Canadian Shopping Deals: Kitchen Stuff Plus

During my usual daily peruse of the interwebs, I came across a fantastic bargain and of course I wanted to share.

This Wilton Pro II Deluxe Cookie Gun is only at Kitchen Stuff Plus, for only $29.99! It's usually about 40 bucks, so I'm for sure running out to get one. My current cookie press/cookie gun is at least ten years old and has a tendency to seize up, making it pretty much impossible to squirt the little dough shapes out. I love making spritz cookies for Christmas, so this new cookie gun will definitely come in handy.

Actually, speaking of Christmas, wouldn't this make a wonderful Christmas gift for someone? Possibly a dear friend with a young child who might enjoy the fun of using a cookie gun? Definitely a great Christmas for bakers, or a great gift for kids who enjoy baking. That's it, I'm getting two!!

LACKing Creativity: What to do with a $7.99 side table

Ikea has recently lowered the prices on a few of their items and this Lack table happens to be one of them. It now costs a whopping $7.99! Super cool.

While I don't exactly need a Lack table in its default form, I can't help trying to come up with something to do with it. You may blame Ikea Hacker for that thought.I've considered sticking adding an upholstered top for some quick and easy extra seating, adding some casters, some tile or trying my hand at decoupage.

Still, nothing has truly come together as a valid idea, so of course I turned to the interwebs for inspiration. Here are a couple of interesting finds:

A tale of win and fail

Finally, the Pink Party recap. I know should have posted the PP update on Monday, and I probably would have if a) things had gone exactly as I'd wanted and b) I wasn't aware of the fact that I'm being totally superficial about it.


The fact is, we had a great turnout and raised over $500 for breast cancer research. Our photo booth was a hit, we had more food than anyone could eat, and a good time was had by many. 


So what's my problem? We went with an expanded cocktail party theme, which had everything freshly cooked and individually plated, with the help of two, count them two ladies in the kitchen (and by help, I mean it was just mommy and me). It was a busy, busy day in the kitchen. Unfortunately, my pasta didn't turn out, and I messed up the mix ratio in one of my mocktails, I also didn't have time to make my soup… or frost my cupcakes L. Why didn't I have more things done ahead of time? No room in my refrigerator. Part of my thinks I need a second refrigerator…that would be the crazy part. The sane part of me likes keeping the hydro bill nice and low. 


Of course, another part of the problem is that I spend far too much time reading about perfectly designed and DIY'd parties online. Couple that with a guilty TV pleasure that is Party Mammas, which makes me want to constantly raise my hostess' bar.


Of course, this was only the first big party I've thrown in my new house, so I'm trying to forgive myself a little. And in the end, the Pink Party wasn't about me anyway. It was about spreading awareness and helping to fund a cure for breast cancer, and I'm proud to say we did both of those things.

Inspiration board makers revisited

After my initial post about an online inspiration board maker I'd found, I've decided to revisit the topic and expand. No longer in wedding planning mode, I now look at inspiration boards as a great way to plan a party theme, holiday decorating scheme or even to design a room Here are the different boards I've looked at, both online and offline:


Online Inspiration board makers


Polyvore

Great for putting outfits together, but that's primarily it. No home décor or party planning option available. You click and drag articles of clothing/accessories from a pre-populated library to create a fairly freeform board.

Modern hobnail gorgeousness

I know, I know, the pink party was days ago and I've yet to post an update. It's coming, I promise to regale you with tales of both Piny Party win and fail. However, in the meantime, I simply had to drop in to share an ab fab finding.

Look at this gorgeous blue hobnail tumbler from Anthropologie!

It's so bright, so beautiful, so bumpy!! I so love hobnail things. While this isn't a piece of antique milk glass, this is a wonderful, relatively inexpensive piece that would do wonderfully in a set, or on its own, filled with puffy white flowers. I'm telling you, had I seen this around this time last year, the centerpieces at my wedding would have looked a little bit better different.

Dollarstore diva:Get great serveware pieces on the cheap

The days are ticking away! The pink party is nearly here, so before I reveal any major details I want to take a moment to share some of my fantastic, affordable party gear finds. I'm going with chic yet cheap for my upcoming mocktail party, which means some creativity with the serveware and food is definitely required.

First down the runway in this frugal home entertaining fashion show is this lovely number:

Will I be trying my hand at Asian cuisine? Wonton soup anyone? No, not at all. What I will be doing however, is serving mouthfuls of one of my appies meticulously mounded in the bowl of these darling wonton spoon, which will be nestled in a bowl o crushed ice. Presentation perfection! And the cost? A mere $.59 a piece. Forget any store that specializes in home decor, and departments stores or the like. You can find cheap wonton spoons in Toronto or probably any ethnically diverse city at an Asian grocery store for pennies.

Mocktail Bar: Keep an eye on the curveballs

Sometimes plans just don't go the way you want them to, and sometimes, that can be really good thing.

I went into Ikea last Friday to purchase the bottles and straws I'd mentioned in my previous post about the mocktail bar set up, and guess what? They were out of the bottles for my mocktail bar juices and the straws didn't come in the colors I wanted. 

BOO! Needless to say I was greatly displeased. As I trudged out of the store, through the insidious Ikea marketplace maze (clearly intended to entice one into purchasing frames, candle holders and other bits not previously required) I happened upon the vase section and inspiration caught my eye in the form of this:

 

 
While this is a rather iconic Ikea vase, in that moment I couldn't help thinking that it would make an absolutely fantastic bottle for my mocktail bar. So, rather than driving a few cities over to another Ikea, I changed plans and purchased 5 of these vases(three pink and two clear) for $2.99 a piece. We did a mock up of the mocktail bar last night and I couldn't be happier with my choice. The vases look fantastic. And as for the straws, I was lucky enough to find a pack a gorgeous, hot pink straws at my local Dollarama, which saved $1.99.


 
I wonder how many people have had thwarted plans turn into a blessing in disguise.

Mocktail Maddness

Long time no see! Bad blogger, I know; but it's summertime and life has been busy. However, we now have only one week till the Pink Party! Can you believe it?! Seems like just the other day it was just a thought. So now I'm in power planning mode. Also known as the result of far too much summer fun induced procrastinating. Hey, we can't all be Martha, you know what I mean.

So now here I am with this grand vision in mind and a massive to-do, to-buy and to-make list. First on today's post-day job check list: Get the Mocktial Bar gear together! I'll be making a bee-line to my nearest Ikea for some fantastic essentials.

Online inspiration board maker: Updated

UPDATE: Read my update, listing more options for easy inspiration board creation.

If you've been around the wedding or event planning blogs for a little while, you're probably quite familiar with the concept of inspiration boards. These great collages of photos inspiring a wedding or party design theme can be an incredible help when it comes to visualizing a cohesive theme.

If you want to create an inspiration board for a wedding, party or just for fun, you have a variety of options for getting the job done. There's the ultra-retro way of cutting and gluing photos onto some foam core, you can use a paint program of any number of design programs (which can be costly and may come with a learning curve), or you can turn to s super easy, online inspiration board maker, like Mosaic maker. Mosaic Maker is free (but requires registering) and fairly easy to use. I'm using it to organize the theme for the Pink Party. Stay tuned for the results.

Mosaic Maker: A world of creative photo possibilities.