Showing posts with label Celebrate Celebrate Celebrate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Celebrate Celebrate Celebrate. Show all posts

Monday, July 2, 2012

Fourth of July Decorations

Fourth of July and parties go together like Batman and Robin.  What's better than a 4th of July party featuring lots of decorations?  Our weatherman says the Pacific Northwest is one of the the few places in the country that is going to have great weather for The Fourth.


A big hurrah to the weatherman. Now I'm going to run around like a crazy woman decorating my patio and backyard for the party we're going to have.


These were last year's decorations:




I love the red, white and blue bunting which came from the Dollar Store and use them every year.  You can read the rest of the post here to check out where the rest of the decor and plates came from.


Here's some more inspiration for your Fourth of July.


Homegoods.com


Don't forget to outfit your pup on the Fourth!




Tinyprints.com
Simpletreats.wordpress.com
Get out there and decorate your bicycle!  How cute is that!  


www.bellini.com


If you need some cupcake toppers or food labels you can print these for free.


Free Fourth of July Printables


Have a great Fourth of July!


~Laurie

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Celebrate Celebrate Celebrate > 4th of July


Don't you just love the 4th of July?!  All the best things happen on the 4th - great company with family and friends, delicious food, fun games, beautiful fireworks, and festive decor - all to honor living in the greatest country in the world!


A great way to celebrate is with a Seafood Boil!  We are seafood lovers around here and are lucky enough to have access to fresh seafood.  It's the perfect, easy, no stress, menu to serve lots of hungry people.  It all cooks together and you only need a couple of extras to go with it to make a complete fantastic party.  Another huge plus for me is the clean up is easy cause you don't need a lot of serving bowls.  The seafood boil is placed directly on a paper covered table.  I use brown kraft paper, sold in rolls to cover the table.  Easy, peasy.


Make some cole slaw, cheesy bread, cupcakes and have everyone bring an appetizer, salad or dessert and you have a spectacular 4th of July celebration!





SEAFOOD BOIL

Water
1/4 c. Old Bay seasoning
2 teaspoons salt
2 lemons, halved
5 lbs petite small red potatoes
9 ears corn, cut in half
4 lbs kielbasa, cut in 2 in pieces
5 lbs shrimp with shells, cleaned
5 lbs clams, cleaned

I use a large stockpot with the removable inner basket.  Fill half way with water, Old Bay seasoning, and salt.  Squeeze the lemons  into pot and then throw them in.  Bring to a boil.

Add potatoes and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  Add corn and kielbasa, bring to a boil.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  Add clams and shrimp, bring to a boil.  Simmer 8 minutes or until shrimp are pink and clams are open.

Remove inner basket, let drain and empty contents onto paper covered table.

Serve with melted butter and cocktail sauce.

Enjoy!



To get you started on your very own 4th July Seafood Boil, we have made you some free downloadable printables:



 Printables include:
  • 1 sheet of 2" cupcake circles
  • 1 sheet of food label tent cards
  • 1 sheet of invitations

Print as many of each as you need.  The cupcake circles are really easy to punch out with a 2" circle punch.  Check the settings on your printer - be sure print quality is not set on draft.  Print either on cardstock or matte photo paper.  


~Laurie


Linking up to: 
DIY ShowOff
A Bowl Full of Lemons

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Celebrate Celebrate Celebrate > Flag Day!

U.S. Flag Day
Did you all know that June 14th is Flag Day here in the good ole U.S. of A? No? Don't feel bad, I didn't realize the stars and stripes had it's own holiday either, until a couple of years ago. As usual, I'm one of the last to know.

According to Wikipedia,  in 1916 Flag Day was established to celebrate the official adoption of the flag of the United States of America in 1777. Incidentally, our beloved flag also shares a birthday with the United States Army. Happy birthday you guys! I think I need to have dessert today in their honor. I mean, it's the patriotic thing to do, right?

The other patriotic thing you could do today that won't add junk to your trunk is to of course, hang out your flag. Will any old flag decor do, you ask? Would I pass up free furniture on the side of the road on garbage day? Well I could, but it would go against my very soul.

So to get those creative powers fired up, check out some of these great Flag Day inspired ideas: (Of course they are from our addiction: Pinterest, visit our board for resources.)























Happy Flag Day!

~Angela

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Celebrate Celebrate Celebrate > Update to Bride's Emergency Survival Kit

patinastores.com
I think this is a direct quote from my blog to me.


The title of this post should be how to take an easy 30 minute job and turn it into 3 hours of angst, despair and swearing or let me list a few thoughts I've had:

  • Are you kidding me - where did it go!
  • Oh no, no, no, I'm paraphrasing because it really went Oh ****, ****, ****.
  • I should call Ange and see if she can fix this.  What time is it, will she be awake?  (It is the first day of summer break.)
  • How can I get back to where I started from.
and one last one:

  • Please let this work.  Okay I said that several times and finally it did work.

This was a supposed to be a simple post.  I was going to let you know that I updated the "Bride's Emergency Survival Kit" post to include a link to the printable sign so that you could use it when you make your own kit for your special bride.  Easy, Peasy - unless you also decide to add a new category called "Printables" under the Category list on the right side of the blog.



That also should be easy to do, but when I added Printables, the whole Category list disappeared from the blog completely - the blog Fairy of Confusion struck!  That's when all the above comments began.


I now, finally, have a new Category list on the blog and to tell you the truth I have no idea if those categories were what were listed before, I'm just glad to have something there.


Now back to the 30 minute post and link:


If you would like to print your own "Bride's Emergency Survival Kit," sign, go here to the original post and click on the link.


Okay, I stand corrected, it would have taken about 5 minutes.


~ Laurie

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Celebrate Celebrate Celebrate > A Mommy Shower

Recently my good friend had the most adorable baby and gave her an equally adorable name to match: Cora Jean. My friend is an amazing mama to two other little girls, crafter extraordinaire, and a country girl at heart. In a nutshell, she's just an awesome chick!

After she had her little cupcake, my friends and I wanted to do something fun just for her, since she had just made the cutest baby and she lets the rest of us fight over who gets to snuggle and love said baby. Seriously, is there anything better than holding a sleeping baby that smells like love and rainbows?! (Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a tiny bit with the rainbows and love thing; but in my crazy head that's what I think a squishy newborn baby smells like.)

Don't get me wrong, you all know how much we love a great baby shower around these parts; but sometimes it feels like a new baby gets all the attention and the poor, tired and sore, mama gets pushed aside like an ugly stepsister. I'm mean really, if you just created a tiny perfect human being, you deserve a little pampering. Or a cupcake, at the very least!

So we threw her a little party just for her, mainly to say thanks for having a sweet little baby that we can heap lots of love on and not have to feed, clothe, or pay for her college. And since our gal is a true country girl, (seriously, she has some great stories about plucking chickens and stuffing her family's pet goose for a high school science credit...) we decorated her party with a little farm chick flare:





All of the gifts were strictly pampering mom gifts, with the exception of some extra packs of diapers because really, not having to spend money on diapers is a gift in itself. She can use all that extra money on Starbucks and pedicures! Well, I would anyway...

We used lots of old funky mason jars and hung some fantastic Target dollar zone tea lights with some nubby twine. We also used small mason jars for our drink cups and then took some fun cupcake liners (from Target again) and used them as the lids:



Then of course was the food. No mommy shower is complete without yummy foods!





Thanks Mystie, for having the most beautiful baby girl so that my own ovaries didn't have to!

P.S. My husband thanks you too.


~Angela

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

60 Items Every Bride Needs In Her Survival Kit

The "Not Clan" Bridal Shower was held last weekend at a local winery.  It was a beautiful affair and the weather was perfect.  Check out the views from the winery.




View on the other side:




If you're thinking that those are panties hanging from a line at the winery - you're right!  The Bridal Shower was a "Panty Shower!"  That's a great way for the Bride to get a lot of lovely lingerie.  While I'm all for new lingerie, it felt a little weird to give my future daughter-in-law lingerie, so I decided to give her something else.  


I made up a little kit that I like to call the "Bride's Emergency Survival Kit.  Some people might call this just a Bride's Emergency Kit, but I like to call it the Bride's Emergency Survival Kit because everyone knows that when there is something a Bride needs; it's always an emergency, whether it's something to fix a hang nail, a headache or just a little sugar fix and some Bride's act like they're not going to survive the emergency!




This kit includes 60 items that every Bride may or may not need.  But like the Boy Scouts we want her to be prepared for anything.  Prepared for what?  Life!  For the Bride that means a series of sometimes crazy events that all culminate at the BIG Moment.  This kit is not just for the Bride, but for everyone around her also.  After all, it takes a village to make a wedding.
  
I tried to cover everything that might be needed in case your hook at the top of your strapless gown comes off (that happened at our last wedding) or you're opening a gift with flocked (black) paper and you need a lint roller to get the flocking off your dress (another true story) or your future mother-in-law's shoes feel a little tight (blister defense puts a stop to this.)


  1. Hollywood Tape - I love, love, love this fashion tape! Good to keep straps, bodices or anything else in place.
  2. Static Guard
  3. Sewing Kit- includes thread & buttons
  4. Lint Roller
  5. Tide To Go - you know someone will need it.
  6. Safety Pins - assorted sizes.
  7. Earring Backs
  8. Corsage Pins
  9. White Chalk (in case the Tide to go doesn't work)
  10. Deodorant Eraser
  11. Clear Nail Polish 
  12. Emory Boards
  13. Nail Polish Remover Pads
  14. Nail Clippers
  15. Hair Brush 
  16. Bobby Pins
  17. Hair Bands
  18. Comb
  19. Hairspray
  20. Dental Pics
  21. Dental Floss- can also double as an escape rope if she needs it.
  22. Mini Toothbrushes
  23. Mouthwash
  24. Tampons - unfortunately, mother nature doesn't care if it's your big day or not.
  25. Mini Pads
  26. Q-Tips
  27. Visine - it's going to be a long day and before that a whole line up of events, showers, bachelorette parties, etc.
  28. Hand Lotion
  29. Deodorant
  30. Lens Cleaning Tissue 
  31. Handi Wipes
  32. Kleenex
  33. Hand Sanitizer - no dirty hands are getting anywhere near that wedding gown!
  34. Tweezers
  35. Compact Mirror
  36. First Aid Kit - bandaids can fix everything. Stitches will have to wait till after the pary.
  37. Benadryl Itch Relief
  38. Blister Defense
  39. Neosporin
  40. Emergen-C
  41. Benadryl Allergy - just in case you develop an allergy to your future Mother-In-Law!
  42. Advil
  43. Tums
  44. Gas-X - This is not the day to have that problem!
  45. Cough Drops
  46. Scissors
  47. Tape
  48. Post Its
  49. Black Sharpie - I've used a Sharpie on my black shoes that were scuffed and used it on a black shirt that had a little white mark on it.
  50. Pen 
  51. Krazy Glue
  52. Starbucks Iced Coffee To Go
  53. Nutella & Go
  54. Crackers
  55. Salted Peanuts
  56. Breath Mints
  57. Gum 
  58. Skittles - Our Bride is not a lover of chocolate, so customize snacks to your Bride.  Some Bride's might have a thing for vodka Twinkies.
  59. Starburst
  60. Straws - Don't want that perfect shade of lipstick coming off! 
I bought a large clear cosmetic bag at Walmart and a bunch of smaller clear cosmetic bags.  Grouped like items together in the small bags and they all fit in the larger bag!  For the label, I used a list of all of the Survival kit items as the background for my title. Then I printed the whole thing on cardstock and then slipped it into the front of the clear cosmetic bag. 

Your bride can add to the kit with her shade of nail polish, shoe polish, Prozac, taser gun for those unruly wedding guests, or anything else she might need.


Keep on coming back to visit with us and click "Wedding"  under the category list to see our other fabulous wedding related posts.  Future posts will include a printable wedding planner, the how to's to make a broach bridal bouquet, and a fun and sassy bachelorette party.


UPDATE:  We have provided a link to print your own "Bride's Emergency Survival Kit" sign.  Click here for printable PDF.  When printing PDF:

  • In print menu, under page scaling, select "NONE."
  • In Properties menu, check to see what the Quality Setting is.  If it is on Draft, change it to at least normal or best.  Draft will not give you a very good print.
  • Print on cardstock.



~Laurie

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Celebrate Celebrate Celebrate > Rebel Housewife Bridal Shower Part 3

I'm so excited about today's "Rebel to a Housewife" segment, well because....
It's all about the food!

My personal theory (I really don't think my theories are just personal. Secretly, I think they are factual and say that they are personal, so that you don't think I'm a bossy know-it-all, like my baby brother once said - right before I shoved him in a closet) is that you can have all the great party themes, decorations, and games you want, but none of that will matter to your guests if you don't send them home having eaten something scrumptious, or sipped something delicious. Just consider it party commandment numero uno. 


Doesn't it look yummy? Here's the Menu:

~Blackberry & Honey Yogurt Parfaits~


~Lemony Asparagus Bow Tie Salad~


~Strawberries & Marshmallow Cream Cheese Dip~


~Mini Doughnut Hole Stacks with
Caramel & Chocolate Dipping Sauce~


~Shrimp on ice~

~Laurie Glossy's Ham & Gruyere Quiche~

~Fizzed Orange Juice Punch~

~Lemon & Cream Cheese Buttercream Cupcakes~



Laurie Glossy Flossy and I also adhere to Party Commandment number two: Give your party food a party outfit.

Whaaaat, you say? Let me explain, just like you'd spend hours and hours looking through hundreds of outfits to find one outfit only to wear it for a three hour event (maybe that's just me); your food needs some special dud's to showcase it's yumminess too! By that I mean it needs, a great table runner, fun containers, beautiful trays, crisp white bowls, colorful picks, and pretty flowers. In other words: great accessories!


Just think how many more people would love broccoli, if it came served in a cute little mini martini glass.

Thanks for reliving our Rebel Housewife bridal shower with us!

~Angela

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Celebrate Celebrate Celebrate >Rebel Housewife Bridal Shower Part 2


What did you think of those fabulous shower pics Laurie posted last week?

We had way to much fun coming up ideas for this party. At a certain point we just had to stop brainstorming because A) We didn't win the Mega Million's jackpot to fund all of our crafty ideas and B) Our families were threatening to riot if we didn't spend some of the time we were devoting to party planning, doing boring things like the dishes or laundry...Boo.

The great thing about our crazy Rebel Housewife obsession is that we have lots and lots to share with you guys! Today I'll be sharing some more great pictures of the games and our table decor.

As our guests arrived and found their seats, we gave them a little reading material called the "Good Wife's Guide" from Housekeeping Monthly circa 1955, which was redesigned from a great Etsy seller, Due Cuori. Let me just tell you that based off of this guide, I probably would have become a old spinster with 50 cats or a super divorcee ala Elizabeth Taylor, if I had to adhere to these guidelines. Here's a little sample of some of the "Good Wife's" suggestions:

Prepare and Refresh yourself. Touch up your make up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking for when he arrives home.

At the time of his arrival from work, eliminate all household noise. Encourage the children to be quiet.

Or my favorite:

A good wife knows her place.

I'm pretty sure that my "Good Housewife" place is in front of my laptop with a cup of coffee and if my husband came home to a quiet house and me in make up and a bow; he would be double checking the street address to see if he was in the right house. Or he would wonder if I had been body snatched. No wonder people drank so much back then! Just the thought of sacrificing all my personality just to be the perfect 1950's stepford wife, makes me want to stick my head in the oven. Hello, 2012!


Because we make our party guests work for their food love a good game, we next handed out a quiz that Due Cuori also provided to test those "Good Wife" skills. Some people even answered the quiz as to how the future Mrs. 2wicked would - and it was hilarious!

We also did the standard, "How well does the bride know the groom" and it was so sweet to hear all the quirky things those two love birds dig about each other. The was a lot of "Aawwww" 's going around.

On to the tablescapes!


Our girl loves her world in black and white, so we wanted to bring some of that into the color scheme with some cool chevron fabric that we found at Craft Warehouse. We cut pieces for table runners and table squares. We layered them over crisp white tablecloths for a little pop art contrast. Next we brought in some art deco style plates and then added a fun, blue dot dessert plate, on top. We finished the table settings off with the polka dot napkins with the red ribbon for a splash of color.


Next we placed our favors that Laurie geniusly DIY 'ed and the floral center pieces. For these we used a vintage looking bird accented domed cake plates we found at our mothership, TJ Maxx,  and used oasis foam and flowers for the center. They came out pretty cute huh?



We also used this concept for some busts that we prettied up with a chevron apron and a floral crown. These flanked our buffet table:



Laurie also found these gorgeous mirrored "love" signs from Hobby Lobby, which we hung behind the buffet and dessert tables. A little pop art and retro all at the same time!


 We finished everything off with a dusting of bling...


Ummm, doesn't that table look yummy?! Come on back tomorrow for our "Rebel to a Housewife" menu and more delicious pictures.


~Angela

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Celebrate Celebrate Celebrate > Rebel Housewife Bridal Shower Part 2


Are you ready for Part 2 of the Fabulous Rebel to Housewife Bridal Shower?  We have so many fab ideas for you that we are gonna have to stretch this into a three parter!
I want to forewarn you now that I maybe should have titled this:  "Longest Post Ever!"


There have been some questions about how the flower bustier of dress form was made.  It was trial and error and I'd like to pass on the tips that I learned.

  • I used small straight pins to pin flowers on.
Assemble the flowers:
  • Take flowers apart and with a low temp glue gun put a small amount of glue on each layer to glue together. Why low temp?  Because I'm not very coordinated and I would like to keep my fingers from getting 3rd degree burns.
  • I glued the plastic stamen (that's the technical name for that thingy that's in the center of the flower) on the hydrangeas to the flower petals and then cut the back of the stamen flush with the flower.
  • I glued the small red flowers together without the stamen, kind of scrunching the top red petal so you couldn't see the hole where the stamen was.
  • After gluing the daisy petals together, I glued the red flower to the middle of the daisy (where the stamen would be.)
Assembling the Floral Bustier:
  • I put the belt on the form first so I knew where the bottom of the floral bustier would be.
  • Find the spot that will be the V of the bustier and pin one hydrangea blossom there.
  • Pin one hydrangea blossom on each side where the bustier would end under the arm.
  • Pin one hydrangea blossom on each spot that would be the top of the bustier of the breast or as I like to call them "the ta-tas".
  • Stand back and check to see if it looks symmetrical.  Be sure to stand back often during the whole process and check to see how it looks.
  • Fill in the hydrangea trim.  Be sure to put pin in the bottom layer petal so it won't be seen.  
  • Now start pinning the daisies on, keeping in mind that you don't want one daisy centered on each side or it will look like a strippers pasty - unless you're going for that look!  I started with the daisy under the V and pinned around the trim and then worked my way down to the belt.
  • There you have it - easy peasy.  
The welcome sign was made with an 8.5 X 11 sheet of card stock printed with speech bubble and text.  I used clear packing tape to attach a straightened wire hanger (remember those - this really is a retro party!)  The t-shirt was a child's size and was very tight on the dress form so I just stuck the wire down the back of the shirt and it stayed!


Now for the favors:  the favors are the dollar store (10 for $1) bridal dress favors that I fabbed up to look like a million bucks!  Super simple to do except the numerous trips to Craft Warehouse, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Walmart and JoAnn's to get the right paper and trim.  You know how that is - you have to look at all the paper and trim to see what is available and then go back and get them from three different stores because no store has paper and trim to go together.  The jeweled band came from Walmart, small polka dot from Hobby Lobby and large polka dot from Michaels.  


Assembling the Favors:

  • Trace the bodice of dress favor on the small polka dot paper and cut out.  Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat enough for front and back of each favor.  Again, we really went old school, pencil and scissors - no fancy schmancy Cricut or Silhouette.
  • Trace and cut out skirt using large polka dot paper for front and back of each favor.
  • Printed text in speech bubbles and cut out.  I had four different sayings.
  • Glue front and back bodice to dress form.  
  • Attach flower to bodice and blinged trim at waist.  
  • Using a half of a white address label, attach small white floral wire to back of speech bubble.
  • Using other half of white address label, attach other end of wire to inside of dress favor.
  • Fill with favors and close up with glue dots.
  • Now rest your fingers from all the cutting you've done unless you did what I did and find someone to cut out everything - Thank you Mr. Groom-to-be! 


Miss Angela Glossy Flossy will continue with Part 3 which will be all about table decor, games and food.  That's sounds like another reeeaaaalllyyy long post - this may become a four parter.


~ Laurie

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Celebrate Celebrate Celebrate > Fabulous Rebel Housewife Bridal Shower

Our Rebel Housewives Bridal Shower turned out great, and we've finally recovered enough to share the goods with all of you!  

We stayed true to our "Rebel to a Housewife" theme from the shower invitation, and incorporated it into our decor. Angela's house was all decked out with vintage, retro, and graphic pop art touches. It was pretty and funky all at the same time, kinda like our cute bride to be!  


In fact, we had so many fabulous pictures from the Rebel Housewives Bridal Shower that I don't know where to start - so I'm going to start at the front door!  





We greeted our guests with this welcome sign.  We used a vintage dress form that came from my Mama.  I covered the form up with some kids t-shirts and then dressed it up and gave it some bling using some dollar store flowers, jewelry, a belt from Mr. 2Wicked and a adorable vintage apron that Miss Angela later gifted to the bride-to-be.







Check out the details.  The bodice was made using three different kinds of flowers:  daisies, small red button flowers for the daisy center, and hydrangea petals around the top of the bodice.  The top was crowned, literally, on top of a giant black daisy. (Who knew you could find black silk flowers?)  The vintage apron had red birds appliqued on it, the perfect apron for the Future Mrs. 2Wicked.


After the guests had arrived we put the crown and apron on our future bride for the shower festivities.  

We continued the vintage apron theme on the gift table.  We used three vintage aprons across the front of the gift table.  I'm partial to that poodle apron and am keeping it because it is tooooo cute.  I had one of the pictures from the shower invitation made into poster size and framed.



That's as far as I can take you today, but stay tuned for the tablescapes, favors, menu and games.  


~ Laurie
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