Now that I told you about the food at my husband’s birthday, another element that played a big part on the dessert table were the flowers. I was lucky to work with an upcoming star, a small floral studio called O.xide Design founded by Geneviève Lamarre and Stéphanie Bélisle.
I chatted with Geneviève this weekend as she came to my house to get back their vases. We had a good conversation about their design philosophy. One difficulty in designing an event is that you work with several vendors, who may or may not know each others. This is why O.xide takes extra step to make sure their floral creations will complement and enhance your event design. They rely on a quick and easy way to do that: drawing a croquis of the flowers as they will look at the venue.

Working with them was easy. I briefed Stéphanie about my theme, my color palette and that I aim for a masculine look. I sent her all the dimensions (table, shelf height, ceiling) with two pictures: one of my table and one showing where it will stand in the room during the event. Stéphanie came back with a croquis. As you can see, she integrated the details including the curvy legs of my dining table. Attached to the croquis were  pictures of the flowers and the leaves that they plan to use. I showed it to my husband to see if it pleased him. It did!

The 5 floral arrangements they created for the party were fabulous. They captured the masculine elegant mood I was aiming for. Plus, they played with heights and volume in a way that suited the architecture of the room and the needs of my dessert table.

If you live in the Montreal area, O.xide Design can help you whether you are looking for two small centerpieces for a casual dinner party up to a wedding or a corporate event. I know I will call them for my next dinner party.

MORE:
+  O.xide Design

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I wanted to  do something totally different than last year event for my husband’s birthday. Doing an Amy Atlas-inspired dessert table seemed fun. But first, I had to convince my husband since his first reaction was: this is too girlie! He sent me a clear message: no apothecary jars, no feminine shape for the tableware. My challenge was to design a masculine dessert table. And I did!

My Design

His party had a two-fold theme. There was the “40 is the new 2.0″ tag line. For the bar station, my husband  bought several geek items at ThinkGeek. The most impressive gear was the LED Jellyfish Mood Lamp. Many people asked us if they were real jellyfishes.

On the other side, the dessert table was developed around a color scheme. I selected yellow and green with red acting as an accent color. I used some of my tableware collection and added new pieces. You may recognize the tablecloth from his previous birthday.

DIY Ideas for Serve ware

Finding masculine cake stands is almost impossible. I created my own footed serving ware instead. I wrapped a matching napkin on a bamboo storage box to raise big rectangular platters. A green glass square votive holder fit neatly under a square yellow salad plate. Trial and error is required: some plates do not stay in place on top of containers. The salad plates are the perfect size to serve chocolate pieces. Spreading your food across the buffet table makes them more accessible for your guests. This is why I used three plates for the chocolate.

What Was on the Dessert Table?

Hosting a dessert party could be an overwhelming task since you need 7 to 10 different desserts. This is why I relied on professionals for the food. For me, hosting a party has to be easy, delicious and stylish.

Until the last day, I thought of baking our famous dark chocolate torte but I realized that there was plenty of dessert already. Therefore, I planned to serve warm brie with Granny Smith apples and walnut, plus to put in small boat containers strips of Parmesan Reggiano with honey. As I was setting up the table, lack of space on my table meant that I had to wait. As the night evolved, it was clear that we had enough food on the table. I kept my cheese for another event. On average, account for 4 to 8 pieces by person. Then, add extra for take home. I estimated that 90% of the guests brought back home a little box.

Here is what I served. I got 4 flavors of fine chocolate plus delightful marshmallow lollipops and 36 macarons in 3 flavors each and a jar of spice cookies crafted by Kréavie. Everyone love their sweet treats. My friend Nathalie Rivard baked delicious date squares. I bought 2 packs of fruit mini verrines at Gastronomia and 3 dozens of mini cupcakes at Itsi Bitsi. Plus, I received another dozen of mini-cupcakes decorated with a geek theme from Muriel Ide. To balance the sweetness, I served walnuts, almonds and pistachios in my new chalkboard tag jars.

The next post will be about the fabulous floral arrangements created by O.xide Design.

SOURCING:
+ chocolate, marshmallows and cookies at Kréavie
+ mini verrines at Gastronomia
+ cupcakes at Itsi Bitsi
+ Social Media Pillows by Craftsquatch on etsy $19.99 USD each

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Photographer Meg Baisden already hosted her Halloween party. And what a fabulous party it was! Her Halloween decorations were fun, festive and so sophisticated. It has just the right amount of glitter to suit an evening event.

You can add glitter to any objects. This allow you to buy less expensive props knowing that you can upgrade their look. It can be messy, so choose the right spot in your home.

The event was planned by Meg and her employee Jamie. I like how they integrated Meg’s home decor into their festive decor. When you host a party at home, it is an important consideration. By making them a part of your party decor, you send a warmer welcoming message to your guests. This is not always possible to accomplish. The easiest way is to consider the style of your home decor before planning your party theme and decorations.

Since they are professional photographer, it comes to no surprises that the pictures they took of the decor and the food are stunning. Since I envy the quality of her party photos, I feel inclined to mention it anyway.

MORE:
+ photos by Meg Baisden Photography

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I am glad that Wanwisa of Modern Vintage submitted her birthday party for my real-life party column. She planned an original party. She set the tone by hosting a Sunday brunch with 16 guests. A brunch is less predictable than a dinner party. And lunchtime is best for business meal or meeting your girlfriends.

Wanwisa selected Bouchon Bakery and Café in New York to host her event. It has the right amount of French bistro feel. This will be heaven for me since I cannot resist French pastries. The Bouchon French Toast sounds divine.

Her Macaron Croque en bouche is memorable. It took 110 macarons to do this montage. From her dessert menu, the Hibiscus macaron flavor with a dark chocolate ganache filling would be my first choice. The Milk and Cookie concept was presented with a side of ice cream parfait served in tiny mugs.

She designed not only a remarkable invitation but she extended the concept to the menu card. She even ordered her custom monogrammed labels at Pink Design on etsy. She used it to close the menu card. A very stylish idea!

Visit Modern Vintage for more about Wanwisa’s brunch birthday party and the making of her invites and menu cards. It is a coincidence that I booked a lunch for tomorrow at Olive and Gourmando in Old Montreal. It is just in time because I am craving now for fabulous breads and homemade soups.

• Get directions to Bouchon Bakery Café – p 212.823.9364
  10 Columbus Circle – Third Floor, New York, New York, United States, 10019
• Get directions to Olive and Gourmando – p 514.350.1083
  351 Saint-Paul St. West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H2Y 2A7

+ Via Modern Vintage

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Putting Things in Context

Jerome started to play video games as a child when they were many arcades in Montreal. He once played a 7-hour game to make a World record at Xevious. Considering his pleasures, it is probably the best spent 25 cents of his life. This is still a hobby. He is playing Fable 2 on Xbox 360 as I am writing this post.

You will not be surprised that classic video games were the theme for his birthday cake. As I finished to assemble the cupcake tower in front of our captivated guests, I understand the extent of the cake power. Frankly, having an astonishing cake is worth every penny for the show.

The Design of our Cupcake Tower

I booked Michelle of Clever Cupcakes to do her magic. We ordered 3 dozens of cupcakes and a Companion Cube for the top. If we forget the fact that it is a perfect cube – the weight of the icing broke it – it is an impressive reproduction.

We wrote Jerome’s age in binary. 0 can mean off; 1 on. Therefore, we place the candles on the 1s. We played Still Alive as we lit the candles. Still Alive is the end song of the action/puzzle video game Portal; the game that features companion cubes.

We showcased Space Invaders (bottom row) and Robotron (3rd row) in their original pixel drawings. But we opt for the elegance of a later version of the game Frogger. Clever Cupcakes did a great job on the cake decorations.

Cake and Frosting Flavors

• Space Invaders: vanilla cake with hot Mexican chocolate icing – The spicy kick of the icing is amazing
• Robotron: Chocolate ginger cake with Green Tea frosting – A divine combination, I will order it again
• Frogger: lemon cake with vanilla icing
• Companion Cube: Chocolate chili with vanilla icing

The cupcake tower was a hit. Jerome was thrilled. He got a chance to explain the games to his friends. It was the best ever birthday cake he ever had. I wonder now what theme we will have next year.

SOURCING:
+ Clever Cupcakes
+ see closeup images of the Space Invaders cupcakes on Flickr
+ see closeup images of the Frogger cupcakes on Flickr
+ Images by Kim Vallee, except for the top 2 pictures that were photographed by our friend Renee of En Direct des Iles for Kim Vallee.com – rights reserved

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We wanted something special to greet our guests at my husband’s birthday party. We served cold sake shooters with a twist.

The anniversary cake theme was classic video games which most come from Japan. Serving sake at the start announced the end. We wanted something playful. That is when I remembered my Fred cool shooters ice mold.

I made in advance 40 ice shooters. I kept them in large freezer bags. We displayed them on ice after the first guest arrived. You have between 45 to 60 minutes before the ice shooters become unusable. It is best to keep half on the freezer, until you need them.

We served women the pink bottle sake while the men received a shot from the blue bottle. The girls enjoyed the creamy white Hakutsuru Sayuri Nigori Sake with its refreshing aroma, natural sweetness and smooth aftertaste. The guys tasted the flowery fragrant Hakutsuru Junmai Ginjo sake with silky, well-balanced smoothness.

Our cold sake shooters were a hit. With an original, easy to do setting, we created a lasting impression.

SOURCING:
+ Fred Cool Shooters Shot Glass Mold – $7 USD
+ Can be used for a Guitar Hero – Rock Band Party

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Dianne emailed me about this cute milk and cookies first birthday party. It is easy to tweak the milk and cookies theme for a baby shower.

Nice effects on this party are the blown up baby picture display and the old-fashioned individual milk bottle. For $50, you can order your own Photo Tiled Display; it can be done from any picture. A cute Happy 1st Birthday dangled over the photo tiles.

The color palette was inspired by chocolate cookies. This gender neutral color palette would suit a couple baby shower. More and more people choose to have baby showers for both parents. Polka dots were a nice touch. Using polka dots for the party favor labels would create a more modern and cheerful vibe.

Any topic can be developed into a party theme. Pay attention to the basic elements of your theme. Let your imagination flow and figure out how you can apply it in a figurative manner or give it a new twist. There are many ways to interpret the same theme.

If you are wondering about Dianne, she runs an event business called Colorblind Productions with her husband. She is an event planner, a wedding coordinator and a videographer.

If you host a fun party, let me know. You may be showcase on At Home with Kim Vallee.

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I went to the vernissage of Starmail, the latest exhibit by Bettina Forget, a Montreal painter who specializes in astronomical themes.

My friend Bettina, photographed here, is also an avid hobby astronomer. She is always stylish.

The Art Concept

Bettina converts her own Amelia Earhart’s drawings in rubber stamps with the production help of Central Stamp and Seal store on avenue Du Parc, here in Montreal.

Mail Art is born out of a famous woman aviator theme with some envelopes, rubber stamps and the airmail concept. I bought two envelopes, similar to those.

Serving Tips

Being a tasteful artist, Bettina always finds simple and inexpensive ways to serve food and drinks. Here, she cut the brown paper bags to serve nuts and chips. It was so appropriate with her theme and so cute. Remember it for your next movie night.

Mail Art Goodies

Each piece of mail art is sold at the symbolic price of $19.37. Earhart disappeared in 1937 on her tour around the world. Each envelope is different and contains a small work of art on paper as goodies inside.

Varying the goodies is a cool idea to recycle when you are entertaining. The mail art content is related to the specific mail art theme. Therefore, a mail art with maps outside will probably get maps as goodies. It adds to the fun that the content is a surprise.

The exhibit runs until September 4, 2008. I encourage you to have a visit if you are in Montreal.

• Central Stamp & Seal
  3418A Avenue Du Parc
  Montreal, QC H2X 2H5
  p 514.861.7731
  Store hours: Monday to Friday 9:00am-6:00pm

READ MORE:
+ Inside the Artist’s Studio – the blog of Bettina Forget

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Jaime of It’s a Jaime Thing sent me the pictures of two bridal showers she designed last year for a cousin and a best friend. They are lots of clues who can recycle for your own parties.

The Sunflower Sunshower

A hand-made tiki bar and lots of fresh sunflowers set the tone of this party. Her cousin, the groom to be, built the tiki hut for his father as a Father’s Day present. It is so cool to reuse his own creation for his bridal shower.

If you wish to host a tiki bar, check out ebay or your local kitsch stores to get your hands on a few tall tiki mugs. Get for the lucky couple a scorpion bowl for 2. These will make nice souvenirs to the couple.

The Blue and White Bridal Shower

Jaime did this tablescape for her very best friend. It was exciting for her. She did a great job working with a dual tone palette. The key is to create interest through layering, shines and textures.

When you spread glass nuggets and marbles along the table always remember to leave space for water jars, wine bottles and serving plates.

Working with clear dinnerware and flatware on a table emphasis what is the background. Take advantage of it when you have a beautiful pattern like those napkins. The clear flatware almost disappear which is a good idea in this instance.

Another option would have been to go with a sky blue flatware which would highlight the napkin pattern.

For a variation on this theme, you could use several tones of the main color. Because the party favors are silver, you could place a silver gray paper charger plate, a clear dinner plate and a blue salad plate underneath the heart.

Read the rest of her setting on It’s a Jaime Thing.

SOURCING:
+ Green Tiki Mug – price: $5 USD
+ Drei Moai Scorpion Bowl – price: $19.95 USD
+ Silver Gray Paper Luncheon Plates – price: $ 16.95 for 120 plates
+ Bermuda Blue Plastic Disposable Plates & Bowls
+ Sky Blue Plastic Cutlery – Silverware Disposable – price: $ 19.95 for 96 place settings
Via Sunflower Sunshower and Bridal Shower for my best friend [It's a Jaime Thing]

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I am happy to announce that the Real-life Party series which will feature actual parties done by you is officially opened.

To be fair, it is the third real-life parties from readers since I showcased the Caveman Theme for a 40th Birthday Party in January 2008 and Yuri Gagarin’s Night Party 2008 in Montreal in April 2008.

Birthday Cake and Party Favors

Steph, a.k.a. KiwiGirlSteph on Flickr made these adorable cupcakes for a boy fourth birthday party. This mom is very talented and she bakes cakes for her friends and family.

The birthday cake was in fact a pirate ship. The cupcakes were the loot. Every cupcake went home in a mini treasure chest along with chocolate coins and pirate stickers.

The Invitations Set the Tone

The invites were homemade with a lot of pirate speak. They selected a treasure map design and aged the paper with tea.

Décor and Costume

The party was a fantastic event organized by the parents. First, they decorated their house with a pirate theme. All the kids and parents were
dressed up.

Activities for the Kids

It is important to plan several activities to amuse the kids. The parents set up a tattoo parlor manned by an Auntie. Other activities include a dress up treasure chest, pin the patch on the pirate game and the usual treasure hunt. To top it up, they hired a pirate Captain Blackboots to perform on his small scaled pirate ship.

Menu

The kids had fish and chips for the food along with the usual party food.

That sounds like a fantastic party. Thank you Steph for the insider tips. If you are looking for more fabulous cake inspirations, do not miss KiwiGirlSteph’s Cakes, Cupcakes and Cookies set on Flickr.

>>> Sourcing:
Photo credits: KiwiGirlSteph on Flickr – rights reserved

RELATED POSTS:
+ Pirate Cupcakes for a Pool Party
+ The pirates take over an outdoor kid birthday party

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My friend and painter Bettina Forget hosted a great party last Saturday (April 12th, 2008) to commemorate the anniversary of First Man in Space. Yuri Gagarin became the first human to reach space on April 12th, 1961. Yuri orbited the Earth.

The Decor

The loft apartment was nicely decorated for the event. Several guests rented or made cool science-fiction costumes.

Astronomical art exhibit of paintings done by Bettina coupled with the projection of space images and astro-art iMovies created a wonderful atmosphere.

The Space Agency gave us posters, pins, stickers, tattoos so people without costumes looked more festive. Individual gift bags greeted us at the door.

The Drink Menu

Russian vodka was on top of the alcohol chain. The signature drink was Cosmonaut, a drink made of vodka and Tang. At the bar station, the Space-Themes Drink menu was filled with Apollo ‘n Lemon, Sputnik, Saturn V, Soyuz Capsule, Voyager, Mir, Rasputin and Sea of Tranquility.

Costume Contest

Next year, Jerome and I will get some costumes. In fact, Jerome was sad that he did not purchase a Star Trek uniform when we visited the Star Trek The Experience in Las Vegas last January. Two prizes were awarded for the best space-inspired costume.

Grand-prize winner for his outstanding helmet design: Olivier Hanigan – check it on Bettina’s blog
Runner-up winner for her sublime hoola-hoop performance: Kelli Hanrahan

Bettina wrote a nice recollection of Yuri Night 08 on her Inside the Artist’s Studio blog. Like Bettina said: Montrealers know how to party! We went to bed pretty late. On our way home, we stopped by at Fairmont Bagels to buy more freshly out of the oven bagels. We ate a final one before going to bed and kept the rest for Sunday breakfast. Jerome and I cannot wait for the 2009 edition.

Sourcing:
Learn more: Yuri loves Montreal! On Inside the Artist’s Studio
Photo credits: Jerome Paradis

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Denise, a reader, can teach us a lesson or two about party themes. She likes parties and it shows. Her design looks amazing. She is obviously talented but her strength is to let her imagination flows and she is not afraid to put the efforts.

Many of her parties include rentals, new accessories mixed with things that she already owned. But not this one.

Denise developed the Caveman theme for the 40th birthday of one of her friends. For her own words, this over the hill birthday party was easy to prepare. And with her tips, you will know what to look for if your wish to experience the prehistoric charms for a night.

This tabletop for 12 guests costs less than $100, in fact $7-8 per person. Denise found everything locally and at really good prices. Let’s review how she did it.

The decorative elements

The dinosaurs belong to her kids. The stone chargers come from the home improvement centre. Denise roughly cut the edges. Then she decorated the economical stepping stones with a brown craft paint and dirt to simulate old stones.

Nice touches can be found everywhere in her tablescape. That is the attention to details that make her design successful. For a more rustic look, she used brownish washcloth instead of textile napkins. The texture of the washcloth works well in these surroundings. You could display a simple canvas or if you are willing to spend more, natural pure linen napkins as long as they are not hemstitched.

The food was all served in baskets and plates that she had. She used her own glass and silverware. She slightly tore the top brown grocery sacks to serve bread and potato wedges.

The “egg” planters were under $5 each. If you cannot find similar pots, Denise suggested you make your own vases out of paper maché.

The fur fabric and the black & white spot textile for the back of the chairs are widely available, juts go to a local textile store. You need about 2 yards for the tablecloth. She used plastic bones from a costume store to hold the fabric on the back of the chair. For a more authentic look, Denise suggests actual bones from your butcher. Just make sure to bleach them well before.

The “vines” were military camouflage nets which can cost less than $20. She hanged them under or on the side of her canopy tent. Go to China town or a store like Urban Outfitters to find similar paper lanterns. If you cannot find them in the right color, buy them white and paint them. Ask the craft store for the most suitable paint.

Be prepared

Once you got and tried all the elements, setting up the table goes pretty fast. The important thing is to try putting your elements together before the event. This way, you can resolve possible problems or find out what is missing. Preparation is the key for a stress free event.

I hope that by seeing this whimsical yet stylish Caveman tablescape, Denise and I inspire you to be creative for your next milestone party. In a few days, you will discover the insights of a more elaborate party Denise did in 2004.

Sourcing:
Photo credits: dbaker’s Caveman Party photos – copyright photos by Denise

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