FRIDAY FAVES: Summer Party Hacks

I live in a city that sees about 3 solid months of snow-less weather (seriously, snow in May is thing around here). So it should come as no surprise that every year, as soon as the thermometer stays above 50 degrees, something in my brain starts screaming for lemonade and bonfires. I look for any excuse to host a party (Bought new flip flops?! Yay - Let's party! Got the car washed?! Yay - Let's party!) and break out the graham crackers, marshmallows and Hershey bars. 

Unfortunately, entertaining even a small crowd can take time, energy and money. People often tell me they don't even attempt most party details because they don't have the time or they're "not creative like that". Well, you don't need (much) time or creativity - you just need a little help! 

Fortunately for us, these smart "hack"-ers listened to their mamas when they were told to Work Smarter, Not Harder!

(Are you sensing a theme with my party planning? Like... Dial back the stress, Dial up the wow!)

Ditch the fuss, keep your moolah, and add some fun with 6 of my favorite Summer Party Hacks!

1. Fruit & Herb Ice Cubes
Make these beauties ahead of time by just dropping some lemon slices, blueberries or mint leaves into the water before you freeze it. Play around - there are SO many combinations! Or, just scoop and freeze some melon balls to drop in drinks later! Brilliant and beautiful! (p.s. if you boil your water before you freeze it, you'll get clear cubes instead of foggy cubes!)

   

2. Pre-Scoop Your Ice Cream

This was totally one of those hand-to-forehead DUH! moments for me. If you're serving ice cream at your next soiree, why not save yourself the party-time mess and hassle and scoop it BEFORE everyone arrives? Whether you serve it in jars or cupcake liners, everyone will be totally jealous of your party skills.

        

3. Protect That Drink
You know how it goes... you finally get a few seconds to sit down and chat or relax with a nice cool drink but when you go to take a sip, there's something floating in there :-( You're not sure what it is and you think to yourself, "do I just scoop it out or dump the whole thing and start all over?". Well, don't do either... cover it up with a cupcake liner!

4. No Burning, No Biting!

Having some extra sunscreen & bug spray on hand is always a great idea and here's a way to make sure everyone knows it's there to share. The cute signs are a bonus but in the spirit of saving time, energy and money, just throw 'em in a cute basket or bin and place it on a table or hang on shephard's hook where everyone will see them!

   

5. Game Time!

My family get-togethers have always included games (don't ask about the 2006 Monopoly debacle!) and outdoor, Summer shindigs are no exception. You've probably seen some of the backyard, oversized versions of some classic games that have become popular over the past several years. They can be pricey to buy and most aren't in my DIY skill set. Here are some that don't break the bank or require skills. Yay :-)

  

   

    

6. SHOW IT OFF

Three tips I give people when planning their event, no matter the time of year or type of event...

1) Think of the food and supplies as part of the decor - you have to buy/supply them anyway, let them do double-duty!

2) Look around your house for things you that can be re-purposed for serving and display. 

3) If you decide to buy anything for serving and display, choose items that are neutral so they can be used for future events as well.

Here are some examples of what I mean...

FOOD/SUPPLIES AS DECOR: This is a super simple setup with some color coordinating tablecloths, flower vase, napkin dispenser and paper straws. They aren't all technically decor items but they become decor when displayed together. 

RE-PURPOSING: Check out how she re-purposed votive holders as condiments jars and used craft sticks as labels that double as spreaders - voila! Even the condiments become part of the decor! 

PURCHASING: Based on the blog post for this party, I'm guessing she re-purposed that beautiful cage-like server holding the hot dogs and hamburgers but it's a perfectly neutral piece that can be used over and over - cupcakes, burgers, favors, popcorn boxes, the list goes on!

Here's another great example of using food as decor and this one couldn't be more simple! Paper bags folded over and filled with s'mores fixings. Tilting them on their sides, they become a display instead of just a buffet. For a smaller crowd, try using berry baskets!

Re-purpose, re-purpose, re-purpose :-)

A beautiful and simple way to display some of those melon balls from Summer Party Hack #1!

HAPPY SUMMER HOSTING!!!!
We'd love you to hear your great Summer Party Hacks - share them with us in the comments section!

Cyber Punks!

Forgive my week of silence but we had some computer trouble - I WAS HACKED!

Have you guys heard about this? Cyber criminals are hijacking people's personal files and holding them ransom and there's really nothing you can do. One night, a message popped up on the screen of my laptop that made me suspicious that someone else was "in" my computer. The hubs thought I was paranoid and closed the window before I could copy and paste into a search. By morning, I'd completely forgotten about it but within 72 hours, up popped a new and horrifying message telling me I'd been locked out of my files and if I ever wanted to have access to them again, I better pay up!

Awhile back, I saw a piece about it on the Today Show so I knew it was likely real and that I had to kiss my files goodbye.

I still have NO idea how it happened. Like most of my generation, I'm pretty internet-savvy - I don't download from un-trusted sites, open emails and attachments I don't recognize or visit shady websites. I guess I need to re-evaluate what blog sites I consider "trusted" for my graphic downloads :-(

All I can say is think twice about where you get your download freebies and BACK UP EVERYTHING and do it often!

Thanks to backed-up files (yay for external hard drives), Dropbox and a husband who knows his way around a computer, I'm up and running with a clean bill of health. Ready to take on a new week of posts!

See you Friday for some more FAVES!

DIY Day: Quick & Easy Party "Pick"-Me-Ups

Here's the deal. Pinterest is awesome and all and there may be a bazillion fun themed cupcakes to attempt (and, in my case, fail at miserably) but c'mon...

 

               

Ain't nobody got time for that!

Those cupcakes are super cute and are, no doubt, on the simpler side of the Pinterest scale. But, if you're schedule is anything like mine, baking homemade cupcakes is a stretch, let alone making them Pinterest-worthy! Especially at the last minute. After all, cupcakes can't exactly be decorated a week or two before party day.

So, here's my secret. Go simple. Plain Cupcake + Plain Frosting = Perfect backdrop for a super easy, yet perfectly theme-worthy topper! It doesn't take much time to make (or buy!) plain cupcakes and if time isn't on your side, it take much less time to make some party picks to top them than to cut up candies and arrange them into turtles, fireworks or a beach scene!

Paper straws & food picks are two things you'll see included in just about every party I style for that exact reason. They add color and fun and are quick and easy DIYs! Yay to quick & easy, right?! Even better, they can be done ahead of time, saving you from that last-minute scramble the night before the party or on the day of!

For your next party, don't stress, just break out the craft stash & make some food picks (oh, and they're not just for cupcakes but, you already knew that)!

Since this is all about the quick & easy, I used only supplies I had around the house... scrapbook paper, baker's twine, ribbon, washi tape, scissors, toothpicks, paper punches and good ol' Scotch tape. Admittedly, I tend to have more "supplies" on hand than a lot of people but all of these items are affordable and readily available at any craft store... even some Dollar Stores!

With Memorial Day and July 4th right around the corner, I went with the Americana color-scheme.

I started by creating some pennant flags with a few free-hand cut scrapbook paper triangles, punched holes in one side with a 1/8" hole punch, inserted a toothpick and VOILA! Turn on Netflix and pump out a dozen or so of these a week before your party or the night before! Can it get any easier?! (These can also be made to fit lollipop sticks too - just use a larger size punch)

And, since I had the star paper on hand, I used the old skool jumbo circle punch to cut out some of the large red stars. For this project, I made them single-sided and simply Scotch-taped the toothpick to the back of the paper circle. If you're making these with enough time, or if they will be seen from more than the front angle, use double-sided tape or craft glue to adhere a two circles back-to-back with the toothpick taped to one to ensure it sticks.

To accompany these star-studded paper flags, I thought some glitter washi tape would add the perfect sparkle! Again, simple is the rule of thumb. Unroll some tape, place the toothpick down about an inch from edge...

With the tape attached to the toothpick, hold the toothpick base and fold the tape over towards the roll, matching up the edges carefully.

 Snip the end and cut out a little triangle at the end, if you want...

Boom. Sparkle Flag.

And... ribbon picks. I love these! They're a less expected accent and just as fun & easy to make! 

Cut ribbons to length...

(and pay no mind to the terrible condition of my fingers - they're in desperate need of some lotion and a manicure!)

Fold in half...

Put the cut ends through the loop in the middle...

And pull tight. Lather, Rinse, Repeat. The end.

I've got baggies fulllll of ribbon scraps and these are a perfect excuse for my hoarding :-)

Did I mention that they can be adapted to lollipop sticks and paper straws?! 

 I added a few free-form ribbon banners to the pennant group with a little double-sided tape. (Judge-free zone here... my triangles aren't quite the right shape)

OH! And baker's twine! I hadn't thought to make them before but they turned out pretty cute! And, if you're anything like me, you probably have a dozen different colors just sitting around waiting for a reason to use them!

These lovely food picks and paper straws are headed to Pittsburgh for a Memorial Day shindig!

Now, start digging through your craft stash and top those store-bought cupcakes off with something cute! Go on, make the PTA moms jealous...

** Someday, I'll post the tutorial for some of the other, slightly more complicated/time-consuming (but still easy!) food picks/drink stirrers. I'm especially fond of the metallic foil garland swizzle sticks!

FIRST-EVER FRIDAY FAVES!

I've made a promise to myself (and now to you) to be more consistent with my blogging, posting weekly DIY party projects and a "Friday Faves". So, without further ado...

FRIDAY FAVES: Etsy.com Shops!

Here are just a few that I've recently added to my ever-growing list of Etsy faves:

BRANDALYN'S BOWTIQUE

Specialty: Paper die cut garlands and mobiles, banners & girls' hair bows (I, having only 3 boys and no girls, have focused mainly on the garlands, banners and mobiles LOL!)

Why I'm Hooked: Super friendly, prompt correspondence, quick shipping, great selection of colors and customization is no problem!

(Coming Soon to the Blog: Aviation-themed party featuring custom cloud & airplane garland!)

FLUFF IT UP COTTON CANDY:

Specialty: Organic, Fair Trade Cotton Candy with no artificial colors/flavors!

Why I'm Hooked: No artificial colors or flavors, 51 flavors to choose from (awesome!!!), arrives fresh and fluffy! So far, my favorites are Cake Batter and Strawberry but I also enjoyed Almond and Mango and have a bag of Orange Blossom tucked away to try last.

Did I mention they have 51 flavors? Some are pretty wild!

      

Others, I can't wait for an excuse to try!

      

SWEET ESTELLE

Specialty: Baking, Packaging & Party Supplies

Why I'm Hooked: Vintage Christmas/Winter Cupcake Toppers, great prices on a HUGE selection of cupcake liners & favor/treat bags and sprinkles & edible toppers GALORE!!

SHOPPE3130:

Specialty: Party Supplies

Why I'm Hooked: Baker's twine & paper straws galore, awesome prices and color selection on tissue tassel garlands & tissue poms.

HAPPY SHOPPING!