Autumn Amelia

Hello everyone!

Last weekend we celebrated our dog Ziggy's first birthday!

As you probably remember from our first puppy Scout, we LOVE to throw themed parties for our pups.

For Ziggy's first birthday we decided to go with a space theme.

He is Ziggy STARdog after all...

I used a black table cloth as a backdrop and set up our banquet table in front of it with a navy tablecloth on top.

On the left side of the table, we placed Ziggy's presents dressed up in dark colors and metallics.

In the middle, his birthday cake.

I displayed it on a silver cake stand to give it an industrial feel and topped it with a number 1 and a few star candles.

In front of the cake, gold plates, and napkins to help us serve. 

On the right side of the table, we have a few random items from around the house that I felt were "spacey."

A gold geometric sculpture, some decorative geodes for moon rocks, and our Google speaker.

I thought it looked like a space communication device?

To the left of the banquet table, we had our letterboard surrounded by a few gold stars.

It read:

3...

2..

One...

Blast off! 

With one spelled out as it is his first birthday.

The thing I was most satisfied with was my balloon garland.

This was the first thing I envisioned when we started planning his birthday.

I placed it above the right side of the table.

I stayed with my deep space colors of black and blue.

To make it feel more space like I added a few star cutouts, 

some metallic accents, star balloons, a moon balloon,

 and I turned one of the balloons into a planet.

This bad boy did not want to stay up but with some persistence (lots of tape and thumbtacks) we got it up for good.

We spent the day opening presents, eating cake and playing at the park.

I think that Ziggy really enjoyed his first birthday.

His tail wouldn't stop wagging and he crashed hard at the end of the day.

I can't wait until he experiences his first Christmas with us.

I think he's gonna love it!

Do you celebrate your furry friends birthdays?

All my love,

Autumn

Hello everyone!

We are in the final countdown to Thanksgiving and I am excited to share this set up with you!

I have had this vision in my head for almost a year now and am so happy I was able to bring it to life.
Inspired by Ariana Grande's hit song Thank U, Next, I wanted this setup to be femme and fun.
I incorporated a lot of glam through amping up typical Thanksgiving elements with color.

It would be perfect to display at a laid back Friendsgiving or to fill with your favorite elegant desserts for Thanksgiving dinner!

The Backdrop

The focal point of this festive setup.

I used gold letter balloons to spell out the phrase "I'm so -ing grateful", a lyric from the song, and used a turkey balloon to bleep out the F word so I could take it to family gatherings without being a bad influence on my nieces and nephews.

The turkey balloon was originally a cartoon turkey but I needed to make it fit in with this fab set up so, I quickly applied a few coats of gold spray paint and let it dry before putting it up.

I think it worked out nicely, don't you?

The Bar Cart

I wanted the "tablescape" to match the glam feeling of the gold backdrop.

I thought a gold bar cart was the perfect touch.

I centered it underneath the backdrop and covered it with the goods.

The Food

Dessert!
I made three fall-themed finger foods to nibble on.

Mini pumpkin pies, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and mini caramel apples.

All easy to make and fun to eat!

Mini Pumpkin Pies

Instead of using pie dough for the crust, I used sugar cookie dough.

You can find my Grandma's famous sugar cookie recipe here.

I rolled out the dough, cut out circles using a scalloped three-inch round cookie cutter and gently pushed the dough into a greased mini muffin tin.

I filled the center with one tablespoon of  Lauren Conrad's pumpkin pie filling.

Baked at 350o for 20 - 25 minutes.

Removed from the oven and let cool.

Once cooled I added a dollop of whip cream and sprinkled with nutmeg.

I served these on a white rectangular serving tray.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I whipped up a batch of my other Grandma's famous pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

I have never found a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie that beats hers.

I might be a little biased though...

Find the recipe for the cookies here.

I served the cookies on a white cake stand with metallic gold lining to add some height.

Mini Caramel Apples

Using a melon baller, I scooped out mini apples from a regular-sized Granny Smith apple.

I carefully placed a gold paper straw through the center of the mini apples and dipped them in melted caramel.

I added red, orange and pink sprinkles immediately to the wet caramel and let set.

I served the mini caramel apples on a second white rectangular serving tray.

The Drink

I wanted the drink to match the color scheme of the layout so we went with some non-alcoholic rosé.

I don't want to be a bad influence, remember?

I added pomegranate seeds to the champagne flutes to elevate the drink instead of serving it on its own.

The Pumpkins

To add more color to the display I spray painted craft pumpkins in three different colors,

Burgandy, coral and orange.

Yes, I spray painted an orange pumpkin orange...

I needed it to have a sheen like the others and cover the stem!

I spray painted the pumpkins until my desired coverage was reached making sure to let them completely dry between coats.

Once the pumpkins were dry I placed them around the bottom of the bar cart for a fun twist on classic Thanksgiving pumpkins.

How fun is that?!

I love how the overall look turned out and it was all very easy to execute.

It's such a fun trendy theme and you can use the pieces for years to come!

What's your favorite part of the display?

All my love,

Autumn

Hello everyone!

Can you believe Thanksgiving is just four days away?

I am so excited to gather with my family and enjoy some delicious food.

Since Thanksgiving is such a food orientated holiday I like the focus to be on the table.

This year I created three fun place cards that can be made with things you probably already have on hand.

Gold Leaf Place Cards

I saw these place cards on Pinterest several years ago and fell in love.

They are so easy to make and turn out beautiful!

You will need:

Leaves

Spray Paint

Marker

Gather your leaves.

You can use silk leaves if you'd like something a little more sturdy or reusable.

I used real leaves that I found down the street.

Simply spray paint the leaves gold.

Let dry completely.

Using a marker write the name of your guest in the center of the leaf.

Be careful not to apply too much pressure because the leaf will break.

Place on a plate.

Enjoy!

Feather Place Cards

When trying to think of something else that was Thanksgiving themed other than pumpkins and leaves I thought of feathers.

You know, like a turkey?

I went on a hunt for some wild turkey feathers but wasn't able to find any that could be delivered in time.

I wanted them to look natural so instead of using regular craft feathers I used these guinea feathers to get the brown and cream colors.

You will need:

Feathers
Scissors

Cardstock

Marker

Baker's Twine

Cut out a 3 inch X 1 inch card from the card stock.

Write the name of your guest on the card.

Cut a small hole in the top left corner of the place card.

Feed the baker's twine through the hole.

Tie the place card to the bottom of the feather with the baker's twine.

Place on a plate.

Enjoy!

Gold Pumpkin Place Card

You will need:

Small Pumpkins

Spray Paint
Scissors

Cardstock

Marker

Baker's Twine

Gather your pumpkins.

Lightly spray paint them gold.

Let dry completely.

Cut out a 3 inch X 1 inch card from the card stock.

Write the name of your guest on the card.

Cut a small hole in the top middle of the place card.

Feed the baker's twine through the hole.

Tie the place card around the stem of the pumpkin.

Place on a plate.
Enjoy!

The place cards were so easy to make but add a lot of personality to the table.

I am excited to see them on display during Thanksgiving dinner.
Who's coming to your Thanksgiving dinner?

All my love,

Autumn

Hello everyone!

Happy National Donut Day!

I am so excited to share with you one of my favorite projects to date.

This DIY Donut Pegboard Wall.

You will need: 

Pegboard

Paint 

Paintbrush

1/4" Wooden Dowels

Ruler 

Pencil
Handsaw
Sandpaper

Donuts

Choose your size of pegboard.

I bought an 8'X4' white pegboard and cut it in half to 4'X4'.
You can go as big or as small as you'd like.

Your local hardware store can help you cut it down if needed.

Apply a coat of your choice of paint to the unfinished side of the pegboard and let dry.
Continue applying additional coats of paint until you get the coverage needed.

I went with a bright blue and only had to do two layers.

Let the pegboard dry completely.

With your ruler and pencil, measure and mark your dowels into two and a half inch sections and cut.

Your local hardware store can help you with this as well.

Sand the dowels to soften any rough edges.
Insert the dowels into the pegboard as desired.
The pegboard holes are 3/16" in size.
I bought 3/16" dowels but they slid right through so I went to the next size up to a 1/4" dowel.
They are slightly too big but can be worked in easily.
If you have any dowels that are giving you trouble simply sand down the bottom edges until they go in smoothly for you.
I used 36 dowels but the amount needed will depend on your spacing.
Add your donuts.
Enjoy!

I had so much fun making this project.
I am thrilled with how the donut wall turned out and am so excited to use it for future events.



I love that I have the option between a subtle or statement backdrop.
Either way a donut wall is such a fun piece to have at events.

Also, if you need any donuts for national donut day I might know where you can find some...

What color would you paint your donut pegboard?

All my love,

Autumn