Lowe’s Creative Ideas…

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Outdoor Party- Finally!…

OK, OK…so my son’s 19th b-day party was in May.  It’s now July and I’m just getting around to posting the pics.  You can see how I prepared for this party in part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5.

I started off by making bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers.  Nothing fancy. I  just split them in half and clean out the seeds. I then made the filling for them.  I used shredded cheddar cheese and mixed it with cream cheese.  I filled the jalapenos with the mixture and wrapped them with the bacon.  I then baked them for 10-15 mins. in a 450 degree oven.  I didn’t take an after picture but you can imagine how delicious they looked.  This wasn’t all I made  but I forgot to take pics of the other “treats” we had.

I then proceeded to make a cake.

Chase plays the guitar so I used one of his as my model.

My husband then suggested using Chase’s Flying V as the model.

Much better!  Thanks Mr. C.!!

I am in no way a cake decorator so this was the end result.  Not bad for my first decorated cake..not great either but not bad.

It was very moist and everyone seemed to enjoy it!

Here Chase is blowing out his candles.

And Chase enjoying his cake.  MMMMM Good!

I had the kids at the party pose in the field beside our house.  I thought this would make such a great picture.

I love the old house in the background.  See my cute little nephew Jake in the far right posing?

He’s such a ham!!  And I love it!!

And lastly my son, JR, gives his little brother a birthday hug.  AWWWWW

Happy 19th B-day Chase!!!

Preparing For An Outdoor Party- Part 5…

OK…so the outdoor birthday party was almost a month ago and I still haven’t gotten around to posting everything I did in preparation for it.  I never got around to hanging the drop cloth drapes but I did get around to painting the wicker furniture… and here it is!  I will get to posting the actual party within the next couple of days.

1. Plant Flowers
2. Paint Wicker Furniture
3. Make Lanterns
4. Fix and Paint Picnic Table
5. Make Drop Cloth Tablecloths or Buy Flat Sheets from Wal-Mart
   
6. Make Drop Cloth Drapes for Back Porch I NEVER GOT AROUND TO THIS ONE

Plain and boring. I didn’t do anything special to prepare them before painting.
I just wiped them down and fixed any loose wicker.

I used Zinsser spray primer…so easy!!

You could roll on primer…but why??  This is so much easier.

Cheap glossy black spray paint. It took anywhere between 4 to 5 cans for each chair.

It really soaked in the paint. Using a spray can handle makes the job easier and cleaner.  I paid less than $3.00 for mine at Wal-Mart.

I love the black.  I only managed to paint the 2 chairs and small table.

I never got around to doing the loveseat that goes with it.

And here it is at the day of the party at the make shift table.  You can read that post HERE.

Preparing for an Outdoor Party- Part 4…

This next step I modified…mainly because I ran out of time.  Instead of getting drop cloths and making cute tablecloths, I purchased $4.00 twin flat sheets at Wal-Mart and called it a day.  I paired them with a long olive green table cloth I had and said…looks good to me!!!  I made the long table by stacking Rubbermaid containers from my basement and 2 closet doors I had…And Voila!!!  An extra long table.

1. Plant Flowers
2. Paint Wicker Furniture
3. Make Lanterns
4. Fix and Paint Picnic Table
5. Make Drop Cloth Tablecloths or Buy Flat Sheets from Wal-Mart
   
6. Make Drop Cloth Drapes for Back Porch

If you don’t have sawhorses containers can work wonders.

I used 2 long closet doors as the table tops.  Remember to remove the door knobs.

Once you cover up the containers and doors you’ll never guess it isn’t a “real” table..

Preparing For An Outdoor Party- Part 2…

My next step in preparing for the outdoor party…the lighting.  I found the best tutorial for Mason Jar Lanterns at Chez Beeper Bebe. They have a printable tutorial for these wonderful Lanterns. One more thing I can mark off my list.

1. Plant Flowers
2. Paint Wicker Furniture
3. Make Lanterns
4. Fix and Paint Picnic Table
5. Make Drop Cloth Tablecloths
6. Make Drop Cloth Drapes for Back Porch

18 gauge galvanized wire

Spaghetti sauce, salsa and mason jars

I used salt (cheap) and scented candles

You can get the printable tutorial at Chez Beeper Bebe.

Preparing For An Outdoor Party- Part 1…

My middle son, Chase, is turning 19.  I am having an outdoor party for him and REALLY need to get on the ball getting my back porch and carport ready.  Here is my to do list and how I plan to get it done.

1. Plant Flowers
2. Paint Wicker Furniture
3. Make Lanterns
4. Fix and Paint Picnic Table
5. Make Drop Cloth Tablecloths
   
6. Make Drop Cloth Drapes for Back Porch

How does your garden grow?  Well, if you’re smart like me you let your mother who has a “green thumb” take care of that.  Here she is putting together the hanging baskets and tomato plants:

My mom getting her hands dirty

One of the 3 finished baskets

She then planted more flowers in the other pots we had lying around

I then had some old buckets I spray painted navy blue

And with these my mom planted tomatoes in them

Well, that’s one thing I can mark off my list…thanks Mom!!

Stay tuned to see how I complete the rest of my to-do list…

Bridal Shower…

I just love Bridal Showers.  I attended my niece’s on Saturday…they’re a new beginning for a young woman.  She imagines herself using the new appliances, linens and housewares in her new home.  She imagines having dinner parties with her new place settings.  She imagines having her parents and in laws over for the holidays while sitting down to that perfectly done turkey in her new roaster…  We were all that young woman at one time or another.  And we all stopped imagining these perfect moments and faced reality when our casserole for that dinner party turned out like crap and our “perfectly” done turkey still had the bag left inside of it.  Oh yes…these moments to a young bride-to-be are priceless.  So for all of us who have been married more years than we care to “imagine” let’s imagine ourselves that young, beautiful and naive girl once again.

The cake was beautifully decorated

The host’s  house was set up and awaited my niece

My beautiful niece was all smiles as she opened her gifts

She was speechless as she opened the best gift there.  Yea you guessed it… that was my gift to her.

Cute party favors given by the host as the party ended

Congratulations Heather and Jeremy!  See you at the wedding!!!