Fancy House Road » Party Favors

DIY: Fall Potpourri Party Favors (Autumn in a Jar)

camberley — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 23:51:56 +0000

A new post has published to Fancy House Road

Scents tend to bring back memories of seasons the most. Lemonade brings back memories of summer, the smell of cocoa reminds me of Christmas, and cinnamon smells like the Autumn/Halloween season. This potpourri recipe encompasses all of the scents of autumn in a jar, including cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, plus some apple and oranges. It would make a great party favor for this fall, and a fun gift for family and friends. It’s very easy, and the finished product looks really cute. Click the “read more” for a list of materials, and free downloadable labels.

Materials:

Glass jar (if you’re trying to save money, you could wrap the potpourri in a scrap of fabric or a coffee filter)
Coffee filter
Thick yarn or string
2 Whole nutmegs
8 Cinnamon sticks
Red Delicious Apple
Orange
4 Tablespoons whole cloves
Downloadable lables

Directions:

To dry out the apples and oranges: Slice the apple into paper thin slices. For the oranges, peel off the outer peel and try to shave off as much of the white pulp as possible, and julienne into long strips. Lay the apples and oranges on a cookie sheet. Put them in the oven at 170 degrees for 45 minutes. Then let them lay out on your counter for a couple of days.
Place the two nutmegs, four cinnamon sticks, and three Tablespoons of cloves into a strong bag or pillow case. Then take the bag outside and smash it all together with a hammer until the ingredients are ground up into small pieces.
Divide the crushed mixture among your jars. Then, break the remaining 4 cinnamon sticks (in half or thirds) and divide them with the dried out apples and oranges among the jars. Lastly, add the remaining 1 Tablespoon of cloves to your jars.
For the top of the jar, get brown coffee filters (or die white ones with herbal tea). Tie the filters to the top of the jar and cut off the excess.
Print off the downloadable labels here to either stick to your jar or tie to the top.

The post DIY: Fall Potpourri Party Favors (Autumn in a Jar) appeared first on Fancy House Road.

Grillin’ Goodness Bar-B-Que Sauce Recipe (and a July 4th Party Printable)

Jamie — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 22:49:53 +0000

A new post has published to Fancy House Road

I love myself some good Bar-B-Que and some good Bar-B-Que Sauce. I’m super picky about my Bar-B-Que sauce. However, if the sauce is good, I can drizzle it on ANYTHING. I have tried several store bought Bar-B-Que sauces and I’m not a fan of any. So, the other day I decided to make my own sauce and it was a huge hit! The hubs even said it tasted professional (or store bought). Thanks honey!

I took chicken breasts and cut them into strips. Put them in a ziploc bag, poured Bar-B-Que sauce over them, and placed the chicken in the fridge for a few hours. Then, I put them on the grill. Poured remaining sauce over, and got my grill on. Ladies, I promise, you can do this too!

Here is the recipe. Hope you enjoy.

INGREDIENTS:

6 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup ketchup
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder (I didn’t have powder so I just used a Spicy Mustard and it was great)

DIRECTIONS:

In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the lemon juice, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup and mustard powder and stir well. Simmer for 10 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool.

In honor of 4th of July, we decided to create a party printables download for our readers! These printables are a great way to jazz up party favors, water, cupcake picks, et cetera. (i.e. The Bar-B-Que printable is featured in the picture above.)

Click here to download

How would you use these printables at your 4th of July Party?

The post Grillin’ Goodness Bar-B-Que Sauce Recipe (and a July 4th Party Printable) appeared first on Fancy House Road.

California Vineyard Wedding

camberley — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 04:11:45 +0000

A new post has published to Fancy House Road

Emily lives in San Francisco (Oh, how I envy her). I live in Phoenix (queue rattlesnake noise). However, before Emily and I had officially been “introduced” our lives crossed paths.

Not so long ago, in a city 750 miles away from Phoenix, Emily was planning a wedding. As she clicked around the web, searching for wedding inspirations, she happened upon “The Bella Life” (which is now Fancy House Road).

Fast forward to December 20th. The day my life collided with Emily’s.

During mine and Emily’s first conversation, I mentioned “this blog I do with my mom and sisters…”. When Emily inquired, “Is your blog The Bella Life?”.

My head started spinning! Someone is San Francisco actually reads our blog, I thought. This {breathe} is {breathe} big.

“Yeah, our blog is The Bella Life,” I nonchalantly replied.

Emily went on to say, “I hope I don’t sound creepy but I really like your blog. It’s in my Goggle Reader and I’ve been following you for the last 5 or 6 months.” I went on to say, “Are you kidding me? I’m not creeped out at all. I love myself some attention”. Side note: why do I say weird things like this out loud to people I hardly know?

Recently, I’ve had the pleasure of stalking Emily’s wedding with my sisters.

We’ve clicked through hundreds of her photos, oohing and aahing. You see, to us Arizona gals, a California Vineyard Wedding seems like something out of a storybook. Take a look…

Emily and Daniel were married at Trione Vineyards and Winery in Geyserville, California. The wedding was held in a rustic upstairs room and the reception was held downstairs. The colors Emily chose were Midnight Navy and Moss Green.

The invitation suite included some beautiful letterpress. And, if you were wondering… that’s letterpress on wood veneer. Daniel, the groom, designed the invitation and it was printed by Joel and team at Dependable Letterpress in San Francisco.

One of my favorite things about Emily and Daniel’s wedding was the succulents. The bride and groom are mildly obsessed with succulents, as was evident by the floral arrangements and individual place cards/party favors.

Flowers by Zoe Farmar Bowers Floral Design

Succulents by Succulent Gardens

My second favorite thing about Emily and Daniel’s wedding was the details: embroidery on the ring bearer pillow, old family traditions being embraced (Emily’s family always sends guests home with a small piece of groom’s cake), and family heirlooms being passed down (Emily wore a wedding pin that has been in her family for generations). Side note: the flower the pin sits in was custom made by Glenda Pongiglione of San Francisco.

Emily,

Thanks for letting us stalk you. Your wedding was enchanting.

-Camberley

Here are the vendors Emily and Daniel used: