Hostess with the Mostess®

Event planner & “seasonal party” guru Courtney Toney is back with another gorgeous fall get-together to share! (Click here to check out her 2008 fall party.)

From the vibrant sunflowers, custom fall banners, and creative mason jar candles to earthy details like twigs & raffia, there’s so much great party inspiration here for everything from Thanksgiving dinner to Autumn cocktail parties!

Read on for TONS of lovely pictures and and all the DIY details, as told by Courtney herself… Read More…

Winner Update 5/28/09: This giveaway is now closed. Thanks so much to everyone that entered! And the lucky random winner is… Commenter #301 – Emily, who said, “I adore the little red riding hood lunchbox, as well as the roses calling card case! also, the water bottle with the paris scene is too cute for words!!” Congrats, Emily!

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We have a fabulous new Suprise Giveaway today! This one comes from Kir De Vries – a wonderful shop that we’ve featured before. They’ve got so much cool stuff to offer – from great gift ideas and home accessories to fresh entertaining finds and more… a great place to check out with the gifting season coming up!

And this week, Kir De Vries is generously offering up a $100 Shopping Spree towards anything on their site to a lucky HWTM reader!

A few personal favorites from the shop are pictured here, including the guaranteed-conversation-starter Whisky Stones (pictured at top, left), and cheeky card holders & pocket cases (above). Also loving the adorable Pylones Paris Pie & Cake Server (below)… Read More…

There’s something so fun & inviting about pinwheels… and I love that Anne from Hot Apple Pie was inspired to create a whole party out of them for her daughter’s first birthday! She also utilized tons of great Etsy shops for the pretty pink & orange celebration. Read on for all the details, as told by Anne…

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“When our darling daughter, Isla, turned one, I knew I wanted to do something special for her first birthday party. Our neighbor has pinwheels in his yard and she loves to watch them spin around, so I decided a pinwheel themed birthday party would be perfect for our little girl! Read More…

I’m excited to share some inspiring party pics with you today… Clau! created this wonderfully colorful candy/dessert buffet for her nephew’s M&M-themed birthday. Everything is bright & cheerful, just like a birthday should be!

One of the first things to catch my eye was this awesome Kit Kat / M&M birthday cake, which she found the tutorial for here. This one is definitely getting starred as a “must-try” in the kids party ideas archive!

Another eye-catcher… the florescent orange & yellow Oreos. (To make your own, melt colored chocolate chips or Candy Melts, or tint white chocolate chips with food coloring). Read More…

Here’s a fun Halloween party idea that can be tailored to adults OR kids… Jello Jiggler “Bites” or “Shots” with gummy body parts trapped inside! I tried this idea both ways; the orange jigglers were non-alcoholic and the yellow ones were the “cocktail” version – utilizing water and vodka – and both worked out great!

You could do the “trapped gummy” thing with regular jello shots (served from shot glasses or plastic cups), but the “edible” idea sounded especially appropriate for a jiggler/shot that calls for a gummy candy inside… and I also love the idea of serving them up in neat rows on trays, “appetizer style“! Read More…

I’ve been receiving a lot of requests for downloadable versions of the posters from this Enchanted Fairy Birthday Party theme I did a while back, so…. here they are! I made a more “general” version of the “Happy Birthday” poster that could be used by anyone, and also created versions of the “number” poster in ages 1-5.

The individual designs can be downloaded below, and each .zip file includes both a 20×24″ and an 8×10″ sized jpeg (high-res). For the large posters (which will most likely need to be printed at a local print/copy shop) I’d recommend either mounting them on foam core or displaying them in a poster frame (all pictured below). Read More…