Gift alert: Lisa Leonard Designs

I have been a long time fan of Lisa Leonard Designs. Lisa and I met back when I was a little high schooler and it has been so fun to see her business grow and her style develop over the years. She has a great blog- full of inspiration for the everyday and showcasing her adorable jewelry designs. I have a few of her pieces and I wear them all the time. Literally- look at my wrist at every wedding and you'll see a bracelets that she designed for me. It says "joyful" and reminds me of my purpose and motivation for every day of my life.

Today, she posted THE cutest necklace. It would be such a great gift for an engagement party or bridal shower. 

Oh, I just love it!

You can find lots of other goodness on Lisa's site. One of my brides had custom necklaces made as a gift for each of her bridesmaids. My sister in law gifted us with a personalized silver spoon for my son. I even had Lisa custom make a decal that I attached to an iphone case for my husband. Endless options. 

In perfect timing, Hostess with the Mostess is giving away one of Lisa's designs! Click here to enter the giveaway.

One more little detail

I realized as I was posting the Spring Party that a cute detail was left out of the photos.

Remember this sweet tulip arrangement?

Here is what was on the other side of the container:

This is a wrapped baby cereal can, embellished with a flower from my cricut and ribbon.

Our Third Seasonal Season Party: Spring!

It is Spring- do you know what that means? A party!

If you have just recently started reading our blog, I am thrilled to introduce you to our little tradition. At the beginning of every season, my husband and I host a party to celebrate and capture the essence of that season. Our fall party was the first and our winter soup party was amazing. 

For spring, the only thing we could imagine doing was to have a picnic. And picnic in style we did.

In addition to blankets, I found those adorable floor pillows at Target to use for seating. I placed trays and plates in the seating areas for guests to place their drinks on (and just to look cute!).

For lunch, each family was given a gable box filled with picnic goodies. Boxes and food containers were  purchased from Paper Mart. I added a little paper, some cricut letters and voila!

A glimpse inside:

Lunch consisted of the most delicious potato salad I have ever had (and I do not even like patato salad- thanks Shae!), strawberries, carrots and a homemade cookie. I had guests bring their own sandwiches. 

Round labels and cloth ribbon purchase from Paper Source.

I used wrapping paper from Target and Paper Source to wrap bottles and napkins:

Even little baby water bottles for the little guys:

A few more details:

And what is a picnic without bubbles?

What I loved about this party the most was that it was so mellow. We just relaxed, ate and played. Such a great day! The decor from this party can easily be transferred to a shower or birthday party as well.

Enjoy what is left of Spring everyone!

Aprils Showers: May Flowers

Happy May! If you have missed our series this week on baby and bridal showers, please feel free to take a look back at our week full of inspiration and tips.

I.am.so.bummed! Tomorrow was supposed to be our spring party and... it is going to rain! It has not rained at all lately and the one day the skies decide to open is the day that we planned an outdoor picnic! We decided to push it back a week, so I will be sure to share all of the details with you in a few weeks. 

Earlier this week, a reader asked about tips on making crepe paper flowers. The shower is an eco-friendly theme and the bride has requested that the shower attendees make flowers out of crepe paper to use at her reception. I think this is a great idea! I love crafting activities at showers. 

Martha Stewart Weddings has a tutorial online for how to make these beauties:

To make it a little easier, Martha Stewart Crafts sells a Crepe Paper Peony kit on their website. I am not 100% sure, but I believe that you can purchase kits like this at Michaels as well.

If you want some fun gigantic flowers, there is another tutorial on Martha Stewart that shows you how to make these:

I found instructions for a cute crepe paper rose on The Fab Miss B's blog.

I know that these are not crepe paper, but I am a huge fan of Paper Source's paper flower kits:

I was in one of my favorite antique shops in San Clemente the other day and they had these adorable tissue paper balls placed in urns. I think this would be so cute for shower decor! 

Two good places to buy sheets of crepe paper are Blick Art Materials and Crafts Etc. You can also find some more unique colors and textures on Etsy (including this beautiful flirty ruffled crepe paper):

It has been a fun week of showers. I guess the sky just wanted to take part.

Have a great weekend!

April Showers: Part 8

I am finishing up the series with one of my favorite sources for inspiration: Hostess with the Mostess.

Jenn has such amazing fresh, modern and practical shower and party ideas. Here is a look at some of my favorites:

Bling Baby Shower

Modern Alphabet

Beach Baby Shower

Bedtime Stories Baby Shower:

Citrus Twist Bridal Shower:

Modern Kitchen Bridal Shower:

There is much more on her website and also many great real showers on her blog.

While April is over tonight, I will be back tomorrow with some May Flowers!