Make it-
Match box invitations are a lovely way to communicate to your guests about your coming Roasting Party.

You will need to collect or purchase the amount of match boxes you will send (they sell them in bulk at most big box stores).

Download this PDF which has two invites per page. Print them out in high resolution on heavy weight paper.

Cut along the outer lines and then fold each invite along the four inner lines. Wrap around the match boxes and attach with craft glue. Write out your party details and stick directly inside the match box.

Make it-
Have your guests leave with a sweet taste in their mouths by handing out these favors.

Simply fill a plastic sandwich bag with whatever goodies you would like (we used homemade marshmallows).

Download this PDF which contains two favor bag toppers per page. Print in high resolution onto heavy weight card stock.

Cut along the dark outline and fold straight across the center line. A small amount of glue will hold the paper to the bag top and will seal in the goodies. You can let most treats stand for up to a week. The favor bag looks adorable hung over a metal hanger, or tied with ribbon, or just given as is filled with treats.

Make it:
To recreate the look of our gourmet s’more bar use these party labels to coordinate your Roast & Toast theme.

Print the same way as above in high resolution, onto heavy card-stock.

Cut out each label and attach to ribbon or skewer sticks as needed- creating a scrumptious s’more bar for your roast.

I hope these printables will make roasting & toasting a memorable event for your family sometime soon.

blessings.

As, it turns out…

Etching does, in fact, look quite fabulous on sippy cups (the toddler bottle form). This would be cute for a party or to simply celebrate snack time today.

Make it yourself:

Follow the how-to for wine glasses, using the word “milk”. I found cinnamon to be the best spice at sticking to the plastic sippy cups. Oh, and be extra careful to wipe off any remaining corn-syrup around the stencil or you will find it in your little ones hair later on;)

Adding in a little sparkle from cake sprinkles is lovely as well.

Bling… bling… bling…

PS. I told you the babies would still be loitering around here;)

blessings.

Lovely additions to our dessert bar and lively conversation starters. I also think these trees would look great in bubblegum pink for a girls party, or in red with velvet cake flowers for a more formal gathering.

Make your own:

Start with a bunch of wooden kitchen skewer sticks, or real branches if you have them. Begin assembling the tree shape and break off each stick to be the correct size (hint: leave the sharp end on the outside to make threading the marshmallow easy). Once you have a rough structure begin connecting the branches using a dab of hot glue and holding them together for about 3 minutes each to set.

Leave the tree to dry for a few hours and then bless it with a a few strong doses of spray paint. Spray paint will not only give you a fun tree color but will also help to secure the sticks together.

Once your tree is ready, find a vase and stick it into floral foam so that it will stand up steady. Unless you don’t have any (like me) then stick it into a bag of whatever you can find, mine were stuck in one bag of coconut and one bag of kisses, sneaky!

Cover the ground bellow the tree with a heavy layer of teddy grams for dirt. Then begin to add the marshmallow flowers and the chocolate leaves. My chocolate leaf recipe is even more yummy than it looks and it’s the absolute simplest to make. A small dab of Cornsyrup is an easy way to hold the leaves in place on the branches.

Stick the marshmallows straight onto the outer branches. To get them on the inside branches you will have to cut the marshmallows open and stick them on. You can see in the below picture what I am talking about, the bottom marshmallow had been heckled at this point and is showing its unsightly cut open bottom-side to you.

Once you get everything arranged perfectly on the tree, stand it in position and watch your guests pick their gooey flowers off with joy.

blessings.

Because they are fabulous, easy to make, basically free and will give your party that extra touch of lovely-

Add a word to your wine glass, or milk glass, or really any type of glass- even a glass bottle for a baby shower, that would certainly be lovely.

Start with a stenciling of the word you will etch. The stencils need to be plastic for this project, because of the materials used paper would just dissolve.

To do the etching use a small brush or a finger to apply a thin coast of corn-syrup to the outside of the glass. Apply the line just wide and tall enough for your stencils. Then place the stencils down (they will stick into the syrup) and gently tap a small spoon of cinnamon over the stencils, working with one letter at a time.

Cover the stencil completely and pat down firmly with your finger. After it sets, quickly turn the glass over to tap off any excess spice.

Once your word is complete, cover the top of the glass with paper and spray a slight midst of hair spray over the word to set it in place. It will stay put throughout your party and will look extra lovely with a guest’s drink swirling around inside.

Plus the best news, after your event just throw all the glasses in the dishwasher. Swish… swoosh… and it is gone, back to the clear and spotless glasses you have always known.

Enjoy speaking through your glassware.

blessings.

Roast & Toast would be a great party inspiration for any celebration- A summer backyard bonfire for graduation perhaps or an evening roast & toast to celebrate a new engagement. S’mores will certainly sweeten anything in life that you are given to toast to this year.

(Throughout this week I will be posting a handful of custom printable projects and easy DIY items for you to recreate this Roast & Toast theme)

It’s all in the details:

We sent out matchbook invitations, including a few matches along with the party information to set the roasting theme.

A gourmet s’more bar was set up near the fire with easy access to all the roasting supplies and extra goodies.

To roast we prepared homemade s’mores using Martha’s recipe. They turned out so very gooey and scrumptious, although fifteen minutes with the hand mixer had me quite envious for a Kitchenaid.

Our bar was complete with berry fruit toppings to accentuate the s’more taste. It was agreed by all of our guests that bananas were the most superior tasting fruit when combined with the chocolaty s’more goodness.

The bar was also outfitted with an array of spices to heighten the natural s’more sweetness, sea salt lent an especially exotic flavor.

We had a boat of s’more pops ready to be eaten. Made with store bought marshmallows, melted chocolate and ground up graham crackers, these “lollipops” stuck on skewer sticks were a quick fix for those not willing to wait for roasting.

Standing tall in the back were 3 different s’more trees. With marshmallow flowers, real chocolate molded leaves and teddy grams standing in for dirt, they brought a hint of nature to our indoor fire.

We set up the dessert bar beside our dutch door which brought in that cool San Diego air as the fire heated up our living room. Next to the tree you will see a vase of mini s’mores that were out for the snacking- mini marshmallow, chocolate chips and more teddy grahams gave a tiny foretaste for the bigger s’mores to come. Our guests were also welcomed throughout the home with my favorite easy to make tiny circular welcome banners.

Above the table floated our s’more poof. I made one using these poof instructions. This was of the simplest and most economical decoration I have ever put together. Just a few pieces of tissue paper combined to form this s’more in the sky.

We set everything up right along the fireplace wall so there would be ample ability to roast (We used wire hangers that are easy to unwind) and plenty sitting space to enjoy each others company.

Above the fireplace there is homemade bunting that touts the words of our theme, Roast & Toast. This no-sew bunting was a great way to add a bit of rustic texture to our party. It is a mixture of burlap and silk fabric remnants, strung together and glued on tight. The letters are stenciled and spray painted giving it a very rustic, ready to roast above the fire look. I just love how this theme combined the elements of the rawness of a roast with the smoothness of wine making everything seem somewhat magical.

For non-toasting drinks we served ice cold milk in mugs dipped in chocolate and graham crust.

We also had plenty of coffee on hand with marshmallow stir sticks. To make- simply thread a few mini marshmallows onto a toothpick.

As an extra lovely detail, we etched in the word toast with cinnamon on all of our wine glasses.

Also as a part of our toast each wine bottle was labeled with a word we are currently thankful for. As we opened the bottles it gave us a wonderful reminder of what we were toasting together.

Our guests went home with these favors, homemade marshmallow houses attached to a wire hanger that they can twist out later to roast these treats in their own home.

We roasted and chatted and toasted the evening away. A lovely celebration of our new home and the new adventures we have begun.

blessings.