Thursday, April 30, 2009

TISSUE POM INSTRUCTIONS



A request has been made for instructions on how to make the tissue poms seen in the previous post. I, of course, did not take photos as I made them as I was in party prep panic mode and am not the best at creating blog tutorials, but I did find some photos of the process on Martha's website (who else!). So, without further ado, a tissue pom tutorial brought to you with a little help from Martha.

1. Neatly stack approximately 15-18 sheets of tissue paper. I use the dimensions of the tissue paper as is, but you can trim it down beforehand to vary the size. Fold the stack of tissue accordian style, making 1 1/2 inch folds and creasing the tissue as well as possible with each fold.

2. Once the tissue is folded, cut a piece of floral wire and wrap it around the center of the folded tissue. Make a loop with the excess wire to attach the string, wire or ribbon that the pom will hang from. Now, trim the edges of the tissue into a scallop or point as shown above. Since the poms that I make have more layers of tissue than Martha's instructions (Martha uses 8 sheets of tissue), the trimming step will likely not look as neat as the photo above. If your scissors will not cut through the thickness of the folded tissue, just separate the layers into halves as best you can and cut. Any imperfections in the scallop or point that you make will not be apparent in the finished pom.

Note: I sometimes vary the size of the pom at this trimming step, cutting off more length on each end as I scallop.


3. Separate the tissue one sheet at a time to form the pom.  I tend to rotate the pom in front of me in a circular motion and separate the entire layer one at a time rather than separating one side first and then the other. The two sides of the pom blend better this way. (if this does not make sense to you now, it likely will once you get started) 

4. Tie ribbon, string or fishing line to the loop you made from floral wire at the center of the pom and hang. That's it, you have a finished pom!

{For more details on the room in this final photo, go here.}

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

A PRETTY PARTY



My little Petunia received her First Communion this weekend and it was such a beautiful day! The weather in New England can be very unpredictable in April, so we've had our fingers crossed for a while and boy did it pay off. 


This was a big day for her, so she was sure to be very specific about what she wanted for her party. It was requested that I do a silhouette of her with her hair in a bun (yes, she was that specific) and she would also wear her hair in a bun on the day of the communion. Oh, and the color scheme had to be purple.  


We carried the use of silhouette into the party decor and added doilies to the banners to give them that extra girly touch.


And a party wouldn't be a party around here without a few tissue poms!


Unfortunately, I did not get a good shot of the cake, but it featured the same silhouette done in fondant (shown above), placed on the cake cameo style. I cut the silhouette out of the fondant myself and delivered it to the bakery for them to place on the cake. I had a premonition that if I brought in a template of the silhouette and asked them to create it for me, I would be promptly escorted from the premises and banned for life. I didn't want to risk it. 


The highlight of the party turned out to be the candy bar that we set up for do-it-yourself party favors. I made up little bags for each guest to fill to their heart's content and everyone loved it - adults and children alike.

I had intended to fill the candy bar with all purple and white candy; however, when the time came, it just didn't make sense to spend the extra money on candy that perfectly matched the theme. Even now, it's hard for me to say that, but purple and white candy would have cost 10 times as much as the pastel display shown above. Yes, you read that correctly - 10X!! To be honest, as I was filling the jars I was a bit disappointed that I hadn't spent the extra money, but once I added the ribbons and labels to the jars I was really happy with how it looked. And of course, none of the guests even noticed. So my little budget lesson for the day: purple candy was absolutely not worth the cost for a small family party like this. Now, if it were a wedding or shower...

Speaking of showers, the classic style of the silhouette used for this party would be perfect for a bridal shower, birthday party (I'm thinking Sweet 16!) or graduation. Just change the color palette to match the style and sophistication of your event; the base decor is all very simple, classic and easily adaptable to suit whatever type of party you are planning.


For us, it was a First Communion and there's no denying that the girl of honor was thrilled with how it all turned out.

Edited to add: Photo Thank You Note



Monday, April 20, 2009

SPRING BREAK



Regular posts return next week!
{shoppe will remain open}

Monday, April 13, 2009

HAPPY EASTER


Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I'm busy trying to catch up on work and sleep as I (slowly) recover from pneumonia. Hoping to be back full force by end of week.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

SISTERS LIVE HERE


Peanut will be moving to a big girl bed soon, which is the perfect opportunity to redecorate the room that she shares with her big sister. Nothing major, as we just redecorated two years ago to accommodate Peanut's arrival, but new bedding and decoration are definitely in order - and a new bed for Peanut, of course!

The room that my girls share is not nearly as large as the one in this picture, but I really love the feeling of this room. It looks like sisters live here; fresh and lively and filled with giggles,  I can just tell. I'm hoping to create a room with a similar mood for my girls, in about a quarter of the space. I think it's doable.

Note: I can't for the life of me remember where I saw this photo. If you know, remind me so I can give proper credit?

Photo source: House Beautiful via Mary Ruffle. (found my notes!)

Sunday, April 5, 2009

HAPPY SPRING TEMPLATE - FREE DOWNLOAD


I have added an additional Bunny template that reads "Happy Spring" for those who do not celebrate Easter. You can find links to both templates below. Happy Spring!






Friday, April 3, 2009

EASTER TREAT ROUNDUP



Epicurious reviews the best chocolate bunnies for your Easter Basket.


No Fuss Fabulous has this fantastic idea for a non-sweet Easter treat! We'll definitely be making these.


And the incomparable Bakerella has outdone herself with this assortment of her now famous cake pops for Easter!


Oh, and now that I've resurrected (no pun intended) this photo from 2005, my kids are insisting we make this again.

We did have a lot of fun making it the first time and now Peanut is here to help! Any ideas for something edible we can use for the ears?
(for very brief instructions, go here)

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

EASTER TEMPLATE - FREE DOWNLOAD!



As promised, I am back with a free template download for Easter! I love offering templates here, mostly because of the incredible response that I get from all of you. I cannot thank you enough for your kind comments, emails and notes of thanks each time I post a template.


So as an extra little thanks, I have made this Easter template multi-purposed! These fun little Easter-themed punch outs can be used as little favor or gift tags, cupcake picks or labels. I have done them in three colors for a bit of fun and to match all of your Easter needs. Simply download the template here and print! The template is designed for use with a 2.5 inch circle punch for perfect circles every time. And do you know the little trick when using punches? I'm sure you do, but just in case: flip your circle punch over and use it upside down. That way, you can line the circle up perfectly with the design before you punch. (see photo below)


Print the template on label sheets to make stickers for favors or gifts...


or on cardstock for tags and cupcakes picks...


Note: I did not photograph the actual Bunny Cupcake pick because I did not have a cupcake handy today. The photo above is very similar, but saved me the embarrassment of buying and eating a cupcake just for the photo. (not that I didn't consider it, believe me!)

If you have trouble with the download, please feel free to email me here. I'd love to hear how you're using the template, so drop me a line and let me know. Enjoy!