Fiesta Friday - 4th Of July Fiestas

Alright people, the pièce de résistance of this week's ode to the 4th Of July, parties of course!  I am in awe of the creativity out there and here are a few fabulous ones that caught my eye!

Between Le Partie Sugar's sweet lunchboxes, mason drink jars and free printables, I don't know what I love more.

This Americana 4th of July by Love The Day is full of great details.

A fabulous venue, amazing props and great food makes this spread from Occasions amazeballs!

Check out the magic between Creative Juice and Bird's Party for their Vintage Americana shoot.

I love the apple garland from Magnolia Creative Co.'s very festive dessert spread.

4th Of July Crafts

Before we launch into patriotic inspiration, head over to Today's Mama and check out my latest discovery; the most ingenious way to promote literacy and community...a Little Free Library!

First it was the sweet treats, and now we are rolling on with our 4th Of July mini series, it's all about the clever crafts today.

Make mason jar sippy cups with Two Shades Of Pink...

With a little sewing skill you can make these patriotic party favors with Lady Behind The Curtain.

Guests won't have to struggle with holding their silverware with this very ingenious idea from In My Own Style.

Sparklers never looked so good with Twig & Thistle's DIY and free downloads.

These fun (and free) Red, Write, And Blue toppers from Dollar Store Crafts make the perfect favor idea.

Red, White And Blueberry Smoothies With Lucky Leaf

We are big smoothie people, so imagine my delight when Lucky Leaf sent me their fruit smoothie recipe. It's so easy to make and super tasty too.  I thought what better way to celebrate the 4th Of July, and really anytime summer entertaining, than to make red, white and blueberry smoothies!

What you need:
1 21-oz can Lucky Leaf Premium Pie Filling in blueberry
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 banana, sliced
whipped cream
blueberries, red paper straw for garnish
crushed ice

1.  In a blender, combine the pie filling, yogurt and banana.  Cover and blend until smooth.

2.  Add crushed ice, a little at a time until desired consistency. Pour into glasses, top off with whipped cream and garnish with a blueberry. Enjoy!

Disclaimer - I was provided the supplies from Lucky Leaf for review and no compensation was given, real or implied. This review is my own personal opinion.

4th Of July Sweet Treats

How did the 4th Of July creep up so fast? Wasn't it just Father's Day?  So I better get my blogging butt in gear and devote this week to all things patriotic! Since I love the sweets, we'll kick off our mini series with them...

How about these fun eagle treats from Noble Pig that the kids can help you make?

I'm seriously tempted to get my hands on some fondant and try out these pinwheels with a great tutorial from Half Baked - The Cake Blog featured on The TomKat Studio.

I always love to see what Callye of The Sweet Adventures Of Sugarbelle comes up with for the holidays; check out her patriotic candy button tutorial. 

Perfect patriotic panna cotta shooters from Sprinkle Bakes; beautiful in their simplicity.

Of course, it is a tie for pretty simplicity with her White Chocolate No-Bake Cheesecake!

If you need healthier alternatives, check out Bakers Royale's Fruit Pops made with apples and watermelon.

Bagging seasonal fruit with a fun tag is always classy; check out A. Party Style sending guests home in style.

Fiskars' star punch and paper straw are all  you  need to make your drinks festive!

Blog Thank Yous

Before I launch into today's musings...can you believe we haven't heard from winners for our 2000 Facebook Fans giveaway? Well, we've drawn alternates and we are trying this again...

#992 Katie Bryan for Evie & Mallow
#679 Jennifer Carver for Sweet Mady
#436 Lisa Pimental for Party Like Paula
#142 Michelle Dercksen for Greyson Designs

I'm still waiting for an email confirm from #695 Ang Alford, I've tagged ya twice on Facebook, tick tock, tick tock!  All the new winners have been emailed and once again have 24 hours to respond...please don't make me draw another set of alternates, I want you guys to get free goodies!!

Alright, enough business...it's time for a few woo-hoos and thank yous to those who shared my Super Dad! luncheon.  I'm so honored to be on...

Lil Sugar...who did a full on spread for Father's Day...still gasping from that!

...a Pretty My Party feature...

...a Creative Party Ideas feature...

...a Party Of The Day at Catch My Party...

Party Of 5 feature on The Hostess Blog.

Please visit everyone of these spots, they are all full of fabulous ideas!

Giveaway Winners/Summer Lovin' On Pinterest

Before we launch into today's musings, it's time to announce the winners from my 2000 Facebook Fans giveaway with Creative Juice...drumroll please....

$30 GC to Bird's Party - #263 Zookie Zylstra 

$30 GC to Piggy Bank Parties - #1058 Carissa Hjelm Poyfair 

Goodies from Cupkate's Design - #936 Nadene Adams 

$25 to Libby Lane Press - #695 Ang Alford 

Goodies from Evie & Mallow Cake Pop & Party Shop -  #409 Olivia Garcia 

$35 GC to Whimsical Printables -  #202 Shanna Uptergrove 

10 gift tags from Pudding Cups - #174 Ashley Outland 

T-shirt from Sweet Mady - #23 Filona Leechow 

$25 GC from Cupcake Express - #220 Traci Severson 

Notecard files from Party Like Paula - #574 Rae Jeske 

$25 GC from Greyson Designs - #115 Joanna Glisson Lamarra

All the winners have been emailed and will have 24 hours to respond, otherwise an alternate winner will be chosen.  Thank you so much for playing along and welcome to all my new followers!

A big thank you to all our amazing vendors, we couldn't have done it without you!

Didn't win this time? That's OK, you know I'm always looking for ways to hook y'all up, there are always more giveaways on the horizon!

Summer is in full swing...kids are out of school, the 4th of July is on it's way, and summer is ready to roll! If you need serious sunny inspiration, take a peek at my Summer Lovin' Pinterest board! So many great ideas...I'm doing the Mike & Ike popsicle cupcake toppers this weekend for a BBQ! Oh, and feel free to follow this board, or any other of my boards! 

Real Party/Fiesta Friday - Bounce House Parties/M&M Racecar Party

No, I didn't forget...tomorrow's post will be announcing the winners of our 2000 Facebook Fans giveaway! I'll be emailing all the winners tonight, and the full list will be up tomorrow morning, first thing!  The past few weeks have been a bit of a blur, working on photo shoots, 2 graduation parties, 2 birthday parties, school finals and of course, my trip to the Knouse Foods/Lucky Leaf orchards near Gettysburg!  So, I'm a little slow on the ball...

But of course, today is Fiesta Friday and first up is my post for Today's Mama on how to make a bounce house party creative.  Some people either love or detest bounce houses, so for the haters, check out a few great ways to make it special!

I'm also backed up on sharing a few amazing parties. From his baby shower and all his birthdays, I've always done Hudson's parties.  This year, his 4th, I simply couldn't. Being in school full time and his family living a 2 hour drive away, it wasn't possible this year.  And believe you me, his mama reminds me of it every time.  But I think she did OK without me...they rocked it out a local racetrack with an M&M Racecar Party!

Check out the number 4 racetrack cake!

Guests were outfitted with custom made t-shirts that said "Team Hudson: The Hudson Grand Prix 4"

Activities included racing tires and photo ops with the cars.

All the fabulous photos were taken by RAW graphics a.k.a. the birthday boy's mama. If you live in the Puget Sound area, she's available to capture your life moments and design them into lifetime memories. Endless products from your photo session can be created, from invitations and announcements, to storyboards and hard cover post bound books.

Was that a shameless plug? Yes, yes it was! Thanks for letting me share...hoping to be back on his party bandwagon next year!

Spa Week's Hot Mom Monday

I'm a new member of Spa Week's Hot Mom Spa Squad, and I wrote my first post for their Hot Mom Mondays, a Girls' Spa Night In! Every girl needs pampering every now and I share great tips for hosting your own event, including my no-fail lemon sugar scrub recipe.

2000 Facebook Fans Giveaway With Creative Juice

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***

I'm so excited to be joining forces with the amazeballsness that is Mindy of Creative Juice...she of the Potty Party Heard Around The World...to bring you this amazing giveaway!

We both hit 2000 Facebook fans (woo-hoo!) at the same time and decided it would be fun to join up for one humongous giveaway with 

OVER  $250 IN PRIZES!

So what are these amazing prizes????  Well let me tell you....

a $30 gift card from

BIRDS PARTY

{blog} {facebook} {shop} {latest magazine}

a $30 gift card from 

PIGGY BANK PARTIES

{blog} {facebook} {shop}

a package of adorable cupcake containers, wooden candy sticks and candy tubes by

CUPKATE EVENTS

{blog} {facebook} {shop}

a $25 gift card to 

LIBBY LANE PRESS

{does not apply to custom or professionally printed items}

{blog} {facebook} {shop}

a goodie bag of cake pop supplies by

EVIE & MALLOW CAKE POP 

& PARTY SHOPPE

{facebook} {shop & gallery}

a $35 gift card to

WHIMSICAL PRINTABLES
{two week advance notice & shipping paid by winner}
{blog} {facebook} {shop} 

a set of 10 handmade gift tags by

PUDDING CUPS

{facebook} {shop}

an adorable 4th of july tee by

SWEET MADDY

{blog} {facebook} {shop}

a $25 gift card from 

CUPCAKE EXPRESS

{blog} {facebook} {shop}

two personalized notecard files from

PARTY LIKE PAULA

{facebook} {shop}

and a $25 gift card from

GREYSON DESIGNS
{blog} {facebook} {shop}

I know, right!! There are lots of chances to win, one winner for each shop, so enter below in Rafflecopter and don't forget to read the fine print!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck & thanks to our fabulous vendors!


Mindy {Creative Juice}
& Dawn {Not Just A Mommy!}