DIY Christmas Gifts

With Christmas only a few weeks away, you might be wondering how you can thank the many special people in your life without blowing your budget...  Personally, I love baking for my daughters' teachers and coaches. I mean, who doesn't like Christmas cookies?  So, I came up with this unique way to present my cookies. If you wanted, you could add a gift card to a favorite coffee shop or book store...

I found most of my supplies for this project at orientaltrading.com

These cute, wooden trays can be left plain or painted any way you'd like. I'm a lover of everything chalkboard, so the choice was easy for me. 

First I spray painted my trays gold, and once that dried, I painted them with 2 coats of chalkboard paint.

While the paint was drying, I started my baking. I've made cookies similar to these in the past using a gingerbread boy cutter turned upside down. That works fine, but I spotted this letter A cutter and knew it would be even better. I hand cut the antlers out of rolled fondant, but you can get creative if you're short on time...food writers would work great if you wanted to draw on some antlers, broken pretzels would work, licorice strings...you get the idea! 

So here's the cuties all wrapped up and ready to be gifted. As far as DIY gifts go, this one is both easy and reasonable. You can even customize it by writing the teacher's name on it. 

Have fun baking and crafting, and Merry Christmas!!!❤️

*The trays, chalkboard paint, mason jars, red chocolate candies, red striped straws, gift bags, twine, and candy jar (that I turned into a snow globe of sorts) can all be found at Oriental Trading.

I received items from Oriental Trading. The review is based strictly on my opinion. Others may have a different opinion or experience with the products listed above. I was provided the samples free of charge by the company or PR agency and I provided my honest opinion. No other type of compensation was received for this review.

xo

Fall Ball- 12th Birthday Party

My daughter, Kati was born on October 31st, and loves a good Halloween themed party. This year she turned twelve, and wanted to do something somewhat different with the theme; glam it up a little.  We decided on having a Birthday Ball with rustic Fall elements, while keeping in mind the classic elegance of a royal ball. We decided on a neutral palette: peach, white, light cranberry, with some silver and gold accents thrown in.

Knowing how important the invitations are for giving guests the first glimpse of the party theme, I went right to Love Greyson Events. https://m.facebook.com/pages/Love-Greyson-Events/159595124051005

Valerie brought my vision to life with beautiful water colored, floral invitations. 

I carried the water color element into the sweet table backdrop, which was a light washed floral painting with the words, “This Ball Doesn’t End at 12”. The beautiful script letters were made by Sweetly Chic Events. http://sweetlychicevents.com/

Everyone’s favorite element of the party was the sweet table. My husband, Matt made caramel apples which were a huge hit! I added beautiful, edible leaves by Sugar Robot 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SugarRobot

which made them even more irresistible. Our talented friend, Trudy made flawless meringue mushrooms that tasted as good as they looked. I made chocolate cake balls shaped like little, white ,Cinderella pumpkins, and sat them in a bed of ground graham crackers. These were so easy to make, and were served in tiny, plastic martini glasses which was so fun for the girls.

The birthday girl invited everyone to dress up for this party. She greeted her guests wearing a beautiful silver tutu adorned with rhinestones, hand made by my favorite tutu designers at Atutudes.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/atutudes

The tablescape was set with fine china, ornate silver candleabras, holding glass pumpkins, and an autumn table runner comprised of Styrofoam leaves, pumpkins, and gourds. I sprayed this with a gold glitter spray paint. it didn’t change the colors, but added a hint of shine which I loved! I placed a cute, collapsible paper pumpkin place card on each place setting, It looked adorable, but they did need to be taped down because of the wind gusts we were experiencing during set up. Except for the wind, we had a beautiful day; the sun was glistening through the pine trees, and made for some beautiful photos.

The party was set up at a quaint, local farm. The rustic, stone farmhouse, and surrounding acres of woods lent itself perfectly as the backdrop. I thought it would be fun to add some natural elements to the décor, so I used gold spray paint to give pinecones a more glam look, bought some moss covered mushrooms from the craft store, and used pretty, fabric fall leaves ordered from Oriental Trading. http://m.orientaltrading.com/

I scattered them around the grounds, and display tables; it added a nice contrast from the fine china and elegant, peach sequined table linens by Candy Crush Shop. 

http://www.candycrushshop.com/

This tablecloth was so ridiculously beautiful in person...

As the guests arrived they made floral crowns with supplies I bought at the craft store, and the dollar store. I’m all about saving money, but the crowns turned out so nice that they didn't show it at all. The girls wore them throughout the party, so I knew that was a craft win! 

   (I had to snap a photo of this cutie with my iPhone).

 I also set up a table of edible jewels: gumball necklaces, candy bracelets and ring pops which the girls took home as favors. Thanks for stopping by! xo

All photos by Expressions by Nicole Marie

http://expressionsbynicolemarie.com/

I received items from Oriental Trading.

 This review is based strictly on my opinion. Others may have a different opinion or experience with the products listed above. I was provided the samples free of charge by the company or PR agency and I provided my honest opinion. No other type of compensation was received for this review.

✨Kati's Fall Birthday Ball was featured in one of my favorite magazines, Bird's Party!!! You can view the ezine by following this link:

http://www.birdspartymagazine.com/m.index0.html

While you're there, keep an eye out for my Monster High Cupcake toppers...

Photo credit: Sara G. Photography 

https://instagram.com/saragphotobucks/

My First Cookie Decorating Workshop!

 I recently taught my very first cookie decorating workshop, and lOvEd it!!!
Maybe it was the adorable group of ladies, or my awesome hostess, Jess, but we all had a blast!!

The class was held at The Craftery; local friends- crafty or not, if you like fun times...or even if you're super boring and need something to get you off the sofa at night, The Craftery is it!!!

 

My cookie-loving students learned 3 different techniques to decorate their one dozen heart-shaped cookies...

 

We used royal icing with sanding sugars (quick and easy peasy).

Some were made to look like chalkboards:

 

Others were stamped with sweet sentiments, then filled in with food coloring... this is by far my favorite look for customizing cookies!

 

               ...and just like that, a plain 'ol cookie is turned into a gift:

Keep your eyes peeled for more Frog prince cake &; cookie design workshops coming up this summer...follow me on Instagram at frprince for updates and my latest creations. xo

                (that's Jess's adorable daughter).

Jess is the owner of The Craftery...

Established in Fall of 2014, The Craftery is the first of it's kind in Bucks County, blending the party-like atmosphere of a Girl's Night with creative crafts and DIY projects that will impress even the toughest critics! The Craftery also offers workshops for creatives that will take basic crafting skills to the next level.  So whether you're looking to perfect your craft or rock a night out with your gal pals, The Craftery is the place to be!  

Jessica Jackson started her love affair of design and crafting when she bought her first house. Luckily, she had a best friend, Monica, who was just as into home decor as she was. On a whim, they started the blog, East Coast Creative which rapidly grew into a successful site with thousands of readers. That blog is still going strong under the direction of Monica- you should totally check it out! It has tons of amazing, attainable DIY ideas for your home.

Earth Day Cookies on ediTORIal~

Hi! Just stopping by to share this article on fun ways to celebrate Earth Day with your kids. It's written by my friend, Jenny from Craft That Party,  I made these Earth cookies for her son's Wall-E birthday party...

 

It's exciting enough having my cookies featured on Tori Spelling's blog, but I kinda almost fainted when I saw that sweet, Tori shared a photo of my Earth cookies on facebook!! Read the article HERE.

Thanks, Tori Spelling!!

Earth Day is in 6 days and counting...

xo

Amanda's Sweet 16 {FEATURED}

Happy day!! I'm excited to tell you all that the Spring/Summer 2014 issue of Bird's Party Magazine is out! Featuring my daughter, Amanda's Sweet 16 party (pgs. 20-24).
This issue is full of eye candy, lots of ideas for your next party & some fun tutorials too... you're going to love it!!

You can view the digital copy for free HERE.
or buy your own paper copy HERE.

Here's a little peek at what you'll see in the magazine:

(Photos by Expressions by Nicole Marie)

Happy Spring!!! xo


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Halloween Treats (no tricks) ~

Happy Halloween!! One of my favorite things about what I do is meeting and working with amazing,  creative people. It's so much fun to plan out the details of a party or photo shoot and then see the stylist's vision come to life.  Here are two recent parties I've collaborated on.  Check out the cookies in this Young Frankenstein party and the fondant toppers I made for an Addams Family shoot.  I hope you love them as much as I do...

This Frankenstein party by Three Little Monkeys Studio is so beautiful it's hard to believe it's based on a monster movie!  Take a look, Gretchen actually built a mini lab...talk about attention to detail!!

 

And what lab is complete without gross body parts in jars, right!?!

 

 

Here are the cookies that I made for the party.  My favorite are the severed Frankenstein arms (never thought I'd use those words in a sentence)!!  

 

 

 Gretchen's party had so many amazing elements that she had to write several posts to cover it all!  Start reading along HERE, you'll be SHOCKED at the electrifying details...

Next is a spookingly charming engagement party styled by Dorangela of  Two Prince Bakery Theater.  The food and décor are inspired by the old TV show, The Addams Family.

These beautiful invitations were designed by Loralee Lewis.

There are so many clever, subtle ways that she incorporated the show's characters, including the "Thing" cupcake toppers that I made...

 

 

And those drinks...I just love the way she styled my fondant cigars!!! (Yes, they're actually Smoking!!)
 You can check out the rest of the party HERE.


xo Linda

40th Beer-thday Party~

 My husband turned 40 a little over a month ago...Happy Birthday, Matt!! (better late than never, right?!) 40 is a pretty big milestone, I'd know because I made the leap last year!!

 I thought I'd help him ease into his new decade with a little celebration. With Matt, there was no other theme more appropriate than a "beer~thday party".   I transformed our dining room into a bar and it was so easy, fun and inexpensive.
 

I covered the counter tops and tables with brown craft paper from the dollar store, which I use for almost every party because of it's versatility.
I found the beer-paddle with mini beer glasses at Target for $3.  I've seen it used in beer tasting parties but thought it would be a cute way to display my plethora of mustards~ yum!!

Beer cheese~ another YUM!!  It's made with beer and Wispride cheese. The recipe is an ancient Chinese secret so I can't share, but google it...SO good!!

Caprese salad and hot wings...

Jack Daniel's pulled pork, right from the supermarket...heat and eat!

Strangely enough, Matt doesn't like cake (I know, how could I marry him?!!) so we settled for chocolate dipped marshmallows, beer cap shaped sugar cookies, and ice cream.

Meet our (kids' drinks only!) bartender, Kati.  She should have put out a tip jar because she can mix a mean Shirley Temple!!

We put out paper stripey straws for the adults and Red Vine licorice straws for the kids but in all honesty, not one adult went for the paper straws, they all wanted licorice!! (sangria + licorice = soo good!!)

Little beer bottle shaped ice cubes made from trays I found in the dollar bins at Target.  Looks like everyone had fun. 

                The best is yet to come, CHEERS!!! xo

Ps. I uploaded these photos from my phone.  It's my first time doing this and I definitely notice a difference in quality, hope you like them anyway!! :))

Knock it Off ~ TV Premiere Party

Hey, guys!  So do you remember the kitchen/dining room makeover that I told you we had done? It was televised and SO much fun... I can't think of anything I didn't love about the experience.  One of the best parts, besides my awesome new work space, was meeting local bloggers and TV hosts, Monica and Jess.  Their blog, East Coast Creative is the inspiration for their new TV show, Knock it Off!  On the show they take what seems like a hopeless cause-of-a-room (ie; my kitchen) and transform it using their amazing and affordable DIY techniques. 

 

While filming my episode we were casually discussing the show's premiere party when I realized that they were planning the entire event themselves...between juggling a TV show, a blog and their families?!! That's when I stepped in...

               Welcome to The Knock it Off Premiere Party!

 Up until this point I had only styled small, family parties.  This party had over 200 guests!!!  It was a collaborative effort by so many amazing businesses. Check it out...

Monica and Jess greeted their guests at the door.  It was a great way to make sure they could meet everyone who came to their party without missing anyone.  These amazing, huge tassel balloons by Tara from One Stylish Party adorned the entrance.  The tassels reflect the color scheme that ran throughout the party... orange, turquoise, and lime green are the colors from the show's logo.  I threw in the tan/craft paper to represent the DIY aspect of the show.

See the red carpet and backdrop in the background?  Guests felt like VIP's as they posed for photos...
Lauren, the amazing talent behind ten23Designs created the vinyl logos for this step and repeat backdrop. So glam...

       even Monica and Jess got in on the action!! (How cute is Jess's baby bump!!)

 

And what's a premiere without a marquee sign?  (I made this sign for less than $30!!)

Here's a great tutorial.

 

 

 Don't you love this pinwheel banner by Jaclyn of Peckled?  You can make a big statement with a banner, and pinwheels like these are really popular party decorations right now.

 We had a huge space to decorate so I used pinwheels several different ways.  These sparkly, logo pinwheels made by Valerie of Greyson Design were hanging from the ceiling.  They added such a fun pop of color.

 

            How SWEET is this custom chalkboard sign?!! Nikki from Nikki, In Stitches is the most creative person I've ever met! (she's even been on Craft Wars on TLC!!) She made all of the chalkboard signs for the party: food, drinks, and sweets.

 

We went through LOTS of cupcakes! I made vanilla, chocolate, and oreo mini cupcake bites, sugar cookies, and chocolate-dipped marshmallows.  The signs were so much fun to make and practically free to do.  I just hand stamped paint stirrers from the paint store...

 

 

I made the table runner using a roll of dollar store craft paper and this beautiful, ruffle garland made by Jenny from Craft That Party.  Jenny also made these precious peg dolls of Monica and Jess...

 

 

Here's a cool side by side:

 

 

After the guests had a chance to mingle and eat it was time to watch the premiere!!  Everyone grabbed some kettle corn and settled in for the show...which is amazing by the way!! 

 

 

I found these cute, scalloped popcorn containers at Oriental trading.

 Another inexpensive...well...free way to decorate is to cut up paint samples in coordinating colors and string them on twine to use as bunting. 

The popcorn "table" is actually a door that I painted to mimic the one in the show's logo...

 

  

 These lollies and mini tool key chains (that actually work!) were take home favors for the guests.  To make the centerpieces, I filled these little, clear paint buckets from Oriental Trading with floral foam, crepe paper, and glow lights, so they would glow in the dark.  Then I popped in delicious, custom lollipops with the show's logo on them.  They were made by Cheryl of Vintage Confections.  She creates edible works of art and has been featured in Brides Magazine as well as Martha Stewart Living.  I used double stick tape to add these adorable, glittery logo flowers by Valerie of Greyson Design to tie it all together.

                 Knock it off!!!  These are so cute!!!

                         Hope you liked it!!  We did!! xo

 

 

 Helpers~ I chose these shops because each is professional, has the highest standards in the quality of their work and an amazing eye for detail.

Find their shops here:

Photographer ~ Nicole of Expressions by Nicole Marie
                                                  Me and Nicole :)

Peckled~ pinwheel decorations and sign
Nikki, In Stitches~ chalkboard signs
Greyson Design~ logo pinwheels, centerpiece logo flowers, mini bunting, water bottle labels
Vintage Confections~ custom logo lollipops
Craft That Party~ custom peg dolls, crepe paper ruffles
One Stylish Party~ huge tassel balloons
ten23Designs~ custom vinyl logos
Oriental Trading~ red carpet, glow sticks, scalloped popcorn containers, small paint cans, mini tool key rings, turquoise napkins

Oriental Trading provided products for this event.  All opinions are my own.
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