Raksha Bandhan Cards & Rakhis

Here are the rakhis and cards I made for Raksha Bandhan this year. I stuck to a white, red and grey palette with a little shimmer and an ethnic-inspired embossed stamp for an Indian, but modern, look.

For last year's post and a short explanation about the significance of Raksha Bandhan click here.

Lorax Party: Sneak Peek

My son's 5th birthday party was this past weekend. Everyone had a fabulous time! Here's a quick sneak peek. Stay tuned for a lot more photos, all the party details, and tutorials! :-)

Happy July 4th!

We had some family over, last minute, for dinner tonight. Since we're only a few days away from July 4th, I couldn't help myself but to add a few festive touches and serve up some BBQ, apple pie and ice cream, and red and blue fruit kebabs (I told my son they were "fruit fireworks" and he loved them!)

Sushi Night!

Tonight I made sushi for dinner...to celebrate how awesome my husband is! Salmon, escolar, tobiko and wasabi masago made for an awesome orange, green and white color palette!  Who needs dessert when dinner looks this good?! :-)

The cucumber-wrapped "riceless" roll was my first attempt at this type of roll. Okay, okay, the cucumber was not as thin as our favorite, local sushi restaurant, but, nonetheless, I was pleased with the result.

Beach Picnic Party

Summer is here!

We celebrated the end of the school year with a beach picnic party! The picnic food included starfish-shaped sandwiches, goldfish crackers, cool lemonade and jello "beach" cups. I used printables from Bird's Party to add a nautical element. Beach pails filled with beach balls, sand toys and sunglasses served as both centerpieces and party favors.

How to make Jello "beach" cups....

These Jello "beach" cups were a hit with the children--and they are super easy to make! 

Just make the blue Jello per the packet directions and pour into plastic stemware. When the Jello is about halfway set, insert gummy sea creatures into the cups. Right before serving, top with graham cracker "sand" (just run some graham crackers through a blender until they reach a sand-like consistency) and a cocktail umbrella. 

Have a great summer! 

Sneak Peek: Lorax Cake Pops

Since he has a summer birthday, my son's "school birthday" celebration is tomorrow. I decided to use it as an opportunity to practice my cake pop skills. I followed Bakerella's tutorial to make Lorax cake pops for his class. I know, I know, they aren't Bakerella quality, but not bad for a first attempt, right? I'm hoping to perfect them on the second try in July!! 

The Lorax Party: Sneak Peek

My son has been a Dr. Seuss fan for a long time now, but this love has only intensified now that he can read!! :-) He told me earlier this year that he wanted a Lorax birthday party--not just any Dr. Seuss party, but specifically a Lorax party. I told him we would see. Then the movie came out. Game over!

So party planning for his birthday has begun! I have lots of ideas to share!! Here is a sneak peek. I'm working on a "Lorax book" invitation--the verse above is the first verse of a whole book that I've written! :-)

Since the Lorax is such a great advocate for our environment, especially trees, a Lorax party wouldn't be complete with tree planting, right? At the party, we're going to have a potting station for the children to plant their own seedlings that they can take home as party favors and watch grow! Above are the Lorax plant pots that I made for the children to plant their seedlings in!

Enjoy! And stayed tuned for more Lorax inspiration!

Morning News Brunch

Have you heard the news...? You're invited to view the "Morning News Brunch" that I styled recently for Bird's Party Spring/Summer Magazine! Click the link to view the magazine, which includes many other amazing parties from your favorite party stylists and bloggers to inspire you for all your Spring and Summer celebrations.

The theme for this brunch was inspired by the yellow and grey party printables from Bird's Party. The use of newspaper fruit, fans and napkin wraps added a touch of whimsy and fun to the otherwise elegant tabletop. Vases filled with lemons created colorful and inexpensive centerpieces.

In keeping with the yellow/grey brunch theme, the menu included lemon poppy seed muffins, banana pudding parfait, pineapple with gorgonzola cheese, deviled eggs with hash browns and bacon, mini waffles with maple syrup, lemon bars, champagne and lemonade. I kept the servings small to create a tasting buffet of the brunch items.

Here are more photos from the styled shoot.