DIY Herb Bouquet Place Cards

This weekend we are having close friends over for a fun DIY pizza party.  This type of occasion naturally means -- a perfect opportunity to tablescape!  With all of the traveling I have been doing so far this year, it occurred to me that my last dinner party and tablescape was Christmas!  I cannot believe that it is almost May and I have been tablescapeless.  Needless to say, I am thrilled to have the chance to finally create my first tablescape of 2016!

While the full tablescape and menu details will be on the blog next week, I wanted to use today's post to share the details on the DIY project included in this latest table creation - Herb Bouquet Place Cards.  

Place cards are a tablescape essential for my parties because I find that they are a great way to insure that your guests have the opportunity to chat with new people.  In addition to mixing up table conversation, they can also add an extra pop of color or decor to your table setting.  I absolutely love the fresh pop of green these herb bouquets add to each place setting and the blue cards tie in perfectly with my buffalo check napkins.  These bouquets are super easy to make and relatively inexpensive.  Fragrant and very fitting for entertaining during the warmer months, these place cards are a fabulous tablescape addition. 

Supplies (Makes 4 Bouquets)

• Package of Place Cards (pictured in Night)
• Gold Marker Pen (medium-thick point)
• Scissors
• Gold Ink Pad
• Laurel Rubber Stamp
• Raffia Ribbon
• 4 Packages of Fresh Poultry Herbs 
• 1 Package of Fresh Rosemary
• Hole Punch

Instructions

1. Cut each place card on the fold crease to create 2 individual cards
2. Stamp each cut piece and fill in each guest's name
3. Trim the edges of each card
4. Hole punch the top right corner of each card and then set cards aside
5. Cut raffia ribbon into eight 12" long pieces
6. Arrange one package of poultry herbs into a bouquet adding extra sprigs of rosemary or thyme where needed in order to create a beautiful mini bouquet
7. Wrap an entire piece of cut raffia ribbon tightly around the base and secure the ribbon by making a small knot
8. Loop a second piece of ribbon through the hole punched place card and secure the card to the bouquet by tying a bow
9. I recommend keeping these bouquets in the refrigerator until right before you are ready to use them in order to keep them looking fresh and crisp.

Chic Birthday Party Decorations

Spring is a very popular time of year for birthdays amongst my group of friends (and myself included).  Since it has been a while since my last look at birthday decor and celebration ideas (see here), I thought I would share a few of my latest finds that have really upped my birthday celebrating game.  These birthday party extras are both sophisticated and fun, making these items perfect for celebrating almost anyone at any age!

For the Cake

Whether you are baking a cake from scratch or buying super fancy cupcakes (which I am definitely guilty of doing on occasion due to time constraints), no birthday is complete without candles and the traditional happy birthday song!  Once I hit my teenage years, I was over having my birthday candles reflect my age, primarily because it overwhelmed the cake and distracted from the cake's pretty aesthetic (I also didn't need to be reminded of my ever-increasing age).

I prefer to have either a few candles or even a single candle on my cake.  While nothing beats the traditional mini birthday candles sold in most grocery stores, since I tend to opt for few candles I want to make sure that they are special.  Recently, I have discovered Target's Gold Birthday Candles and TOPS Malibu's Big Golden Star Sparkler Wand and absolutely adore these candle options!  The added metallic glitz from these candles makes for a unique and chic addition to any birthday cake.  *To really take the presentation over the top, light the candles with these adorable birthday matches.  

Wrapping Birthday Presents

It can be challenging to find a gift wrap print that is appropriate for an array of gift recipient types (ex. age, gender, relation to you).  Often I find myself housing a ridiculously extensive collection of wrapping papers because I have bought papers based on a single recipient instead of finding a paper that could work for many.  Fortunately, I had my "Ah-ha!" moment a few months ago and have been obsessed ever since!  

Caspari's "Party Animal" line of paper products is a current favorite of mine when it comes to gift wrap, wine bags and gift enclosures.  The sophisticated wild animals decorated in whimsical birthday flare, makes this line of high quality gift wrap ideal to use on both adults and kids.  Caspari has also extended this line to paper tabletop products, which are equally fabulous and another birthday entertaining favorite of mine!

Party On!

If I am going to host a birthday party, then I am going to do it right.  Meaning, I'm  pulling out all of the stops (birthday party essentials), like party hats and confetti! 

Traditional party hats are a thing of the past in my opinion.  They are just too bulky and basic.  Ever since my discovery of the mini santa party hats around Christmas time, I have been totally in love with the concept of jaunty mini party hats worn stylishly tilted to one side of your head.  These Meri Meri Mini Party Hats (pictured below), paired with these super fun and reusable Confetti Pops (pictured above) are fun twists on traditional birthday party accessories that will give any party a fresh and festive vibe.  

Cocktail Time

In addition to outfitting my birthday parties with Caspari's Party Animal paper products, I also love using these "YAY!" Cocktail Napkins.  Not only do they scream FUN, but they are also a pleasantly unexpected/refreshing change from the traditional "Happy Birthday" and "Celebrate!" signage typically printed on birthday party paper products.   

Refreshing my birthday party repertoire with these chic and whimsical additions has me chomping at the bit to host my first birthday celebration of the season.  Simple updates to your party accessories can make all of the difference when it comes to putting together a fun and festive event.  I have always been a fan of birthdays because in my opinion, they are perfect opportunities to single out and celebrate those special people in your life.  

DIY Packaging for Fall Baked Goods

Fall baking is something I have already started enthusiastically embracing (see this post and my instagram page).  Since apples are just coming into the peak of their season this month I have been focusing on an assortment of apple-based treats.  While my various baked goods have turned out beautifully, my challenge has been the packaging/presentation.  I will spend the time to make a delicious dessert and to have to cover it in either plastic wrap or aluminum foil for transport just seems wrong.  When you go to a lot of trouble to bake a homemade dessert, the last thing you want is to have the treat encased in packaging that isn't reflective of the treat.   

Recently while perusing The Paper Source (love this store!), I came across the most adorable Kraft paper berry baskets by Meri Meri.  These baskets were absolutely adorable and immediately became the inspiration for this post. Best part? They are actually part of Meri-Meri's summer collection so I was able to purchase them on sale! (**you can too!--link below) 

To Make these Goody Baskets:

• Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Mini Muffins
• Mini Muffin Baking Pan
• Meri Meri Berry Baskets
• Cellophane Wrapping Paper
• Raffia
• Gift Tags
• Gold Pen

To create these festive Fall treat bags, I started by baking up a delicious (and healthy!) batch of fresh Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Mini Muffins. Once the muffins were baked and completely cooled I lined a berry basket with a sheet of the red and white checked parchment paper (sold with the baskets) and carefully filled the basket. (*these baskets can hold more than a dozen mini muffins, so if you want to stretch your batches of mini muffins a little further add tissue paper to the bottom of each basket).   

Once the basket was filled with muffins I wrapped them with clear cellophane paper so the contents of the package would still be visible and tied it all together with natural colored raffia ribbon for a rustic Fall touch. The chalkboard gift tags were then personalized with a note written in gold pen, which gave these little treat baskets a final finishing touch.  I love the way they have  turned out and I am thrilled to have a packaging that is both pretty and festive for sharing these delicious fall treats!