VIDEO: How to make decorations from baby footprints

How to Make Footprint Decorations for a Baby Shower -- powered by eHow.com

Baby footprints are a sweet theme to use for a baby shower, bris or christening. And it's easy to do with either clip art footprints, or if the baby has already been born, by taking the actual footprint of the baby. You can use a water-based stamp pad. You can even find stamp pads in colors to match the baby's sex or your color theme.

As shown in the video, you can add them to paper or plastic glassware and favor boxes but you can also scan the footprint and then put it on the invitations, name tags, place cards for sit down events, affix to balloons, or blow them up into giant posters.

If you want, you can even take the print or scan of your baby's footprint and have it turned into a rubber stamp so you can personalize everything for your shower. From crepe paper to table cloths to wrapping paper - you're only limited by your imagination.

Footprints are as individual as fingerprints, so for party decor that no one else will ever have, try the baby footprint them.

Event Leftovers - what do you do with all that stuff?

It happens to every party or wedding planner, whether you're a professional or amateur party host, at the end of the event you have all of this...stuff. What do you do with it?

Event Leftovers is an exciting website where you can buy or sell new or gently-used items that are leftover after the party's over.

Not only is it a green way to go by recycling products but it's also a great money-saving or money-making idea.

Props, linens, party favors, paper products - virtually anything durable you have that's left over at the end of the event can be sold on the Event Leftovers site. But it's not just party products. You can also buy and sell wedding gowns, bridal party attire, cocktail dresses, jewelry and more.

As a consumer what does that mean to you? Well, now you can take advantage of someone buying too many high quality party products who are now trying to sell them at a discount for you to buy for your upcoming wedding or party. That's right, you can buy the leftovers that people like celebrity lifestyle expert, party and wedding planner Colin Cowie purchased for his star client list.

Whether it's a wedding, shower, rehearsal dinner, bachelor or bachelorette celebration, birthday party, holiday gatherings, fundraiser or any celebration or entertaining occasion, you can find great deals at Event Leftovers.

And while you can save money by buying for less, you can even make money. You can sell any leftovers that you may have after you've used them for your event to recoup some of your purchases as well.

Listing items is free and there is a nominal fee if you sell anything. And isn't that better than cluttering up your garage or warehouse with a dozen extra vases and a collection of party favors?

When selling, the trick is to be as specific as you can in your item's description such as including the dimensions of the item, color, style and so forth. Be sure to include a high quality photo. Remember a picture says a thousand words.

And if you're not sure about something you're thinking of buying, you can contact the seller to get a better description or answers to your concerns. Some items are priced as the entire lot and some things are listed with a per item price and the designation isn't always necessarily clear, so contact the seller to make sure that you understand the total cost of what you want to purchase.

Many of the durable items are less expensive than you would pay to rent them. And since you can still sell them after the party, it's almost like getting things for free.

And if you don't see the item you want and have the time to wait, you can subscribe to get an e-mail alert when your product becomes available.

Spread the word about Event Leftovers, the more people that use the service, the more products that will be available for you to buy and save.

If you enjoyed reading this article and want to learn more about wedding and party-related products, services, etiquette or just fun stuff to know, click on the SUBSCRIBE button.

World Series Baseball - Last-Minute Party Plan

With the World Series coming to an end (just one or two games left to this exciting series), why not throw a last-minute party.

INVITATIONS:
• Phone or e-mail guests to invite them to watch the game at your private "stadium."
• Invite your guests to wear their favorite team’s colors and logos.


SPORTS SETTING:
• Decorate your space by hanging posters, photos or magazine pages featuring headlines, team shots, or articles – anything about baseball.
• Use pennants, game programs, logo caps and other baseball gear as part of your room displays.




FAN FUN:
• When there are many guests, it's best to rent or borrow extra television sets for easy viewing. Your guests can cheer for their team without missing a hit or a steal.
• Between innings, conduct a rousing game of baseball trivia. Give “smarty slips” for each correct answer and a prize to the biggest "Stadium Smarty."
• Rent a few baseball-related movies (Field of Dreams, Bull Durham, The Natural, A League of Their Own, or Sandlot) and set up a club lounge area for those folks who aren't that interested in the sport but who still want to be a part of your game day gala.


CONCESSION STAND SETTING:
• Serve baseball park foods - hot dogs, pretzels, beer, popcorn, Cracker Jacks or have fun and serve some New York favorites such as thin crust pizza or for the Philly fans, go with a steak and cheese sandwich and be sure to have mustard for your pretzels.
• Cut pages from sports magazines of baseball pictures, copies of internet photos and programs and spread them on a table clothed in your team colors. Overlay the artwork with a clear plastic cloth for a grand slam spread.
• Arrange fresh or silk flowers and greenery set into floral foam in a large plastic-lined popcorn box weighted with pebbles. Add small pennants on sticks to show even more team spirit.


FAN FAVORS AND PRIZES:
• Take instant photos of your guests throwing out the game ball.
• Key ring with a baseball or bat design
• Baseball cards and bubble gum packets


For next season or if you want to get a start on basketball, get an early start and find all of your baseball party needs at PartyPlansPlus.Makesparties.com


QUESTION: What's the last to words to the National Anthem
ANSWER: Play ball!

Fun Thanksgiving Theme Decor

As I showed in the video located at the end of this blog and said in a previous post, the ideas shown in the video were meant for a wedding but could just as easily be recreated for a more formal Thanksgiving or autumn dinner party. And with Thanksgiving just around the corner, it's not too early to start planning how your party will look.

However, if your family is more fun than formal, I'm showing you some products from the PartyPlansPlus.Makesparties.com website. They have charming paper products, fanciful decor and funny costumes to add some authenticity (and hilarity) to your Thanksgiving celebration.

Put up an autumn forest backdrop. The leaves will be gone in most areas by the time Thanksgiving comes around (or they won't be there at all in the southern states) but that doesn't mean you can't decorate your room as if you're surrounded by Mother Nature at her fiery best.

Or maybe you want to give your guests a pilgrim's hat as a place marker and a good reason to get everyone giggling. And won't you be the hit of the party if you arrive at someone else's celebration decked out as Miles Standish!

A tinsel wreath will be a more casual centerpiece element than the one in the video but will accomplish the same sparkling setting when paired with a hurricane-enclosed candle.

Finally, for more style, instead of a chair tie, wrap autumn garlands around chairs or edge your table with them or cut them into pieces to use as napkin ties. Whatever you do with the garlands, they will add color and charm to your table setting.

Thanks again to Panache, a Classic Party Rental Company, for use of their gorgeous linens, tables and rentals for the video. Remember Panache offers affordable elegance.

Gobble, gobble!


How to Decorate for a Fall Wedding Theme -- powered by eHow.com

Plan Your Tailgate Party

The fun starts before the football game with your tailgate party. Whether it's flag football, pee-wee, high school, college, semi-pro or pro, sitting in the stands is an exciting way to spend an afternoon or evening and your tailgate party will get the gang ready to cheer.

Use your computer to create a ticket with all of the party information or send a football-shaped pre-made invitation. And if it's a last-minute party plan, then get on the phone, text the information or shoot out an e-mail to invite your gridiron gang to the game.

Here are some tips to make your tailgate party a success.

- Arrive early to ensure a great spot. Many stadiums have special tailgating sections.

- Ask your guests to bring along their own chairs.

- Help friends find you by flying a special helium-filled balloon display or hang up a custom banner.

- When tailgating plan a menu of food that can be prepared ahead of time and transported in insulated containers, are partially prepared or can be cooked quickly at the game in front of your guests.

- Pre-cut foods at home and keep in separate sealed plastic containers or tightly locked plastic bags. This will not only help in preparation and cooking but will keep any meats and side dishes from contaminating each other.

- Be sure to bring along all the cooking essentials that you'll need including tongs, corkscrews, cutting knives, folding tables, tablecloths, meat forks, serving utensils, disposable or unbreakable containers, cups, flatware and plates. Don't forget about can openers, lighters or safety matches, charcoal or gas needed for your grill and anything else you might need to cook and serve your meal. Make a list and be sure to check off all of the items as you load up your vehicle. For greater game style, buy some football-designed party ware.

- Pack foods in reverse order so that the first items to be eaten are the last ones to be packed.

- Keeping things cold is going to be essential for drinks and food so buy or borrow enough ice chests and get enough ice to ensure safety and dining enjoyability.

- For ease of eating, cut foods to bite size so knives aren't required or make sure you create a "no utensils needed" menu of finger foods.

- Don't forget snacks for guests to munch on while they're waiting for the meal.

- If kids are part of your party picture, bring along games, toys and snacks specifically for them.

- Encourage guests to come in football attire or team colors. Or bring along some football-themed accessories (hats, pom-poms, noisemakers and such) to keep them in the spirit.

- Swap recipes and food with nearby tailgating neighbors.

- TV or lap trays are helpful for kid and elderly guest dining.

- For large groups, regular gatherings and cost-savings, create a potluck party or assign guests to bring along specific items such paper goods, flatware, ice, soda, side dishes, games, coolers, football decorations, alcoholic beverages, buns, snacks and so forth. You supply the main dishes and cooking apparatus and your guests will bring everything else. This will make it easier on you and won't be a financial burden on anyone.

- Light up the party at evening games with spotlights, twinkle lights or festive football novelty lights.

- Don't forget clean-up. So be sure to pack wet wipes for sticky fingers and faces and plastic bags for proper trash disposal.

Whether your team wins or loses, your guests will cheer as you win the "Most Valuable Tailgate Host" award.

(For links to purchase italicized football-themed items, click here.)

FESTIVE FALL FETE

Of course Halloween and Thanksgiving are fast approaching, but do you really need an excuse to entertain this autumn?

If you live in a colder climate, this is one of your last chances before winter sets in to enjoy the outdoors and the spectacular visual glory that Mother Nature has provided. And with that kind of scenery, who needs a lot of décor!

And if you live where it's warmer, like me, then use these ideas to pretend that you are enjoying all of the autumnal glow of the season.

So gather the gang and enjoy this fabulous fall fete.

Start with a fun invitation. Write your party facts on a fall leaf or cut out a leaf form on autumn-colored construction paper. Or send a more traditional invitation affixed with a leaf (real, silk or preserved) or roll up your invitation and tie it with raffia and a cinnamon stick.

If you live in apple-picking country, head to a local farm and pick apples. Or head to a pumpkin patch to choose your jack-o-lantern or gourds .

If fall produce isn't readily available for picking, just go out to the local forest, woods or your own backyard and gather leaves, pine cones, acorns and other fall foliage.

Not that into nature? It is, after all, football season and chances are there's a local team – high school, college, pro or semi-pro – that will provide an afternoon or cool evening of excitement. And if the weather isn't cooperating, there's always a televised game on or you can rent a football-themed movie.

Golf courses are an explosion of seasonal color. Can you think of more enjoyable weather to get out on the links?

If you're the crafty type, choose leaves to press into scrapbooks. Or use a food dehydrator to dry out apple slices to string with cinnamon sticks to make a garland. If you don't own a food dehydrator, place thin apple slices on a cookie tin and bake in a 200-225 degree over for two to three hours.

Do you like to bake? Why wait for Thanksgiving. Dig out your favorite recipe and make a pumpkin or apple pie. Or how about making some apple, nut or cinnamon muffins. Doesn't a baked apple sound delicious?

On the other hand, as I said before, I'm lazy, and I pretty much don't bake. While the taste might not be as good, a frozen pie cooking in the oven will still fill your home with a tempting aroma. And once covered with a scoop of your favorite ice cream (how about maple or cinnamon instead of the usual vanilla), no one will notice that the pie wasn't made from scratch.

Heat up cider or serve spiced tea or hot chocolate with a cinnamon stick stirrer.

If you want to serve something more hearty, put up a slow cooker filled with a hearty stew or chili. Then when you get back from your activities, dinner will be ready. Just add cornbread or a savory loaf of pumpernickel and a seasonal salad of field greens, dried cranberries, walnuts, gorgonzola cheese and a cranberry vinaigrette and you'll have a stick-to-your-ribs meal that everyone will enjoy. If you're in a hurry or this is a last-minute gathering, dig out that pressure cooker and by the time you've set the table, your meal will be cooked.

If you want to add some seasonal style to your home, tie colorful ears of Indian corn to your chair backs with autumn-themed ribbon or raffia.

Fill a cornucopia with leaves, nuts, and fruits. Or, make a free-form centerpiece down the center of your dining or back yard picnic table with leaves, nuts, mini pumpkins, gourds and fruits.

A word of caution here. To ensure that you don't ruin your table's finish or get sap on your favorite tablecloth, put down a sheet of wax paper or plastic wrap or a flannel-backed plastic table runner as the base of your arrangement. For evening events, you can light up your décor with candles in heat-resistant containers that's kept away from your flammable display, or better yet, highlight your arrangement with battery-operated tea lights or pop lights.

Again, for those of us in the warmer climate, preserved or silk leaves will work well and most supermarkets carry the autumn produce. Or use plastic or ceramic decorations. (After all, it's not really autumn for us. We're just pretending so we can pretend that the fruits are real too.)

So don't wait for an autumn holiday. Just plan your fall fete.

It's Not Too Late to Plan a Halloween Party

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year making it the ideal time to plan a party. And, no, it's not too late to plan a celebration.

If you don't have the time and you do have the money, I'll be happy to share the name of some party pros to put everything together for you. Just write to me at PartyPlansPlus@aol.com and tell me what type of party pro you need and where you live and I'll send some recommendations.
However, if you do have the time and only a little money and are a DIY person, let me give you my thoughts on what you can do.

My FAVORITE store for all things affordable for Halloween or any party is Dollar Tree. There's probably one near you but if there isn't, you can go to http://www.dollartree.com/ to order their products.

I can spend HOURS in that store and find all sorts of things that I can use to create a great party. And best of all, since everything is a buck it's very affordable (and, no, I'm not getting paid to advertise for them, I just think they're a great resource).

Since it's getting a little late for sending invitations, an e-mail or phone invitation would probably work best. And there are services like http://www.evite.com/ that can add a little atomosphere to your invitation.

Let's get to the party.

There is no rule that says a Halloween party has to be strictly about a haunted house. In fact that's why we came up with our "Halloween Terror with a Twist" page which you can find at http://www.partyplansplus.com/partyplansplus.com/holidays/hallowtheme.htm.

The great thing about the ideas you'll find on that page is that you can incorporate party props from other celebrations you may have had in the past such as a western theme party, luau, beach party, '50s, '60's, '70s, fiesta or other theme party. Remember, recycling is good for the planet and your budget.

But let's say that you want to do a haunted house, here are some ideas to try.

Have a ceiling fan? Cover it with spider webs and suspend lightweight spiders from the blades and set it on low.

While you're at it, cover almost everything - especially corners - with spider webs. You can suspend with them straight pins. The pins will leave virtually invisible holes and won't damage your walls like many tapes will.

You can buy gauze fabric and tea-dye it, sheets from a thrift store, rolls of black plastic sheeting or drop cloths to cover your furniture. Or cover your dining chairs in oversized black leaf bags. Not only will it add to that haunted mansion look, it will help keep your couches clean.


Light your home entirely with candles - just be sure to keep them in places where they won't touch anything flammable, can't be jostled and keep a fire extinguisher nearby.


Don't have enough candleholders for taper candles. No problem. Just fill a glass or container with sand, kitty litter or pebbles to hold up the taper.


If you don't want to use all candles, colored light bulbs are affordable and will add an eerie effect. Or drape lampshades with a fabric or scarf to give a subdued glow.

Tuck holiday string lights behind furniture and behind curtains for a unearthly glow.

Dig through your family photo albums and find pictures of your great or great great grandparents. The way they took photos of unsmiling family portraits can be pretty creepy. Blow these up on a copier in a sepia tone and replace your artwork with the photos. Or dig around the Internet for uncopyrighted creepy photos.

Now for the food!

Make bony fingers by cutting finger shapes out of whole wheat bread. Cover in peanut butter and strawberry jelly. Use slivered almonds as finger nails.

Make hard boiled eggs. Cut them in half lengthwise. Add a slice of a green pimento olive to the center yolk and you have eyeball eggs.

Guacamole served in a cleaned out pumpkin or gourd will look like Pumpkin Puke. Grizzly but yummy!

Lady finger cookies with red fruit rollup finger nails will be a bloody sweet treat.

Red velvet cake with green icing decorated like a giant bug will have guests screaming for more.

Use dry ice in your punch bowl and trim the rim of the bowl with gummy worms.

Make diagonal slits in hot dogs and fill the slits with relish and ketchup to look like slithering snakes.

With just a little preparation and a few dollars you can host a Halloween party that will have guests talking about for years.

Hope it's a boo-tiful party!

What You'll Find In This Blog

Welcome friends!

OK, maybe we haven't met but I will just think of you as a friend I haven't yet met. And since I love to share ideas with friends, that's what I'm going to do with this blog.

I'll admit it, I'm not Martha Stewart. She's terrific and obviously very successful and people love to read her magazine and watch her show. But to tell you the truth, I don't have the time (or money) to do half the stuff that she and her staff come up with and that's where I hope to help you.

Think of me as the lazy Martha Stewart.

That means that I'm going to share ideas with you for parties, holidays, weddings and more that you can EASILY and AFFORDABLY accomplish and that will give you great results.

I'll share recipes, decor ideas, etiquette tips and just a bunch of ideas that we've dreamed up or have seen and adapted to a more easily accomplished and/or be an affordable alternative to things you might have seen on TV or in a magazine.

So keep checking back and I'll fill you in on all the things my partner, Patty Sachs, and I come up with that will help you live your life more happily because you'll be a better host, have a great event and still have time to enjoy the celebration yourself and you'll can entertain even in these tough economic times.

I'm looking forward to sharing my thoughts with you and I hope you'll keep in touch with me and tell me what you think and what you want to read about.

You can write to me directly at PartyPlansPlus@aol.com or by hitting the e-mail link on this page.

Let's party!