Kel-Belle's 7th Birthday

This is my great-niece Kelsey. Kelsey is ate up with Harry Potter at the moment. She was turning seven and wanted me to do her tablescape in the Harry Potter theme. I have never seen a Harry Potter film or read a Harry Potter book. Spells and wizards are not my idea of fun. I don't like to mess with that kind of thing, knowing the power of good and evil. I prefer to call on the power of God and I know that wizards aren't of God. Needless to say, my heart was not into designing this table. But I did find it a bit of a challenge so I searched the Internet to see what kind of ideas I could get from other people's Harry Potter parties. Without the Internet, I would be lost. I found some very helpful websites and will try to list the ones I can remember.
I was surprised at how well it turned out, though pictures never seem to capture what it looks like in person. Kelsey's glasses I found at the Dollar Store. They happen to come with a red nose but I didn't tell Kelsey that. The wands I made out of some bamboo I had at home. I just took hot glue and made a handle and designs on them with the glue and then spray painted them. .
The above picture click's bigger.

I had this old birdcage at home and also already had a stained glass owl light for some reason. I just painted it's head white and when you tuned it on his eyes light up red. I bought the stuffed owl puppet before I realized I actually already had an owl at home. The star quilt belonged to Angie when she was in college. I hung it over the big window in Kelsey's kitchen to make it darker and more of a wizard wonderland. The sheet I hung on the ceiling along with some webs and spiders I found at Good-Will.

I found this snake at a local party store who had their Halloween decor half-off. Costumes weren't half-off so I never got a witch or wizard hat bought. I had planned on making a sorting hat but ended up with having Kelsey visit the night before her birthday so there were a few things I didn't get made that were supposed to go on the table. Such as the hat, some scrolls and a feather ink pen and ink well. This tie I found at The Salvation Army store along with some black robes that I covered the chairs with. I then took twine and hung brooms on the back of the kid's chairs that I had picked up at The Dollar Store.
The above picture click's bigger.

To find these love potion labels copy and paste this link if it doesn't work
http://rottenyouth.deviantart.com/art/Veritaserum-potion-label-157495029
I found other labels here & just mod-podged them onto old bottles and jars. The two brown bottles are actually Dad's Root-Beer from The Dollar Store.
http://ivillage.com/ Of course I can't find them now but if you Google search Harry Potter Parties or labels you'll find some.
I found some here too.
www.mommyblessings.com



I found some great labels here on this website too.
http://madebymarcie.blogspot.com/2008/10/spooky-labels-from-love-manor.html
The swamp fog was really water mixed with a tad bit of milk.

The Golden Snitch





Bat Skeletons are really Ramen Noodles.



This is a great website for ideas and labels. I'm not sure where I copied these book covers from but I probably found them through this website. http://parenting.ivillage.com/slideshow/parenting/12_easy_ideas_for_a_wizardworthy_harry_potter_birthday_party/official_hogwarts_invitations.html





This is Kelsey's sister Emma. Emma is a girl of few words. When she talks, you listen. Emma paid me my highest compliment when she walked in from school, looked at the table, looked at me and said "That's impressive." Isaac walked in behind her and said "Whoa, That is impressive." Sigh, my mission was complete. Kel-Belle just kept smiling and saying "Cool"

Turkey Pepperoni Dip

Turkey Pepperoni Dip

I don't know where this recipe originated from so I hope I'm not infringing on anybody's copyrights or breaking some kind of blogger's law but I could live off of this stuff. Of course I'd gain three pounds a day like I did yesterday after eating it at a shower we threw for Angie's friend Amber. My friend Debbie always makes this and I always have to ask her for the recipe when I want to take it somewhere. I thought if I wrote it on my blog I wouldn't have to bother her again for it. Plus it should be shared because it is so easy and so yummy. Here it is.......

Pepperoni Dip 2 /8oz blocks of cream cheese 1 cup sour cream 1 can Rotel tomatoes w/chilis (drained) 1 pkg of pepperoni (I use the turkey pepperoni) Chop the cream cheese into pieces along with the pepperoni slices, throw it into a small crock pot or slow cooker and heat until creamy. Serve with Pita Bites or chips, Better Chedders, Hawaiian Bread, pretzels, veggies or whatever floats your boat. If you are responsible for this recipe Thank You! and please let me know so I can give you the credit.

Luggage & It's Tags

So evidently I have a reader who looks forward to my posts. It's when I am not posting, you can bet I have a lot to say but am busy and am trying to filter my thoughts which probably makes them less fun to read but makes me less vulnerable and less likely to tick anyone off.. Anyway without saying much I will show you these luggage tags I thought were adorable. These are for you Kate. :)
Present Day Lifestyle & Gifts

MOB DRESS

So, this is the dress that I may end up wearing to Angie's wedding. My good friend Debbie loves to shop and loves especially to shop for other people, not herself. She saw this dress and thought I might like it. She called and asked if she should get it and bring it to me and I said "YES, PLEASE!" I have not been in the mood to shop for a dress. Perhaps it is this weight issue I have going on. Debbie bought this dress at Von Maur, a store that I love because they don't charge interest on their credit cards. They gift wrap anything you buy for free and also have free shipping from their website. You don't even have to ship it back if you don't like it. You can just take it to the store and get your money back.
I really like the dress, though it is a lot more than I wanted to pay for one. It looks a lot better in this picture because there is actually a waist in it. When I put it on, there doesn't seem to be that inward dent in the middle that should be there, like in the picture. I am going to keep it though and try to whittle myself a waist. I am not even going to ask your opinions on this because I don't want to be disappointed when no one gives one. HA! If I find something I like better, I can always return this one to Von Maur, because they are the best! Check out these shoes they have. Should I wear silver shoes? Oh shoot, I just asked your opinion. I think I may want some sparklier ones.

Angie's Surprise

How sad is it that I go to the trouble of throwing Angie a surprise birthday party and these are the only pictures I have of it. My future son-in-law and his trusty camera forgot to go to work and I was too busy to think of it too. I did get a couple more but they are stuck on my camera until I find the cords to it to get them off. I didn't realize that I didn't have the memory card in the camera. Angie had been working long hours and had been away from home working in Dallas and San Diego for almost two weeks so I decided kind of at the last minute to throw her a party. When she came home from the airport she was a bit shocked to find her friends and family here yelling surprise when she walked in the door. Then we broke into a chorus of Happy Birthday. Click the pictures bigger to get the look on her face. At least I got these pictures. The first one she saw was Erik and she wasn't expecting him to come into town for a few more hours. These cupcakes I made were on a sweet table that I set up. As soon as I find that camera cord I will show it to you I haven't been in the mood to post anything lately and have been a bit busy. The wedding is creeping up on us so I am sure I will be getting busier and busier too. I think I have found my Mother of the Bride dress thanks to my good friend Debbie who really should be a professional personal shopper. More on that later. American Idol is getting ready to come on so I have to go.
click 'em for a better look

Irony & Art of the Tables Past

I've always been a fan of ironic humor. I even studied it in a humor class in high-school.(I always took the easiest classes I could so I'd get good grades) Ironically, that fooled me into thinking I was smart when in reality if I had taken some challenging classes maybe my brain would work better today and maybe I would be doing something a little more financially rewarding than babysitting. I didn't even take a full year of typing in high-school because I never wanted to sit on my butt all day in front of a computer. Ironically, that's what I love to do now and I'm regretting not taking a typing course. I'm no longer such a fan of irony. It seems to follows me around, day in, day out. Sure, it's funny if it's on a sit-com about a can't win loser that you're watching on television but it's not so funny when you'd swear you were playing the lead role in that sit-com. Not a day goes by that at some point in the day I'm not looking over my shoulder expecting Ashton Kutcher to jump out and yell "You've been punked!" I had another of those ironic moments yesterday when I was looking through a bag of papers I found tucked away in my abyss of a closet. I was searching for some financial statements that my youngest daughter needed when low and behold I came across last year's Art of the Table brochure. I had looked and looked for that thing over and over so that I could try to figure out who to give credit to for the tables I had posted pictures of. Ironically, as soon as I delete the posts because I didn't know who to give credit to, I find the damned pamphlet from the show. So since I feel bad for posting pictures that I obviously shouldn't have I am going to go through this pamphlet and name everyone who had a table at last year's show and try to link to their website if possible. If I can figure out by reading the description of the table who is responsible then I will repost the pictures for it. If not, I won't but rest assured every table there last year was awesome and anybody in this list of people would be great to hire as a designer for your event. This is going to take a lot of time which ironically I am always running short on. Hopefully, I will get it done before next year's show. And here we go..... This first table is A Day in Paris by Pam Monahan again from Entertaining with a Flair www.entertainingwithaflair.com
Floral Designer Rebecca Valentine- Rebecca Vaentine Floral Design 317-385-9206-www.rebeccavalentine.blogspot.com Stationary by Jen Swathwood-Card INc.317-733-9301 www.cardink.net
Next table is Library Love - Tablescape Designer Susan Jackson Learned & Amie Drose from Where Can I Put This? -312-209-3466 Floral Designer Jim Holland- Freelance Floral Designer 317-902-3138
Wreath made from book pages

Library Card or Menu card?
Next we have WOW with Warhol! Tablescape Designer Kim King Smith-Kim King SmithEvents,LLC 317-512-0172- www.kimkingsmithevents.com
Floral designer Bokay Floral, Broadripple 317-253-2323
Stationary Designer Jen Swathwood- CardInk 317-733-9301- www.cardink.net


Next up is I Love Paris in the Springtime Tablescape Designer Kay Krober Invitaion and Celebrations 317-733-9570
www.kaykrober.com Floral Designer Ken Meyers- Freelance Floral Designer-317-926-5695- myerskena@yahoo.com
This next table I am guessing by the description is called It Had Better Be Tonight www.detailanddesign.com"> Table Designers
L. Gene Huddleson II - Detail + Design 317-423-3590 gene@detailanddesign.com Monica Richare Detail + Design 317-423-3590 www.detailanddesign.com


The table behind this one with the peacock feathers belongs to Circle City Planners 317-490-8738 www.circlecityplanners.com Floral Designer www.byroyalcreations.com">Royal Creations 317-257-5540 www.byroyalcreations.com
From the description of the table I am guessing that the Gone With the Wind table below belongs to Jim Holland, Freelance Floral designer 317-902-3138 Stationary designer is www.eventsbygloria.com">Gloria Boyden, Events by Design. 317-566-8233 www.eventsbygloria.com

My guess from reading this pamphlet is that the Bridal Bliss table must be this gorgeous table below. If I am wrong I apologize. Tablescape Designer>www.eventsbygloria.com">Gloria Boyden, Events by Design 317-566-8233 www.eventsbygloria.com Floral Designer /www.WeddingFlowersDesignStudio.com">Jan Johnson, Wedding Flowers Design Studio 317-813-8699 www.WeddingFlowersDesignStudio.com


Again. I'm making a guess by what is written that this cool table below is the Crystal Ball Bliss table by /elitebridalconsultingandevents.com">Elite Bridal Consulting & Events,LLC.
317-592-9592 www.elitebridalconsultingandevents.com
Floral Designer Kathy's Kloset 317-291-7767


Any other pictures I had posted I can't seem to figure out by the descriptions in this brochure who is responsible for them. I will list everyone though that I see had a table there besides these tables. Tablescape Designers Vanessa Chaves & Megan Gates IMA/Wolfgang Puck catering 317-923-1331 -vchabez@imamuseum.orghad a table named Art of Seduction
This next picture I have a feeling probably belongs to
Tablescape Designer www.HeavenlySweetsCakes.com">Tanya S. Marshall Heavenly Sweets Cakes 317-770-9399 www.HeavenlySweetCakes.com
Tablescape Designer and Floral Designer Ken A. Meyers Freelance 317-96-5695
myerskena@yahoo.com Was there with a table named New Traditions
Tablescape Designer www.memorymakersindy.com">Lisa Gorman from Memory Makers Wedding and Event Planning was there with a table named Dawn. kathysklosetofflowers.com">Kathy Hinderlit from Kathy's Kloset was the floral designer.
The Moulon Rouge Table was by Amanda Coffey from the Indianapolis.Conradmeetings.com/">Conrad Hotel
317-524-2558 with floral designer Enflora 317-0913-9300
Julie's Ever After Table was by Becky Ruby - Lilly Lane 317-435-8806There was a table called A Toast to the Bride and Groom by www.abutlerspantry.com">Sandy Rogers from Butler's Pantry 317-733-8003
Jim Holland Freelance Floral Designer 317-902-3138

I have a lot more to list but have no time right now so I will come back and list the others here as soon as I can with an edit to this post. Thanks!