Take a Hike!

My father's birthday takes place in the month of January and in the past few years, we have been gifting him with activities he has been trying to convince us to take part in throughout the year! For his last birthday, we surprised him with a trip to Zion National Park in Utah with Are We There Yet? cupcakes and the year prior, with a trip to the Grand Canyon! This year, we decided to grant his request for a picnic at nearby Red Rock Canyon (can you tell the constant theme?!), but decided to wait until the weather warmed up. So, here we are, four months later, commemorating my dad's birthday, in conjunction with an early Father's Day celebration!

For the invitation design, I utilized clip art from Jessica Weible's Boy Camp Trip collection, paired with digital scrapbook paper from dxpi Design's Fall Plaids set to invite the family to "Take a Hike"!

As we made the trek to Red Rock Canyon, we found the most amazing lookout spot to set up our hiking picnic! I set the table with a rustic, outdoorsy feel to display the "GRUB", inclusive of both lunch and dessert items. The neutral colors with pops of green and red, along with the wood, pine cones and horn decor captured a more masculine, natural feel and worked perfectly with the setting.

One side of the table displayed chocolate cupcakes, embellished with hiking-themed fondant toppers. I printed out faux wood cupcake wrappers so generously offered by my amazingly talented friend Bird of Bird's Party that worked perfectly! Cupcake wrappers are such an easy way to dress up cupcakes according to your theme. Other items included jumbo s'mores on a stick, rocky granola bars, hiking trail rice treats and rock candy sticks.

In the center, I created a Trail Mix Bar and provided little woodland cello bags for guests to create their own blend of ingredients to take on their hike! There are so many possibilities for the ingredients for the mix and allows for an added activity for guests.

The other side of the table included a few more dessert items, with chocolate wafer hiking sticks and compass oatmeal cookies. We made roast beef sandwiches, complemented with potato chip leaves and pebble salad.

We made sure to stay hydrated with drinks poured into adorable small metal drink canisters from the 99c Only store and offered water, iced tea and root beer.

This theme would be perfect for a Father's Day celebration for any dads who love the "Great Outdoors" or even for kids who love to hike, camp and explore! I personalized it with wooden letters enhanced with rope and a banner with the word "DAD" across the front of the table.

The party favors included large metal drink canisters filled with old-fashion root beer hard candies, along with other supplies useful for hiking and a tag wishing guests "Happy Trails"!

The day and the view could not have been more beautiful!!! The sun was out, the temperature was in the 80's and there was a slight breeze that made it perfect picnic and hiking weather! We had a wonderful time celebrating dad and enjoying the gorgeous surroundings we are so fortunate to have nearby!

So Berry Sweet!

This past week was that of Teacher Appreciation, which is especially meaningful in our home, as my husband is a teacher, as was my dear and late sister-in-law. To express just how special my daughter's preschool teachers are, as well as recognize all their dedication and hard work, we put together these strawberry baskets to show our gratitude! While perusing the internet in search for some appropriate printables, I came upon an absolutely adorable berry basket idea and FREE printable designs from The Girls at Eighteen25 that read, "I Couldn't Have PICKED a Better Teacher"! My daughter's preschool doesn't allow treats, even on special occasions, due to possible student allergies, but her teachers have so kindly reminded me that THEY don't have any issues with sweets! So for our baskets, I decorated cupcakes with freshly picked {fondant} strawberries and flowers and added a couple of strawberry and color-coordinating notebooks found at Michaels in the $ section that matched perfectly! They were so incredibly happy with their gifts, which were meaningful and thoughtful, but also did not break the bank!

The Girls at Eighteen25 generously offered additional wording on the printables for mothers, grandmothers and friends and I just couldn't help myself and utilized them once again for Mother's Day! This time, I made miniature cupcakes and put them in a wooden crate filled with faux grass (originally seen in the Easter Egg Hunt party). I also made a couple of regular cupcakes and placed them inside small baskets, which would be super cute for favors or place settings! My mom and grandma adored them, especially because they were so small and bite-size!

Although Teacher Appreciation and Mother's Day are over this year, you can carry the teacher theme with gifts for the end of the school year {which is fast-approaching!}, miscellaneous celebrations or save the idea for next year! Thank you so much again to The Girls at Eighteen25 for the adorable printables and inspiration! Hope all you mamas had a berry sweet Mother's Day! ♥