SEARCH THIS BLOG

Thursday, December 19, 2013

{DIY Gifts} Christmas Classroom or Teacher Gift with Oriental Trading

Today I am sharing probably the quickest and easiest classroom or teacher's gift to give for Christmas.  Call me crazy, but it's a bubble gum filled jar.  I know, I know, bubble gum and teacher's don't mix, but I love the idea, so I'm going with it.



Oriental Trading sent me the most adorable mini square plastic jars from their new to market products.  For my Christmas Wishes party, they sent me a big old bag of red gumballs.  So, what's a gal to do when she's got a huge package of gumballs to get rid of before her kids get to them....give em to other kids, of course!

So, here's how it's done.  Simply fill the jars with gumballs or other candy treats, if you choose....peppermints would be perfect for Xmas.....and then tie a pretty ribbon or baker's twine to it....then....add a tag from the Christmas Wishes printables available in my Etsy shop and you're done!


I told you it was quick and easy!!!!
 (Word to the wise:  The gumballs I used for this DIY are large, I would recommend a small gumball or candy.  I had a time getting these babies out of the jars).

Now, I'm really gonna flip your lid with another fun, maybe not so quick, but definitely easy, idea I have for these containers....check back tomorrow to read all about it!!!!


Items from Oriental Trading were provided free of charge by the company. Any opinions about the products are my own.  Others may have a different opinion or experience with the product(s) listed above.  No other type of compensation was received.

Monday, December 16, 2013

{Holiday Party} Christmas Wishes with Oriental Trading

Christmas Wishes

I was so happy when I opened up a big old box of happy from Oriental Trading Company a few weeks ago. As part of their Blogger Community, I'm lucky enough to get some products to showcase and feature in my parties.  I was planning a Christmas Wishes Theme this year and found the perfect items right on the Oriental Trading site.    

As you know, I also am the party planner over at MG Party Impressions and I styled this party just for their site.  Here are the details that I shared with their reader, at the end of this post, you can find a link to the printables used in this party and another link to the post on MG Party Impressions which includes even more photos and ideas for creating your own fun filled Christmas Wishes celebration!

I created festive holiday tags, signs and ornaments using the Santa's Here Background papers and Stamps from Santa by Jessica Weible for this party set up.  I had an idea to do a Christmas Wishes theme for a holiday party and wanted the feel of the party to be Santa's Workshop, meets gift packaging meets a happy child on Christmas morning - I know that's a lot, but in my head, it makes a ton of sense.

Christmas Wishes 12

The color scheme I chose to work with was silver, red and the neutral brown that is found in burlap and kraft paper.  I loved mixing the glitter and sparkle of a festive occasion with a basic material like kraft paper, natural twine and burlap.  With a little help from the good folks at Oriental Trading, I was able to score some pretty sweet items that went perfectly with my Christmas Wishes theme.

Christmas Wishes 67

Christmas Wishes 66

For the sweets table, I knew I wanted lots of sugary peppermint incorporated into it.  The pattern I used for the printables was my inspiration.  I filled a few apothecary glass jars with nostalgic candy like rock candy, peppermint sticks and gumballs.   I added a printable party dot onto some of the jars for decoration.  On the table where some of the sweets were displayed I added a 'Christmas Wishes' banner.

Christmas Wishes 35

My dear sweet party friend, Kylie Jenkins of Made by A Princess sent me her lovely sparkle sticks and I used them to make these star shaped candy lollipops.  I displayed them on a white platter and used red Sixlets as a base to lay place them on.

Christmas Wishes 52

Delicious Christmas cookies are a must at a holiday party.  I purchased store bought cookies, and placed them on a two-tiered stand.  If you're not in the mood for cookies, any treat will do, I think Old Fashioned Ribbon candy would be a perfect substitute!

Christmas Wishes 33

For the tree, I purchased inexpensive ornaments and bows from the dollar store.  Then, I created a few rosette ornaments using the same candy striped patterned paper as the other printables.  For fun, I added mini silver gift boxes filled with candy and tied up with one of Oriental Trading's new products red and white baker's twine to the tree.  Guests can find an extra special surprise when they open the box!

To keep the whole gift packing theme going, I placed vintage packing tags and cards onto the tree, as well.  I love a bow as a tree topper and made a huge one from burlap ribbon.  At the base of the tree, I used burlap I had on hand and created a makeshift tree skirt.  I also added faux presents - wrapped boxes and cake forms with printable tags that I designed using the clip art and background paper.  You could of course add real presents under the tree and I'm sure NO ONE would complain.

Christmas Wishes 64

Christmas Wishes 57

I utilized and old corner bookcase to display other sweets and favors. I added gift wrap to the back of the bookcase because there's a huge ugly post that  holds the unit to the wall.  For the top of the case I added a bouquet of candy swirled lollipops into a Blumebox.  The lollipops were held into place with a cube of Styrofoam and topped with shredded sizzle paper - a little natural twine pulls it altogether with the overall design.  I placed store bought cupcakes onto a glass cake plate and topped each one with a pillow peppermint.  Then I cut Peppermint bark into chunks and placed them in red polka dot nut cups and displayed those on a domed cheese platter.  A few presents and hanging red stars served as my backdrop.

Christmas Wishes 36

Christmas Wishes 51

Christmas Wishes 50

Christmas Wishes 42

Christmas Wishes 41

Christmas Wishes 11

Christmas Wishes 8

Christmas Wishes 7

Also on my shelf were red and white candy stripe paper bags that I tied with natural twine and added a tag that was adhered to the bag with silver washi tape.  I placed all the treat bags into a basket and put it on the first shelf.  My second and third shelves just served as decoration.

I once heard from a well-established event designer that your party space should have one eye catching decorative focal piece that wows everyone.  In my opinion, this adorable vintage pedal car Fire Engine is the creme de la creme!  I got it on loan from my neighbors and filled it with faux presents.  Can you imagine a little boy waking up to this on Christmas morning - that would certainly be a wish fulfilled.

Christmas Wishes 1

To see more photos from this Christmas Wishes party head over to MG Party Impressions to view the full gallery

You can find the Christmas Wishes printables in my Etsy Shop!


Items from Oriental Trading were provided free of charge by the company. Any opinions about the products are my own.  Others may have a different opinion or experience with the product(s) listed above.  No other type of compensation was received.



Thursday, December 12, 2013

{Party Styled} Merry & Bright Christmas Candyland




I was so excited to be featured in the most recent issue of Everyday Party Magazine last month.  I shared a link, but wanted to show you all the details here as the holiday grows closer.  

I came up with this Merry & Bright Candyland themed Christmas party idea while doing a little after Christmas shopping last year.   These bright, jewel toned colors were so different and cheerful and I was just drawn to them.  It didn't hurt that I got all of my colorful decor for less than $20 (hint: shopping after Christmas sales not only preps you for the following year's theme, but will also save you big bucks!)



You will notice, that for this party, I didn't use printables, I just loved how all the colors looked and didn't feel adding printables was necessary.  So, I found a lot of use for gift wrap and yarn pom poms as my decorative elements.  To create this a wintry scene I used a simple white pair of canvas curtains I had on hand to create a clean backdrop.  I also added a length of 'snow' fabric over the table.  I ordered a white Christmas tree for $20 on Walmart.com and it arrived just in time for this shoot.  The over sized bulb garland was another amazing after Christmas find that added a great splash of color against the white backdrop!


The colors of the bulbs and garland, along with an adorable Christmas Elf who I lovingly nicknamed, Mabel, gave me the idea to create my idea of a Christmas 'candyland' of sorts.  I called on my good baker friend, Fresh Dizicheh of Fresh Bakes to make candy inspired cookies and delicious macarons.  She's awesome and came through as always.




Have you been wondering why I don't share my cupcake creativity that often?  Well.....I gotta fess up......ya'll my oven is broke!   You know I am a girl who loooves to bake delicious cupcakes and decorate them....but, until we get that oven replaced, I'll have to settle for someone else's tiny tasty cakes!  So, instead of going without, I purchased cupcakes from my local grocer's bakery, added these edible candy cupcakes as toppers and presented them on a glass platter that I decorated with coordinating beading and a glittered snow flake!


I also filled glass jars with candy and treats to coordinate with my color scheme.  Delicious salt water taffy (my fave), Whirly Pops and sugar swizzle sticks from local candy shop, Candi's Candy in Old Town, Alexandria also had a featured spot on this table.  The taffy was packaged in these favor bags that I made by adding glittered paper and ribbon as toppers to clear cellophane bags.  Wrapping chocolate bars in wrapping paper to look like little packages is kinda fun too....you know it is!!!







Some other decorative elements that pulled this table together was a  fun wooden gingerbread house display case I found. I painted it to match the decor and placed a few pieces of taffy on it.  Wrapped Styrofoam forms were to look like gift boxes and made for some pretty adorable props.  I'm sure if you have been following me wee blog you're fully aware of my obsession with yarn pom pom garlands. I created one for the table that are available in my Etsy shop.






(Did I mention I have MAD love for Mabel The Christmas Elf?)





















Related Posts

Related Posts with Thumbnails