Delightful Endeavors

Sweet as Honey!

2012-09-03T08:45:00.004-07:00

My "baby" turned six this year. And even though she looks like the ultimate girly-girl she is obsessed with creepy crawlers, snakes, and lizards. So, with her love of insects in mind, we hosted a bumble theme party. Here are the pictures from that event! To see my inspiration board click here!

The Birthday Girl!

Zebra Baby Shower

2012-09-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

My friend Julia is having a little girl this fall. She is one rockin' Mama. A Zumba instructor that is full of energy and life, so nothing subtle is going to work for her. She adores black, lime green, and hot pink, so using those colors as inspiration I am throwing her a zebra themed baby shower. Here are some of my inspiration pieces and some of the games we are doing! I can't wait to post pictures from the shower!

Fancy Nancy Birthday!

2012-01-21T08:56:00.000-08:00

This year my sweet princess is turning 7! She is a girlie-girl and an avid reader so this year we are hosting a Fancy Nancy soiree (that's fancy for party) at a local tea-room. Here is some of the ideas I am pulling inspiration from!

3,2,1......Happy New Year!

2011-12-27T18:44:00.000-08:00

There is only a few days left to plan a perfect New Year's Party then the countdown begins! And that is exactly was inspired this next delightful endeavor; a New Year's Party that is all about the clock! Hope these images inspire your own event!

Shabby Chic Shower

2011-11-27T12:47:00.001-08:00

Unfortunately my day job is keeping me from keeping up with my blogging. But with the Holidays here and some built-on breaks, hopefully I get caught up. Here are some of the pictures (courtesy of my good friends and amazing photographer Becca Martin) of my sis-in laws shabby chic shower. I thought it turned out amazing!

The vintage suitcase was the perfect card box. I loved this victorian baby carriage!

Mason jars were a perfect mix of rustic and elegant with the doilies an raffia.

Homemade brown sugar scrubs for take home favors

It's a boy! Blue candy buffet

Wishes for the baby!

Home made lemon curd and devonshire cream for the scones

Vintage doors set the scene in the entryway

Victorian / Shabby Chic Baby Shower

2011-09-10T14:39:00.000-07:00

I have the pleasure of hosting my sister in law's baby shower in October. She loves the Victorian Area so I decided to go with a Victorian, Shabby Chic blend baby shower. I have found so many great ideas out there to make this a delightful endeavor for her. I hope you can get inspired as well!

I made some cute little signs for the party tables and the door. This same design is on all the name tags and games.

This game is really cute. Play songs that include the word "Baby" in the title, guest have to guess the song and the artist!

I added titles so everyone knew how they were associated with the baby!

I wanted little floral touches everywhere so I found these adorable cupcake toppers on etsy as well as the invitations!

For take home gifts, I am going to make home-made brown sugar scrub. I love mason jars and plan on using them for both the favors and to serve drinks in!

The doilies add the perfect blend of rustic and elegant

For food think tea party - croissant sandwiches, petit fours, fruit, and chocolate!

My sis in law loves books, so I thought it would be fun to ask guest to bring a book to start the baby's library.

Here is inspiration for delightful shower!

Have guest leave a wish or a blessing for the baby!

Use a vintage suitcase to collect cards

Labor Day BBQs

2011-08-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

Labor Day always feels like the last real weekend of summer. You can already feel the crispness in the air, but the days are still warm. We celebrate Labor Day by attending our town's Sweet Corn Festival. I love living in a town where they celebrate the corn harvest, it puts me right in the mood for fall! Here are some great ideas and picture inspirations for a last big summer bash....think backyard, little country touches, and a little patriotism all thrown in to make this Delightful Endeavor!

Love the sunflowers! And since they are in season they are perfect centerpiece!

Repurposing indoor furniture in your event creates a unique little vignette, and gives a cute rustic touch! Use scrapbooking cones to hold chips, popcorn, or trail mix for a "Grab it" appetizer

This is such a cute idea - a Shortcake bar, complete with three types of berries and whip cream! LOVE THE BACKGROUND AS WELL!

Build a gourmet hot dog! Have all the fixins' labeled so people can customize their dogs!

Some Red, White, and Blue touches complete a Patriotic look

GENIUS! Individually packaged baked beans - no more soggy buns!

Individually packing your side dishes eliminates wait in a buffet line and gets rid of the dreaded spoon mess!

Lanterns are the perfect touch of summer. Light them and hang them from tree branches for a festive mood!

If you're a little bit country, add some bandanas to a clothes line to add some color to your party!

Love the scrapbook paper covered clothes pins as a food label - and the strainer is adorable!

Cute party favors - stick candy in these for your guest to take home!

Now if only I could find a old truck to add ambiance!!

I love the display of the corn and the watermelon

Just use some dowels and some styrofoam, a little shredded paper for cover up and you have a cute display!

Would you like S'more?

Take it home or eat it there

Cute variation on s'mores - the s'more pop!

Back To School Bash

2011-07-30T15:39:00.000-07:00

"Good morning class! This is going to be a great year!"

It's already that time of year - BACK TO SCHOOL! As a teacher that gives me mixed emotions; my "ME" time is over, but I do look forward to meeting and teaching another great group of kids! Also, my baby starts kindergarten this year! She has a little reluctance so I thought a cute BACK TO SCHOOL BASH would be the perfect send-off!

Wild West Birthday

2011-07-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

If your little cowboy or cowgirl is looking for a rootin-tootin good time on their birthday, a Wild West birthday is the way to go. Rustic touches like bails of straw, mason jars, and horseshoes would complete this cute backyard party. Games could include an old fashioned sack race, a stick horse barrel race, bobbing for apples. With the fall coming up, this party would be perfect!

Your Party Can Bee Amazing!

2011-07-19T11:32:00.000-07:00

On of my favorite color schemes is black and yellow. Its perfect for any event because it can be made elegant or whimsical. And the perfect thing to add to those colors, BEES! Here are a few BEE-autiful ideas for your party!

Summer Soirees

2011-07-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

Summer is a great time to get together and have a party. The warm weather is enough reason to celebrate. Here are some ideas that I have found for summer soirees. Think outside, great lighting, the smell of bbq, kids laughing... I think I need to start planning one right now!

Creative Food Displays

2011-07-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

No party is complete without delicious food, but the display of the food is just as important as the party decor. There is still plenty of time in the summer for some great outdoor parties, so maybe these food displays will help inspire you to create a delightful endeavor!

Candyland

2011-07-07T10:12:00.000-07:00

What little kid does not LOVE candy!? Candyland was one of my favorite games growing up and my two little munchkins love playing the game even now. Of course now its a little fancier, there is a DVD game (that's awesome!), a shape sorting game, and I think two different versions of the board game.

For my princess' 3rd birthday we wanted to make the game become life size. We were (again) in upstate NY in the gym. I took construction paper and covered the wall to make the game board and had stations with a game or challenge for each of the game areas; peppermint forest, lollipop woods, etc. The kids favorite area was the candy buffet. I'm sure their parents loved that as well...hee, hee!

This party was such a hit! I've helped some friends put on their own Candyland party and I think I am going to do this theme for our High School Prom. (Yes, I am a high school teacher).

Here are some of the pictures from my party as well as some SWEET inspirations!

For a game the kiddos were to make their parent into a lollopop using streamers. Here is my cute husband and my girlies!

The Chocolate Swamp!
Here are some other inspirations

Faith, Trust, and a little Pixie Dust!

2011-07-06T14:32:00.000-07:00

My little pixie has been fascinated with fairies since she was little, so it was an absolute MUST to have a TinkerBell inspired party for her fourth birthday. We were living in upstate NY at the time and her birthday is in February, so as much as I envisioned a sunny day with a canopy of leafy trees and blooming flowers, I had to settle with the gym owned by the fire hall. We had a great time and supplied the little fairies with wings, glitter, and a flower halo.

Like I said - fire hall gym - but with fabric and balloon really helped make the space a little more attractive!

TinkerBell sitting on her stump. I loved making this cake. I love the little mushrooms!

The food was themed. The snack mix had graham butterflies in in. The pretzel (fairy wands) were iced and sprinkled.

In a gym there was plenty of sitting! Inexpensive tulle gave much needed color

The kids designed fairy houses with potting soil cups, pom poms, sequins.

Fairies Beauty Salon - face painting, wings, and flower headbands (boys could have pirate hats!)

My little Birthday Pixie!

I wanted a little more "grown-up" look with the centerpieces

For favors each fairy received a fairy book (Target dollar bins) and Pixie Dust. I had bought a 5 pound bag of hair glitter when a kids salon had gone out of business and filled up spice containers. Silver paint pen and some glittery flower stickers and voila!

It wasn't exactly what I envisioned but my daughter and her friends still had an amazing time. Here are some other ideas for a fairy themed party to help get you and your little fairy on your way to Neverland!

Cakes! Cakes! Cakes!

2011-07-06T13:46:00.000-07:00

Before I was working outside the home I fancied myself a cake decorator. I ran out of time to jump into the business with both feet, but I still like to be creative and look for great ideas. These are some of my own creations.

Merry Christmas!

One of my favorites the whole thing is covered in chocolate ganache and the scrolls are coffee buttercream.

Yes, those are diapers! I love this for a baby shower!

My first wedding cake...the star gazers took me hours of hand painting, but I LOVED them!

This cake weighed a ton. White chocolate and raspberry cake with white chocolate-rasberry/cream cheese frosting. Do NOT eat this if you are dieting!

Wedding cake for 250 people. The filling was fresh strawberries. Note to self: Strawberries sweat through fondant!

One client requested a watch. I did my best!

Love, love, love this. Pumpkin spice cake. Tasted and looked amazing!

Ice Pink & Snowflakes

All ready for spring!

This was so much fun for summer. Margarita cake in the shape of flip-flops!

Candyland theme party

Tinkerbell sitting on her stump

Coming Soon!

2011-07-05T11:21:00.000-07:00

I have been creating, planning, and collecting party ideas for awhile now and have noticed that my followers have been growing. So, this is a designated place for all things party! I will be posting my own events - past, present, and future - as well as inspirations that I pull from all over the place. I hope this can be a place where we can exchange ideas and build upon each other.