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Holiday Decorations

DIY Red, White & Blue Floral
4th of July Crafts

July 2, 2019

Fourth of July celebrations (and decorations) are the best! Whether you’re celebrating America’s birthday with friends and family on the beach or in your backyard, here are some easy ways to add little patriotic touches of red, white and blue with these fun DIY floral 4th of July decoration ideas!

DIY Mason Jar American Flag Vase

mason-jar-stars-and-stripes
Seriously, is there anything you can’t do with a few mason jars? I took three small, clear mason jars and painted them in a stars and stripes tribute to Old Glory. One stem of blue hydrangea in each and you have a beautiful, fun, inexpensive centerpiece. You could paint a couple more while you’re at it and use them to hold cutlery or straws, or even tea lights, creating a festive look for evening festivities.

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Holiday Decorations

It’s Dad’s Turn to be
the Guest of Honor

May 23, 2019

Celebrate Dad with a Father’s Day Beer Tasting

We received such great feedback on our Wine Tasting for Mom event that I thought, why not plan something similar for Dad? This time we’re going with a beer tasting event in dad’s honor!

Thanks to an increasing appreciation for quality beer production, there are new breweries popping up all over the country. There’s a good chance that there’s one right in your neighborhood or close by. If possible, hosting your Father’s Day event right at the brewery can add a unique feel and make it more fun for everyone. Leaving the beer to the experts gives you more time to focus on the decorations and the fun details that make Dad feel loved and honored for all he does!

I reached out to Gretchen Schmidhausier, a friend of my sister, who recently fulfilled a lifelong dream and opened a microbrewery in her hometown of Neptune City, New Jersey, on the Jersey Shore. The Little Dog Brewing Company was named after Gretchen’s dog Quincy, a basenji, who is also the face of the brand!

Current Beers- What's On Draft?

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Entertainment

Golden Themed Graduation Decor Ideas

May 19, 2019

Graduation Decorations That Go for the Gold

Graduation truly is a time to sparkle and shine—and using gold in your party décor will also put you right on trend. Gold is everywhere these days and in many different ways: foil, leaf, glitter, tassel, etc. Here are a few easy ways to make your graduation the one that outshines the rest!

Duct tape, you’ve come a long way! One of the simplest ways to customize and add some pizzazz to your centerpieces is to wrap a piece of gold duct tape around the vase and write a message on the tape. This gold duct tape is actually dry-erase as well—what could be easier! Continue Reading…

Mother's Day

Mother’s Day Wine Tasting

April 28, 2019

A Unique Mother’s Day Activity to Wow Mom

Spring is here and Mother’s Day is right around the corner. Have you started to think about how you can show mom just how much you love her and how special she is? Hosting a Mother’s Day wine tasting is a fun way to spend time with mom for you to enjoy the holiday together!

The planning and preparation can be as much fun as the event itself! Getting together with a few of your and moms friends to plan a Mother Daughter Wine Tasting party, makes for a great girls day and for a guaranteed good time. In addition to the mother/daughter ideas, a Mother’s Day wine tasting for the whole family (21 and older of course!), can be equally as fun!

mom-cheese-fruit-wine-hedge
A rustic, natural Napa Valley-inspired wine tasting can make for the perfect setting to incorporate so many of the most popular trends: burlap, chalkboard, mason jars, monograms and Made in America.

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Holiday Decorations, Mother's Day

Tea and Flowers for Mother’s Day

April 26, 2019

Flowers and tea sets go together like mothers and daughters: Individually they are each beautiful, but together they are even better, bringing out the best in each other! I was so excited to see that 1-800 Flowers is offering this lovely new tea set, designed by the equally stunning supermodel and mom Miranda Kerr, in their Mother’s Day Flowers Collection, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it!

Pink flowers in teapot

Miranda created this tea set, exclusively for Royal Albert, in her bestselling “Friendship” pattern. The fact that everyone’s best friend is their mom  makes this the perfect arrangement for a Mother’s Day celebration. Both the teapot and the bouquet feature lush magenta peonies and fluttering butterflies. Adding to the English garden vibe of the bouquet are roses, spray roses, and bupleurum. See what I mean about the “better together” thing? You can take the tea time theme in all different directions. Just find some great mix and match containers and see where they take you. Continue Reading…

Holiday Decorations, How-To's, Mother's Day

DIY Mother’s Day Craft: How to Make a Floral Hot Air Balloon for Mom

April 25, 2019

Pink and Orange Hot Air Balloon Place SettingMom does so much for the family throughout the year: No matter how long her to-do list is, you know you can always count on her for anything. Because she means so much, let her sit back and enjoy herself on Mother’s Day, and show her how appreciated she is. Treating your mom to a nice brunch is the best way to make her feel like a queen bee: Since you’ve already taken care of everything, Mom doesn’t have to lift a finger. To make her day even more special, pick a fun and truly original theme for your luncheon: hot air balloons!

This beautiful hot air balloon arrangement adds a whimsical take-me-away touch to any Mother’s Day table setting. As soon as she sits down, Mom will feel like she’s floating among the clouds without a care in the world! This Mother’s Day craft is really simple to make, so you can make a big, loving statement with minimal effort. Here’s how to make a floral hot air balloon for Mom on Mother’s Day! Continue Reading…

Holiday Decorations, Mother's Day

Mother-Daughter Flower Crowns & Crafts

April 22, 2019

Who doesn’t love a pretty flower crown? This trend is hotter than ever, and what I love about them is that with so many ways to design them, each crown can be your own unique creation!

I’ve done a few posts over the last few years dedicated to floral crowns and flower fashion accessories of all sorts, for big girls and little girls too. Within these posts are step-by-step instructions on all the basic techniques used in making crowns: wiring, taping, threading and gluing, which you can find here.

However, this Mother/Daughter Flower Crown Brunch is for young moms with babies and toddlers, so you can forget about finding the perfect technique and instead focus on having fun!

Here are my top tips for throwing a pretty and festive Mother’s Day get-together that will entertain (relatively) news moms and little ones, too:

Be prepared and be flexible. Have everything set up and ready to go before any of your guests arrive. Keep it simple so that you won’t be worn out before the party even starts.

Keep the food simple but delicious. I ordered a fantastic brunch gift basket from Harry & David and had it delivered the day before the party. All the goodies came packed in a beautiful floral hatbox that I used as the vase!

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How-To's

How to Preserve Flowers with Wax

April 21, 2019

FRESH TALK® – Your Floral & Gift Newsletter

Create Your Own Wax Flowers

You can make your beautiful fresh-cut roses last longer than you ever imagined by dipping the open blooms in melted wax! The best time to dip your roses is at the very end of their shelf life–after you have enjoyed their beauty for over a week–when the rose is in full bloom.

Wax rose

I have waxed roses many times over the years using paraffin wax. Now that soy wax is readily available, I decided to give that I try… and I’m glad I did! Soy wax is a completely natural and renewable resource, has a lower melting point, and cleans up easily (with just soap and water). And soy wax is so versatile that you can melt it in the microwave! Continue Reading…

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