Porta-gelo descontraído Sexta-Feira, 7 Março, 2008

Essa idéia pode ser usada tanto em festas de Halloween quanto no Thanksgiving,

dando descontração a festa!

You don’t need a fairy godmother to turn a pumpkin into an ice bucket. Just choose a large, wide pumpkin, cut off the top third with a serrated knife, and scrape out the pulp and seeds. Line the gourd with a glass or plastic bowl to prevent it from becoming water-logged. If the pumpkin opening is a bit too small for the bowl, carefully shave the inside edge with a spoon. Finish by filling the bowl with ice and bottled drinks.

First Published on Living: October 2005

Lembrancinhas de Halloween Sexta-Feira, 7 Março, 2008

Esses saquinhos são super fáceis de fazer e dão até pra montar um “cemitério”. Clique aqui pra pegar o molde.

Only brave party guests dare disturb the tasty contents of these graves. The candy-filled headstones are mini black paper bags placed in a tray filled with black sand; for the harrowing how-to, see below. Beside the graveyard, candles float in “blood,” made by tinting water with red and blue food coloring.

Download templates and cut out, or draw your own. Trace top edge underneath the opening of a 2 3/4-by-5 1/2-inch black paper bag, available at crafts stores; cut out. Stamp message in white ink on bag. Fill with candy; seal with a glue stick.

First Published on Living: October 2005

Quando o lugar é marcado Sexta-Feira, 7 Março, 2008

Pode-se inovar usando vários materiais pra tornar a festa ainfa mais memorável!

Pedras, folhas, conchas, galhos de árvore, etc. Use carimbos para deixar a sua marca.

Found objects — seashells, stones, and the like — can become party-perfect place cards when you use an ink pad and rubber stamps to dress them up. These small-scale crafts can also complement your table’s color palette or serve as tie-ins to your event’s overall decorative theme. Images can be applied to almost any surface; experiment with different objects and various colors of ink. We used white ink to print a guest’s name across a leaf, brown to monogram two pebbles and add a spray of miniature buds to a third, and aqua to top a plain shell with a fanciful sea horse.

First Published on Living: July 2006

Convites originais para o chá de panela Sexta-Feira, 7 Março, 2008

Achei essa idéia super original, tanto para o convite quanto para a lembrancinha.

Idéia da Martha Stewart Weddings, de 2000

Bolos de Páscoa Sexta-Feira, 7 Março, 2008

Não são as coisas mais fofas?! Da revista Living

This treat is modeled on one of the symbols of the season — baby chicks. With their coconut feathers, nutty beaks, and confectionery details, the cakes aren’t just eye candy; they’re delicious, too.

To hatch one of these, you don’t have to be an expert baker. Making a batch of chick cupcakes is a perfect task for novices, and kids will love to help. The result will be a whimsical hit at the table.

Decorating Tricks
1. An upside-down cupcake will become the body of a chick. Spread vanilla buttercream on a cupcake to anchor it to the serving plate while you are working. Use a small offset spatula to coat the sides thickly with frosting, and then mound more on top to create a dome shape.

2. Toasted shredded coconut, pressed into the frosting, stands in for fuzzy feathers. Hold the plate at an angle while applying the coconut so the excess falls back into the bowl.

3. Tiny eyes (which are made from snipped black licorice laces) are easy to place using tweezers. Larger features, such as the whole-almond beak and the red licorice feet and comb, can be pushed into the frosting by hand.

First Published: April 2005

Chá de bebê “Verde” Sexta-Feira, 7 Março, 2008

Ser ecologicamente correta pode se aplicar ao chá de bebê  também, como mostra essa matéria da revista Parents de março de 2008.

 Presenteie com roupinhas orgânicas

 Elimine as garrafas PET e sirva sucos em garrafas recicladas.

 Ao embrulhar os presente, utilize sacos de papel, jornal, botões, etc.

 No lugar dos tradicionais jogos, convide as amigas para criarem caixinhas utilizando papéis de presente usado. Use as caixinhas pra deixar recadinhos e recomendações para os futuros pais.

 Utilize fraldas de pano pra criar essas lindas “flores” e evite os talheres, copos e pratos descartáveis.

 Como lembrancinha para as convidadas, dê flores plantadas em garrafas de vidro, recicláveis. Além de uma bela lembrança, alegram o chá!

 Utilize pedras para descrever os pratos que serão servidos. Pode-se usar cores diferentes para diferenciar os salgados das sobremesas. Folhas de árvores também são uma boa opção.