RSS | twitter | pinterest | facebook | email

Welcome! I'm Victoria. This blog is filled with my love for the art of merrymaking, pretty things to craft and one festive magazine. Here's more about me...
advertise here | email for details















Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner




















Archives

Fall Celebration, artichokes.

09.21.10 Posted in Challenges, design, Features by Victoria

* Welcome to our fall celebration challenge. This weeks posts will feature a few of my favorite event designers & their visions for fall seen through a handcrafted celebration. Enjoy the inspiration and share why you love their work by leaving a comment below- you could even win something rad, details here.

Continuing our week, an amazing harvest party designed by Melanie of You are my fave.

This harvest celebration was styled using one of my absolute fall favorites, the artichoke. Featured from the invite to the centerpiece it made a showing in throughout the entire party design.

In her own words: I used inspiration from the farmer’s market and colorful produce germane to this time of year. Since I live in a small apartment, I asked my friends if I could use their backyard that has a huge tree with swooping branches perfect for hanging lights on.

They also have a garden abundant with tomatoes, peppers and squash. Natural décor for a harvest.

The tables were covered with textiles I found at a local fabric store, then set with white plates, patterned napkins and bottled sodas. The main focus was on the fresh produce centerpieces and of course the food. For a fun touch I hired a street vendor who cooked mini gyros, spicy tacos, vegetable sliders and bbq pork sandwiches.

For the favors, I sewed up some tote bags and placed takeaway items that you would find strolling the booths at a farmer’s market. This may need to become a yearly event.

Credits:
Calligraphy done by Cathie
Invitation done by YeeHaw
Catering done by Gasto Cart

PS. A DIY for the amazing farm fresh centerpieces coming up later today!

blessings.

A fall celebration challenge.

09.16.10 Posted in Features, giveaway by Victoria

Fall officially starts next week- Even though it is still very warm here my visions for fall celebrations include mint green, rust orange, filtered sun & cozy blankets.

(Photos via Labellebride & Martha)

To encourage your visions of fall- I am hosting my first annual Fall Celebration Challenge! Hooray… Yippee…

I have asked a few of my favorite party loving bloggers to create a fall celebration design for your inspiration. Their visions will all be based around a specific do-it-yourself project & I will be sharing each of their amazing, creative designs with you next week.

You will have a chance to pick your reader favorite by voting for the designs you love + I will be randomly rewarding one of the commentators with this rad antler tooth brush holder via Mod Cloth, because nothing says fall quite like antlers holding your toothbrushes.

Tomorrow you will get to meet our fabulous judges who will be commenting and choosing our celebration challenge winner.

blessings.

A late summer supper

09.09.10 Posted in design, Features by Victoria

One last summer party before fall officially encroaches upon us. This amazing supper dinner was designed by Desiree Spinner Events as beautiful way to celebrate the ending of summer with fun colors and sweet handcrafted details, see the entire feature HERE.

The guests exchanged gardening books with each other as a sweet way to linger over summer while it begins to cool down. I love the idea of having an exchange vs. buying favors for a party or shower, not only does it save money but it allows everyone to participate in the celebration.

These peaches wrapped in the printed dinner menu and used as seating cards could not be more perfect. I just adore their simplicity- a great design for a large family gathering this fall.

The dessert bar was filled with swoon worthy gorgeousness, a perfect white crisp finale to the beautiful summer designs we have seen.

(Photography by Dan Cutrona via Inspired by this)

blessings.

Handcrafted parties- A very pretty tea

08.31.10 Posted in design, Features by Victoria

I have seen many well done Alice in Wonderland themes this year. Vibrant colors and striking pieces fit to make a child giggle with glee. This afternoon tea was different than the others… and I love it!

It may be the first truly simple and very pretty take on the popular Alice theme. I am so impressed by this sweet party submitted by Lorajean, a birthday she threw for herself.

The understatement of it all, the beautiful textures collide with the simplest of colors and materials to make a very lovely afternoon.

The bunting was a handcrafted project that would be easy to replicate with dollies and a length of string. Fold each in half, double side tape and hang- the result is one of the prettiest versions of bunting I have ever seen.

The accessories each share their own story of vintage bliss, paired with hand written tags they give the table a swoon worthy contrast. I adore every piece of this tea, it makes me want to put on a fluffy dress and white gloves! Thanks for sending in such a lovely treat- A happy un-birthday indeed.

blessings.

Mini-fiesta bunting & party

08.18.10 Posted in design, Features, parties, summer, toppers by Victoria

I am in quite the holding pattern these days… Waiting on photography, article releases etc before sharing my recent celebration goodies with you. In the meantime another AMAZING handcrafted celebration… Fiesta style!

I’ve fallen in desperate love with the recent mini-bunting-on-cake trend. I have also begun a small fetish with laser-cut banners. Combine these two and I found myself just adoring this fiesta bachelorette party that Jenna from EatDrinkPretty threw.

Her favorite part, and mine- the amazing cake! I love the mini-cake bunting, a fresh take on two of my new favorite trends!

Nikki from Lovely Scribbles was the mastermind behind this adorable detail and she is here to share her goodness with us today!

Fiesta mini-bunting tutorial

Materials needed:

  • Color paper, paper cutter and/or scissors, dye cut stamp with a pattern of your choice, 2 wooden skewer sticks, white thread, needle, hot glue gun & ribbon.

How to:

  • Punch each sheet of color paper with the dye cut stamp.
  • Cut out mini flags with the pattern as the bottom of the flag.
  • Double thread the needle with white string. Be sure to double thread so you will have a visible, prominent stitch.
  • Once you have the flags strung and placed however far apart you would like them, tie each end of the string around a skewer stick.

  • Take the ribbon and tie into two small bows.
  • With your glue gun, glue each bow on top of where you tied the thread.  This will hold the thread on the stick as well as hide the knot with the bow.

And…you’re finished… Now all you need is the cake!

The perfect project for one last summer party.

blessings.

Paper flower tree – tutorial

08.11.10 Posted in decor, design, diy, Features, guest books, spring, summer, wedding by Victoria

Seeing this wedding featured made my heart skip a beat. It is the perfect mix of rustic and beautiful, filled with hundreds of gorgeous details.

The rustic barn, the old fashioned cameras, the vintage dress hanging daintily between two rusty old cars- It was picturesque, and the flowers amazing! See more of the sweet details here.

Amidst all the vintage charm stood the most lovely paper flower tree to great guests at the reception. The creator Lori from Lori Boe Floral Design has created this same tree for parties, weddings & holidays. Thankfully it is super easy to replicate!

Paper flower tree- a tutorial

How to make a paper flower tree.

  • Find a nice size Manzanita branch or other sturdy tree branch approximately 2 ½ feet high.  Any branch will do, but the harder the wood the better to prevent breaking when hanging decor on the smaller branches.  Cut the bottom with a handsaw so the branch will stand straight on a surface.
  • Drill a hole into the bottom of the branch going straight up.  Drill a hole in the center of the wood square.
  • Put the screw through the wood from the bottom so it sticks out the top, then insert the screw into the bottom of the branch and tighten using the drill.  Twist the branch until it stands straight.
  • Trim the branch to your liking.  You can also display your tree in many different containers depending on the occasion, old coke boxes looks fabulous:)

  • Cut about 15 paper squares that are 2.5 inches, and about 5 that are 3.5 inches.  Using double sided paper will make the flowers pretty from all sides of the tree.
  • Fold the squares in half to form a triangle
  • Fold them again in half to make a smaller triangle
  • Fold them again (yes!) to make another triangle.
  • Cut the open sides off to form an ice-cream cone shape. Open the folded paper and now you have flowers of all shapes and colors!!
  • Attach the flowers by dabbing hot glue to the back of the flowers and stick them to the tree toward the edges of the branches (this gives a more natural look).

Simply by changing the paper color you can match any color scheme.  The tree is an inexpensive and large eye-catcher for the entrance to any celebration.  It works great as a wishing tree or tree of life for your guests to tie notes onto at guestbook table or it would be sweet with little socks and booties hanging for a baby shower.  The possibilities are endless!

Thanks for sharing your great work with us Lori.

blessings.


Handcrafted parties- In the rustic woods

08.02.10 Posted in design, Features by Victoria

I fell in love with this sweet rustic afternoon party the moment it entered my inbox. Combine a slew of garage sale finds & craigslist purchased chairs that are actually from a cafe in Paris & a girl named Rory and you can bet my little heart was aflutter!

Thanks so much Jana for sharing this loveliness.

I love how the teal pops boldly out against the woodsy backdrop of their afternoon + a wooden gate directional stake is easily on my list of favorite party elements for this coming fall.

The purpose of this lovely afternoon was to celebrate the reunion of old friends who had come together again. It makes me want to grab a handful of friends & drink sangria while being silly for an afternoon in the forest with rustic frames, poms and parasols- A lovely inspiration indeed for the last hot summer month ahead!

The cups and the chandelier are both garage sale finds and both do lovely in livening up the rustic setting. I am anxious to come up with a DIY to match the adorable glasses- can you believe someone thought they were trash!

This week preparations for a rustic engagement party are being finalized around here & I cannot wait to share the forlorn-side-of-the-road piece I snagged for the occasion:)

blessings.

Handcrafted parties- A garden 1/2 birthday

07.07.10 Posted in design, Features, Momhood by Victoria

When I saw these photos come in from Susan last week, I squealed with joy! A garden party for her sweet daughters 1/2 birthday. In the woods- filled with a complete dinning room set, beautiful flowers and 30 feet of hand sewn bunting. This soiree has instantly become one of my most favorite.

A garden party

In her own words: I wanted to create a beautiful and sweet party that resembled the sweetness and beauty of my daughter. I thank God for her!

For ambiance, I sectioned off a small cove in the woods near my home by using furniture (leather chair, armoire, farm house table, etc) to create a room of sorts. A room surrounded by lush green and lots of beautiful cut flowers in whites, pale pinks, and some purples. We also hung white paper lanterns in the trees, as well as a wire chandelier over the farm house table.

My husband made flower stakes to stick in the ground — he made the stakes with branches, glass milk jars, and twine. (Check back in just a bit for the DIY)

A lovely afternoon spent beneath handcrafted details, great food and one very sweet baby girl to dote over.

blessings.

Hand-crafted parties, a little squirt

07.01.10 Posted in baby showers, design, events, Features by Victoria

This post goes out in honor of a dear friend who is going to have a baby very soon in a foreign land. Love you Ashley and I wish we could throw you a rocking shower for baby #3.

A summer baby shower laden with homespun details from Eden Photography for a personal friend home from Russia for the birth of a baby. Her own little squirt-

The details of the day just scream summer sweetness. The entire shower was styled to make simple decor stunningly stand out. The focal point of the shower was a gorgeous vintage drink cart with cans of squirt, to celebrate the coming baby squirt! Pops of yellow announced the theme in the most subtle of ways.

The shower host said, If I could have gotten a picture of a mosquito, it would be the biggest picture, it and its friends just might have been a huge part of our night!

Thanks Bethy for sharing such a wonderful summer shower with us, even the mosquito nets lend to the loveliness of it all!

blessings.

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »


a subtle revelry | the art of merrymaking | D.I.Y. party- Copyright 2011 Victoria Hudgins, all rights reserved. Powered by WordPress.