Hostess with the Mostess®

Ewww!!! Who’d have thought that 3 such innocent ingredients as lychee fruit, raspberry jam, and blueberries could come together for such a disturbing result!  But hey… when it comes to Halloween cocktails - the creepier the better, right? Right!

Get the complete the Ghoul-Aid recipe and eyeball “how-to” after the jump… Read More »

Are you a fan of Jackie Shapiro’s French Bull tableware? Today over at Simply Stated, check out three new collections from this popular contemporary designer… including the fabulous black & white Felix pattern (pictured above), and two colorful new patterns - Iris and Regal.

Not only is this Mummy Candy Holder idea from Parents a fun little Halloween craft project for kids, it can definitely be put to good use at your Halloween party too! A super-cute way to serve colorful candies or Spooky Snack Mix…. click here for complete instructions.

Here are a few pictures from our Hip Hostess Series NYC event last month - the Modern Parisian Soirée! You’ll find lots more photos in 2 albums on the HWTM Facebook Page: Hip Hostess Series NYC: Part 1 & Part 2. Complete details will be up in the HWTM Party Themes section on Thursday, but in the meantime here’s a general overview…

Pictured at top is the centerpiece for the huge square dining table that was part of the venue. Instead of one large centerpiece, several small bunches of white & yellow flowers were grouped together to take up more of the table’s surface space. The vases were decorated with black, white, and magenta screen-printed clear overlay papers from Hambly, which featured a vintage-looking scroll print.

The same screen-printed overlay paper was used on top of a yellow & white damask-print paper (”Fancy” by American Crafts™) to create “place mats”, which really helped to tie the place settings & centerpiece together. Black napkins folded into a squares & wrapped with a 1.5″ strip of the “Fancy” paper sat atop patterned salad plates and black dinner plates…

A piece of yellow acrylic crystal garland was placed on top of the napkins to add a little sparkle to the settings, and Clear Placecard Holders and Black Placecards from Social Couture sat near a square tealight holder at the top of each place setting.

Black, yellow, and raspberry Ostrich Feather “trees” were also a key piece of the party decor for this theme. Step-by-step instructions on how to create these pieces are coming later this week (and are surprisingly easy!)!

3 signature cocktails featuring Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur were served at the party: the French Martini (a necessary for a “Modern Parisian theme!), Chambord & Champagne, and a special concoction called the “Little Black Dress” (recipe to come…).

Pictured below: mixologist Tim Laird during the cocktail demo… In this picture he’s working on the recipe that was definitely the hit of all 3 sessions that night: the Chocolate Raspberry Martini dessert cocktail! Read More »

This week was a bit of a whirlwind - in a good way - but we just got back to San Diego and are little exhausted, so T.G.I.F.! I’d like to give a big shout-out to everyone that attended our Hip Hostess Halloween event in Dallas last night - you guys were so much FUN! Everyone from the party guests to the staff at The Apartment was so welcoming and gracious… so thanks for making our very first trip to the Lone Star State such a great experience! I’ll be posting some of Tim’s Halloween cocktail recipes here soon…and you can actually already find the Vampire Kiss Martini recipe over at Real Simple!

There was a lot going on this week between traveling & the event prep, so I didn’t get quite as much posted to the blog as originally planned… which means that next week is going to be extra jam-packed with lots of fun things to share! In the meantime, here are some highlights this week from HWTM & beyond…

• Win It: custom stationery from 1st Comes Love (hurry…ends tonight!)
• Currently Craving: Rachael Ray’s Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
• Halloween Dinner Party: Set a Ghoulish Glam Table
• Sweet Tooth: find inspiration for a fabulous Halloween Candy Buffet
• Halloween Party “Guests”: snag ultra-cool life-size skeletons for for only $39 (half-off!)
• Sweet & Spooky: check out Martha’s creative ideas for creepy treats
• Extra-Fabulous NEW Glossy: Food Network Magazine
• Speaking of Food Network: Be their next STAR! (apply by Oct 31st!)

Have a great weekend… see you soon!

Candlelight is a great way to create both a spooky and festive ambiance to any Halloween party. For a “Ghoulish Glam” Halloween theme, try dressing up standard glass cylinders with lacy, gothic-inspired textiles like spiderweb stockings, fish nets, and black tulle. It only takes a minute (literally!) and these make fantastic Halloween-themed holders for pillar candles…

You can usually get at least 4 “slip covers” from one pair of nylons if you’re using 12″ cylinders, and even more for shorter vases, so a little goes a long way! Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are images of the elements we used for each of the 3 designs pictured above: Read More »

Well, it’s Thursday morning… and I can’t believe I’m saying this already but the Hip Hostess Halloween event is TONIGHT! We started setting up yesterday, and I have to say that venue (The Apartment) is just as amazing in person as it looks online…there’s even a walk-in “cooler bar” where we’ll be serving up a special drink!

Before we head out to finish setting up, I wanted to share some Ghoulish Glam tablescape tips for those of you planning to host Halloween dinner parties next week. Everything here is super easy to create - it’s all about layering and a few spooky-yet-sparkly details. Here goes…

Ghoulish Glam Halloween - Topic #2: The Tablescape

In keeping with the flapper era-inspired foundation of this Halloween party theme, the focus of the tablescape design is vintage-inspired elements with shimmery spider & skull details, and the color palette is primarily black & silver with splashes of white and vibrant orange.

• The table centerpiece features spray-painted Sierra Manzanita ($6.99 at save-on-crafts.com), flapper costume beads, and glittery spiders. (Scroll down to the bottom of this post for step-by-step “how-to” details.) Fill the table space around the centerpiece with vintage or gothic-themed Christmas ornaments and votive holders embellished with black & orange ribbon.

• Dress up wine glasses with “skull stem charms” made from plastic skull rings and adhesive rhinestones, and Halloween-themed stickers like Martha Stewart’s “Beware” labels pictured here.

• For place settings, you’ll need silver charger plates ($12.60 for 6 at save-on-crafts.com), black dinner plates, 8″ silver foil cake liners, ribbon, and foam skulls. Read More »