Party Time: A Chocolate World Birthday

Can you imagine living in a world made up of mostly chocolate? I couldn’t even fathom the thought until I received this delightful birthday party from Leslie Dolce Party Studio. Leslie threw this party for her daughter’s 8th birthday. From chocolate beauty treatments to chocolate bingo, this party screams sweet and happy.

The story behind the party:
One day, my daughter (who loves sweets above all else) came to me and said, “I was imagining a place where everything was all chocolate. It was a Chocolate World.” And so, we had the inspiration for her 8th birthday party! I started with a logo for Chocolate World, a chocolate-looking globe, which I used on all elements throughout the party. Next up was the invitation, which I designed to look like a “passport” to Chocolate World. Graphics included “stamps” over a chocolate bar background.

The main activity of the party was chocolate dipping. I designed personalized chef hats and aprons for each girl and used them as place settings. We dipped Oreos, marshmallows, gingerbread marshmallow men, and Rice Krispy Treats. Each girl had a special treat box to take home her goodies in. While our treats dried, we moved on to our Chocolate Spa. We did chocolate manicures and facials, all while the scent of chocolate flavored candles filled the air. Yummy! After our pampering, we played a sweet game of Chocolate Bingo, using what else but Hershey Kisses for bingo chips.

And last up, the best part, the Chocolate Dessert Bar, including mini chocolate cupcakes, chocolate cake pops, chocolate dipped marshmallow, chocolate bars, chocolate milk and hot chocolate. The girls’ goody bags were filled with Hershey kisses, chocolate-flavored lip balm and chocolate-scented hand sanitizer. Chocolate World turned out to be a sweet and magical place!

Vendor Credits:
Balloons and Tissue Daisies: Polka Dot Market
Party Printables, Invitations, and Party Styling: Dolce Party Studio
Table Runner: Fantasy: Vintage Bridal
Gable Treat Boxes: Whispering Pines Catalog

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A Glamorous Night To Remember Giveaway With I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!

I am such an awards night junkie. The Grammy’s had me singing along with my favorite singers and now I get to root for some of my favorite movie stars and toast the red carpet. Hollywood’s biggest night for movies is upon us, and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! is excited to announce an online ULTIMATE Red Carpet Viewing Party on Sunday, February 26^th on Facebook. The show will include a roundtable discussion with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars and a food and wine expert known for her delicious recipes. I can’t wait to join in on the fun over there. Thanks to my sweet and talented friend Jennifer of J.Fiereck Photography for taking pictures of my Oscar Party Ideas. You rock! XO

I am delighted to partner up with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter on this giveaway for a kit full of the essentials needed to help you  host your own glamorous party ANY time of year.

The kit includes:

·         Coupon for a free tub of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!

·         Ralph Lauren Stainless Steel Serving Tray

·         Set of 4 Crate & Barrel Champagne Glasses

·         Beaded Butter spreader

·         Gold cocktail napkins

·         I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! recipes for you and your guests to enjoy

·         Set of four personalized champagne glass charms

·         Set of four toast coasters

You can enter the giveaway in 4 different ways. Please leave a comment saying you did each. If already a fan, just leave a comment saying so.

1. “Like” Sandra Downie Event Designs on Facebook

2. “Like” I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter on Facebook and tell them Sandra Downie sent you

3. Follow me on Twitter

4. Tweet the giveaway with the following sentence AND #hashtag “I entered the Glamorous Night Party Kit Giveaway to Celebrate the Oscars @sandradownie #toastredcarpet”

GOOD LUCK LOVELIES!

Contest ends Friday, February 24th, 2012, 11:59 pm EST. The contest is open to US residents.

THIS IS A SPONSORED POST. THE WHITE LIBRARY RECEIVED THE KIT IN EXCHANGE FOR PROMOTING

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Show Me! Seeking Submissions

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Hi Lovelies. I am always surprised at all the talent I see out there. From  party and wedding styling, decorating cookies, craft & DIY projects and more.  So many of you are superstars in your own right. So show me what you’re made of. I’m looking to share more parties/celebrations inspirations and DIY projects here on The White Library and I know how fabulously talented my readers are so I want to see some of your work. There are some key things to take note of before submitting. PLEASE make sure the pictures are sent in jpeg form. That the pictures are captured in a beautiful way with lots of detail shots (professional pictures are always welcome/preferred but NOT a must. Examples of parties I have shared are here and here) This is how you can get published on The White Library. I can’t wait to see your talents past, present and future. Seeking Spring and Summer entertaining and lifestyle features as well. Please send submissions to sandra@thewhitelibrary.com

Have a great weekend!

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Kite Styled Birthday Party

I am so ready for Spring. I miss being woken up by sunshine and birds chirping in my ears. With flowers, sunshine and a harmonious blue sky on my mind, I am so delighted to share this kite party from Twinkle Twinkle Little Party. Andressa, mom of birthday boy Connor, said “The inspiration for this party came from a cute 3×3 kite frame I received from a very sweet couple as a baby shower gift when I was expecting Connor. How sweet is that! Andressa specifically decided to keep the party simple because all the little guests were younger than her son and she didn’t want to overwhelm the little tots with to much sugar. The dessert table consisted of plain vanilla cupcakes, milk shooters for the parents, cake, candy jars filled with gumballs.

DETAILS:

Andressa Designed:
1: Goody bag toppers “clouds” (cotton candy)  kite tails (sour belt) and sundrops (lemon drops).
2: Chocolate wrappers – She placed standard size Hershey’s chocolate bar in Wilton’s clear treat bags, wrapped the custom chocolate wrappers and tied the bags with a ribbon.
3: Tags for yellow treat bags. She purchased the bags at Michael’s which she filled with candies to take home.
4: Bubble labels (Bubbles bought at Party City)
5: Water Labels

She also built kites and we had a kite decorating station for the little tots – glitter glue, stickers and mini pompoms. She also made the party hats using textured scrapbook paper she bought at Jo Ann’s, embellished the hats using leftover ribbon and attached a 3-D tag which said “Fligh High”. Fresh lemonade, juice pouches, ham and cheese sandwich and pasta salad were served.”

VENDORS:

Cupcake, cake, sugar cookies – local bakery
Cloud cake pops – Simply Cupcakes of Tampa
Balloons- Party Scene
Gable Boxes – Michael’s
Book shelf – Michael’s

I hope you enjoyed this bit of sunshine today! Have a wonderful weekend!

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Party Décor Using Letters

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I am working on the most darling party for a client with the best vendors and one idea I will be incorporating is using letters in the décor. You can find letters made of paper or wood at most local craft supply supply stores and even sometimes at HomeGoods. You can do so much to them to make them work as part of your décor. You can decoupage them, paint them, glitter them or even stencil them. The best party of it all is that you can do all your shopping for a project like this in one place. The ways for making these letters shine are endless. Here are some ideas to inspire your creativity.

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Vegas, Genevieve and Natural Textures In The Home

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Valentine’s Day. Well I finally got around to downloading some pictures that I took on my iphone when I went to Las Vegas Market a few weeks back. It really was a wonderful time. Vegas isn’t what I thought it would be. I expected a bit more glamour. Let’s just say…not impressed. I WAS however impressed with World Market Center-Las Vegas. This place is ginormous. Imagine 3 huge buildings, 16 floors tall, jam packed with all the home decor, accessories and gifts you can imagine. It’s the largest, fastest-growing new home furnishings trade complex in the world. (and there are more buildings to be added)!!! Yes, peeps I wanted to take so many pieces from the showrooms I toured home with me. There were many home trends I spotted from lots of colorful furniture and accessories to furniture that sparkled. Yes, I do mean crystals and all. I will share those finds another day.

Stenciled burlap covered dresser

One trend that was most obvious was the use of natural textures and fibers. Burlap and linen mostly, but I also spotted many pieces made of birch and branches.

Seating covered in linen

Wood edged mirror and linen covered trunk side table

One of my most memorable experiences was meeting one of my design idols, HGTV’s Genevieve Gorder. She has partnered up with Capel Rugs to launch a stylish line of dhurrie rugs. What’s a dhurrie you ask? Well it’s a  flat-woven cotton rug traditionally made in India. The patterns are bold and fun just like her personality. She really is down to earth. We found out we both spent lots of time in Brooklyn growing up and that she loves the singer Prince. Me…I can take him or leave him. We had some good laughs.

Clay light fixture

Wooden candlesticks, yes they were as tall as me

I will be sharing more from my trip in another post, sparkles and all.

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Red Rose Centerpieces

Happy Valentine’s Day lovelies. I am so thankful for you all and for the support you always show me. With today being all about love and of course this being an entertaining blog, I thought I would share some pretty ideas with you on how red roses can really stand out in beautiful centerpieces. Whether for a party or wedding, red roses will always be a symbolism of love.

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I hope you have a love filled day!

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Easy Valentine’s Day Brownie Bites

I can’t believe Valentine’s Day came so quickly (it will be here next Tuesday for those of you that still need to get your sweethearts something special)! Half the month is over already and Spring is inching its way closer. On Valentine’s Day I always try to whip up something sweet and pretty. This year I decided to make an easy but pretty Valentine’s Day treat using stuff you can quickly pick up at the grocery store. I’m delighted to share my Valentine Brownie Bites with you. You can make them with your kids to give to their favorite teachers or to share with your family and loved ones. Either way, they will be enjoyed.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• A box of your favorite brownie mix (make and bake as directed)
• Valentine’s Day Sprinkles
• Frosting or Gel (this is what is needed to make the sprinkles adhere to the brownies)

The steps to making these are so easy. #1 Cut out brownie circles with a round cookie cutter. #2 Put frosting/gel on the edges of the brownie circles once they are cut out. #4 Spread the frosting/gel along the the edges and #4 Finally role the frosted edged brownie circles in Valentine the sprinkles. Easy peasy right

 Photographed by: J. Fiereck Photography

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Mini Foods For Entertaining

When I think of entertaining at home, I think of food first. What’s on the menu (drinks and food)? Does the food fit into the time of day the party is happening (morning, afternoon or night)? Will the party guests be sitting or mostly standing (seated dinner or cocktail party)? I love serving mini foods…bite sized bits of yummy goodness. Guests can pop them quickly into their mouths without making a mess as well as tasting a bunch of different foods at the same time. It’s like having a tapas party just for them. Why not host a tasting party. Keep It Simple and offer 6-8 varieties of mini’s for a well rounded tasting experience. Serving suggestion: Try the tasting party starter set from Pier1 Imports. It has all the little pieces to get you started in style.

Top Row: Petite Lasagna & Mini Hot Dog Skewers/Middle: Crudité Cups, Mini Cheeseburgers and Mini Pancakes. Last Row: Mini Pizza Bites

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Our Vintage Sweet Valentine’s Day Dessert Table

Well I’m so happy today to finally be sharing our Vintage Sweet Valentine’s Day dessert table with you all. I designed this table to go with the dinner party I shared with you all in Part 1 of this years sweetheart party I will be hosting. I really love how modern elements and patterns blend so nicely with vintage touches. I think the combination makes for a sweet, pretty and inviting feel. Again I used Rebekah’s Vintage  Sweet Party Collection  The color combination of grays, pinks and reds are so refreshing. I wanted to show how even when you have a small party for 6 people a dessert table can still be pretty and tempting. I love this one!

VENDORS:

Styling and Design by: Sandra Downie Event Designs

Photography by: J. Fierck Photography

Party Printables by: Blissful Nest

GET THE LOOK:

The multi-tiered silver cake stand I bought from HomeGoods. The Welcome Sweethearts sign above the table is was made with a picture frame I had in my home. I simply matted the printable sign with various scrapbook papers to make the sign pop and taped the sign to the frame. I used the same gray ribbon around the white cake stand and favor boxes that I used on the napkins of the tablescape for a cohesive look. To make the candy dish more fun and sweet, I sprinkled Valentine colored M&M’s around the bottom of the candy bowls. In order for the lollipops to stand up, I simply cut off the edges of white floral foam until it fit snugly into the container. I then inserted the swirl lollipops and topped off with white jordan almonds to cover the foam. This was fun to do.

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