates and napkins with heavy shells and serve food in white platters and bowls of different shapes and sizes for a crisp, summery look!
You could also sprinkle sand and shells directly onto your table top for a natural decoration!

For a Nautical Party

Colorful paper nautical flags are easily available at Shindigz.com*. (They’re sold in sets of 10 flags, with 20” of string for $6.99)
Use lots of candles, taking the colors from the invitation you chose! The hurricanes work well here too, preventing the wind from blowing out the candles!

I hope that these ideas inspire you to have some “adult” fun! Your guests will love having time together after the kid driven weeks of summer! Keep your fingers crossed for good weather and just in case, have an indoor back up plan! Save a cocktail for me!

* it’s serendipity when the products we love are from a sponsor we love!

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Cupcake Birthday Party Theme!

Host Bee — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:42:18 +0000

Host a Cupcake Themed Birthday Party!

Cupcakes are so adorable that they are the perfect treat to inspire a fun and delicious birthday party for girls of any age! Plan to carry the cupcake theme through the entire birthday celebration from the invitations, to the menu, to the favors!

Cupcake Invitations

Invitation Jane – This new site has a charming cupcake invitation with a pink and white polka dot border and a cute red cherry on the top of the cake! (pictured right, Cupcake Invitation)

DIY – Consider printing your party details on simple card stock cards, leaving an inch or two blank at the bottom. Cut cupcake papers in half and use as a trim for your cards! Instead of traditional envelopes, package your invitation in a cellophane bag and tie with a pretty ribbon. (hand delivery may be necessary!)

Fill in the Blanks

For a 1st birthday, Celebrate Express* offers a package of 8 festive cupcake invitations that you can easily complete by hand – pink for girls and blue for boys! (Cupcake 1st Birthday Invitations)
Coordinating Paper Goods are available for this invitation!

Cupcake Themed Paper Goods

Lil’ Cupcake From Celebrate Express

At Celebrate Express* you’ll find their Lil’ Cupcake Birthday theme will provide all of the paper party supplies you’ll need for a 1st or 2nd year old’s cupcake themed birthday party. Available in pink for girls and blue for boys. (Lil’ Cupcake 1st Birthday Paper Supplies, Lil’ Cupcake 2nd Birthday Party Pack)

Cupcake Themed Paper Goods from Plates & Napkins

I love these paper goods from Plates and Napkins tagged “Cupcake Carousel!” With a pink and white polka dot border circling a three tier tray laden with cupcakes, these are appropriate for a birthday or a “just because” party! (pictured right, Plates and Napkins, Cupcake Carousel)

Cupcake Themed Party Activities

Plan to spend a portion of the party time decorating cupcakes to be eaten later for dessert! Look for details for assembling your “cupcake bar” below!
Play the perfect party game – Pass the Present!

Cupcake Party Themed Menu

Of course, this party theme requires that cupcakes be served for every course!!

Dinner Cupcakes

Each of these main dish recipes is baked in cupcake pans and sure to be a hit with the guests!

Dessert Cupcakes

Decorate Your Own Cupcake Bar – using either home baked or store bought cupcakes (without icing), set up a make your own dessert bar! Using a disposable tablecloth, set out vanilla and chocolate icing, sprinkles, mini M & M’s, chocolate chips, crushed oreos, skittles and any other favorites candies and let the kids go to town! (Wilton Cupcake Decorating Set)
Bake a Supersized Cupcake Cake – using a Wilton cake mold, bake one giant cupcake that can actually be shared by all of the party goers! (Wilton Giant Cupcake Pan)

Cupcake Themed Party Favors

The choices for party favors are almost endless! With great restraint, here are a few ideas:

Aprons - pick up a chef’s apron perfectly sized for a little one! When I used these as a party favor for my daughter, I had the girls’ names embroidered on the front and trimmed the aprons with a matching ribbon! (Chef’s Apron, Little Girls’ Chef Party)
Lip Gloss – four cupcake shaped lip glosses arrive packaged in a “gift ready” box! (Cupcakes & Cartwheels Lip Gloss Set)
Soaps – cute little cupcake soaps have chocolate scented frosted tops for the bath or shower! (Cupcake Soaps)
Personalized Cookies – delicious and gorgeous cupcake shaped cookies feature your choice of wording and cellophane packaging! (Cupcake Cookies)
Tiny Towels – towels fashioned into vanilla or chocolate cupcakes are so sweet and practical, too! (Cupcake Towels)
Mints- send your guests home with a sweet reminder of the party with a personalized tin of mints! (Cupcake Mints)
Faux Cupcakes – it will be easy for kids to remember this party long after the last cupcake has been eaten with the soft, carefully detailed play versions from Oompa Toys! Wrap each one individually in a cellophane bag with a pretty ribbon. (pictured at top, Sweet Trio Muffins)
Cupcake Favor Box – Available from Celebrate express, Girl’s or Boy’s Lil’ Cupcake Favor Box

Well, if you’ve made it to the end of this article, you’ll have a deeper appreciation of my deep appreciation of cupcakes! I hope you share my passion and plan the most delicious cupcake birthday party ever!

And for a real treat, take a look at The Icing on the Cake, Cup Cake Birthday Party Theme Party II!

Additional Fun Cupcake Themed Items:

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Set Up a Children’s Buffet

Host Bee — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:50:02 +0000

Tip of the Week – Set Up a Children’s Buffet at Your Next Family Gathering!

Last weekend, my family hosted a big party for my father – adults and kids included! And one of the smarter things that I did when setting up for the celebration was to designate one table that was just for the kids!

I used a six-foot folding table and covered it with a tablecloth that coordinated with the adult tablecloths, but had its own fun look. Here are some of the items that made up my Children’s Buffet!

Hot Dog Roller – An old-fashioned hot dog roller with hot dogs!
Hot Dog Rolls - A basket of hot dog rolls
Condiment Tray - BBQ condiment and tray set
Movie Theatre Candy Boxes – Another basket filled with movie theatre candy boxes picked up from the Dollar Store
Drinks – A bucket cooler with small water bottles and juice boxes on ice
Paper Goods – Paper plates and plastic utensils (so that the kids didn’t use the adult’s china and flatware!)
Snacks – Small plastic bowls filled with gold fish and pretzels
Activities – Lastly, a larger basket stocked with sidewalk chalk, coloring books & crayons, bubbles and other fun toys that were also from the Dollar Store

The children’s buffet was a terrific addition to the party and allowed the kids to help themselves to dinner and snacks, as well as to find toys for playtime! This is definitely an idea that I will repeat at future gatherings!

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Crafting Clever Topiaries

Host Bee — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 19:49:12 +0000

Crafting Clever Topiary Centerpieces!

It’s so much fun to find clever craft ideas that look terrific and don’t require an advanced degree in crafting! Here are three fabulous ideas that all start with a basic topiary form that’s embellished with three different, attractive and readily available materials!

Basic Supplies

Topiary Forms – (Topiary Forms, $6.95 each)
Flower Pots or other containers to hold the base
Glue/Glue Gun

Parasol Topiary

This adorable decoration from Craft Stylish utilizes those colorful, paper parasols that usually garnish a cocktail! For two topiaries, you’ll need a box of 144 parasol picks – from your grocery store or online. (Cocktail Parasols, $4.79)

Easy Instructions

Open parasols only partially and insert into the Styrofoam ball until covered!
Wrap the stem with coordinating ribbon, secure in a container and disguise the base with your choice of filler like sand, moss or rice.

Shredded Paper Topiary

Even easier than the first example, this topiary idea from Rachael Ray, requires only glue and shredded paper! You can shred paper of any color in an office shredder or purchase shredded paper filler that’s usually used for gift baskets.

Easy Instructions

Drizzle glue over the Styrofoam ball and then roll in the shredded paper. Continue until all of the bare spots are covered.
Allow some extra time for drying and then secure in a container.
Use more shredded paper to cover the base.
Make as many of these as you’d like because they definitely look great in multiples!

Paper Globe Topiary

This version of a topiary decoration, from Hello My Name is Heather, is constructed of paper circles and doesn’t require a topiary form!

Easy Instructions

After selecting the colored/patterned papers of your choice, download Heather Bailey’s circular template listed in her sidebar under “Patterns” and follow the simple directions!
The resulting paper globe is mounted on a ribbon-trimmed dowel and anchored in a container filled with floral foam.
These globes are adorable and can be customized for any occasion or holiday!

These ideas are just perfect if you have a celebration ahead and happen to be feeling crafty! Each of these topiaries are easy to make, inexpensive and pack a wonderful visual punch!