Easy Centerpeices ! Part 3

This is the last step your almost done ...........


Now that you have your centerpiece almost complete , the last step is to fill in all around the top covering up all viewable styrofaom . Don't worry about seeing through the bottom of the glass there will be a candle burning there and will cover that . WA-LA you are done !!!
Wasn't that the easiest thing you've ever done ???


These are some other centerpieces I've made the sunflower one I made with some inexpensive trays from the dollar store and some old glasses I got at a yard sale . The pink one I made for a friends baby shower , it was a girl and they were a big hit . We raffled them off at the end of the shower and the people who won them were just thrilled . We will be doing the same at the reunion party and I'm sure I'll see them in someones house years from now....



I hope you will join me next time when I will be reviewing some new alcoholic and nonalcoholic drink ideas ..... I'll see you soon ............ Please take a minute to visit my eBay store @ http://stores.shop.ebay.com/partyngifts?refid=store for great deals and party ideas , or bookmark me for future purchases . You can also sign up for my newsletter for bi-weekly special offers .... I hope to see you there !!!!!

Easy Centerpeices ! PART 2

Now that you have the perfect flowers now you need to put it together . You can use lace or ribbon to decorate your plate , I will be using the 2 heavy duty plastic plates this time . This way you don't have to be so neat . First I'll be adding lace around the edge of the plate and then hot glue the 2 plates together for stability . If using glass plates , glue lace on the underside of the plate .


The next thing you need to do is glue 1/2 the styrofoam ball to the center of the plate. Cut the flower stems down to about 2-3 inches and put one row of flowers around the bottom of the ball.
Next , decorate your glass container and hot glue it to the top of the ball in the center of the flowers **** THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT **** Make sure your container is in the center of the ball and that it is level or else your candle will burn crocked ....

Easy Party Centerpeices !

O.K. these are probally the easiest centerpieces you'll ever make . It's now about 5 weeks before the party . You need something eye catching for the tables or food serving area , or maybe for a gift or head table . You can make these easy and inexpensive centerpieces in just 1 afternoon . All you need is some silk flowers and some of those old glass containers from all those old candle's you've burned , come on we all have them and so do all our friends .... then all you need is some ribbon , lace , some styrofoam balls and some inexpensive but heavy duty plastic or glass plates ..........................................

Collect all your materials , for one centerpiece you'll need1 glass ,or 2 sturdy plastic plates
1 glass container
1 styrofoam ball
ribbon or bows or adhesive letters for decoration
about 8 - 10 silk flowers , depending on the size
( I like to use big flowers like carnations , sun flowers or open roses )
then you'll need a glue gun , scissors , and of course a little creativity .......................

Pick flowers that most match your theme colors . In this case my husbands class colors are blue and white . I searched high and low for blue flowers , I didn't find any so I am going to show you how to turn white carnations any color you want .
First start with an old pump spray bottle , this will shoot a finer mist and its easier to control the color . Add 1 oz. of water and 1 whole container of food coloring in the color you want . Use the color chart on the food coloring box to make other than the 4 colors included in most food coloring packages . Shake well then , I prefer to do this next step outside , mist the flowers until they are the color you want , you may have to mist them twice to get the color you want . Then leave them someplace to dry , I prefer the hot sun... In just a few minutes I'll tell you what comes next .....

MY FIRST POST - How we decided to throw THIS party !

This is my VERY FIRST POST EVER . I have decided to start a blog because I love to throw parties . My husband and I are extremely social people , Especially my husband , and we love to entertain . We have a beautiful yard , the kind of place you can just sit back and relax . Our parties are always a success and years after people still talk about them .
Everybody always asks " How did you do all of this ? " Well if it's something you love to do then it's not really a big job . Some parties take weeks of planning and some we can throw together in less than 1 week . A few parties we've done so many times , such as our BIG HALLOWEEN PARTY , they take minimal planning but a lot of decorating ( we do have some friends who love to help so it's not really a chore , its another party ) .

We are about to embark on a new party , and with this blog I intend to take you with me through the planning process . I hope you will keep coming back to my blog to see how we are doing . I will give you tips on planning your own party , tips on the perfect buffet , drink and cocktail ideas . I will share pictures and ideas from past parties , and show you how once the party starts your work is done and you can enjoy your party too .

The NEW party we are about to undertake is a " 36 Year Class Reunion " for my husbands graduating class " THE CLASS OF 1974 " . The whole idea for this party started at a 4th of July party at a friends house , the husband was in my husbands class , there were 3 members of my husbands class there and you know men after a few beers they began talking about the old times .Those times before their knees hurt , their hair turned gray or balded , and the belts on their pants got just a little higher . Of course they began to relive their glory days of high school , that one special touch down , that girl "they should have married " , and as always " Those Kick - Ass Parties " . All this lead to talking about last years 35th Class Reunion , .....
Now I just want to say this is no way intended to disrespect the people who have put together the last bunch of reunions they have been every 5 years since I've known my husband and they've been GREAT , but very formal and kinda expensive for the average joe , average price being $60.00 per person and buying your own drinks/rounds at an expensive hall became a very expensive evening on the average over $250.00 per couple , and that's an expensive night out for us ........ BUT I'M REALLY GETTING OFF THE SUBJECT HERE .......
Some of their concerns were that a lot of people from out of town didn't come because besides the price they also would have had to get rooms which would have brought up their price quite a bit so they felt this excluded a lot of people . We do live in a summer beach town and hotels are expensive in the summer , they also felt kinda uncomfortable in such dressy formal settings , unable to be themselves , these are GREAT guys but in their suits they have one personality and in their jeans their much more relaxed I think . The last thing was that although the live band was good , and a band from their past , it was just too loud to sit and socialize , to reunite with old friends , I say again NO disrespect to any of the reunion planners ....

So as the night went on , and the beers went down , they began planning . Their first plan was to make it more affordable for the average joe ..... As I said we have a beautiful and relaxing yard , So the party would take place in our yard , ( Price = 0 ) .... Their next plan was to have the party be more like " The parties they had in high school " this simply means everybody will bring a dish , BYOB , although they are planning on getting some beer , and we will be in charge of the main course , as we do at a lot of our outside parties ( Price = $75- 100 depending on # of people excluding beer ) . * Main courses are very easy and if done the right way there is no cooking once your guests arrive , unless they have to warm something up , but we'll go into this more in later blogs . The last thing they discussed was a kind of theme to the party , they didn't want to call it a reunion , as to cause no disrespect to the organizers of the " Class Reunions " , so my husband , being a teacher with a passion for numbers decided , They graduated school at 18 years , they have been out for 36 years , that means they been out double the years they were in .... So we decided ....OUT DOUBLE THE YEARS YOU WERE IN ..... WHATS HAPPENED TO YOU ! ( I'm not really sold on the name yet but I can make it work ) . Then it was time for them to have some fun , this was the first year in our state they could by law shot off their fireworks . But before that they did agree on a date and who would orchestrate the first e-mail draft . Within a couple of days email drafts were coming in and people who weren't even at the party were emailing that they would be there , at " The party like the old days ......"
Since that night we have sent emails , called people and now it's a little over a month until the party and we'll be moving to the next step , most of the class has been e-mailed or called but their are still a few class mates we still need to send invitations via snail mail @ last known addresses . We'll be getting together with the other 2 planning members of our team to cross reference lists , and get those out , although some people have been hit 1-2-&3 times already from people just forwarding to other classmates . This should be another great party !

I do hope that you will continue over the next month to follow along I will include Steps on planning the party , decorations and places to find them , food and preparation , with photo's and finally the out come .... After this party we will directly begin planning our yearly Halloween party that's always a good time .

I also would like you to check out my eBay store @
http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Party-N-Gifts?refrid=store ,
Where I feature party supplies , decorations , party crafts and much more to make your party a success , Bookmark my store for future reference and sign up for my biweekly newsletter which offers specials and new listings . I will be using a lot of the products I'm selling and I will be including reviews of the items as we go along . I also feature gifts for all occasions . My store on eBay is small right now but it will be getting larger as we go along , I hope you visit many times to see all the new deals ! So visit me @ http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Party-N-Gifts?refrid=store .....

I will be posting on Tuesdays on a regular basis about this upcoming party plans , but I will post blogs at other times throughout the week on related preparation for any party you might be having . I will include receipes and favorite party drinks , ( I will also show you variations on making non - alcoholic versions ) , and much more so keep watching for my next post ....