30
Jan
Surprise GIVEAWAY-Valentines Day Printables & Tote Bag


Thanks for all of you who supported my Groopdealz Valentine’s Day Collection. I really appreciate all of the support and a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who purchased my new collection! If you weren’t able to take advantage of this amazing deal, then today is your LUCKY day!!! I am giving away ONE FREE set of my Chevron Ombre collection!

That’s not all, I am also happy to introduce Totes in Tow by Julie Leach. Julie is the most amazing seamstress and a dear friend on mine. She is kind enough to give away ONE of her Valentine’s Day bags too. You can choose between either “Buttons” or “Flutter By” shown below. She is also responsible for sewing all the cute bags that I’ve been giving away as favors at my little one’s parties, which are now available in my shop!

GIVEAWAY STARTS NOW and ENDS, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3rd at 11:59pm PST
To enter to win (leave a separate comment for each entry):

1. Like Modern Moments on Facebook (come back and leave a comment, if you already like me that’s fine too)
2. Share this giveaway on Facebook
3. Visit Totes in Tow, pick your favorite tote, and leave a comment on my blog telling which one you like.
4. Make a purchase at Totes in Tow and apply coupon code MODERNMOMENTS in your shopping cart for 10% off your total purchase (offer only good during giveaway)

23
Jan
Ombre + Chevron + Groopdealz = LOVE


I am a huge follower of Groopdealz. I buy WAY too much stuff from their site. I decided to contact them and see if they’d be interested in selling one of my collections. They politely agreed so I threw together just a little Valentine’s Day printable collection. Three days and a big mess later, I finally had my collection done. Since I threw this together so last minute (I’m really not a planner), I had to use some local vendors. In addition, as you may know, I am also pregnant and didn’t feel like making everything so I ended up buying a few items that I would have normally made. Normally I try and do everything, but this pregnancy I am listening to my body a lot more and cutting myself some slack- even if that means buying cookies, instead of making them!

I’m totally in love with the ombre look and chevron stripes and wanted to create a collection that was both sweet and stylish all at the same time. I’m really into pink and teal right now (I’m using the same colors for my gender reveal party next month) and thought those would be the perfect Valentine’s Day colors to focus on! Once I have an idea, the pieces usually start to fall into place.

I wanted a very sweet, yet simple display-nothing too over the top. I put up my backdrop stand which I created for Skyler’s Lego Party last year. If you’d like to make your own, here are the instructions. Then I grabbed my drapes from upstairs and hung them to create a soft flowing backdrop. I went to my local hardware store, which shall remain nameless, since I “lifted” 50 or so paint swatches and don’t want to incriminate myself any further. I was inspired by a DIY Paint Swatch Ombre Chandelier that I had seen on pinterest. My plan was to create heart shaped ombre garland which I attached on top of the drapes and was ready to go.

For the table itself, I always start with my fabulous tablevogue table cloth. Then I used my white dish ware and a white picture frame from Goodwill that my husband painted for me. It was the perfect centerpiece. The menu consisted of candy, cupcake cakes, powdered donuts, cookies, and milk- everything sweet just the way I like it.

I had a ton of fun creating candy necklace charms. I thought this would make a fun Valentine’s Day gift. I took my Fiskers Scalloped Heart Shaped Punch and punched out little tags. Then I used my eyelet punch and put an eyelet into the heart and used wire to attach the charm to the candy necklace. Super simple, yet adorable.

My printable collection includes everything you see here (except the invitations, which are available in my shop) and more.You can buy it for the next 48 hours for 55% off at Groopdealz.com!!

11″ x 17″ Placemats, one in each color (2 total)
4″ x 6″ Mini Signs (4 designs)
4.25″ x 4″ Fold over bag toppers (one page of each color)
4″ x 3″ Place cards/Food labels (when folded 3″ x 2″)- blank (one page of each color)
3″ long Gift Tags (9 designs, one page of each color)
2″ Cupcake Toppers/Party Circles (4 designs, 12 per sheet)
3″ x 3.5″ Happy Valentine’s Day Bag Labels/Tags
Double-sided fill in Valentine
Drink/Straw flags (4 designs, 16 per page)
Water bottle labels (4 designs, one page of each color)
Candy Bar Wrapper (2 designs)
Candy Necklace Charms (6 designs, 3 of each color)

******

VENDOR CREDITS

Printables, Styling, and Photography: Modern Moments Designs
Chevron Bags, Straws, and Rock Candy : Fancy That
White Footed Round Bowl, Cupcake Liners: Shop Sweet Lulu
Table Cloth: tablevogue
Cookies: Beaverton Bakery
Cakepops: Modern Moments Designs, inspired by Sweet Lauren Cakes
Mini White Frames: Ikea
Heart Shaped Plates: Target

01
Jan
New Year. . . New Baby


So, I’ve been MIA, but for good reason, I promise. Work has been crazy busy (remember you can always find me blogging for Hostess with the Mostess blog weekly, on pinterest, and on Facebook), I had two December birthday parties to plan, Christmas/Holiday cards to design, and everything else that comes with the holiday season. My poor blog suffers, I know! I am trying to make it my New Years resolution (though I don’t really believe in them) to blog more. Something entirely do-able, like once a week.


I’ve also had another good reason to be MIA. I am proud to OFFICIALLY announce that we (and when I say “we” you know I’M the one not sleeping, battling morning sickness, weight gain, and everything else, but my hubby deserves some credit, right?) are just over 12 weeks pregnant with our fourth child. As many of you know, we already have 3 amazing boys. Everyone keeps speculating whether we are having another boy, or alas that elusive little girl. Frankly, I’m not very patient so, as soon as I can find out what we are having, I will let you all know!!!

I can’t ever do anything easy and that goes for announcing to our friends and family that we are expecting again. I found a couple good ideas on pinterest and adapted them for our situation. I used the film strip wedding invitation and this film strip style baby announcement. Just minutes after I took a pregnancy test, I made the boys pose for pictures. Yes, Jackson is holding the “pee stick” in the one photo. His face cracks me up! Let me know what you think? It was super cheap to do and everyone seemed to really enjoy opening them!

Just a side note, I went to the photo center at Costco and asked for their empty film canisters. I used a bottle opener and carefully pried off the bottom. You can also buy empty fill canisters that you have to assemble.

Happy New Year! I hope to “see” you all more this year!!!!

20
Oct
Laura’s Bridal Shower Feast Your Eyes on This. . .


** If you missed part one, check it out!!**

The most important part of every party or shower is the food. Well, aside from the party decor and invitations, of course! This bridal shower was no exception. We wanted to give our guests an assortment of different foods in small portions so they could try everything and not feel guilty!

We tried to incorporate traditional breakfast foods, including stacks of mini buttermilk pancakes, bacon, mini quiches, yogurt parfaits, an assortment of mini muffins, scones, amorreto and cream cheese filled strawberries, macarons, donut holes, and beautiful chocolate fruit cups. We also had an equal amount of drinks which included tea, coffee, water with frozen raspberries, orange juice, raspberry lemonade, and pink sunrise champagne cocktail. We definitely didn’t run out of food or drinks!

We made the mini pancakes using a few helpful tools from Williams-Sonoma. First, we poured our buttermilk pancake batter into the Pancake Pen and then poured the batter into the round pancake mold (also purchased at William-Sonoma). These handy tools helped keeps the pancakes a consistent size and really made a difference.

The pancakes were placed in stacks three high on my DIY mini stands. If you are interested in making them yourself, you can follow the tutorial. The only difference here was that we added an extra disc to the tops of each stand and attached beautiful ribbon around the outer edge with hot glue. Once the pancakes were added, we used a tooth pick to keep them together. A small ring and raspberry were also added to make the pancake stack look prettier!

We included a variety of syrups beautifully displayed in glass cruets. We went with a traditional maple syrup, an amoretto maple syrup, and a strawberry vinegar syrup. Additional pancake toppings, which included sliced bananas, powdered sugar, and pecans, were also available so that our guests could customize their pancakes.

For our yogurt parfaits, we used tall shot glasses and layered vanilla yogurt, raspberry pie filling, and granola. This was so simple to do. I placed the yogurt into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. I also placed the raspberry pie filling in another pastry bag fitted with a smaller round tip. Start with yogurt and place a small amount of yogurt into the bottom of your shot glass. Next, do a layer of raspberry pie filling. Place your tip against the glass and rotate your shot glass as you go until you have added a layer of filling all the way around. Place a small amount of granola on top and then repeat. We also purchased mini spoons from IKEA to accompany these little yogurt parfaits. Simple, beautiful, and they taste great! You can’t beat that.

The amazing donut tower located in the center of the table was directly inspired by Paige, from Paiges of Style. She used a similar donut tower in her {Charming & Fresh} Spring “Baby Sprinkle” shower. We stacked mini powdered donuts on a cake stand, used a skewer in the center of the stack for added support, then started stacking donuts. We embellished the donut tower with amazing mini fondant peonies from Charynn of Two Sugar Babies. Floral pins were also added to the peonies for addition glam.

The beautiful chocolate swirled fruit cups and faux straws were purchased at Whole Foods. Instead of buying these pre-filled, Lindsey purchased the chocolate cups and straws and added her own assorted fruit to help cut down on the cost. In store, the “finished” versions are around $5.99 each. She was able to make these for almost half the price!

A ton of the other food was made by the bridal party – including the mini quiche, strawberries filled with amoretto cream cheese, scones, and bacon. The macarons were purchased from Jade Teahouse in Portland. I made the shortbread cookies, and sent my friend Jennifer, of Frost the images for the edible frosting decals.

The shower was more than any of us could have ever hoped for! It just goes to show you that a good idea, planning, and a lot of help can make any event perfect!

*****

VENDOR CREDITS:
– Event Styling: Modern Moments Designs, Double Take, D’Lorah Ter Har
– Invitation & Party Printables: Modern Moments Designs
– Paper Straws: Shop Sweet Lulu
– Fondant Peony Flowers: Two Sugar Babies
– Tables, Chairs, & Linen Rentals: The Party Pros
– Donut Holes: Every Day is a Donut Day
– Macarons: Jade Teahouse
– Edible Cookie Designs: Frost
– Coasters & Parchment Bags: Run Ellie Run
– Chocolate Cups and Chocolate Sticks: Whole Foods
– Large Gray Frame: IKEA (spray painted Gray to match the party)
– Ribbon: Fabric Depot
– Table Cloth: Table Vogue
– Photography: Courtney Jade Photography