Pepper Design Blog

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Hope you celebrate with a wee bit of cheer tonight! and just a quick reminder to check out the adorable Vintage Paper Parade giveaway which ends this Friday!

Happy Wednesday!

Clover topped vanilla cupcake from Martha Stewart Living.

Event Inspiration Board: {St. Patty’s Day}

Today’s event decor inspiration board challenge is inspired by St. Patty’s Day! Trish, from San Diego, requested ideas for a fun, casual get-together for friends this weekend.

{Here’s the breakdown for today’s challenge}

EVENT: St. Patrick’s Day BBQ

THEME: Every shade of green (of course!) and a few delicious holiday recipes

BUDGET: Under $150 for 25 guests (not including the BYOB)

My suggestions:

DECOR: Since the party is casual with an emphasis on good food and drink, let’s keep the decor just as stress-free. My favorite centerpiece options? Vintage green bottles on a simple tray, clean vases (the basic wood box is simple and stunning, as well as the white ceramic table vases below) filled with wheat grass, or how about the Irish favorite - Bells of Ireland? These green flower stalks (below collage, top left) are cost-effective and perfect for the holiday. They look wonderful with a few calla lilies and green kermit mums.

Another easy option? take advantage of stored Christmas ornaments in bright green, they would look lovely clustered in a bowl or hung from branches in the backyard. Better Homes and Gardens gives easy directions for sprucing up a standard tablecloth with Celtic designs (via stamps and stencils). I really love the look of these green apples cored out to hold small white votive candles by BHG – genius! And Green poms (very top) are always a winner.

WHAT TO SERVE: Save the corned beef and cabbage for another night, opt instead for potato pizza and green beer! Give this tasty flat pizza recipe a try, you’re sure to amaze guests (potatoes on pizza?) but I promise it’s so good you’ll use the idea again and again.

And for dessert, fill up on a hearty dessert buffet complete with slice-and-bake Shamrock Cookies and Chocolate Stout Shakes (yum!). This should be the attention getting decor item of the evening, so feel free to use green scrapbooking paper, crepe paper and ribbon to really bring it to life. (Amy Atlas dessert bar for inspiration, via Style Me Pretty, below).

And there you have it, a fun and easy St. Patty’s Day celebration with friends and family. Here’s the rough breakdown to make sure we’re in budget:

Cost breakdown:

-Food (plenty of potato pizza appetizer ingredients) for 25 people: $40
-Dessert Bar (slice-and-bake cookies, stout milkshakes, candy and paper products – like tissue poms, buffet labels and patterned paper to line display dishes – to decorate): $75
-Centerpieces/table decorations (wheat grass, bells of Ireland, vintage bottles and vases from thrift store): $25
-Handmade Celtic tablecloth (modifying an old tablecloth with a new stencil): $10

GRAND TOTAL: $150

Still looking for more St. Patty’s Day inspiration? HWTM and Celebrations at Home have recently shared a few easy and fun St. Patty’s Day decor ideas – check them out here and here!

To peruse through PDB’s Event Decor Inspiration Board Challenges, click here. If you’d like to submit an inspiration board party request, visit the About PDB page for email information. Happy Tuesday!

Woodland Critters Baby Shower!

Wendy, from the blog Dozi Design, created this enchanting Woodland Critters baby shower for a friend.

Each piece of the celebration was made by hand – from the beautifully designed invites to the chopped up backyard branches that became place card holders.

Guests were asked to paint themselves on small wooden dolls as future toys for baby Emilia – she’ll forever have close friends to play with!

For the main centerpiece, Wendy decorated a manzanita branch with felt leaves in various shades of green. She and her other party hostesses sewed small birds and foxes, as well as knitted clever fox and raccoon props for the photobooth!

Small muslin drawstring pouches were hand sewn and filled with homemade candied pecans for favors – each received a little squirrel stamp Wendy carved out of an eraser. I’m so impressed with every detail of this shower!

For more delicious photos, including the clever woodland-themed meal, follow the jump! Read more »