A List a Mile Long

This year, my gift buying list is considerably shorter than in years past, and yet it is still about a mile long. Fourteen gifts for kids under 10, nine gifts for the over 30 set, fifteen "family" gifts (baked goods or family photographs), six neighbor gifts, ten teacher gifts, and then there is my own family to buy for.

I had better get started!

If you need a little helping hand, a little inspiration for the shopping extravaganza that you are about to embark upon, here is a little download to get you through the season... a Nordic style Holiday Gift to do List.

Cute, huh?

(pictured above are first cousins who do not agree that a group photo is a good idea)

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Cyber Monday?

Somebody should really come up with a new name for "Cyber Monday", it's just awful. There has got to be something (anything) better and more appealing that we can call this "Black Friday" style event for shopping online. How about Magenta Monday? or Mouse Click Monday? or my personal fav, Holiday Shopping from Home in your Jammies with a Nice hot cup of Coffee Monday?

Anyway, if you are planning to do any Holiday Decor shopping in your jammies, please stop by the Paper & Cake etsy shop...there's a special coupon code to save 25%!

new in the shop! 2" Party Rounds for the Holiday Season

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Thanksgiving

Happy turkey day just a little bit early... I'm off to visit family and take the kids to the movies. Everyone needs a break now and then, right? See you next week!

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Guest {Star} Courtney: DIY Garland Wreath

These DIY wreaths are perfect for a party because they're fairly inexpensive, and it's easy to find garlands in fun colors like pink and teal! Get creative with different ornaments and ribbons. Hang three wreaths above a party table or make small wreaths for your neighbors. They take 5 minutes to make and can last for years!


What you'll need:

• Styrofoam wreath
• hot glue gun
• garland
• ribbon or ornament

What to do:
1. Glue one end of the garland to the inside of the Sytrofoam wreath.

2. Wrap the wreath with the garland all the way around until it is completely covered.

3. Using glue, secure the end of the garland.

4. Adorn the wreath with a favorite ornament or large ribbon.

5. Hang with extra ribbon!

Discover more about Courtney Dial at Pizzazzerie.

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Holiday Photo Booth Props

And while we are on the subject of Photo Booths, how about a printable set of photo props for the Holiday Season? Imagine your holiday party with this as an ice breaker:

Just put a large sheet of wrapping paper on the wall with our mini-pennant banner, and you have an instant (and inexpensive) photo booth. Included in this Holiday Printable Photo Booth Accessories set:

Photo Props
...Mustaches
...Lips
...Santa Hat
...Santa Beard
...Mrs. Claus' spectacles
...Reindeer Antlers
...Rudolf's Red nose
Pennant Banner +
Signage +

The pennant banner and signage can be easily personalized with your own information using Acrobat (free from adobe.com).

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Before & After: Photo Booth

Okay, I will TRY as hard as I can to give you all the condensed version of the story. This is Jack, two years ago when he was 3. The preschool he attended had a parent ed component that required all of us mommies to go to a parenting lecture once a week. (Really. And I did for 6 years. I would like a gold star please.) ahem. Anyway, one of the semester projects was to build a toy for our child - something age appropriate that reflected what our child was interested in.

Well, my little guy was into performing. Performing with his little wooden banjo - and singing at the top of his lungs! Adorable right?

Fast forward a couple of years....

At the School Carnival parent volunteer sign ups... "Who would like to be in charge of the photo booth?"  "Um, me? I guess? Since no one else is raising their hand?"

Why do I always do that?!?! How am I going to pull this off?!?!?! and then, it hits me... the Stage. YES! All it needed was some updated fabric, balloons, cute signage and printable photo props.

To set the "stage" for your School Carnival, check out our Customizable Printable Photo Booth accessories. Just print, cut and say CHEESE!

Included in this collection are:
• Printable Photo Props
(Mustaches, Lips, Alien Eyeballs, Superhero Masks, Comic Book Expressions, Pirate Eyepatches, Princess Crowns and Sunglasses)
• Pennant Banner (editable - type in your own info)
• Signage  (editable - type in your own info)

Need to make a booth too? you will need...

• 3 3/4" PVC pipes
• 4 3/4" three way PVC connectors
• PVC pipe cutter or hacksaw
• 8 3" PVC couplings (for the footing)
• just about 5 yards of fabric (that is if you want to make a little table cloth for the prop table)
• pre-cut 1/2 sheet of 3/4" laminated mdffor the base
• strong glue (construction adhesive)
• 1 inch Drill bit

Drill 1 inch wide holes near the four corners of the wood base (not to the very corner!). Glue 4 of your couplings on the bottom of the base directly over the drilled holes. Adhere the other 4 couplings on the bottom of the base to the center front, center back and on either side of the center (space them out to carry the load). Cut 2 of the four PVC pipes in half, stick them into the drilled holes. Attach your 4 three way connectors to the standing pipes. Measure the length across each of the three spans and cut the remaining pipe to fit.

Make curtains for each of the three sides to be enclosed. Sew, glue or staple to finish them.

Tie balloons to the top corners of the booth. Print out props, banners and signage to complete your photo booth! 

diagram of the structure - note the pvc pipe uprights touch the ground through the center of the 3" coupling

left: 3/4 schedule 40 PVC with 3 way connector  right: 3" coupling glued to bottom of base

A Success! Over 130 people at our tiny school had their photo taken!

a line was forming before the Photo Booth was even ready!

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Guest {Cousin} Krista: Birthday in the Park

For my son's second birthday we decided to hold his party at a local park - there are two play structures (one geared toward smaller kids and one for the bigger ones), lots of grass to run in, and a nice covered area with picnic tables. I also love that a park party is easy to clean up, and can be held rather inexpensively!

 
Toys we brought: buckets/shovels/trucks to play with in the sand and some soccer balls and frisbees.

Food: pizza, goldfish crackers, chips/salsa, soda, juice and cupcakes

Activities: the park! I also bought some beads on clearance at Michael's (50 cents for a package, and I bought 8 packages) and found some ribbon in the dollar section at Target for the kids to make necklaces if they wanted to.

Favors: I found these cute little pails in Target's dollar section on clearance - so they were 50 cents each! I added a little package of fruit snacks, some small bubbles (from Party City), and a squirt toy ($1 for 5 in Target's dollar section). The favors cost me about $1 per child.

Decorations: I do so love Paper & Cake's printable banners and cupcake picks. Add some balloons, colored table cloths and crepe paper and the park looks festive! I also made two cupcake stands since I didn't want to drag my nice glass one to the park - I found some plates and bowls ($2 for 4 of each) and hot glued an upside-down bowl to the plate. Easy and cheap! I also found the little plastic tubs for the kids' drinks in the Target dollar section. I tend to wander through there each time I go to Target, just in case they have something I can use for a future party.

The birthday boy's shirt came from a friend who custom made it.

Discover more about Krista, at Krista Lucas Photography.

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Dreaming of a Hot Pink and Teal Christmas?

This entire collection was inspired by one, teensy, tiny, vintage ornament. Don't you love it? Well, I think you may like the printable version even better! If you are completely obsessed with Mercury Glass, Aluminum and Feathers, then we've got you covered! This whimsical and retro printable Vintage Ornaments Christmas Party collection has all the sparkle you crave, with none of the dust.

Included:
Holiday Greeting card (A7 envelope) +
Cupcake Picks
Cup Wrappers
Napkin Rings, Candle Wraps or Vase Wraps
Wine Glass tags
Place Cards +
Menu +
Party Food Labels +
Christmas Tree paper chain
Gift Tags +
Front Door Sign +
Pennant Banner +
Favor Box
Full Patterned Sheet
   + Customizable item - enter your own text to personalize

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Already?

Wander through the Target lately? It's as if Christmas was next Tuesday! I know I have box after box of dusty old ornaments in the attic, but, the sparkle there really entices me to buy something new. So, what to do? I'll tell ya... decorate with PAPER!

Really, paper with glue and a little glitter (remember a little glitter goes a L - O - N - G way). This is the first of 4 Holiday sets we are releasing this year, that are all customizable. That's right, enter your own text on many of the items using only Acrobat (free!). Print them out at home, and after a little cutting, use that new glitter you picked up to really make them sparkle.

Cheaper than Target. I promise!

In this Damask Holiday Printable Party and Tablescape, you will find:

Invitation (#10 envelope) +
Napkin Rings, Candle Wraps or Vase Wraps
Wine Glass tags
Cupcake toppers
Place cards +
Menu +
Party Food Labels +
Recipe cards +
Gift Tags +
Full sheets of patterned paper
Pillow-box gift card holder
   + Customizable item

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Recipe Challenge #1

Since my husband started his new job as the Director of Pike Place Market, I've been eagerly anticipating the fab food stuffs that would grace our table.... and I waited, and I waited... and I waited. Until one day I asked my husband what was holding all that fab food up?

"Well, you haven't given me a grocery list yet." Hmmm, no grocery list. "How about this?  Buy a protein, some veggies and a starch; and let's see what happens." And so the experiment began....

The first week it was an Alaskan Halibut Fillet the size of a small Volkswagon, Harvest Orzo, 3 kinds of eggplant and a poblano pepper.

This week the fab finds consisted of Pork Chops, Cubano Orzo and Romanesco Broccoli.  Another hmmmmm.... So tonight's feast ended up being Pork Chops with Chipotle Glazed Apples, Roasted Romanesco Broccoli and Butternut Squash with Cubano Orzo topped with Queso and Fresh Cilantro.

Yum!

What would you do with a mystery "protein, veggie and starch"?  I'll share my recipes shortly... but I want to know what would you make? 

...and more importantly, how would you turn those ingredients into party food?

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Thanksgiving Tablescapes ... a look back

Remember these? When Paper & Cake was launched, back in November of 2008, we kicked it off by giving away an inaugural Thanksgiving collection. Our Modern Folk Thanksgiving Tablescape is as timeless as it is beautiful.

After a year of growth and crazy amounts of parties, we celebrated our anniversary in 2009 with a yet another free Thanksgiving download. Combine a gorgeous color palette with stylish etching illustrations, and An Elegant Table is right at your fingertips. 

So please accept our little thank you gifts, for all of the support you have given us - with your business, your blog posting and your kind response to our creative endeavor.

Thank you so much!

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Thanks! Our gift to you...

Can you believe it? Two years! Yes folks, it's our anniversary this month, and we want to celebrate... with you! It's become a bit of a tradition of ours, to offer a Thanksgiving tablescape to give away, but this year we had a special request.

A good friend asked if we had plans to design a set to go with canned fruits and home made baked goods, so that she could put them on her Holiday gifts. What a GREAT IDEA! So here you have it... a FREE Thanksgiving Anniversary gift to you, our Harvest Collection.

Included are:
Jar Labels ~ 3 sizes +
Hang Tags +
Recipe Cards
2” Rounds +
     (use as garland, party food labels, cupcake toppers and more)
Mini Loaf Bread Band +
Full Pattern Sheet

Those items with a + sign are CUSTOMIZABLE! That's right, you get to input your very own personalized information using Adobe Reader (free from adobe.com).

A special thank you to Sandi Hill for letting us photograph her beautiful (and tasty too) canned goods. Also, to The New City School Farm for letting us use their fabulous new urban farm as a backdrop for this shoot.


Oh, and be sure to drop by tomorrow, for two more Thanksgiving FREEBIES!

This collection is available for free for a limited time only - get yours before time runs out on November 30th!

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