how sweet it is

How sweet is this Candyland party?  I ran across it at Katherine Marie Photography and I believe Katherine is the one that threw this beautiful bash.  She left nothing undone - it is amazing.

If I had to pick a favorite from the party though I would definitely pick these take home favors - gotta love that after a party full of candy the guests are going home with a toothbrush.  A perfect favor.
There are many more pictures at Katherine's site so head over there and check them out

after dinner mint

Cute, huh?  What a fun little way to dress up an after dinner mint.  I love little details like this. Found on Etsy.

button, button, who's got the button

Look at what Brooke at Jackaroo Love found - adorable button candies from Bake it Pretty.

You can find the tutorial for making these sweet little sweets here.  You can buy the button mold here.  Tell me you're not planning a party in your head right now that incorporates these. My head is spinning with ideas.  I'm off to purchase my button mold.

anything from the trolley, my dears

Since I couldn't pull off a big Harry Potter party like I have before I kept it simple and brought the party to the movie line.  

The first few of us got in line at 4 pm and secured the 4th spot in line with the first three spots being small groups of people.  This allowed us to get great seats once inside the theater.  

We spread blankets and chairs out as we waited for the rest of our party to arrive.  By 9 pm all 31 of us (plus a couple friends that came to hang out in line but not go to the movie) were there. Once we were all assembled we ate take out from The Three Broomsticks

A friend of mine spent hours drawing the Dark Mark on most of the teenagers that were with us

We played games - speed Scrabble, Harry Potter Uno, Harry Potter Scene It and more.

It seems that perhaps we need some help with spelling or access to a few more letters

In addition to our Three Broomsticks dinner we ate candy, candy and more candy (have I mentioned yet that the lack of sleep and abundance of candy have made me feel like vomiting?)

Here are the trolley offerings...

The bottom of the basket was filled with muggle candy - an assortment of chocolate bars but they had to stay hidden because muggle packaging just doesn't mix with wizard packaging.

Butterscotch Disks

Cinnamon Disks - I had to throw a little Twilight shout out it into this packaging

Chocolate Covered Macadamia Nuts.  A good friend had just brought these back for me from Hawaii hence the name.

Candy Dots
There was a lot more candy - some that I did packaging for and some that I left as is.  I wish I had more pictures but in our rush to get out the door to get in line I only managed a few pictures.

As for the movie - we loved it!  As always the Harry Potter movies are a visual feast - the set design, costumes, everything are amazing.  The story line was off from the books a bit but I loved it anyway.  I liked the humor in this film.  In my opinion it is a must see.

starting on the sweets

I've started working on the goodies we'll devour while waiting in line and during the movie.  I am trying to channel my inner Honeydukes employee persona to try and figure out the best wizarding candies and goodies.

I am trying to keep things whimsical, fun, a bit dark "and tasty too" (a virtual high five to the person that can tell me what tv show "and tasty too" comes from)  It is a bit harder then I thought to come up with good packaging ideas that fit the bill

Here is my first attempt

I found these skull pops at a local craft store and bought a few bags specifically for Harry Potter.  I knew I wanted to do some type of special packaging with my initial thought being a card stock header at the top of the plastic.  I still like that idea but decided to first try this crepe paper rosette - it seemed kind of old fashioned and wizard-esque.  Any thoughts?  Does it work?  

I thought they would look cool all lined up in a low sided box with a foam bottom so that all the pops could stick straight up in a line.  

I'm open to better ideas if anyone has any.

a "sweet" chandelier

I am now obsessing over Once Wed.  There are so many fun, new, creative ideas. I continue to find photograph after photograph.  Check out this little object of desire...

a DIY Rock Candy Chandelier - I know, right?  It's awesome.  Directions can be found here. This would be a great addition to a candy/dessert display.  Its also beautiful enough to serve as decor throughout a party area

get your spook on - eye candy

I can't get pictures to copy over to my blog for today's Halloween idea so drop what you are doing and click here and go to pages 11 thru 16.  This masterpiece of a Halloween table is fromAmy Atlas and it's fabulous.

I want to have a table like this set up in my front living room so that when trick or treaters look through the door this what they see - can you imagine how the kids eyes would light up?!?!  The problem I see is that we live in a world that most parents (myself included) wouldn't let our kids touch any unwrapped candy or goodies.  Maybe I can come up with something similar with packaged treats - it just wouldn't have the same impact as these gorgeous homemade morsels.

countdown to halloween - pb cup

Sorry for the lack of a Halloween Countdown post yesterday.  We have been getting hit with bad news for the last few days and feeling saddened by it all - I couldn't get myself to post yesterday.  I still can't shake the sadness but thought I would take a minute to post regardless.

So here is yesterdays Halloween idea...Who doesn't love a yummy Halloween treat?  Megan is a huge peanut butter cup fan so when I saw this recipe I knew it was a must try for our family.

Does anyone make homemade candy?  My mother in law makes the best homemade candies at Christmas.  I have made a few, very few, attempts at making candy but it never seems to turn out right.  This recipe seems simple so well see how they turn out.  If you have any easy candy recipe let me know.  I may try to bring some homemade goodness to Halloween.