Creating Couture Parties

Creative Party Inspiration for the Party Planner in all of us!

Giveaway :: Aura Cacia Pure Essential Oils

05.13.13

lavender essential oil

Wedding and party planning season is officially in full swing, and I’m not going to lie, the stress is starting early. But when I was contacted by Aura Cacia Pure Essential Oils about their new “Choose Calm” campaign, my interest was immediately sparked. Currently, Aura Cacia is the leading supplier of aromatherapy products and has been for more than three decades! I knew they had to be good!

Their “Choose Clam” campaign started this spring, urging anyone planning a party, whether is be for a graduation, a wedding, or even a dinner party, to stay calm with the help of their essential oils! Every party brings it’s own stresses, especially for the planner; there is always so much to take care of, coordinate, and organize to make the event perfect, or, well, at least run smoothly.

This year, Aura Cacia has already made headlines when Better Nutrition Magazine announced their 6th Annual Best of Natural Beauty Awards for 2013!

With help from Aura Cacia’s new campaign, I was provided with a few tips on how to use my Ylang Ylang III Essential Oil:

- Add 3 drops of ylang ylang to sweet almond oil to create a natural perfume.

- Place 1-2 drops of ylang ylang on pillow at night for sweet dreaming.

- Add 7-10 drops of ylang ylang to tub for a relaxing, sensual bath experience.

- Combine 2 drops ylang ylang and 4 drops bergamot per ounce of water for an uplifting mood mister.

They suggested the ylang ylang essential oil because it has an exotic, intensely floral scent of ylang ylang flowers that is sensual and soothing, providing a calming aromatherapy benefit that elevates the spirit and consoles the heart. But they also have a wide variety of products, like mineral bath aromatherapy or body oils, in a variety of scents!

I am more partial to the scent of Lavender and Geraniums so I found some great products on their website. Along with these products, I found some amazing inspirations on their Facebook Twitter and Pinterest that I am dying to try! (I just searched #choosecalm on Twitter to get even more ideas from their customers!)

After through use of their products, I am starting this party planning season as calm as possible — I am pretty wired and calm is hard to achieve to begin with!

So you can stay clam while planning your parties, Aura Cacia is giving one of our readers a gift set worth $50 to one of our readers! To enter, read the details and use the entry form posted below! Good Luck!

*Disclaimer we were not compensated to feature Aura Cacia, all opinions of this post are my own and no way influenced by the brand.

F L &R

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Bellenza Wedding Bistro - These would make fabulous “spa party” bridal shower favors!

Free Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

05.10.13

Mother’s Day is Sunday. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for presents (purses in particular hint hint Paul) but sometimes FREE gifts are the best ones Mom’s can receive, and I mean really Free, like no cost at all, just time and sincerity. My Daughter and I, will be making brunch for my Grandma and Mom (above) but here are some gifts, I as a Mom would LOVE to get. If that purse doesn’t work out in the budget

Get in the Garden

I am sure Mom already has shrubs, and flowers planted around her house, so why not dig in, literally, and start that Spring weeding. That is the unglamorous job of gardening, so tackle that chore and Mom is free to plant her annuals.

2. Go for a Bike Ride

Pack up the helmets and water bottles and exercise! Pick a scenic route in your town and rediscover what your town has to offer.

3. Organize the House

Seriously, this is what I asked for Mother’s Day, to have them dig thru all the closets, toys, and rooms and put everything in it’s respectful place. I dream about opening the pantry and all things are organized with labels on them….someday.

4. Do some laundry

I don’t mean throw clothes in the washer and hit start, actually washing, putting in dryer, folding and that dreaded task of putting the clothes away in drawers and hung in closets. Now this would be BLISS!

5. Love

I know, we all love our Mom’s, but have we told them? Really how important they are to us, even with the rules, critiques, and “know it alls” Tell Mom she is a Rock Star, feeling appreciated is the warmest gift.

F L &R

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Lee Lewis - Four generations of mothers. This is precious and this photograph is a great way to celebrate the occasion.

Vera Bradley Baby Launch Party

05.06.13

I am so THRILLED that I was able to be a Party Hostess for the Vera Bradley Baby Launch in Boston!!! Kim from the TomKat Studio was asked to create some adorable party decor to coordinate with the new baby line, and 5 stores held an awesome celebration! (you can get the FREE printables to this baby shower on their blog) As my Mom as my crafting assistantwe went to the South Shore Plaza Vera Bradley store and held a fab party. Yummy food, desserts, and crafting! You can learn how to make the rosette paper pins we crafted. . Oh and did I mention their were games with amazing prizes! It was so fun, and everyone was so excited to see the new line for their own children, grandchildren and ideas for baby gifts. From Onesies, to Diaper Bags, rabbit lovies (my own daughter’s favorite!), blankets, booties, binkie pods, and bottle bags…this new line has got your stylish baby necessities covered. Check out some of the details from the nationwide baby shower we held!

In my Happy place…..Crafting away!
Bingo and Prizes!!

Photo Credit Vera Bradley

*Disclaimer we were compensated to be a party host for Vera Bradley, but all opinions of this post are my own and no way influenced by the brand.

F L &R

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Lee Lewis - This baby shower and the baby shower invitations/theme items are really pretty. Love the floral design. I wish I were closer to Boston! Seems like a ton of fun, and what a beautiful retail shop. Thanks for the share.

DIY :: Party Tray

05.03.13

What do you do with wrapping paper, ribbon and a mission to serve your house guests in style?? This DIY Party Tray!! We are so excited to share with you NEW gift wrap from Midori Ribbon! Well, we all know I can not pass up a chance to create a party with nautical suppliesand with Summer almost here, let’s get ready for those out of town guests! Here are the details on how you make this lined tray to serve your next house guests with style.

1. Supplies Need: Wrapping Paper, double sided tape, mod podge, exacto knife, serving tray (ours is from Hobby Lobby)

2. using the double sided tape, start taping the top of the tray so the gift wrap will adhere.

3. place the gift wrap on top of tray, push down to secure. Using the exacto knife, cut the edges of the paper where you want to line the tray.

4. Once you have the paper in the desired place on the tray, you will coat the surface of the wrapping paper with the mod podge, this will seal your surface. Apply 2 coats, allowing time to dry in between coats.

5. Start serving your guests yummy refreshments!

We added some of Midori’s navy blue ribbon to these mason jars, and topped it off with adorable lobster ribbon!

Disclosure: Midori Ribbon asked us to create some projects with their products we chose to design with. No compensation was received. The opinions expressed herein are those of the Author and were not influenced in anyway.

F L &R

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Courtney Whitmore - Such a cute idea, Stephanie!

Jennie Kay - Love it nice job

Cinco de Mayo Engagement Party

04.30.13

If you are planning an engagement party for around May 5th, a fiesta may be the perfect inspiration and theme. Cinco de Mayo calls for sombreros,margaritas, and piñatas and what could be more fun than that? A fiesta is a theme that demands bright colors and offers numerous creative and exciting options.

Using cacti as centerpieces adds a unique touch to the party. Accompany these centerpieces with bright colored flowers and candles to add a romantic feel to each table. Add a fun twist to cocktail hour with some spanish tile coasters . These can also be placed at each place setting to add to the stylish decor and can also be used as favors for your guests!

Piñatas are another great way to add color to the party and keep with the fiesta theme. The piñatas can be in the form of awesome cookies or used in the traditional sense filled with treats for partygoers. Placeholders are another detail to get creative with! Attach name tags to limes and place them at each place setting. This adds more color to the table and guests might even enjoy squeezing them into their margaritas!

The key to the perfect Cinco de Mayo engagement party is a lot of color, some spanish accents, and of course good friends and family. So, put on your sombreros and enjoy the engagement fiesta!

Photo Credits:

Spanish Tile Coasters

Cinco de Mayo Donkey

Tags: cinco de mayo,engagement party,fiesta,themed engagement party