We at Culinary Crafts love all types of events, from weddings to corporate events and everything in between.  But we will always have a special place in our hearts for Birthday Parties!!!  Today, I’d like to give our top 5 tips to take any birthday party you are planning over the top!  Check it out!

1.  Know Your Crowd.  For any birthday party, it is always a good idea to know your crowd.  If you are just going to be having a party for a 16 year old and all the guests are about that age as well, you can easily gear the party and entertainment for the teenager set.  If you are having a birthday party for a 50 year old, however, and families and friends are invited, it becomes a bit more tricky.  You’ll want some of the food and entertainment to gear towards the adults, but also, to make sure the kids aren’t bored by the ‘grown-up’ fun, provide kid friendly activities and food selections too!  Everyone will leave totally happy and talking about the party of the year!

2.  Details make the party.  If you’ve read this blog for any period of time, you know I’m a sucker for details.  I love, love, love the way details can make a party go from regular to EXTRAORDINARY!  Birthday parties are an excellent time to have fun with details and themes.  A whimsical cake, an over the top theme, a candy table to die for – all excellent details to consider.  And since its a birthday party, you can really go all out and have fun with it.

3.  Use the venue to your advantage.  As with any event, make sure you take the venue into consideration.  Good use of space can make sure that your guests have plenty to see, plenty to do, and tons of yummy food to eat!

4.  Provide entertainment.  Whether you want to make your party a carnival theme or a laid-back, elegant, “hoe-down”, you should make sure to entertain your guests.  I’m not saying everyone needs to hire the Oakridge Boys (like the birthday party above) but having something to entertain your guests will make it the party they won’t soon forget!

5.  Make it all about the Birthday Girl or Boy.  At the end of the day, it’s YOUR birthday and your birthday party.  Make sure you choose to do things you like and serve food that you love.  You can still make sure that all your guests have a blast and also make sure that you have the party you want!

Happy planning everyone!

Check out our website at www.culinarycrafts.com!

Photo credits: ZumaPhoto and Keith Westerberg

Hello all!  This week, we are super excited for the upcoming Halloween weekend!  To celebrate, every day on the blog, we’ll have a Halloween spin on our daily themes – starting with today’s Top 5 Halloween DIY Decor!  Check it out – and if you’d like to try your hand at any of  these projects – just click the link below the image!

Spooky Luminarias

Creepy Bird Window Silhouettes

Head Waiter Serving Tray

Bloody Candles

Dubious Drink Labels

I hope this adds a little ‘spooky’ to your home! Enjoy!

Check out our website at www.culinarycrafts.com!

All images from Martha Stewart

Today I’d like to give some Mother’s Day gift ideas from some of the outstanding local companies we have right here in Utah!  We are so lucky to have so many excellent local resources at our disposal and wouldn’t your Mother (or you) love something made here in our community?

For the Gourmet Foodie Mom:

Here in Utah, we have so many yummy local food stops that you could find any mom with a passion for food something that will really knock her socks off!  Above, Beehive Cheese Company‘s Barely Buzzed Cheddar, Chocolat‘s 24 piece truffle sampler and RubySnap‘s Vivianna cookies.  Other places to check out are Liberty Heights Fresh, The Sweet Tooth Fairy, High West Distillery, Amano Chocolates, and Nutty Kernal.

For the Spa Lovin’ Mom:

Let’s face it.  Being a mom is a lot of work sometimes.  To relieve that stress, how about giving your mom a salon or spa service? Pictured above the Enizio Salon, The Kura Door, and a spa gift set from Bubble & Bee.  Also check out Richelle’s Salon & Spa.

For the Green Thumb Mom:

Is your mom a plant guru?  Does her garden beautify the entire block?  Or does she just love cultivating the nature around her?  Well then you should definitely check out getting her a gift of growing things!  Above, flowers and plants from Millcreek Gardens and Cactus & Tropicals and arrangements from Tri|Fec|Ta Floral Design.  Also check out Grow Wild Nursery.

For the Arty Crafty Mom:

Does your mom love music?  Or art?  Or doesn’t she just love to create?  Well, maybe you should get her something that shows you love her creative side!  Shown above, limited edition prints and frames from Signed & Numbered, card from The Write Image, handkerchief from Stitched, and music from Slowtrain Music.  Also check out SproutPhoto, Frosty Darling, Sereph, Print in Cursive and Sycamore Street Press.

Happy Mother’s Day everyone!!!

Check out our website for more eye candy at www.culinarycrafts.com!

I know that many of you are planning your weddings right now, so I thought it would be a good idea to give Culinary Craft’s Top 5 Tips on selecting a color palette, directly from our Executive Director, Rachel Heimer!  Take it away!

Here are my Top 5 Tips for creating a color palette:

1. Limit your color palette to no more than 3 colors, however, it is definitely okay to use shades of the colors you’ve selected to create variety and visual interest!
2. When using a 3 color palette, it is a good idea to use one color as an accent and the other 2 as more main colors  so that it doesn’t get too busy and there will be pops of color throughout the space.
3. Make sure to take your style and the style of your wedding into consideration.  If you are having a shabby chic wedding, you want to use more muted, neutral colors or muted pastels.  If you are having a retro, contemporary wedding use vivid, primary colors. 
4. Use your venue to your advantage.  If you have a large space with white walls, consider it a blank canvas.  Lighting can really create drama and bring in your color palette.  If it is outdoors or an indoor garden area, green becomes your neutral.  Whites and bright colors pop and add visual impact.
5. Most importantly, however, you have to remember to make it your own!  It’s your wedding day and should reflect you and your partner’s personality and style.  Don’t be afraid of color or breaking the rules!  Happy planning!

Remember to enter the contest and giveaway from our partners at Diamond Rental!  A linen overlay will really add a beautiful visual effect to your color palette!!!

Remember to check out our website for more tips, ideas, and inspiration! www.culinarycrafts.com

I know all of you have heard about our love of Amy Atlas and dessert tables.  You probably also remember the posts we’ve done on our very our dessert tables.  Today, I thought it might be nice to share our Top 5 Tips for creating a STUNNING dessert table of your own!

Tip #1:

Choose a color scheme. Generally speaking, I would not recommend choosing more than 3 colors in your palette, UNLESS its a really whimsical event like a child’s birthday party.  In that case, you could choose more than 3, but remember to keep the palette consistent no matter how many colors you choose.  That way, the table will have a cohesive visual impact that will look good on the whole, but also draw your guest’s eyes to all of the goodies the table has to offer.

Tip #2:

Create visual levels. What this means is to use different heights to display the desserts on the table.  Try to make the heights varying so the lower elements are not being blocked by something just barely taller than it.  This creates windows of space so everything has a place and is equally visual weight. Try using different serving trays to help create the heights and also distinguish each dessert from one another.

Tip #3:

Customize your paper goods. A great detail to add to your table is personalized tags, signage, cupcake toppers, favor bags, etc.  This way you can tie in the theme of your wedding, along with the color scheme you’ve selected, and also let people know what it is that they are having the pleasure of eating!  One common mistake I see, however, is people using too big of favor bags.  I would suggest not using anything larger than a 4 oz container so that you have plenty of desserts and candy for everyone.  Also remember to keep your theme in mind.  If you are having an event with a really romantic feel, you probably wouldn’t want to have a really whimsical decoration style on your table.

Tip #4:

Combine desserts AND candy. Remember, it always elevates your table to mix both candies with some really delicious desserts.  Maybe have some malted milk duds, m&ms, and then miniature chocolate cakes with dragees in your color.  Also, our macaroons are a wonderful idea because they come in virtually ever color.  So mix it up!  People will love the variation and it’ll be even more special because of the confections you add.

Tip #5:

Always remember, less is more! I know there are endless lists of all of the sweet treats we would love, not to mention you can get in your colors.  But remember, when you start adding too much, the table will not have the visual impact you want and it will look cluttered.  Its always better to keep your design simple, clean, and uncluttered and you will have an amazing finished product!

If you’d like to have us help you create a truly wonderful dessert table of your own, you can always call us!  And don’t forget to check out our page for more fabulous ideas and tips!  www.culinarycrafts.com

Photo credit: Logan Walker, ZumaPhoto