Watch out for Gators!

Today's post comes courtesy of J's cousin, who is getting married on Kiawah Island (in South Carolina) this fall... apparently there are tons of alligators on the island so she is looking for a cute way to incorporate this common island sighting into the favors.


How cute are these edible gators?!

Clockwise from top left:
:: Gator Cookies from Lori's Place on etsy ~ $32 for 15 cookies ($2.20 each). She has these listed as part of a Reptile assortment, but I'm sure would do all gators if requested!
:: Oval Gator Lollipops from Christine's Chocolate Creations on etsy ~ $20 for 20, buyer can choose the color of the gator & background, also available without the stick.
:: Choc-o-Gator from Anastasia's Confections ~ $4.50 for 6 ($0.75 each)
:: Detailed Gator Lollipops from AmySweetTreats ~ $20 for 12 ($1.66 each)


Once you have your adorable edible treats, how to display them? There are two general options: place one with each place setting, or set them all out in a central location. If putting them at each place setting, they'd be cute in a small poly bag with a ribbon that coordinates to the wedding colors (see the Oval Pops picture above)... even better, make it a personalized ribbon with the wedding details. Also be sure to tie on a tag explaining the significance of the alligator to the location. For chocolates without the stick, the bag would still be cute, or put them in these adorable party cracker-inspired tubes or a cute cylindrical container (both clear or tin with a window top would be great).

Left to right: Fancy Candy tubes from Martha Stewart :: Personalized Ribbon from Beau Coup :: Cylinder Containers from Martha Stewart

Putting all the favors in one spot, allowing guests to grab their own, would also be a great way to make a big impact. Put each favor in a clear baggy - close it off either with a ribbon (like above) or just fold it over and seal with a sticker (personalized would be so cute!) then display all of the gators on a bed of 'sand' made of turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw). If using cookies or stick-less chocolates, stand up the baggies on the sugar... if using lollipop-style chocolates, line the bottom of your container with styrofoam before adding the sugar so the sticks have something to stick into.

Favors displayed on a bed of 'sand' via Martha Stewart

Make sure to include a sign instructing guests to take one and explaining the significance of the gator to the location.

To make the event even more pulled-together, include the alligator theme elsewhere... I love the idea of including some alligator gummies (from Candy Warehouse) or an alligator-shaped soap (from Bath Time Bouquets on etsy - you pick the color and scent) in the out-of-town bags.




If alligators aren't your thing, the ideas above could all be adjusted for a different animal or motif!

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

For anyone still out there after such a long, long time away on my part, I am so sorry for my absence! There have been quite a few changes in my life over the last couple months and time has gotten away from me.

So, what are those changes?! I finally quit my corporate job (the one I worked at for just over 4 years and have been complaining about for just under 4 years :) and am taking some time to figure out my next move professionally. I've been talking for as long as I can remember about starting my own business, so trying to figure that out a bit more. The other exciting thing is that J and I (and Frank + Boozer) decided to take advantage of my newfound freedom and are taking an extended vacation/ road trip out west. We drove out to Colorado (from Chicago) and spent some time, then traveled through Utah and now are in Boise, Idaho for a while... in a few weeks we'll make our way back to the midwest via Wyoming and South Dakota, with stops at Yellowstone and the Badlands. I know, crazy, right?!


The other thing is... I have been thinking about my little corner of the internet and what I want to do with it and am excited to make With a Flourish the best it can be. So while I've been away way too long, I am now coming back with renewed energy and bursting with ideas to share. I hope you'll stick around too!

Internal Struggle: Left vs Right Brain

I came across this drawing on Artsyville a while ago and adore it... speaks so clearly to the jumbled-slash-organized mess going on in my head all the time!

Shower Decor: Felt Garlands

I ended up making both the Felt Garlands and some Table Runners for the baby shower I co-hosted this past weekend and was so happy with how it turned out! You can see a table runner below and the other one in a picture from Monday's post.

The garland hung above the kitchen island, where we had the candy bar set up 
The garland was super easy to make... I cut three differently sized circles out of three colors of felt and then just fed them one-by-one through the sewing machine. It was such a satisfying project to sew... very little time needed and you had a super long garland created!






The carnation balls didn't end up happening this time - I couldnt find wet foam spheres anywhere and the ones I ordered online didn't come in time. But now I have a project for my sister's bachelorette party decorations this summer! :)

Well Said: Do What You Love

A quotation J recently shared with me... speaks to my heart... I hope you like it!

Baby Shower Activity: Iron-on Appliques

The baby shower I co-hosted this past weekend went fabulously... we enjoyed good food (my contribution was cheese fondue- yum!), good company, and lots of oohing and aahing over the gifts, especially all those tiny clothes!

Plain onesies on a clothesline  

The main activity was a big hit- decorating onesies. This seems to be a pretty common baby shower event, but I heard lots of compliments on the approach we took... Using this idea from Jordan Ferney, we had guests trace shapes onto different fabrics and iron on their creations. I was seriously amazed by the creativity levels... I had expected everyone to choose a single fabric/ shape, and one guest put her shape on the backside, which started a major trend!

I had the onesies hung up on a clothesline with clothespins, and instructions hung a few places around the room. The 'worktable' had fabric pieces with iron-on interfacing already on the back and a selection of shapes to trace, and an ironing board nearby. I used interfacing which had 2 sticky/tacky sides, and that worked well. If you try this, we quickly learned that you can't have too many pencils or scissors!
The fonts used to create the shapes all came from dafont.com- look under the 'dingbats' category. The shapes we used (pdf) and the instructions sign (ppt) can be downloaded by clicking on the associated images below.  

Idea to steal: Billy Buttons

I love fresh flowers in the house, but am not always so good about keeping them in fresh water... I think that I may need to steal the idea I've been seeing on blogland - dried Billy Button flowers. So pretty!

Picture from A Merry Mishap

Picture from Making it Lovely

In general I am not a fan of fake or dried flowers, but love how cute these are. In case anyone else is also interested in re-creating this idea, Nicole from Making It Lovely says she got hers here.