Our Christmas Card 2016

  That time of year is upon us again.....the task we all want to keep putting off.....designing a holiday card to mail out to all our family and friends.   
     But this year can be different if you use Tiny Prints!
They make it effortless to create the perfect card for your family!   They have so many wonderfully stylish designs to choose from, great prices and they are super fast!  You can be sure the card you choose will be as unique as your family is!
     The customization is endless...from the envelopes to the envelope liners to custom postage stamps.  I personally love to include as many pictures as I can on my cards so the design I chose was their {Ornamental Metal} trifold design.  I thought this design nicely complemented the photos I had from a impromptu photo shoot I had done at the beach at the end of the summer. I love  the simplicity of the gold accents and the lovely greenery!
     I personally like to hand address the envelopes myself.  For me it gives me a chance to brush up on my calligraphy and penmanship skills.

     But for those of you that do not have the time for that, Tiny Prints has an option where they can address all of your envelopes for you! How fabulous would that be? And right now they are offering some amazing discounts on all their Holiday products.
     As for me, I can't wait to mail out my beautifully designed cards to all my family and friends!

  Happy Holidays!

 

This review is based strictly on my opinion. I was provided  product free of charge by Tiny Prints to provide my honest review. No other type of compensation was received. All ideas and opinions are my own.

Holiday Dessert Bar

     The hustle and bustle of the holiday season has officially begun!  And sometimes it's hard to find time to get together with everyone we want to.  So why not host a lovely afternoon Holiday Dessert Bar!
     To get started, I like to come up with an overall theme and color scheme.  The theme I chose was Rustic Elegance with a palette of whites, creams, pale peach, lots of greenery and beautiful copper accents throughout.  I'm totally crushing on copper this season!
     Your set up doesn't have to be elaborate to make an impressive impact.  I kept mine fairly simple with only three desserts and a yummy mocktail.
     For the backdrop, I used a white ruffled fabric and hung three varying sizes of simple wreaths and adorned one of them with some extra flowers and greenery.  These were super easy to create and made such a lovely statement.  I simply used wood embroidery hoops and covered them with green floral tape.  I then attached greenery all the way around with the floral tape. Beautiful!

     I definitely like to think outside the box a little and I love being able to use things I already have around the house when styling a party.  So Instead of the traditional tablecloth, I used a knitted cream throw with fun tassels set at an angle to adorn the table.

     Another fun DIY were these sparkly copper accented forks.  I love collecting old (real silver) flatware and using mismatched pieces when entertaining.  For these, I simply painted the tips with copper paint and added a touch of fine copper glitter for some extra bling.  Then sealed them with a coat of clear lacquer.  I loved how they turned out!  I'm definitely going to make a whole set!

     Naked cakes are all the rage and I definitely find myself gravitating towards them whenever I style a dessert table.  For one they have less frosting for those who aren't huge frosting fans and for two they just look stunning!  Since it's the holiday season, I decided to do a spiced carrot cake with a lemon buttercream frosting and drizzles some delicious caramel sauce over the top.  Paired with this lovely naked cake were some traditional vanilla "mini" cupcakes and some scrumptious macarons.

     I love adding in a little activity for everyone to participate in at my gatherings.  It gets conversation rolling and it's always tons of fun!  I thought a great choice would be for everyone to write down on prepunched scalloped circles what they are "thankful" for.  Using mini glittered clothespins, I then attached them to the largest wreath above the dessert table.  It's always fun to see what everyone wrote, especially the kiddos!

     I always like to give a favor bag to all my guests to take home as well.  It's my way of saying "Thank you for coming".  I filled these sweet burlap and copper polka dot bag with some delectable little chocolates and added a lovely favor tag that simply said " Thankful."

  You can get the free printable HERE.

   Enjoy the images below of this fun and festive Dessert Bar!

I hope my Holiday Dessert Bar provided a little inspiration for you to use at your next holiday gathering!

    Happy Holidays!

Parisian Puppy Party

    This years birthday theme of puppies and all things Parisian came purely from the love and obsession my daughter Talula has with collecting puppies ........ the stuffed kind .  And what little girl doesn't love everything Parisian!
     The combination of the two themes along with a collaboration with Tiny Prints, sure made for a "fetch"-ingly adorable party!
     As always, I start off by selecting the color palette followed by designing the perfect invitation, as this is truly what sets the tone for what's to come!  I ultimately decided on a black and white stripe mixed with red, yellow, turquoise and a dash of gold for added glamour!
     I wanted to think outside "the box" with this one.  I wanted it to resemble a pastry box filled with yummy treats! I think it turned out just darling!  The faux pastry box filled with yellow shred housed the darling invitation. (Hand drawn and water colored by yours truly)  I love being able to customize to this level when it comes to my kids parties.  It makes it that much more special when it's drawn by your mommy.  Along with the invitation, I also included the sweetest "mini Paris" paper city!

     I really wanted the party to have a whimsical child-like feel. To achieve this, I was sure to have lots of hand drawn elements.  I used white craft paper to line the walls and sketched a Parisian park scene on it.  I also made a bunch of super cute coloring pages for the little guests to color on.

     For any party, I always like to have some sort of party related signage to greet my guests when they enter.  I loved the way this one from Tiny Prints turned out.

      As the little guests arrived they were all transported to a whimsical Parisian Park complete with puppies, a Patisserie, a darling flower cart and a sweet little table just their size ready for a perfectly Parisian luncheon!

 There were lots of cute Parisian elements sprinkled throughout but some of my favorites would have to be the adorable Eiffel tower place holders (they are actually pens!)

          and of course the sweet beret wearing puppy topped jars of candy.  How sweet is that!

     My absolute favorite though, would have to be "Talula's Patisserie"(aka...the dessert table).  I used a lovely turquoise table, strung red, yellow and gold tissue tassels in front and flanked each side with black and white striped fabric for some added whimsy!  For the centerpiece, I hung from a bright red ribbon the sweetest 16x20 customized Patisserie sign. The Patisserie boasted delicious chocolate dipped madelines, yummy macaroons, scrumptious french eclairs, the most adorable Eiffel Tower and poodle sugar cookies and finally the piece de resistance... the loveliest two tiered ruffle cake!

      After a wonderful Parisian lunch it was all about what to "Pick" first!  Pick a Pup... Pick a Page... Pick a Pastry...Pick a Bunch...

     The little guests had so much fun "picking" to their hearts content!
Take a look below at all the wonderful party pics and judge for yourself!

Now that the party is over, let's not forget about the thank -you cards!  As my mother always said..."The thank you card is just as important as the invitation!"
Aren't these the sweetest!  I love how Tiny Prints allows you to upload your own design. They have so many products that you can customize with your own designs, from invitations to pillows to canvases to....the possibilities are endless!

Au revoir for now!
I hope you found lots of fun and whimsical inspiration for your next Parisian inspired party!

Vendors and Credits:

Party styling, Invitation and Printables:  A Lovely Design
Photography: Misha from A Lovely Design
Cake and sugar cookies: Misha from A Lovely Design

Tiny Prints:
Pillows, pastry box stickers, thank you cards, custom envelopes, stamps and return address stickers,
"Bonjour"Sign, "Patisserie" Sign
 https://www.tinyprints.com/shop/birthday-party-invitations.htm

Oriental Trading:
White craft paper on walls, Eiffel Tower pens, invitation boxes
 This review is based strictly on my opinion. I was provided  samples free of charge by Oriental Trading to provide my honest review. No other type of compensation was received. All ideas and opinions are my own.