Motherhood

Featured: Happy Mother’s Day to Me on Ten Thousand Hour Mama

May 9, 2016 No Comments Motherhood

How was your Mother’s Day? I hope you either spent some time being pampered or pampering someone you call mom. I had a lovely day, even if nearly the whole family has come down sick. It was nice both getting some alone time and getting some time with my boys.

I got to spend the day with my lovely mother-in-law who will never truly know how much I appreciate her. She is a wonderful mother-in-law and fabulous grandma, but the fact that she was (and still is) a fantastic momma to her own kids led to me having a husband who is kind and giving, a wonderful partner and parent.

I missed a few mommas and had to phone in my happy wishes for the day. I have had the good fortune of having a friend in my own mother and wonderful examples of mothers in my grandmothers. I think it took having children, or perhaps finally get to a certain age, to truly understand all that the mothers in my life have done. I hope that the way I live my life, the choices I make and the work I do is a good reflection of the work that they put into me.

My Mother’s Day Gift to Myself

This year I participated in a little “Mother’s Day Gift to Myself” series that I really enjoyed, not only writing, but reading throughout the weeks coming up to mother’s day. It really got me thinking on the subject and I felt a little bit more like I appreciated myself and this chapter of my life.

Check out my story about a recent moment with my son when he asked me, “Mom, do you get a prize when your reach 100?”

Happy Mother’s Day to Me: My 100 year old birthday prize

A Well Crafted Party

A Cheeky Mother’s Day Picnic

April 21, 2016 9 Comments A Well Crafted Party

This past week I got to celebrate Mother’s Day with a cheeky Mother’s Day picnic. The really cool thing about being a blogger, especially a blogger that loves celebrations, is that I get the opportunity to celebrate many holidays multiple times. Posting about my Mother’s Day celebrations after the fact will not allow for any one to use any of the fun ideas. The really interesting thing about being a mother is, well, things don’t always go to plan.

I received complimentary paper goods from Cheeky to use in my blog featured events. Additional product was purchased by me because I love it. Designs were inspired by the Cheeky Home product line.

We planned a nice picnic outdoors with wine, cheese, bread, assorted snacks and, of course, chocolate after the kids went to bed and before the sun went down. Everything was ready to go, the blanket sat by the door along with my basket of goodies and my camera. (I’m a blogger after all.) Big kiddo went to bed with no problems. Baby on the other hand hit his witching hour with gusto and did. not. stop. crying.

Once we realized that we lost the light we nearly decided to stop and wait for another day but—after an hour (off and on) of trying to calm a fussy baby— the wine and chocolate was calling our names. In-door picnic it was! Baby hung out with us as we enjoy a little snack and a relaxing glass of wine. There was at least fifteen minutes of pure bliss. And, thanks to Cheeky sending me cute paper goods, I didn’t have to wash a single dish afterwards!

I created some free printable designs to help make the Mother’s Day picnic just a little more special and a lot more “cheeky.” Tongue-in-cheek says and fun little quips cover these free printables that coordinate with the Cheeky paper goods.

Ingredients of a cheeky Mother’s Day picnic:

These ingredients can be mixed and matched to make the perfect picnic for the mom you are celebrating in your life. This picnic was definitely perfect for me!

Cheeky paper plates, napkins, plasticware and cups. The cups were from the recent DesignLoveFest collaboration while the rest was from their party ware. I found the cups in the section of Target with the paper towels and boring paper plates.
Oh Snap! pickles – First time having these and they were AMAZING.
Harvest Snaps Snapea Crisps
Tillamook cheese slices individually wrapped
French Bread
Sparkling Water
Canned Pinot Noir wine (Union Wine Company – an Oregon wine!)
Moonstruck Dark Chocolate with Almonds and Sea Salt (Moonstruck is my favorite chocolate.)
Cutting board and knife
cheeky Mother’s Day free printables
Basket

Nearly all of the items I got were from Target… not because Target sponsored me in any way, but because I shop their weekly.

Included in the Cheeky Mother’s Day printables:

Circle Tags— to affix to gift (Happy Mother’s Day), wine (Wine is better than Whine), Pickle Package (Mom, You’re the Real Dill), Snap Pea Snacks (Ah snap mom, you’re the best!), paper plates (Mom, I’ve got the dishes today), cups (Drinks on me, ma!), and cheese (Call me cheesy, but I love you!).
Bread label — Long label to be cut, wrapped around bread and affixed with tape.
Chocolate Wrapper — Wrapper to be cut out and wrapped around a chocolate bar then affixed by tape.
Wine or Sparkling Water Tags— Tags to be cut out, folded and hung on a bottle of wine or sparkling water

A Well Crafted Party free printables are for personal use only.

Click here for your free Mother’s Day Picnic Printables

And, just in case you were wondering… this is what we looked like at our Mother’s Day picnic. Just a tad tired, hanging with a needy baby and enjoying some wine. It was one of those funny and happy moments in parenthood.

More about Cheeky: Cheeky is a paper goods brand that is committed to fun designs for every day products such as paper plates, plasticware, cups, napkins and travel coffee cups. The coolest thing about Cheeky? And, no, I’m not talking about the awesome partnership with Design Love Fest. The coolest thing about Cheeky is that with each purchase the company donates a meal with the Feeding America Network. Learn more about Cheeky on their website: www.cheekyhome.com and shop for Cheeky at your local Target.

I received complimentary paper goods from Cheeky Home to use in my blog featured events. I also purchased a few Cheeky products that I had been eyeing at Target along with some tasty snacks. The Cheeky products inspired my free printable set of Mother’s Day printables. All opinions, photos and designs are my own. To learn more about my policies visit my policy page. Thanks for reading A Well Crafted Party and supporting the companies that support this blog!

Have you ever planned a celebration to have to change things up at the last minute? Tell me about it below!

A Well Crafted Party

Tips for a Mother’s Day Tea

May 4, 2015 9 Comments A Well Crafted Party

Tea parties are such a special way to take a moment and connect with someone. Many little girls have memories of playing tea party with their moms (or dads!)— the little plastic cups and pretend tea. Growing up I always love the way tea sets looked and how dainty I felt when using them. One of my favorite things about going to my grandmother’s house was getting to see her beautiful china tea sets that she had in her china hutch. I’ve now had a tea party or two with my son and he likes it just as much as I did when I was a little girl. But, then again, he likes anything that involves sandwiches and cake!

When Plum Deluxe asked me if I’d like to try some of their tea, I immediately thought of creating a Mother’s Day tea party. Enjoying conversation over a pot of tea, tea sandwiches and sweets makes for a lovely way to connect and can make anyone feel special– especially mom! Read on for some tips for throwing a Mother’s Day Tea Party and to learn more about Plum Deluxe.

Tips for a Mother’s Day Tea Party

The cool thing about tea parties is that you can do so many different styles of tea parties from classic English tea party to a modern Japanese tea party. The key to a successful tea party is light treats, a pot of tea and some good conversation. Below are some of my suggestions for creating a great tea party: (affiliate links are used in this post*)

Pick a few simple, but delicious food items that are a mix of savory and sweet. You don’t need a lot of variety. Tea party foods are mainly just for snacking. For this tea party I went with classic tea sandwiches, cake, and fresh melon. (See below for links to recipes!) If I were serving a delicious green tea I might go with a selection of sushi, sweet filled mochi and fresh fruit. If I did a breakfast tea with milk and sugar cubes I might serve scones with crème fraîch and jam. Really, anything goes! Pinwheel sandwiches and petit fours are other great thing to serve at a tea party. Tea is often served between meal times, so don’t worry about needing to fill your guests tummies. Instead, focus on a few special treats that will pair nicely with the tea you are serving.
Pick one great tea to fill a pot, or put out a selection of teas served with hot water. If you tea party is for two then you probably just need to make a single pot of tea, choosing a tasty variety that you know your guest will enjoy. If you are throwing a larger tea party, you might think of having a selection of different teas and serve with hot water! Make sure your guests have the tools they may need to make their tea. Either opt for tea bags or put a couple of tea strainers/infusers with the tea. For this tea party I used the Plum Deluxe Oregon Breakfast Black Tea. It didn’t even need any milk or sugar due to the bright notes of orange and hazelnut the tea had.
Don’t forget to make the table pretty! Tea itself is pretty. The tiny bite size treats are pretty. Don’t leave out the table! Throw some flowers out on the table (Yes, I mean literally throw! I snipped the heads off some blooms and decorated the table with the blooms for this tea party.) Use a variety of coordinating dishware. You don’t even have to have tea cups if you don’t already have them. You can use some of your favorite mugs instead if you’d prefer.

Tea Party Recipes

There are a ton of great recipes out there for making tea party food. I like to keep my tea party food as simple as possible and make sure the flavors are fresh and not too heavy. Below are some of my favorite go-to recipes for tea party food:

Cucumber Sandwiches – These are so simple and refreshing. I think the key is a really great white bread. You can make the filling anyway you’d like really, from as simple as cream cheese and cucumber slices to more flavorful such as this recipe for Cucumber and Lemony Dill Tea Sandwiches.
Asparagus Tea Sandwiches– I made my tea sandwiches similar cut and shape. My asparagus tea sandwiches was simply sliced through… however, I love the idea of these asparagus rollups! So much easier than cutting through blanched asparagus neatly!
Cheddar Biscuits would be a nice savory treat for a tea party.
Scones – Scones are traditional, they are creamy, and they just go so nicely with tea! Alton Brown makes my favorite scone recipe by far!
Fresh fruit – I love to server some fresh fruit at my tea parties. Strawberries, apple slices, and melons make for beautiful tea party sides. To make melon look prettier I often take my melon baller to the melon. Learn how to ball a melon here.
Need more ideas? Try these 50 Tea Sandwiches from the Food Network or Martha Stewart’s many tea sandwich recipes!

About Plum Deluxe

I love the story behind the Plum Deluxe website and tea subscription. Owner Andy Hayes shares about his purpose and how his mother inspired the website that helps readers create moments that matter. The articles and resources available for free on Plum Deluxe is supported by the Plum Deluxe signature and organic line of teas. The teas are available in as a part of a monthly subscription service or sold by the ounce.

A gift subscription to the monthly club would be a fun gift to give at a Mother’s Day tea. Not only does mom get to enjoy an afternoon of discussion and treats, but gets the promise of a new tea each month that they can in turn share with you for future tea dates!

This Mother’s Day take a little tip from Andy’s mother that he shares on his site, “My mom taught me that no matter your circumstances, you can choose to create moments that matter, every day.” Take a moment to make a moment that matters this Mother’s Day weekend.

Thank you to Plum Deluxe for sharing some complimentary tea for my review. All opinions are my own. Some affiliate links are used in this post. Incremental amounts of items purchased using these affiliate links help support this blog at no cost to readers. Thank you for supporting A Well Crafted Party. Check in soon for a free Tea for Two Mother’s Day card printable!