Archive for the ‘party ideas’ Category

The grand opening of The Lodge took place early in August on a very busy weekend for Gosport, the Gosport Lazy Days.  Hundreds of former residents crowd into town to visit and renew friendships.  It is a huge reunion and the perfect time to celebrate!

Gosport is my hometown, so needless to say, I was more than happy to prepare The Lodge for its grand opening.  The Lodge is a renovated historic Masonic building that has now been converted into a community center and event venue by owners, Alyssa and Tom Rice.  We helped Alyssa and Tom with table decor setup, linens, and lighting.  Next, we created posters to promote the opening and its very first event, a live band and dance featuring Harold’s Nightmare.

It was a sell out night and we couldn’t be happier.  Dancing, celebration and the beginning of many more events at The Lodge.

Attending a party or gathering soon?  We know how you are looking forward to it and we know what it takes to throw a party.  Make sure you’re the guest that goes the ‘little extra’ and remembers your host with a “hostess gift”.  What is a hostess gift?  We think it is a great way to say, “Thank you for inviting me!”  We all love to be included and when we are invited to a special event we can show our appreciation with a small token.

Many guests include a bottle of wine (which we love to receive) as a gift, but think out of the box too.  What about some great chocolates, fruit from the local farmer’s market, a new read or the latest released CD?  Don’t underestimate flowers or a potted plant too. Hosts love to be remembered and appreciated.  They worked hard to make the party a celebration and your thoughtfulness will be remembered with many more invitations.

Always remember a personal handwritten thank you note is a rarity and will be greatly appreciated too.

Your appreciation, your smile and willing hand to pitch in (when needed) will make your host or hostess invite you again and again.  Of course, how could any party be fun without you?

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=ush-mailn&sz=all&va=thank+you

By Kim

Don’t deny it, we all have a list of favorite television shows that we watch every week. One of my new favorites is The Cupcake Girls. I tune in every Tuesday night. The Cupcake Girls is a great show for me because I have such a sweet tooth and so every time I watch it I want to bake! Good thing I resist the urge pretty well or else I might be overcome with enough desserts to last me a year. The Cupcake Girls is about the trials and tribulations of Cupcakes by Heather and Lori, a nostalgic cupcake franchise in the USA and Canada. Heather White and Lori Joyce are the co-owners of Cupcakes by Heather and Lori and the show tells the story of their rise in the cupcake world. It’s got everything. It has charm, whit, and cupcakes, with a lot of business savvy.

I am telling you about The Cupcake Girls to recommend that you watch the show of course, but also to fill you in on why cupcakes are so happening. Cupcakes are like little bundles of joy. They are just as delicious as a full cake, but in a better serving size, and you can get so creative with them. Yes cakes have the same ability, but it’s a little unusual to see a mound of cupcakes instead of one large cake. Cupcakes are becoming so popular because they are unexpected.

I am a creative person and so I see so many possibilities when I think about serving cupcakes instead of one big cake. You can use cupcakes as the main dessert display at any event. Birthday parties, graduation parties, anniversary parties, and even weddings are all great places to serve the little cups of heaven. You can try new flavor combinations, get a little artsy with the icing, or try a new display method. For example, you can line up your cupcakes and spell words with the icing as if it were a puzzle. For a birthday or graduation party you can spell out HAPPY BIRTHDAY or any sort of congratulatory message. You can mix icing colors and designs to create your own original cupcake to match any theme or color scheme. As a bride and groom, think about serving a tower of cupcakes instead of layers and layers of cake that would take forever to cut. Contact us here at Kim King Smith Events and we can assist you with your cupcake craze! We would suggest keeping the tradition alive though, by getting one small layer of cake for the bride and groom to cut and then having a crafty cupcake display for the rest of your guests. No need for volunteer cake cutters, the guests can come and pick up their individually wrapped dessert as they please.

Now if you still want to cling on to the idea of one big cake, consider a cupcake cake. Now you can buy new baking pans that are shaped like an oversized cupcake and matching icing topper. These pans make for an unusual cake that can add a little surprise to the party. Nobody will be expecting one gigantic cupcake! So whenever you want to be that person at the party that always brings the best looking and best tasting dessert, think cupcakes!

By Ali

Photos courtesy of:

http://www.cupcakeactivist.com/2009/07/cupcake-girls.html

http://www.thecupcakeblog.com/tag/white-wedding-cupcakes/

http://www.caketodays.com/cupcake/giant-cupcake/

What’s yellow and green that pops up in a summer scene? Corn of course! And what a sweet summer treat it is! Corn is always a favorite at my house in the summertime.  You can use it in so many ways; corn-on-the-cob, creamed corn, whole kernel corn, and even corn casserole. None of these uses will let you down, but here’s a newsflash! There are a few more ways to spin it. Here’s a fresh, new trick to try this summer; gourmet corn-on-the-cob. There’s not just one recipe either. You can mix and match your toppings and rubs to create your favorite corn-on-the-cob combination! Yes, we all love the standard corn rolled in butter, but gourmet corn-on-the-cob has a little extra zing! I bet you and your friends and family would love to whip up a batch on the grill at your next gathering. Here is a recipe that I know I am going to try and you should too!

Grilled Corn with Sundried Tomato-Bacon Butter

Ingredients

4 ears yellow corn

Olive oil

2 slices applewood-smoked bacon

1 stick (4 ounces) salted butter, softened

3 sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 tablespoon finely chopped flat leaf parsley

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Prepare the barbecue for medium heat. Pull off the husks from the corncobs and remove the corn silk.

Drizzle the oil over the corn to coat lightly.

Place the corn on the grill. Cover and cook, turning occasionally, until the corn is soft and juicy and lightly charred, about 15 minutes. Transfer the corn to a platter.

Meanwhile, grill the bacon until it is golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to drain excess oil. Finely chop the bacon.

Stir the softened butter, sun-dried tomatoes, shallot, parsley, garlic, oregano, thyme, lemon juice, crushed red pepper, and bacon in a medium bowl to blend. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Spread the softened butter mixture all over the hot grilled corn. Serve and enjoy.

Picture and recipe are courtesy of http://www.kitchendaily.com/2010/06/01/grilled-corn-with-sundried-tomato-bacon-butter/

Sweets Bar and Decor before the guests arrived.

They danced nonstop all night! We were thrilled!

We were fortunate to be asked to attend the prom this year!  It was thrilling to receive the invitation to coordinate and design the Owen Valley High School Junior Senior Prom 2011.  This would be the first year  ever that the prom would be held enitrely at the school.

To make it extra special, we went to work with fundraising events that gave the prom committee the extras they needed for a great prom.  Tons of news releases, special posters and the creation of the Extreme Pancake Breakfast plus  Little Prince and Princess Contest for a new event, the Grand March, paid off.

We had our work cut out for us and enjoyed every single second!  Transforming the gymnasium into an elegant ballroom was so much fun.  Special lighting and gobo from Evans Audio Visual www.evansav.com transformed the room as the DJ kept EVERYONE ON THE FLOOR the entire night!  We’ve never seen anything like it and were thrilled the attendees were having such a great time plus completely exhausted from dancing so much!  The sweets bar was a special treat along with the decorated tables and fabulous entry way.

The prom didn’t stop there.  Our coordination and partnership of the Post Prom had everyone taking their chances on fun and gifts.  A DJ, casino room, refreshments and prizes all kept the attendees there until the very last minute; just in time to take a ‘breakfast to go bag” with them.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Owen Valley Junior Class and parents.  We already have some great ideas for next year!

Pictures by Evans Audio Visual

Here’s your chance.  We want to give all of you the opportunity to ask us any celebration or wedding planning question and we will try to answer it for you.  We’re sure you will have some of the same questions as other readers.   We love our readers and would like to give this as a special Valentine’s gift to you.  So start thinking and begin asking!  We are ready and here for you!

We will post questions and answers that we receive.  Please send your question to info@kimkingsmithevents.com Our Trendsetting Team will be ready to answer your questions.

by Kim