Desserts and Cocktails Bridal Shower

Hello? Anyone still here?

If you are, I appreciate you sticking around.

I've been thinking a lot about this blog. I love doing this blog. I feel great when I'm crafting and I feel even better when I can share what I've done with other people and it helps to inspire you. With that being said... life always seems to get in the way. I'm a teacher. And I realized I starting really posting on this blog during the summer when I had plenty of ample free time. I started to get followers and getting in a real groove of posting and then school started and I got busy, really busy! So, I'm going to try to be better. And if I'm not, we're in luck, because summer is right around the corner and with a wedding coming up the crafts are sure to follow!!

Today I'm going to share a bridal shower that I put together for one of my very best friends, Kristen. Kristen had a total of three wedding showers. One was for her family and one for the groom's family. The one I was throwing was for all of her friends. I wanted this shower to be different. I immediately began brainstorming themes for her shower and I found this photo at Hostess With The Mostess.

Although I didn't use these vases, I took them as inspiration for the entire night. My color palette was red, pink, black, and white. My good friend Jessica made the invitations for the night.

Invitations from Jessica Klima

I wanted to create a dessert buffet that had some pizzaz! I used strips of crepe paper to create a curtain behind the table and then hung a frame from Ikea in the center.

I tried to vary the heights of all the platters to create dimension throughout the table.

Here's a little secret. I don't own very many serving dishes. So most of what I used were my actual plates  with either candlesticks underneath or little votives. Shhh! Don't tell! I used my Dollar Store Hurricanes to hold some tulips.

And now the food! It was all so yummy! We tried to keep the food as close as we could to the theme colors. Cake Balls from Bakerella. Creme Puffs.

Orange Brownies.

Red Candies.

Three Layer Chocolate Pie.

Kristen has a love for all things skull and cross bones. So my friend Kelly at Baby Cakes made some super delish skull and cross bone cookies with matching icing!

Homeade eclairs! Yum-o!

Raspberry Meringue Hearts that I made using this recipe.

Dipped Oreos.

Chess Pie. I had never heard of it, but it was delicious!

Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries.

And of course we had to have some cocktails! I made this Champagne Punch that was a real hit.

Yummy punch with OJ, Pineapple Juice, and Ginger Ale.

Well... are you hungry yet??

It was such a great shower. Most importantly the bride had fun!

All of these beautiful photos were taken by the most amazing photographer I know, Jessica Klima!

http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/2011/03/weekend-wrap-up-party-and-aubreyplays.html

http://youngancrafty.blogspot.com/2011/03/free-for-all.html

Fairytale Bridal Shower

This weekend I had the pleasure to host a bridal shower for one of my good friends, Katharine. Her favorite color is pink, and so we chose a "Fairytale" theme for her decorations.

 I made the banner for the fireplace using scrapbook paper and pink foam.

 I made this wreath using Beverly at Flamingo Toes Semi-Scary Halloween Wreath as inspiration. I used a white styrofoam wreath form and tied strips of white tulle around, and added a pink glittered foam heart to the center with the couples initials.

For the side table in the dining room we decorated with vases filled with ornaments, some ribbon and little princess sayings. (My friend has a slight affliction with Silly Bands, so there had to be princess silly bands strewn about!)

 Vases with ornaments and ribbon.

I bought a charger from Hobby Lobby and used by Silhouette to cut out pink vinyl that read "Happily Ever After". I bought a package of glittered dome dots in the scrapbooking section to apply as well.

 A good trick when decorating is to plan ahead. We decorated the night before, since this was a brunch bridal shower and we knew we had lots of things to do the next morning. We went ahead and laid out our table settings and just used post-its to label where everything was going to go. It helped us stay organized and not be searching for a dish at the last minute!

 A drink serving station for the Pink Punch.

 The bride's glass. I used the same glittered pink dots on the glass to make it more special.

 Another great idea that we had for easier clean-up. If you have a double sink use the bigger one as a chilling station for the beverages. This keeps everything cold, while saving your guests the need to search through your refrigerator! We didn't put the stopper in, so when the ice melted it would just drain. Easy clean-up! If you notice is getting low, just add more ice to the top!

 The table with all of the yummy food! Pigs in a blanket, doughnuts, quiche, fruit, cheese ball, and yummy cupcakes from my friend Kelly at Baby Cakes.

 The hostesses, Me and Kristen.

 The happy, beautiful Bride-To-Be!