We had a wonderful time Saturday afternoon sipping cocktails and shopping with the girls at the LnCDC Ladies Soiree.  Modern Lounge in Georgetown was temporarily converted into a fabulous boutique filled with vendors sharing popular gifts and goodies.

Guests got to nosh on lots of yummy treats and make their own goody bags from our shimmering pastel candy buffet.

Our yummy cake push-pops were a big hit with everyone and we got to debut some exciting pieces from our upcoming product line like our Candy Bar in a Box.

Candy Bar Box

*6 candies in cylinder containers packaged in a sturdy acrylic box with your brand/ logo displayed on front.  Business card and other product or service information can be presented on side and front.  Perfect for attracting attention of new customers and potential clients.

Dessert Push Pops-

*filled with a variety of dessert flavors or candy, these make wonderful wedding favors or party treats

Black, White and Champagne candy and dessert buffet designed for a wedding (The Engineers Club-Baltimore, MD)

Black and white candy filled apothecary jars.  Black tie cookies.  Champagne accents in florals and shimmering candle holders.

All photos are exclusively owned by Sweet Event Design, all rights reserved.  Contact crystal@sweeteventdesign

for permission to use or share photos with credit.

Shop for the candy and sweets we used to create this look

Designing a candy and dessert buffet for a nautical theme wedding ?  You have so many options in colors and style.  Keep it crisp and modern with navy and white.  Go bold with a red, white and blue palette.  Soft and romantic with baby blues and pale aquas.  Navy and yellow also create a beautiful nautical color choice, whether modern or vintage. 

Check out more nautical inspiration from our Pinterest board

http://pinterest.com/sweetevent/theme-nautical-inspiration/

Photo Sources

• Top left, http://blog.hwtm.com/2012/03/elegant-nautical-inspired-christening/
• Top right, http://ruffledblog.com/galleries/nautical-wedding-inspiration/?pid=62728&nggpage=3
• Center, http://blog.amyatlas.com/2011/07/nautical-themed-bridal-shower-guest-dessert-feature/
• Center left, http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/#pinmarklet
• Center right, http://ruffledblog.com/nautical-wedding-ii/
• Bottom right, http://www.chanceycharmweddings.com/blog/

Designing a candy and dessert buffet for a nautical theme wedding ?  You have so many options in colors and style.  Keep it crisp and modern with navy and white.  Go bold with a red, white and blue palette.  Soft and romantic with baby blues and pale aquas.  Navy and yellow also create a beautiful nautical color choice, whether modern or vintage. 

Check out more nautical inspiration from our Pinterest board

http://pinterest.com/sweetevent/theme-nautical-inspiration/

Photo Sources

• Top left, http://blog.hwtm.com/2012/03/elegant-nautical-inspired-christening/
• Top right, http://ruffledblog.com/galleries/nautical-wedding-inspiration/?pid=62728&nggpage=3
• Center, http://blog.amyatlas.com/2011/07/nautical-themed-bridal-shower-guest-dessert-feature/
• Center left, http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/#pinmarklet
• Center right, http://ruffledblog.com/nautical-wedding-ii/
• Bottom right, http://www.chanceycharmweddings.com/blog/

Our Retro Housewife printable party set is HUGE! Over 75 printable pages, including

• patterned papers
• banner letters and numbers
• 4 inch decorative circle/squares
• 2 inch circle/squares for cupcake toppers, tags, labels….
• cupcake wrappers
• party flags for straws, food picks, stemware, ribbon…
• bottle wraps
• stationary
• recipe cards
• notecards (great for advice to the bride or mommy to be)
• party signs

So much stuff, and so many fun ways you could use this printable set

Baby shower, bridal shower, birthday, housewarming, bake sale, fundraiser, recipe swap, holiday cookie swap… Or just to decorate your home with some cute kitsch!

Members Download Page for Retro Housewife Set

Members of The Printable Party Shop have complete access to every file in this set. 

Our deluxe members can download ANY of our thousands of printable designs.

samples from this printable set

Party Like the Pros—– tips and tricks for throwing a Retro Housewife theme party

food

Best-Ever Cherry Pie Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
• 4 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white sugar
• 4 cups pitted cherries
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Place bottom crust in pie pan. Set top crust aside, covered.
2. Roll out half the crust and line a 9-inch pie pan. Refrigerate until needed. Roll out the top crust and set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl combine tapioca, salt, sugar, cherries, and extracts. Let stand 15 minutes. Turn out into bottom crust and dot with butter. Cover with top crust, flute edges and cut vents in top. Place pie on a foil-lined cookie sheet–in case of drips!
4. Bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Let cool for several hours before slicing.

yields one 9 inch pie

Apple Crumb Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

(Emeril Lagasse recipe)

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1 stick plus 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups peeled, cored and chopped apples

Crumble Topping:

• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Brown Sugar Glaze:

• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with 2 teaspoons of the butter.

In a large bowl, cream together the remaining stick of butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after the addition of each. In a separate bowl or on a piece of parchment, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients, alternating with the sour cream and vanilla. Fold in the apples. Pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading out to the edges.

To make the topping, in a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter, and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the cake and bake until golden brown and set, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

To make the glaze, in a bowl, combine the sugar, vanilla, and water and mix until smooth. Drizzle the cake with the glaze and let harden slightly. Serve warm.

Red Velvet Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil for the pans
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring (1 ounce)
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows
• Crushed pecans, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour 3 (9 by 1 1/2-inch round) cake pans.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil,buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.

Using a standing mixer, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed.

Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the oven evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the side of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides of the pans. One at a time, invert the cakes onto a plate and then re-invert them onto a cooling rack, rounded-sides up. Let cool completely.

Frost the cake. Place 1 layer, rounded-side down, in the middle of a rotating cake stand. Using a palette knife or offset spatula spread some of the cream cheese frosting over the top of the cake. (Spread enough frosting to make a 1/4 to 1/2-inch layer.) Carefully set another layer on top, rounded-side down, and repeat. Top with the remaining layer and cover the entire cake with the remaining frosting. Sprinkle the top with the pecans

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup), softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand-held electric mixer in a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar, and butter on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to high, and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. (Occasionally turn the mixer off, and scrape the down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.)

Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Add the vanilla, raise the speed to high and mix briefly until fluffy (scrape down the bowl occasionally). Store in the refrigerator until somewhat stiff, before using. May be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days.

Yield: enough to frost a 3 layer (9-inch) cake

Glam it up with a Pink and Black Glam-o-Ween Party! 

Lots more ideas for a Glam Halloween Party on our

Pinterest board 

http://pinterest.com/sweetevent/holidays-halloween/

Photo sources:

• Top, Candy Buffet Full-  http://blog.amyatlas.com/2010/09/pink-o-ween-guest-dessert-feature/
• Center, pink halloween treat boxes and pink spider cupcakes- http://blog.amyatlas.com/2010/09/pink-o-ween-guest-dessert-feature/
• Bottom left, Halloween pink and white cookies- http://nicnacmaniac-nicnacmaniac.blogspot.com/2009_10_01_archive.html
• Bottom right, Pink o ween blood bottles- http://blog.amyatlas.com/2010/09/pink-o-ween-guest-dessert-feature/#

Photo source:  Life&Style Magazine  

I was  obsessed with this season of the Bachelorette!  How could you not love Emily Maynard, the sweet, pretty Southern single mom and her beautiful daughter Ricky.  So when I saw Life & Style magazines feature on Ricky’s Glam Camp theme birthday I couldn’t wait to share. 

Designed by Anders & Ruff, the super talented team of party stylists in Charlotte, NC, this party had lots of girly details with a camp theme twist.  Bright pink, purple and green lanterns decorated the yummy dessert table.  Guests munched on macaroons and s’mores cupcakes and painted wooden birdhouses.  Sounds like the kind of glamping we would totally love!