Belly Feathers :: Handmade Party Ideas Blog by Betsy Pruitt

Candy Acorns for Thanksgiving

2011-11-16T19:58:00.001-06:00

These Candy Acorns are as yummy as they are cute! Butterscotch and toasted pecans make a delightful flavor combination...I can't even begin to describe how good these are! These acorns are sure to make the perfect decoration for your Thanksgiving treats and fall gatherings.

I originally saw these cuties on the cover of Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade magazine. The steps outlined in the magazine made the process of creating these Candy Acorns a bit frustrating, so I streamlined the process. Now, they're super simple and joy to make.

Candy Acorns Recipe
40    pecan halves, toasted
1      cup butterscotch morsels, melted
½     cup finely ground pecans, toasted

With a small amount of melted butterscotch, attach flat sides of 2 pecan halves to make a whole. Place on a waxed-paper-lined baking sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes to set.

Dip ⅔ lengthwise of each whole pecan into melted butterscotch and set on waxed paper. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes to set.

Dip uncoated ⅓ of pecan into melted butterscotch, and roll in finely ground pecans. You may want to use your fingers to push the ground pecans into a uniform shape for your acorn tops.

Set on waxed paper, and place in the freezer for 10 minutes to set. Enjoy!

These candy acorns are so easy and delicious! I can't wait to decorate my pumpkin pie with these for Thanksgiving.

How to Have a Successful Yard Sale - Pro Tips

2011-08-22T05:06:00.000-05:00

My husband and I are pro yard salers - from both the buying and selling perspective. We love to load our pockets down with quarters and head out on a Saturday morning for treasures.

At our own Yard Sale this month, we put all of our years of experience to good use and raked in $913!! What's even more incredible about that is that we didn't have any big-ticket items. Our most expensive items were

$40 - Gigantic framed art piece
$15 - Toro weedeater
$10 - Toro lawn blower
$5 - Headboard/footboard for full-size bed
$5 - Collector Barbies, in boxes but obviously opened and LOVED!
$1 - 0.50 each for almost everything else

I know you can do just as good or better taking our collective wisdom and running with it.

Here are our tips for for a successful yard sale!

Decide on your #1 Yard Sale goal
In yard sale speak, this is either to 1) get rid of unwanted things or 2) make money. Ideally, you want to do both, but knowing what your top priority is ahead of time will help you set a strategy for all of your yard sale preparations, stay focused at the sale, and have no regrets once its over. If your #1 goal is to get the top price for each of your items, you won't feel bad turning away low-ball offers in the morning. However, if you ultimately want everything gone, let that stack of books go for $2. That's better than having to box them back up at the end of the day...why risk not finding another buyer to take them off your lawn?

Our goal was ultimately to get rid of clutter and not bring anything (well, almost anything) back inside our house, while having a little fun and making some cash in the process. That's why when we later noticed that a small stereo had been stolen from our sale, our goal kept us from getting upset because we ultimately wanted to get rid of it...besides if someone is so desperate that they need to steal from a yard sale, more power to them! Having a sense of humor is good to have, too!
Have way more than you expect to sell
If you want people to pull over at your sale, you need a lot of stuff to make it worth their while...more than you think you'll sell. Looking picked over will not be to your advantage, especially late in the day. Keeping your #1 goal in mind, scour you house with a rutheless eye for stuff to help you reach your target, especially in the last week or two before your sale. I like to always keep a bag stashed in cabinets or a box hidden under cloth-covered tables around my house for holding yard sale items throughout the year. When these stashes become unmanageable, it's Yard Sale time! Then a few weeks before the sale, my husband and I clean out closets, cabinets, and drawers throughout the house. When you start to feel wishy-washy about what should stay or go, break out your #1 priority for the sale, and ask yourself how that item fits with the goal. That will help you decided whether it goes in the yard sale pile or not. If you still don't have enough stuff for a yard sale, ask a few friends to join in and yard sale with you.
One man's trash is another man's treasure - So true!
You may think to yourself, "This will never sell," or "I'd be embarrassed to put this out...who would want it?" Don't doubt yourself, and just put it out anyway. Some items that surprisingly have sold well at my yard sales are Martha Stewart Living magazines, half used body sprays and lotions, technical books on dated subjects/concepts, and dingy white t-shirts and dress shirts with ring around the collar. I always feel the later is a reflection on my poor laundry skills...totally embarrassing to me. Somebody, let me in on that ancient Chinese secret! However, at our sale, I was glad I put them out anyway because almost all of them sold...crazy! Those shirts alone probably made us at least $20 richer.
Look cute, festive, and tidy
You can really differentiate yourself from other sales here and make it impossible for people to drive by without stopping. Doing this will help you attract a better clientelle, too...people who don't normally yard sale will be willing to stop, and often, they have more cash to spend. Create a bright, coordinated atmosphere by covering your mis-matched folding tables with dollar-store table cloths. I'm a cheapsake, so I trimmed some of the plastic table cloths in half to cover smaller tables. This alone goes a long way. You can do even more by making a party-style Yard Sale banner to hang (download my free Yard Sale Printables for a template) or tying a few balloons from Dollar Tree to your mailbox. When you get your items ready to put out, wipe off any dust or cobwebs...I recommend doing this a week or so before on your bigger items, especially ones that have been in the attic or garage. I've been known to ignore some interesting items at Yard Sales solely because they were too yucky to put in my car, so I definitely didn't want any deterrents like this at my yard sale.
Plan your Yard Sale display ahead of time
Don't just think you're going to string a line from two trees to hang clothes at the yard sale. The week before, get the rope out and give it a try. Often times, you'll find you need a different plan...or wonder, "Where in the world did I put that rope?" These are not mysteries you want to try to solve on the morning of your yard sale. Maybe you'll want to borrow some extra tables from friends. We've found that a broom stick between a tree's branches and a ladder makes a really sturdy clothes rack (won't sag all of the clothes together in the middle like a rope). A piece of paneling or plywood on upside-down buckets or recycling bins can make really nice low tables, too...great for putting toys at kid-level!
Merchandise - pretend like you're opening your own Macy's department store for the day
Think like a store merchandiser, and put some thought into where items should be placed. I like to put something good like furniture close to the street as a draw, and then have a large, eye-catching item at the back of the driveway to draw people from the street all the way back through my entire stock of goods. Ever wondered why grocery stores put the milk and eggs at the back of the store? They want you to walk through the cookie and potato chip isle first, so you'll load up your cart on the way. Learn from their example! I had a gigantic framed art piece that I placed toward the back of my yard sale, and it worked like a charm to draw people back to get a good look. Don't be afraid to rearrange items during the sale to get this effect once you figure out what items keep attracting attention.

If you have the luxury of being able to set everything up for your yard sale in your garage the night before, that's the way to go because you can get super organized! Of course, does that make it a garage sale and not a yard sale?...no worries, these tips still apply! You want to group like items together to make them easy to find: women's clothes, men's clothes, craft supplies/tools, books, kitchen gadgets, picture frames, electronics, etc. We didn't have that luxury, so our sale was a big disorganized mess at the beginning. No problem, because that leads to my next tip...
Don't let early birds get you frazzled
In fact, use those early birds to your advantage...they're more than willing to help you bring out and unpack boxes. These people are professionals! I don't care how early you try to set up before the start-time of your sale, these people will be lurking and ready to pounce. This can be a little stressful because things won't get put out and organized the way you want, but you'll have all day to get things sorted out...rearranging and looking busy actually attracts more people to stop by. When dealing with early birds, you'll also be glad you had a #1 goal in mind. If your main goal is to make money, you won't feel bad turning away low-ball offers. But, be smart about it! Be polite and offer to take down their name and number in case that item is still available at the end of the day...you might both come out really happy in this case.
Price with your Yard Sale goal in mind
I'm a big fan of not having anything priced at your yard sale because when people go to negotiate, a lot of times they name a price higher than what I have in mind...SCORE! Plus, this makes less work for you because you don't have to tag every single thing or reduce the tagged prices as the day goes on. On some big ticket items, you may want to mark a dollar value if you're not willing to accept less than a certain price. Even if you don't tag, it's good to have some general price guidelines in mind ahead of time, which you can note on signs, such as Books - $1, Magazines $0.25, etc. if you want. If your #1 goal is to make money, you probably do want to go through the extra trouble to price tag all of your items, though, so you can put some thought into how much each item should sell for. This makes things fool-proof if you need to step inside and let someone else man the register for a few minutes, too.
Knowing what to say to improve sales
After years of yard sales shopping, I've witnessed a few techniques that caused me to hand over out a little extra cash for items, so of course, I made note! Apply these in a warm, polite manner, and you'll do well. I don't recommend doing anything that would make you feel smarmy at the end of the day, so ultimately, do what feels comfortable for you.
- "Whatever you think is fair..." or "Just name a fair price..."
  You may find it hard go with an un-marked pricing style. For cases like this, I recommend placing a few signs up around your sale that say, "Make an offer," to let people know how to approach you. Then if someone asks you the price of something, break out a variation of, "Whatever you think is fair." This can stop a low-ball offer in its tracks...works like a charm! Be prepared for them to say, "I don't know..." To this I just continue with, "Oh, just make an offer that you think is fair." A yard sale customer feels happy when they get something at a price that pleases them, and if they name the price, that is generally what happens. Plus, remember I said earlier that if I let the customer name the price, they'll generally offer more than I had in mind.
- "No reasonable offer refused"
  This can really create a buying frenzy, so whether you verbalize this phrase or just put up a few signs at your entrance and "cash register", absolutely use it! (See my free Printable Yard Sales Signs for these.) Keep in mind, you get to decided what's reasonable. If someone throws out an offer that's too low, just politely decline. In these cases, I might give them a counter offer to let them know where I expect the price to be.
- "Hmmm..." and a ton of awkward silence
  You'll have some customers that won't name a price; use this phrase. Or if someone names a low-ball price; use it here, too. This is just a good all-purpose way to encourage them to make an offer or up their price. I like to throw in a "no" head shake or maybe a crazy confused face along with this for good measure to give the buyer some visual clues as to what I think about their price...seriously, try it. You'll be shocked at some of the nice offers you get, as a result...the awkward silence is really the key.
- Use some positive customer quotes to your advantage
  If someone tells you something positive about the sale, use this to whip up a buyer frenzy. I do this by loudly saying, "Thanks!" in response, and then shouting back to my husband across the entire yard sale, "Did you hear that, Rog? She said we have the best yard sale prices, she's seen all year." This with get other yard salers excited, and lets them know that good things are happening right NOW. Encourage them to snatch things up before their gone.
- "Are you looking for anything in particular?"
  Be as helpful as you can to your customers. I'm not a very pushy person by nature, but if I notice someone is holding a skirt and I have a top that matches perfectly, I'd be doing them a disservice if I didn't at least point it out to them...who am I to keep them from finding their new favorite outfit?! ( ; This phrase is particularly good to use with early birds, especially if you haven't had a chance to unpack and set every thing up. Chances are they saw something in your yard sale ad that piqued their interest, so be sure to find out what it is and unpack those things first....whatever they're looking for, help them find it. A lot of people don't feel comfortable saying that they came solely for XYZ and will just leave...don't let them.
Identify unknown or confusing items
It may be hard for your customers to figure out what something is. Give them some visual clues if you can and then place a little sign or tag on it stating what it is. This will go along way in facilitating the sale of these things, as you won't always have the time to notice someone staring at this item and get the opportunity to explain. For example, I had a fold-able rack for wrapping paper and ribbon. Who knows what it is when it's just sitting bare, so I put an almost-gone roll of wrapping paper on it, along with a tag explaining that it was great for Christmas wrapping. I included some large blank price tags and tent signs in my free Printable Yard Sale Signs & Price Tags package precisely for this reason. Noting the history of an item might be helpful for adding value, too...people like a good story.
Be prepared
A little preparation will make the big day go a lot smoother and help you sell more.
- Have a lot of small change on hand...more than you think you'll need. For our sale, I withdrew $50 from the bank - 1-$10, 2- $5, and 30 - $1 bills. Then I pulled a bunch of quarters out of my husband's change stash. Be sure to note how much change you have on hand, so you won't count this in your profit at the end of the day. Also, know that a lot of people will pay with $20 bills.
- Save up lots of plastic shopping bags, as well as some newspaper for wrapping breakables. Having some spare boxes can help people carry off their treasures. Offer boxes to customers holding a lot of items, too, to encourage them to buy more than they can easily carry.
- Keep a roll of paper towels or Swiffers around for wiping off dust or cobwebs you might have missed.
- Have an extension cord, power strip, or plug around, so people can try things before they buy. When people ask if something works, offer them the plug....this will go a long way toward buyer confidence and help you fetch a better price.
Create the yard sale you'd want to go to
When it comes to all other yard sale decisions, just put yourself in your clients shoes to help you come to a conclusion. For example, I'm not a morning person, so I usually hit yard sales up late in the day. If the ad or sign says, it extends until 1:00 or later, then it will make my cut of places to go that day. Of course, we didn't want to miss out on those early birds either, so we set our yard sale hours for 7:00 am - 2:00 pm.
Get creative with your Yard Sale goal - our "FREE HOUR"
Throughout your sale, make sure you're hitting your goal. Yard Sales are fluid, so don't be afraid to change your strategy midstream. If something isn't working, try something else. Toward the end of the sale, we realized we still had a lot of stuff that we'd have to pack up and haul away. Keeping in mind our #1 goal was to get rid of clutter, my husband came up with the brilliant idea to do a Free Hour for the last hour of our sale. At this point, we took out a few items that we decided we'd keep or sell on Craigslist. Then when people walked up, we just told them whatever they wanted was free and to take as much as they wanted. I wish we could have bottled the joy people expressed!! It was absolutely incredible to watch people light up when we told them. We helped them, and they helped us. Such an awesome feeling that I can't even describe it....absolutely one of the best things we've ever done.
Advertise your Yard Sale
This is such an important piece of the yard sale puzzle that I'll be devoting an entire post to advertising and signage later this week, so stay tuned! (Did I mention my full-time job is in marketing, and that I have a degree in advertising?)
Schedule end-of-sale charity pick-ups earlier in the week
It's pretty hard to find a charity that will do same-day pick up of your leftover items, at least it was in our area. From talking with many operators, I learned it's best to schedule these at least a week in advance, so they'll show up shortly after your sale ends. If you don't mind making a delivery, our Salvation Army had the most convenient Saturday drop-off hours for us, as they were open a lot later into the afternoon.
Have fun!
We met lots of great people at our yard sale and had a great time chatting. Plus, I always enjoy seeing something I really like find a new home that will love and enjoy it...sometimes, that makes it a lot easier to let things go.

Do you have any great Yard Sale tips and tricks? I'd love to hear them!! Please post a comment, share on Facebook or Twitter, or shoot me an email at Betsy@BellyFeathers.com.

Be sure to download my cute Printable Yard Sale Signs and Price Tags, too! They're FREE!

Free Printable Yard Sale Signs & Price Tags

2011-08-22T00:05:00.000-05:00

When you have cute Yard Sale Signs, you can attract a better clientele. That's why I decided to design these Printable Yard Sale Signs & Price Tags for my own garage sale, and now, I'm sharing them with you for FREE!!

I've been designing more and more Printable Party Invitations and Party Supplies for my customers over the last few months. They're a great way to get a variety of highly coordinated party supplies at a small flat rate. Once you get your Printable PDF, you can print unlimited copies of the items you need. Plus, they give you the flexibility to get creative and use the graphics in new ways...so much fun!

I know I had a fantastic time playing with my Yard Sale Printables. I had originally designed some graphics for small circular price tags, and then I discovered they would make perfect cards for displaying (and keeping together) earrings for sale! See what I mean about getting creative and having fun?! My jewelry looked so cute on these cards that all of my pieces were snatched up within the first couple of hours...part of that had to be due to the presentation.

Check out my Tips for a Successful Yard Sale. My husband and I made $913 at our yard sale this month!!

What are you waiting for?! Download these Printable Yard Sale Signs and Price Tags now! I promise you'll get a lot of compliments...I did!

Cinco de Mayo Margarita Recipe

2011-05-04T22:54:00.001-05:00

When I think of Cinco de Mayo, I think of MARGARITAS! You'll find me sipping one on May 5th for sure.

Photo by Sarah Brewer of Click Photo Designs

My husband and I noticed that our favorite Mexican restaurant adds orange juice in their margarita mix, which takes the edge off the too-tart mix most places serve. For our Cinco de Mayo Margarita Party, we crafted our own margarita recipe to make use of this secret ingredient.

Pruitt House Margaritas

One Part
Tequila, Triple Sec, Sour Mix

Two Parts
Orange Juice

Three Parts
Margarita Mix

I like drink recipes that use parts, so you can easily scale the recipe up or down to fill a single glass or an entire drink dispenser like we did for our party.

After trying many brands of ingredients that were economical for a large party, our favorites for this recipe were

Margaritaville Silver Tequilla
Master of Mixes Sour Mix
Tropicana No-Pulp Orange Juice
Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix

If you missed any of my Cinco de Mayo Margarita Party Pics, be sure to check them out.

Photo by Sarah Brewer of Click Photo Designs

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Easy Fried Ice Cream Recipe

2011-05-03T19:57:00.005-05:00

I've been known to order Fried Ice Cream as my entree at Mexican restaurants...just ask my husband. I LOVE the combo of creamy ice cream and crunchy coating, so I knew I wanted to have this on my Cinco de Mayo Margarita Party menu.

Photo by Sarah Brewer of Click Photo Designs

I thought it would something really unique to have outside of a restaurant, and once I figured out the right combo of ingredients, I realized how easy it is to make.

Photo by Sarah Brewer of Click Photo Designs

You can make the fried ice cream 8-10 hours before your party, and it will be super yummy when you pull it out of the freezer. If you leave them in the freezer much longer, the crunchy coating will get soggy.

After many trial-and-error attempts, here's my super easy take on this Mexican treat! Mmmm!

Betsy's Easy No-Fry Fried Ice Cream

3-4    cups vanilla ice cream
   1   cup corn flakes, crushed
   1   tablespoon honey
   1   pinch cinnamon

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

Scoop vanilla ice cream into four baseball-sized balls onto a cookie sheet. Place cookie sheet in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to harden ice cream balls.

Pour corn flakes into a gallon-sized, zip-top bag and seal, removing excess air. Use a rolling pin to crush corn flakes.

Add honey and cinnamon to bag and stir.

Remove one ice cream ball from the freezer at a time, and roll it in the bag of crumbs to coat completely. It will start to melt from the warmth of your hands, so quickly return it to the freezer to harden again before serving. Coating will stay crunchy for 8-10 hours in the freezer.

Makes 4 servings.

Download the 3x5 Recipe Card

Let me know if you try it out!

DIY Mexican Paper Flags: Easy Papel Picado Alternative

2011-05-02T19:27:00.002-05:00

When I was planning my Cinco de Mayo Margarita Party, I immediately decided I wanted Mexican Paper Flags, also known as papel picado. If you've ever seen photos of these flags hanging over streets in Mexico, you know how festive they look. However, these can be kind of pricy to purchase, as they should be considering the intricate designs cut into the tissue paper by hand.

Photo by Sarah Brewer of Click Photo Designs

My easy alternative was inspired by a DIY Bunting Tutorial on Project Wedding. I love the clean lines! You can leave your flags blank or stamp a pretty design on them like I did.

How to Make Mexican Paper Flags

Supplies Needed

Tissue paper in multiple colors
Lever-style paper trimmer or scissors
Rubber stamp (optional)
Ink (optional)
Glue stick
Twine

Cut multiple sheets of tissue at once into 8x6" strips using a lever paper trimmer or scissors. Fold in half to create 4x6" flags.
Using a rubber stamp and ink, stamp a design onto your folded flags. I stamped a flower in the upper left corner of all my orange flags, in the center of all my yellow flags, and in the bottom right of all my green flags for variety.
Unfold one of the flags, and run a glue stick around the four edges of the inside of the bottom half.
Place a length of twine in the fold of the flag, and fold in half to adhere the flags edges together. I used Divine Twine in Lemon by Whisker Graphics.
Leaving 2-3" section of twine from the edge of this flag, adhere the next flag onto the twine. Repeat with desired amount of flags.
Hang and enjoy!

If you missed the photos from my Cinco de Mayo Margarita Party, be sure to check them out!

I'd love to see photos if you make your own Mexican Paper Flags!

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo: Margarita Party

2011-05-01T10:35:00.003-05:00

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo is a personal favorite of mine. Any excuse to enjoy margaritas makes for a great time in my book! Therefore, I'm thrilled to share these beautiful Margarita Party photos with you. Sarah Brewer of Click Photo Designs in Huntsville, Alabama, did a fantastic job of capturing all of these details.

Cinco de Mayo Party Inspiration

My husband Roger loves preparing Mexican dishes, especially recipes from Rick Bayless's Mexican Everyday cook book. (Roger is a fabulous cook!) So, we wanted to plan a party where guests could enjoy some of our favorite Mexican dishes along with traditional favorites like chips, salsa, queso, and MARGARITAS, of course!

I was inspired for the party design last year (I know! I know planning for a year is crazy...that's just how I do!), I found some Better Homes and Gardens party ware at Walmart in marigold orange, goldenrod yellow, and lime green that I absolutely loved (select pieces are now available at Ross). I based the color palette and flower design around a few of the items from this collection that I purchased, such as vinyl tablecloths, a serving tray, and some melamine plates that my husband transformed into a two-tiered tray (see picture of limes). One of the tablecloths was used as the backdrop for our buffet. I literally carried one of the plates around in my purse for months, so I could match napkins, ribbon, etc.

Cinco de Mayo Decorations

I love Mexican paper flags (aka papel picado)! They set such a festive tone, so I created my own simple version using tissue paper and baker's twine (See my Mexican Paper Flags tutorial). I hung them everywhere to guide my guests from the front door to all of the party areas in my house. They provided excellent visual queues.

I'm a big fan of shopping your own house for party decor to save money and to get a unique look, and for this event, my father-in-law let me shop his! The large copper plaque was something that hung above the fireplace in his parents' house growing up. I thought it created a stunning focal point with a Mayan feel.

My best friend Jessica had given me an apple martini dry erase board from Target a few years ago, and I transformed it into a margarita for my front door with by making a little lime out of paper for its rim. Too perfect!

Cinco de Mayo Drinks

We kept the margaritas simple by using one recipe premixed into a large drink dispenser, which guests could have on the rocks or frozen. Since we love margaritas, we already had a Margaritaville frozen margarita maker, which makes perfect frozen drinks! (Check back for our house margarita recipe this week!)

We also had some Coronas available, as well as a variety of Jarritos Mexican sodas for the kids, which are easy to find in the international sections of many grocery stores. The sodas were a big hit! I love these paper straws that I ordered from Hey Yo Yo on Etsy.

HOSTESS TIP: I'm not normally a fan of vinyl tablecloths, but for a margarita party, they were perfect for cleaning up sticky spills and not showing signs of mess as the party progressed into the wee hours.

Cinco de Mayo Food

My husband prepared spicy beef Chile Colorado and mild Chicken Verde for the party's entrees, which we served with flour tortillas, homemade roasted tomato salsa in mild and spicy (Mmm!), sour cream, and guacamole. Some guests made tacos with the entrees, while others made nachos.

I'm a big fan of keeping the day-of-party prep simple, which includes not cooking more than you can manage. Our group of friends love the light, flaky tortilla chips from Phil Sandoval's Mexican Restaurante in Huntsville, AL, so we had them cater the chips, queso dip, and guacamole, which helped keep things simple for us. They were all super yummy!

I had some fun with the guacamole, and served it in an extra large margarita glass that I found at Old Time Pottery. I even salted the rim and added a lime to add to the margarita look.

For dessert, I made no-fry Fried Ice Cream with a crunchy honey cinnamon coating. I knew fried ice cream would be a yummy and unique dish to have outside of a restaurant, so I knew I had to give it a try. Surprisingly, it was super easy to make ahead and pull out of the freeze when it was time to serve. A big hit with everyone! Be sure to check out the recipe.

They say the heart of the home is the kitchen, and when margaritas are served on the kitchen table, this is especially true! We had a wonderful time catching up with friends all night long around drinks. I can tell you the most rewarding part of having a party was watching new friendships form between guests that had not met before, and it absolutely makes me want to throw more events.

Sarah, thanks so much for your help! My photographer Sarah Brewer of Click Photo Designs was truly a delight to work with and her eye for detail really shows in all of these wonderful photographs from the party. In addition to photographing special events, she takes the most incredible photo journalistic style family and children's portraits. I always look forward to Click Photo Designs updates in my Facebook feed - always beautiful eye candy!

Stay tuned for more Cinco de Mayo party ideas, how-to's, and recipes on this blog all week long! Like Belly Feathers on Facebook or follow on Twitter to get updates on new ideas.

What are your plans for Cinco de Mayo?

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T08:32:00.000-05:00

We've been enjoying this sweet baby bunny, who lives in our back yard. I hope his sweet face brings you many smiles on this special holiday!

Alice in Wonderland Party Ideas

2011-03-24T20:52:00.004-05:00

Like most girls, Alice in Wonderland has always been a story that captured my imagination. That's why I was so excited to design some Alice in Wonderland Party Favors for my customer, Traci. They couldn't have turned out any sweeter!

I fell in love with these little heart tins because of their raised lace-like design and have been holding on to them for just the right occasion. And, they were so perfect for the Alice in Wonderland Baby Shower that Traci was planning. Being the just the right size for little treats, they look absolutely precious with "Eat Me" embellishments.

Traci wanted one of the favors to be a keepsake for the soon-to-arrive baby, Teghan Olivia. The baby's nursery is decorated in pink butterflies, so Traci wanted the baby's favor to be specially adorned with butterflies. Such a fabulous idea!

On the same day I shipped these favors, one of my fans on Facebook, Anna of Evie George Cakes, asked if I could share any ideas for an Alice in Wonderland Party she's planning - how serendipitous! It was my pleasure to share all of the Alice in Wonderland Party Ideas I've handpicked from around the web over the last few years, which you might enjoy seeing, as well. (Hint: Become a fan on Facebook for exclusive ideas and party help!)

Featured Handmade Items by Belly Feathers
Alice in Wonderland Tin Heart Party Favors

Cat in the Hat Birthday Party Ideas: Dre'lon's 1st Birthday

2011-03-12T15:40:00.008-06:00

I recently had the pleasure of helping with this eye-catching Cat in the Hat 1st Birthday Party for Dre'lon planned by Angel of AG Events & Consulting in Houston, TX. All of the wonderful party photos are by Rochelle Scott Design.

"Decorating for kids' parties is a passion for me," beams Angel. "I LOVE to see their faces when they see what I have created for their SPECIAL DAY!" All of the fantastic details at this party show what a pro Angel is!

Belly Feathers designed Candy Buffet Signs for the candy jars and cake pop, lollipop, and cookie displays. I just think these candy jars look perfect!

I also designed the Thing 1 and Thing 2 Food Label Tent Cards for the candy table. Check out the Cupcakes card!

The darling Thing 1 and Thing 2 cake pops below were created by Angie's Cake.

All of the adorable cookies were made by Rollin' in Dough. You can seem more pictures of these Cat in the Hat cookies and get some great tips on how they were decorated on the Rollin' in Dough blog.

"The cookies were Almond Butter flavor and really tasty," states Angel.

It was my pleasure to design "Happy Birthday Dre'lon" Cat in the Hat Stickers to go on the lollipops, too.

Even the candy popcorn was in color scheme, and the sodas had personalized labels to match the them! Again, I love Angel's eye for detail!

The Hat-shaped Cat in the Hat Cake Pops on the left were created by Kreative Candies by Kim. So cute!

The Cat in the Hat Birthday Cake looks INCREDIBLE!!

How Sweet It Is Bakery really out did themselves on this amazing design, and best of all, it tasted as good as it looks.

"Having a slice of that cake was a DELIGHT! It was moist and very good," says Angel.

I love the simple backdrop behind the cake that spells out the birthday boy's name!

Doesn't the party space look festive?! Angel layered white and blue plastic table covers on the guest tables, which I think is such a great tip. It really adds an extra level of polish to the room.

Angel also created lots of fun centerpieces for the room using Cat in the Hat plush toys. Using toys is a great way tie in the theme for kids.

This Cat in the Hat centerpiece in particular is so creative with the goldfish swimming around. What a great way to add this part of the book into the party!! (I told you Angel was good with details.)

The Cat in the Hat Party Banner I designed for Dre'lon's birthday is a nice touch on the party favor table.

Here's a close-up shot of the banner. I added Thing 1 on one side of Dre'lon's name and Thing 2 on the other.

These Cat in the Hat paper party hats were a really special touch, too! It looks like the kids really enjoyed wearing them.

"I loved the Cat In The Hat's performance," shares Angel. "His voice and show with the kids was AMAZING!!! It really was entertaining and they had so much FUN! " The performer was hired from Kids Party Experts in Houston, TX.

Here a few more shots from Dre'lon's fabulous 1st birthday party...

If you're planning a party in the Houston-area, definitely give Angel of AG Events & Consulting a call!

Angel, thanks so much for hiring me to design some special touches for this fantastic party! You're amazing, and I can't wait to work together again. Happy Birthday to this sweet little guy, too!

Sources
Party Planning and Decor: AG Events & Consulting
Birthday Party Photography: Rochelle Scott Design
Birthday Cake: How Sweet It Is Bakery
Cookies: Rollin' in Dough
Thing 1 & Thing 2 Cake Pops: Angie's Cake
Cat in the Hat Cake Pops: Kreative Candies by Kim
Party Banner, Candy Buffet Signs, Food Labels, and Stickers: Belly Feathers

Featured Handmade Items by Belly Feathers
Dr Seuss Thing 1 and Thing 2 Pennant Party Banner
Cat in the Hat Candy Buffet Signs
Thing 1 and Thing 2 Food Labels/Catering Cards
Cat in the Hat Party Stickers

Easy Oscar Party Ideas {2011}

2011-02-23T09:42:00.009-06:00

I love going to the movies! I especially love the excitement of award season, and the movie marathoning my husband and I do to see as may of the nominated films as we can. We even make an annual trip to Nashville to see the Oscar movies that didn't come to our town (double and triple features...yea!!!). I'm pleased to say we've seen all ten of the Oscar-nominated films this year!

With them in mind, I've come up with some super easy Oscar Party Ideas to help you throw a last-minute viewing party together. All of the ideas below require little to no prep, so all you have to do is email an invite and run to the grocery store.

The 83rd Academy Awards air on ABC this Sunday (February 27th)
6:00 pm Central - Red Carpet Show
7:00 pm Central - Awards

Oscar Party Invitations

I love Paperless Post email invitations! They are super stylish yet casual and very affordable (less than the price of a stamp), and you get 25 free credits when you sign up for a new account. So, your Oscar Party invites might be FREE! Here's a cute design I put together.

Oscar Party Dinner Menu

Some of the 2011 Oscar movies were perfect for a casual themed dinner that you could pick up from the grocery store or easily prep yourself. Serve during the Red Carpet pre-show.

Winter's Bone-in Chicken (Grocery store rotisserie chicken)
Cheesy True Grits (Quaker Instant Cheese Grits or try this Paula Deen recipe)
The Fighter Boston Baked Beans (Bush's Boston Recipe Canned Beans)
Fresh Greens with Black Swan Poppy Seed Dressing (bagged salad with store-bought dressing)
The King's Peach Cobbler (love this easy recipe!)
This great idea came from @milodanish via Twitter. She has some other cute Oscar menu ideas.

With all of your fun Best Picture themed menu items, you'll want to show off the creative names with some labels. I really like the classy tent cards in this Thanksgiving Printable Collection on Catch My Party designed by Love the Day, which you can download for free.

Oscar Party Cocktails

Black Swan White Russian (idea from Make It Better)
For the kids, you could serve regular and chocolate milk called "White Swan" and "Black Swan".
127 Hours Margarita on the Rocks
The Social Network Apple Martinis

Oscar Party Dessert Menu - Sweets and Movie Snacks

Make your party even simpler by skipping dinner and having only snacks...just let your guests know on the invite. Or, after dinner have a fun dessert table set up with lots of movie-theater snacks.

No Oscar Party is complete without some fresh popped buttery popcorn, so definitely stock up on this beforehand. Here are some Oscar Best Picture themed sweets to go with them.

Black Swan Licorice
The Fighter Jawbreakers
Inception Totems (Hershey's Kisses)
The Sour Patch Kids Are All Right
The King's Peach (Gummi peach rings)
127 Hours Rock Candy
The Social Network Appletini Rings (Gummie sour apple rings)
Toy Story 3-eats (Rice Krispie Treats)
True Grit Cowboy Crunch (Mini Crunch bars)
Winter's Bone White Trash (see this salty/sweet party mix recipe)

Oscar Party Ballot

Part of the fun of an Oscar Party is getting everyone's predictions on the winners. I love this stylish Oscar Party Ballot designed by Twig and Thistle, which you can download for free along with some other cute printables for the awards show. I love the little score line on the back of the ballot!

Oscar Party Tips

If you have a DVR, set it to record the awards ceremony and about 1 hour after, as the live show usually runs long. (You'd hate to miss the big award!) Then feel free to pause the awards show as needed to continue conversation, pause for bathroom breaks, or pop more popcorn.

Can't have an Oscar Party this Sunday? Consider hosting a screening party the following weekend for whichever movie wins Best Picture. Then you can use just the ideas related to that movie...super-duper simple! The Social Network and Toy Story 3 would be particularly fun for this type of party.

I'm really looking forward to Sunday's Oscar Awards show. I'm not sure who will win, but I know my personal favorites. I'd love for Winter's Bone to take the awards for Best Picture, Best Actress (Jennifer Lawrence), and Best Supporting Actor (John Hawkes). This was my personal favorite movie of the year, and I'm just so thrilled it was even nominated. Fingers crossed!

Do you have any Oscar Party tips or ideas? I'd love to hear them and if you use any of the ideas from this post!

Follow Belly Feathers on Twitter

2011-02-17T21:27:00.000-06:00

Thanks so much for being a loyal reader of the Belly Feathers Party Blog! Now, you can follow me on Twitter, too, and get the latest Belly Feathers ideas first.

I'll also share some exclusive content on Twitter.com/BellyFeathers, including fun ideas from my favorite entertaining blogs and websites. I spend a lot of time answering party questions on Twitter, so feel free to ask me some. If you're on Twitter, let me know. I'd love to follow you, too!

Win a "Hippity Hop" Easter Banner from Belly Feathers

2011-02-16T22:29:00.003-06:00

How would you like to win a "Hippity Hop" Easter Banner made by Belly Feathers? Please visit Bear Heart Baking Co.'s blog for all of the details, and you could have this banner by Easter (a $44 value).

You may remember this banner design from my Easter Tablescape post last year. It's mounted on glittered paper with the cutest little chocolate bunny in the center. This banner would look precious hanging in your entryway or from you mantel.

What are you waiting for? Head over to Bear Heart Baking Co. now and enter to win!!!

Want a party banner now? No problem! My banners are custom, made-to-order, so just e-mail your colors and text to Betsy@BellyFeathers.com. The banners are $4 per letter (bunny counts as a letter). Find more info and party banner styles at BellyFeathers.com.

Homemade Valentine for my Valentine

2011-02-14T21:24:00.000-06:00

I was really proud of this homemade Valentine's Day card that I whipped up for my husband, Roger. It incorporates our corny sense of humor into the design, which I love.

I hope your Valentine's Day was full of hugs and kisses!

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T08:49:00.001-06:00

This beautiful engagement photo, featuring a Belly Feathers "Love" banner, was taken by Carla McLemore Photography.

Classic Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

2011-02-10T18:00:00.000-06:00

When it comes to Peanut Butter Cookies, I'm a purist.

Getting Ready to Go in the Oven...Mmmm!

It's my favorite cookie, and I don't like when bakeries try to spruce them up with crunchy peanut butter or roasted peanut halves. There's just something special about a classic peanut butter cookie that lets its natural peanut butteriness shine underneath that traditional crisscross design.

Here's my personal favorite recipe.

Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

375˚ for 7-10 minutes

    ½       cup granulated sugar
    ½       cup packed brown sugar
    ½       cup peanut butter
    ¼       cup shortening
    ¼       cup butter, softened
    1        egg
    1 ¼    cups all-purpose flour
    ¾       teaspoon baking soda
    ½       teaspoon baking powder
    ¼       teaspoon salt

Mix sugars, peanut butter, shortening, butter, and egg in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.

Shape dough into 1 ¼-inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten in crisscross pattern with fork dipped into sugar. Firmly press for nice design.

Bake 7-8 minutes for a softer cookie or 9-10 minutes for a crispier cookie.

Cool 5 minutes. Then remove from cookie sheet to cool on a wire rack.

Makes 2 ½ dozen.

(Source Betty Crocker)

Download the 3x5 Recipe Card

See my How To Guide for Shipping Cookies as a care package.

Care Package Ideas for Homemade Goodies

2011-02-09T08:00:00.004-06:00

Someone my husband and I love needed a little cheering up, so I decided to put together a care package of my homemade Classic Peanut Butter Cookies.

I couldn't put a gift together without a homemade tag! I thought this little "Donut Be Sad" stamp was so adorable, and it makes me smile to see it every time. There's just something endearing about a smiling donut with a tear....Don't you think?

How to Ship Cookies:

Try to bake your cookies within 24 hours of shipping.
Let cookies cool to room temperature before packaging.
Place cookies in an air-tight container.
Put waxed paper or parchment between each layer of cookies to keep them from sticking to each other. (I just recycled the parchment paper I baked the cookies on for this.)
If cookies don't completely fill the container, add shredded or crumpled waxed paper, parchment paper, or cupcake liners to fill the gap.
Place container in a shipping box with 2-3 inches of packing on all sides to keep cookies from breaking during shipment.
If shipping the next day, freeze your box of cookies overnight to ensure freshness longer. If you're shipping during the cold-weather months, that will help, too.
Mark the box FRAGILE.
It's best to send your cookies on Monday or Tuesday to ensure the cookies don't sit in a post office or warehouse over a weekend and start to get stale.
I recommend USPS Priority Mail (2-3 day delivery) as a fairly fast and economical shipping method.

Here are two guides for shipping other handmade treats:

Here's one last look at my care package before it goes into its shipping box and the freezer. I just got this Caribbean blue twine from The Twinery this week, and it matched my tag so perfectly!

Do you have any tips for shipping home-baked treats?

Circus Party Supplies - New!

2011-02-03T18:08:00.003-06:00

If you saw my post yesterday about Joshua's 2nd Birthday Circus Party, then you know I have a new line of Circus Party Supplies for sale at BellyFeathers.com. Here are some additional photos of the products with pricing. I can also design additional coordinating items for your party, so just ask!

Don't forget about my handy Circus Party Planning Guide full of ideas for decorations, party outfits, refreshments, favors, and more. It's only $75.

Circus Invitations - $3 each or $20 for a Printable PDF

Circus Party Stickers (2.5") - $5 for sheet of 12

Photo Posters (10x16") - $10 each or $30 for printable PDFs

Pennant Party Banner - $5 per letter

I'd love to help with your next Circus or Carnival Party! Please feel free to email me at Betsy@BellyFeathers.com.

More Circus Party Ideas
Circus Party Theme: Joshua's Two Ring Circus Birthday Party
Big-Top Circus Birthday Party for Marley & Kelsey
Handmade Circus Birthday Party: Let Your Birthday Boy Be the Ringleader
Caden's 2nd Birthday Party Carnival

Circus Party Theme: Joshua's Two Ring Circus Birthday Party

2011-02-02T17:18:00.000-06:00

I love circus themed parties! So, I was thrilled to help with Joshua's Circus Birthday Party, especially after designing party supplies for his Sailboat 1st Birthday Party. This year, his mommy Katie wanted me to create some custom circus birthday invitations and party supplies just for him.

Circus Themed Invitations

Since Joshua was turning two, I used "Two Ring Circus" as the inspiration for his Circus Invitations. I love how they turned out with the big-top tent in the center. Of course, I had to put a big number 2 above the door.

The bottom of the invitation is anchored by train cars full of circus animals including a lion, giraffe, elephant, and a juggling monkey. I put a number 2 on the second train car, too.

Circus Party Games and Location

Katie was looking to do something a little simpler for Joshua's 2nd birthday party, so she decided to host the party at Cats Gymnastics in Boca Raton, FL. The facility rental included activities, party plates/cups/napkins, and clean-up, which makes for a happy mommy!

Upon request, Cats Gymnastics transformed some of their normal birthday routines into circus themed activities by giving them new names:

Tight Rope Walking (Balance Beam)
Trapeze (Rings)
Lion Taming (Somersaults)
Clowning Around (Slide)

Birthday ringmaster Joshua even made a special flying entrance to the party (see below). Cats Gymnastics reserves that for guests of honor only, which I think it is a special touch (and great way to book more parties).

Circus Birthday Cake

Joshua's birthday cake (pictured above) came from Publix and featured the little circus train topper below, which tied in perfectly with his invitations. The cars even have animals inside! The train candle holder was included with the price of the cake, but you can also order the same topper separately from Sweet Estelle's Baking Supply on Etsy.

Photo by Sweet Estelle's Baking Supply on Etsy

Circus Party Supplies and Decorations

My favorite circus decorations at the party were these Circus Photo Posters. They were inspired by old circus posters that would be placed around cities get everyone excited about the circus coming to town. I love how the design turned out, and the two photos of Joshua were so much fun to work with! These could easily be turned into photo thank you cards after the party or even party invitations.

Here are close-ups of both circus poster designs.

Don't these just look festive?!

Katie also ordered Mylar balloons shaped like a big-top circus tent and lion to decorated the party room. I created the Pennant Party Banner to hang over the refreshments.

The one downside of having Cats Gymnastics provide the party plates and other supplies was that they were generic and didn't tie in with the theme. I helped Katie solve this problem by designing 2.5" Circus Party Stickers in a few different styles. She stuck them on everything from party hats to serving bowls to personalize Joshua's circus birthday party.

I think using the plastic buckets for serving dishes is such a cute idea!

Circus Party Favors

Katie used these popcorn bags from Dollar Tree for the Circus Favors at Joshua's party. So fun!

They were filled with a variety of circus goodies, most of which were also found at Dollar Tree.

My favorite items in the treat bags were these pieces of polka-dot sidewalk chalk, which Katie wrapped in cellophane and tied with ribbon. I think these would make wonderful party favors all by themselves, especially for summer parties. Of course, Katie lives in sunny south Florida, so these are perfect year round!

Katie, thank you so much for letting me share these photos from Joshua's 2nd birthday party! It was such a treat to work with you again!

Looking for more Circus Party Ideas? Check these posts out.
Big-Top Circus Birthday Party for Marley & Kelsey
Handmade Circus Birthday Party: Let Your Birthday Boy Be the Ringleader
Caden's 2nd Birthday Party Carnival

Featured Handmade Items by Belly Feathers
Circus Invitations
Pennant Party Banner
Photo Circus Posters
Party Stickers
See pricing and more photos at BellyFeathers.com.

Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

2011-01-27T18:56:00.000-06:00

When I saw this Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookie recipe on Celebrations at Home, I knew these cookies were going to make the "To-Eat" List on my diet cheat day. My husband and I are on a slow-carb diet from the 4-Hour Body book, but on Saturdays we can eat anything we want....have I mentioned how much I LOVE Saturdays??? Anyway, the thought of these cookies got me out of bed bright an early on Saturday, so I could bake them before going out of town. They were so worth it, too!

Mine didn't turn out nearly as cute as those in the photos on Celebration at Home (maybe they sprinkled some extra chocolate chips and coconut on top of their dough balls before baking), but I did think they looked super cute on my new two-tier Valentine's Day tray from Target.

Before bed time on Saturday, I decided I would sneak into the kitchen and eat just one more cookie while it was still cheat day. I ate THREE!!! Needless to say, these cookies had to leave the house, so this is how cute they looked on Sunday when they made their grand exit!

I hand stamped the "A Little Yummy for Your Tummy" tag and mounted it on sparkly background paper. The two things that really set it off, though, were the dimensional flower and the cute red and white baker's twine from The Twinery. I've really been enjoying my Twinery twine so much that I placed an order for additional colors this week.

Unfortunately, the recipients of the cookies were also on diets. Whoops! Sorry, guys!

Be sure to check out the Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies recipe on Celebrations at Home!

21st Birthday Ideas: A Dinner with Family That's Not Too Embarassing

2011-01-24T18:53:00.009-06:00

My brother David had his 21st birthday a week before Christmas, and my mom and I wanted to plan a little celebration. When thinking of 21st ideas, I tried to keep two things in mind for a guy's 21st Birthday Party:
#1) don't embarrass him and
#2) he's probably got more fun things to do that night...Hello? He'll be 21!!

We decided on an early dinner at David's favorite Japanese steak house, Samurai in Andalusia, Alabama, with just immediate family, so David could go hang out with his friends for the rest of the night.

21st Party Decorations

I wanted to do something special for decorations, while keeping rule #1 (don't embarrass) in mind. I came up with these little double-sided table flags, and they were perfect! I picked up these jars and beads at Dollar Tree and embellished the jar with a little brown ribbon. I made three to place around the hibachi, and because they were so low, only the people at the next two tables over could see them (minimizes embarrassment). Since they were pretty small, they were easy to transport, too.

Having David's name on the flags allowed our Samurai chef to really personalize our dinner experience, too...making for an extra fun night! He called David by name all throughout the meal, and the rest of us got called by name, too...well, sort of. We were "David's Mommy", "David's Sister", "David's Brother-in-Law", "David's Daddy", and my Dad's girlfriend Debbie was "David's Daddy's Friend". His persistence in calling us all by name was really funny, as they became quite a mouthful for him at times!

Clearly, I forgot to tell Samurai about about Rule #1. They made things even more festive with balloons, drums, and a delicious pineapple boat. Well, I guess you can't get out of a family gathering without a little embarrassment...right?!

21st Birthday Gifts

For David's 21st birthday presents, I came up with the idea for a "Find Your Favorite Beer Tasting Kit". Over Thanksgiving, David had been asking me what beers I liked to drink, probably in prep for his birthday, so I thought he would enjoy doing a taste test to find his favorite.

The Fresh Market has these really neat looking six-pack containers for mix and matching beer to create a custom six pack. Unfortunately, their beers were a little too gourmet for this project, as I was looking for the basics, but they kindly gave me the box with my grocery purchase. I was able to find the single beers I needed at a gas station. I filled the pack with a Miller Lite, Bud Light, Coors Light, Corona Light, Heineken (in case he has more refined tastes), and a Blue Moon (one of my favorites).

My husband and I gave him something a little more substantial, too, and of course, the wrapping had to match the rest of the party decorations!

21st Birthday Cake

David also loves Sugar Rush Bakery in Andalusia, so my mom picked up a variety of mini plain cheesecakes, mini turtle cheesecakes, and chocolate cupcakes.

So yummy! It was wonderful because everyone could pick what they liked.

I found these cute plates and napkins to match everything else at Party City. The plates are actually a hard plastic, so you could reuse them if you wanted. For convenience, we just left them behind at the restaurant, though.

I think David had a good time at his 21st Birthday Party! Samurai Japanese Steak House even surprised him with a porcelain samurai figure, too, which was so thoughtful. (David must eat there a lot!!!)

Do you have any 21st birthday ideas?

What fun things have your done to celebrate?

Featured Handmade Items by Belly Feathers
Pennant Table Flags
"Find Your Favorite Beer" Tasting Kit Sign
Hand-stamped Birthday Gift Tag

Valentine's Day Cupcakes

2011-01-14T00:05:00.004-06:00

Today is one month away from Valentine's Day, and I have a special treat for you. These Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes would be perfect to make for your special someone!

Chocolate cake filled and coated with chocolate peppermint ganache and then topped with peppermint cream cheese frosting and crushed peppermint candy - YUM!!!

I'll admit two layers of frosting is a bit decadent, but I promise it is worth the effort for a special occasion like Valentine's Day. For stress-free prep, it helps to make the chocolate cupcakes one night, and then do the ganache and frosting the next day. The cupcakes would be delicious with either the ganache or frosting alone, though (just skip the filling if you want to do ganache only to get a pretty finish).

Also, add the crushed peppermint candy shortly before serving because it will bleed into the cream cheese frosting after a few hours. I just used crushed up candy canes off my Christmas tree for this.

This peppermint cream cheese frosting makes a FABULOUS pretzel dip, too. In the future, I think I'll make some of this just for this purpose...that's how good it was! If you do a small dollop of frosting on top of your cupcakes like I did, you'll have a lot left over for pretzel dipping.

Head over to Your Homebased Mom for these wonderful recipes and how-to instructions.

Do you have any special Valentine's Day traditions?

Book Review: The Reluctant Entertainer

2011-01-12T11:58:00.002-06:00

Do you entertain as often as you'd like? Do you feel inadequate at it? To be honest, we don't have company over very often at our house (hello...I'm a party blogger!), and when we do, I kind of feel like I wasn't very good at it. My husband and I always find an excuse to push an invitation back, which many times turns into never. And of course, we're the ones who miss out and lose by doing this.

Therefore, I'm setting a new year's resolution to do better, and I've found The Reluctant Entertainer by Sandy Coughlin tremendously helpful in finding the encouragement to do so. This book has a lot of practical wisdom and real-world examples. Best of all, it's a super fast and easy read. I finished it in a week!

The book does a great job of addressing a variety of issues that keep us from having friends and loved ones over to our house, so we can overcome them. It helped me see that my biggest pitfall is perfectionism. When I can't make things perfect for whatever reason, I'd rather not entertain at all. This section from the book hit me like a ton of bricks:

"[My husband] told me, 'Perfectionism is a jail cell locked from inside, creating your own misery.' He explained that there is a huge difference between trying to be excellent at what you do and trying to be perfect at something. Excellence is working toward an attainable goal that benefits everyone, while perfection comes from a place of great need--usually the need to avoid criticism and gain praise and approval from others."

This was really an epiphany for me--the need to be perfect holds me back more than anything else. It made me feel really sad to realize how vain I am, but at the same time, I feel like it is 100% so true. Sometimes you need a little tough love to help you move forward, and that's what the the chapter on perfectionism was for me!

My husband and I are now affectionately referring to this as the "Perfectionist Monster" and have discussed ways in which it prevents us from entertaining. Last year, I really wanted to have a Cinco de Mayo party, but my full-time employer temporarily laid everyone off in April. I got really depressed and dumped the party, when I probably could have used the distraction and company the most. My loss! I can think of a lot of examples from my life when I got scared by the Perfectionist Monster (my house wasn't spotless, no time to make a cutesy craft decoration, etc.), but I just didn't know that was the reason.

What's really great about the book is that you'll realize you naturally have strengths in some entertaining areas that are more difficult for others. I found this really encouraging! Sandy lays these out in her "Ten Commandments of Hospitality" and delves deeper into each one in chapters. I'm naturally strong at Commandments 2, 6, and 7, and while not a natural strength, I have always understood the importance of Commandment 1 and try to improve on this whenever I can.

Commandment 1
Hospitality is not about you. It's about making others feel warm and welcome.

Commandment 2
Plan ahead, be organized, and know your recipe. Learn to delegate.

Commandment 3
Set the mood. Keep ambiance and the five senses in mind.

Commandment 4
Avoid perfectionism. Put fear aside--it's a robber of anything good.

Commandment 5
Share conversation. Foster friendships by keeping things real.

Commandment 6
Demonstrate thriftiness. Buying things at cost or learning to pinch pennies makes entertaining attainable on a budget.

Commandment 7
Don't apologize. It's okay to make mistakes. Learn to not bring them to light in front of your guests; it robs your guests of relaxation.

Commandment 8
Be creative. Use what you have. Keeps things simple.

Commandment 9
Learn from others. Find mentors and learn to find a healthy balance and keep things real.

Commandment 10
Life impact is everything. Experience intimacy and meaning in sharing a meal and gleaning from others' lives.

If you're looking for ways in which you can break out of your reluctant entertainer shell, I highly recommend this book! It's got a lot of great party ideas and recipes as a bonus, too. Sandy Coughlin also has a blog called Reluctant Entertainer.

Do you know what your entertaining strengths and weaknesses are? Let's talk in the comments here or on Facebook.

Related Blog Posts

Graceful Hostess Tip: Never Say How Much Work Went into a Party (Similar to Commandment 7)
Happy/Graceful Hostess Tip: Expect Things to Go Wrong (Related to Commandments 4 and 7)

Christmas Cookie Baking at Last

2011-01-03T18:36:00.074-06:00

On "New Year's Eve" eve, I finally got to do some Christmas cookie baking! This year, we were out of town every weekend from Thanksgiving up until Christmas, so our busy holiday season kept me from my baking. Boy, did I make up for lost time, too!

We celebrated a late Christmas with some out-of-town family on New Year's Eve, and I jumped at the opportunity to bring cookies.

Here's what I baked (clockwise from top):

Russian Tea Cakes (secret family recipe)
Chocolate Crackle Cookies (So fudgey and soft...I bet these would be superb served hot with ice cream)
Oatmeal Toffee Cookies (I think I prefer just plain old oatmeal cookies.)
Egg Nog Cookies from Your Cup of Cake (My new favorite cookie!!)
Holiday Pretzel Kisses from Little Birdie Secrets (Cute and delicious...pictured below)

I was super surprised at how good these Holiday Pretzel Kisses were! I wanted to make them because they looked so cute, but I honestly expected them not be not so good. They were very yummy...it's a shame that they don't sell Candy Cane Kisses all year, so I could make them for different occasions throughout the year with different colored M&Ms on top.

I came up with a baking innovation this weekend, too! I got this utility cart for Christmas from my husband, and it has been so handy to have over the last couple of weeks. It made an awesome cooking rack for my millions of cookies. I used up all of my cookie sheets in this baking session (and I have a lot), so I don't know where I could have put them all to cool without this rack.

Do you have any good cookie recipes I should put on my To-Bake List?

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T16:24:00.004-06:00

Wishing you a 2011 rich in blessings!

Thanks for making Belly Feathers' 2010 so wonderful! Looking forward to another great year of sharing fun party ideas and entertaining tips with you.