Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day!  Here's to a day filled with fun, swimming, delicious food, family and wonderful friends.  I hope that you and yours have a great day!  Lastly, may God richly bless all the service men and women who have so valiantly served our country. 

Mediterranean Orzo Salad

Memorial Day weekend kicks off cookout and picnic season -- my favorite time of the year!  I am always on the look-out for delicious pasta salad recipes to take along to such events.  Salads that can be made ahead of time or don't require any mayonnaise are my favorites.  This Mediterranean Orzo Salad fits both of those criteria.  The salad could be made the night before, although the spinach should probably be left out until close to serving time. 



 Mediterranean Orzo Salad

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) box uncooked orzo 

4 cups baby spinach, chopped

3/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (soaked in warm water for 30 min., if not packed in oil)

3 tablespoons red onion, diced 

1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 (15 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Cook orzo according to directions on package, omitting salt.   Drain orzo, rinse thoroughly with cool water.  Transfer orzo into a large serving bowl and toss with olive oil.  Add the remaining ingredients, toss.  Add one additional tablespoon of olive oil, if needed.  Serves 4 to 6. 

Memorial Day Ideas

I love Memorial Day weekend because it always feel like the start of summer.  Plus, it is usually a weekend filled with cookouts!  If you are hosting or attending a Memorial Day celebration, here are a few party ideas:

Martha Stewart Patriotic Table

The simplicity of this Martha Stewart table is what makes it so beautiful.  Learn how to make the ribbon stars  HERE.

Better Homes and Gardens Patriotic DIY Candle

This easy BHG candle holder is made with red beads.  Another idea would be to use dried Cranberry Beans instead of beads.  The white beans with red flecks would add a patriotic look to any candleholder.

 

Pizzazzerie's Budget Friendly Patriotic Party

I love the pie bunting in this picture from Pizzazzerie.  I've seen bunting used on cake, but never on pie!

Hostess with the Mostess Cookout Party with Free Printables

The Hostess with the Mostess includes a party planning guide with her party.  It includes free printables for you to download and instructions on how to create the party look.  If you are a fan of hot dogs, you'll love this Make Your Own Hot Dog Cookout Party!

Of course, the Ice Cream Shoppe Party I designed, seen HERE, could easily be used for a Memorial Day weekend cookout party, too.  Hope everyone has a fun-filled Memorial Day!

Party Garlands

I am a huge fan of using party garlands.  The above ice cream cone garland was used on the toppings table for the Ice Cream Shoppe Party.  To make the garland, I used a 3 inch circle punch to make the larger scoop of ice cream and a 2 inch circle punch to make the smaller scoop.  I cut out triangles for the cone and glued all three pieces together.  I then punched small holes on both sides of the larger scoop and hooked all the cones together using ribbon.  Such an easy way to decorate a dessert table!  Here are some other great garland ideas:

 Pom Pom Garland from Momtastic

Sewn Circle Garland from the Frog Prince Paperie

Party Garland from the Purl Bee

Cupcake Liner from One Charming Party

Last Day of School Ice Cream Party

ICE CREAM SHOPPE PARTY

The last day of school is quickly approaching, which got me thinking about the after-school  party.  After school on the last day, our neighborhood kids often get together to play in the sprinkler and slip ‘n slide, celebrating the start of summer.  I designed this Ice Cream Shoppe Party to kick off summer break.  Since the last week of school is usually filled with special activities, school talent shows, and awards ceremonies, I wanted this Ice Cream Shoppe Party to require minimal work.  Planning for this party took only a couple of days.

I designed the modern and simple paper items, choosing a fresh orange and lime color pallette.  The ice cream cone banner and accents were made with scrapbook paper from Martha Stewart.  The drink table options are simple – citrus water or sparkling tangerine juice.  The main component of the party is the Ice Cream Toppings table.  The kids can choose from four ice cream flavors, two syrups and twelve toppings.  The best part of the party is seeing all the great topping combinations the kids choose.  Their choices really reflect each of their sweet personalities!

UPDATE:  A DIY Printable Ice Cream Shoppe Party Collection, similar to the one used in this party, is now available in my Etsy Shop.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

I've tried a few vegan baking recipes over the last couple of months, without much success.  The texture for the cakes just did not seem quite right.  But, then, I stumbled upon the following recipe for Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes. 

Yum!!  These are just right, with an almost brownie-like texture. 

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
(adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cupcakes magazine)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup canola oil
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup warm water
2/3 cup non-dairy chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 12 regular muffin cups or 24 mini muffin cups with paper baking cups. 

Mix together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.  In another bowl, mix oil, vinegar and vanilla.  Stir oil mixture into flour mixture, until combined.  Stir in the water.  Beat with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes or until no lumps remain.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into muffin cups.  Bake about 18 minutes for regular size cupcakes or 12-15 minutes for mini muffins.  Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from muffin tins and cool completely on wire racks before icing cupcakes.


Vegan Chocolate Frosting


1/2 cup Vegan Buttery Spread (I used Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tbsp vanilla soy milk


Let butter spread sit out at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes until it softens.  Beat butter spread and vanilla on medium with an electric mixer, until smooth.  Combine powdered sugar and cocoa powder.  Gradually add powdered sugar mix alternately with 3 Tbsp. vanilla soy milk, beating on low speed until blended and smooth after each addition.  If desired, beat in a little more milk or powdered sugar until reaching desired consistency and sweetness. 

DIY Ruffled Wreath

For the Royal Wedding party, I wanted to incorporate ruffles where I could, so I hung a white ruffled wreath over the dessert table.  It was an inexpensive doecration, that I made in about 30 minutes using coffee filters! 

I first spotted a coffee filter wreath on The Nesting Place. 

{The Nesting Place}

Isn't that absolutely gorgeous?  You should check out the rest of her house, too. 

If you are interested in making your own wreath, here are the materials you need:

One styrofoam wreath form in your choice of size

One package of coffee filters

Glue Gun

1.    First, you should cover your wreath form with coffee filters, so the color of your wreath form doesn't show on the front of the wreath.  The wreath I used was green, so I didn't want any green showing through on my completed wreath.  If you are using a white wreath form, you can probably skip this step.

2.    Next, fold one coffee filter into four quarters.

3.   Use your hot glue gun to glue the filter onto the wreath. 

4.   Keep repeating until your wreath has reached your desired fullness.



DIY Tissue Pom Poms

This post is first DIY project from the Royal Wedding Party that I posted last week.  Today, we will be discussing Tissue Pom Poms.

I purchased these tissue pom poms to hang in my daughter's room a couple of years ago. 

They came in two different kits by Lily Pulitzer and Martha Stewart.  When I started planning my daughter's 8th birthday party, I wanted teal pom poms to hang.  Instead of ordering them, I purchased a couple of $1 tissue packages at Walmart and made my own.  These simple and cheap pom poms make a big impact.  Since her party, I have used tissue pom poms in some way for almost every party I have designed. 

Here are the instructions:

1.    You need about 10 pieces of tissue paper.  Most packages of tissue paper come with about 10 sheets.  I used 10 sheets for this pom pom, but if you want to make it fuller, you could use more.

2.  Accordian fold the pieces of tissue together.

3.  Using curling ribbon, tie the center of the tissue.  Then, tie off a small loop to use for hanging the pom pom.

4.  Using scissors, round off the edges of the tissue paper. (Or for a different look, you could make your ends pointy.  For an example, see the hot pink pom pom in the first picture of this post). 

5. Begin separating the sheets by pulling apart each individual piece of tissue. 

6.  That's all there is to it!! Here's the finished project:

And here's what the pom poms looked liked hanging for the Royal Wedding party:

I also made the smaller pink pom poms the same way.  Instead of using full sheets of tissue paper, I cut the tissue in half lengthwise to make the smaller pom poms.  One tissue package made two small pom poms.  

First Mention!!!

Wow!! I am beyond thrilled to have the fascinator tutorial mentioned today on A Blissful Nest. 

I have been reading this blog for sometime.  Rebekah's blog has the most gorgeous party and decorating ideas.  She is amazingly talented.  Make sure you check out the Fascinated with Fascinators post HERE and check out the rest of the blog while you are there!

Royal Wedding Inspired Supper Club Party

This April was my month to host dinner for our long-standing Supper Club.  Our group often does themed parties, recently including a Mardi Gras party and a Bourbon Challenge.  I just knew the April Supper Club had to be a Royal Wedding Inspired Dinner Party, particularly since it was being held on 4/29/11.  When I started designing the party, I wanted a color scheme and design that could be used for other royal or princess inspired parties, such as wedding showers, baby showers or birthday parties.   With a more versatile party in mind, I chose a Pale Pink, Grey and White Color Scheme.  



I made Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes and Mini Raspberry Pear Pies.  My good friend, Dawayna made the gorgeous Vanilla Cake with Raspberry Filling.  It even tasted better than it looks!

The table decorations were kept fairly simple.  The Pink Seersucker Fabric provided a backdrop for the dessert table and table runners for the dinner tables.



The guests had lots of fun toasting the new couple, making a cup of tea at the Tea Bar and playing with the Photo Booth Props from paper & cake.

There are several DIY projects from this party that I will post about soon!

Vendors:

Vintage Crown Graphic:               The Graphics Fairy

Photo Props:                                      paper & cake

Fabric:                                                  Hancock Fabrics

Teacher Appreciation Week

If you're still looking for some ideas for Teacher Appreciation Week, here are a couple of thoughts.  Several of the parents at my daughter's school brought in goodies for the teachers.  I made these Mochaccino Cupcakes. 

The adorable FREE cupcake toppers are by Skip to My Lou. 

You can get a copy of them HERE.  You can even fill in your child's name or the name of your child's school. 


I wanted to get my kids involved in Teacher Appreciation Week, too.  This afternoon, we made a tote to give to each of their teachers.

It was a super easy project for little hands.  The idea for the project idea came from this article from Martha Stewart.



The kids stamped the apple print on the totes, using fabric paint.  After we stamped each apple, we had to fill them in a little bit with some extra paint.  We drew in the leaves after the paint dried.  I also added the ribbon using  iron-on hemming tape.   

DIY Kate Middleton Inspired Fascinator Hat -- Just in Time for Derby!!

I must confess -- I had never heard of a fascinator until all the buzz about Kate Middleton's hats.  Then, my husband and I were at Keeneland Race Track last weekend.  In anticipation of Derby, a local milliner had set up a hat stand at Keeneland.  A good portion of the milliner's hat selections were fascinators.  Princess Kate's hat selections must have made quite an impression because at the track that day, half the hats being worn by women were fascinators.  I am betting that this is going to be the Year of the Fascinator at Derby and Derby parties. 

Since we were getting ready to host a Royal Wedding party, I knew I needed a fascinator.  The fascinators at Keeneland were a little pricey, so I thought I could probably make my own.  It was super easy!  So, in case you are attending Derby or a Derby party and want to try making your own, here are the details:

Materials needed:
Rubber Band Headband
Feathers, Flowers, Beads and other decorations
Felt
Hot Glue Gun

I purchased the flower, beaded clip and brown feather from Hobby Lobby.  I already had the black feathers and black felt.

1.    Remove the flower from its stem.  It should pull apart pretty easily if you pull on the stem and the center part.

2.     Hot glue your decoration to cover the middle of the flower.  I chose a hair clip, but you could also use beads, sequins, pearls or some other type of decoration.

3.     Cut out two oval pieces of felt, slightly smaller than your flower. 

4.    Hot glue the brown feathers on top of one of the pieces of felt.  After you glue the feathers onto the felt, spread hot glue over the portion of the felt that will be covered by the flower. 



5.    Press your flower on top of the feathers and felt.  Add any additional feathers you want to fill out the hat.  I add one black feather on either side of the brown feathers.

6.    Turn over your hat and hot glue one rubber band head band on the back of the felt piece.  Before attaching the felt to the headband, I tried on the headband and held up the felt piece to see how I wanted the feathers to be positioned on my head.  Once you have hot glued the felt to the headband, position the other piece of felt over top the first to cover the rubber band.  Hot glue the two pieces of felt together.

That's it -- you're all done!

And, here's how it looked on:

Have fun making your own!!!