Mother & Home: April 2011

4.30.2011

Something Blue

Beautiful J Crew dresses and lovely color. Seen on Little Black Book

4.28.2011

DIY Tablecloth

Measure your table and choose some nice heavy weight cotton fabric. Buy enough for a generous overhang all around.
Using an iron, press a seam along each edge. Then press another seam by folding the first one over [creating a neat double hem].
Sew all around your tablecloth in a simple straight stitch, making sure all corners are sewn as in picture #10.
Now I add my sew on label. You can get your own made up if you want to!
Finally press the cloth again with the iron & fold neatly for storage.....or use straight away!

Seen on Beach Vintage

Cakes

From I am Baker

Groom's Cake seen on Style Me Pretty

Seen on Style Me Pretty

I don't know if I like the cake or the skirt better! Seen on Once Wed

Candy Cakes from Maddycakes Muse

Here’s what you’ll need:
Tissue paper (we bought a multi-color pack from Michaels, but you can find it on Amazon, Dick Blick, Paper Source, Paper Mart, and lots of other places)
Scissors
Stapler, floral wire, or string
The basic concept is EXACTLY the same as the ever-popular “poof”, except you use more than one color and you only pull the tissue paper sheets to one side, instead of both. Instructions below!
1. Cut tissue down to the size you like. 10 x 10″ square (or 12 x 12″) is a good size. Choose three colors, using approx 3 sheets for the middle color and 5 or 6 for each of the other two. Stack ‘em up in the order you’d like the colors to appear in the finished flower.
2. Accordian fold the stack of tissue (just like the poofs).

3. Staple the center of the folded paper a few times so the layers are securely held in place. If you’re using too much paper for your stapler, you can always use floral wire or even just some string instead.

4. Now just like in the poof tutorial, gently pull each piece of tissue towards the center one at a time. Be especially careful with the first few as those seem to be most likely to rip. If you do rip one, don’t worry! You’re going to scrunch the paper up anyway and a ripped sheet will be plenty hidden in the end.

It actually works best if you scrunch the tissue as you go. So maybe finish with the first color and scrunch it up so it looks small and circular enough, then move on to the next color, stopping periodically for more scrunchin’.

That’s it! You can see that you can use any color combo you want for a different look. Create pretty soft flowers using pale pinks and whites, or more traditional flowers using bright colors. You can even create anemones by using black as the center color, or just plain monochromatic poofs for texture around your reception or ceremony space.
For those of you curious about the recycled newspaper version (or maybe better, pages of old books?), just know that newspaper is thicker than tissue so you don’t need quite as much per flower and it’s a bit harder to work with. We might also suggest wearing gloves if you plan to make a lot of these! Newsprint can be pretty dirty.

Seen on 100 Layer Cake

Ice Cream Parlor Party

Seen on 100 Layer Cake

DIY Ladybugs

LADYBUG {or Ladybird} PARTY DECOR
by Jordan Barie
Materials:
Styrofoam balls from craft stores
Red fabric
Dressmaking Pins OR Hot Glue Gun
Black self-adhesive black felt
Pipe cleaners for antennae
Instructions:
1. Cut the styrofoam balls in half using a saw or sharp kitchen knife.
2. Using a plate or other flat round object, trace a circle on the red fabric making sure it’s large enough to cover the dome of the body.
3. Cut out your circles and start wrapping your ladybird body pinning on opposite sides to start with. You could also use a hot glue gun to secure the fabric on the under side.
4. Fold and ease the fabric underneath with as few visible gathers as possible.
5. Cut a circle out of the felt for the head and stick on and wrap one edge underneath
6. Cut a strip of felt for the center of the ladybug’s wings, and dots for her spots.
7. Stick all felt onto the red bodies.
8. Cut the black pipe cleaners in half and curl one end. Insert into the top of the ladybird for antennae.

Seen on Hostess with the Mostess

In the Garden Party

The theme is carried out so well in the food here… from “worms in dirt” {gummy worms buried in cookie crumbs} to cake served in flower pots to adorable toadstool cookies & more.

Theme: DOWN IN THE GARDEN
“I wanted to steer away from the formal dessert table trend and give scope for a complete food table – let the savories in on the fun!
Starting with the guest of honor’s name and some cute DIY ladybird decorations, the background was a rough white wall. With the fake turf tabletop, it gave an “outdoors on the grass” kind of vibe. I used some props that were already weathered from being outdoors throughout the party, which helped play up the rustic-but-clean feel.
FOOD
Food was simple and appealing to little girls (and boys!) at the party. Not too much sugar and nothing too over the top or fancy. One of my favorite details on the food table were the drink bottles. I used miniature milk bottles I found at Bed Bath n Table and covered them with squares of paper wrap, secured with jute string. I cut a cross in the top and popped in a straw just before the food was served. A fresh take on the mini glass bottles and paper straws!
The Dragonfly and Toadstool cookies were designed by Bubble and Sweet to match the invitation perfectly. the mini burgers were also another highlight. Miniature anything is always cuter, I say!
We had ‘mud pie’ ginger kisses, chocolate crackles in pine food cones, cherry ripe cake pots, and ‘worms in dirt’ in a pile that the little guests could dig and serve into their food boats.
The take home treat was a personalized favor box with toadstool cookies inside. Cute!”

Seen on Hostess with the Mostess