French Impressionist Wedding

In September, we had a second celebration of Amalia and Paul's wedding at home with family and friends, to share with our Yiayia who was not able to attend their wedding in Greece.  We were so blessed to have shared this joyous occasion with her.  We all dressed up in the same clothing that we wore on the wedding day. Amalia chose the theme of French impressionist, and I was inpired by the colors of Monet's water lilies.  Enjoy the photos!

Halloween CakeToppers: Classic Literature

This year's Halloween cake toppers were inspired by spooky literature classics, in deep, dark, moody colors with metallic accents.  Shown here are "Sleepy Hollow", with wood grain prints and silver spider webs, and and "Dracula" in wine, plum, and pewter. 

Cake topper in "Sleepy Hollow"

Cake topper in "Dracula"

               

Customer Photos: August 2016

Thank you so much to a lovely customer who shared this photo from her daughter's pony-themed party.  So very pretty in pink and ruffles.  I hope the day was super-special, from one pony lover to another!  

Opa! A Greek Island Party

We had a Greek island theme for Angelo's birthday this year and it felt like we were transported to the Mediterranean for the afternoon.  There's no place quite like Greece in summer!  The simple white, blue, and sunny lemon yellow palette was so bright and inviting yet so serene.  I used a lot of amazing ideas from around the web so here are the decoration details:

1.  We just happen to have small orange and lemon trees, but terra cotta pots of traditional Mediterranean herbs like rosemary, basil, bay, and oregano would also be perfect.  I cut some rosemary and bay and used them in glass vases as well.  You will find succulents growing among the rocks in Greece and in pots as outdoor decor, so our little collection fit in well here.  I even made a paper succulent to decorate the chandelier using this tutorial from Craftberry Bush. Bowls of lemons and oranges added some bright color to the decor. 

2.  I found DIY instructions for these beautiful crepe paper anemones at Ash and Crafts.  Anemones, or windflowers, are connected to Greek mythology and I thought they would be a great fit.  Paper flowers are awesome because you can make them whatever color you like!  Plus, if I wanted fresh cut flowers this particular kind would be really difficult for me to get a hold of.  I also made some yellow poppies, shown in the next set of photos, from a petal template that I just kind of estimated.  

3.  I made a wall display of hand-weaving using embroidery hoops.  My yiayia and I had made these for another occasion.  Learn how to make your own here at the Living Crafts blog. 

4.  We made the "Opa" sign from papier mache letters purchased from A.C. Moore and painted white.  "Opa" is a Greek expression of joy and you'll hear it quite often during a celebration! 

5.  I loved these driftwood boats from Alisa Burke.  We didn't have driftwood so we just cut down some wood strips instead.  We used painted watercolor paper for some of the boats and patterned paper for others.   

Hope you enjoy the photos!  

 

 

 

Valentine's Day 2016

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  For the theme this year, I wanted to do something modern, in pink and red.  This one was really fun to put together, plus, I seemed to have almost everything I needed on hand at home.  It's amazing what you can do if you just do a little digging in your closets or basement! 

I happened to find a bag of balloons in a box of old party supplies, and picked out all the red and pink ones.  There were also some white with polka dots.  Perfect!  (There's also a great tutorial on how to make your own polka dot balloons at A Subtle Reverie).  The table was decorated with tiny metallic red hearts, which I found at the dollar store, and pink tissue paper fringe. This just takes minutes if you have a fringing scissors, but regular old scissors works just fine too. Just cut long strips of tissue paper and cut a fringe on both sides.  A packet of tissue paper in assorted colors is always great to have in your supply stash since there's so much you can do with it to dress up a party. The white with black polka dot napkins are my mom's, from the 80's, but you can find similar ones here. 

For the flowers, I've been dying to get my hands on some ranunculus, but they didn't have any at the produce market where I usually buy.  Most of the time I go in with a specific idea of what I'm looking for in mind, and most of the time they have everything but.  It does help me learn to work with whatever is available, and in the end I'm almost always happy with how my arrangements turned out.  All flowers are beautiful, right?  Bright pink carnations add a pop of color here, and I especially love the ruffly pink gerbera daisies.  I think these are called the "gerrondo" variety, and they remind me a bit of dahlias.

I finished off the rest of the decorations with cardstock, cutting out an XOXO banner in pink and glittery gold, and hearts to stick on the wall and for a couple of jars on the table.  I also added some cupid's arrows made with cardstock, painted bamboo skewers, and a bit of hot glue.  All done!  The best part of this Valentine's Day was celebrating Amalia's recent engagement. Congratulations Amalia and Paul!  We had a lovely dinner and finished it off with chocolate cake, then a movie, then more chocolate.  Hope your day was super special too!

Christmas 2016

We had such fun crafting up a storm for our folklore-themed Christmas this year.  We took inspiration from a mix of cultures: German gingerbread houses, Polish pajaki chandeliers and cut paper flowers, a beautiful dala horse from Sweden, Russian matroyshka dolls, and "Christ is Born!" in brightly colored Greek letters over the mantle.  Enjoy!

Inspiration: Summer Fruit!

I've just listed some cake toppers inspired by summer's bounty of beautiful, colorful fruit.  Featured here are "Watermelon" (with hot pink polka dots), "Pineapple" (perfect for a luau party), and "Peach and Plum" (in rich shades of coral and lavender).  Maybe veggie-inspired buntings are next?

                 

Hey Dude!

Hope you enjoy these photos from Angelo's wild west-themed birthday!  

                            

     

A Purrrfect Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  This year we treated ourselves to the ultimate indulgence of cuteness: a vintage kitten-themed tea party complete with yarn balls and strawberry "mice".  There were several variations of the strawberries on Pinterest, and I just went with piping on some melted chocolate for the eyes (you can also use mini chocolate chips).  My mom and I enjoyed sewing the adorable little pair of felt mice from this pattern on Rhythm & Rhyme.  We made the cat brooches using a tutorial from Bloesem Kids, choosing patterned fabrics instead of the felt for the front.   The "Meow" hand-embroidered hoop in raspberry and pink is available for sale in my shop.  This sweet theme is also popular for girl's birthday parties so you could probably find some vintage cat and kitten birthday cards instead of the Valentine cards to add to the decor.  Hope your Valentine's Day was just as purrrfect!