{OUR PARTIES} are you watching "the bachelor"?!

{OUR PARTIES}

ABC's

"the bachelor"

{do you watch the bachelor? i'm sort of obsessed.}

just recently we were part of an AWESOME party designers challenge

with SPARKLING EVENTS & DESIGNS

the theme was "favorite tv shows" and the budget was $100

we were asked to style a party & we competed agains 9 other talented designers.

it was so much fun!

you can see our entry HERE

we are so excited to share that our party 
won FAN FAVORITE!!

now, you may be asking yourself 

“why did she choose to do the bachelor? he was a LOSER this season.” 

and i’ll be honest here… lame-o-ben almost made me change my mind! 

BUT i have been hosting “bachelor” parties every monday {that it’s in season} 

for about 3 years now – and we have had some good ones over the years...  

so i picked it because it could actually be a REAL party – not just a styled one. 

with real people, real food, and real fun. 

but like i said, even though the bachelor this season was lame, not cute, 

needed a haricut, and picked a concieted pshyco to propose to,

 i wasn’t going to let that get in the way of throwing a great finale party. 

plus, NOW we are gearing up for EMILY’S season!!!! 

which will be awesome. i’m sure of it. 

she will redeem the show and make it – in the words of chris harrison – 

“the most talked about season yet” or “the most dramatic event in bachelor history ”  

or some other overinflated phrase that hooks me every time…

one more thing. 

i really wanted to challenge myself. 

so i didn’t have ANY VENDORS!!! for real! 

i had two fabulous friends {amanda of traylor made treats & katie spear}

 that helped me with some of the cake things since it was my first time with fondant 

but I am proud to say this party is ALL ME!!! 

From scratch. 

And let me tell you what I learned : 

I LOVE MY VENDORS.

{raspberry brownie bites}

{sparkling apple juice with raspberries}

{candy covered oreos & handmade chocolate bites}

{homemade almond flavored meringue roses}

 

{chocolate cake with vanilla icing & marshmallow fondant}

for the activity we made felt rose neclaces!

again... let me stress

NO VENDORS!

{which i'm sure you noticed since i am no where NEAR thier talent!!} 

but i did this whole party for under $100!

and i think its safe to say you won't see a "no vendor" party from me again :)

thanks to ebony of SPARKLING EVENTS & DESIGNS

for including us in this awesome challenge!

check out all the winners and entries to the "tv show" challenge HERE

Here are the BUDGET details... 

Already had/ “FREE” items

Black  & white & red fabrics

Red & Silver Christmas Chargers

Black paper plates

Champagne flutes

Napkins

All Ribbon

Ikea Frames

Candy Sticks

All vases & fake roses

Bought

Rose paper {10 sheets – 5.00}

Black paper plates {1.00}

Raspberries {2.50}

Sparkling white grape juice {5.00}

Materials for favor boxes: cardstock & felt {1.47}

Candy for favor boxes {3.00}

Candy melts – 3 colors – {7.00}

Large diamonds {16}

Cake materials: marshmallows, powder sugar, cake mix, frosting {4.50}

Gum Paste Rose toppers {12.00}

Wedding cookies {2.00}

Candy Molds {3.00}

Meringue & Brownie ingredients {3.50}

2 dozen real roses {16.00}

Felt & chain for necklace activity {5.00}

Small pack of oreos {1.50}

TOTAL: 88.47

A few Budget tricks:

-       I went to Michaels like EVERY DAY! No really. I figured out what items I wanted from there and used my 40% or 50% coupons each time. They thought I was crazy. I thought I was GENIOUS.

-       Since the rules included only one cake stand, I used holiday chargers that I had and displayed them on candle holders from my living room

-       Cake – since there were only a few people, only the top tier was really cake. The bottom tier was a Styrofoam circle I had lying around that I covered with marshmallow fondant… tricky tricky!

-       Fabrics – I used curtains & sheets from around the house hung using a spring rod, & the black fabric was my infant photography backdrop

happy entertaining

{and happy bachelor watching!}

mindy starr