easter :: restaurant decorations

One of my continuing jobs is decorating a bar/restaurant for various holidays. This past weekend it was time to decorate for Easter. (If interested, you can look back at what I have done for the same place at Halloween and Christmas.)  Like at Christmas time, sticking to the neutral palette of the venue was very important to me. When I saw these nest and natural colored eggs wreaths at Joann's, I was sold. Not only did it fit the cream and browns in the space beautifully, but it also picked up some of the muted blues in the stone work of the restaurant's front facade. For the front windows, I used two wreaths back-to-back so they would be visible both inside and outside the restaurant.

Using the color palette from the wreaths as inspiration, I arranged little bouquets to embellish the lights along the bar. This decorating technique works well here because it is still prominent, yet keeps the bar clear for food and drink service. 

With a left over arrangement from the bar lights, I created a little table centerpiece by adding more eggs to a glass vase as filler. 

martini glasses and cupcakes

We recently had a fun request for serving cupcakes at an upcoming event.... Serve them in martini glasses! Fun, right!? We provided several different options for the details/embellishments. To show all the possible options at their tasting, we made a display of four different versions and the clients choose the details from each cupcake they liked. I was happy with the final presentation. (You might recognize the face topper from awhile back; it represented the option of using the honorees photo as a topper.)

cake decorating machine

No. Way. I'm rendered speechless - just had to share.

(via Mischer'Traxler via Present & Correct via Pinterest)

Check out some of the other inspirational projects via Mischer'Traxler.

birthday cake

I had a simple birthday cake order this past weekend and thought I'd share. It was for three generations - not only do they all share the same name, but they all have March birthdays. I like how the paper details bring the cake to life.

march fourth

March 4th is a day of reflection and goal-setting for me. I review what the previous year brought and taught me, but even more importantly, it is the day I "march forth" with new goals. You might remember last year's March 4th post. I'm happy to report several of those goals were met. There is always room for improvement though, so some will be revisited on this year's list.

In an effort to hold myself accountable again by publicly posting, my goals for this year are...

- build my new commercial kitchen in my basement (this is HUGE so it counts as two, right!?)
- continue developing relationships and work on collaborations with party peers
- utilize my new marketing professional to create a more thorough marketing plan to secure jobs
- change my business to a LLC (only one more minor piece to complete this task)
- prioritize and minimize in-kind projects/events
- decorate my new home (a fun one!)
- respect my needs and sloooow down sometimes

What are your March 4th goals?

inspiration everywhere

Being an event stylist, I always keep my eyes peeled for decor ideas. When I walked into Target the other day my eyes were immediately drawn up. Their seasonal decorations are always a good source of inspiration. Just think, Target (and most stores for that matter) pay designers to research trends, create store displays and keep the store decor festive and current. Why not follow their lead!?

I snapped a couple of quick pictures with my phone. Wouldn't this make a nice backdrop for a dessert or food table, a photo booth or a large overhead installation in a tent? Color, color, color!!!! And seeing as the material is cardboard, you could get a lot of bang for your buck. You could also make smaller versions for table centerpieces and countless other party elements. I will be stashing this idea away for a future event. I also think it's very reminiscent of the colorful velum mobile that made its way around the blogosphere a little while back.

   (via Project Wedding)