photo booth valentines

This year my kids decided to make photo booth-inspired valentines to hand out to their friends at school. I hung some pink wrapping paper as a backdrop and took pictures of them holding signs I printed out. I created a template in illustrator with a black border around the pictures and printed them out on glossy photo paper. Easy!

They didn't think it counted as a valentine without a treat or candy, so we included some pixie sticks and red and pink pencils. We stuck them on the back with a little piece of double-stick tape and wrapped a piece of bakers twine around to secure them. Rees and James are excited to hand these out at school. Although, truth be told, they would also be thrilled if I would let them pick out the store-bought valentines at Target.

a movie party

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a nice holiday break and are getting back into the swing of things (I'm still trying!).

My daughter, Amelia, turned 6 just before Christmas and, considering the busyness of the season, I needed a relatively simple and painless party idea. A movie-themed party was the ticket! (pardon the pun)...

The first step was the invitation which I ordered from Shutterfly. In my opinion, it turned out darling (full disclosure: I designed it for Shutterfly). A popcorn motif quickly followed.

For the "popcorn" cake, I made my favorite classic yellow cake and baked it in a jelly roll pan. Once the cake was completely cool, I wrapped it well in Saran Wrap and placed in the freezer so it would be easier to cut into the shape of a popcorn box.

The night before the party, I removed the cake from the freezer and, using a sharp knife, carefully cut the edges of the cake to resemble a popcorn box. I then made my favorite cream cheese frosting and decorated the cake to resemble the party invitation. For the "popcorn," I made my mom's delicious candy corn and artfully arranged it on the top of the cake. Quite easy and Amelia was thrilled with the results!

The party favors couldn't have been easier. I ordered them here and then made cute labels to affix to the front of each bag.

I felt a wee bit guilty that the party was so easy. However, considering the season, this was the perfect low-stress party and everyone seemed to have a fabulous time. And that is, after all, the most important thing!

animal jewelry organizers

My husband, Charles, has been busy. Our two oldest daughters have always wanted to participate in my annual 'Girl Next Door' craft show but we have never been able to quite come up with the perfect project. This year, Charles was inspired to get the girls involved and create jewelry organizers using wood and animal figurines.

The girls have had a blast choosing which animals to feature on which piece of colored wood (an Australian-themed organizer anyone?). Didn't they turn out cute? Charlotte and Amelia are counting down the days until they can sell their wares at the craft show (the proceeds of which will be their Christmas gift fund). The price per piece will be around $15.

Additionally, Charles let the girls design necklaces to sell, using some of his hand-rolled glass beads. These will be priced at under $10 each.

The show is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, November 29th from 7-9 p.m. If you are in the Las Vegas area, stop by and say "hello." I would love to meet you. For more information and for directions, click here.

will's 2nd birthday

October was a busy month for my family so I wasn't quite sure how I was going to squeeze in a birthday party for my almost 2-year old. I decided to use Cortney Novagratz's no-nonsense philosophy and just bake a cake and open some presents (she has 7 kids!). Will is currently obsessed with Yo Gabba Gabba so that was the theme for his "party." He recently spotted some Brobee vans at Nordstrom and was thrilled when his grandma bought them for him.

I made a banana cake and adorned it with paper cut-outs of the Gabba characters. It was perfect for Will!

The thank you notes were inspired by the Yo Gabba Gabba logo. I don't think Will appreciated these, but I'm glad they helped tie the theme together. All in all, Will had a great birthday and he didn't even realize he missed out on a real party!

our latest holiday cards

We have spent the last few months designing and refining our holiday card collection for Shutterfly and we are thrilled with the results! We just wanted to share a few of our favorites with you. You can check out our entire collection here.

Witches' Tea Party 2011

The highlight of my October is definitely my friend, Kelli's, annual Witches' Tea Party. The work and preparation that goes into the event is unbelievable. The food alone, is worthy of a sonnet.

Kelli (far right), along with her "witch assitants," Jen, Megan and Susan, put on the most beautiful party this year.

For appetizers, we feasted on skewered caprese salad, nibbled on homemade parmesan crackers and sipped hot apple cider.

The tables were lined in black tablecloths with burlap runners and artfully placed branches, and candles.

We ate outside, under lighted tents and thankfully, the Las Vegas weather cooperated for the evening – it was a perfect night.

Each witch posed for a photo taken by the lovely Brooke Weidauer who also took all the photos above. Thank you, Kelli. You have totally outdone yourself yet again and deserve a spa vacation!

fall color palette

I recently spotted this arrangement at the grocery store and was immediately drawn to the color palette. Normally I don't pay much attention to the supermarket mixed bouquets, but I loved the sophisticated colors in this one. The interesting mix of hot pinks, burnt oranges, and pale pinks are an inspiration for decorating for the fall holidays. Pink is my favorite color and I love using it as often as I can!

 

scaredy cat brownies

Last week when my Everyday Food magazine arrived, my son saw these scaredy cat brownies and wanted me to make them immediately. I tried to get him to wait until it was closer to Halloween or at least until it felt more like Fall around here (it's still 95 degrees in Texas!). I eventually gave in and we made them the next day after getting some "candy eyes" and peppermint patties. I made my favorite brownie recipe (on the back of the Baker's chocolate box) and pressed the candy faces and chocolate chip ears on top once the brownies had cooled a bit. They were super easy and my son loved them. He called them our "bat brownies" (they do look more like bats than cats!). I'm sure we'll be making these again before Halloween is here.

more freezer meal recipes

Freezer meals save my life. I've discussed my group previously here. Oh, I may complain a bit in the 1-2 days it takes me to shop and prepare my assigned meals but for the next 6-8 weeks, I am so happy to have a stocked freezer that the initial prep work is more than worth it.

Many of you have asked for more tried-and-true recipes. My favorites have become ones that are basically meat marinades. Just click on the image below. Enjoy!

Bea's Toy Story Birthday

In my life-before-children (LBC), I could not understand how anyone with any taste could bring themselves to throw a character-themed party. I always said that once we had children, I would only throw tasteful parties. I envisioned planning such parties just as I planned a photo shoot. First, beginning with a lovely color palette and everything else tasteful would follow. Call me a design snob but I can't escape my Martha Stewart roots.

Since having children, I have learned many lessons over the years. Perhaps most importantly is to not cast stones, so to speak. Hence, I have succumbed to my adorable, red-headed, now 3-year old, Bea, who is absolutely obsessed with all things Toy Story. The thoughts of anything not involving her beloved Buzz, Jessie, Woody or Bullseye was entirely out of the question.

Hence, never say never. Yesterday, I abandoned my design snob roots and threw Bea an all-out Toy Story party, doing my best to make it as cute as possible.

It started with the invitation which I created with a scan of Bea's face within an illustration of Jessie, which I drew in Illustrator (I'm sure I am violating Disney copyright infringement here). 

Bea insisted upon having a Buzz Lightyear cake so after a bit of searching, I found a suitable pan here. I used my favorite yellow cake recipe and made the cake about 2 weeks before the party. After it was completely cool, I wrapped it in Saran Wrap and aluminum foil and placed it in the freezer. As you know, I like to do as much as I can in the weeks leading up to the party so I am not so stressed.

The night before the party, I took the cake out of the freezer and prepared myself for an evening of cake decorating. I made a vanilla meringue buttercream frosting (it tastes delicious and holds up well for cake decorating) and did a crumb coating over the entire cake. Next, I used a toothpick to outline the main details on the cake. I then used dark brown frosting to outline Buzz.

I used pastry bags filled with colored meringue buttercream frosting and outfitted with a star-tip to fill in all the colored areas of Buzz Lightyear, continuing to glance at my "inspiration" image.

The finished cake. Charles suggested that after all my hard work, we should shellac it rather than cut into it. Not a bad idea at all! :)

One of my parties is not complete without my favorite sugar cookies. I made these a few weeks beforehand as well and stored them in the freezer. Two days before the party, I frosted them with royal icing so they would hold up in the favor boxes. The star shape was a nod to the invitation.

For the favors, I modified the invitation a bit, printing out "Thanks for coming" cards to fit inside the front of the clear boxes. Charlotte and Amelia helped me fill the boxes with Toy Story figures, Toy Story gummies,  candy and our star "B" cookies. We affixed a label on the top of the box with each child's name.

The miniature water bottles (just the right size for little hands), were spruced up with matching labels.

Just before leaving for the party, I took a photo of Bea with her 3-year old sign. I can't believe my baby is 3!

We had the party at a children's play area that Bea loves. It is basically an indoor playground complete with a party room, perfect for 3- and 4-year old's to run around and play. I have gotten very smart about outsourcing party venues these days. :)

The party was a huge success and perfect for my Toy Story-obsessed 3-year old!