Poinsettia Cookie Pop Bouquets

Christmas cookie bouquets were six poinsettia shaped cookies on sticks, hand decorated with icing glaze, sugar, edible glitter and melted chocolate.  Each cookie pop was individually wrapped and tied with a bow.  The cookie pops were displayed in a recycled baby formula container wrapped in holiday paper and a fun bow.  The container was filled with sand and rocks (to weight it down) and topped with a circle of styrofoam (to hold the cookies in place) and green shredded paper.  These were made for my daughter's teachers' gifts from her class (gift cards were also added and stuck in with the cookies).  

Fifties Party Centerpieces

I made these centerpieces for Fifties Theme Party.  Silver tone "soda fountain" style vases were filled with 6 large pink carnations and topped with 6 small white carnations.  Arrangements were topped with a plastic cherry (on a bamboo skewer) and 2 straws added for effect.

Cherry Blossom Wedding Centerpieces

I created these simple centerpieces for a small wedding reception in a private backyard.  The grooms' sister hosted the event and wanted to incorporate some traditional japanese wedding photos that the bride and groom had taken.  So I framed the beautiful photos and set them on the tables next to simple glass cylinder vases.  I filled the base of the vases with river rocks and added a couple of tall cherry blossom branches.  The branches were dramatic, yet still simple.  I bought some branches with pink blossoms and some with white blossoms.   Around the frames and cylinders, I placed a couple pink mosaic votive holders with tea light candles.  I also used small square glass vases lined with river rock and made small arrangements with large white roses and pink spray roses.  For a final touch, I scattered a few river rocks around the vases.  I really liked how simple and beautiful everything turned out.  I've always wanted to do a cherry blossom theme, and I was so excited when I found out that I could get fresh blossoms.  The guests had a great time and the bride was touched.  Congratulations!

Graduation Party Centerpieces

It was such a nice break to do something that didn't involve washing any dishes! These centerpieces were for a graduation party for a Laguna Beach High School grad. My challenge was to create some festive centerpieces for a grad party that could be used again the following week for another grad party. I usually do fresh flowers for centerpieces, but with the multi-party aspect and the fact that 17 year old football player didn't really say "roses" to me, I decided to go another direction. So I did 5 different centerpieces for dining tables that incorporated personal photos and the school colors of maroon and white. I made 2 that were "beachy" with sand, shells, and synthetic coral and sparkly plant life. I made 2 more that were school-related (real apples in fish bowl vases, pennants and "2010"s). And the last centerpiece had a cool graphic photo that the grad had used to campaign for class president. I played of that photo and went with all red filler, apples on sticks, and a little blackboard sign. I also added some touches that evoked 4th of July with the sparkly stars in red and silver and picks that simulated fireworks. I was really thrilled with how they came out...they really set the tone for the party. They were fun, but still elegant and personal. Congratulations Ryan! Good luck in your future endeavors.

Under the Sea Tea Party

I hope that the girls had as much fun at this party as I did! I threw this Little Mermaid themed tea party for my daughter Hannah's 4th Birthday. I set up my dining room table with real tea cups and saucers and my grandmother's china plates over a sparkly blue table cloth overlay. The centerpieces I made with leftover floral picks from Michaels' Christmas clearance sale. I borrowed my friend's Cricut machine and made a ton of Ariel cutouts for the centerpieces, invitations, and the favors (tedious, but really cute!) I hung inflatable fish and paper lanterns from the ceiling to create the "under the sea" feel. I also created a mini dessert buffet on the sideboard table against the wall, complete with mini cupcakes, chocolate dipped brownie bites, homemade sugar cookies (in shell and tea pot shapes), and mini "sand cup" trifles. I also made a special "birthday girl" cake topped with an Ariel candle. For favors, I covered little tins with paper and ribbon, and topped each container with an Ariel cutout and their name. Inside each tin was a homemade hair clip for each girl. At the party, the girls made fancy tea party hats (see the Birthday Girl above!) with tulle and pre-made paper flowers; they also got a pink feather boa and dainty white gloves to wear. We ate scones, fruit, finger sandwiches, jello and goldfish crackers, and had two types of tea. The girls really liked all the fanciness, and it was so adorable! So now I have a set of mini tea cups and saucers (service for 12) and all the fixin's for a fancy tea. Want someone else to plan and/or execute your next birthday party? Give me a call!

Baby Shower Decorations

This baby shower was a very special occasion. One of my oldest and dearest friends is having a baby boy in March, so yes, I went a little overboard. I made small, 3-tiered diaper cake centerpieces; I tried something new and worked in a small glass vase in the top tier so that I could add a fresh flower topper to each one. I think it was a fun variation to my usual diaper cake. My co-hosts and I used a color palette of baby blue, lime green and light yellow for the shower. We decorated with actual baby clothes pinned to a clothesline, bright colored linens and "baby" flower arrangements. I made the little "It's a Boy!" banner using simple paper and my Sizzix machine (I'm a scrapbooker as well! I'm addicted to my little Sizzix and was happy to use some new dies!) The paper onesies were also pinned with mini clothespins to a piece of blue yarn. Everything was so cute and festive! Hurry and get here Baby S...we are anxious to meet you!

Gingerbread Barn

When my husband and I were first married, we decided we'd do an elaborate gingerbread house together every year for the holidays. Of course, with the addition of our son, we have skipped the last couple years. But we are back to our tradition with this year's barn. I think my mom had pulled the instructions out of a magazine from the 80's, and I copied all the patterns and hand cut each piece out of gingerbread cookie dough. The reindeer and santa were all pieced together with 3 layers of cookie to make them 3D. We assembled everything with the traditional royal icing, some tinted dark brown. We also made a red glaze that we painted on the roof and sleigh before decorating with candy, which included candy canes, spearmint leaves, m&ms, silver dragees, and cupcake sprinkles. Everything here is (technically) edible, except for the foil wrappers on the presents in the sleigh (although some of the candy was stale and the dough is doctored a bit to be more sturdy...not as delicious!) It was a big endeavor, and we managed to keep it in tact even with the kids around. Other than a sagging barn roof, it looked as pretty as the picture!

Baby Boy Cookie Pop Centerpiece

I made this centerpiece for another baby boy shower. The onesies were so cute the first time, that I decorated them with similar designs: preppy stripes, argyle, polo shirts, etc. And I got to try out my new "bottle" cookie cutter. I think they turned out just as cute. I made 12 cookie pops, then arranged them in a metal bucket as a centerpiece. I also did another 24 cookies without the sticks and just wrapped them in bags with bows. They were used as party favors for the baby shower. The mom-to-be emailed me as soon as they were delivered and said that she "almost cried" when she saw the onesie cookies that said "I love Mommy" and "I love Daddy". I am so happy when I get to be part of something that special! Congratulations Marcai!

JoJo's Circus Birthday Party

All this birthday party talk at my house reminded me that I had never posted party pictures from last year's double Circus Birthday extravaganza! My kids were turning 1 and 3, so we did a big to-do at the Community Center next to my house. So here you go...welcome to the Big Top! To carry out the circus theme, I draped the room in red & yellow panels (plastic table cloths on a roll) to resemble a circus tent. I filled the space with colorful balloons and bright striped linen tablecloths. For the topiary flower centerpieces, I was actually inspired by something I saw in a Disneyland attraction. I created flowers and leaves out of tissue paper, created a topiary form on a stick, and put them in recycled canisters wrapped in coordinating paper and ribbon. The popcorn centerpieces were filled with yellow paper shred and topped with foam-backed artwork on sticks. The custom pennant banner was handmade as well. The cupcake tower was the focal point of the room, draped with a mesh tent for drama.

As for activities, I made several "booths" with carnival style games for the kids (ring toss, ping pong ball toss, golf, bean bag toss) and handed out tickets to the winners. The kids could then swap their tickets for prizes at the prize table. I had a crew of teenagers to man the game and prize stations. I hand-painted a photo station with JoJo's Circus characters that the kids could stick their faces through for photos. I brought in a face-painter, photographer and a balloon artist for an extra exciting day! We served fresh popcorn and hot dogs, complete with a "Jerry's Dogs" inspired condiment bar. The kids took home favor bags filled with bubbles, Barnum's circus animal cookies, foam clown noses, and souvenir cups. The cupcakes were a hit, and I think I took home less than 10 cupcakes from my original 85. There was an elite group of Dads who even tried all 5 flavors of cupcake (you know who you are!) Everyone had a great time, and the kids didn't even go outside to the playground! Now that's a successful party. ;)

Baby Boy Shower!

Boy Oh Boy! Here are my finished products for the big baby shower...

The cake was a tower of homemade layers of vanilla cake with strawberry & bavarian cream filling and double chocolate cake with chocolate custard. It was covered in white fondant and fondant decorations. And it seemed to be a big hit!

I created the handmade baby blocks as an added decoration for the shower. It was also a creative way to use some extra invitations that featured baby photos of the Mommy & Daddy-to-be. They turned out so cute! I had a hard time keeping them away from my 2-year old daughter. (She'd love a set with her own picture on them...hmmm)

I also made 60 sugar cookie "pops" in the shapes of rattles and baby onesies. They were iced and decorated in coordinating colors of white, blue & brown, then individually wrapped with a tiny bow. The cookies, which were ordered as favors for the guests, were featured in colorful tissue-wrapped buckets and presented as cookie bouquet centerpieces (I love to have 2-for-1 decorations- especially edible ones!)

I had such a great time making these treats...and everything looked so fun & festive together. The shower was lovely, and I was so happy to be able to add to their special day! (Thanks Michelle! And best wishes to Mommy-to-be Jacqui!) xoxo

Party Puppy Centerpieces

I think these centerpieces are my favorite experiment so far! They turned out better than I thought they would. The puppies, made from white chrysanthemums, seemed to be bouncing out of the bowls of pink carnations. No doubt they were excited about Holland's first birthday party! Their little paws seemed to peek over the front edge, and their little tails over the back. The puppies were complete with handmade paper party hats to celebrate the big birthday bash. I used plastic eyes (the kind used for teddy bears) and triangular buttons for noses. The silver pedestal bowls were about 8" in diameter, making the whole arrangements about 10" wide and 12" tall. The party goers went crazy over these centerpieces, as well as the matching puppy cupcakes (see other posts for photos!). It was such a fun party to get to decorate! (Thanks Steph!) Large puppy centerpieces as pictured, $35

Peeking Puppy Centerpieces

Ok, so I saw this idea on the Internet and I always wanted to try it! Luckily, Baby Holland loves puppies and her first birthday party was the perfect venue! They turned out really cute. These were smaller arrangements of pink carnations, with little puppy faces in white chrysanthemums peeking out the top. Each puppy had ribbon bows on top of their ears (like they'd just been at the groomers!) I used various items for eyes & noses...buttons, washers, pom poms. Each puppy had their own personality that way! Small puppy centerpieces as pictured, $25 each.

Carnation Cupcakes

This is another type of centerpiece I created for the big first birthday bash. I saw this idea on the back of a bus once, although the ones I've seen are tiny, actual cupcake size. This arrangement was in a container 8" in diameter. I used all pink carnations to make the "frosting" and used shiny blue berry picks (which were readily available this season) for "sprinkles". The birthday candle is an 8" taper candle, and in the interest of safety, I topped the candles with paper "flames". They were fun to make, and just the right mix of whimsy and elegant for a kid's birthday party. Carnation cupcake as pictured, $30

Carnation Tree Centerpieces

I made this centerpiece for the big first birthday bash I've been talking about. I used all white carnations with silver and pink glass bulbs scattered throughout. This single 16-inch tree in a small silver pedestal bowl made a dramatic centerpiece for the buffet table. And it complemented the theme and colors for this wintery first birthday celebration. (Carnation Tree as pictured, $50)

Clip Art Centerpiece

This is one of the centerpieces I made for baby Holland's first birthday. They were simple arrangements of pink and white carnations (mimicking the pink with white polka dot theme) with winter blue berries "sprinkled" on the carnations. They were set in small silver pedastal dishes and topped with a clip art "lollipop" made from wood dowels and foam core board. (The client found the clip art on the Martha Stewart website.) These were very simple, yet pretty high impact with the art work adding some nice height. Wouldn't a cookie pop be a nice topper as well? Many possibilities... Clip art centerpiece as pictured, $23.50

Christmas Cookie Gifts

I made these cookies for my daughter's friends for Christmas. They are my homemade sugar cookies with a thin layer of royal icing and decorated with candies (sprinkles, M&Ms and candy canes). I packaged the cookies in clear cellophane bags with simple ribbon and a tag. They turned out really cute and were well received by the kids (and their parents!) Cookie gifts with candy decorations start at $2.00 each.

Cookie Pop Centerpiece

I created these cookie pops to use as a centerpiece for my sister-in-law's shower for Baby Emily. The letters are separate cookies attached to the circle cookies. I hand painted all the terracotta pots filled with styrofoam and topped them with paper krinkles. They made a really pretty display on the desert table and a nice bonus gift to give to the mom-to-be. I have lots of cookie cutters...the possibilities are endless when it comes to customizing cookie pops. And I make each cookie and all the icing from scratch; I think they're delicious as well as beautiful! (Again, sorry for the not-so-great photo...old camera!) Custom cookie pops start at $3.50 each.

Baby Cookie Pops

I made these cookie pops as party favors for my sister-in-law's baby shower. The crawling babies are made with two circle cookies and royal icing details. They could also have a written message on the baby's diaper. (My apologies for the poor photos...this was before I got my good camera!) Baby cookie pops start at $3.50 each

Easter Sugar Egg

Remember the sugar eggs we all saw (or nibbled on) as kids? I got a set of molds for creating sugar eggs and we went crazy. It turned out so cute, that I actually wrapped it up and saved it, and now I pull it out every Easter for our table. The molded sugar egg and the royal icing decorations all dry to a cement-like state, so it looks surprisingly good each year. I have varying sizes of eggs (this is actually a cake pan - the biggest egg size I have) and they can be made vertically or horizontally. It would be a fun project to do with kids too, if they have the patience (my 2 year old is not quite ready to help!)

Gingerbread House (2006)

Gingerbread! Every year we (try to) make a gingerbread house as a family. This piece from 2006 was about 2' x 3' (in total) and about 2' high. This is actually a replica of my own house, complete with our two dogs (piped in icing) on the front lawn. I created a template by taking photos of the house, creating cardboard templates for all the walls and the roof, and cutting & assembling each piece from homemade gingerbread cookies and royal icing. We used (to name a few) ice cream cones, candy canes, licorice ropes, mini m&m's, gumdrops and starlight mints to decorate. We even used green sugar sprinkles for grass, "nerds" candy for pebble walkways, fruit leather for the roof, and white and green royal icing for the details. We have done similar showpieces for Halloween, Easter and we're thinking about a Valentine's house this year (we just didn't get to our gingerbread this Christmas, so check back in late January!) They last for months (if you can keep little nibblers away) and they make the house smell fantastic. If anyone is interested in a complete custom gingerbread house, please contact me for pricing.