DIY Celebrations and Weddings - Homemade Butter Mints

A few months ago, I threw a shower for my niece who was getting married. You can see the buffet at left. It was 100% DIY and I did it all myself. 

My niece is very special to me. I was able to hold her when she was just 5 hours old. I have watched her grow up into a wonderful young lady. She has style and panache that is all her own.  

I used the style of her wedding as a theme for the shower and included the burlap table cloths, shabby chic cake plates, and light peaches and corals in the flowers.

I served heavy appetizers at the shower since it started at 1:30 PM. Since I was only serving appetizers, I made sure there were 12 pieces per person available, although that ended up being way more than enough food. We also had multiple desserts, and I used the cakes as decorations during the appetizer portion of the shower.

For dessert we had a 2-tiered frosted cake, a lemon poppy seed Bundt cake, strawberry cheesecake parfaits, and homemade butter mints.

Today I will give you the oh-so-simple recipe for my butter mints.  Later this week, I will give my recipe for the strawberry parfaits.The butter mints are the easiest recipe I have ever made as they consist of 3 ingredients: cream cheese, powdered sugar, and peppermint extract. I cut mine into little hearts for the bridal shower.

Laureen's Butter Mints

2 8 oz Packages of Cream Cheese
4 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 teaspoon Peppermint Extract

Let cream cheese come to room temperature. In a stand mixer or food processor combine cream cheese, 3 cups powdered sugar and peppermint extract. Mix until well blended. Add remaining cup of powdered sugar slowly until dough forms into a ball. You may not need all of the powdered sugar or you may need a bit more depending on the humidity in the air. 

Let dough rest in refrigerator for an hour. 

When chilled, roll dough into a ball with hands then press to flatten (you can use a rolling pin if you like but it was easy to just press it out). I pressed mine out until it was about 1/3" thick. I used a very small cookie cutter to cut the mints. I worked with small amounts of the dough and kept the rest refrigerated. It is much easier to cut them out if the dough is cold. 

You can also just form the dough into small balls, disks or any shape you desire. 

Store them in an air tight container in the refrigerator. They can keep for over a week so make them ahead! 

Hope this helps you DIYers with weddings and celebrations. Let me know what you think!

Laureen 

DIY Weddings ... 5 Tips to Keep You Sane

After perusing many DIY and cheap wedding sites, I have become concerned for the DIY brides. Many of the recommendations made for how to do your own wedding will lead to bridal distress mere hours before your big day.

I have been putting on parties and entertaining for years and can tell you that some of their DIY would send me, a veteran party planner, into a tail spin. 

This will probably be the most expensive event you ever host, don't ruin it by being so stressed and frustrated that you wish you weren't even there. 

I have compiled the following tips to help you bypass wedding day stress:

1. Please don't overload yourself with tasks the week before your wedding. Unless you enjoy creating floral arrangements and it relaxes you, don't plan to create 15 centerpieces, 5 bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, buffet and dessert table arrangements, etc. Some of the most recommended flowers on other DIY sites have stems that easily bend or break, they wilt in the heat, and will not lead you to an easy afternoon of floral fun.



From epicpinterestfail.com

2. For anything you are doing yourself, practice once or twice prior to the wedding week to make sure you know exactly how much time it will take you. If friends have offered to do something for you (make the cake, create your flowers, etc.) have them create a sample months in advance so you can be sure it is something you like.
   
   
3. If you are creating your own decorations such as poms, streamers, chalkboards, etc. create them months ahead. For example, You can fold the pom tissue paper months in advance, wrap the wire around the center, and leave them unpuffed in a small stack.

   

   Unpuffed Poms

   
   The week before the wedding, have friends help puff them. Each puff can take 5-10 minutes to get the look right so give yourself plenty of time. (25 poms x 5 minutes each to puff = 2 hours 5 minutes).
   
   
   
4. If you are planning your wedding during extreme weather conditions, either heat or cold, make sure you understand how the temperature impacts frosting, flowers, venue, etc.
   

   

   No tinted vases in this centerpiece!

5. If you see a craft on Pinterest or a website that you want to recreate, test it out now. I wanted to tint vases for my niece's shower and wedding and found that was not as easy as the sites and pins make it seem. They all came out very light, and when I went to redo them, there were streaks. Not the look I was going for. We tested out samples of styles for centerpieces at her shower and she chose what she liked best, which did not include tinted vases.
   

Especially if this is your first wedding, give yourself a break. You can still have the wedding you want on a budget without causing yourself so much stress that you have a meltdown. Quite frankly, it's just not worth it. 

Planning is key. Figuring out what is most important to you and focusing on those items, and testing everything in advance is key. For DIY Weddings, I recommend giving yourself 9-12 months to plan and put together all you want. This gives you plenty of time to test out crafts, Pinterest ideas, buy the decorations you want, and have everything under control so you can breeze through your wedding day. 

Enjoy your wedding, from planning to party!
Laureen

DIY Weddings and other parties....where do I begin?

Wedding in the Woods

Many of us like to do things ourselves, plan our own events and carry out our designs without the use of a planner or organizer. If you want to join the Do it Yourselfers, you CAN do it! You just need the steps along the way. 

It's easy enough for me to say you need to start at the beginning. But where does the beginning start? 

Be sure to lay the foundation of your event. I give instructions on how to do this in a previous post: Event Planning: Laying the Foundation. The first 5 questions to answer are: 

• What is the purpose of the event?
• What do I want the tone or mood of the event to be?
• What is important to me?
• What do I want for my guests?
• How do I want to participate in the event? 

Really think about these questions and determine your ultimate answer. Is your purpose to be married or is it to impress family and friends? Be honest with yourself. If you really want to impress others you need to know that is your ultimate goal. (There is no right or wrong answer, it's your party and what you want is up to you.)

I give plenty of instruction regarding each question in the previous post so be sure to read it if you are struggling with any of the answers.

The next step is to create a vision for your party. Keeping your foundation answers in mind, determine options that can meet the goals you have set. For example, let's say I responded to the 5 foundation questions in the following manner:  

Beach Wedding

• What is the purpose of the event? To marry my fiance.
• What do I want the tone or mood of the event to be? Fun, with a focus on family, and a touch of elegance.
• What is important to me? That our family and friends help us celebrate our love in a beautiful and fun outdoor setting. At the end of the day, that we are married.
• What do I want for my guests? Most will be from out of town. I want them to be comfortable, have plenty to eat and drink, enjoy their surroundings, dance, laugh, and love with us, without them having to spend a lot.
• How do I want to participate in the event? I want to fully participate and not have to worry about anything that day.

Do you know exactly what kind of wedding you want? If you don't, now is the time to really think about you and your fiance' and determine what works for you. 

So keeping these answers in mind, my vision could be: 
To get married in an outdoor setting that is easy to get to, has the amenities I need, and is beautiful. I will need someone to coordinate the day, know the vendors, and who will understand exactly what I want. We will have between 75 and 100 guests, who will need reasonable accommodations, transportation, and the ability to get around in unfamiliar territory. We will have plenty of food, drink (alcoholic and non), and will make a long weekend of the event. 

Garden Wedding

Using this method, can you see how your plan is developing? Your venue will be outdoors, easy to get to, and provide part of your decor. Your dress can be long or short but not too formal. You will need a coordinator that you know and who knows you for the day of and probably a few days before so they can get to know the vendors. You need to find a place for many out of town guests to stay, and determine how you can have a long weekend wedding. 

Your plan and vision for your big day is coming together! Next we will talk about budget and "dream" items (things you may splurge on). 

Comment below if this is helping you to plan your big day! I am happy to answer questions as well. 

Happy Planning! 
Laureen 

DIY Wedding in Bloom

This past weekend I had the honor of creating the flower arrangements at my niece's wedding. I had such a good time. The wedding was held in the mountains of Boulder Creek, CA amongst the redwood trees. It was one of the most gorgeous venues I have ever seen. 

The only issue was the the weather decided to hit record highs-- approximately 104 F. So keeping the flowers fresh through the wedding was very important. 

In this post I will show you samples of the flowers. In a future post, I will talk about how I choose flowers, put them together, and make sure they last.

Raw materials.

This is how the flowers come from the flower mart. Bunches tied together with rubber bands, twist ties, string, and wrapped in plastic or newspaper. 

A must during the heat is to have 5-gallon buckets with a little water in the bottom to keep the flowers from dying before you even get them home.

Bridesmaid's bouquet

Boutonniere

Used at the end of the benches and around the reception

The bride requested more rustic bouquets so this is what I designed for the bridesmaids. They were hand tied and kept in about an inch of water when the wedding party wasn't carrying them. We also used them on the head table as decorations so they were in water the entire reception.


The groom is from New Zealand so I did my best to find a fern that represented the one on the flag. I added a pod and the pink fern to match the bridesmaids' bouquets. 

The groom's boutonniere should include a flower from the bride's bouquet. 





These little puff arrangements were used at the end of the benches during the ceremony, and then were brought to the cocktail and reception area to add a bit to a corner of a table and on shelves and guest gift tables.

The centerpieces were round, rustic arrangements on antique brass candlesticks. They also included small woodland animals that matched the brass candlesticks, candles, and two satellite vases with individual flowers in them. A burlap runner and fresh white tablecloth finished the look.

There are some tips I see in the videos from the florists that, quite frankly, don't work for me. I will give you alternate ways of putting flowers together so it is easier for someone who doesn't do this every day. 



Let me know your thoughts on the designs in the comments below. And if you have questions about anything I did, please ask!

DIY Wedding or Event

Last month was really busy for me in a fun way. I helped to plan a princess tea party for my 4 year old great niece, attended the wedding of another niece, and threw a bridal shower for another niece. Did I mention I have a large family?

I'm the one with the pony tails in front

I am the youngest of 8 children. Most of my siblings have families of their own so I also have many nieces and nephews. 

Some of them are grown and now have families of their own. They provide me with a never-ending source of joy and fun.






I enjoy entertaining and am always game to try the latest Pinterest craft so I get to participate in many of the family gatherings.

In prepping for the parties I tried new crafts to see what I could actually do. Many things on Pinterest look great but you need an art degree to make them come out looking like the pictures. I am not an artist so I should be a pretty good barometer of how difficult a craft is. If you want proof of this phenomena you can laugh along with the folks at Pinterest Fail.

I made my first Pom to test out the process. You know, those tissue paper balls that are in vogue right now. It was very easy and came out looking great, even though I found I didn't own a pair of scissors sharp enough to cut through 8 folded sheets of tissue paper. I rate Pom making "easy."

Let me know if you want tips and I would be happy to put together a video of things you must do to make them come out looking like the pictures. 

I ended up doing the whole shower myself and it turned out better than I could have hoped. In coming posts I'll tell you how I planned the events and made a DIY plan. Let me know if you are planning your own wedding and if you are stuck on something. I can help! You CAN make gorgeous parties on a budget.

Have faith in yourself and leave plenty of time to plan. You can have the wedding or event of your dreams. Let me help!


Laureen 

Can I Do It Myself? YES! --Pinterest style party planning

One of my nieces is getting married at the end of June. I can't wait. I was also lucky enough to be able to host her bridal shower.

The party turned out great, as you can see from the picture on the left. And I did it all myself, for a really great price. 

My niece's wedding will be held in a woodsy location outside of San Francisco. It's a camp with cabins and a gorgeous area for weddings. She likes shabby chic, and wants an elegant but simple wedding, with the focus on family togetherness rather than over the top extravagance. 

But that doesn't mean it can't be Pinterest perfect. Over the next few weeks I will take you through how I did all of this for just a few hundred dollars. Nothing was rented. I purchased most of the items and used a few things that I had. And, most importantly, I was able to enjoy the party. I didn't kill myself to put this on. 

It took quite a bit of planning and work ahead of the day so that it would be what I wanted and what I pictured. To complicate matters the party was held at my Mom's house because my home is being remodeled. All party supplies needed to be moved to my Mom's house. We used glassware, ceramic plates, and metal flatware. No paper or plastic was used.

Guests were greeted with a baby's breath wreath hanging from the entry gate. It was so easy to make with a wet floral foam base. I simply tied a ribbon around it. Baby's breath lasts for a really long time so this piece can be made even a week ahead. 

One note, once you soak the floral foam base it gets really heavy. We were originally going to hang this on the front door. The door has such a tight seal that there isn't a way to use an over the door hanger. I didn't want to put nails in the door and the 3M temporary hooks would not have been able to hold it. The ribbon worked well to tie it to the rod iron gate. 

A friend of mine, Lucy Kelleher, is a Close to My Heart distributor so had her make some really cute banners (you can find her here). 

I was going to put tulle on the front gate and have one of the banners there, but ran out of time (this was not a must have...I will talk about how to plan so you can eliminate things in a time crunch in a future post). I ended up using the banner on a gate to keep people from heading straight to the backyard. 

I tied the banner to the gate using inexpensive satin ribbon in a tan color. It matched the burlap that was used on the tables. It was also on sale because it was an odd brown color. But it worked perfectly for the party. 

Another banner was hung on the front door. The banners reflected the colors of the party and set the theme for what was to come. 

Inside there is a small table in the foyer and I put a framed picture of the couple on it with a bouquet of flowers next to it. 

There was also a table provided for guests to put presents and purses and that had a large floral arrangement on it. 

We also provided alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. These were divided onto a bar table and a drink station table. 

I had created a drink named after the bride and one named after the groom using their favorite alcohols but forgot all drink makings at home. My husband made a last minute dash and picked up some sparkling wine and no one was the wiser. 

For an earlier party I had used the metal rectangle trays for flowers. I was able to use them for ice here. The bottles fit perfectly in them and stayed cold.



For non-alcoholic drinks we used a water dispenser to which we added sliced cucumber and lemons. Pink lemonade was served in the bottles and kept on ice in a second tray. 

The buffet and drink station tables had white tablecloths with burlap overlays. The bar featured a white tablecloth with a lace overlay that was the same color as the burlap. 

The party was at 1:30 PM so we offered heavy appetizers and dessert.  

I used a combination of homemade items with some appetizers from Trader Joes. I had planned to make everything from scratch but came down with a cold 2 days before the party and ran out of energy. 


I was still able to make the buffet tasty, healthy and inviting.
  
The appetizer list included:

• Spanakopita
• BLT Bites
• Cheese platter with nuts and dried fruit
• Crudite' in glass
• Apples and strawberries with caramel apple dip
• Puff pastry with goat cheese and caramelized onion

I always set a buffet so the plates are at the beginning and the flatware and napkins are at the end. This saves the guests from having to juggle their plate and utensils while trying to server themselves. 

Be sure to include serving utensils with each dish. I purchased sets of tongs for each item and had the tongs on a small plate in front of each dish. I had seen this done in hotels and liked the efficiency and the look of it. 

I used the cakes and some floral arrangements to decorate the buffet. I also purchased the "antique" luggage as buffet props. 

When it was time for dessert, we removed all the savory plates and brought out the desserts. The dessert buffet included:

• Tiered cake
• Lemon Bundt cake with Blueberry Compote
• Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits
• Homemade
  Heart Butter Mints

I made the flower arrangements on old brass candlesticks and used single flowers in short glass vases.

In future posts we will review how I planned the event, organized the various areas, created the menu, purchased the serving pieces and determined what parts of the plan were must haves vs. the nice to haves. Creating a plan like this makes it easy to keep you sane as the event approaches and allows you to participate in the event as your own guest. 


If there is an area you would like me to cover first, let me know in the comments. I will write up that part of the plan first. 

Do you like the look of this event? What is your favorite part? 

You can host a Pinterest-looking party yourself on a small budget. Let me show you how. 

Enjoy!
Laureen 

Teacher Appreciation - Something new

As the school year winds down, many want to show some appreciation for their children's teachers. I see flowers, plants, nick-knacks, that are nice but what about giving a teacher something that can continue to give to them? 

Teachers don't get the salary we would all like them to, and there is much in the news about what is being done to our food supply. Why not give your teacher an aromatic herb pot or container vegetable plant? Make sure the plants are organic or from heirloom seeds and you have given a gift that will continue to give. 

It will save the teacher money on groceries and show how much you really appreciate all the teacher has done for your children. 

Does your teacher often get colds or flues? You can specialize the herbs and make your own pot for much less than $20. Here s a picture of a beautiful herb pot that I found at Home Depot. 

Or give aromatic herbs that will add a nice scent to their home and provide flavor to their meals.

You can also give a tomato plant in a pot, pepper plant, or grow onions and garlic in pots. If you are ambitious you can give tomato, jalapeno, and onion plants so they can make their own salsa.

Give your teacher something that is not only beautiful, but can provide some of the fresh vegetables they can eat during their summer vacation. 

Remember to provide some instructions for how to care for the plant. You can find information on the internet if the plant you buy doesn't come with them. 

With just a bit of imagination you can give meaningful gifts to show your appreciation without spending too much. And while you are at it, pick up one for yourself! 


Happy gardening. 
Laureen