Posted in Holiday Recipes, Holidays, Referrals, tagged 4th of july recipes, patriotic desserts, patriotic recipes, Taste of Home on June 30, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Whether you are into savvy entertaining, like to hold parties or are a designated host for the upcoming 4th of July weekend, you are most likely trying to think of a few fun recipes to serve.
My shout-out this week goes to a website that provides oodles of tested recipes that are simple and good – tasteofhome.com
If you are looking specifically for some great 4th of July recipes, go to Taste of Home and see all the delicious looking treats available.
Happy Entertaining!
Shanna
Posted in Entertaining Ideas, Holidays, tagged 4th of July, Patriotic Party Ideas, Patriotic Theme on June 29, 2010| 1 Comment »
With the 4th of July coming up this weekend, many people will be gathering for barbecues, picnics and celebrations.
If you are the lucky one hosting an event, here are some ideas for pulling together a fun Patriotic Party theme.
Use what you have – and add fun accents. Gather all your white, red and blue dishes then mix and match. Use a tablecloth in red, white or blue (or sheets work, too) create a fun centerpiece using dishes placed at different heights and presto! You’ve got a great looking table. If you don’t have pedestals or cake plates to use, create height by turning bowls upside down and putting plates on top. In the photo above, the only thing I purchased were the napkins (yes, I have a flag scarf and it comes in really handy as a table runner!).
Inexpensive finds – Purchase patriotic pinwheels from the discount or dollar store and place in vases or jars around the gathering. These are fun and whimsical and provide a laid-back accent to your gathering. Hang red and blue crepe paper streamers along with red white and blue balloons around your gathering.
Involve the kids – by having them create the decorations. They can cut stars out of red, white and blue construction paper. Punch a hole in the top and hang with red, white or blue ribbons above a table, along a fence, at the front door – anywhere guests will gather.
Tie one on – your seat cushion or pillows. Liven things up with red and blue bandanas and red and blue fabric you may have on hand. If you are using fabric, cut it in squares to fit a pillow or cushion, trim edges with pinking shears, place a piece on both the top and bottom of the cushion then tie corners with a white ribbon. Do this for your throw cushions, accent pillows or seat cushions. It will bring a fabulous pop of color to your decor.
Think outside the box – or vase, in this case. I found this clever idea in my latest issue of Good Housekeeping. Their directions to creating this great conversation piece are: “Show off your red and white (dishtowel) and blue (hydrangeas). Fold a towel in half over a gallon-size zip-seal bag and cut the towel 1/8 inch larger than the bag. Staple the towel together along the sides; hang with clothespins; add water and flowers.” I love the way this looks and will be creating my own version of it!
Hang your Flag – outside as a greeting to your guests and a reminder that you are celebrating the 4th of July to everyone who drives by. Use mini flags throughout your decorating scheme as well. A nice take-away for guests is a small flag with a bag of patriotic sweets like peanut M&Ms.
Have fun and Happy Entertaining!
Shanna
Posted in Holidays, Musings, tagged America the Beautiful, O Beautiful for Spacious Skies, Patriotic on June 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Word of the Week: Spacious
{spey-shuhs}
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
Stay tuned for a week full of ideas, tips and recipes to help you celebrate the 4th of July in simple Patriotic style.
Posted in Entertaining at Home, Home and Garden, Party Theme, tagged Gift Wrapping, Gift-Wrapping Ideas, Wedding Gift Wrapping on June 22, 2010| 3 Comments »
Here we are knee-deep in wedding season. Isn’t it awesome! As I may have mentioned before, I love weddings.
Going to weddings involves taking gifts and that involves, at least for me, wrapping them up pretty! Yes, I like to wrap gifts and yes, there are certain standards that must be met!
For weddings, two of my favorite gift wrapping tools are satin tape and organza ribbon. They both are staples to wedding gift wrapping success.
As you can see, a bow tied with organza ribbon turns a ho-hum package into something quite lovely. Add a special little touch in the center of the bow like ribbon rosette or a wedding bell. It will finish the package like nobody’s business. Anyone can use organza ribbon to make a gift look spectacular. If you can tie your shoes, you can tie a bow with organza. It is that simple. Honest and true!
Another little thing I like to do to dress up packages is make star bows. These are not the ugly little star bows that you can get a bag of 120 for 99 cents. (Which, by the way, should be outlawed and banned from stores.)
These are hand-made star bows that make quite a statement on their own. If you can cut a snowflake, you can make this bow.
Start with your unadorned package.
Cut a piece of matching wrapping paper almost as big as the top of the package. Trim it into a square.
Fold it in half.
Then fold in half again, so you have a small square.
Fold the square into a triangle by bringing outside edges together.
Trim the top of the triangle into an oval shape, then cut down the both sides, almost to the tip. It is extremely important you DO NOT cut through the tip.
Start unfolding your bow, one layer at a time.
Keep unfolding, you are almost there.
Once you have it completely unfolded, you will lap each little triangle piece over the top of each other and secure with a bit of tape. This makes the petals.
The first layer is done. You'll repeat this process two more times, decreasing the size of each bow by an inch or so. When you have three graduated layers, you are ready to attach to the package.
Tape each layer in the center of the package. I stagger where the petals rest instead of lining them up because it rests better that way and looks fuller. Use a fun bow for the center. I found some great sparkly ones at the dollar store that fit perfectly in the center. I attach these with hot glue because the stickies on the back never hold like they should.
Happy Wrapping!
Shanna
Savvy Entertaining 
