The Blackberry Vine: April 2011

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Pretty Packages Party # 9

It's Pretty Packages Party time again!

After watching that BEAUTIFUL Royal Wedding, I'm so in the mood for "pretty" things.

Can you just imagine what their gift table looked like?

Some of those hats we saw looked like ornate package toppers!

(Really?!?!)

White on white is a perfect choice for a wedding gift.

Carolyn Rhoeme used textured paper, gorgeous ribbon and milners flowers to make this wedding gift the most elegantly wrapped one on the gift table.

Hallmark has some subtly irradescent paper perfect for wedding gifts.

This present was found at REAL SIMPLE.

Plain white box, satin ribbon, a starfish and a couple of white ornaments...I'd say that was real simple...and simply beautiful.

I also love adding blue to a wedding gift...its just such a sweet sentiment.

Above is another Carolyn Rhoeme beauty.

Carolyn Rhoeme again, but can you blame me?!?

This is GORGEOUS!

Country Living wrapped these sweet gifts with glossy white paper, simple blue ribbon and treasures from the sea...one has a sand dollar and the other has coral.

Perfect for a beach wedding!

Now, lets see what Pretty Packages you've put together!

This is a PRETTY PACKAGES PARTY so what I'm looking for is beautifully, interestingly, creatively wrapped gifts. The gifts could range from individual gifts, to party favors, to food gifts to birthday presents, to any type of gift or packaging! At the end of the week (if I can wait that long,) I'll chose my favorites to share with everyone.

Please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. To get your permalink, click on your post name, then just copy and paste the address that shows up in the address bar at the top, into the "url" box for the picture linky. You'll also need to put your e-mail address in, but don't worry, it will not be visible to anyone.

It would be fantastic if you would include the Pretty Packages Party button in your post, to make it easy for others to find your Pretty Package post. To do that, just copy and paste the Pretty Packages Party button to your computer or grab the html code from underneath the Pretty Packages Party button on my sidebar. A text link under your post is great, too!

Please include a link in your Pretty Packages Party post back to the host blog, The Blackberry Vine. Why is this important? When you include a link back to The Blackberry Vine, it ensures your regular readers/visitors will find the other gorgeously wrapped gifts linked to the Pretty Packages Party. If everyone links back, this maximizes the opportunity for visits for all who participate.

Please do not add your link below, until your Pretty Packages Party post is actually published to your blog. Another helpful hint...DO NOT type in all caps...it makes it very difficult to read! Thanks!

Last, but certainly not least, please comment on the post in front of you and behind you (and any other post!!)...spread the comment love!

Purple & Yellow Cake

Again, I was honored to be asked to make a birthday cake for a new teenager!

Her favorite colors are purple and yellow. Though I am no LSU fan, I was happy to oblige her request.

The cake is made from Red Velvet cake. Each tier is comprised of two layers cut horizontally in half and then filled with Cream Cheese Frosting. Yummy!

Happy Birthday, Miss A!

Smiles!!

***REMEMBER***

THE PRETTY PACKAGES PARTY

starts this Sunday!

Linking to:

Tater Tots and Jello
Saturday Spotlight
Not Baaaad
Sundae Scoop
Whatcha Got Weekend
K.I.S.S.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

A MUST-SEE Blog!

So, it's been a while since I've had a tablescape to post over at Sunsan's fabulous site Between Naps on the Porch. Well, today I shared my little Easter table and got the biggest treat! A new site to swoon over!

It's Styling by Coty Farquhar and its GORGEOUS!!!

Not only can you go to her site and oooooohhh and ahhhhhh, but you can also sign up for a giveaway for some beautiful earring from her store.

To enter the giveaway, simply click on the button above and follow the directions!Check out all of the lovely tablescapes while you're there, too!Good LUCK! Smiles!!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Easter Cake Balls

I was honored to create the cake balls for a friend's Easter dessert.

Here is a sample of the few I had left over for our own Easter brunch.

Red Velvet w/Cream Cheese Frosting

Lemon with a Fresh Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

German Chocolate with Pecan Coconut Frosting

I don't usually have a favorite when it comes to cake balls, but I have to say that the lemon cake balls were so yummy for Easter!

Hope you're Easter was sweet, too!

Click here to link up to the Tuesday To Do Party!

Smiles!!!

Linking to:

Handmade Tuesday

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Easter Brunch Table

We were delighted that our wonderful neighbors were able to enjoy Easter Brunch with us. They have two of the most adorable little girls you have ever seen. Girls make a pink tablecloth more tolerable for my two guys!

The base of this Easter table is a beautiful pink matelasse tablecloth my MIL gave me from Horchow. It is ablsolutely the most gorgeous tablecloth that I own. She has amassed a wonderful collection of the most divine tablecloths you have EVER seen. I am so fortunate to have her as an enabler of my tablescaping addiction. You must stop by and see some of her gorgeous tables HERE.

The floral arrangements are from ispirations found through out blogland.

The hurricanes are the same ones I made back in October from Dollar Tree pieces. Click here to see the tutorial from The Elephants Trunk.

Several bloggers out there shared the idea of using peeps & jelly beans in the base of their arrangements. I can honestly say that this was the first time in my entire life that I have bought a peep. Never bought one before, much less tried one, but they sure look cute in the floral arrangement! For filler I used peanut M & M's and some shredded glass. The beautiful tulips were a steal at Sam's.

I used my Billinsley Rose Spode China with the Red Stamp for our service.

My sweet MIL helped me pick it out and I just love it. Its my hand-me-down china that I never had. The peridot chargers really pick up the green in the plate as well as the other accent pieces. Click here to see how to make the chargers.

Gorham Chantilly is the pattern of my silver which was given to me by a dear friend. (One day I'll share that story as it is very special to me.)

Close up of the beautiful Jewel plates by Spode with the Billingsley Rose pattern.

Full table view. Don't you just love that pink tablecloth with the green chargers?!? Its even prettier in person!

Do you see that sweet bunny peaking out of his pitcher behind the flowers?

The water goblets are Simply Pink & Simply Lime from Waterford.

(Another great find of my MIL's!)

The peeps peeking out of their home in the hurricane!

The jadite candlestick holders were my grandmother's. They were perfect on this table. The little bumble bees were just a little extra I added. You can find them at Hobby Lobby in the floral dept.

Another sweet bunny. Imagine that! Bunnies on an Easter table.

Picked up these napkins rings at Hobby Lobby when they were half-off.

Ahhh! The Fitz & Floyd Bunny Pitcher. It is such a sweet addition to the table. I have a small collection of 5 bunny pitchers that I used through out the house to decorate for Easter.

Well, that pretty much wraps up the Easter Table this year.

Hope you had as lovely of a day as we did.

If you haven't had a chance, click here to check out the TUESDAY TO DO PARTY.

Smiles!!!

Linking to:

Get Your Craft On

Feature Yourself Friday

Tickled Pink

Tablescape Thursday

Frugalicious Friday

V.I.P. Party

Monday, April 25, 2011

Tuesday To Do Party #7 and #6 List Makers

Great party last week! Thanks so much to each of you for sharing your posts with me! I'm constantly amazed by all of the talent out there in blogland!

It's always so hard to pick just a few of your ideas/creations to highlight.

You can probably tell by the posts I picked this week that I'm trying to resist treats and I have a party or two to plan in my future!!

Loving Every Second shares her recipe for these delicious looking peanut butter chex treats!

LOVE this sweet party Jenny from Crossing the Bugger-Dixon Line put together for her little guy...GORGEOUS!!!

Evelyn Kate Designs gives a great tutorial on how to make these pom-poms!

If you were on this week's To Do List, then please feel free to grab a button from the BUTTON page!

Now on the the party...

Link up your creations! Sewing, crafting, cooking, tips, photography, tablescapes, parties, scrapbooking, collectibles...it all works. Please save your items for sell, your giveaways and your own parties for those specific blog parties. You're the best!

(Borrowed these little rules from the Shabby Nest...she's got it going on!)

1. Link directly to your post and not just to your blog.

2. Grab the TUESDAY TO DO BUTTON from the sidebar, and link back the Blackberry Vine. (Yes, it can be a little time-consuming, but it's the sweet blogger thing to do!)

3. Please visit other participants and leave them some comment love. Comment, comment, comment!!!

I reserve the right to remove posts that are not in keeping with the spirit of Tuesday To-Do including but not limited to those that link to your shop, your giveaway or your linky party, and those that do not link back to the Blackberry Vine. Thanks for playing fair!!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Take Charge! (of your tablescape!)

Click here for the Tuesday To Do Party!

Just wanted to quickly share with you these fabulous chargers!

Aren't they the yummiest?!?!

Peridot metallic green...gorgeous on the fabulous pink matelasse tablecloth from my MIL.

Just wanted you to have a better view...this is AFTER Easter brunch.

These gorgeous chargers started out as the everday low price gold chargers found at Hobby Lobby...$1.99 each. (I know...that one is silver...duh...used the gold ones for the chargers.)

A few different options to create green chargers went through my head...Mod Podge some quatrefoil patterned green fabric or possibly even scrapbook paper. I also thought that maybe that Metallic Peridot paint might work to highlight the Mod Podge plates that never were. Started to get ready to cut out fabric and glue, but after thinking it out (messy, time consuming, little wiggle room for error,) I decided to just paint them all with the metallic paint. No good. The paint offers very little coverage.

Then, the lighbulb went off...start with green chargers. Ran to my trusty Home Depot, scored a can of this FABULOUS Painters Touch spray satin paint in Eden, threw on about a coat & a half of paint and waited for it to try (about 29 minutes.)

Then, with a simple foam brush and the FolkArt Metallic Peridot paint, I just coated the entire surface of the painted chargers.

It is CRA-ZEEE how cute these are.

My SIL, MIL and neighbor all commented on them without even knowing I painted them (auuuuh shuucks...that makes me feel good...thanks ladies!)

The true beauty of this little project is that they were SOOOO easy, SOOOO quick, and SOOOO cheap to create.