Get S'more Wedding Info Here!

Oh, yeah that title says it all, doesn't it? Get ready for ooey gooey goodness because it's coming your way! This all started because of a wedding event I attended! Sitting outside on a little side table were platters of these little round things, it was dark, but the girl behind the counter asked me, "Have you ever tried a S'muffin?" Ummm...me thinking did I hear her right?  I said, "No, I haven't heard of a S'muffin". Well, it was my lucky day....let me tell you. This is one of the most amazing desserts I have had -- in. my. life. So, the bad news first: they are only in Los Angeles, they will deliver to the Orange County area (for a fee) but they do not ship. I know. HUGE BUMMER. Even though I am in Orange County, I am feeling your pain! I think one of these days they will come up with a way to ship....and when they do, you MUST get one - immediately. 

So, the S'muffin is the main product being sold by Los Angeles based Gotta Have S'more. This woman was smart! The name sticks because it speaks the truth! Once you have one, you gotta have s'more!! They make them for so many different parties but, of course, I am partial to the wedding s'muffins! 

It's basically a s'more and a mini muffin. But, butter oh butter....is it amazing! I urge you all to sign up for the big day when they finally decide to ship these goodies!!

Sure you can make your own s'mores any day of the week - as long as you have chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers. But, could you make individual s'more wedding cakes every day? Maybe. Leave it up to our girl, Martha Stewart, to come up with this mini individual sweet treat! Let me count the ways I love Martha Stewart....(oh wait! There are too many!). You can find the recipe here. My only suggestion would be to get one of those little torches (used for like creme brulee) and fire up those marshmallows a little bit! I love toasted marshmallows! I am making a pledge, right here, that I will be making these (soon). 

I started to look around at different things for this post (I am on a serious s'mores kick!) and I came across this DIY post on how to make a s'more wedding favor. Depending on the type of wedding you are having, this could be a perfect favor fit. I would absolutely do something like this myself, if I was getting married again. So, you know the ingredients are not that costly so you can spend a little more on the packaging to make this just as cute as Cynthia and Dustin did. The thing I love about this post is that they explain every little detail of how to make this (even links to the vendors) so this is a really easy DIY project! Huge props to them for doing that! 

And finally, I would like to tell you about a special area located 23 miles southwest of the San Francisco International Airport - The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay. Situated on a scenic bluff that overlooks 50 miles of the Pacific coastline there are many gorgeous spots for you to say "I do!" There is also a private beach to enjoy and rooms with your own private fire pit! I love that! Well, you know this is post is about s'mores and the reason I wanted to share this gem of a place is because you can make your own s'mores right on your balcony (the hotel provides a s'more making kit)!

So, there you have it! If you have s'more wedding ideas to share on this theme...leave a comment! I would love to hear them!! 

Giveaway: Things Remembered Toasting Flutes

Guess what? We have another awesome giveaway to start today! We were contacted and asked if we would like to host a giveaway for the Leaves and Vines toasting flute set from Things Remembered! 

I am super excited about this giveaway because I LOVE Things Remembered! At my own wedding my husband bought a pair of flutes for us so, this is a very touching giveaway for me! The Leaves and Vine toasting flutes are new and the stem of each flute is designed with, you guessed it, leaves and vines! This flute set will have guests toasting to the couple all night and you can share a toast every year on your anniversary (like us!). The winner can personalize these flutes with up to 5 lines of text and they come packaged in a black velvet storage box.


Things Remembered has so many items that you can give as gifts to your wedding party, your parents (we purchased special picture frames for both our parents from them) or even as a special gift to your spouse. Each item is made special because you can personalize it! So, as part of this giveaway you need to visit the Things Remembered website and tell me one other thing you think would make a special gift for someone!

HOW TO ENTER

MANDATORY:

• Get ONE entry for: Following my blog PUBLICLY (which means I can see you are following). Visit the Things Remembered website by clicking here and tell me what other item(s) you think would make a perfect gift for someone else

OPTIONAL:

• Get ONE entry for: blogging about this giveaway (post the link in your comment)
• Get ONE entry for: Tweet about this giveaway (post the link in your comment)

• 5 BONUS ENTRIES: Grab my Blog Button and add it to your page (leave an additional post with link to let me know you did this!) and get FIVE bonus entries! If my button is already on your page just state that and you get the 5 bonus entries!

YOU CAN GET UP TO 8 ENTRIES into this giveaway!

(leave one comment for each item you do!)

This giveaway will end on: June 1st, 2011 at 5pm PST and the winner will be posted and contacted shortly there after! If we do not hear from the winner within 3 days, another winner will be chosen. PLEASE, make sure you leave me a way to contact you!!

What you win: A pair of Leaves and Vines toasting flutes from Things Remembered with up to 5 lines of personalized text

Value of giveaway: $50.00

This giveaway is open to US RESIDENTS only!

Shipping Charges: Included

We have a WINNER!

We have our winner of the Special Giveaway - Just For You! It took some time to verify the entries....especially going through Facebook! That was a tough one! But, we did it and now we have our winner....

courtney {designology} said...Love the Save the Date magnets! But, you do get your choice of whatever you want from the CraftyPagan up to $35!! Congrats! 


Even if your comment wasn't the one selected - everyone is still a winner with this special discount code for you to get 15% off any order! Discount expires on June 1. 2011. And a BIG, HUGE thank you goes out to Rowena - the CraftyPagan! She hosted this giveaway for you all and we are so grateful! Thank You!!!!

Tessa Kim Birdcage Veil Giveaway

Do you remember back in March we hosted a giveaway for a birdcage veil from Tessa Kim? We are a loyal follower of hers because, we love her handmade items! Well, we just came across another giveaway hosted by Wedding Window. You can go here to enter one of these veils:

You can enter once per day and there are a couple of other options to get extra entries! The giveaway closes on May 24th! Good luck! And while you are entering that giveaway, don't forget to enter our Special Giveaway - Just for you from the CraftyPagan! :)

Let's have a mad hatter tea party!

I am back on my tea party kick! I think because summer is just around the corner and people are thinking of summer parties hosting a fabulous tea party might be in your future. If you are hosting one (bridal shower/luncheon/birthday party/girls day) then here are some of my most amazing finds:

Tea Party Rings from Etsy seller GymboHannah

Now would be the time to order one of those fun, wacky cakes known as "Mad Hatter" cakes or topsy turvy cakes. They are works of art when you see what actually goes into making them! If you thought you might be able to decorate one yourself, I did find this YouTube video to help you! I certainly have a better appreciation for bakeries who make them after watching this video! I had lot's of images to choose from, picking one I wanted to share! These cakes are very popular! My favorite one was this cake from My Sweet Saucy, a bakery located in Long Beach, California. I loved the colors and I am a huge fan of polka dots!

I also had to share some of the amazing ideas that the CraftyPagan has for Mad Hatter Tea Parties! Since she is sponsoring our Special Giveaway - Just For You this month you you could choose any of these Mad Hatter themed party decorations if you are the winner! The giveaway ends on May 23rd! So if you haven't entered, now would be the time! Click here to see all the ways you can enter to win (you can get up to 10 entries per person!) 

Giveaway Update: Blogger Issues

Hi everyone! Well, it looks like Blogger has finished their updates and a few of the comments to the Special Giveaway - Just For You were NOT restored. I just wanted to give you this update because if you entered the giveaway from May 12 - May 13 your post may not be there! So sorry about this. Please make sure you check the comments to see that your entry is posted. There are about 20 missing posts that were not restored. Thanks everyone....

Uh Oh - Blogger is having an "issue"

I just noticed that a couple of blog posts are missing and that some of the comments on the Special Giveaway - Just For You are missing! I know we had over 50 entries into the giveaway as of yesterday and today it is showing only 30-something. I started investigating and found this notice:


"We have rolled back the maintenance release from last night and as a result, posts and comments from all users made after 7:37 am PDT on May 11, 2011 have been removed. Again, we apologize that this happened and our engineers are working hard to return Blogger to normal and restore your posts and comments. We will post a report once this work is complete."


I am not sure if this means that the posts will come back or not. I just wanted to give you all heads up - especially if you entered the giveaway during that time! Please double check that your entry is there - if it was one of the comments deleted please be patient and do not repost! Blogger may be restoring the comments (and we have until the 23rd). If your comment was removed send me an email at tndrhart2 at aol dot com and I will monitor the situation!


Thank you!

I heart these items: Red wedding accessories

I am feeling the love today! I was checking out more items from the CraftyPagan, who is sponsoring our Special Giveaway - Just For You this month and put together this little photo board of some heart/love items from her store. Red has always been a popular wedding accent color and nothing says "love" more than a heart! And, make sure you enter to win our giveaway this month: a $35 store credit to the CraftyPagan!

A Special Giveaway - Just For You!

ENTRIES CLOSED!

So, I have THE BEST news! Last week when I was buying all the fun goodies for our Sweet Treat Giveaway winner, I messaged all the Etsy sellers privately to let them know I was buying the items as a gift for the blog winner. Rowena, from CraftyPagan got back to me right away and said:


"Hi there! I was going to send these out for free for you for the winner! We can absolutely do a giveaway-you can pick anything or several items up to a $35 value"


Isn't that super-duper amazingly sweet of her?! This kindness is just one of the reasons I support the handmade community! The CraftyPagan shop is also one of my personal favorites. Rowena and her husband run this shop and everything is completely hand made from them; from being hand cut (even the tags) to hand dyed and hand stamped.


So, my dear friends, this is a Special Giveaway - Just For You from Rowena at the CraftyPagan! You can choose ANY item from her shop, up to $35.00 - you will have a lot to choose from:

Love Birds Vintage Save The Date Magnet - $3.50 each

Set of 6 "Drink Me" hang tags - $8.50

Eat, Drink, and Be Married Vintage Style Gift Tags - Set of 6 $8.50

Eat Me Hang Tags - Set of 10 $14.50

So...what do you think? Pretty amazing things, right? I love these hang tags! So let's talk about how you win this giveaway!

HOW TO ENTER

MANDATORY:

• Get ONE entry for: Following my blog PUBLICLY (which means I can see you are following) or follow the CraftyPagan Blog!

OPTIONAL:

• Get ONE entry for: following the CraftyPagan on Facebook
• Get ONE entry for: Visiting the CraftyPagan etsy store and leaving a comment with your favorite item(s) from her shop
• Get ONE entry for: blogging about this giveaway (post the link in your comment)
• Get ONE entry for: Tweet about this giveaway (post the link in your comment)

• 5 BONUS ENTRIES: Grab my Blog Button and add it to your page (leave an additional post with link to let me know you did this!) and get FIVE bonus entries! If my button is already on your page just state that and you get the 5 bonus entries!

YOU CAN GET UP TO 10 ENTRIES into this giveaway! WOW!

(leave one comment for each item you do!)

This giveaway will end on: May 23rd, 2011 at 5pm PST and the winner will be posted and contacted shortly there after! If we do not hear from the winner within 3 days, another winner will be chosen. PLEASE, make sure you leave me a way to contact you!!

What you win: A gift voucher from Etsy seller CraftyPagan for $35.00

Value of giveaway: $35.00


This giveaway is open EVERYONE!


Shipping Charges: Shipping charges will be paid BY THE WINNER! 

Don't want to wait until the giveaway ends to purchase something?

I don't blame you! Rowena was also generous enough to offer this special discount code for you to get 15% off any order! Discount expires on June 1. 2011. Happy Shopping...

Happy Cinco de Mayo - and an few wedding ideas

Right now, I should be breaking out my new empanada press that I bought at a Tupperware party (yup, I went to a Tupperware party!). I got all excited when I saw this in the catalog because: A. I love empanadas and B. I get excited about the prospect of making new things! 

So, once this lovely item came into my possession, I was pretty pumped up! I ran out to the store and bought a 4 lb bag of special flour to make handmade dough (pretty impressive huh?) But, once I started reading the directions that Tupperware supplied with the empanada press (note: you should always read the directions first) it told me I could use refrigerated pie crust! I thought, why the heck did I just buy 4 lbs of corn flour?!

So, my inspiration has always been to try my hand at the empanadas on Cinco de Mayo. Guess what? That's TODAY! But, here I sit reading blogs and websites ABOUT Cinco de Mayo and thinking about how you could incorporate all these fun things at a wedding, err Fiesta! I originally started looking at Margarita Cupcakes (the idea came from the Sweet Treat Giveaway we just did because a couple of readers sited them as their favorite cupcake). Sounds delish right? So, I went recipe searching and people really do add tequila into the cupcakes....whoa! These are not for kids ladies and gentleman! 

Source - Includes Recipe

My daydreaming continued into fiesta-land where I found this adorable FREE template for you to download and print out your own invitation! 

Flights of Fancy created this invite and all you have to do is: Type your wording in the template, print on cardstock and trim using the cropmarks as a guide and for the address labels: type your return address in the template, then print on Avery labels #5164 (3 1/3″ x 4″, 6 labels per sheet). Wow! Super simple right?

So, now that I have satisfied my wedding fiesta ideas, I think I am going to go see how difficult making homemade empanadas will be...I will keep you posted if I tackle them or just do Mexican take-out! Happy Cinco de Mayo!

***UPDATE***

I braved the empanada maker....and I WON! If you like empanadas and know someone who sells Tupperware, I highly suggest buying this little gadget! They were easy to make and tasted SUPER good! For sure, next time I would try the refrigerated pie crust. I used the corn flour and ended up frying my empanadas (would have preferred baked). Here's a pic (bad quality Iphone pic)

Free Wedding Invitations: Yes please!

Have you heard of Pingg? If not, you better listen up because they are hosting an amazing giveaway ALL MONTH LONG! That's right my friends! 4 lucky brides will win 150 digitally printed wedding invitations and reply cards of their choice - brought to you by Pingg and Hello Lucky! 

So who and what is Pingg? Well, if you read their company "vision" you kind of get a taste of who they are:

"Our vision is a world where online invitations & announcements can exist in the same sentence as "cool" and "awesome" (or if you're British, "wicked awesome"). The time has come to elevate the online experience--yes people, to RAAAAAISE the bar artistically and technically-so that online and traditional postmarked invitations can live together in peace, harmony and celebration... like yin and yang... like Cheech and Chong."

I love that last sentence! Any company that compares themselves to Cheech and Chong has to be cool, right? They also have teamed up with artists, photographers, illustrators and other creative geniuses to bring a fresh perspective to online invitations announcements and then they raised the bar one more level by allowing you to also order the online announcement in a print version!

So how do you win? It's pretty simple and straight forward - and they will be 

picking a winner every Friday so get on this and enter today!

How to enter:
1) Send your Save-the-Date cards or Engagement announcements on pingg. Choose a design from pingg’s Wedding Collection, from your favorite designer or upload your own design.


2) Select “Wedding Invitation Giveaway” for your Event or Card Theme when you enter details.


3) Send to at least three recipients and You’re Entered to Win!


Eligibility for prize packages will end at 12:00am ET Friday, May 27th, 2011. All winners must be 18 years of age or older.


NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE CHANCES OF WINNING.


One winner will be randomly selected each Friday from the entries received. Claiming of prizes requires an email response to pingg from the winning sender email address. Winner may forfeit any and all winnings if verification cannot or has not been made within 7 days.

Button Bridal Bouquets

It's always fun to see alternative wedding ideas brought to life! I am a big real flower fan but, I have to say that there is something about these button bouquets that I really like! I am not sure if it was me that I would use them for my bouquet but, I think it's a nice bouquet for other members of the wedding party - for your bridesmaids and even junior bridesmaids or especially for your mom or grandmothers - if they are crafters, I think it would be especially touching! These button bouquets come all the way from Australia! Nic's Button Buds came to life after real-life bride Nic had been planning her own wedding, on a budget! She was having a wedding for 100 people with a budget of $6,000! I wanted to share Nic's Button Buds with you for 2 reasons: her creations are beautiful and her prices are reasonable!

 

Her bouquet pricing varies based on want you want but, here is a guideline to her prices:

Large Bride Button Bouquet - $215
Standard Bride Button Bouquet $160
Small / Budget Bride Button Bouquet $100
Bridesmaid Button Bouquet $80
Flowergirl Button Bouquet $35
Toss Button Bouquet $35
Basic Buttonholes/Corsages $8.00 

Will you be my bridesmaid?

If you want to surprise those special girls in your life, by asking them to be your bridesmaid, you need to talk to Esther over at ChoosingYou. She has the most unique, beautiful items not only for your bridesmaids but also for your wedding! I think once you do choose her, you will come back again and again. 


These Vintage Spools contain your personalized, unique message! The average price is about $8.00 each and they are completely customizable! You just need to send Esther a private convo. She does have a message up on her site to let you know that she is a busy lady (can't you see why?) so, make sure you plan ahead and order with time to spare!