My AHA Moment >> A Handcrafted Affair's First Blog Feature!

Hi there! I am super excited today as A Handcrafted Affair just received it's first blog feature so I just had to tell you all about it! Little Peanut Magazine is featuring the Whimsical Woodland Tea Party on their blog that I had the pleasure of collaborating with Anissa from House Seven Design and Abby from Maeve Vintage Rentals.

Anissa and I have been friends for about 15 years and she recently introduced me to Abby which was a perfect match for collaborating as we all share a passion for living creatively. It was so great to work with both of them and to be able to include our kiddos in the shoot made it even more special.

I had so much fun creating the headpieces which were made from crepe paper, felted wool and wooden twigs. And if you recall, I like to try my hand at the occasional face painting and these lil' girls were loving it too!

Abby's vintage setting from her "Little Maeve" rental collection was perfect and I loved all of her little touches of detail.

Huge thanks to Anissa for being photographer for the day. It was pouring rain that day but we were determined to stick it out and finally the rain let up for about 30 min which Anissa did a great job of directing and getting in the shots before it down-poured on us again.

It was also pretty comical as the girls were eating all of our props before we had even wrapped the shoot. I don't blame them, the macarons were pretty yummy!

Here's a few behind the scene pics but be sure to head over to Little Peanut's blog for the full feature!

And here's just a little collection of teaser images from my Instagram feed....

Well, the weekend is almost here so thank goodness for that! I'm finishing up some sugar flowers for a wedding cake this weekend so I will be sure to share it with you all soon!

A PINEAPPLE PARTY FOR RILEY'S SECOND BIRTHDAY

Hello! Today I am finally sharing with you the Pineapple party for my sweet lil' Riley's second birthday! Riley has such a fun and (already) wild personality that this pineapple theme was pretty fitting for her. 

I had put together a mood board a few weeks ago so if you missed that you can check it out here. I always find that putting together a mood board or even just collecting images on a Pinterest board is super helpful in staying on point with the overall theme and look of your party. I definitely was going for bright summer colors along with gold accents for this pineapple theme.

Oh, and this cake! I am pretty happy with how it turned out. I had this idea to mimic the pineapple texture on the cake so I simplified it down to a diamond pattern by creating a template with my Cricut Explorer and then pressed sprinkles into the diamond cut-outs to create the pattern. 

For the topper, I had gotten the idea to spray paint the tops from here and thought it would also make the perfect adornment for my pineapple-inspired cake.

The cake itself was a white confetti cake with a pineapple curd swiss meringue buttercream (you know I had to work pineapple in there somewhere!). I will have to do a follow up and post the recipes and the diamond pattern template for you all so keep an eye out for that to come soon!

The paper honeycombs were a perfect accent to this pineapple theme. They came in packs of 12 and I purchased two colors (yellow and dusty rose) in the 8" diameter and two colors (light blue and gold) in the 5" diameter. I tied them in bunches of 3 and 4 honeycombs and accented them with faux tropical leaves. Using fishing line, I strung up the bunches and hung them from the ceiling. For the honeycombs on the wall, I totally used pushpins (it's what I had handy but if you do not want tiny holes in your wall then you could use some super strong tape or even little Command hooks).

I also re-created the pineapple pops from my mood board and you can find the recipe here. Those are treats that I will definitely make again! Super easy and pretty yummy!

For the DIY pineapple flower vases, I created my flower arrangements in ball jars and then cored my pineapple out so that the ball jar could sit inside of it. This is something you want to do either the day before or even the day of the party as it doesn't have a very long shelf life (and starts attracting those pesky little fruit flies!). I spray painted them gold and set the flower jars inside for a quick and easy DIY decoration.

I purchased the pineapple-shaped cups from Party City along with the giant #2 gold mylar balloon. The plates, napkins, forks and paper straws are all from Target and I found the fabric for the table runner at Jo-Ann's Fabric and Craft Store.

Every kiddo's birthday party should have at least one fun party game! So, we played Pin the Pineapple Top which was a pineapple-themed version to the classic Pin the Tail on the Donkey. 

I couldn't find a game that already existed so I covered poster board with pink wrapping paper and used my Cricut Explorer to cut out the letters and the pineapple tops. I printed the pineapple head and glasses on an 11" X 17" sheet of paper and just ended up cutting that out by hand. 

It was just a small party with family and a couple of friends and I know Riley had a blast that day. She's quite the lil' party girl! She's still running around here singing Happy Birthday, haha!

Well, hope you all are enjoying the rest of your summer! My oldest, Mia, starts kindergarten next week so that's our next exciting moment around here. And then we are off to Colorado for a wedding. August is going to be a busy month! 

DIY PARTY GARLAND

Hi! I can't believe it is already the middle of July. Weren't we just celebrating the fourth of July? This month is full of celebrations. The Hubby's birthday was on Sunday, my lil one is turning two tomorrow and my good friends, Suzanne and Trevor, just became parents last week! Their Surrogate, Kelly, just delivered two healthy, precious boys and I am super excited to meet them! 

Suzanne and I work together at the ad agency and we threw her the "work" baby shower just in the nick of time before they headed down to Texas to be with Kelly during the delivery.

I (of course) helped out with decorating the party but with a pretty busy schedule this month I wanted to make something that would "come together" in like an hour so I hopped over to Party City and bought a few decorations that I knew would easily go together to make a cute DIY garland.

I failed at getting any great pictures of it at the party but I brought it home and my oldest thought it would be fun to stage our own little party. Which was a great idea because now I can share a simple DIY tutorial with you!

HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED:

• Pre-Strung Pom Pom Garland (comes in a pack of 2)
• Tissue Paper Fans (8 per garland)
• Balloons (16 per garland and divided into 2 colors)
• Scissors
• Ribbon
• Scotch Tape

The assembly is super simple. The pom pom garland comes in a pack of two so you could either tie them together to make a 24' garland, or make two separate ones, or you could do like I did and use the second one for another decoration.

First, stretch out the pom pom garland on the floor and begin to unfold and fluff each of the individual pom poms. You will be assembling the fans and balloons in between pairs of the pom poms. 

Next, you will blow up and attach your balloons with the ribbon. I alternated the pattern of the balloons in between each pair of pom poms - white, silver / silver, white / white, silver ....

After you attach the balloons you will then unfold each of the tissue fans and tie them to the garland strand in between the white and silver balloons. Once you have them secured you can then push the balloons closer to the tissue fan to create a little trio of decorations in between the pom poms.

To make a fuller garland, you could add in additional balloons or fans but I kept mine with a little more space in between each of the decoration "trios" and the pom poms and then just closed up some of the gaps when I taped it to the wall with the scotch tape. Super simple and super cute!

And of course I have to share some of my favorite behind the scenes shots of the girls setting up for their own little party. I love seeing them "be like momma." Makes my heart melt!

Like I said, tomorrow is the lil one's second birthday and we are hosting her pineapple party on Sunday so I can't wait to share all the deets with you!

Have a great week!

LET THEM EAT CAKE

Happy Friday! Where did this week go? I'm a little late on this week's blog post so sorry for that, but here it is! We are gonna talk about cakes...and not just any cakes but some of the most gorgeous cakes I've ever seen.

So, the other day I was chatting with a friend who is getting married and we were talking through all the fun details of her wedding and I sent her some of my favorite cake artists...and they are definitely artists! As I was pulling links to each of their websites I totally started SWOONING over these beautiful creations. These are too good not to share with you all!

Image via Maggie Austin

Maggie Austin - She has to be my most favorite cake artist. I could probably do a whole blog post on all of her cakes and it was too hard to just narrow it down to just one example to share with you. I'm simply captivated by her haute couture style and every attention to detail. I'm just in awe over the hand painted stained glass and the fondant ruffles. And those sugar flowers! Stunning!

Image via Cake Ink

Cake Ink - Creators Janelle (cake) and Samone (ink) specialize in custom handmade cakes and stationery so not only can they create you a stunning cake but they can also whip up some beautiful stationery to go with it...two of my favorite things! And I am obsessed with gold leaf cakes right now so it's on the top of my list of things I must try myself in one of my own little cake designs.

Image via The Caketress

The Caketress - This beauty is from Lori Hutchinson's Runway Inspired Collection and the design was inspired by Valentino's Pastel Rockstud shoes and purses. What a wonderful cake for the fashionista at heart!

Image via Cake Whisperer

Cake Whisperer - I feel like I just stepped into an enchanted garden when I see this cake. What beautiful sugar work and of course I love the gold marbling on the bottom tier!

Image via Sweet Bakes

Sweet Bakes - I love when cake artists pull inspiration from other materials such as this gorgeous marble fondant cake. So elegant!

Image via Sweet Sugar Boy Ed

Sweet Sugar Boy Ed - I love rainbows. I love sprinkles. And I love sugar flowers inspired by rainbows!

Image via Unbirthday

Unbirthday - Nikki Lee creates some of the most bold and fabulous cakes! Her cakes are styled with a signature chocolate crown and she offers cakes that can be adorned with macaroons, candy confections, candy bars, gold-dusted cherries, swiss meringues, caramel popcorn, fresh fruit and edible flowers. It's an entire dessert bar in one brilliant display!

Image via Broken Tart

Broken Tart - Not all cakes need to be covered in fondant and gold leaf or sugar flowers to be breathtaking. I love the cake designs by Broken Tart for their natural and raw but yet elegant style. I've heard wonderful things about their cake flavors and they are located in Chicago which is only a few hours from me. Next time I'm in the city I HAVE to go for a visit and taste-test their beautiful cakes myself!


Alright, who's ready for cake?! I hope you've enjoyed some of my favorite cake inspirations this week and next week on the blog I think I will post a little fun cocktail recipe in honor of the upcoming Fourth of July holiday. Talk to you all next week!

Jumping on the Pineapple Party Wagon

Hello! So my little one is turning two in July and I've been busy pinning some fun party inspiration and wanted to share the mood board with you. Anytime I plan a party or style a shoot I always put together a mood board. It really helps me stay on point for any DIY decor and to pull together a cohesive look. I can tend to have "too many ideas" which I am sure some of you can relate, ha! 

For her second birthday, I am totally jumping on the pineapple party wagon. I had come across Jenny's Cookies Party Like A Pineapple and loved it so much so I knew I wanted to create my own version to this fun party theme. It's perfect for a summer birthday and my lil one is quite the character so it totally fits her personality!

1. Pineapple wearing heart glasses  2. Gold #2 Balloon  3. Sprinkle Cake  4. Skinny Pineapple Orange Slush  5. Painted Pineapples  6. Honeycomb Garland                  7. Pineapple Pops  8. Palm Fronds  9. Pineapple Costume  10. Party Like A Pineapple Pillow
I definitely want this to be bright and colorful with some gold accents here and there. And I love doing sprinkle cakes and I've got an idea in mind to really pull off the pineapple theme with sprinkles but you will have to wait until the party reveal to see it! I haven't planned the full menu yet but I definitely want to have a pineapple drink and a pineapple treat so I found a couple of simple but tasty ideas that will be perfect for a two year old's birthday party.Every kiddo's birthday party should have at least one party game so I think I will create a "Pin the Pineapple Top" game. I couldn't find any that currently exist so it was kind of hard to add this to my mood board but the pineapple costume (#9) and the Party Like A Pineapple pillow (#10) is what sparked this idea, oddly enough. Don't ask me how because I am not really sure...I guess it was just my own AHA moment.I still have a few other details to figure out like invitations and party favors but I'm pretty excited to get started! Hope you like the inspiration! 

Update! You can check out Riley's Pineapple Party here....it's pineapplicious!

DIY Color Block Letters

Hello! I've got a super quick DIY for ya today. Last night, the kiddos and I were at Target picking up a couple of things and I saw the wooden letters they have in their "crafts" section and I've been eyeballing them for a while now for a project in the girls' bathroom. So, I decided "what the heck...let's do this!"

I desperately need to repaint their bathroom and add a little personality. It's the same boring shade of beige that was on the walls when we moved in 2 years ago and there is absolutely nothing on the walls right now...not even a towel rack. Depressing, I know!

I had this idea to use these cute letters which are the initials of their first names and add hooks to them for the girls' towels but wasn't sure what color scheme I wanted to go with in the bathroom. I've been "thinking" about this for months now and it was time to just dive in and so I asked my oldest to help me pick out some paint colors (because they were so conveniently placed next to the wooden letters) and we were off to start our little DIY project.

We went ahead and purchased both letters, paint colors in avocado, white, (neon) hot coral, deep sea, steel and shell and I also picked up the hooks to attach to the letters.

I thought it would be pretty cool to do a simple color block pattern on these letters so I grabbed some washi tape I had lying around the house to mask off some shapes. I wanted to keep the natural wood finish on the areas that were protected by the washi tape so I didn't bother with painting the letters with primer first. 

I applied 3 coats of each paint color and let it dry for about 10 minutes between coats. Once the paint is dry you can remove the washi tape mask and then finish them off with a couple of coats of sealant. You can use Modge Podge, clear acrylic sealant or even a clear wax. Because I didn't primer these first, I wanted to make sure I protected the paint from being able to chip or scratch off to easily.

I lOVE how they turned out and now I'm feeling inspired to get moving on the rest of the bathroom redo! I still have to add the hooks but I'm going to wait and share that with you once I get these finally hung on the wall. And there is a slight chance I may decide to exchange the single hooks for the double hooks instead. To be continued....

Hope you all have a great week!

AHA: Featured 5&5

FROM THE #myAHAmoments FEED

I've rounded up the latest 5 features for you today! And if you are a maker, crafter, doer, designer, artist or stylist and want your work to be featured then just make sure to tag your favorites to #myAHAmoments.

1 >> Shared by @freshlysharpened - What a sweet ballerina! I love the ombre color and since I shared this on Instagram, Freshly Sharpened finished her drawing and there are actually two ballerinas in this piece. You should go check it out!

2 >> Shared by @oddlyandcompany -   These adorable rings in their rainbow colors are so whimsy and fun. Love them!

3 >> Shared by @goldenafternoonshop -   Oh my goodness! This felt floral wreath is stunning! Beautiful color palette.

4 >> Shared by @moccabybaby - Can't you just hear the pitter-patter of lil feet in these adorable handmade moccasins?!  

5 >> Shared by @marissahuber -   I love these water color prints that Marissa created and donated to the KidSanctuary Campus, an organization to help foster children. What a great cause and I know the kids will love them too!

FROM PINTEREST: FATHER'S DAY GIFT IDEAS

Father's day is only a couple of weeks away and I wanted to share with you some of my favorite gift ideas from Pinterest

1 >> DIY Dad's Our Hero Sign - This is probably my favorite idea for Father's day because it something the kiddos can definitely help create. And Shanty 2 Chic also has the free downloadable print as well. Perfect idea for dad!

2 >> Personalized Fishing Lure - I know my hubby and my dad both like to fish when they can get the chance. This would be such a sweet reminder of how much they are loved when they do have time for some good ole R&R.

3 >>  DIY Flavored Salts - If dad loves to grill then these flavored salt recipes would make a great gift and can really add some new and fun flavors to your dishes at home. 

4 >>  Personalized Beer Growler - I love the design of this beer growler and what a great personalized gift for the craft beer drinking dads (definitely includes my hubby).

5 >> Foldover Fob - If dad is tired of his keys jingling loose in his pocket then this might be a great gift. Not only is it quite stylish but it will help keep their keys organized and silent...it's a win-win!

Have a great weekend!!

It's Raining Babies!

I am thrilled to share today’s post with you. If you follow me on Instagram then you may have seen the teaser pics of the rain shower mobiles I’ve been sprinkling on my IG feed the last couple of weeks. Well, I had the pleasure to help host a baby shower for a good friend and this celebration was extra special.

My friends, Suzanne and Trevor, have been battling the heartache and loss of infertility for the last 4 years and with the help of donor eggs and surrogacy, they are now expecting TWIN boys! Suzanne shares her story of infertility and how she came to meet the most wonderful and giving surrogate, Kelly, through her own blog - Our journey to a baby bump. Life is seldom a straight path for any of us and while some twists and turns are easier to navigate, life can take you down a road that can test every ounce of your strength, courage and faith. Suzanne and Trevor’s journey to becoming parents is truly inspirational and there is so much love surrounding these two boys already. I am so very happy for them and their little miracles!

Ok, I’ve got LOTS of photos from the day to share with you. Suzanne asked our mutual friend, Lisa of Lisa Diederich Photography, to capture the day. Especially since Suzanne and Trevor’s surrogate, Kelly, was flying in to join them at the shower all the way from her home state of Texas!

Jill (Suz’s best friend and most gracious host) had the idea for a rain shower theme for the party. This couldn't have been more perfect!  I had toyed with a concept to make a rain shower mobile and now had the perfect motivation to get started. Since Suzanne and Trevor were having twins, well…I had to make two! These were my gift to them for their nursery. I can't wait to see them hanging above these precious little babies.

The clouds are made from mini fabric tassels of torn white cotton strips and pale blue tulle. The rain drops are strung with felt pom poms that I ordered from the Etsy shop, BenzieDesign. Shop owner, Renae, has tons of great color choices but sticking with our color palette, I went with the turquoise, lilac and stone colors. They turned out exactly like I had envisioned them!

You may have noticed that baking is sort of a hobby of mine so I immediately offered to make the dessert table for the party. It was so much fun putting this all together. We decided on a two flavors – a lemon blueberry cake with a lemon cream cheese frosting topped with sugar-crusted blueberries and also a chocolate cake with whipped toffee buttercream topped with toffee shards and chocolate shavings.  

And don't you just love the tiered serving tray?! I totally borrowed it from Suzanne for her own party, haha! Now, I want one. A girl can never have too many serving pieces!

I LOVE baking these little cakelets. It's probably my favorite size to bake. Suzanne and Trevor had family and friends in town for the shower so we served the cupcakes for the party and they got to take home these little cakelets to snack on the rest of the weekend with their house guests. I also gained about 5 pounds from all the taste tasting I (of course) had to do in the kitchen. I'd have to work out 3 hours a day if I were a full-time baker. How does one resist from eating all day?!

I also have this thing for meringue kisses so I whipped up a batch of ginger-flavored meringues out of the Meringue Girls cookbook (highly recommend!).

Jill found this adorable rain shower garland from the Etsy shop, Paperwhite Designs. It was the perfect touch and I love how Lisa captured little glimpses of it in the photos!

Boy Oh Boy is right! The banner was created from card stock that I found over at Hobby Lobby and I used my Cricut Explorer to do the fancy cutting work. My goodness, it's such a time saver (and so precise!).

Kelly even surprised Suzanne with a Pandora bracelet. I'm telling ya, this woman has the biggest heart and it is so wonderful to see the bond that has been created between them! 

For the favors, Jill had found these wonderful little cloud sugar cookies from the Etsy shop, 3CSC: Christina's Confections & Creations. So I whipped up a sugar cookie recipe card and we also attached a cloud-shaped cookie cutter for a complete little gift set.

Jill, Kelly, Suzanne and me

What a happy, happy day! Meeting Kelly was so wonderful and seeing Suzanne smile the entire day was genuinely infectious.  Jill, thank you for allowing me to play host with you! I had so much fun with it all! XOXO

All photos courtesy of Lisa Diederich Photography