In the spirit of the season, I have created this elegant yet spooky Mad Hatters Halloween Tea Party! I'm crazy for the masks, the hats the ruffles and the treats! Did you spot the Jennifer Carroll Designs Pumpkin note card in the mix?!
There are so many cool elements in this group, I'd LOVE to know what your favorites are!
I hope you have a very safe Halloween filled with many, many treats!
Jennifer
These bat-tacular napkin rings were designed by ultra crafty designer, Eddie Ross... Aren't they fabulous? And best of all - they are easy! Visit Eddie's blog for step by step directions here - there is even a template you can download making your crafting easier than ever!
I am SO making these!!
Happy Tuesday!
Jennifer
If you haven't checked out the latest issue of Phyllis Hoffman Celebrate than you haven't seen the most spectacular Halloween goody table presented by the incomparable Amy Atlas! I searched around to find a photo for you and came across the delightful Twig & Thistle blog where Kathleen had shared this photo recently. Isn't that table divine?!
Check out these fabulous pumpkin ideas that Kathleen posted too. While I do love to carve a pumpkin (I love pepitas!!) I have to say it is a huge mess.... these non-carved beauties are so spectacular that I'm definitely thinking of pulling out my paintbrushes!! How about you?
Happy Thursday!
Jennifer
I love Fall and Fall's most famous fruit: Pumpkins!!! From tiny to giant, sparkly or luminous, orange or white or green... they are delightful in every way! There are so many ways to express your style with them!
The tiny pumpkins in a bowl (upper right hand corner) wrapped up in ribbon are delightful en masse but I am imagining one as charming paper weight keeping me company during my workday!
The metallic pumpkins in the center and top left are simply stunning - country pumpkins gone glam!
And the luminous luminaries inspire me to think beyond jack-o-lanterns of old...
In the center of it all I've included one of my Jennifer Carroll Designs note cards simply entitled "pumpkin". This card is ideal for so many Fall occasions: an invite to a Halloween Party or a Bonfire, a thank you or thinking of you note this Halloween or as a recipe card for your favorite pumpkin pie! The possibilities are almost as limitless for the card as they are for pumpkins themselves...
Tell me, what's your favorite way to style pumpkins for Fall? I'd love to know!
Happy Thursday!
It was so easy to make, I want to share how I did it with you!!
Using a program like Microsoft Word, I formatted a 3.5" x 5" page and typed in my text. I wrote:
Happy Halloween
Calling Ghosts & Goblins alike
Join us this Halloween night
Treats a plenty at this masked soiree
so please come out to play!
October 31st :: 8:00 p.m. :: Home of the Carroll's
The font I used for "Happy Halloween" is Carmencita. The rest of the text is in Incognito's Occidens.
The top margin for the card is 1.375". Side margins: 0.5" and the bottom is 0.375"
I created an envelope with the same fonts but I did add a little flourish next to Happy Halloween.
I hope this inspires you to be creative with these cards and make your own special Halloween invite. I'd love to see photos of what you create!
I'll be posting more creative ideas on how to use these cards soon. Stay tuned...
Happy Friday!
Jennifer
While in New York at the National Stationery Show in May I had the huge privilege of meeting Darcy Miller, the editor of Martha Stewart Weddings magazine!! SO fun!
Speaking of Martha... just in time for last-minute holiday parties, here are some great Martha Stewart ideas to kick-off the holiday weekend a little early - enjoy!!
Happy Thursday!
Jennifer
It's so hard to believe that June is almost over and the 4th of July is practically upon us! I love the 4th of July - always have. I get a thrill seeing our stars & stripes splashed around the neighborhoods, local shops and of course my home. I'm especially delighted by this collection of adorable vintage decor crafts I found on Country Living.com. They are straight out of "The Music Man" - one of my favorite musicals of all time with Robert Preston & Shirley Jones - Americana at it's best!!
Now with these great ideas and even free clipart you and I can recreate these gems in our own homes! Click here to view directions on how to make these crafts. Thank you Melissa Neufeld for sharing!!
Check out my party tips for a fun & fabulous New Year's Eve party recently featured in The Hook or read below. For even more ideas visit Martha Stewart.com.
A: Planning who to invite is just as important as every other element of the party. To begin, think about how many people will fit in your space. If you want to invite more than you can comfortably accommodate, consider having an open house type of party and stagger the invite times. If you have a smaller group and you want to party until after midnight, consider beginning around 9pm. When deciding whom to invite, obviously your core group of friends top the list, but consider sprinkling in a few new friends/acquaintances from work, church, your book club or other areas of your life. These new faces can have an invigorating effect on your usual party scene.
Food: Keep it simple. For an after 9pm start, consider having a dessert buffet party. By not providing an entire meal for your guests you can party on a budget and if you use a mix of homemade and store bought desserts you'll save prep time, too! Remember, we eat with our eyes first so creating a beautiful buffet is very important and simpler than you might imagine. Here are a couple of ideas for you to try: 1) Build levels for the food so it's not all on the same visual plane. You can do this by using a combination of platters and footed bowls or compotes-- don't have any footed serving dishes? Take a bowl relative in size to your platter and flip it over-- voila! you have an instant pedestal. You can also use less attractive sturdy boxes and cover them with extra large napkins, linens or other fabric scraps for a lush layered look. 2) Group food by color for drama. Clusters of chocolate cookies, brownies, truffles and cakes or snowy white sugar cookies, coconut macaroons, meringues and white peppermints are even more beautiful displayed en masse.
Signature Drink: Limiting your beverages to juices, beer and wine with one signature cocktail is always a budget friendly option. And what is better for New Year's then a champagne cocktail? Adding a gorgeous hibiscus flower elevates even the lowliest sparkling wine to something glamorous. These blooms are available through www.wildhibiscus.com.
Music: Music is important in setting and maintaining the party's rhythm. Here it can also be a conversation starter by playing a mix of the best of the year from iTunes. Download their 2008 mix and press play. How simple is that?
Décor: Candlelight adds warmth and instant atmosphere, so for me, it's a must. Masses of votives, pillar candles and tapers transform any room, and they are very budget friendly. To add some sparkle to the glow, fill a few glass or silver bowls with Christmas ornaments. I recommend avoiding traditional reds and greens but rather focus on gold and silver. For a splash of color, consider adding a vibrant lime green or peacock blue. Mini snowflake ornaments in various shapes and colors (white, silver or gold) make pretty seasonal wine tags. Party hats and horns bring out the kid in all of us, so I encourage you to pick some up at the party store. For an unusual party activity set out decorations such as markers, glitter, gems, ribbons, yarns and glue for guests to embellish their own party hats and crowns.
Cheers and I hope 2009 is your best year yet!!
Happy New Year!
Jennifer
