baptism+communion+birthday=fun

I have a party that I am doing the arrangements and decor for in May. It's a party in which everything is rolled up into one big affair instead of celebrating three different events at different times. I think it's better that way and since its Spring and they are two sacraments it can be done in light colors and pastels and I am pretty excited to see what we can do with it.

Pomanders a la Martha Stewart are making an appearance.
They are easy to make, make an impact, and are super inexpensive.

{greengelato}

{msl}

Alternating from the beams will be these balloon flowers

{msl}
Directions on how to make are here


I bought these cute little white pots.


I think I am going to make little miniature pomanders with carnations and tie a cute ribbon around the belly.

{JKM Ribbon and trims}

First though I am going to make some with silk flowers to see how many flowers it takes and if it's going to be more economical that way.

I am going to make her a collage of her kids pictures to put around the hall to give it a personal touch and I am thinking we will have two tables. One with the communion/Baptism cake. The other a princess theme for her daughters birthday so when they look back at pictures they will have a first birthday picture.

She already got the favors but how fun would these be for favors?
I just love Bakerella!

You can get instructions here.

They seem pretty simple to make and mark my words, you will soon see a post about how they tuned out for me. :)

Daisy Wedding

I'm doing the floral arrangements and decor for a wedding in August for a bride that LOVES Daisies.
The colors we are working with are dark brown( which I love) orange/rust, some dark reds, bright yellow, and white/cream to accent.

{pictures from wedding tactics}

For the centerpiece the plan is to have these three vases filled with rocks to tie in the rocks that line the venue outside.

Here is the mock up I did for the bride to see. The darker ones were taken with my camera phone at night because I misplaced my camera.
It's three vases filled with rocks, white mums, a floating candle, water and bear grass.
But of course for her wedding the flowers inside will be a combination of Orange, reds, and Yellow Daisies.

These were taken in the day with a camera.

Just to get an idea of what the colors will look like, I made a bouquet of roses to test out the color scheme.

Kind of cool, huh? I like that it's bright and summery. If it translates to Gerber Daisy's is another thing but at least the idea is there.

I am envisioning a line of small 7 inch cylinder vases filled with the rocks, water and floating candles that will line her aisle. She'll walk up to the arch that is draped in rust colored chiffon or silk dupioni . Maybe we will hang votives holding daisies with invisible thread. Or forget the votives and just string off gerber daisy heads from the strings. Don't quite know yet, the possibilities are endless and we will sketch something out for the bride at our walk through.

Sneak Peak at the BLUE wedding

Excuse the lack of posting but I having been a busy bee. I just finished up the blue wedding and let me tell you the bride looked so beautiful and the whole family is just one nice group of people as a whole. Kudos to everyone in her family for putting up with the windstorm that hit SF that day. Seriously-it was ridiculously windy but the bride was way more fierce than that old wind let me tell you, that groom is one lucky dude.


Anyhow, I cannot find my camera!!!! I can't believe it!

sob :*{

I was lucky enough to receive some pictures from my friend C.

So here they are until I find my camera.
(cross your fingers for me)

I set up three different centerpieces.

Pomander one: carnations (the unsung hero) with pearl pin detail.
Let me tell you this momma took 70 carnations and 70 pins by hand....my index finger hurts.

Pomander two: white mums

Centerpiece number three: White bowl with blue water and rose shaped floating candles.

(I hope they lit them at some point?)

The beautiful cake by Nikki at A Tale of Two Truffles

Blue hydrangeas on the cake and see the votives that I glued her ribbon onto?

Appetizer table that I set up with leftover flowers! I didn't know there were additional flowers needed and when the point person over at the hotel asked me for something, I whipped up these hydrangeas and white stock.

So that's it for now but once I get the ok to post some with the bride and of the rest of the flowers they will be up! :)

Mexican Themed Party

I am working with a client right now on a Mexican Themed birthday party for her father. She is looking for something colorful, festive, and cultural for her father and the guests to enjoy. It will be celebrated outdoors and the possibilities are endless!
A Mexican themed party can go slightly awry and can be a bit of a cliche with the usual plastic cactus and sombreros on tables. But how about bringing some true down home elements to the party? Stuff that is actually a representation of the culture?

Here are some ideas I listed drawing on my own memories growing up for inspiration and the internet for visuals.

Food

Doesn't this look so fresh and appetizing? It is so easy and convenient to hire someone to come out and take away the stress of cooking from you so you can sit back and enjoy your food and a corona. A taco caterer can come out to a party and serve everyone unlimited tacos for a few hours for as little as $300 for up to 50 people.

Growing up as a kid the one thing I looked forward to was Pan Dulce after church every Sunday. These were the reward for sitting quietly in church and boy did I love these things! They are relatively easy to make, I quickly found a recipe online at ricopandulce.com. It is easier for me, however, to go out and buy them at a Mexican Panaderia(Bakery). These would be so awesome on a table with a big coffee carafe filled with Mexican coffee, which is basically coffee with canela(cinnamon).

Cinnamon Vanilla Mexican Hot Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing
WHEW! that was a mouthful!

I was watching Martha Stewart cupcake week(Big surprise)and they featured Mexican Chocolate cupcakes which I immediately thought, BINGO! This would be great for the birthday party. Now I have to make some to "test" them out and make sure they are fit for the party :)
*shameless, I know*

Or....

Mexican Wedding cookies...

recipe here

...served up on these beauties:

Beautiful presentation and they may double as a take home favor.

Side dishes such as rice, beans or chips and salsa can be served in festive and fun shaped dishes like these:

Table Top Decorations

I just love these. They are used to celebrate Dia De Los Muertos( Day of the Dead)

They would look so good on against a solid BRIGHT table cloth.

Can't forget about cute cacti(?) in the middle of all the tables as a sort of centerpiece.

Anything in abundance makes an impact and looks smashing!

celia rickwood paper flowers

Faye and Greer also blogged a while back about these flowers and these save the dates for a Mexican destination wedding from Bird and Banner.

Simple D.I.Y. project that entails, pocket folds, tissue, ink, and stamps.

For the decorations we want it to be festive and colorful and these would look great strung up from tree to tree surrounding the picnic area. A few clusters of colorful lanterns or tissue pomanders ala Martha Stewart would have a wonderful effect as well. They are called picado strands and can be made or bought online from cut-it-out.org. Some of them are so beautiful and versatile they can be used for different themed parties. They offer customs banners, definitely worth taking a look at.

Aren't they perfect for a babyshower?

These can be found here

Mexican blankets/serapes sprawled on the green grass for guests to lay down on and enjoy the sun would make for a colorful picnic.

el chamaco .com

How cute would it be to give favors and have them be little tabasco bottles?

My gosh! Endless possibilities, no? Stay tuned to see what we actually pull off on the big Day!