The Party Dress » christmas

TPD Magazine: Modern Gingerbread

Kelly — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:00:53 +0000

Gingerbread cookies are a staple this time of the year, but why not update them a little bit by piping on some modern, graphic patterns?! Our assistant editor, Charynn of Two Sugar Babies, created some examples for the holiday magazine.

Choosing two of the trendiest patterns on the market right now, Charynn used a piping bag to frost these cookies with both a clover pattern and a chevron. Cute, right?! (and yes, I will be using this as inspiration for my Christmas cookies this year!)

I also love the idea of decorating cookies with initials. They could make a darling placecard for a holiday dinner, or a cute gift idea! (make one for each member of the family and wrap them up on a cute plate….so simple, so cute and thoughtful!)

TPD Magazine: Coastal Christmas

Kelly — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:00:32 +0000

I always know that when our contributor, Beth Beattie, signs on to do a party for the magazine, that I will be elated with what she comes up with. I was so obsessed with her “Coastal Christmas” submission to last year’s Holiday Table Challenge, that I asked her to do another one for the holiday magazine. Living in Florida, she has that fabulous “west palm beach” and “coastal charm” influence on her designs that I love oh, so much. Her design did not disappoint, and there are so many lovely details that you can incorporate into your own holiday dinner.

More details from Beth:

For a Coastal Christmas I wanted to use a traditional color but incorporate sea fans and sea urchins in the shape of Christmas trees. The sea urchin trees from Beautiful Details by the Seashore on Etsy and sea fans from Wonders of the Sea were the perfect start. I had a custom graphic created of a wreath with Christmas ornaments and assorted shells for the invitation and menu card.

The tablescape included silver chargers from Pier 1, assorted champagne and martini glasses from Crate and Barrel, silver ornaments from Martha Stewart at Macy’s, crystal votives from Z Gallerie, candlesticks, monogrammed napkins and napkin rings from Pottery Barn.

The create-your-own Berry Sparkle Bar consisted of a premade mixer in a punch bowl with raspberries and rosemary to garnish atop a mirror turned on its back. To enhance the sea fans I spray painted them red and to give the coral a dressier feel, I spray painted it with metallic silver spray paint. Guests ended the evening with cupcakes and a cake with chocolate starfish by Southern Belle’s Cakery.

Images by Leigh Miller Photography

TPD Magazine: Gumdrop Topiary

Kelly — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:22:03 +0000

You all know my LOVE (obsession, maybe?) with candy and all things sweet, so it is no wonder that I immediately fell in love with this DIY gumdrop topiary tree project that assistant editor, Charynn of Two Sugar Babies did for the holiday magazine. It’s cute, colorful, and although I absolutely love it made with gumdrops – it’s a project that you could tackle with just about any type of candy. Which gives you the opportunity to color coordinate it to your party theme….gotta love that.

This DIY project is simple: use a styrofoam ball as your base, and attach candy with toothpicks (and perhaps a little glue!). Depending on the type of candy, the ball will get heavy, so make sure you plan for a sturdy base. You can also preserve your topiary ball with a clear acrylic spray after you complete it, so that you can save it for years to come!

TPD Magazine: Peppermint Icing

Kelly — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:00:32 +0000

Speaking of cupcakes…..have you tried this peppermint icing recipe that Jill from Modern Cupcake shared in the holiday issue of The Party Dress Magazine?! It’s so simple and completely delicious! Love it for holiday cupcakes, but I am also inspired to try it as the filling for my whoopie pies!

Christmas Cupcakes

Kelly — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 10:00:32 +0000

With a few Christmas parties/dinners on the horizon, I find that I am searching for unique ideas for decorating cupcakes. I came across a few new ideas that could work for both kids parties and adult holiday celebrations.

Candy can be used as an accessory to decorate cupcakes. I love the wreath made of jelly bean topped cupcakes, it makes for a delicious and festive presentation. You can also use gummy trees and red hots to form a bough of holly. These snowman cupcakes are TOO cute. The use of licorice for earmuffs is darling, and so simple! I typically leave the fondant toppers to my contributor, Charynn of Two Sugar Babies, but if you are looking to expirement, I think these 4 ideas are simple to execute and make a big style impact!

For the adult crowd, I what to try infusing peppermint into my cupcakes this season. This peppermint mocha cupcake has my name written all over it and I can’t wait to try it out! And last, but certainly not least, cover an upside-down ice cream cone with green frosting to look like a tree!

Images: jelly bean wreath cupcakes (cutefoodforkids.com), wreath and holly cupcakes (allyou.com), fondant christmas cupcakes (shindig parties to go), snowman cupcakes (allyou.com)peppermint mocha cupcake (bakersroyale.com), christmas tree cupcakes (bhg.com)

TPD Magazine: Unlock the Spirit of the Holidays

Kelly — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 19:00:41 +0000

Jessica Kirkland of Pen ‘n Paperflowers put together a stunning winter white dessert table for the latest issue of The Party Dress Magazine. It’s warm and fuzzy, with vintage touches all over….jam-packed full of inspiration that you can use all winter long. Here are more of the details from Jessica…

Drawing inspiration from a blog entry I posted almost two years ago, I wanted to create a dessert table filled with an organic holiday warmth. Knowing the holidays tend to feel a bit chaotic, I wanted to convey a sense of a seasonal sanct- uary among all of the holiday hustle and bustle. It takes a concerted effort to actually reach that place of refuge we all long for during the preparations, celebrations and ultimat- ely the exacerbations of the holiday season. Therefore, I wanted to include a subtle reminder that if we are to reach that place refuge, we must be intentional in “unlocking” the spirit of the season; thus giving life to the theme “Unlock the Spirit of the Holidays”.

I decided on a French-Vintage theme using a tone-on-tone color palette of creamy whites, a little bit of burlap, tea- stained paper doilies, lace and yarn. The mix of textures was perfect for pulling off the sense of tranquility I was hoping for.

The vintage design elements used throughout the details were to illustrate the memories often stirred as we gather together with friends and family. Ornate keys were used as accent pieces on the dessert table in various forms, symbolic of “unlocking” the Spirit of the Holidays.

Some of my favorite design pieces came from the beautiful Etsy shoppe, Cloth & Patina. The vintage skeleton key place card holders, repurposed glass vintage bottles adorned with french vintage labels, small burlap favor bags and the unique repurposed funnel centerpiece were absolutely gorgeous and added an extra touch to make the entire table unique and beautiful. The stunning custom designed sugar cookies and matching petit fours created by Bee’s Knees Creative were exactly what I had envisioned for tone-on-tone confections. Not only were they charming, they were absolutely delicious.

Knowing I wanted The Pastry Pedestal™ to take center stage in order to showcase the various petite pastries that can be displayed on them, as well as debuting the brand-new Platform, I decided to use three different desserts. Using the petit fours from Bee’s Knees Creative, homemade mini and regular sized cupcakes topped with a cream cheese frosting. For the final touch on the cupcakes, I added a single mini white chocolate key I made from a candy mold. I love that The Pastry Pedestal can be customized or personalized for any event. For this occasion, I wrapped some of the rounds of The Pastry Pedestal™ with beaded ivory trim and others with a ribbon-like fabric. I also wrapped the rods with vintage shredded paper, thereby allowing the lucite rods to blend beautifully with the vintage-vibe of the table.

Fresh rosemary cuttings from a neighbor, were the finishing touch to the kraft paper wrapped gift boxes used as focal and accent pieces. I felt a real sense of peace and calm looking at how beautifully everything came together. I hope to carry this feeling throughout my home beyond the holidays and into the every day life.

Elf on the Shelf Calendar

Kelly — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:00:37 +0000

Does your family have a beloved “Elf on the Shelf“? While designing the latest issue of The Party Dress Magazine, my assistant editor, Charynn and I came up with the idea of creating a calendar of ideas of places to hide your elf. Cute, creative, amusing (to both adults and kids) places to put your elf for your kids to find every day. We had SO.MUCH.FUN coming up with these ideas and hope that you will all get a kick out of them.

The calendar is below (if you click on the picture, it will take you directly to the free download) – please print it off, share it with friends and let us know if you try out any of these ideas!! Enjoy!

TPD Magazine: Elf Party

Kelly — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:00:39 +0000

When designing a new collection of party goods, I always try to think thru designs so that they can inspire other elements for the party. Decorations, desserts – patterns that can be carried throughout the event from start to finish. Our brand new Elf Collection debuted in the holiday issue of The Party Dress Magazine, and judging from the response, I would say our darling little elf will be making the rounds among LOTS kid’s holiday parties this season!

Designed to be oh, so classic with a crisp red, white and green color palette, snowflakes and our darling elf, this collection features all of the items needed to throw the perfect party.

When it came to decorations, we focused on red and white and saved the green for accents. A touch of sparkle here, a crisp ribbon there. Paper lanterns were decorated with ric rac and buttons (this is something you could do for any type of party!), and oversized swirl lollipops served as centerpieces.

When it came to desserts, I compiled a team of some of the most talented bakers I know. I gave them each a copy of our collection designs and couldn’t wait to see what they came up with. These darling fondant elves were made by Two Sugar Babies, and completely dressed up store-bought cupcakes!

Cake pops from Flour & Iced were decorated with red, white and green sprinkles (the little ball shape of sprinkles mimics the polka dot pattern in the paper goods). Allyson Jane made elf cookies by using an upside down ice cream cone cookie cutter! The Marshmallow Studio created these darling elf pops, and we styled them in a cute polka dot pitcher, which could also serve as a table centerpiece!

One of our favorite dessert ideas was to serve ice cream in tiny striped mugs, with a “dressed-up” cupcake topper in them. Jars of candy were dressed up with striped ribbon and a coordinating candy jar tag (I love the little snowflake on them!). Kids LOVE bringing sweets home as a party favor, too. We got creative while filling the tubs of candy by striping the colors to mimic the collection patterns, and our cute little elf made one last appearance on the gift tag tied to it.

The Party Dress Magazine – Holiday

Kelly — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:00:57 +0000

It is with GREAT excitement that we launch the first Holiday issue of The Party Dress Magazine! 110+ pages full of ideas for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Years and winter entertaining. Recipes, gift ideas, fabulous decor and even a free downloadable printable or two, this magazine will have you bookmarking ideas left and right!

I hope you all enjoy this issue….and please, pass it on to your friends! You can purchase a luxe, glossy copy of the magazine in the shop.

This issue was made possible by the amazingly talented group of contributors we partnered with. My assistant editor, Charyn Olsheski of Two Sugar Babies, Maggie Hemsworth of Delish Catering Chicago, Vana Chupp of Le Papier Studio, Christi Bennett of P is for Party, Beth Beattie, Jill Thomas of Modern Cupcake, Laura Winslow, Chris Nease of Celebrations at Home, Rebecca Propes and Shannon Helliker of Fresh Chick Design Studio, Maureen Anders and Adria Ruff of AndersRuff, Kim Stoegbauer of The TomKat Studio, Stefanie Richter of Anna & Blue Paperie, Jessica Kirkland of Pen ‘n Paperflowers, Melisa Fluhr and Pam Ginocchio of Project Nursery, Allyson Harvey of Allyson Jane Designer Desserts, Jessica Wilcox of Modern Moments, Laura Grim and Lindsey Ter Har of Double Take Event Styling, and Leanne Ambrogio of Sweet Style by Mrs. A in the Cove.

Introducing….Holiday 2011!!

Kelly — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 09:00:09 +0000

It is with GREAT excitement that I launch the 2011 Holiday Collection from WH Hostess! This collection is so festive, so colorful and so…US! Bold chevrons, colorful clover patterns, a modern ikat and classic holiday patterns adorn holiday photo cards, party goods and gifts. If you are one of our newsletter subscribers, you received a little gift in your inbox this morning celebrating the launch!

Photo cards are the sweetest way to send your family’s holiday wishes. Our collection includes 40+ designs for Christmas, Hanukkah and so many colorful options for a combination of the two! Our cards are printed on a luxe, thick cardstock (almost double the weight of most stationery brands) with rich colors and a nice smooth hand. Each design has a coordinating return address label to dress up your envelopes.

When it comes to gift-giving, I find that I am always in need of those “price-point” gifts. You know, the $20 teacher gift, the simple hostess gift, the under $50 gift for your sister or best friend. We worked really hard this season to bring you SO MANY fun options! Dress up your gifts this season with a colorful gift sticker, offered in so many darling patterns, trust me…it will be tough to just choose one!

Attending a party this season?! Our favorite hostess gift is a set of paper coasters (personalized, of course). At just $15 per set of 36, you can pair them with a bottle of champagne!

My favorite gift is our chunky notepads. At $18, this 200 page notepad is THE perfect teacher gift, office-friend gift, or a little “just because” gift for a friend.

Melamine plates are (and probably always will be) one of our favorite products. It’s so fun to see our designs translated into dishes! In addition to our broad assortment of children’s plates, we added a bunch of festive patterns into the shop. I love that they look perfectly jolly during the holidays, but most of the patterns can continue to be used during the year too. At $24 each, they make a fabulous gift and a lovely way to present Christmas cookies to a neighbor.

A new addition this year are our melamine trays. These are FABULOUS. 12″ square, with handles on both sides, they are available in a huge assortment of patterns….and at $48 each, it’s the perfect price point for a holiday gift. (PS – I just learned that they stack really well for storage!)

Last, but certainly not least are our exclusive collection of patterned holiday stockings. We are IN LOVE with these and consider them a must-have! Dress your mantel with all different patterns or hang an individual stocking on your child’s bedroom door. (There is even an option to add a monogram!)

I hope you will all explore our new collection and pass it on to any friends you think may enjoy it!

The holiday edition of The Party Dress Magazine is shipping this week! There is still time to order your copy (here).