Tutorial: Hershey Kiss Labels February 20, 2012

 

 

I’ve had a few requests recently for Hershey Kiss labels. These are totally adorable so I’ve decided to offer them in a range of colors and themes. They are a simple way to totally personalize your shindig. Personalized Hershey kisses also make really cute party favors.

So, how easy are these to put together? All you’ll need is some bright white heavy paper. I personally like to use 110 lb card stock, a glue stick and a .75 inch circle punch. The first thing you’ll want to do is print out the PDF file that I’ll e-mail you and cut the circles into stripes, as shown in the below photo.

 

 

The important thing to remember is to hold your circle punch up side down when you punch out the labels. This way you will be able to see exactly what you are punching and make sure that your label is even on each side/nicely centered. The sheet that I e-mail you will have 99 labels so you’ll get plenty of practice… he he he 😉 Once you’ve punched all your labels, dab them with a bit of glue from a glue stick and attach to the chocolate kiss. Avoid the washable glue sticks because that glue doesn’t tend to hold up on the foil.

 

The circles measure .80″ and are designed to be cut out using a 3/4″ (.75″) circle punch. The punch can be found at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, or your local craft or scrapbooking store. I used the EK Success Paper Shapers Medium Punch. Even though I recommend printing these on 110 lb bright white paper and then use a little glue to stick them on the kisses (a glue stick is perfect), you can use sticker paper. For instant stickers, simply purchase blank sheets of sticker paper found at office or craft supply store. If you don’t want to buy a whole packet of sticker paper, you can get these printed at Office Depot or Staples and request to have them print on sticker paper.

Check out some of the other Hershey Kiss labels currently available in my Etsy store. Just click on the photo to be taken to the listing. But, as always, if you do not see the color combination or style that you are looking for, please contact me as I am happy to take custom orders. apartystudio@gmail.com

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Tutorial: Ribbon Wand Party Favors June 2, 2011

Ribbon wands are really fun- my three year old loves moving the wand up and down and watching the ribbons twirl. She is completely fascinated by them and when ever her friends come over, they want to play with her collection of ribbon wands, too. So, here’s a tutorial. These are so easy to make! Of course, if you don’t feel too crafty then you can check out the ribbon wands in my Etsy store. I have some ready-made and ready to ship otherwise, you can order a custom set with any colors you choose!

You will need: 

grosgrain ribbon in red, white and blue, cut into 36 inch strands

(the blue used in this tutorial is called Capri)

hot glue gun

12 inch wooden dowel rod

 

 

1. Put a little spot of hot glue on the end of the blue ribbon strand (approximately 1 inch from the tip of the ribbon).

Spot of hot glue

2. Place the red ribbon directly on top and press down firmly to adhere.

Start to stack ribbon

3. Put a little spot of hot glue on the end of the red ribbon strand (approximately 1 inch from the tip of the ribbon) and top with the white ribbon.

More glue

In this way, the red ribbon is sandwiched between the blue and the white ribbon.

4. Loop the ribbon as though you are going to tie it. Then, slide your dowel rod in the middle of the loop.

Loop ribbon for form a knot

Get ready to knot

5. Put a dab of hot glue on the dowel rod, approximately 1 inch from the tip.

Dab hot glue on dowel rod

6. Now tighten your ribbon loop so that it is knotted on the hot glue.

Tighten the loop/knot

 

Completed wand

 

Safety note: For children under the age of 4, I use ribbon that is 12 inches long. The long strands of ribbon could be a strangling hazard for little kids so make sure they are being supervised!

 

Dress by Mels Marvelous Designs

 

Pillowcase dress

Ribbon wands

Thank you to Mels Marvelous Designs for supply the beautiful patriotic pillowcase dress for this photo shoot! Check out her Etsy store!

Also, don’t forget to become a fan of A Party Studio on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/apartystudio

Teacher Appreciation Week and FREE Printable May 3, 2011

It is Teacher Appreciation Week here in Rhode Island. My 3 year old has three incredible teachers at her preschool! She adores each of them so we wanted to take a little something sweet to say thank you for all their hard work and thoughtfulness throughout the year.

We decided that handmade twirlable pinwheels with a handwritten thank you label would be perfect!

Pinwheel label

These pinwheels really do spin!

We also made chocolate wrappers to say thanks. I printed them out and wrapped them around a Hershey chocolate bar.

Chocolate bars

Back of bar

If you are looking for a sweet something for your child’s teacher, you can download this chocolate bar wrapper- for FREE! Need instructions on putting these together? Check out my tutorial! https://apartystudio.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/tutorial-personalized-candy-bar-wrapper/

FREE printable wrapper

If you want a chocolate bar wrapper that is even more personalized, then shoot me an e-mail. Digital personalized chocolate bar wrappers are available on my Etsy store for only $15 ad I can make them to match any theme. I also have them available to match the digital invites that I’ve designed.

Pink Lemonade Party Collection! April 20, 2011

Summer is around the corner and that means parties outside! Hooray for sunshine- and pink lemonade! Here are some handmade items to help kick off your party in style. And of course, a drink recipe for the adults!

All beautiful parties start with gorgeous theme-setting invitations:

Pink lemonade invite

Pink lemonade invite

Pretty striped straws!

Pink and white straws

Serve your drinks in these cute daisy mason jars.

Daisy mason jars

Pretty yellow cupcake wrappers.

Yellow cupcake wrappers

And cupcake toppers add a sweet touch! These are digital files so you print your own. Print as many as you need.

Cupcake toppers

Mini jams for party favors for the adult. These jams are amazing and dasweetzpot make any flavor so think outside the box. Watermelon jam? Yep, they can do that!

Mini jam

Lemon felt favor bag. Fill this with candy (lemon drops anyone) for the kids!

Lemon felt bag

Chocolate covered oreos… mmmm…. delicious!

Chocolate covered oreos

An outfit for the party girl!

Yellow and pink tutu

And a special drink recipe for the grown ups…  *wink*

Sparkling punch

Prep: 5 min., Chill: 1 hr. For a sweeter finish, substitute ginger ale for club soda.

Ingredients

• 1 (12-oz.) can frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
• 4 cups white cranberry juice cocktail
• 1 qt. club soda, chilled
• Garnish: fresh mint sprigs

Preparation

1. Stir together lemonade concentrate and cranberry juice cocktail in a large pitcher. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. Stir in club soda just before serving. Garnish, if desired.

Champagne Punch: Substitute 1 (750-milliliter) bottle extra-dry Champagne or sparkling wine and 1/4 cup orange liqueur for club soda; proceed with recipe as directed.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Cointreau for orange liqueur.

Recipe from: Southern Living JUNE 2008

4 amazing SWEET party favors March 24, 2011

I have been seeing some really fun party snacks recently. In fact, these are so cute that they also double as party favors when individually wrapped and tied with a party tag. When my daughter comes home with a party goody bag full of little plastic toys (aka choking hazards for my 10 month old) made in China, I cringe… and mysteriously, one by one, over a period of a few days, the plastic favors end up in the bin. Take a look at these alternatives and let me know what you think! You can make all these at home- you just need a few basic supplies, some patience and (I imagine) a couple hours undisturbed in the kitchen! If you click on the photos, you’ll be taken to a simple to follow tutorial. But if the thought of melting chocolate freaks you out, there are plenty of places on line where you can order these little gems!

 

1. Chocolate dipped oreo pops:

Chocolate-dipped oreo pops

 

 

2. Chocolate-dipped pretzel rods:

Chocolate-dipped pretzel rods

My son’s first birthday is coming up at the end of April so I’ll try making the chocolate dipped pretzels for that. I’ll let you know how it goes and if it really is as easy as the direction look! I figure that the toddlers and babies love gnawing on the pretzel rods and the other moms are going to love me when their babies come home on a sugar high! Actually, I’m sort of joking there… there’s not THAT MUCH chocolate on these… ha ha ha!

I actually think that the chocolate-dipped pretzel rods could be a fun project to do with my 3-year old daughter.

 

 

3. Cake balls:

Chocolate covered cake balls

Red velvet cake balls

Do you think these taste as good as they look? I love that they look like truffles… but are actually perfect for little boys and girls! So decadent! Again, these make fabulous party favors. Put some in a cute ‘Chinese’ style take away box. I love the  clear take out boxes which can easily be spruced up with a little ribbon and a party tag.

 

 

4. Cake pops:

Cake pops

These make such a cute alternative to traditional lollipops and are basically cake balls on lollipop sticks. I recommend perfecting the cake balls before moving onto this technique. Personally, I’m not that great in the kitchen so I’ll be buying these on the internet! You can buy cake pops on Etsy. A dozen for about $26. With shipping the cake pops cost over $3 each. I imagine this is a great deal considering the supplies you’d go through when trying to perfect making these!!!! Not to mention the time.

 

So, there you have it. Four of the most trendy edible party favors! Hope you enjoy and are inspired to do something a little different. Have you offered something special and unique at a party recently? Or seen something incredible? Leave me a comment. I LOVE comments and I LOVE hearing about people’s parties! Also, I have subscribers in England… I am curious about trends over there!

 

Ribbon wands inspired by Disney’s Tangled March 10, 2011

So, I have been busy creating some party favors for a “Tangled” themed party. This party is for a gorgeous 6-year old girl who LOVED the latest Disney movie and her favorite colors are now purple and gold!

Ribbon Wands for "Tangled" Party

Each wand has 4 strands of ribbon: gold, tropic lilac, French pink, and white. Each strand measures over 2 feet. That’s a total of over 8 feet per wand! Beautiful.

Hope the birthday girl loves her party wands and has a fabulous birthday.

Here’s a little peak at how I used the colors and the ribbons to make her name banner. Notice the glitter?