The Party Dress » drinks

TPD Magazine: Bedazzled New Years

Kelly — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:15:09 +0000

I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday weekend! We took a little time off from blogging and designing orders to spend time with family and friends and just RELAX!! We are back today with some serious inspiration for you from Chris Nease of Celebrations at Home. She put together this colorful party shoot for the holiday issue of The Party Dress Magazine. Read on for all of the sparkling details from Chris:

This new years eve party is festive and family friendly with its bright colors and glittery accents. Inspired by a trio of vases I had in fuchsia, purple, and aqua blue, I designed a party with bright colors and added a whimsical touch with a harlequin pattern. To tie in the countdown aspect of the night, I place a clock and hour glasses as part of the decor. The result is a space that is attractive to both kids and adults.

Bonbons from Bedazzle My Bonbon were the perfect go-to treat to make this dessert display shine. Some were placed on Pastry Pedestals and some were placed on top of cupcakes with coordinating wrappers. Other treats were colorful Sixlets inserted into clear ornaments and tied with an inspirational word for the New Year.

Drinks are divided with blue tinted juice available for the children, and mini bottles of champagne for the adults. To keep the color scheme uniform, I covered the gold foil on top of the bottles with pink foil and tied it along with a straw. Homemade poppers can be opened at midnight and contain candy kisses – for a midnight kiss of course! Guests can also write down their new year’s resolutions and pin them to the board above. Some final details of our family-friendly new year’s party are colorful horns, noise makers, and masks to help celebrate with.

TPD Magazine: Spider Web Glass

Kelly — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 09:00:48 +0000

Simple, festive Halloween details can bring an instant party to something as simple as a glass of milk! Shown in the latest issue of The Party Dress Magazine, this milk glass was dressed up with strips of black electrical tape. Easy to put on, and easy to take off! You could also expand this idea for ghost eyes, a monogram or stripes!

Parties by WH Hostess: Mod Spider

Kelly — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:20:55 +0000

Spice things up this Halloween season by introducing a new, festive color palette to your celebration: black, lime green and magenta! We paired these three colors together, along with some tonal polka dots and one cute little spider to create a darling collection of party goods and ideas for hosting your next event.

Glittering black chandeliers were a fabulous addition to this creepy, crawly candy bash. Hung above the sweets table, they helped to define the vertical space in the room, but also give a touch of glamour to the party. We show you three different ways to serve everyone’s favorite dessert: the cupcake! Fondant toppers by Two Sugar Babies, cupcake toppers from WH Hostess, and chocolate spider webs to top chocolate cakes.

Spider cookies with sparkling disco dust from Allyson Jane make quite a festive statement. Purple, silver and lime green candy from Candy Warehouse looks darling and accessible in jars dressed up with candy jar tags. One of our favorite additions to this table are the mini chocolate bars wrapped in labels, and the cute little spider stickers on the bottoms of the chocolate kisses!

Bubbling, foggy, green punch was created by adding dry ice into the bowl, and helped to create quite a spooky party!

Red Sangria

Charynn — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 17:00:05 +0000

This morning I shared my favorite white wine sangria recipe from Food Network, and now I am back with my favorite red version! Delicious and easy to make, this one comes from Emeril Lagasse. Both are perfect for a summer cocktail party….which is your favorite?

Ingredients

2 bottles chilled dry red wine, like Rioja
1 cup brandy
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup superfine granulated sugar
2 oranges, cut into thin rounds
2 Meyer lemons, cut into thin rounds
3 Key limes, cut into thin rounds
2 apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 cups cold club soda

Directions

In a large pot or bowl, combine the wine, brandy, orange juice, and sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the orange, lemon, andlime slices, the apples and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour. Remove from the refrigerator and add the soda. Serve in glasses over ice.

White Sangria

Charynn — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:18:51 +0000

Good Morning, Everyone! Charynn here from Two Sugar Babies. Since Kelly is dreaming of a party based around a Sangria & Tapas theme, I figured I would chime in with my favorite sangria recipes!

I got this a.maz.ing recycled glass pitcher for my birthday and i’ve been dying to use it. sure, traditional lemonade would be “okay,” but i definitely found a better solution…sangria! Here is my favorite recipe for White Sangria from Michael Chiarello of Food Network….head back later today to see my favorite Red!

Ingredients

3 bottles pinot grigio
1 1/2 cups brandy
3/4 cup orange liqueur
1/2 cup sugar
1 orange, thinly sliced
1 blood orange, thinly sliced
3 kumquats, sliced
1 lime, thinly sliced

Directions

In a large pitcher, combine the wine, brandy, and orange liqueur. Pour in the sugar, stir or shake the pitcher thoroughly to mix. Add all citrus slices at once. Allow the mixture to sit for 1 hour before serving to allow the citrus flavor to come through.

Drinks in the Garden

Kelly — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 09:00:55 +0000

Looking for a unique way to serve drinks in the garden this summer? This moss-covered tray is perfect for serving up lemonade in mason jars! Simple, pretty and oh, so charming!

Image via The Knot

The DIY Drink Bar

Kelly — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 09:00:16 +0000

Bon Appetit has a fabulous feature on their website right now for setting up a do-it-yourself drink bar for your next party. Based around a mojito concept, they give you ideas for condiments to use for muddled drinks. Let guests do their own mixing and muddling from a setup that includes fruit, syrups, and spirits.

Ladies Game Night

Kelly — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 09:00:46 +0000

I’m looking for an excuse to gather up my girlfriends for a “ladies night” and I’m thinking a preppy game night might just be the ticket. Pink and green, some stripes and polka dots, and a few yummy treats like popcorn cups and cupcakes….voila! A fun night that everyone would love.

Images: games (eddieross.com), cupcake (jldesigns.com), pink drink bottles (brides.com), centerpiece (luralucille.blogspot.com), popcorn cups (hellonaomi.blogspot.com)

Center Court Brunch

Charynn — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 09:00:50 +0000

I am very excited to welcome Charynn of Two Sugar Babies as a new contributor to The Party Dress! Since she is one of my go-to-girls for party inspiration (especially food!) and someone I bounce ideas off of on a daily basis, I knew she would be a great addition to the TPD family.Oh how I love Wimbledon…I get goosebumps every time I hear the music announcing the start of television coverage (yeah, I know…). Attending a match on center court is on my bucket list. But since that might not happen for a while, how about hosting a party to watch a match or two? To serve, I found a lovely selection of recipes online that are dedicated to food traditionally found at Wimbledon. Pimm’s Cup (a traditional British summer drink), Eton Mess (a lovely take on Strawberries and Cream), and Scones with Jam and Clotted Cream (a personal favorite of mine). Enjoy!

{Lightbulb Idea!} His & Her Cocktails

Kelly — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 09:00:11 +0000

I came across this picture while swooning away over one of Salt Harbor’s latest weddings. It was like a lightbulb went off above my head…..his and her signature cocktails! It’s totally charming, and somewhat genius….and would make the perfect addition to a wedding or special birthday party.

So….if you and your significant other had to choose a cocktail, what would it be?!