Fast Service!

If you need paper F~A~S~T,
I have found the perfect place.
It's PaperandMore.
I ordered some sample kits and sample papers on a Thursday and by Saturday they were in my mailbox!
And the paper and envelopes that I got....gorgeous!
Some of their paper options are Pearlescent, Metallic, Recycled, and Vellum.
You can get sheets of paper or several different invitation cards.
Lots of options for colors too!
Anyway, they have my vote for Spectacular service today. :)

Skelton Garland

Not what you were expecting?? :)
I saw this garland...and yes ( I still love garlands) at Save On Crafts site.
I've purchased these sort of leaves before and it has never crossed my mind to use them to make a garland.
What have I been thinking?
So I had to save this idea....it's one I might just use.

Simple instructions ~
Use a glue gun to attach the stem to heavy weight thread or filament.
OR,
take a thread with a sharp needle and thread it through the stem.
Then tie a knot (so it stays in place).
Move on to the next one.

DIY Garland

I found this DIY garland on Creature Comforts using felts and fabrics.
This could be made to match ANY party you are hosting. :)
For an excellent tutorial head over here and start crafting.

Birthday Chair

I'm kinda liking the idea of giving the birthday guest a special chair.
The Queen of the Party!

This picture is from Hello!Lucky

This one from the4bobos.blog is a nice.


Check this one or three out...
from The Theme Factory of Philadelphia's photostream on flickr



Or you could just buy this here! ;)
Ok, I'll say it......I don't like this chair!

Here's an article on How To start a Birthday Chair Tradition just in case you don't like the inflatable chair either. :)

Hannah's 5th Birthday...Strawberry Shortcake

The Strawberry Shortcake Party was held this weekend and it turned out great.
Lots of sweets, games, presents and fun!
Here are a few pictures from the day.

The tablescape ~


Placesetting ~A close up of the napkins.
Hannah helped me with them.
She cut out the rectangle SS and wrapped the silverware.
(I had to tape the paper to the tablecloth because of the wind)
A Strawberry Shortcake tattoo ~
The sweets table~ mmm
Cake made by Hannah's mom.
Hannah was pretty specific that she wanted Strawberry cake with SS's face on it. ~Strawberry Marshmallows dipped in chocolate and topped with a strawberry whopper~
Coconut Strawberries, my favorite ~
(Notice the cup/cakestand is taped to the table....it was that windy!)
A close up....just because they are my favorite :) ~

Strawberry lollipops made by my daughter ~

Chocolate dipped fresh Strawberries, Hannah's favorite ~


Strawberry squares ~
Dipped pretzels ~
The birthday banner that the wind had a great time with. ~
The finished pinata ready for the fun.
The kids really enjoyed this and I would show pictures of them hitting it, but I do not have permission from the parents to show their pictures online.
Sorry.


Hannah painting her Strawberry Suncatcher ~Sierra frosting her Strawberry cookie.
I had to show this picture...it's just adorable and she's my niece so it's ok. :) ~
More frosting ~
Other things we did were ~
Stick the gem on SS's crown
and a
Strawberry hunt.

We decorated with streamers and balloons but the wind was just bad so the streamers flew off quickly.
Very disappointing.
But the kids did not care....they were there to have fun and celebrate!

Ready for School?

Your little student might just love these pretzel crayons in their lunch or maybe as an after school snack.
Aren't they just the cutest? :)
They come from Gourmet Mom On The Go and wow....she has alot of fantastic kids food ideas.

Pinata

The pinata got finished and it was a great hit at the party!
No pun intended. :)
Today I'm showing the pictures of the pinata finalized.
Party pictures will come later.

Paper WoW

Check out this very clever way to hang paper lanterns.
Photo from Project Wedding.

Don't eat those veggies!

Make centerpieces out of them, of course. :)
I love the fresh clean look of these from Project Wedding.
They include a great tutorial for making all of these beauties too.
Mmmm....Hungry? There's always chocolate to eat. :)

Pinata is getting some texture!

I've added some crepe paper that I cut into strips with lots of cuts.
I'm just waiting now for it to dry completely (thanks Kara for the hint) :)
It won't be long now.

Sorry for the bad picture.
But I don't have time to try and get a better one right now. :)

Pinata is turning Red!

Here's an update on the pinata.
It has it's first layer of Red.
I used crepe paper.
Hopefully it dries quickly so I can add more.
I'm a bit worried that when I pop the balloon inside that the whole thing will collapse.
Better read the directions again...maybe there is a secret.

Sunny 50th Birthday

Papery & Cakery
did this amazing 50th Birthday Party that I can't help but share.
Check out all the yellow and black....
the yummy foods....
decor....
and favors.
What a great way to celebrate 50!

Pinata in progress

This IS going to be a pinata.....a Strawberry even! :)
I have about 5 layers of newspaper and glue on it at this point.
I think it's coming along pretty nicely, for a pinata.
Can't you just see it becoming a strawberry??
I'll post pictures of it all done when it's all done. :)

Tired of Candy Buffets?

Well NOT me,

but just in case you are,

there are some yummy and clever alternatives that are sure to please your guests.

Popcorn Bar – This is quickly becoming a popular alternative and rightly so. Popcorn is cheap and irresistible. Display flavored popcorn in cute containers as you would a candy buffet. Include bags, scoops, and napkins. Or serve plain popcorn and offer gourmet toppings – both sweet and savory – so that guests may customize to their liking.

Cookie Buffet – Tempt your guests with yummy homemade cookies. Offer a selection of your favorite cookies or go with a theme, like different variations of chocolate chip cookies. To keep it interesting offer 5 – 8 different types (or variations) of cookie.

Snack Bar – Who said favors need to be sweet? Serve up bowls full of salty, savory snacky foods. Homemade potato chips, pretzels, mixed nuts, Chex-type mixes.

Baked Goods Bar – Brownies, cookies, pastries.

Build-An-Apple Station – One of personal favorites, but one that takes a huge amount of work and coordination, is the candy apple bar. Guests are allowed to customize apples with melted chocolate, caramel, and assorted toppings.

Rice Crispy Treats – Offer an assortment of crispy cereal treats.

Ice Cream or Sundae Bar – Again, this takes a huge amount of work – and is probably best not done as DIY – but I had to throw it in there.

S’mores Bar – Another high maintenance station idea but oh-so-cool.

Info from DIY Bride

Cute Cups

What do you think of these?
Check out this etsy seller to see all she has for sale and at a very fair price!
Oh cupcakes, I hear you calling out to me!

And these would have been perfect for my Strawberry Shortcake party this weekend....

as would these.

Back to business....again. :)

So I was off on "vacation" again for a week.
I say vacation very loosely as both my daughter and I were volunteering our time to cook for 150 of 35,000 campers at and International Camporee in Oshkosh WI (about 11 hours away from me).
And when we were not cooking we helped my sister in her two stores (Christian Bookstore and Health food store) unless we snuck a break without telling anyone! :)
We had a great time.
But I missed this blog and your blogs too!
I aim to step it up a bit.
I do have the time as I just quit my Dental job I had for 7 1/2 years.
I am trusting a new job will come.
Until then........it's party time. :)
Strawberry Shortcake style!

Vote for a Fabulous Party Planner

Head over to

to get the scoop on how you can vote for her to be featured on Hostess with the Mostess.
I think Kara is so talented and she has a great opportunity here so I am thrilled to pass this information on to you.
Maybe you will like her creativity just as well. :)

Adorable Garland

As I've said before....
I love hanging stuff from the ceiling and garland is one of those things that qualify for that.
This one...from purl bee is just wonderful.

HWTM Party

Oh I just love this party stuff! Wow. So cute.

DIY Wedding

This wedding is from Martha Stewart...but I found it on Ritzy bee blog. I love all the details that are simple, homemade and unique.

Isn't this so cool? A quilted backdrop.

Paper Honeycomb Decorations.

Honeycomb decorations seem to me a bit old fashioned.
I rarely ever use them, although I know people do and they are probably just fine.
They just haven't interested me for some time,
UNTIL
I read this little article by Martha.
Look how cool she makes these things look!!
I just want to run out and buy some of these honeycomb decorations now!

Check out her article and tutorial here.

DIY Tiered Cake Stand

Check this out!
You can make your very own tiered cake stand with very little work. I'm in! :)
For a great tutorial head on over to Cake Journal Blog.
You really could adapt this to any theme you need to.
I like that idea for sure.

I will warn you though....
If you do visit Cake Journal, you might be busy for awhile
because there is SO much to look at there.
Alot of really neat information and ideas.
Yep....
like making these: