Diwali Inspirations

Ever year I plan on planning a really over-the-top Diwali celebration for our family, but every year Diwali creeps up on me (with so many other things going on during the Fall) and I run out of time to plan! :-)

So, this weekend, I'm going to be scrambling to pull things together. Here's what is inspiring me this year:

I found a FABULOUS new shop on Etsy. It's called Nirman and it's run by two sisters, Manisha and Priya, from the New York area. They have created a great alternative to traditional rangolis (usually made with colored powder and flour), using bright beads and crystals. These rangolis come pre-made, backed on clear plastic. So now you can use rangolis to decorate your home, even if you don't have an outdoor space! The other great thing about these rangolis is that they can be used over and over. I've ordered one for my house and can't wait for it to get here!! :-)

Check out these mini rangoli patterns made around small tealight candles, by RangDecor. Archana uses small metal stencil boxes that you find in India to create these rangolis by sifting/stamping a fine powder through the stencils. Another way to achieve this look would be to use chalk on a surface painted with chalk board paint or even black paper. 

I love these "kolam" patterns made on small pebbles, also from RangDecor. There's something very cathartic about the idea of "painting your prayers". 

Another Etsy find: I love these gorgeous diyas by turquioseme. Thank goodness for Etsy, without which it might be difficult to find diyas of this quality and beauty outside India! :-)

Indian sweets (meethai) are a staple of Diwali--talk about easy inspiration for a dessert table! For a fabulous ethnic-inspired dessert table, we needn't look much farther than the blog of my dear friend, Bird of Bird's Party. Since starting this blog, I have seen so many dessert tables; but, I have to admit, I'm still totally in awe of Bird's Bollywood Bling dessert table! I simply LOVE it. 

But I have a confession to make--I don't really like Indian sweets! He he! ;-)

So for those of us with an Indian heritage (but not an Indian palate), here are some yummy, Indian-inspired, western, sweet treats!

Chocolate diyas from TwoDotts. I think these would make great cupcake toppers too!

Diya-shaped cookies from Anjalis Designer Cookies. 

And how fabulous are these rangoli-inspired cookies from DessArts?!?!?!?! These really look too good to eat! 

For other ideas, see last year's Diwali Inspiration, Diwali recap and our Bollywood Karaoke Party. 

Happy Diwali and Sal Mubarak! 

Tapas or Treats: Halloween appetizer table

I was thrilled when my dear friend, Bird (from Bird's Party), asked me to use her printables to style a Halloween table for her Fall e-zine. I wanted to do something a little different (and after the Spiderman party I was feeling really sugared out!), so I decided to put together a savory, appetizer buffet. My aim was to make small "tapas" style plates that looked like treats! Although the dishes were not true "tapas" dishes, I liked the play on words of "Tapas or Treats". You can see the feature in the Fall e-zine here.

Here's what was on the menu, if you want to re-create this table, using Bird's printables:

"Spider web" guacamole and chips.

This is so simple to make--just top the guacamole with a spider and a sour cream "web" piped on using a piping bag (or even a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off).

"Swamp dip" (aka spinach dip), served with toasted spider bread. 

Cut the bread into spider shapes using a cookie cutter. Serve the dip in tiny "tasting" cups, to keep with the tapas feel.

Goat cheese and poppy seed "bats". 

Mix crumbled goat cheese with cream cheese; roll into bite size balls and coat with poppy seeds; use olives for eyes and blue corn tortilla chips for wings.

"Deviled" eyeballs.

Make deviled eggs per your favorite recipe, garnish with hot sauce "blood" and olives.

"Jack O Lantern" naval orange and pumpkin seed salad.

After scooping out the inside of the oranges, "carve" faces into them like pumpkins. Fill with a mixed greens salad, tossed with the leftover orange pulp and  toasted pumpkin seeds.

"Blood" orange martinis.

Make the martini with vodka, triple sec and orange juice (or use St. Germaine instead of Triple Sec for an interesting twist); drop candy corn  into the glasses and rim with paper bats from the printables collection. The candy corn will bleed a little (no pun intended), creating a nice effect.

I used the paper printables to complete the look.

To make a "pumpkin pom" simple attach a face to a tissue paper pom pom. 

For many other great uses for the printables collection, see Bird's fall E-zine. 

Spiderman Birthday Party: Part 7, Daily Bugle Staff and Vendor Credits

This is the seventh and final post in a whole series of posts about my son's Spiderman Birthday Party Extravaganza!! Click here for Part 1: Theme and Invitations, Part 2: Dessert Table, Part 3: Games and Activities, Part 4, Decorations, Part 5: Food and Drinks, and Part 6: Party Favors.

Note: If you're joining us from Amy Atlas, please read on for many more details.

As you can see from the prior posts, there was a lot going on at this party!! And I couldn’t have done it all without help from a lot of amazing people! My mum made the Spiderman capes. Several of my cousins and my brother were gracious enough to volunteer to be “staff” at the party—take photos, man the game stations, do the face painting, be Spiderman (girl), etc. I made them all Daily Bugle “staff editor”, “staff photographer” and “staff reporter” T-shirts and their own Press Passes with their photos, for them to wear at the party (and also to take home as thank you presents for helping out!) And last but by no means least, my husband helped me throughout to cut, glue, stick, paint, print, stapled, melt, mold...you get the picture...and just generally put up with me through a couple months of late evening party planning! :-) 


Thanks to everyone who helped out!! I couldn't have done it without you.

In addition to my wonderful family and friends that helped me out so much, the following vendors were critical to the success of the party. They were all awesome to work with and provided stellar products for the party.

Paper Party Printables—Bird’s Party

http://www.birdsparty.com/

Cupcake Toppers—Village Cupcakes

http://www.etsy.com/shop/VillageCupcakes?ref=ss_profile

Cake Pops—Radiant Cakes

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RadiantCakes?ref=ss_profile

Cookies—SweetLill

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SweetLill?ref=ss_profile

Photography—Erin Homann

http://www.erinhomann.com/

   

Spiderman Birthday Party: Part 6, Party Favors

This is the sixth in a whole series of posts about my son's Spiderman Birthday Party Extravaganza!! Click here for Part 1: Theme and Invitations, Part 2: Dessert Table, Part 3: Games and Activities, Part 4, Decorations, and Part 5: Food and Drinks. Stay tuned for Part 7: Daily Bugle Staff.

Note: If you're joining us from Amy Atlas, please read on for many more details.

I know, I know, Spiderman doesn’t wear a cape, but Spider Boys do!! My fabulously talented mum helped me to sew red and blue satin capes for the boys. I also made red and blue tutus for the girls (embellished with spiders, of course). Rather than giving the children the favors at the end of the party, we gave them the capes and tutus when they arrived so they could wear them throughout the party. Each child was also given a “My name is…” speech bubble label upon arrival at the party, so Spiderman would know their names. Another DIY project/favor: I made Spiderman crayons using a lollipop mold and custom coloring books for the children to take home and/or color in while waiting for other guests to arrive. They also took home their water flasks. I bought comic exclamation tote bags online, so each child could have a bag in which to carry home their favors. They each also took home a graduation certificate from Spidey's academy and lots of treats from the dessert table.

Spiderman Birthday Party: Part 5, Food & Drinks

This is the fifth in a whole series of posts about my son's Spiderman Birthday Party Extravaganza!! Click here for Part 1: Theme and Invitations, Part 2: Dessert Table, Part 3: Games and Activities, and Part 4, Decorations. Stay tuned for Part 6: Party Favors, Part 7: Daily Bugle Staff.

Note: If you're joining us from Amy Atlas, please read on for many more details.

In addition to all the sweet treats covered in Part 2, I made “refueling lunch packs” for the little Spider Children, complete with juice, crackers, fruit snacks, spider-sandwiches, and strawberries and blueberries, and had “refueling fluid” a.k.a water flasks (embellished with spiders and nutritional labels). The water flasks doubled as one of many party favors that the children took home. We also had red and blue snow cones and old-fashioned red soda (for the older children and Daily Bugle staff). For the adults, we served spinach dip and spider bread, Doctor Octopus tentacles (penne pasta), salad, and Green Goblin punch. The beverage tubs for the beer and wine said “With great beer/wine, comes great responsibility…please drink responsibly.” The adults at this party had about as much fun as the children!

Yum!