Sweet Shop

So I took a quick detour yesterday with my refinished entry table that I just had to share, but now I'm back on track for "Bridal Shower Week." Today is all about the sugar, baby. We put together "Kristen's Sweet Shop" since my sister-in-law is a big fan of sweets and has always wanted her own candy bar like the one below.

We ended up having so many more "sweets" than just candy, so we went ahead and put everything sugary on one table. On the left hand side we had the fondant cupcakes (which we ordered from OC-favorite Beverly's Best) with handmade personlized cupcake toppers by yours truly.

In the center of the table we had plates and napkins that we had been collecting for months (whenever we see anything with a redhead on it, we just have to scoop it up for Kris), cake pops made by the other maid of honor (there are 2 of us), personalized cookies baked by a family friend, and the sweet shop sign which I will talk more about in a bit.

Last but not least we had the candy bar. I went to The Sweet Factory at the mall and picked out different types of candy that matched the color scheme--green & ivory with blue & pink accents. Warning: this much candy costs a pretty penny... but was a huge hit at the party and we didn't have any leftovers!!!

We also had chocolate dipped pretzels made by our Aunt on the shelves in the background, pictures of the bride & groom, and decorated the rest of the table with confetti and votive candles.

Now, a quick tutorial on making a framed sign for your sweet shop without having to buy or permanently alter a frame. I borrowed a balck 8 x 10 frame from one of my shelves and took the picture out. I replaced it with the sign that I printed out on cardstock reading "Kristen's Sweet Shop" with 2 cupcake doodles.

Then I made a rosette from ribbon. (You can read more about ribbon rosettes in this post here.)

I tied a ribbon around the side of my frame and then placed a piece of cardstock beneath the knot and hot glued it to the knot. (Make sure to glue the cardstock to the knot and NOT TO YOUR FRAME.)

Then I glued the rosette to the cardstock with the knot sandwiched between.

As you can see above, a bit of the cardstock was poking out so I needed to just cut the corners with scissors so that the cardstock beneath was hidden.

And wa-la. A personalized frame for your party with a personalized sign for your sweet shop. And it's temporary--when you get home after the party, you just slip off the ribbon and stick your picture back inside.

If you've missed any of the "Bridal Shower" series so far, please check out the cupcake topper post and the entry table decor & games post.

Linking to:

Feature Yourself Friday @ Fingerprints on the Fridge

Simply Designing

Tatertots & Jello

Look what I found...

...at an estate sale!!!


So the story goes something like this: driving over to the in-laws, see signs for an estate sale, get to the in-laws, ask them if I can leave Liam while I run over to said estate sale, call 20 minutes later to see if I can borrow cash and my father-in-law's truck. I scored big time... this is one of my many finds (most of which I will be sharing with you as I get around to "sprucing" them up a bit).



Okay, so this is the before picture of my little buffet sitting on my back patio awaiting it's painty fate.

This little buffet had potential written all over it. Great curves. Great detail in the legs. Sounds like I'm talking about Heidi Klum rather than a buffet... but I know you guys can appreciate a great piece of furniture when you see one.

Here it is "during." Confession: I didn't sand or prime. I just whipped out my can of Edward's "Whisper" paint (which was leftover from the hallways in our house) and got busy. I painted about 3 coats total... dry brush technique. I wanted to be able to see the paint strokes and a bit of the wood grain underneath.

And here is the big reveal!!!! It was a PERFECT fit for the empty space between our chair and the edge of the stairs. It was estate sale buffet fate, I tell you.

I've been playing around with the decor daily. A little bit of this, a little bit less of that. I am genuinely excited to have a real life "entry table" to decorate. I feel like a real grown up. :)

Here are some pictures of the detailing. I went through with a sheet of sandpaper and distressed all of the edges and curves to really bring out the shape.

Aside from my dining room chair (yes, as in single chair... I have yet to get around to refinishing it's friend), this is my first official furniture redo. I am hooked. As we speak, I have a goodwill find sitting in the backyard with it's first coat of paint on it. Good times.

And here is my keeping it real picture of my little buffet from last night. Purse on the floor, Pottery Barn boxes to the left, camorder, keys, cell phone, and sippy cup o' milk. Yep, yep.

Sorry to take a break from the regular schedule programming this week (where I am sharing all of the details from my sister's bridal shower, so far here and here), but I just couldn't keep my little buffet a secret any longer.

Linking up to:
http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/2010/09/show-and-tell-get-your-link-on.html
http://www.domestically-speaking.com/2010/09/39th-power-of-paint-party.html
http://www.theshabbychiccottage.net/2010/09/making-book-shelf.html
http://www.somewhatsimple.com/2010/09/sys-blog-link-party-with-say-it-on-wall.html
http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/2010/09/furniture-feature-friday-favorites-and.html
http://www.fingerprintsonthefridge.com/2010/09/feature-yourself-friday_30.html http://decormamma.blogspot.com/2010/09/frugalicious-friday-giveawayitsy-bitsy.html
Simply Designing
Tatertots & Jello
Thrifty Decor Chick
Serenity Now

"Games & Decor" for Entry Table (HOW TO)

Okay, y'all. Day 2 of Bridal Shower Week here at THH. Yesterday we made "cupcake toppers." And today... today we are putting together games and decor for the entry table. Put your party hats on--cuz here we go.

First is the "Guess How Many" game. It's tried and true. An oldie but a goody. And especially great because you can personalize it to match your theme. (i.e. For this shower, we did diamonds. For my baby shower, we did quarters in a piggy bank. At birthday parties, we've done candy. Etc.)

We bought the "diamonds" from Michael's and put them in Kristen's (bride-to-be) personalized wedding glass (pics of the wine glass coming up later). And then I hand made the sign, the pen, and the quessing sheet.

Font for the wording: "Pea Summer Sweetness"

Font for the engagement ring doodle: "Pea The Bees In Love Doodles"

(Can be downloaded for FREE at Fonts For Peas.)

I printed out the name of the game and 2 of the engagement ring doodles onto cardstock and then hot glued it onto scrapbook paper. Then I cut it out and hot glued a lollipop stick (same stick that I used for the toppers) onto the back. For decoration I punched a hole in the top left hand corner and tied a bow with an "engagement ring" (from Michael's). I put the ribbon through the hole and tied one knot, then slipped the ring onto the ribbon, tied another knot and then a bow. Wa-la.


For the guessing sheet, I printed out 3 pages of cardstock with the title of the game on top and columns for the guests' names and their guesses. To attach the 3 pages, I again tied a ribbon and engagement ring through a hole punch.

Randomly I decieded to dress up the pen for the entry table. I totally winged this and it actually turned out pretty great. I just took pretty green ribbon and hot glued it down by the ink end first. Then I wrapped it up along the pen (hot gluing every so often), up and over the top, and then glued the end piece down. To cover up the ugly gluey end part, I made a rosette from the ribbon and glued that over the gluey end.

Making a rosette from ribbon is exactly the same as making one from fabric. I tied a knot at the end of the fabric and then wrapped the ribbon around the knot, twisting the ribbon as I went along. Lots of hot glue along the way to keep it from unraveling. And lots of hot glue burns on my fingers.

The other "game" that we had at the entry table was a drawing. We set out all of the envelopes from the "thank you cards" that Kristen is going to send out and asked each guest to name and address their own envelope. It saves Kristen a bunch of work and hand cramps and then we drew a couple of names from the basket throughout the shower and gave away gifts! Easy and fun!

This sign is just a piece of scrapbook paper folded in half, directions and doodles on cardstock, and another ribbon rosette and green flower confetti glued to the corner for decoration.

Lastly, my mother-in-law had this plate stand that she wanted to decorate and use to display a plate with the couple's monogram. I just used ribbon, an engagement ring, and a tag that I made from a wedding sticker that I found on clearance at Michael's. I stuck it onto tan scrapbook paper, free-hand cut the shape of a tag, and then punched a hole at the top.

And here is the big reveal of the entry table!! Other details you see here: gold table cloth, green flower confetti, picture of the couple, a gorgeous centerpiece made by another bridemaid (those are limes in the vase for color---what a great idea!!!!), votive candle, and a basket for addressed envelopes.

And here is a close-up of the wine glass with the diamonds. Kristen found the glass on Etsy and it turned out really adorable.

Okay, so that wraps up Bridal Shower Week tutorial number #2.

Linking To These Fab Blogs:

I'm Topsy Turvy

http://www.somewhatsimple.com/2010/09/sys-blog-link-party-with-say-it-on-wall.html

http://craftingreallyawesomefreethings.blogspot.com/2010/09/making-monday-marvelous-23.html

Polly Want A Crafter

Cupcake Toppers (HOW TO)

As many of you have been reading along, my sister-in-law-slash-BFF is getting married this November. I have been one busy-bee-AKA-maid-of-honor preparing for her super fab bridal shower which was TODAY. It was beautiful, just like her. We had a great afternoon... and now that it is all over, I have so much to share with y'all.

So this week is officially "Bridal Shower Week" around these parts... but do not fear if you don't have a bride-to-be in your circle of friends, because these "how-to's" can be generalized to all things par-tay.

Our first project will be handmade cake toppers! Fun times. This is a great handmade project for parties because you can make them super personalized!!! Warning: I love the word super tonight. I must be in a super mood. Or maybe that's a super tired mood. Hmm. Anyhoo, back to the toppers.

So I used "Pea Summer Sweetness" font for the bride & groom's names and "Pea The Bees In Love Doodles" font for the engagment rings doodle. (Can be downloaded for FREE--yes, you heard me right, free--at Fonts For Peas.)

I typed out 18 "tags" in 3 columns in Word and printed them out on cardstock. I also typed out another style of tag with just their initials (K & A) and the rings doodle and printed them out on card stock as well.

Then I drew lines with a ruler and cut out the tags.

Here you can see both styles which make for a cute "mix and match" look.

Then I hot glued each style onto coordinating but different sheets of scrapbook paper in the bride's wedding colors.

For the initial style tags, I used these super fancy scissors (see, there I go again) which gave me a flower-looking shaped tag.

I just realized that the picture above is sideways. Oh well... it adds character, right? In reality, I am just too plain tired to delete and reupload it. You forgive me, right?

Okay, so here are my pretty flower shaped initial tags. I turned them over and hot glued lollipop sticks (from Michael's) onto the backs.

For the other style of tags, I decided to just go with a rectangle shaped tag to add to the "mix and matched" feel.

And here they are at their BIG DEBUT. It helps that they had such pretty homes sitting on top of DELISH fondant cupcakes from OC-fave "Beverly's Best." YUM.

So to recap, here's all you need:

Card stock (for the tags)

Scrapbook paper (in your party colors)

Cute font (I recommend Font for Peas)

Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks

Scissors (fancy or regular)

&

Lollipop Sticks

I hope you all had a "super" weekend (now I'm just doing it on purpose). I am Exhaused with a capital E. Sweet dreams (or good morning for those of you reading this on Monday morn).

Linking to these SUPER BLOGS (Check 'em out... Great par-tays):

M.M.M. @ C.R.A.F.T.

DIY Show-Off

Keeping It Simple

Making The World Cuter

I'm Topsy Turvy

http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/2010/09/show-and-tell-get-your-link-on.html

http://www.somewhatsimple.com/2010/09/sys-blog-link-party-with-say-it-on-wall.html

http://www.fingerprintsonthefridge.com/2010/09/feature-yourself-friday_30.html

Simply Designing

Tatertots & Jello

The Girl Creative

Young & Crafty

Polly Want A Crafter

Someday Crafts

And the winner is....

... Comment #16.

Which is.....

PMG Smith Family!!!!!

When it came to being thankful, she said:

"I am truly grateful for my son and the insane blessing that he has been in my life. He has taught me true sacrifice, humility, generosity, and patience. I love my husband, our cats, our home, and all the great opportunities this life has afforded me, but he definitely stands above it all (and I'm sure my husband would agree too!)."

Congratulations and please send me your email address so we can talk wreaths! :)

I hope everyone is having a great Saturday morning. I was up late painting furniture! I had some really great luck at an estate sale yesterday and now it is all about sand paper and paint brushes. Can't wait to share the results!

Last day to enter...

My Facebook status this morning: "It is pretty ridiculous how excited I am that it's Friday. And that I have a full pot of coffee just waiting on me to drink it. As in, I am going to drink all of it. Weekend, please last forever."

Truer words have never been spoken.

On another note, today is the LAST DAY to enter the Thanksgiving Wreath Giveaway. At midnight tonight I will be closing the contest, picking a winner, and announcing the lucky lady's name tomorrow morning.

Click here to enter... and have a long, slow, and seemingly neverending weekend.

the "it" list

Happy Friday everyone... today's list is full to the brim of inspiration from the blog world - enjoy!

• the hillside home features her favorite lighting options for your home and then comparison shops them all. It is hard to choose a favorite here, as there is nothing like a great light fixture or lamp!
• maggie rose pulls amazing interior inspirations from lonny mag - I would gladly live in any of these rooms! Just gorgeous!
• closet confections takes her summer wardrobe to fall/winter with amazing remixes - you must check out this post for fall inspiration. Kudos to Kendra on her amazing style and creativity!
• pocket of presh attended an event with The Sartorialist... check out her snapshot of the handsome guy and his gorgeous gal and also peep at her outfit for the night! So jealous - what a fun night!
• one hundred inspirations finds inspiration with Olivia Palermo's look - and then recreates it on the cheap! It's such a great fall/winter look... don't miss this!
• rose a la mode pulls off an adorable rainy day look... and the photos are really great too. I just love her easy midwest style!
• spry on the wall is my go-to source for runway round-ups! If you are a busy gal like me, check out her top 5 for each show - genius! Marc Jacobs is always a favorite of mine - check out his looks first!
• sweetie pie pumpkin noodle is inspired by sperry shoes... click with extreme caution. You will be too, no doubt!
• elle sees posted a diy pumpkin face mask... I don't know if this would make it to my skin or my mouth first, but pumpkin is supposed to be great for your skin!
• merci blah blah is two friends that blog together, how fun!?! They both have amazing style and love to accessorize... I just love this particular look!
• molly newborn's chunky necklaces are divine... this week I am crushing on this one. It would be great on it's own or layered for some punch!
• really cute stuff is launching a ton of well, you guessed it: *new* really cute stuff this fall! First up, I NEED these monogramed note cards. So modern and chic!
• style within reach has a feature I am completely hooked on called "wish, want, need" - great style at ALL price points. These green earrings are calling my name... so lovely! Check this out for sure!
• one sweet find offers up this one sweet brass elephant! This would be adorable on a book shelf or adorning a baby's nursery. Who doesn't love a sweet elephant?
• jillgg's good life rounds up great winter coats at great prices... shop early and shop smart for the most important accessory of the upcoming season!

Interested in learning more about the "it" list? Email goodlifeforless @ gmail.com or click here for more information!

Get The Look for Less: Lighting

One of the first things we did when we got the keys to our house was rip out all of the old lighting. I posted last month about some of my lighting inspiration found at Ballard Design and Pottery Barn (you can check it out here). Although we did splurge on a floor lamp (this one) and a lantern for our stairwell (right here), we were lucky enough to find most of the looks for less at none other than IKEA (which you all know I am obsessed with).

This gave me the idea to do a "get the look for less" post where I share some of the looks I know we all love, and how you can find it for less at--you guessed it--IKEA. If you guys enjoy these kinds of posts, I will do more in the future with different brands! Lemme know!

Without further ado, someone hit the lights!

*******

Woven Pendant Light:

THE LOOK: Pottery Barn - $299

FOR LESS: $89.99

*******

Faux-Candlestick Chandelier:

THE LOOK: Ballard Designs - $199.99

FOR LESS: Ikea - $49.99

*******

Metallic Table Lamp:

THE LOOK: Pottery Barn - $259.00

FOR LESS: Ikea - $59.99

*******

Industrial Pendant Light:

THE LOOK: Ballard Designs - $159.00

FOR LESS: Ikea - $19.99

*******

Colored Glass Table Lamp:

THE LOOK: Pottery Barn - $99.00 (on sale)

FOR LESS: Ikea - $59.99