Christy's Kate Spade Themed Bridal Shower!

My Seester is getting married!!

I had the honor of throwing her a bridal shower last weekend, and it was so much fun!
You know I love to party plan, and when it is for your best friend, who gives you a great theme idea, what could be better?!
She loves the Kate Spade stylizing, with black and white stripes, and gold polka dots, so we went with that for the decor, with a blush/peach color. It was so much fun to shop for everything!

We also decided to do a brunch theme, with breakfast burritos (because...yes!), cinnamon roll muffins, fruit salad, and quiche.

But, wait there's more! Because obviously, you need doughnuts!! And cookies, and a custom cake!
I got this adorable doughnut printable from this Etsy shop, by Amira.  And post-party, it currently resides in my kitchen :)

The amazing cake was made by the talented sisters of Twinfully Sweet! They are just the best! Follow them on Instagram, too! Also their episode of Cake Wars aired tonight, so, they're legit!

And my patient and talented friend helped me make the cake topper from gold scrapbook paper!
It turned out so well!

We had a mimosa and coffee bar for the drinks. In true Kate Spade slogan fashion, I found the perfect banner for the table from this Etsy shop, Life Is Rosier, that says Pop, Fizz, Clink in the perfect fonts!

Our other theme was...glitter! Again, because...always, yes!

Christy and I coated all the champagne bottles for the mimosas in pink and gold glitter! It was so much fun, and they turned out awesome. Even if I still am finding glitter specks in my house, ha! That stuff never really goes away entirely, does it?

I collected all sorts of different size and shape glassware to use as flower vases. Anthropologie clearance (woot!), JoAnn's and Hobby Lobby all had great stuff.

A very talented Bridesmaid and I made the printable art we framed on all the tables, inspired by Kate Spade quotes, and love.

As party favors I decided to dip Oreo cookies in white chocolate and dust with gold glitter sprinkles and edible shimmer dust!  Obsessed with that stuff!

All the flowers were from a local vendor in Irvine, and I cannot recommend her enough! She was so reasonably priced, so kind, and the flowers turned out gorgeous!
Galit with Flower Synergy

Shout outs to the other bridesmaids who helped me pick up, trim and arrange all the flowers and assemble the favors the night before!! :)

For the table runners, Hobby Lobby had the PERFECT fabric I was dreaming of! I was so stoked!
I didn't even hem them. No one cares. I just cut them in 1 1/2'  wide strips. Easy peasy!

These metallic acrylic bow drink stirrers were my absolute favorite!  From The Roc Shop
She makes so many other cute items, too!! Follow her on Instagram!

So, the tissue paper tassel garland. I have made these before. They turned out all right. There are lots of shops who sell them on Etsy. Save yourself the trouble, and, for a big party or home decor just buy one from one of the best shops! Don't try and save a buck. Don't cry when you can't DIY one quite as good as you hoped. Buy one. A good one.   From BlushBazaar. (or Studio Mucci if she opens her shop again).

Other Etsy Finds:

Cheers! napkins - Mod Party
Pop Fizz balloons - Brit & Co, or The Flair Exchange 
Gold Polka Dot Cheers Coasters
Invitations/Thank you cards - Kim @ Little Birdie Prints was amazing!

I am going to post several detailed tutorials in the upcoming weeks on how I made the glittered champagne bottles, Oreo cookie favors, banners, and more! They are all such easy and fun projects that made a big impact at the party!

This gorgeous cousin of ours graciously took all these amazing photos! Thanks Nikki!!

Congrats to the happy couple!

Throw an Oscars Viewing Party!

The Oscars

It is so much fun to get together with friends to watch the Oscars! You can print out the voting ballots with all the nominees and categories ahead of time, and everyone can make their guesses on who will win.
Themed food and drinks are always festive, so anything centered around stars, red, black and gold (and champagne!) feels appropriate for the Hollywood celebration.

Here are some of my favorite ideas to use for a red-carpet worthy Oscars Viewing Party!

Decor

An easy way to decorate is to cut out stars from gold scrapbook paper and scatter them across the floor. You can tape them down to non-carpet flooring, and use them to guide people as a path from the entry into the living room.

You can also cut out more stars, tape them on string or fishing line in a row, and hang the stands vertically from the ceiling, or against a wall as a backdrop.

Party City always has a good selection of Academy Award decor - anything black, white, gold, and red will be great! 

Make a Welcome sign, or a sign for the cocktail, food, or game table with a marquee-looking font, or using a clapboard. 

How cute is this cake stand made with a Roll of Tickets?! I love that! You can find a roll of Red or White tickets at Party City, or I think Staples, too

Um, also, can we talk about this insane chandelier?! The coolest!

Food picks are such an easy way to decorate! Cut out mini gold stars, tape to toothpicks, and stick them in your snacks!

Games

Here is the official Oscars Nominee List you can use to cast your votes:  http://bit.ly/1PtrdaX
Print a bunch out for all your guests!

(It initially confused me saying 2015, but that makes sense because the 2016 award show is based on movies from the past year, ha ha)

Bingo is also another fun way to keep entertained throughout the show.
Punchbowl made a great selection of Bingo cards, many different ones, for your guests to use. So fun! Print these out, too!    https://www.punchbowl.com/system/uploads/OscarsBingo2016.pdf


You can have prizes for the winners, or have everyone pitch in $1 or $5 for a cash prize.
Be sure to provide plenty of pens!


Food

Again anything star-shaped, movie popcorn-related, or black/gold/red works great!

Movie Popcorn

Popcorn Bar

Don't forget a few real dinner, or substantial appetizer items. You could do pigs in a blanket, hot dogs, a nachos bar, chili...anything!

Popcorn!
You can set up a popcorn bar with savory and sweet mix in options for guests to create their own!
Here is a great list of mix in options to provide!

Mini peanut butter cups, pretzels,...and gold leaf?! Amazing.

These Red Velvet Cupcakes with Champagne Frosting are a perfect dessert!

Cinnamon Sugar Stars with Chocolate Dipping Sauce

This champagne ice cream dessert sounds amazing!

The Oscars air next Sunday, February 28th at 7pm eastern time, 4pm pacific time on ABC.
Don't forget all the red carpet pre-show stuff on E! 

And the winner is...!

Valentine's Day Conversation Heart Cakes

Looking for something to make for your man, your best girl friends, or your kiddos this weekend for Valentine's Day? How about a fun twist on the classic conversation heart candy!?

Now, you know me. Normally I am all natural, homemade, no artificial ingredients... you guys, screw it for these. Haha. I bought pre-made cake, store bought canned frosting, food coloring, and red gel food coloring. Yikes. But they are so cute, and I wanted to make them quickly!
You can absolutely make a homemade pound cake, or any dense cake to use! Whip up your own frosting. And buy natural food coloring, or make some from: turmeric, berries or beets, blackberries or red cabbage, and spinach! Someday I will do a blog post on those! But until then, go pick up a tube of that red gel food coloring and let's make these!

You can write whatever you want on these, too! I Googled images of conversation hearts to get ideas of the classic ones, and then I added a few tongue in cheek trendy/funny ones, too!

Recipe:
Makes 4

Ingredients:
Frozen loaf of pound cake - thawed on the counter for 30min. (don't thaw in the microwave for this, 
          you still want it pretty cold - only thawed enough to slice)
2 16oz cans of creamy vanilla frosting, or 4 cups of your own! (This is way more frosting than you need, but you need the depth to fill the bowls, so you can properly dip the cakes. You could also buy less, and pour the frosting over the cakes, instead of dipping!)
Food coloring - red, yellow, green, and blue
Red gel food coloring, or any red frosting in a bag with a small tip
Heart shaped cookie cutter, stencil, or just use a sharp knife and wing it!
A bowl and a spoon for each of the 4 colors of frosting - bowls a little wider than your heart cookie              cutter!
*Tip, clear room in your freezer or fridge for a cookie sheet :)  

Directions:
Cut the partially thawed cake in half the long way, so you have a top half and a bottom half. 
Then, cut each of those in half again the short way, so you have four pieces.
Cut a heart shape out of each.
Discard the excess...actually, save it and dip into the leftover frosting like fondue! Woot!

Put 1/4 of the frosting each into 4 bowls, and microwave in 15 second increments until soft and thin enough to dip the cake into. Add food coloring to desired shade, and stir well. I found I used about 4 drops of each color to get a pastel shade. More for purple, and less for pink.

Using two forks, gently submerge one cake into each color frosting, working quickly so the cake doesn't fall apart, and trying to get an even coat all around. 
This is why you want the cake to still be very cold and firm.
Place on a silpat or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Repeat with the remaining cakes.
Place tray with the frosted caked in the freezer, or fridge, to help the icing firm back up.
When the frosting is pretty set to a light touch, pull them out, and it's time to decorate them with little sayings! You can use a toothpick to help perfect the letters.
I put them back in the freezer for awhile when I was done, too, to help set everything.
Once set, these are then fine to store at room temperature.

Happy Valentine's Day Weekend!!