Lets starts with the base. I made a video tutorial on how to make the perfect Chocolate Covered Oreos. Check out the YouTube link below. Now let’s get to the fun part. Decorating! I started with the Grinch themed chocolate covered oreos. I used bright green Wilton candy melts and Celebrate It! brand red tart candy hearts. Both purchased from Michaels. I used a dab of leftover green candy melts to adhere the heart. This one is probably my favorite...simply because it was the easiest. How fun is this Christmas light design?! I used Mini M&Ms for the lights and black Wilton candy melts for the wire. Super cute! Up next this the Snowflake design! I have the WORST penmanship and equally bad line piping skills. Soooo I drew out a snowflake design on notebook paper, cut it out and used it as a stencil to help me pipe straight. I placed a small piece of wax paper over the stencilI and used white candy melts for the snowflake. I then sprinkled white sugar crystals on top before the chocolate hardened. Sidenote- This would be awesome for a Frozen themed party! I know I said the Grinch design was easy but this Snowman is pretty close in the running. I used black and orange Wilton Candy melts for the eyes, nose and mouth. Last but not least, the Christmas tree design. I put it last for a reason. Not my best work. Looks a little sad and depressed. Say something nice to cheer this little tree up. He needs all the support he can get. I think you guys get the gist of the design. I used green and yellow Wilton candy melts for this design. If you make this set, I'd absolutely LOVE to see it! Tag me or use #AshleighNicoleEvents
Until next time!
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Rumor has it that Santa loves cookies! I heard that if you leave yummy cookies and milk out for him, he'll leave even MORE gifts! I'm not sure if it's true or not but I want to be prepared... just in case 😊 I made these Cookies for Santa mason jars for all of my local friends with kiddos. Each set includes a personalized "Cookies fo Santa" plate, "Milk for Santa" mug and a mason jar filled with all the dry ingredients needed to make Christmas cookies... for Santa, of course. These are the perfect gifts for neighbors, teachers, friends and relatives!
Details... In a quart size mason jar, carefully pour in the flour. I used a ladle but using a funnel would be extremely helpful. Gently tap the jar on the table to settle the flour. (Or tap against your hand) Add the baking soda and salt. Next, add the brown sugar. Use a spoon to press and smooth out evenly. Add the white sugar. Smooth out using a spoon. Layer the chocolate chips on top of the sugar. Finish by adding holiday m&ms to fill the remaining space in the jar. Tie on the ribbon and holiday greenery.... You’re done! Now lets chat about all this beautiful vinyl work! You can't see it but Im definitely patting myself on the back right now. I haven't used my Cricut Explore Air in over 2 1/2 years. Just a couple YouTube tutorials to refresh my memory and I was good to go! 9 sets designed, sized and cut an less in 30 minutes. (Yup, still patting) :) I found these cute wire baskets in Joanns. 60% off + military discount... needless to say, I grabbed them all! 9 total. No shame here. Those adorable little tags are free from @iheartnaptime. Yup, free! Happy Holidays everyone!!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas! It's my absolute favorite time of year! I had so much fun decorating our home this season. I kept the color scheme the same as it is all year around. (Gold, silver, gray and white) Lets start with this awesome gold stocking hanger I purchased from Kirklands. It is the perfect size for my mantle. I only hung 3 stockings but I think it would comfortably fit 5, possibly even 6! I saw an almost identical gold stocking hanger at Pier One as well. The adorable little snowman is from Target. It surprisingly held up pretty well. Two coast to coast moves and he's still hanging on. Proud of you little snowman. Moving right along... The "Joy to the World" wooden sign is another Kirlands find. (Can you tell I really like Kirlands?) Love a good bargain, aka cheap find! $4 stockings form Five and Below. Cant beat that! The ONLY bad thing about this find is that I could only find 3 of my 5 family members initial. No biggie, the kids have their own stocking post in their playroom. Problem solved! Favorite Christmas quote of all time! Lets chat about this tree for a sec... Isn't she pretty? Ive never had a flocked tree before. It makes such a statement, even without lights and ornaments. Its only a little shy over 5ft, although I ordered a 6ft. Bummer. The tree skirt is a white linen tablecloth that I loosely wrapped around the base. Nothing fancy. I purchased the ornaments from Target and guess where else..... the Dollar Tree! Honestly my Dollar Tree ornaments are my favorite ones! Oh and the gold tree topper star is also from Target. I just couldn't wait to tell you about the ornaments! Look at those pretty gold reindeer! Love them! Extra bulb storage or pretty bulb centerpiece? Ill never tell :)
I styled and designed this Alice in Wonderland dessert table for a gorgeous little girl turning 1!!! The desserts consisted of fruit tarts, custom cookies, mini cupcakes, chocolate covered strawberries and a two tier cake! I used crisp white linen for the base of the table. To act as a banner, I used a pocket watch style clock and hung the linked chain across the front of the table. I purchased the plastic link chain from Home Depot, spray painted it gold and attached it to the wall clock! My favorite part has to be the backdrop! I had so much fun making these paper flowers! Some of the flowers have little faces in them from characters in the movie! I watched a few tutorials and created a few different style flowers. I purchased the artificial grass from Home Depot. I anchored a large metal gold key in the center of the backdrop to complete the look! For table decor, a lovely friend of mine found an assortment of teacups at local thrift shops. Love her! Click on image to enlarge! I made two stacks of four tea sets each, placed on moss circles and covered with a glass dome! (The domes main purpose was to prevent the kiddos from knocking the tea cups over) I used a gold wire dessert stand to hold the vanilla cupcakes. Each mini cupcake had gold toppers that read "eat me". I placed chocolate covered strawberries on a tired dessert tray which sat on a gold jeweled cake stand. The fruit tarts from The Crimson Cake also had gold toppers that read "fruit tarts". My absolute favorite dessert item where the custom cookies by Creeative Cookies by Ree! Isn't she amazing! I had so much fun with this table! Vendor Credits Styling | Design | Props/Decor | Chocolate covered strawberries | Cupcakes - Ashleigh Nicole Events www.ashleighnicoleevents.com www.facebook.com/ashleighnicoleevents www.instagram.com/ashleighnicoleevents Gold Toppers Heather Nelson Design https://www.etsy.com/shop/DesignsofHeather Cookies- Creeative Cookies by Ree https://www.facebook.com/creeativecookiesbyree/ Cake- Sweet Serendipity https://www.facebook.com/SweetSerendipityBakes/ Fruit Tarts- The Crimson Cake http://www.crimsoncake.com I styled and designed this vintage aviation themed baby shower for a beautiful Mommy-to-be expecting her first child! I used a color scheme of navy, red, tan and accents of silver! Dessert table I used navy linen, purchased from balsacircle.com to dress the table and adorned with a banner reading "Baby Stats". The dessert items included carrot cupcakes, almond, cupcakes, chocolate cake pops, Oreo cake pops, strawberry cheesecake, chocolate covered Oreos and a custom ombré cake! I found the cute wood/metal dessert stands at World Market and thought it would work perfectly to hold the cake pops! The chocolate and Oreo cake pops made by Sweet Serendipity had navy flags which read "Baby Stats" and "It's a Boy". The flags were made by Heather Nelson Designs. The two large candy jars were filled with Twizzler Bites and dressed with a navy ribbon and 2" label. I used my trusty macaroon stands to hold the chocolate covered Oreos. I found the cute plane chocolate mold on Amazon. Mini mason jars held the strawberry cheesecakes. I added a wooden dessert spoon and attached it with navy bakers twine. Creeative Cookies by Ree made the amazing aviation themed cookies! The backdrop was designed by Kortnee of Oh La La Design! Click on image to enlarge! Mimosa Bar I love adding Mimosa Bars to events! So much fun for the guest! The beverages included orange juice, apple juice, cranberry juice, pomegranate juice and of course champagne. The garnishments included oranges, lemons, raspberries, mint and blueberries. I used mason jars to hold paper straws and serving utensils which all sat on a vintage highchair. Click on image to enlarge! Vendor Credits
Styling | Design | Props/Decor | Photography | Strawberry Cheesecakes | Chocolate Covered Oreos Ashleigh Nicole Events www.ashleighnicoleevents.com www.facebook.com/ashleighnicoleevents IG- @ashleighnicoleevents Graphic Designs Oh La La Posh Designs https://www.etsy.com/shop/OohlalaPoshDesigns Cookies Creeative Cookies by Ree https://www.facebook.com/creeativecookiesbyree/ Cake Pops | Cupcakes Sweet Serendipity https://www.facebook.com/SweetSerendipityBakes/ Cake Susie Cakes https://www.susiecakes.com Let it go! Let it go!
I styled and designed this Frozen themed dessert table for a gorgeous little girl turning 4! The mother requested that we specifically use Elsa and the colors white, silver and blue. The dessert table consisted of chocolate covered Oreos, personalized cookies from cREEative Cookies, standard size cupcakes with custom toppers, mini cupcakes, pearl gum balls and a Ombré cake featuring a custom cake topper by Heather Nelson Designs. I dressed the table with a white tulle table skirt and white linen. I also hung a custom "Emma" banner along the front of the table. The backdrop consisted of a ornate white frame with Elsa! It also had shimmering snowflakes! Vendors Design | Styling | Chocolate covered Oreos | Mini cupcakes Ashleigh Nicole Events www.ashleighnicoleevents.com www.facebook.com/ashleighnicoleevents Graphic designs and printables Heather Nelson Designs http://www.designsofheather.etsy.com/ Speciality cookies cREEative Cookies www.facebook.com/creeativecookiesbyree Photography Pretty Little Bean Photography www.facebook.com/KellyPLBphotography
Materials list -Glass jars with lids (I found mine at the Dollar Tree.) -Plastic toy dinosaurs (Again, a Dollar Tree find) -Adhesive (I used hot glue but I do not recommend this. I suggest gorilla glue or superglue) -Spray paint -Treat bags (I purchased the white treat bags from Michaels) -Spoon tongs (Dollar Tree) -Ribbon (Optional) -Labels (Optional) Using your Gorilla glue or superglue, adhere the toy dinosaurs to each jar lid by placing the glue on the bottom of the dinosaurs feet and tail. Easy peasy! Set aside and let dry according to the directions on the glue package. Once dry, grab your spray paint, shake really well and then apply two even coats. Allow to dry in between coats. I used Rust-oleum brand Citrus Green colored spray paint but any color would look awesome. Even using multiple colors would be fun! Once your cute little dinosaur lids are dry, you can add your labeling, if you'd like. It's not necessary, but it's a super cute add on. Lastly, add your trail mix selections!!! I used pretzels, raisins, craisins, peanuts, almonds, sunflower seeds and m&ms. Grab your treat bags and tongs and you're all done! You did it!!! Go you!
Ashleigh Nicole Events www.ashleighnicoleevents.com www.facebook.com/ashleighnicoleevents Graphic Design -(labels and signs) Heather Nelson Design www.etsy.com/shop/designsofheather Photography- Shuttergram Portraits www.shuttergramportraits.com RAWR!!! I styled and designed this Dinosaur party for my two little boys, Carter and Braxton! They absolutely love dinosaurs so I went to work planning a rustic dinosaur party! I used a color pallet of navy blue, lime green and antique tan. The party was located in sunny Oceanside, California! Here are the party and DIY details... (Lots and lots of DIY projects) :-) Invitations- Invites set the tone for the party right? Well, I decided to go with boxed dinosaur egg invites! I used plastic Easter eggs, painted them eggshell white and speckled brown paint for a more realistic look. The actual invite with party details were placed inside the dinosaur egg. Each egg was placed in a brown craft box. The eggs sat on a bed of loose moss. It also had a "crack me" sticker on the inside lid. The boxes where dressed with a custom "You're Invited" label and navy blue ribbon. Table/place setting details- I had a blast styling this table, well, the whole party really! I covered both tables with white linen. I purchased two burlap table runners then cut them to size and placed them vertically along the table. The moss placemats were one of my favorite little details from the party. They were made out of 14x48 inch moss table runners found at Joanns Fabric. I then cut 12" circles for each place setting. On top of the moss placemats were lunch boxes for all the little herbivores and carnivores! Inside each lunch box were dinosaur shaped sandwich, grapes, pretzels and carrots; each with carnivore/herbivore labels. The no-sew burlap utensil holders were made out of wired burlap ribbon and a tad of hot glue down the edges. I then placed napkins, wooden spoons, knives and forks in each one. I then tied colored twine around the entire utensil holder and adorned with name tags of each of the party guest. I found a ton of dinosaur toys at the Dollar Store in which I lightly spray painted each to match the color scheme. I thought adding party hats on a few of the dinosaurs was super cute and my boys thought it was hilarious! Each place setting also had bottles with custom labeling and lime green paper straws with a custom navy "ROAR" flag. Now for the fun part! The Dinosaur Terrarium centerpieces!!! I love terrariums and I thought it would be a perfect "home" for our little dinosaur friends. I used all artificial plants in these terrariums. Sand, rocks and moss were all found at the Dollar Store. The glass bubble bowls were purchased from Michaels. I simply layered sand, rocks, moss, artificial succulents, ferns and moss rocks. Lastly, I added little dinosaur toys! The wood slice and stump are from Michaels as well. Dessert table- Let's start for the bottom and make our way up! The burlap table-skirt was the perfect base to continue the rustic look. The printed banner that was hung across the table read "Happy Birthday". It was hung by using twine and green painted clothes pins. I served chocolate and vanilla macaroons, key lime cheesecake, Oreo chocolate pudding, layered jello, chocolate covered Oreos, chocolate glazed donuts and personalized cookies! Yummy! I also served Hershey chocolate bars and Hershey Chocolate nuggets, both with custom labeling. I wanted the cake design to be very simple. I decided on a two tier 8"/5" classic vanilla/vanilla cake decorated with a custom banner and dinosaur toys holding candles! Each dinosaur represented the birthday boys. Carter, who was turning 5 and Braxton, who was turning 2!!! The cake sat on a wood slice, moss mat, white cake stand and a 1/2 size wooden crate purchased from Joann's Fabric. The crate was stained with chestnut colored wood stain from Home Depot. Oh, I almost forgot! Another one of my favorites little details were the dinosaur platters! I used large dinosaur toys in which I cut off the heads, sounds horrible, I know. Lol I centered a light weight plate and reattached the head using hot glue. Finally, I spray painted them to coordinate with the color scheme. All materials were purchased from the dollar store!!! 3 stands totaled $4!!! (Not including the cost of spray paint) ** Parchment paper was placed on top of the spray painted plates for food safety. Lastly, the 4x6 foot vinyl backdrop printed by Drop Place featured the graphic design created by Heather Nelson Designs. The backdrop reads "Carter and Braxton's Dinosaur Excavation" and has a rustic/vintage map background. Party Favors- We gave small toy dinosaurs, custom coloring books, handmade dinosaur shaped crayons and white chocolate pretzels acting as "dinosaur bones" for party favors. The coloring books were placed in clear plastic self-seal envelopes and the dinosaur crayons were placed in small brown craft boxes on top of shredded packing paper. Each box was dressed with custom tags attached with twine. The homemade dinosaur crayons were made using a silicon mold I found on Amazon. I placed broken crayons in the mold and melted them down in the oven. They popped out of the silicone mold perfectly each time! The "dinosaur bones" were white chocolate pretzels placed in clear treat bags with custom labeling tags. The "Adopt a Dinosaur" section included small toy dinosaurs for the guest to choose from and an Adoption Certificate card! The party favors where displayed on a 4ft table with white linen, tassel garland and a "thank you for making my birthday Dino-mite" sign. The birthday information boards and the "thank you..." party sign were created by Heather Nelson Designs. The favor table also had a bamboo backdrop with a photo banner of the birthday boys. Navy bags were used to carry home all of the dinosaur treats! Menu- I decided to go really easy on the menu. I was 3 weeks postpartum with baby #3 and I didn't want a lot of food prep. Soooo to the grocery store I went for pre-made selections. The menu included an assorted deli sub tray and a deli wrap tray. We also had a fruit tray and veggie tray that my beautiful mother assembled. All food items were served on white platters. On a separate table, we also served iced tea in a silver pedestal drink dispenser and assorted fruit flavored lemonades. Regular lemonade, limeade and raspberry lemonade. Lastly, we provided water w/costume labeling, assorted juice boxes and soda for our guest. The beverage table was dressed with hanging tassel garland and a bamboo backdrop with a dinosaur toy and triangle garland. Lastly, we had a Trail Mix Bar! The DIY trail mix bar included peanuts, almonds, raisins, craisins, pretzels, m&ms and sunflower seeds. Learn how to make your own here! Birthday Boy Outfits- I always like to get personalized shirts for the boys’ birthday. I ordered the navy blue and green dinosaur skeleton shirts with their name and age from Etsy. Super cute! Party Activities We decided to hire “The Kids Reptile Parties” company to entertain our guest. He was fantastic at keeping the crowd engaged and he had a great sense of humor. He presented an array of reptiles and all the kids had the opportunity to touch them. He was awesome! We also had a dinosaur piñata and photo booth! Well, I believe I covered just about everything. I loved the look on my little boys’ faces when they saw the completed party space. Absolutely priceless! Now let's start planning for next year! Lol
Resources and Vendor Credits -Design and styling - Ashleigh Nicole Events www.ashleighnicoleevents.com www.facebook.com/ashleighnicoleevents -Graphic Design & Printables- Heather Nelson Design www.etsy.com/shop/designsofheather -Photography- Shuttergram Portraits www.shuttergramportraits.com/ & Ashleigh Nicole Events www.ashleighnicoleevents.com -Reptile Show- www.kidsreptileparties.com -Cake- Commissary - Camp Pendleton -Personalized cookies- CREEative Cookies by Ree http://www.facebook.com/cREEativeCookiesbyRee -Macaroons- Trader Joes -Chocolate Oreos, Key Lime Cheesecake, Oreo Chocolate Pudding and Jello- Homemade by Ashleigh Nicole Events www.ashleighnicoleevents.com -Chocolate Glazed donuts- Dunkin Donuts -Birthday boys shirts- Fresh Frog Tees www.etsy.com/shop/FreshFrogTees -Backdrop printing- Drop Place www.dropplace.com -Linen-Balsa Circle www.balsacircle.com -Moss placemats- Joann's Fabric |
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