Ready to rock it out? Throw an Amercian Idol party! Tweens will feel like rock stars when they get the “star” treatment at this fun party! Lots of music, singing, and a fun photo shoot are just a sampling of the good times to be had.

Check out all of the details here. Tweet

Are you good at keeping secrets? I’ve been keeping a VERY big secret for what feels like a lifetime, and now I finally get to let the cat out of the bag! You’d better sit down.  This is a biggie.  Are you ready?

Passion-for-Parties.com is going to be on TLC’s new TV series Craft Wars!!!

As I type the words, I can still hardly believe it.  So crazy!!!

My super sweet, super crafty friend Nikki, of Nikki, in Stitches, called me quite some time ago and asked me to join her on this crazy journey. Of course, I said YES!!!   (You may remember this post where I introduced you to Nikki…she’s one of the fabulous girls I met at Martha Stewart’s HQ in New York City).

A few months later, we were both on a plane heading across the country…to Hollywood…to film a TV show! Seriously, I can’t even type that without getting goosebumps!

The series premiere is TONIGHT, Tuesday, June 26th at 10:00PM, EST/ 9:00PM Central on TLC, so be sure to tune in! Our episode will air later in the summer…stay tuned for the actual date!

To add to the fun, me, Nikki, and a lot of the other contestants will be on Twitter during each episode, chatting about all of the excitement on the show.

We are unbelievably bound to secrecy as far as details go, so I can’t tell you much, but here’s what I can say: 

1.  You are going to die when you see the set!  The show is sponsored by Michael’s, so needless to say, what they called our craft “closet” was out-of-control-amazing!

2.  This “craft closet” was like nothing I’ve ever seen.  We are talking floor to very-tall-ceiling, mile-long, packed-to-the-max shelves, with any and every craft item you could ever wish for…and then some.  Imagine the most amazing, incredible craft supply room you could ever dream of, and then multiply it…times a thousand.  It was even more heavenly than that!

3.  The people that we met were AMAZING!  From the competitors, to the producers, and everyone behind the scenes, the people and the entire experience are something that I will never, ever forget!

Ahhhh!!!  Isn’t this so exciting?!!

I owe it all to YOU.  Your support of me and my business has just been overwhelming.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

Update!

Nikki and I had such an amazing time on the show! If you missed it, you can catch our episode on iTunes and see us in action!

We’ve also posted a DIY of the very popular wine rack that we built for our Pop Craft Challenge.

You can view the tutorials on my blog here, and on Nikki’s blog here.

Thanks again for cheering us on!  🙂

Tweet

With Cinco de Mayo just a few days away, you may be looking for a little inspiration to help you celebrate.

Here are a few sweet and simple ideas that you can fit in with time to spare, although, nobody needs to know that!  {wink, wink}

The colorful tissue paper decorations (above left) from Martha Stewart are festive, fun and SO easy to make!  Get the DIY tutorial here. One Charming Party blew me away with their super cute mini pinatas (above right).  Aren’t they adorable?!!  And would Cinco de Mayo really be complete without pinatas? A taco bar is super easy to set up and doesn’t need a lot of prep work.  Just set out some seasoned meat and some of your favorite toppings and you’re good to go!  Don’t forget the chips and salsa and a blender to whip up some margaritas!

They look scrumptious and make a great finger food.

For dessert, nothing could be more perfect than these adorable chili pepper cake pops designed by my sweet friend Terri of Terri’s Party Treasures.  You may remember Terri from this post about my NYC trip.  She is a cake pop genius!  You may also remember my friend Nikki  of Nikki, in Stitches that I met in NYC.  You can find Terri’s step-by-step tutorial on Nikki’s blog here. If you’ve got a little bit of time to spare and want to jazz up the joint just a little bit, try these ideas from Celebrations at Home.  The yarn pom garland will take some time to put together but it is so COOL!

Source Credits:

MarthaStewart.com:  Tissue paper decorations One Charming Party:  Mini pinatas MyRecipes.com:  Margaritas Our Best Bites:  Creamy chicken taquitos Nikki, in Stitches and Terri’s Party Treasures:  Chili pepper cake balls Celebrations at Home:  Yarn pom garland Tweet

After making those adorable little chick brownie pops, I just knew that they needed to be added to our barnyard party ideas! Boy, was I right…take a look at that photo collage! Don’t those little guys just blend right into the party theme?

With the weather warming up, now would be a perfect time to move the kiddos outside and throw a little barnyard bash (and a great excuse for you to try your hand at the little brownie chicks)! 🙂

Take a peek at the site for all of the inspiration you need to throw a barnyard party that is loaded with down-on-the-farm fun! Tweet

Springtime is here!

That means bridal showers, baby showers, and of course, outdoor parties!

These tasty little party starters will make the perfect addition to your springtime party!

Crushed pineapple gives this chicken salad a light, refreshing taste, and I love the crunch of the sliced almonds!

You can also add halved grapes to the recipe for a hint of color and a little more sweetness.

I just served these in fillo cups for a get-together, but you could also serve it as a salad on lettuce leaves or with your favorite bread.

Yummy!

Click here to get the recipe.

Tweet

This is a brownie. Seriously! I bet you’ve never seen a brownie look this cute before, have you? Me either! I had so much fun making these little guys that I just can’t wait to try my hand at some more! They are surprisingly easy to make, and they are a definite conversation starter at get togethers.

Take a click on over to the site for complete decorating instructions.

Inspiration for these cuties came from one of my favorite blogs, Bakerella. She actually made cake pop chicks which are absolutely precious! If you’ve never visited her blog, be sure to add it to your to-do list! 🙂

Tweet

Hey there!

I’m here today with a quick and easy DIY project for you…how to make paper rosettes!

Ok, maybe that’s fancy talk.  What the heck is a paper rosette?

In simple terms, paper rosettes are those pretty paper fans that you see at a lot of celebrations.

They add such a nice touch to parties, and they’re awesome because they can be customized to match any decor.

I recently used them on my DIY Valentine’s Day Mantel, which you can see here.

The best part about these little cuties?

You don’t need to buy them…you can make them yourself, for FREE!  

Here’s how:

You’ll Need:

~ Paper (any size, standard weight or lightweight card stock; the prints that I used can be downloaded for free here).

*The amount of paper you need will depend on the size of your rosette.  For the large rosette, I used 7 pieces, for the medium rosette I used 2, and for the small one, I used 1).
~  Paper trimmer
~ Double-sided tape
~  Stapler (optional)
~  Hot glue
~  Center covering (pom pom, paper cutout, etc.)

Instructions:

Begin by determining what size you’d like your rosettes to be. The diameter of your rosette will be determined by the width of the paper that you use, multiplied by two. So, if you use a standard 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper, the diameter of your rosette will be 17 inches (8.5 multiplied by 2). The pink polka-dot rosette at the top of the page was made using standard 8.5″ x 11″ paper.
 To get a smaller diameter, simply cut the paper width to the desired size.

To make the grey polka-dot rosette pictured above, I simply cut the paper in half lengthwise to 4.25,” resulting in an 8.5″ diameter rosette.

Follow me?  Hope so!

Now, this is where we go back to our elementary school days.

Remember when we used to make those paper fans, way back in the old days?

Well, this is really just like that.

Simply fold the paper back and forth, lengthwise, all the way to the end.

When you’re done, your pieces should look like this:
Use double-sided tape to secure one end of each piece to another end of another piece. If you’d like some extra security, you can also staple the connecting pieces in the back. You’ll end up with a “fan.”

Once you have folded enough paper so that the ends meet, secure those with tape or staples, as well.

Add a squirt of hot glue to the center “hole,” and squeeze the pieces together until the glue gets a good hold.

And there you have your rosettes!

Finish the center off with whatever floats your boat.

I had some pom-poms on hand so I used those, but you can use paper cut into circles or hearts, round paper cupcake toppers, cotton balls…the sky is the limit!

Get creative and have fun!

Here’s another peek at what they look like in action:

So cute, right?  And it really couldn’t be easier!

If you like the papers that I used in this DIY, you can download them for FREE here.

And as always, I love to see pics of your creations!

Share away on Twitter and Instagram using #Passion-for-Parties,

or share on my Facebook page.

See you soon!

Tweet

Do you like to dress your home up for the holidays?

Then this super easy, crazy cute DIY Valentine’s Day Mantel is for you!

Take your mantel from drab to fab with just $20, 

and the time it would take to watch your favorite show on TV.

So easy!

Here’s what you’ll need:

~ Instant Download “Be Mine” Valentine’s Day Banner ~  Instant Download “Be Sweet” 5×7 art print ~ Instant Download “Be Mine” 5×7 art print ~  Seven sheets of our pink polka dot paper (download for free here) ~  Two sheets of our grey polka dot paper (download for free here) ~  One sheet of our dark/light pink striped paper (download for free here)

~  Double sided tape

~  Paper trimmer or scissors

~  Picture frames (I’m sure you have a few laying around your house somewhere) 😉

~  Baker’s Twine, ribbon, yarn, string, or something similar to string your banner with.

Instructions:

Simply print off your goodies, get yourself a drink, and get cozy at the coffee table.

Use the instructions included with your banner and art prints to get them

cut out and prepped.

Add your prints to the frames and string your banner.

Look at that, you’re already almost done!

Now you just need to make your paper rosettes, which is almost exactly like making paper fans

when you were in elementary school.  Remember that?

Following this tutorial on how to make paper rosettes, use the 7 pink polka dot sheets to create the large fan,

the 2 grey sheets to make the medium fan, and the one striped sheet to make the tiniest fan.

I used white pom poms to finish off the centers, but you can use anything, really…

…a white paper circle, a paper heart, a cotton ball…whatever suits your taste and you have

readily available.

And there you have it, a pretty Valentine’s Day mantel!

I used and old window pane and a “poof” made out of cupcake liners to finish off my mantel,

but I’m aware that not everyone has these laying around their house.

You can get a similar look by using a large, empty picture frame, or a mirror would look nice.

I strung Baker’s Twine in a zig zag pattern onto the pane, then used mini clothespins

to hang strips of fabric that I cut out.

You could cut up an old white t-shirt if you don’t have fabric available.

I also hung a paper heart here and there to add some visual interest.

So sweet, right?

And there you have it!

A cute and easy Valentine’s Day project that you can complete in an evening.

Have fun with it, and be sure to share pictures…I’d love to see what  you come up with!

Share on our Facebook page, or on Twitter and Instagram using #Passion-for-Parties.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Tweet

You may remember me raving about Bakerella’s Cake Pops book in this post last month.

Well, the book arrived and, as expected, it is postively fabulous!

There are so many adorable cake pop designs in that book that I didn’t even know which ones to try first, so I got my four year old niece to help me out.

She loved the owls (and so did I) so that’s what I chose as my first attempt at cake pops.

Here they are:

It took a bit of trial and error to get them just right…I learned quickly that the cake pops had to be good and cold before dipping, and that it’s a good idea to thin the candy coating a bit for best results.

But after I figured it out, it was a piece of cake!  🙂

Serve these little guys at a Fall festival, harvest party, birthday party, or even for a baby shower…they are guaranteed to get rave reviews!

Full instructions and more of Bakerella’s amazing designs can be found in her book.

Click here for more info!

Tweet

Simply Stylish

Make some simple and stylish Christmas decorations with things that you probably already have on hand!

They’re very pretty…and VERY easy on the wallet. A perfect combination!

These are some creations I came up with just by using some extra Christmas ornaments, some tealight candles, some greenery and berries from the backyard, some ribbon, and some fresh cranberries.

Visit the Christmas decorating ideas page for more pics and instructions.

Tweet