earth day decorations

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Continuing to reuse items from around the house, we made simple party hats and tassels using outdated maps for some easy Earth Day decorations. Carefully roll map into a cone shape and secure with a piece of washi tape. Trim bottom of cone flat to create hat. Top off the hat with a festive yarn pompom.

earth day decorations

To decorate the front of our table, we strung recycled tassels on twine. Using this tutorial, we made decorative tassels from re-purposed maps, chip bags and tissue paper.

earth day decorations

The finishing touch to our table are the eye-catching BLOOM & GROW signs. Download the freebie printable party sign and display in your favorite 4×6 photo frame.

earth day decorations

Photography, design and styling by Bettijo B. Hirschi and Aimée Lowry, the amazing ladies from  PagingSupermom.com.


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earth day party: make your own globe

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Earth Day Party Ideas — Kids will love this! A DIY globe is the perfect centerpiece for this party — it’s an Earth Day celebration after all. Using papier-mâché to create a globe is a fun, hands-on project. To begin, you’ll need a round balloon (we used a punching ball purchased at our local party store), recycled newspaper torn into 1-inch strips, water and flour.

earth day party

Whisk together 1 part flour to 1-1/2 parts water to form a paste. Carefully dip newspaper strips into the mixture and layer on the balloon until the entire sphere is covered. Keep in mind this project can get messy but it’s so gratifying. Let sit overnight until dry. Once dry, you may choose to discard the inner balloon by popping it and removing it through the balloon-tie hole.

earth day party ideas kids

Paint the globe ocean blue. Using the free printable, color and cut out the continents. Generously apply a clear sealant (such as Modge Podge) to adhere the colored landmasses and then to cover and protect the entire globe. Let sit overnight to dry.

earth day party

Proudly display your Earth Day pride (or at the very least, geographical artistry) on a canning ring.

earth day party ideas kids

Photography, design and styling by Bettijo B. Hirschi and Aimée Lowry, the amazing ladies from PagingSupermom.com.


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bloom & grow earth day party for kids

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

With spring in full bloom and Earth Day right around the corner on April 22, we were inspired by our amazing Earth and all things that BLOOM & GROW to create a precious Earth Day Party for kids of all ages, complete with a spread that’s ready to cultivate your child’s love for our planet and the bounteous land we all enjoy.

In an effort to keep our environmental impact minimal, we used mostly recycled items including outdated maps, eggshell planters, re-purposed chip bags and more as you will be seeing this week. And to start it off, what would an Earth Day Party be without a compost pile?

earth day party

Serve up chocolate pudding layered with crushed Oreos in a recycled glass baby food jar. Using food dye, color wooden picks green to serve as a stem for the printable leaf. (Download free COMPOST PUDDING leaves from Paging Supermom here.)

Bite-sized green veggies served up in a monochromatic array will delight even the littlest party-goers.

earth day party for kids

To create an Ombre Veggie Tray, collect a variety of crunchy green vegetables: cucumber, celery, broccoli, green pepper, sugar snap peas and zucchini. Serve with your favorite veggie dip or hummus.

Everything needs fresh water to BLOOM & GROW, so we thought it appropriate to serve up cold water with a hint of lime. We reused glass drink bottles adorned with simple natural twine knotted around the neck. Add a green-striped, Earth-friendly paper straw for extra appeal.

earth day

earth day party for kids

Now are you excited to host your own Earth Day Party? We’ve got plenty of fun ideas lined up this week, but first zip over to PagingSupermom.com to download the free printable BLOOM & GROW party invitation.

Photography, design and styling by Bettijo B. Hirschi and Aimée Lowry, the amazing ladies behind PagingSupermom.com.


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the one charming party show: cinnamon almonds recipe

Monday, April 9, 2012

My mom, Kristie Blanchard, joins me again on The One Charming Party Show this week. I love her cinnamon almonds recipe and I convinced her to show you how she makes them. We didn’t have a stove to actually cook the almonds, but it’s nice to hear the directions directly from her.

cinnamon almonds recipe

I’ve already posted the cinnamon almonds recipe here, if you’d like to see it.


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natural egg dyes for real simple

Friday, April 6, 2012

Are you dyeing eggs this weekend? We created some natural egg dyes for Real Simple to feature on their website last year. Lots of natural egg dye recipes are trickier than they seem. So for this project I used ingredients that you can easily find at a grocery store.  The recipes are listed below.

easter

natural egg dye recipes

BLUE: 1 pound frozen blueberries (about 3-1/2 cups) + 2 cup water.
On the stovetop, bring frozen blueberries and water to a boil in a pot. Boil 5 minutes. Pour colored liquid into a cup or bowl, straining out the blueberries with a strainer. Stir in 1 Tablespoon lemon juice.

YELLOW: 2 Tablespoons turmeric + 2 cups water.
On the stovetop, bring turmeric and water to a boil in a pot. Boil 5 minutes. Pour colored liquid into a cup or bowl. Stir in 1 Tablespoon vinegar.

GREEN: In a bowl or cup, mix one part blue liquid with one part yellow liquid.

ORANGE: 2 Tablespoons paprika + 2 cups water.
On the stovetop, bring paprika and water to a boil in a pot. Boil 5 minutes. Pour colored liquid into a cup or bowl. Stir in 1 Tablespoon vinegar.

PINK: 12 ounces frozen raspberries (about 3-1/2 cups) + 2 cups water.
On the stovetop, bring frozen raspberries and water to a boil in a pot. Boil 5 minutes. Pour colored liquid into a cup or bowl, straining out the raspberries with a strainer. Stir in 1 Tablespoon lemon juice.

BROWN: 1/4 cup instant coffee granules + 2 cups boiling water.
In a cup or bowl, stir coffee granules and boiling water together. Add 1 Tablespoon vinegar.

For darker colors, use the dye when it’s hot. Plan on leaving your eggs in their dye for 15-30 minutes for maximum color. The natural colors will deepen overnight. The natural dyes can flavor boiled eggs, so I don’t recommend eating these colored eggs.

natural egg dye recipes

natural egg dyes

You can see all of the details on Real Simple. Photos by Nicole Hill Gerulat.


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easter party ideas for real simple

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Need a few last minute Easter Party ideas? Last year we created a fun Easter egg decorating party for Real Simple online, complete with printable invites and basket tags. If you need some tricks up your sleeve for your Easter gathering, check it out.

easter party invites

easter egg dye

easter egg dye

easter egg dye

easter party ideas

easter party ideas

easter nest

easter nest

easter nest

easter basket

Visit Real Simple for all of the downloads and egg dyeing instructions.

Graphic design by Sara Westbrook. Photos by Nicole Hill Gerulat. 


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the one charming party show: chocolate mustache on a stick

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

I’m a few days late letting you know, but there is a new episode of The One Charming Party Show up on My Craft Channel. One of my best friends, Kelly Rigby Winslow, joins me on the show to demonstrate how to make the ever popular chocolate mustache on a stick.

You can also see a quick tutorial on chocolate mustaches at Sweet as the Punch, my inspiration for this episode.


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a note from brittany: april

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

I can’t believe how fast time flies! It seems like just yesterday that I was invited to participate in SNAP! the Conference. And now SNAP! is right around the corner — less than three weeks away! I have been in charge of organizing the Event Track — here are the panels & speakers that I put together:

From Blog to Book:

Party Planning on a Budget:

Calligraphy:

Floral Secrets:

There are always lots of fun things going on at Bake It Pretty. We are in the middle of a little site redo and we just took some new product pictures that I’ll be adding the shop soon. I’ll be posting some behind the scenes photos of the warehouse this month. And if you’re attending SNAP (or just want to come to the Queen Bee Market), I’ll be selling some Bake It Pretty products so stop on by.

queen bee market

Also, with all of this craziness going on I’ve been neglectful on Facebook and Twitter for both One Charming Party (@onecharmingirl) and Bake It Pretty (@bakeitpretty). Please drop in and say HI! And finally, Happy Birthday yesterday to my older brother Brad. He turned 40 :)  And Happy Birthday today to my nephew Liam.

xo Brittany

 


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the one charming party show: fun photo booths

Monday, March 26, 2012

It’s Monday! And that means I have another episode of The One Charming Party Show on My Craft Channel for you to watch. Today’s episode reveals some insider tips for photographing fun photo booths at your next party. Melissa Esplin, from the popular blog ISLY, shares her suggestions and advice. She’s such a sweetie and I love hanging out with Melissa any chance I get.

Have a great week!


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easter dinner with the kids: tree centerpiece

Friday, March 23, 2012

Take the traditional Easter tree centerpiece and give it a modern twist by wrapping it in yarn.

easter tree centerpiece

You will need: an old Easter tree or a good wooden branch, yarn, tacky glue or a hot glue gun

easter tree centerpiece

Start by wrapping the branches in yarn. Begin near the trunk of your tree and secure your yarn with glue. Then wrap the yarn around the tree. Continue until you reach the end of the branch. Cut the yarn and glue the end down.

easter tree centerpiece

After you have wrapped all of the branches, start at the bottom of the trunk of the tree and wrap up the tree. Wrapping the trunk at the end will allow you to cover up all the loose yarn ends you have near the trunk of your tree. Wrap the yarn all the way up the trunk and secure with glue at the end.

easter tree centerpiece

This tree makes a perfect display for your pretty Easter eggs, and a gorgeous centerpiece for an Easter dinner.

Photography and styling by Sara Schmutz.


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