Such Pretty Things

Pretty Edible Flowers

If you've been following me for a while, then you know that it's no secret that I love flowers.  My home is brimming with them - fresh flowers, paintings of flowers, floral china, fabrics covered in flowers, etc....  The list it infinite.  So, of course, I love my food covered in flowers as well!  This delicious coconut cake is a good example...

Edible flowers are such an easy, but beautiful way to decorate your cakes or cupcakes.  If you don't have the time or desire to bake, buy a simple iced cake from your favorite bakery and just add some pretty blooms.

In order to ensure that they are truly edible, you will want to buy pesticide-free flowers.  Some specialty grocers sell them or you can order them from my favorite grower, Gourmet Sweet Botanicals.  They have an incredible selection and their flowers are gorgeous!

For my cake, I baked Ina Garten's famous coconut cake and decorated it with Pansies and Dianthus in shades of pink, white and lavender.

So simple and so pretty! And it would be so lovely for a wedding or shower...or any occasion that calls for flowers!

:-)

Jessica

Pretty Crafts: Paper Straw Garland

I don't know about you, but I just love paper straws.  And they seem to be available everywhere right now...and in so many pretty colors and patterns!

Well, I have a ton of them left over from previous parties and I have been trying to come up with something fun to do with them. Then I remembered making these as a kid...straw garlands!

If you want to make some, they are sooooo easy!  You will, of course, need some paper straws in your favorite colors and patterns (there are so many choices out there - striped, dotted, floral, chevron, etc...). I find mine primarily on Etsy, but almost every party and craft store carries them these days.

You will also need some string (I like this gold metallic beading thread) and some beads (I chose these because they reminded me of tiny Christmas ornaments)...

All you have to do is cut your straws into similar length pieces.  I just eyeballed it. The smaller the size, the more your garland will be able to curve tightly. You also might want to try varying the lengths for added interest. Alternate straw pieces and beads to make a pattern that you like.  HINT: Make sure your bead diameter is bigger than the opening of your straw or else the beads will not act as separators.

Settle down in front of the TV and in no time, you'll have a pretty, paper straw garland! These are fun to make with the kiddies, too!

XOXO

Jessica

Target Tuesday: DIY Pastel Napkins

With the holidays fast approaching, I find myself dreaming about pretty table settings, linens, and centerpieces.  I love to use cloth napkins on my table, but they are generally expensive and a major pain to keep clean and pressed. When I came across these simple, inexpensive cotton dishcloths at Target, I immediately envisioned them as delicate, pastel napkins...

At just $3.99 for a pack of four, the price was right! In just a few hours this past weekend, I managed to dye a ton of these beauties (it's so simple and very addicting!).

If you want to make some for your own holiday table, here's what you'll need:

-100% Cotton White Dish Cloths (Target's Flour Sack Kitchen Towels by Room Essentials)

-RIT Dye (I used the liquid, but the powder works just as well)

-a large plastic bucket

-table salt (approx. 1 cup per dye lot)

-rubber gloves (very important!)

Directions: Decide how many colors you want and divide up your cloths accordingly. I made at least four cloths in each color. I may have over-done it, but it was so much fun - I just couldn't stop! Fill your bucket with very hot water and stir in about a cup of salt (this will help "set" your dye).  Instead of following the package instructions for the dye and water amounts, I just added a few drops of the liquid dye to my water. You can always add more, but to achieve the very pale, pastel tones, just add a little to start. Make sure to thoroughly wet your cloths first and then quickly submerge them in the dye bath and swish them around for a few seconds. The longer you leave them in, the darker they will be.

Now, if you want to make a darker shade of the same color (i.e., light pink and dark pink), just add a few more drops of the dye. Rinse the dyed cloths in cold water until the water runs clear. They can then be tossed in the washer and dryer according to the wash instructions. Tip: If you are dyeing different colors like I did, be sure to thoroughly rinse your bucket out in-between each color.

The best thing about these, is that for about $1 a piece, you can have a custom-colored napkin! And if they get really badly stained with lipstick and red wine, you can always toss them and make some more.

I am thinking of wrapping mine with some vintage millinery flowers...

Very simple and very pretty.

Happy Tuesday!

XOXO

Jessica

 

Pumpkins and Flowers Centerpiece for Halloween

As you know, every year I eschew the typical Halloween colors in favor of my own pastel palette.  Lucky for me, nature invented the mini white pumpkin - although, I think they may technically be squash. :-) In the past, I have dusted them in pale pink hues and painted them in pretty, chalky pastels. This year, I decided to glam them up a bit with some gold glitter and fresh flowers.

To make this super simple centerpiece, I purchased nine little white pumpkins (squash!) from my local farmer's market.  I washed them thoroughly in warm, soapy water with a little bleach (this helps keep them fresh longer). Once they were completely dry, I carefully painted each stem with elmer's glue and sprinkled them liberally with vintage gold glitter, shaking off the excess. I decided to just glitter the stems because I like to keep the pumpkins somewhat natural.

When they had dried completely, I stacked them on a creamy white pedestal cake stand...

Next, I interspersed the pumpkins with springs of pale blue Hydrangea. (Hint: if you want the centerpiece to really last, insert the Hydrangea stems into small florist water tubes (available at any craft or floral supply shop) and just hide them behind the pumpkins).

Happy Halloween!

:-)

Jessica

Mini (Half) Birthday Bundt Cake

I think I've mentioned before that half-birthdays are a pretty big deal in our family. I guess we just love any excuse to celebrate...and eat cake! This year, I cheated a bit and bought a mini vanilla bundt cake at Whole Foods.  It was so cute and just the perfect size for a "half" birthday.  I whipped up some pink icing to drizzle over the top and decorated it with a variety of colorful sprinkles...

To add to the festive feel, I added some pastel confetti,

mini party hats,

and a sweet little birdie garland...

If you personally don't embrace the whole "half-birthday" thing (although you really should!), this mini party would be great for just a regular old birthday as well. :-)

XOXO

Jessica

Pretty Parties: Box-Folded Streamers

While I am always trying to come up with creative, new ways to decorate for our parties, these box-folded streamers are an old favorite. They look super complicated, but are really are so easy and fun to make. I actually must give credit to my father for teaching me how to make them when I was a very little girl. I can vividly remember sitting with him at the kitchen table surrounded by piles of crepe paper streamers. :-)

These really are very simple to make and require only the most basic of folding skills, but they do require a little patience.  I made the ones shown here while catching up on some episodes of House of Cards!

To make them, all you'll need are some rolls of crepe paper streamers, tape, and your own two hands!

To begin, select two rolls of streamers - they can both be the same color or you can use two different ones for a fun effect. Trim the edges of the streamers so they are perfectly straight and then line them up perpendicularly to one another. Secure with some tape (or staple).

Next, fold the bottom streamer up and over the top one and crease...

Continue to fold the two streamers back and forth over one another...

You'll end up with a neat little stack of folded streamers...

When you are satisfied with the length (or sick of folding), trim the streamers and secure the ends with more tape. Release you little folded piles and you will now have a pretty box-folded streamers!

Aren't they fun!

Thanks, Daddy!

XOXO

Jessica

Pretty Parties: Mexican Fiesta!

So, Mini-me is officially 16 years old! Thank you all for indulging my weepy sentimentality the other day and for all your lovely comments and emails.  I allowed myself a few tears, but then it was time to PARTY and celebrate this wonderful occasion! Mini-me took the lead on the party planning.  She really wanted to do something fun and colorful, so she decided on a Mexican Fiesta!

The party was held at night in a dimly lit room, so unfortunately, the photos are not blog-worthy.  But I still wanted to share our party details and some of the resources I found along the way.  Mini-me LOVES Mexican food, so we decided to hold the party at one of her favorite Mexican restaurants. So easy for me...and honestly way less expensive than trying to transform my pastel, flowery home into a hacienda! With the food and venue taken care of, we decided to primarily focus on the decor and dessert. 

We shopped around at the local party shops for decorations, but nothing seemed especially authentic or special (i.e., really junky).  After a bit of research, I discovered a wonderful on-line shop, Amol's, filled with an enormous selection of reasonably priced Mexican flags, banners, pinatas, confetti, etc... That was a fun box to open!

The restaurant was already festively decorated, but we added our own touches by hanging pretty paper flag banners and a ton of multi-colored light strings (purchased at Target's after-Christmas sale for 75% off!). Pinatas were a must. We bought a huge one (locally) and Mini-me decorated it with lots of extra paper flowers and rhinestones. A real work of art which is sadly no longer with us. :-) For the tables, I found wholesale brightly colored floral oilcloth to use as tablecloths. You can find similar patterns from one of my favorite shops on Etsy called Oilcloth Addict.

We put bouquets of Mexican paper flowers in blue glass mason jars and placed them on the tables.

Cute mini pinatas, maracas, and confetti were scattered down the center of the tables.

For place cards, we used those pretty vintage paper fans shown at the top of this post - we just added tags with each guest's name.

For dessert, we had a dessert table set up with several cakes, including one we ordered from Mini-me's favorite bakery (the same one that made the cake for her very first birthday!) that was covered in brightly colored sugar roses.

We also shopped at a local Mexican grocery store for authentic sweets and candies to add to the dessert table...

So fun and colorful!

The party went off without a hitch!  Mini-me had a fabulous time with all her friends...and best of all, I didn't even have to clean up! :-)

XOXO

Jessica

Valentine Candy Box Makeover

I am a big fan of makeovers...especially when it comes to packaging. There are plenty of perfectly good items out there that could be even better with just a little effort and creativity. :-)  So, when I saw these cute little chocolate heart candy boxes on sale at the drugstore for only $1 a piece, I knew I had to give them a little makeover.

This is one of those projects that is super inexpensive and so easy, but the results are fantastic!  Here's what you'll need to make some:

-Small chocolate heart candy boxes (I got mine on sale at CVS, but they sell them everywhere)

-Scrapbook papers (I chose these gold and glittered papers for their luxe look)

-Fabric flowers or other embellishments (ribbons, rhinestones, etc...)

-Scissors

-Paper Glue

-Pencil

-Ruler

Directions: To begin, unwrap your chocolate boxes from any cellophane wrapping and carefully remove the top. You are going to use it as your stencil for the box top. Just flip it over and trace the heart shape onto the wrong side of your scrapbook paper. You will also need to cut out a long rectangular strip of paper to cover the exposed sides of your box - just measure the width.

Carefully cut both of these out.

If you plan your placement, you can get about three tops and three strips from just one piece of 12" x 12" scrapbook paper! Next, glue your shapes to the box top and sides.  I like to use a glue stick or sticky dots. Allow to dry completely. Now the fun part - decorate your box!  I went for simplicity with these pretty fabric flowers from Martha Stewart Crafts...

 

They retail for $6.59 for a set of three, but I used my Michael's 50% off coupon, which made them only $1.10 each! I just love how these turned out! These would make excellent classroom valentines or party favors.

XOXO

Jessica

Target Tuesday: Sprinkle Tape & Heart Straws!

I was so happy when I walked into Target the other day and found that they had put out all the Valentine's Day items.  Yay! I just love Valentine's Day and Target usually has some really cute stuff. Once again, they did not disappoint...just look at the sprinkle tape!

Yes, SPRINKLE tape! So adorable!

And how about these colorful heart straws!

These are the cute, shorter, chubbier ones - so fun for the kiddies!

Happy Tuesday!

XOXO

Jessica

Pretty Resources: Paperless Post

You may already be familiar with Paperless Post, a very cool e-vite type company that allows you to send free virtual invitations. But did you know that they also sell beautiful "real" paper invitations and stationary with a colorful, modern vibe? And they have really fun options like the ability to choose your own custom envelope liners in a zillion patterns! We're gearing up for a bunch of parties around here and found the cutest invitations!  We had to get the sprinkles (of course!), but here are some of our other favorites...

You really have to check out Paperless Post PAPER!

:-)

Jessica