INSPIRED BY THIS: RING IT INTO THE NEW YEAR
Today we are discussing how to take those left over party elements and refresh them for a great New Year's Party. After all, you put all that work into your holiday arrangements, why not let them take center stage as long as possible?!
Photography: Jose Villa
We are thrilled to hang out with Inspired By This the entire month of December as our Guest Editor. We have already found ourselves learning some amazing tips and can’t wait to be inspired the whole month! They'll be guiding us through holiday planning and sharing lifestyle tips... be prepared to be inspired!
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Today we are discussing how to take those left over party elements and refresh them for a great New Year's Party. After all, you put all that work into your holiday arrangements, why not let them take center stage as long as possible?! Last week was all about party accessories and this week we are going to talk about how you can take those accessories and reuse them for future parties. With the New Year right around the corner, this is the perfect time to take all of our Christmas party decor and find a way to bring it to use in your New Year's shindig!
BEFORE
Styling: JL Designs + The Venue Report
Photography: Leo Patrone
AFTER
Styling: The Venue Report + Inspired By This
Florals: JL Designs
Photography: Jose Villa
From the California Christmas ideas we shared last week, you can take elements such as the succulents and florals and reuse them for your January festivities. With a little gold spray paint, the succulents are completely transformed. You can use white vases from your previous event to create the centerpieces fro the table settings. Just add some simple white florals from your local Trader Joes... Just like that our Christmas party decor was transformed into New Years wedding decor and fashion accessories! It's that simple!
Party planning is a great way to bring family and friends together. You get to create with a few elements in your home and reuse decor you have purchased for multiple events. So don't let holiday hosting weigh you down. We hope we have been able to inspire you with different ways to throw your own holiday and New Year's party without breaking the bank!
HEAD OVER TO INSPIRED BY THIS FOR MORE DAILY INSPIRATION!
INSPIRED BY THIS: PARTY ACCESSORIES
Last week on the we talked about the main components of a party and gave you a peek at how we included those ideas in our holiday party! This week, we wanted to give you some party accessory ideas, including some of our favorite DIY's.
We are thrilled to hang out with Inspired By This the entire month of December as our Guest Editor. We have already found ourselves learning some amazing tips and can’t wait to be inspired the whole month! They'll be guiding us through holiday planning and sharing lifestyle tips... be prepared to be inspired!
Last week on the we talked about the main components of a party and gave you a peek at how we included those ideas in our holiday party! This week, we wanted to give you some party accessory ideas, including some of our favorite DIY's.
DETAILS
The tablescape is typically the focal event of a party - the centerpieces will be your main decor, your guests will be wining and dining at the table and conversation will flow. So this is where the details will matter most! For our party, we put a personalized namecard at each setting, and added a fun braided detail. The braids were easy to DIY ourselves with strips of fabric, and really tied the place settings together. You can pick up materials for this at your local craft store. Don't be afraid to get creative! Fabric, string or twine are great options.
FAVORS
The other key to a great party is a memorable favor for your guest to take home. It's their final impression of the night, and we want it to be a good one! For our event, we made a favor that doubled as event decor - ornament cookies. The cookies hung from a tree during the party bringing in some holiday cheer. At the end of the night, the guests received a goodie bag and got to pick a cookie from the tree to take home. This is a simple DIY that just requires cookie dough, cookie cutters and frosting. When making the cookies be sure to leave a hole at the top for the string to hang from the tree. From there, the design is up to you! Choose frosting and edible accents in the color scheme and theme of your event.
ENTERTAIN
Lastly, be sure your guests have a little entertainment! It can be a group activity like cookie decorating station, a photo booth or event offer plain wreaths to decorate. For our event we set up a scent station where guests were able to make their own perfumes or body scrubs to take home. We included fun holiday scents like pine, peppermint and nutmeg!
Party accessories are the elements tie your party together and add a little pizzazz! The details will be what makes your night memorable. So whether you're DIY'ing or not, be sure to add personalized and cute accents that your guests will be talking about all night. We hope our Christmas party décor and DIY brought some inspiration to your upcoming parties!
HEAD OVER TO INSPIRED BY THIS FOR MORE DAILY INSPIRATION!
INSPIRED BY THIS: PARTY PLANNING BASICS
We are thrilled to hang out with Inspired By This the entire month of December as our Guest Editor. We have already found ourselves learning some amazing tips and can’t wait to be inspired the whole month!
We are thrilled to hang out with Inspired By This the entire month of December as our Guest Editor. We have already found ourselves learning some amazing tips and can’t wait to be inspired the whole month! They'll be guiding us through holiday planning and sharing lifestyle tips... be prepared to be inspired!
It is that time of year again..The holidays! With the holiday's come the parties, and I am so excited to share my party planning advice with you! Whether you are going to a party or throwing it, it is so good to know party planning basics! I am going to show you the basic anatomy of a party with all of its major components, as well as how to achieve high end decor on a budget! After this you will be ready to tackle any party that comes your way!
Any party, whether it be a bridal or baby shower, a birthday party, dinner party, or even a holiday party, all have the same basic elements! The major components to any party include:
Create the Setting
This is your time to create the overall ambiance of your party, and where decor and details are very important. The mood of your event can be altered by changing the lighting of the room and having candles mixed within the decor. This is also a great time to consider making your guests feel special by adding little personalized details to your party such as a name card above their place setting, a personalized menu, or even a favor that the guests get to take home with them (look out for our favor DIY next week!) It is important to choose decor that not only corresponds with the theme of your event, but is also esthetically pleasing to your guests!
Food and Drink
This is another great time to personalize your event for your guests! it is important to be mindful of your guests likes and dislikes or any aversions they may have to different foods when planning your menu! Make sure to not only choose items that will appeal to the majority of the group, but also try to plan the menu to fist the theme or time of year your event takes place! For our Christmas party, we chose to plan a menu full of winter salads, comfort food, and an array of winter themed desserts to correspond with the time of year and occasion!
The Tablescape
The table is a very important element because that is where the guest will be entertained! Don't be afraid to pull from items you already have from home, or even collect some decor from places such as Target, Home Goods, or T.J. Max! It is important to step out of the box when setting your decor and tablescape so your items can be reused for any future events you may host! For our event we went with a more modern Christmas theme in order to include unexpected elements such as the wood to tie in our soft florals and more desert-like plants.
We wanted to keep our arrangements low so our guests could see one another and converse over dinner, but also create some depth to our table. For floral centerpieces, we find it is best to start with a neutral base and add pops of color! As you can see from our Christmas party we had neutral white florals in combination with pops of bright red flowers and a hint of mint from the succulents. For our table settings we placed a menu on top of our plate and napkin and tied it down with braided fabric (We are sharing this DIY next week)! We then added name cards above each individual place setting - adding a personal touch! Lastly, food presentation is very important. It is such a great touch to have pretty platters and risers to serve the food, drinks, and desserts to keep the look of the party appealing!
I hope this inspired you to throw a party of your own! With the party basics I gave you, you now have some ideas on how to have a great party with amazing decor, but on a smaller budget!
HEAD OVER TO INSPIRED BY THIS FOR MORE DAILY INSPIRATION!
MEET OUR DECEMBER GUEST EDITOR, LEILA: The Woman behind Inspired By This
Inspired by This follows the everyday inspiration of Leila Lewis and team. We are thrilled to hang out with Ispired By This the entire month of December as our Guest Editor and can’t wait to be inspired the whole time!
The beautiful thing about life and California is you can find inspiration anywhere and from anyone. And doesn’t everybody love some inspiration?! When we came across Leila Lewis we instantly knew she was gonna be the gal that kept you nothing short of exactly that, inspired. As CEO of her own boutique public relations firm dedicated to the wedding and special event industry, Leila didn’t stop building from there.
Inspired by This, part of the Be Inspired family, follows the everyday inspiration of Leila Lewis and team. From weddings to home, Inspired by This offers you the space to grow your family along with the site. That’s one of our favorite parts about it actually, you feel right at home. Mother to an adorable toddler with another one on the way, Leila shows you can be powerhouse CEO, mommy, wife and much more. Guiding you through the wedding planning fun or sharing lifestyle tips as you build your life, Inspired By This does it!
We are thrilled to hang out with IBT the entire month of December as our Guest Editor and can’t wait to be inspired the whole time! Enjoy meeting Leila below and find out what makes her, inspired!
Hi Est. California Readers!
I am Leila Lewis, creator of Inspired By This, and I am so excited to be the guest editor for Established California for the month of December. Inspired By This is your go to source for all things inspiration! It is a blog that focuses on inspiring you whether it be for your wedding, home and lifestyle, business, or even your daily style! Needless to say, we are constantly surrounded by inspiration!
We're excited to inspire you with some of the best tips for hosting events, upcoming trends for party themes/decor/color palette and hopefully inspire you this holiday season!
Follow along with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest!
xo Leila
JUST A COUPLE QUESTIONS........
Was there a defining moment you knew you wanted to create IBT?
In 2009 was working in the wedding industry as my day job and blogs were just starting to pop up. Most focused only on the real weddings, and I wanted to share more about the process leading up to the wedding (proposals, engagement parties, bridal showers, etc.) in addition to weddings. After I got married in 2010, we decided to add post-wedding content too while sharing home and apartment inspiration, and children/family content so that our readers could stay and grow with us!
What keeps you inspired?
My family! My husband encourages me to keep hard working at what I love, and my daughter inspires me to create work I'm really proud of. I want her to know she can do anything she puts her mind to.
What advice would you give to your 16-year-old self?
Don't be afraid to pursue your passions. It may not work out exactly the way you planned, but loving what you do is success. Be nice to everyone along your path, you never know who will give you your first break appreciate them. Keep your relationships friendly, honest, and true and it will take you much further in life then undercutting people and constantly having your hand out.
What do you love most about California?
I love the variety California has to offer - I can spend my day at the beach or drive about 2 hours and spend it at a cabin in a forest or at a beautiful vineyard sipping wine. There's no place like it!
Favorite product for hosting? Why?
A great butcher-block board! It's perfect for appetizers, cheeses, meats... and it makes everything look great!
What’s your favorite part of the day?
Dance parties with my little girl when I get home from work!
What’s your dream CA vacation?
Heading up to Northern California - spending a few days enjoying the city life in San Francisco and then escaping to Napa and staying at a cute inn drinking wine and relaxing.
What is the best dish you bring to a party?
The perfect appetizer board - a variety of cheeses and charcuterie and all the accoutrements - honey, homemade jams, nuts, olives and a fresh baguette. There's something for everyone!
Name one thing that not many people know about you.
I'm a huge country fan! I own 3 pairs of cowboy boots, multiple plaid shirts and a cowboy hat and can sing along to pretty my any country song on the radio. It's my dream to one day go to Stagecoach!
Favorite party detail?
The flowers! Flowers really bring a table setting together and tie in all of the décor, they're the finishing touch.
What’s your favorite kind of party? (Holiday? Dress up? Shower)
I love everything about holiday parties - bundling up with boots and scarves, mulled wine and spiked cider, homemade pies, Christmas decor - trees, stockings, lights and garlands, pine-scented candles and having friends and family in town.
What’s on your current playlist?
When you have a toddler, Seasame Street songs are a constant rotation! But when I have a few minutes to myself, I listen to a mix of Indie - Mumford and Sons and Angus and Julia Stone on some days and Country on others - Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw and Jason Aldean are a few of my faves!
HEAD OVER TO INSPIRED BY THIS FOR MORE DAILY INSPIRATION!
