St. Paddy's Day Brunch

I don't know what it is about St. Paddy's Day that makes me like to add a twist to it.  One of my fav's was my Irish Elk party.   This year I added succulents to the mix.  I also went a lot more casual for the table set up than I usually do.  Why? Because it's more fun to be in the moment with your friends than stressing about everything having to be perfect.

This year I'm shifting my focus a little and diving deeper with my posts to help you throw more mini parties at your house.  Giving tips, ways to keep the stress down, and becoming your top destination for strengthening the bonds with your friends through mini parties.

I have gotten SO much use out of that gold sequin table linen.  It's fabric from Joann's.  I absolutely love fabric but can not sew.  Sewing machines have it out for me.  I could have bought an actual  sequin table linen but it was less expensive to buy the fabric at Joann's on a  coupon.  So if you see some fabric you love, especially at Joann's, wait for a coupon and buy it then.

Ok, let's break this table down.  Is it picture perfect? Oh heck no.  Is it real and authentic? 100% yes.  To make this table picture perfect I would have to place the food in matching serving pieces and snapped all the photo's before the guests came over.  By then, the food would have been cold and I'd have to re-heat it. No biggie right?  Sure, except it adds a layer of stress trying to time it just right. No one likes a stressed host.   All the serving utensils should be out of the photo too.  But this picture is real life.

Mylar balloons.  I'm loving the mylar balloons because you don't have to take them to the store to get helium in them. One less trip to make. Unless you want them to float, then you'll need to go to the store.  But if you're going to use them for a backdrop or attach them to a table, wall etc you can just blow them up with the little stick they come with.  You might have noticed that the U is a little flat looking.  I think it had a small hole because it was full and plump until about 10 minutes before the guests arrived. Than it started going a little flat. I did not have time to run to the store and get new balloons before my guests arrived just so the U wouldn't look a little deflated. Do you think the guests even noticed?  Nope. So if this happens at your party don't even stress about it. And certainly don't point it out to your guests. You want your guests to focus on the fun, not the flaws.

You'll also notice the red wall behind the backdrop.  Here's the thing, unless I want to move my couch to the middle of the living room during the party, we don't have a white wall like you see on all the party sites.  We love color.  My point is, work with what you have. Your house doesn't have to be picture perfect to host a party.

These scones are delicious!  I serve them at a lot of my brunches because they are delicious and I never have left-overs.  The recipe is from Baker by Nature but I of course tweak it.  I add WAY more berries than the recipe calls for.  It makes the scones moist and you get a berry in every bite. One of my guests wanted the recipe and she made it for a birthday party and added a whole carton. She said everyone loved them.  If you make these scones leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

I had asked Sprinklemade to create some succulents on macarons for me and they turned out so cute! Strawberry filled to match the strawberry scones.  Instead of filling the pots with gold I filled them with succulents from my yard. Party tip- Use storage boxes to add height to your party table.  These boxes are frequently on sale at craft stores and they come in a variety of colors, patterns and glitter.  I have several and fill them with craft supplies.

I hope you enjoyed delving into the party a little deeper.  I'd love to hear your thoughts. Your comments help me make improvements. :)

Irish Elk for St. Patrick's Day

If you stopped by earlier in the week you saw my twist on St. Patrick's Day . We celebrated with the Irish Elk.  Funky Monkey Designs  created the invitation. Funky Monkey Designs asked the artist D. Trudeau  if we could use her art which was the inspiration for this party. (Always ask and get permission from the artist before using their work)

I looked everywhere for an Irish Elk figure but couldn't find one so I had to use his stunt double. 

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation loaned me antlers and hides for the party.  It helped bring the look and feel of the party to life.  My friends property in Montana served as the backdrop. 

Just playing around with the party props to achieve different looks. Apothecary jars are a very versatile party prop. 

Auntie Bea's Bakery created the perfect cookies for this party. Elk silhouettes and shamrocks. Very tasty too.  That great faux bois 2 tier stand was painted by Bubble Off Plumb. 

 These cupcakes were delish! My friends kitchen smelled amazing when we made the candied bacon. I made sure to take some to The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation as a thank you for loaning me antlers and hides.  Recipe from Just a Pinch. 

 I found these great little pies in my local grocery store. Favor Bags by Fancy & Fold. 

 Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

A big thank you to the vendors.  Their products help bring party visions to life. 
Suddenly Surrounded by Taxidermy for letting me set up the party on her property.
D. Trudeau for allowing us to use her artwork.
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for loaning me antlers and hides.
Funky Monkey Designs for creating the invitations. 
Auntie Bea's Bakery for sugar cookies in the party theme.
Fancy & Fold for creating favor bags. 
Ten 23 Designs for the wood shamrocks 

St. Patrick's Day- With a Twist

It all started with a cupcake pick seen on my friends page Suddenly Surrounded by Taxidermy,  a majestic Irish Elk print from artist D. Trudeau  and a party idea was born.  Let's put a twist on the traditional St. Patrick's Day party and celebrate with the Irish Elk. 

Funky Monkey Designs contacted the artist D. Trudeau and asked if we could use her stunning art as part of our invitation and she agreed. A big thank you to the artist.  Funky Monkey Designs captured just the look I wanted. 

Always ask an artist permission before using their work.

Once I had the vision for this party I knew the perfect location for it, my friend Bubble Off Plumb's property in beautiful Montana. A big thank you to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation  for loaning me the antlers and hides. They were the perfect addition to the party.

Sugar cookies by Auntie Bea's Bakery 

These Cowboy cupcakes were rich and delicious.  Recipe from Just a Pinch . The maple brown sugar candied bacon made the house smell amazing. 

 Mushroom cookies created by Creating Awesomenessity. 

A menu befitting the outdoor location. 

Lunch served among the tree's.

 And a view of the Sapphire Mountains. 

Favor bags for Auntie Bea's wonderful sugar cookies created by Fancy & Fold  

I have so many more photo's of this fabulous party to share with you so be sure to come back Thursday.

A big thank you to all the vendors who help make party visions come to life. 
Bubble Off Plumb for the idea behind this party.
D. Trudeau for allowing us to use her art work of the Irish Elk.
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for loaning me the antlers and hides. 
Funky Monkey Designs for specially creating the invitations and menu.
Auntie Bea's Bakery cookies for creating the sugar cookies from my vision. 
Creating Awesomenessity for the mushroom cookies.
Ten 23 Designs for the wood shamrocks.
Fancy & Fold for the perfect favor bags.

Second Mini Shamrock Luncheon

One of our sweet co-workers, Amanda was leaving us for a better job so I helped another co-worker, Becky, throw a little party for Amanda.  Two Shamrock parties in one week, come the actual day of St. Patrick's I think I'll just throw on some green and call it a day ha ha 

The white table cloth makes the green pop.  The apples are wrapped with corned beef and were brought by Susan, another co-worker. Now I would have put the chips in a bowl but the bag does lend to the green of the day and when you take public transit to work you have to think about how many times you have to lug stuff on a crowded train. Standing room only.
See my little pots of gold and sparkly hats :)

Becky cut the cheese into little shamrock shapes for that extra little touch, so cute!  Oh look, there's one of my hats again :)

MMm dessert, who doesn't love that. Peanut butter cookies and chocolate cupcakes by Becky. How cute is my little sparkly hat that I put on top the cupcake stand :)

More delicious dessert.  My Irish Cream Cupcakes and the sign I whipped up the morning of the party. Type, print, add sticker, done.   
Can you see my sparkly piggy waaaay in the background on the drinks table :)

Oooh, my peanut butter chocolates, YUM!!!! None of them made it home. They were all gobbled up :) 

Hope you enjoyed another mini St. Patrick's party and got a few ideas for throwing your own mini work luncheon party. 

Now I better get off this computer and actually get some of my To-Do list accomplished today. Although it is fun hanging out with all of you all day. Work out calls and sadly, so does the laundry. 

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!

Mini Shamrock Luncheon Party

My co-workers had so much fun at the mini Mardi Gras party that they wanted a mini St. Paddy's party. I had 15 minutes, 15 mins to set this party up. I couldn't use the room on our floor and I could only set up on my break this time. Pressures on! I wanted to do so much more but when ya only have 15 mins, what are ya going to do. Enjoy!

Notice the confetti :) Confetti is a staple at all my parties and is much missed by friends if I don't put it out. If it's missing at my parties they let me know.

Cauldrons filled with Skittles, because they're rainbow :) My Old Navy pig, he's so sparkly.

I jazzed up plain gold cups by sticking a shamrock sticker on them. Pack of 20/ $1.00 at a Joann's.

Rice Krispy Shamrocks and Irish Cream cupcakes, mmm sugar :) The cupcake toppers are stickers stuck on toothpicks. Fun and easy.

Party Pinching, this pictures for you. I bought those little duckies when I went up and visited her. SUCH a fun trip. Aren't the duckies cuuute :)

Mint soda. It's a very mild mint flavor and tastes really good. Like a virgin mint julep.

I stuck little shamrock stickers on the cauldrons to jazz them up. My co-workers had fun putting the little hats on their heads and playing poker with the gold coins. "I'll see you 2 gold coins and raise you a hat" " I'm all in" (my friend put the pot o' gold, seen behind the cauldron, in the kitty). Cracked us up! 

Even though I only had 15 minutes to set up this party, we all had a great time, laughed a lot and it was nice was to break up the week. The party was over the lunch hour on Wednesday.

I hope I've inspired you to throw a party together and shown you that you don't need to spend oodles to have a great time. 

St. Patrick's Party that wasn't.

Sometimes parties just don't happen. You may have ideas brewing in your head and are really looking forward to putting one on, but it just doesn't work out.  That's what happened to me. I had a St. Patrick's party all planned in my Fizzy notebook, hit the sales at Michael's and Joann's, sent out the invitations and got all maybes or no's.   It happens.  My guests had family coming in from out of state, it was their anniversary or their kids had games, piano lessons etc. 

The party supplies I bought, on sale of course, will keep until next year. And these party favors...well, they'll keep too. 

 Don't you wish you would have been able to come...

St. Patrick's Day and Rainbows

St. Patrick's day has never been a holiday I celebrate. Yes, I have red hair so everyone assumes I'm Irish. I'm not.  But I do LOVE to throw parties so can't pass up an opportunity to throw one.   Last year I saw rainbow cupcakes. Cool! and just HAD to have a party for them.  Yes, I had a party just for the cupcakes :)  Since it was close to St. Patrick's day I threw a combo St. Patrick's/Rainbow party. 

When I threw this party the thought of a party blog wasn't even a blimp in my mind. I wasn't even looking at party blogs.  I'm just a Party Diva and Paparazzi. Which is a good thing. Because I took lots of pictures of the party and can now share them with you :)  I didn't have the help of party blogs or Pinterest for inspiration  like I do now.

You like the way I hid my mans vitamins with the little graphic :) hee hee Aren't I clever. I usually use paper plates at my parties. Easy clean up. But I already had green Fiesta Ware plates (love Fiesta Ware) and the party was small so my guests got to use REAL plates. oooh, fancy :)  Beer comes to mind when one thinks of St. Patrick's parties. And me being the party person I am, had to have beer glasses for the party.  Yep, I bought those glasses just for the party.  Dollar Tree, great place for glasses in any shape.  
I took rainbow streamer paper and wrapped it around the glasses and sealed them with St. Patrick's stickers I got at Michael's. 

Party Favors! From Craft Warehouse which sadly went out of business last year. LOVED that store.  I took some ribbon from Michael's, wrapped it around the tablet and added a St. Patrick's sticker. Just to jazz it up a little. Hee hee, there's my party check list above the favors. I always make a check list for my parties so I don't forget anything. 

The party table. I made the banner all by myself!  No printer, no Cricut nothing. See, you don't need a lot of tools to make a party. Does my banner look on professional, no.But who cares. My friends still had fun.

I used the rainbow tissue streamers to make a rainbow down the table cover to the pot 'o gold. The Pot 'o gold is my Halloween cauldron filled with gold tissue paper and some St. Patrick's coins. 

My rainbow fruit platter. It was pot luck so that's why the salsa is still in it's original tub. It always looks prettier in a plain dish. 

I LOVE Hostess snowballs and they're green so they had to be part of the party. I used rainbow stickers from Michael's, attached them to toothpicks and ta-da. I wrapped a silver platter in gold tissue paper. 

I'm not a fan of beer. I had it on hand for any of the girls that wanted it but this glass doesn't contain beer. It's cream soda! It gives you that beer look without having to serve beer :)  Sneak peek at the rainbow cupcakes.  I used an empty box I had and covered it with paper from Michael's. 
(you like the Irish flag covering up our picture hee hee stealthy)

Rainbow cupcakes!  I took the cupcake liner off that one so you could see the pretty rainbow colours. 

The reason for the party. Rainbow cupcakes. How pretty are these :)

I hope you enjoyed my party and got some good tips and are going to start throwing more parties. 
Don't forget to leave me some leprechaun love :) I really do LOVE reading each and every comment. 

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