Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Easter Decorating & Entertaining Inspiration

Easter is just a hop or two around the corner and I have been busy planning for the joyous celebration. Dying eggs, planning the hunt and selecting the menu for Sunday brunch are just some of the tasks on my party planning list. Here are some wonderful Easter decorating ideas from Martha Stewart that have inspired me and I thought they just might inspire you too.
lace easter egg decoratingbaby blue bird nest cupcakeseaster egg decorating with ribbonhen and chick easter decor diyyellow tulip tired flower arrangement eastermartha stewart easter egg table setting kidseaster brunch frittata w goat cheese
And look what I am going to serve… this Potato, Scallion, Goat Cheese Frittata {above} looks fabulous! Thanks Martha for all of the festive ideas for Easter!

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Friday, March 4, 2011

West Elm Summer Collections–Sneak Peak & Minted Giveaway Winner

Longing for warmer weather and alfresco entertaining? If so, you are going to love this.

west elm outside living blue white chic
Here’s a sneak peak at West Elm’s collections for summer 2011. I’m digging the casual elegance, worldly touches and fresh blue & white color combos.
outside lanterns candles for entertaining west elm
west elm palm nest chairs backyard
blue white outside decor entertaining west elm 
In particular, the wall art by Lourdes Sanchez and dinnerware by David Stark is very exciting to see.

lourdes sanchez wall art west elmdavid stark dinnerware west elm
The collections will go on sale March 29th. Congrats West Elm! You hit the ball out of the park! 

minted.com giveaway winner
Now onto some more exciting news - the winner of the $50 gift certificate to Minted {fabulous online stationary store}. Out of 66 eligible comments, tea cozy {#66} was selected from Random.org. Congrats and enjoy!

unique birth announcements minted

A huge thank you to Minted for sponsoring this wonderful giveaway. Be sure to drop by to take a look at all the fun new designs, like these darling birth announcements.

Minted Logo


Happy Friday!

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Saturday, February 5, 2011

Super Bowl / Hot Wing Dip

This Blue Cheese Hot Wing Dip looks mighty tasty for a treat during the game!
What are you serving?
Super Bowl / Game Day Dips via Southern Living - get recipe here.
also, Cutest cupcakes that look like little burgers!
More ways to follow BB&B

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Monday, January 31, 2011

Elephant Themed 1st Birthday Party

Do you remember this darling bird theme nursery room? Well, that little baby boy recently turned one!
elephant birthday party invite kids
For his first birthday celebration his style-savvy mom selected a sweet & whimsical elephant invitation by Sweet Street Gals from minted.com. The invitation inspired an elephant themed birthday party full of style, amazing details and cakes that are drool-worthy!

elephant birthday theme cake topper

It’s the little details that made this party so special including this darling elephant balloon topper from Bratty Cakes. Amazing, right?

elephant birthday cupcake topper
The birthday boy had a special red velvet cupcake made just for him. Don’t you love this baby elephant with single red balloon? 

elephant birthday theme banners
Alphabet blocks and a banner spell out birthday wishes to memorialize the special day. Did you notice the little elephant in the top block?

The banner was handmade from a template  found on Martha Stewart {here}. Each letter was printed out and cut in circles. The letters were then glued on red paper circles {coordinating with the party theme} and strung on a white ribbons.

elephant birthday party theme
To create these custom goodie bags, photocopies of the invitation were made and adhered to the front of solid red paper bags. Each gift bag was personalized with guest’s names using white letter stickers. So simple, so cute!

I still can’t get over that darling little cupcake with the baby elephant. 
What’s your favorite element?


PS - Minted.com is one of my affiliate partners... check out all their gorgeous designs! 

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Friday, December 17, 2010

Christmas Breakfast with Elf on a Shelf

The Adventure’s of Tartanscot had a Holiday Decorating Contest and here’s my entry…

elf on shelf christmas breakfast table
It's a joyful Christmas morning and the table is set for breakfast {well, brunch most likely!} The vintage "elf on the shelf" inspired the traditional red & green color scheme. I love when period styles are blended, so there's a mix of modern, vintage and contemporary elements.

elf shelf christmas breakfast table above
The table features two table runners crisscrossing, both with fun prints. One is actually two dish towels from Crate & Barrel put together {shhh}... can you tell which one? The centerpiece consists of a sparkly snowman, Swedish Kosta Boda crystal snowball votive and red roses {Trader Joes, thank you very much!} with heather {from the garden} in a milk glass bowl (from an estate sale}. Here’s how to make the floral centerpiece.

elf modern christmas table red green design
Glittery, lime green snowflake ornaments are used as napkin rings {from Crate & Barrel}.

elf tabletop snacks for santa
The table even includes a note to Santa with nibbled snacks from the wee hours of the morning.

elf tabletop red glass ornaments twigself on shelf christmas table design ideas
And as you can see, that little elf keeps hopping around... he just wouldn't sit still!

To see more festive Christmas tabletops, visit Between Napa on the Porch.

Happy Holidays!

*all photos by Cristin Priest for Simplified Bee®

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Monday, December 6, 2010

Christmas Rose Floral Arrangement How To

Decorating with fresh flowers is always a nice touch, but professional floral arrangements can be expensive. If your wallet is being squeezed this holiday season, here's a simple and elegant floral arrangement you can do yourself.
What you’ll need:
  • Round decorative bowl or vase
  • Oasis / Foam Brick {floral supply}
  • 2 dozen large roses {amount may vary depending of the size bowl used and rose heads - I picked mine up inexpensively at Trader Joes}
  • Pair of Pruners or Snips
  • One bunch greenery {leaves, lacey fern, or decorative grasses}
  • Large mixing or sink
how to arrange red roses tight grouping
1. Cut a piece of foam to so that if fits in your decorative bowl or vase.

2. Fill mixing bowl or sink with cold water. Then drop the foam brink into the water, but do not push it down. Let is soak up the water and sink to the bottom on its own. This will ensure that it is saturated. Let the foam soak for 15 minutes.

3. Place the saturated foam brick into the decorative bowl or vase.

4. Using a pruner or snips, cut one rose so that it’s stem is approximately 3” {this also may depend on the contain your select}.

how to arrange flowers roses
5. Push cut flowers one by one into the oasis starting in the center and then four corners.

6. Fill in the empty spaces with more roses while trying to keep a rounded look {you may need to shorten some of the stems to make it curve}.

how to arrange roses step by step
7. At the base between the roses and the bowl or vase, place sprigs of greenery. Cascading Heather, grasses, lacey fern, or tree leaves {pine, lemon, etc.} would work. The greenery will go all the way around.

christmas red rose floral arrangement how to
That’s it! Create a floral arrangement for your holiday mantel, table centerpiece or to welcome guests on an entry table. Either way fresh flowers will add just the right to your holiday décor.

For more Christmas crafts, visit Kate's Centsational Girl...

Happy Holidays!

* all photos by Cristin Priest for Simplified Bee

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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

My Casual Chic Thanksgiving Table

casual chic thanksgiving table decorations
Before I head back into the kitchen, I wanted to share some glimpses of our casual chic Thanksgiving table this year. In the images the table is set for four, but tomorrow it will be extended to seat a few more guests.

thanksgiving table decorations turkey place card
Contemporary patterns in greens, blues and browns are mixed and play off the Italian China. The yarn turkey place cards were made a few weeks back. I love how they look on the napkin by Pomegranate.

Simplified Bee Thanksgiving Table Setting
A gilded pheasant figurine, collection of colorful gourds and chartreuse vintage hobnail glass vase with white baby roses make fun centerpiece.

green gold blue thanksgiving table decorations
The pheasant figurine was found at a local consignment store for $12. I spray painted it gold - thank you Mr. Eddie Ross for the inspiration!

william arthur ward appreciation quote

Thanks for reading Simplified Bee! Wishing you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving!

 
* all photos by Cristin Priest for Simplified Bee

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Friday, November 19, 2010

Thanksgiving Place Card Ideas and Wembé Giveaway Winners

Thanksgiving. It’s just days away. Whether formal or casual, your table setting and décor will set the tone of the gathering. Setting out place cards for guests is something I do even when entertaining a small group. It puts guests at ease and can add a fun decorative element to the tabletop. Here are some place card ideas perfect for celebrating Thanksgiving:

thanksgiving place cards autumn leaf
These handcrafted autumn leaf place cards by Timeless Paper perch on wine glasses. Made of cream or white card stock and embellished with custom colored dots, you simply need to handwrite your guests' names in the spaces. Such an elegant touch to any table.

thanksgiving place cards printable diy paper
Paper Source featured these simple printable place cards on their blog recently. An edging of yellow ink  from a stamp ink pad and a simple raffia bow adds the perfect color and texture. Easily adapted to any color scheme too. Here’s the how to.

thanksgiving leaf place cards diy
Here is another Thanksgiving place card idea from Martha Stewart. Name cards are topped with leaves for a whimsical look that is inexpensive and easy to do yourself. Here is the how to.

thanksgiving yarn turkey place card diy
Here is one of the turkey place cards I made for our tabletop this year. The project needed paper, yarn and glue – and of course a little time. Super simple. I found the idea and how to on Martha Stewart.

If you will be a lucky guest this holiday season, providing the hostess with a small thank you gift is always a nice jester. Go here to see some great hostess gifts under $40. 100% organic and natural soaps from Wembé a Paraguayan Eco-lux soap company made the list.

hostess gifts wembe amazon soaps natural
The nice folks at Wembé Soaps also hosted a giveaway; The two lucky Simplified Bee readers are Wendy and Studio 13. Each has won a Frutal Energizing Set of their luxurious soaps. Enjoy!

random wembe giveaway winner two

Congrats and happy holiday decorating!

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