Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Cindo de Mayo Fiesta Inspiration

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I wanted to enhance your fiesta with some {free} DIY printables and some colorful craft and decor inspiration from Martha Stewart!

Yes, once again, Kim over at The TomKat Studio has designed some adorable {and free} DIY Cinco de Mayo printables for your party! If it's too late for this year's celebration, print them out or save them on your desktop for next year's inspiration.

Click on The TomKat Studio to download your free Cinco de Mayo printables!

Fiesta Flower Arrangement

This assortment of brightly hued blooms is the ideal centerpiece for your

Mexican-style fiesta.


Ribbon Lanterns

Brighten up your fiesta with ribbon lanterns. For each, you'll need one paper box lantern and

four lengths of ribbon, each measuring nine times the height of the lantern.

Get the how to directly from Martha Stewart

Tissue-Paper Decorations

Decorate your Cinco de Mayo party with these festive tissue-paper streamers,

bowl bands, and flags.

Get the how to directly from Martha Stewart


Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Fashion Plate News - Lenox partners with Marchesa!

Lenox debutes couture Tabletop Collection by Marchesa....
your best dressed dinnerware is now set to go from runway to tabletop!


On April 14th, Lenox unveiled it's new couture tabletop collection by Marchesa at an
exclusive cocktail party at the NYC Tabletop Market Show. The new tabletop collection
will debut in stores and on www.lenox.com this fall. Here is a sneak peek of a couple of the
new couture tabletop collections by Marchesa.

Marchesa is well known for elegant red-carpet eveningwear and exquisite bridal gowns. Lenox writes,"Each charming dinnerware, stemware and giftware piece features Marchesa custom designs as well as the unparallel excellence and quality that are synonymous with each of the brands. The debut grouping will feature eight exquisite dinnerware patterns inspired by Marchesa's one-of-a-kind dress designs."

Georgina Chapman, Co-founder of Marchesa, had this to say about the new tabletop designs . . . "We wanted to develop this collection the same way we do each of our gowns, with one-of-a-kind designs and detailed craftsmanship – creating a uniquely elegant dinnerware style not yet found in the market." Each dinnerware pattern is handcrafted in the USA and made from the highest quality fine bone china, and is dishwasher safe.


The eight patterns shown below include: Floral Illustrations, Spring Lark, Palatial Garden,
French Lace, Painted Camellia, Porcelain Lace, Paisley Bloom, and Marchesa Rose.



Monday, May 3, 2010

FREE DIY Printable Mother's Day Designs

Just in time for Mother's Day - here are adorable, and FREE, printable Mother's Day cupcake toppers and gift tags designed by Kim at The TomKat Studio for Project Nursery.






You can simply find and download the 2 files here: Project Nursery

Thank you Kim!!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

{Real Party} Adorable Raggedy Ann Birthday Party

Centering your theme around a favorite childhood story, like Raggedy Ann, can add
a touch of nostalgia to your party.

I found this adorable Raggedy Ann party on The Party Dress, one of my favorite
inspiration blogs for all things party.

Start by focusing on a fun color combination, such as red and aqua, for all the details and you won't over do the theme and keep the party expenses down. Incorporate your color scheme into the food presentation with red & aqua taffy, and oversized red lollipops. Then you can pull color into your other details by wrapping sandwiches in coordinating paper, tying popcorn balls and yummy chocolates with matching ribbon, and adding a custom banner.

Then highlight and splurge on just a couple of the most sentimental touches of the
beloved story to add wow to your party; like Raggedy Ann's famous "I Love You" heart
as cookie favors, and a custom designed cake.

I love this party - it brings back some favorite childhood memories!


Photography by Nicole Hill Gerulat
Party Designer One Charming Party

Friday, April 30, 2010

{Real Party} Meet the Puppy Party

I am such an avid dog lover, and the idea of throwing a party to welcome a new puppy to the family is one of the most creative and unique party ideas I have come across in a long time. Truly dogs are such loyal companions and become part of your family, so why not welcome them with a party much like you would shower any new baby!

I found this adorable party inspiration on Half-Baked, but the entire party, as well as links to all of Kristy's resources for the dog bone & paw print edible cupcake decorations, etc. can be found on the original hostess' blog Posh Pixel Designs Studio.

The decor featured a chocolate brown, baby blue and lime green color palette. Kristy's mom made gourmet doggie treats as favors, and filled apothecary jars with doggie treats and bones to keep with the theme. There were yummy treats for the human guests as well, and Kristy did a great job of labeling which treats were "for the puppy" to avoid confusion!

Let me know if you are "expecting" a new member of your family, or even want to celebrate a milestone birthday - I would love to put one of these charming parties!




FREE DIY Printable Invitation Templates

One word. SPLENDID

Ok, two words. FREE

I found these amazing printable invitation templates FREE that you can
personalize to your heart's content!

You can find the downloads for these invitations and so much more directly on
i-do-it-yourself.com. Have fun, enjoy and be sure to show me some of your finished projects!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

My Love of Armoires

If you have ever been to my home, you would find an armoire in just about every room of the house. In fact, as I type this I am doing a mental survey of each room and with the exception of 2 bathrooms, there is indeed an armoire in every room of our home, and some rooms have 2.

The possibilities are endless. It's a very versatile piece of furniture that not only can serve as a focal decor piece but it can also serve as the main storage in that room - keeping an overall tidy appearance to any room once the armoire doors are closed.

It's fairly simple to take an old vintage armoire and customize it with fabulous colors and patterns. Try refurbishing an old one by painting it a new color and installing shelves, lining the shelves with patterned paper, hanging clothing rods, hooks, or chipboard, hanging mirrors, adding storage bins, or even cutting a hole out of the back so that computer or television wires can reach the outlets.

You can solve storage solutions in every room of the house.

In a bedroom use it for clothing storage, an out of season wardrobe closet, a place to
store your accessories (handbags, purses, scarves and jewelry), as a make-up counter,
or entertainment center.

In your family or living room you can also use it as an entertainment center, or store games and kid's activities, organize your hobby equipment or craft supplies, hide music and instruments, or archive your memories (scrapbooks, photo albums, etc.)

In the bathroom you can store your linens or keep cleaning supplies on hand.

Armoires make great virtual computer offices in a spare room or a teen's room, or provide extra storage in the kitchen for pantry items or pots & pans. In a laundry room you can have a ready-made laundry center for sorting & folding.

Use them as a liquor cabinet/bar, to house fancy china, or in a greenroom for
gardening supplies.

You can tell that I am just in love with armoires and the creative and unique ways to use them in non-traditional ways!

Here are some photos to inspire you to organize and de-clutter!


photo credits
images (1, 2) found on lily-gonline; image (3) found on All Pretty Little Things; images (4, 5) found on Morgan Moore; image (6) found on Little Loveables; image (7) found on Canberrasgotstyle; image (8) found on Paperjewels; image (9) found via Southern Living; image (10) found via Laura Ashley; image (11) found via Ladies Home Journal;image (12, 13) found via Better Homes and Gardens; image (14) found via Kitchenisms; image (15) found via The Furniture.Com; image (16) found via Martha Stewart; image (17, 18, 19) found via Pottery Barn; image (20) found via Anthropologie