bridal shower

December 29, 2014

ICE CREAM SOCIAL – SIP AND SEE

My oldest friend, Rebecca, just had Ada, the sweetest little bean you ever did see! Remember her baseball themed bridal shower HERE? We had an ice cream bar then (her fav), so my mom and I went with a whole ice cream theme for her sip and see! I basically have no imagination and wanted ice cream. BTW a sip and see is a baby shower AFTER the baby is born- you sip drinks and see the baby. Get it? Might be a southern thing, I don’t know!

Colors and design began with this adorable invitation by Rock Paper Scissors.

Frozen water balloons = the cuter cousin of ice cubes.

Loooove how Rock Paper Scissors designed the ice cream cup labels and cone wrappers!

DIY GIANT ICE CREAM CONES:

-honeycomb balls (here and here)

-kraft wrapping paper

-double stick tape

For the cone, follow THIS template… just eyeball it and make it giant! It’s a little tricky, not gonna lie. Cut out and tape the ends of the cone together. Stick the honeycomb ball in and gently tape with double stick tape. I was laying mine flat on the table, so I didn’t need to secure it well. If you’re hanging them, I’d make them with the tiny honeycomb balls so they’ll be lighter.

Pinwheels, plates, and napkins by Meri Meri.

It’s not a party without Aunt Ellie’s Campfire Crispies! This time we went with gluten free Oreo flavor. Yuuuuum.

We got these adorable scoops HERE and painted them. We’re thinking about selling these little scoopity scoops painted custom in our ETSY shop- what do you think? They were perfect for ice cream toppings.

Table runner by Kitchen Papers.

I used THIS tassel tutorial and used my Silhouette for the letters.

Here’s the new mama Rebecca and sweet Ada! Imagine knowing someone for your entire life, then they’re in labor, and you’re crying alone in your car just sitting in your driveway so your kids don’t get freaked out that you’re crying. Yep, that was me.

Ice cream parties are the easiest because there’s no cooking or baking! Everything is store bought but looks special depending on how you display it. Sweet and simple!

-L

December 16, 2014

FEATURED: HOLIDAY CENTERPIECE TUTORIAL

Anyone else in need of an incredible centerpiece for the holidays and have no clue how to do it? Luckily, my extremely talented friend, Matt Bollwinkel, just started a new floral business THISTLE BE FLORAL based out of LA and is graciously giving us a tutorial! I love how he uses unique textures, colors, and shapes that you’d never think of for a centerpiece. He’s seriously so talented and funny, and his wife happens to be the same. My face literally hurts from laughing after I hang out with them. They’re pretty much one of my fav couples ever.

If you’re in the LA area, contact Thistle Be Floral. Immediately.

He’s the next big florist that you wish you knew before everyone else did… and now you do!

“MOM’S FAVORITE CHILD” HOLIDAY CENTERPIECE

by Thistle Be Floral

Photographs by Sara Bollwinkel

Is your holiday table naked? Hide your shame with a homemade centerpiece that suggests you have your s*#t together.

Here is what you will need…

1. Fancy Shmancy Japanese flower arranging scissors. Or regular kitchen shears… (Anything between a machete to safety scissors will do)

2. Robert Goulet – “This Christmas I Spend with You”. This is not optional.

3. Oasis Floral Foam

4. A cool vessel…such as this tremendous silver antique champagne bucket.

5. Flower Food – pro tip: One packet of flower food and a quarter teaspoon of bleach in your water will make your plants die slower…or last longer if you are an optimist. Pro tip: if you don’t have bleach, use mouthwash!

6. Human Food – Your favorite holiday beer (or wine/scotch/kool-aid)

To prep your vessel for the flower invasion, cut the Oasis floral foam to fit and fill with water, flower food, and bleach. Allow this mixture to soak for a few minutes and pop open your human food.

Let’s get down to business.

7. Greenery – take some clippings from the christmas tree, your local forest, or a neighbor you feel like stealing from. Source your pretty greens as this is where it all begins.

8. Random “Foraged” (stolen) Berries – If you have dogs or children, use with caution.

9. Magnolia Leaves – these are a classic holiday accent to any arrangement or wreath. Some people spray paint them gold, but who has time for that?

10. Holiday Food – Pomegranates, Pears, Persimmons, Pumpkins etc. Anything that starts with the letter P will do. (Pinecones…not food but totally acceptable)

11. Protea – This is a great “focal flower” that will last the duration of your family’s stay and into the new year. Succulents are another great option.

12. Ornamental Kale – Hippie/Hipster approved. These take up a lot of real estate. If you are super lazy, this is a solid addition.

13. Tulips – Great color splash – check out french tulips if you want a sassy option.

14. Star of Bethlehem – Cause its Christmas y’all. (Note they also last for a long time and will continue to bloom for weeks).

15. Peonies – This is the popular girl in school. She hangs out with the funny chicks (tulips) but steals their boyfriends. This is your other focal flower of choice. (Caution: much like the popular girl in school, they are fragile and fall apart easily)

Now that you have your flowers together, you need to process them by removing excess leaves from your stems. The idea is to keep all vegetation other than stems out of the water. The longer your water stays clean (and free of flower goo) the longer your flowers will last!

The first stems to enter your vessel should be the greens.

Follow up the greens with accent greenery such as your magnolia leaves, or the berries I “borrowed” from my neighbors yard. This is the fitted sheet…totally necessary.

Next add your ornamental kale and focal flowers. Do this in a not boring way.

Fill in gaps with beautiful pieces of fruit or pine cones etc. To do this, carefully stab a wooden skewer into your fruit (make sure you don’t run the skewer all the way through). Cut the exposed skewer to the depth of your vessel (so no stick is showing and the fruit sits in the arrangement snug as a bug.)

After you have gotten this far, take a step back, grab a drink and give your eyes a minute to rest. Revisit it with fresh eyes in 10 minutes.

Now add your finishing detail elements. Tulips and star of bethlehem are great at filling in the gaps and will add lovely bursts of color as they continue to blossom.

Now step back, admire your work, quit your job, and become a florist.

Happy Holidays Yall!

<3 Matt

INSTAGRAM: @thistlebefloral

WEBSITE: ThistleBeFloralLA.com

EMAIL COMPLAINTS: info@thistlebefloral.com

Thistle Be is Matthew P. Bollwinkel, who was born in Sibu Sarawak Malaysia in the winter of 1980 to missionaries Mark and Elizabeth (Bonnie) Bollwinkel. Upon their return to the United States, the family spent the subsequent years moving from town to town in California and Nevada with various churches. To this day, the place Matt calls “home” is the San Francisco Bay area.

Matt’s artistic inspiration includes Japanese imagery and culture, feminism, loud and dissonant music, photographs in old medical encyclopedias, animals, rust, dirt, gold, and and the love he has for his wife Sara and their two dogs Albert and Norman. Matt is a studio musician, a baker, and a business man. His love for flowers began when he was a young boy, but his draw to floral design began in the winter of 2013 when his community began commissioning his work. Matt’s notoriety has circulated primarily by word of mouth, as he operates out of his home in Los Feliz in Los Angeles, CA (or in a glass case of emotion….or on location).

For more information or to set up a consultation please contact:

info@thistlebefloral.com

March 27, 2014

REBECCA’S BASEBALL THEMED BRIDAL SHOWER

It’s #TBT party series time! Rebecca is one of my very best friends since childhood. She got engaged at game 7 of the 2011 World Series- go Cards!! Rebecca and her now husband, Mike, are reaaaally into baseball, so we thought it appropriate to throw an All American Girls Baseball themed bridal shower for her! I planned this party with one of the most creative people I know and a bestie of Rebecca’s, Sam Schmiz. We had a tough time finding inspiration for a modern adult girls baseball theme so we stuck with simple colors pink, red, and mint, and gave it a vintage style.

Instead of a guest book, we had everyone sign baseballs! Another fun thing we did was take pictures of each guest in the photo booth, then as the party went on, we secretly made baseball cards for each guest to take home and a copy for Rebecca. We also gave Rebecca coordinating stationery and presented everything in a “baseball memorabilia” box with stat cards from each guest.

Here’s the bride-to-be and the baseball themed food table. Hot dogs, nacho bar, popcorn, soft pretzels, and peanuts.

I painted these forks just by taping off sections. (I’ll post a polka dot DIY soon.) Napkins by Shop Sweet Lulu– our fav party supplies site!

Cracker Jack Treats… oooommmmggg you guys. Recipe HERE just sprinkle fleur de sel on top.

We thought it would be fun to put the toppings into those little plastic baseball hats you get at the game for ice cream (AKA one of the only reasons I attend baseball games).

This was so fun- instead of playing a game we had the guests fill out these “stat cards”. Each square had a number involved in it to fit the baseball theme, like 7 is the number of___, on their 10 anniversary___, etc. We gave Rebecca the stat cards for her memorabilia box. PURCHASE HERE