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A Little Flower Arranging for Our Purple Party…

purple birthday party decorations sweet

 

Last week I showed glimpses of a family celebration for my daughter and explained how I made the Martha Stewart-inspired ribbon chandelier. Today, I’m sharing the floral arrangements. Fresh flowers are a beautiful way to decorate an event and pull together a color scheme. I’ not a professional, but love arranging flowers and wanted to create some for our family celebration.
cabbage flowers san francisco mart
A couple days before the event, I went shopping at the San Francisco Flower Mart and boy was it inspiring. It’s a great time to go because the vendors are over-flowing with gorgeous springtime flowers. To coordinate with the event’s purple color scheme, I was drawn to these beautiful cabbage {aka brassica}  with lavender centers and knew I had to use them some how.
lavender-paisley-block-priint-tablec
Here are some of the floral arrangements created for the party.
black cala lilies bells of ireland and pink cabbage arrangement

 

In a clear glass vase, I layered the ornamental cabbage with black calla lilies {actually a beautiful prune purple color} and bells of Ireland {a nod to our ancestors from Ireland}.
white roses in misty lavender mint julep vase
In the mint julep vase {purchased at the San Francisco Flower Mart}, I surrounded white long stem roses with delicate misty blue statice {aka Limonium}.
flowergirl hair wreath flowers lavender

 

Six mini mint julep vases I purchased on One Kings Lane arrived the day before the event and as I was arranging the flowers. I didn’t plan on using them, but it was meant to be. Originally, I had clipped five white roses to be placed in a wreath for my daughter’s hair. The first hair wreath had white roses with sprigs of misty blue – it was way too heavy looking and a no go. I ended up only using the misty in the wreath hairpiece and although not perfect, it was sweet. I thought to myself, “Why did I cut these roses prematurely? They are too short to do anything with. What a waste.” Then I remembered the sweet mint julep vases. I decided echo the larger white rose & misty mint julep arrangement using the petite mint julep vases.
misty floral wreath around horse figurine
The misty blue floral wreath didn’t stay in my daughter’s hair and end up hanging around the neck of our white ceramic horse. We thought it fitting though because it was also the day of the Kentucky Derby.
blockprint paisley tablecloth
One of the arrangements that I ended up really liking was the tightly packed dark purple carnations with pops of yellow with Billy buttons in a vintage milk glass bowl. It’s a dramatic look, but like it mixed in with the more feminine arrangements.
Do you enjoy arranging flowers?
*all photos by Jennifer Jacobson or Simplified Bee
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Read full story By on May 24, 2011 in DIY, Entertaining, flowers, Parties

DIY Ribbon Chandelier in Shades of Purple

This spring we have hosted several family celebrations. One was for my daughter. She requested the event be “purple.” Originally I was going to add pops of black into the color scheme, but my Mom said it would look too harsh. I agreed and instead mixed shades of purple. The result was feminine, fresh and fun.
pretty purple party decor details // Simplified Bee

To capture the moment, I hired Jennifer Jacobson Photography. She took all of the images in the collage above. I think she did an amazing job!

martha stewart ribbon chandelier and cake stand
Martha Stewart’s ribbon chandelier was my inspiration and starting point for decorating the party’s main table.


diy ribbon chandelier how to

To make the ribbon “chandelier”, I first wrapped lavender satin ribbon around a 12-inch wreath form to cover the surface of the form. Using three colors of satin ribbon – lavender, purple and white – I cut lengths of about 16 inches. Then I created a pattern by knotting cut pieces of ribbon around the wreath at their midpoints.

DIY ribbon chandelier // Simplified Bee
The ribbon “chandelier” was hung using three smaller cut lavender ribbons and tied to my dining room’s chandelier. I love the whimsical touch and the way it pulled the color scheme together.

Next I will share the floral arrangements and block print tablecloth made for the party!

Wishing you a great weekend!
Cristin
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Read full story By on May 20, 2011 in DIY, Entertaining, Parties, simplified bee portfolio

Perfect Piñatas {and tassel garland too!}

stylish pinatas custom made
Happy Cinco de Mayo! Check out these pretty versions of the traditional Mexican piñata by ConfettiSystem perfect for today’s celebration. Fill with traditional candy, crayon boxes or a variety of dollar store kid-friendly toys.

chic tassel garland custom colors
ConfettiSystem also makes these colorful tassel garland from tissue paper & mylar. To match your party’s décor, custom color combinations are available. All made in NYC – love that!

***It’s not too late to win a $50 Gift Card to Tiny Prints! {until 5/9/11}***
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Read full story By on May 6, 2011 in birthday party, Entertaining

Tiny Prints $50 Gift Card Giveaway!

Tiny Prints is one of my favorite destinations when shopping for fresh , chic stationery . They provide simple, modern and unique stationery from birthday and Mother’s Day cards to personalized greeting cards, thank you cards, business cards and even custom wedding invitations. Offering exclusive designs from the nation’s top designers {including one of my faves, Erin Condren}, easy card personalization, a powerful preview engine and top-notch customer service and paper quality, their designs have been noticed by many celebrities. With Tiny Prints, commemorating holidays  and momentous events is a cinch! They offer beautiful party invitations for every occasion and memorable personalized photo-gifts such as notebooks, photo books and calendars.
Here are some of my current favorites at Tiny Prints… 

mothers day card tiny prints
party favor personalized candy tins

classic self inking stamps address monograms

Tiny Prints has graciously offered to give away a $50 gift certificate to one lucky Simplified Bee reader. 
Here’s how to enter:
• Leave a comment telling me what product you’d purchase with the gift card. {provide your email if I don’t have a way to contact you}.
• Extra Entry – become a new follower of Simplified Bee’s Blog, Twitter or Facebook Page.
• Extra Entry – mention this giveaway in a blog post, FB link or tweet, then leave a comment letting me know.
• Please post a separate comment for each extra entry.
• Entry period closes at 9 pm PST on Monday, May 9, 2011. The winner will be chosen by Random.org.
Good luck!
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Read full story By on May 2, 2011 in Entertaining, Giveaways, stationary, time management