Can You Tell Me How To Get To......

I adore this Sesame Street party that Jenny from Jenny Cookies threw for her son Hudson that was turning 2! The bright, vibrant colors are great and check out the party favors.....goldfish! The little fish food containers are so cute too! Every last detail was thought out and is fantastic! Head over here to see all of the amazing party pics but don't forget to check out all of the amazing cookies she makes too!

Spooky Sendings

With Halloween right around the corner, it's time to start planning your spooky bash. My husband and I throw a huge Halloween bash every year, (It's my favorite holiday!) and I recently just mailed out our invites this past Saturday. We keep the theme a secret, every year, until all the guests receive their invites in the mail. I feel like it adds to the excitement of the event and gives our guests something to look forward to in the coming weeks. That is also why I mail out my invites with so much advance notice! So today I am going to feature some great invites that I have come across in the past. I'll be posting pics of the invite that I sent out this year, as soon as all of the guests have received them. I don't want to give anything away, after keeping my secret for a year! (Yes, you got that right! I plan my party a year in advance!) I believe that an invitation is what sets the mood for the upcoming event. Send something fun and interesting and everyone won't want to miss it!

I love these severed finger invites from Martha Stewart. Who wouldn't like getting a severed finger in the mail?!


These Specimen bottle invites, also from Martha Stewart, would be perfect for a Mad Scientist party or Witches gathering!

I love this idea for a Zombie Prom party! So creative! Find the details here.


This Halloween Survival Kit invite is fabulous! Complete with wooden stake, silver bullet, holy water, mirror, and matches. Created by A Brooklyn Limestone in Progress.

Awesome gravestone invitations found at Skip to My Lou.


This was the invite we sent out last year. The theme was pirates if you couldn't tell. And btw, you can mail the bottles as is! The guests loved getting them in their mailboxes!

This was what the guests found in their bottles!

Love these stylish, yet creepy invites from Paper Crave.

This was the invite we mailed out a few years ago. A coffin! And again, it was mailed as is. So guests, literally, got a coffin in their mailbox! You can't really tell from the second picture, but the skeleton is holding the rolled up invitation! (I think this is my favorite invitation to date!)

Love these jointed skeleton invites. From Martha Stewart.

These X-Ray invites are to die for! Found at Haunt Style.

I hope some of these invitations have given you ideas for your own Halloween party. I really love sending something different and unexpected. How fun would it be to receive one of these invites in the mail?!

Red Wings

I am loving this color palette and, of course, the butterflies! It's so refreshing to see a butterfly theme done in such an unexpected color palette. The colors are very rich and bold, yet super sophisticated. Absolutely gorgeous!

Photos courtesy of Butterfly Craft Ideas

Sweet and Personal

I love finding fun ways to personalize a party. One great way you can add personal touches is through the food you serve at your event! I thought I would share some of my favorite little treats that you can find on Etsy, to serve at your event to make the guest or guests of honor stand out!I love these custom lollipops from Sweet Lollipop Shop. She can customize the shape on the front of the lollipop to fit the theme of your event. You get 10 custom pops for $24.95. What a sweet treat!

Loving these custom Oreos from Serena's Party Boutique. She has tons of styles of Oreo's in her shop or you can also have custom orders made with your own pictures! And they are totally edible! I love the matching sprinkles on the sides too!

How great are these custom truffles? They come packaged as a set of 2, in a favor bag for $3.00. You can have photos, text, or logos printed on the truffles and they are available in either milk or dark chocolate and come in flavors of key lime, raspberry, chocolate, or espresso. Find them over at Olde Naples Chocolate.

Along the same lines as the truffles, you can have a custom logo printed on a cookie too! These are available through Shortbread NYC.

Want to use your own fabulous cookie or brownie recipe, but don't have the ability to print on edible sheets? Order your prints from Random Acts of Sugar. You receive 3 sheets of prints for $10. I love the business card cookie idea shown! Too cute!

I just adore these gorgeous edible leaves from Sugar Robot. These would be gorgeous as placecards at a wedding or perfect for any other event. 1 dozen leaves for $9.95. Bargain!

How cute are these pops from Stix n Pops? They offer several different varieties but these ones come with a blank writable space to personalize with your own message! Fab!

I'm sure you've all heard of cake pops....but what about picture pops? These adorable pops come from Choco Love Affair. A variety of cake flavors, and chocolate drizzle colors are available and you get 12 pops for $21.00. Love em!

These custom tea bags are so great! Perfect as favors for a wedding or even a tea party! Each box contains 10 organic herbal tea bags, so you can divide them up or give them as gifts! Each tag is fully customizable and so is the color of the ribbon. Find them over at EcoLectic Events. $15 for a box of 10, personalized tea bags.


Hopefully one of these great vendors from Etsy, can help to make your next event personal and super sweet!

Vacancy

As you know, Halloween is just around the corner and the magazine racks at your local grocery store are filling up with the new holiday recipe books, and Halloween idea filled magazine covers. If you haven't picked up the new Better Homes and Gardens Halloween edition, you need to! There are some adorable party theme ideas this year, but my absolute favorite is this fabulous, and uber creative theme to dress up your front yard!

Where can a ghoul go to rest their tired bones? At a "Dead and Breakfast," of course, where the guests expired long before their welcome ever did.


Once you check in here....you'll never leave!


I'm obsessed. I adore this Dead & Breakfast Inn theme. You can find instructions and templates to create all of the signs and decor, in the magazine. The issue is on newsstands now! Pick your copy up today!

PB & J Time!

I have been very busy lately, working on a handful of events coming up in the next little while, but last night I took a break to sit down and watch The Cupcake Girls on WE. It is such a cute and funny show! There's no fluff or filler here.You get to see all the frustrations, arguments, and everyday stresses that go into a real-life, down-to-earth, business. It's very refreshing to know that we all have to deal with that stuff! My favorite episode involves the owners discussing whether or not to fire one of their, lazy, late, delivery driver fathers. What a hoot! Super cute and a must see! So today, in honor of Cupcake Girls, I decided to feature a recipe for Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes! Just in time for back-to-school as well! Enjoy!

PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY CUPCAKES:

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp
• 1 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter
• 1 1/3 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup grape jelly

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Insert 24 liners into a medium cupcake pan.
• In a large bowl cream together the butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well. Mix in the vanilla.
• In a separat bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Add the dry ingredients to creamed mixture, alternating with the milk. Mix well.
• Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.
• To inject the jelly: I used a Wilton round #7 tip and a piping bag. Just stick the tip most of the way into the cupcake and squeeze until you feel jelly coming out of the tip. Stop squeezing before you remove the tip from the cupcake. You might have to practice to know how much jelly to add without making the cupcake explode!
  

These are great with Peanut Butter Frosting!

Makes: 24 Cupcakes