spooky centerpiece

 

 

my husband and i are in charge of the halloween party at our church tonight, so i had to come up with some cute, yet cheap centerpieces for the tables (we're having a chili potluck, and i'm bringing this yummy white chili!). after seeing this post i remembered making those cute little ghosts as a kid and thought they would be the perfect little centerpiece.

what you need:
fabric or tissue paper
twine
cotton, batting, or candy to make the ghost's head
skewers
empty can or jar
rice
paper
glue
scissors

how to:
1. to make the ghosts, cut a piece of fabric or tissue paper (or just use a tissue! super easy and no cutting needed), about 5 inches x 5 inches (these do not have to be exact!).
2. stick a piece of cotton (batting, candy...) in the center, and tie a little knot around the cotton, creating a little head for your ghost.
3. stick it on a skewer, and then put the skewer in a jar of rice. this helps to anchor the skewers and allows you to make the ghosts different heights.
4. cover the jar with some cute paper and voila! you have a simple, spooky centerpiece.

here's two printables to help you with this project:

boo! printable (the speech bubbles can be double sided if you glue them back-to-back)
polka dot printable (print on any color paper for instant polka dots)

enjoy!

bright and fun easter table

this year i am dreaming of eating easter dinner surrounded with bright colors and lots of easter whimsy. doesn't that sound nice? if i had it my way, it would look just like that little mash-up up there with:

1. the prettiest easter centerpiece
2. bright, dotted diy napkins
3. this plate and bowl combo
4. the sweetest cookies hiding in festive favor bags
5. and i'd turn this gift tag into a place tag with handwritten names

thanksgiving decor

remember that party planning class i taught? well, since thanksgiving is this week and my decor was centered around thanksgiving, i thought this would be a perfect time to share a few pictures. i went with a traditional color scheme but only wanted a few pops of color, keeping everything else white or neutral. the tablecloth (which is just a big drop cloth) and buntings anchored everything with neutrals and the pumpkins, flowers, and medallions kept it fun with pops of orange and rust here and there.
the "thankful" bunting is just burlap cut into triangles and sewn to bias tape with paper letters taped to it (so i can reuse it with other messages). the doily garland is just paper doilies folded in half over jute.
cake stands help to add height as well as make everything seem a little more put-together. i used my chalkboard pumpkin from halloween as the centerpiece. that with the help of some smaller pumpkins and a cheap bouquet of flowers fill up the table and make for cheap and easy decor.

probably the most time consuming thing i did was make these pretty paper medallions (tutorial here). i was lucky enough to have family in town, so my little brother did all the folding and i did the assembling. it was actually quite fun and brought me back to my days of fan-folding as a child.

i filled an apple basket with different flavors of hot chocolate and apple cider as little favors, and stuck a little "for you" flag in it to up the cute-factor as well as let each person know they were for the taking.

i also put together a few little snacks for the ladies to munch on, plus they also helped fill up space on the table. food is a great way to take up space anywhere at a party! pumpkin dip and cinnamon chips (which are my new favorite things, seriously) recipes found here (i used butter instead of cooking spray for the chips), and bacon wrapped little smokies (not pictured, they hadn't come out of the oven yet when i took all the pictures) recipe found here. these things will change your life, no joke.

i'll be showing more pictures and little tips i taught in my class in a few weeks. i'm thinking of doing a little party planning series....but for now, hopefully these pictures give you a few fun ideas for thanksgiving decor and snacks.
check back later this week for some easy last-minute place setting ideas!

how to: cupcake stand

as part of the entertaining 101 class  i am teaching to the ladies at my church, i have been tying to gather supplies to share as well as ideas that they can do to make their parties and events more special. i've been seeing lots of diy cake stands all over blogs and pinterest and thought it would be sweet to do that on a smaller level, for cupcakes and small treats. this way i have some cost-effective stands to display food, favors, and invites that i make as examples, and a little tutorial for them to do at home. win/win, eh?

all you need to make one for yourself is a small vase or candlestick (i found mine at a thrift store for $2, but i know there are better deals out there!), a waterproof glue/epoxy that is meant for ceramic and glass, and a small saucer. i was able to find this lovely little ruffled plate at a thrift store (which i washed and washed and sanitized once i got home!) for under $2, so the whole project was under $4. not bad! especially considering how expensive cake stands can be.

apply the glue to both the top of the vase and the bottom of the saucer and let it sit for a few minutes to get tacky. this will help the adhesion to stick the best. then you just place the vase in the center of the plate and press firmly. (i decided to do mine upside down, it seemed the sturdiest.) i stuck a book on top of mine to weigh things down and help keep things in place. after a few hours mine was completely stuck, but still a little tacky. i would do this 24 hours prior to using it just to make sure everything is dry and ready to bear weight.

that's it! it's such a simple project and the possibilities are endless as far as plate/base combinations are concerned.

 it would be fun to mix colors and find really unique pieces to use as a base. maybe a mason jar or a little bowl would look cute under a floral plate...

and here is a view of the bottom. you can see how clean the base is, you can barely tell they were glued together. and aren't those polka dots darling? i am so giddy over this little plate.

now go make some for yourself, or even as a little gift for a friend or family member. you won't be disappointed!