SIPS :: Raspberry Champagne Cocktail

Happy Happy 2nd Birthday to my friend, Laura, and her amazing design

business, Eye Candy Creative Studio.

I have had the pleasure of working with Laura many times. She has designed

countless printable collections for my personal & client parties, recently redesigned my blog, and was one of the co-hosts at the Party Girls Rock Memphis event with me last November. {That was one seriously awesome party girl meet-up!}

Laura's creativity and talent never cease to amaze me! She has more drive and determination than anyone else that I know.

And I'm proud to call her my friend! 

To celebrate her 2nd year in business...I'm enjoying a cocktail in her honor.

And lucky for you...I'm sharing the recipe! Woop Woop! 

~ Raspberry Champagne Cocktail ~

Ingredients:

1 Bottle Champagne

1 2-Liter Ginger Ale, chilled

2 Cups Raspberry Liqueur

1 Bag Frozen Raspberries

Directions:

In a large pitcher or punch bowl, combine all ingredients

Stir gently

Serve in champagne flutes

Pour...Enjoy...Repeat



Party Food/Drinks Contributor: Cineca Keck

 

Cineca is a mommy, lover of music and traveling, and a self-proclaimed food junkie. When not experimenting with new recipes, watching cooking shows, and building tent forts, she’s a busy wedding and event planner. 

You can follow Cineca
 Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest



{FREE Subway Art} Happy Birthday Subway Art Download

Hope you all enjoyed celebrating with my as my business turned TWO on Friday. I want to THANK YOU all again for being such amazing fans & followers - it means the world to me. I read every comment, see every 'like' on FB & am so humbled by it all. ;)

Today I wanted to share with you a NEW re-designed HAPPY BIRTHDAY Subway Art I designed for you in honor of it being BIRTHDAY week here. 
I took the HAPPY BIRTHDAY Subway Art I designed for you all last year & changed the color scheme to be more on the 'masculine' side since the other was more for the 'girls'. Now you have options & that's always a good thing.
If you missed the 'girly' version of this, check out this HAPPY BIRTHDAY post from last year.

Print  it out, frame it and you have a fun piece of art for a birthday celebration.
Also fun to use as wrapping paper on smaller gifts. I'd LOVE to hear your ideas.

Enjoy! :)

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This print is sized for an 8 x 10 frame but could easily be enlarged to fit an 11 x 14 or whatever size you needed. Print it out at home or take it to a printer for a larger size.

Click for your Happy Birthday Subway Art download & ENJOY! 
**by clicking & downloading this subway art you ARE agreeing to the RULES & copyright guidelines below! 

  

All I ask in return is just ONE thing . . . . 

please if you are not already, become a fan of my FB page, 

Eye Candy Event Details, here or leave me a comment here on the blog letting me know that you downloaded this FREEBIE. 

Either of these lets me know that you were here & you all enjoy these 

& will only encourage me to do MORE for ya'll! =)

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RULES for FREE DOWNLOADS:

• Eye Candy Event Details printables are designed for your PERSONAL USE only. Please do not re-sell, re-distribute, or claim them as your own.
• I encourage you to share with your fans, friends, on your blog and all I ask is to PLEASE, {be kind} & post/ tag a link back to this website so I know who's enjoying them. Thanks - I appreciate it! =)
• And PLEASE do NOT remove the copyright mark - thanks!

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Feel free to share!

PARTY TIP :: TOP 5 Ways to Use Wrapping Paper

Howdie party friends….it’s Melissa and in honor of "birthday week", here at Eye Candy Creative Studio, I am wrapping this up with my take on  – wrapping paper!

We All know what the “typical” use for this is…but did you know that there are MANY ways to use wrapping paper when it comes to parties!

Whenever I am out and about, I am ALWAYS checking the clearance bins for out of season wrapping paper at a clearance price. You NEVER know when you might use that stuff for something other than wrapping a present! Our Dollar Tree has some FABULOUS selections for wrapping paper – never pass up a trip to their bins for some inspiration! 

My top 5 ways to use wrapping paper  
(besides the obvious)

      1. Table Covering – probably my favorite use for this paper décor!  It’s so easy just to throw this stuff away after it has food all over it. It looks pretty and has clean lines. You can use as a runner or cover the entire table.  Love to use the brown butcher paper also for kids tables so they can write on it as they wait for their food!

   2. Use as a pretty insert in a frame as a background – a little pop can go a long way!  So easy to do and you can use the scraps that you had left over (never throw those scraps away!)

      3. Creating paper flowers/fans. -  This black and white wrapping paper I bought at a craft store, 3 weeks AFTER Christmas (yes it was considered Christmas wrap)  I have used it for 3 parties so far!  BIG ROLLS!  BIG EFFECT! I still have an entire roll left!

    4.  Use wrapping paper to pretty up a tray that is plain. Adds pop and again you can throw the piece away if food or drinks get spilled on it.

5. My last fun trick to using wrapping paper is for a backdrop!  This red and white beauty of a paper was again a Christmas bargain at 80% off!  I loved it!  I used it for a backdrop for my Casino Birthday party.  This was perfect for the Casino Pops!  Can’t wait to use it at maybe Christmas time or Valentine’s day!

So next time you are in the craft stores or local dollar stores don’t pass up the chance to check out their selection of wrapping paper – you never know what gems you might find!

Until next time friends – Party on!

Melissa

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Guest Contributor: Melissa Newell

Melissa Newell has been planning and executing parties for over 20 years - parties have always been a passion of hers.

Melissa’s motto is Go Big or Go Home! She celebrates with her children every chance they get - making each day a celebration of Life!

Creativity on a budget and the attention to the smallest of details is what she is known for.

You can follow Melissa

 website

{HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY} & the gifts are for YOU!

this giveaway has ended - 9/18/01

     

whoooooa . . . .Eye Candy Event Details is 2 already?
Who's gonna PART-AAAY like it's their birthday?
That would be ALL of US!!!!!

Crazy to believe that I started this business in the online world just a short 2 years ago. Oh the things I have designed and the places I've seen in these 2 short years has been FABULOUS! I am having so much FUN & LOVING every minute of it.

I definitely want to THANK YOU . . .my followers for being with me on this crazy journey! I welcome all of the NEW followers, am humbled by all the followers who have been here from the start and look forward to the future followers who I have yet had the privilege of meeting yet. THANK YOU!!

So you may be wondering what I have up my sleeve???
I can tell you it's definitely SOMETHING!;)

The PARTY starts right now with this GIVEAWAY & I will have a few other surprises between now & next Wednesday so be prepared for anything! lol

Are you READY? Let's go . . . 

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the BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY will have ONE WINNER and the LUCKY winner will get to have me design a brand NEW party printable collection + invite made especially for them. This is YOUR chance to have a designer make you ANY themed collection & invite that you would like! PLUS as an added BONUS, you will also get to pick out 1 party printable collection + invite from my shop as well. 

~ winner will receive one custom printable invite

~ winner will receive one custom designed party printable collection + invite

(collection includes banner, party circles, table tents, welcome sign, drink flags, cupcake wrappers, napkin wraps, paper pack, signs, thank you cards & photo booth props) **I do NOT do licensed characters

~ winner will receive one matching invite & party printable collection from the shop (does NOT include custom design changes)

The GIVEAWAY is OPEN to ALL U.S. & INTERNATIONAL followers!
runs through next Tuesday night (9/18) at midnight (E.S.T.). 

Winner will be announced On Wednesday morning!

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Good luck my friends & have a cupcake to celebrate with me!

Feel free to share about the GIVEAWAY & THANKS AGAIN so much for being a FAN! xoxo

a Rafflecopter giveaway

UNITED we stand ~ Remembering 9/11

 9/11/01

The day that changed everything. 

Life as we had known, forever changed.

Every year is the same for me. I am a MESS.

I have already cried this morning. I still have tears in my eyes as I am 'trying' to type. 

I am a super emotional person but this day is always such a powerful day for me.

11 years have passed & I still struggle with the 'proper' way to remember.

Do I work? If I do, should I just post, write about 9/11 because is it un-American to do anything but that? Am I being too critical? Life has to go on right? Or is that THE problem? Have we, as Americans forgotten how to truly remember a day that should never be forgotten?

I have read many comments about us forgetting how to remember those on Memorial Day, Veterans Day . . . I truly, truly hope that 9/11 doesn't turn into one of those days too but will it eventually? I pray it doesn't.

I don't even feel like working today - never do. I feel every year all I should do is just talk about it . . remember with people . . .watch it on TV . . NOT post anything unless it's related to 9/11 . . . I feel like if I don't, I'm disrespecting the day - 9/11 . . .anyone else feel this way?

My daughter was excited about going to school today to learn about 9/11. I asked her WHY she was 'excited' as it was a really sad day? She replied with 'I know it was important so I want to know about it & hopefully I can make you feel better later because YOU are a mess talking about it!' (God I love that kid - she has MY compassionate bone ;)

I tried to explain to my her some of the details before she headed to school this morning but I just lost it - always do every year. It feels like it just happened - wounds are so fresh still and I'm not sure if that feeling will ever go away. 

I will be anxious to see what they tell her in school today . . .explaining to these little people who were not even born yet, what this day means, why these awful people hated us so much to do this & try to explain to her WHY we should respect this day, hold it in our hearts & always pray for all the people who have suffered because of this tragedy. Because HOW do you explain that to these kids? Yes we should tell them all the good things as well that came from that day but we also need to keep our kids grounded in the 'real' world. Threats of evil happen every day but that is why we have our wonderful military to protect us. They also need to know that not everybody loves us & mean people DO exist. But GOOD people do too! ;)

I wonder if the school will explain the UNITY of people that day or for what seemed like months afterward . . . . how everyone flew flags on their cars, put them in their yards & wore red, white & blue for days after it happened. Will they tell her that? People UNITED! UNITED . . . .together for the simple fact that is happened to ALL of us  . . .we shared a common bond that UNITED us together forever. That is the ONE thing I do miss from those days 11 years ago . . .the UNITY felt from every single American. Sad to see those days have diminished some since then. I pray we can get that back someday. I want that UNITY back!

I hope we teach our children about that day. I hope we share with them the good AND the bad. They need to know. Whether we like it or not, it is now part of our history & they have a link to that piece of history, one who can give them all the details of those events. US . . .their parents. The ones who witnessed that day. Let's make sure we teach them how to remember those who are no longer with us. Let's teach them about the HEROES of that day. Not just the first responders - the policemen, the firemen, the medics,  . . .or the military but also all the normal every day people that dropped everything to HELP a fellow human. Or the story about the dad who overtook a plane, diverted it & saved tons of people in the process - he BEAT the bad guys! That was some good news.

Do you remember WHERE you were? Of course you do. I was working at a 9-5 job in the graphic design department of a corporate retail chain . . . .I remember sitting at my desk & someone yelling 'we are being attacked'!!!!!. . . so many things run through your mind when you hear those words . . . what EXACTLY does that mean? How severe is this? Are they exaggerating? 

We all gathered in another department to watch from a TV . . . then IT happened . . .the 2nd plane  . . . and that is when I realized just how serious this was! 
The disbelief . . . this kind of thing is supposed to ONLY happen in he movies but yet here we were watching it on TV . . happening in OUR country . . . happening to one of OUR cities . . .happening to OUR fellow brothers & sisters.

Just when I was trying to wrap my head around what was happening in NYC, then news came that the Pentagon was hit.  I ran back to my desk . . .started frantically dialing to reach my mom . . .to talk to her & I remember saying "I LOVE YOU" because I honestly thought THIS WAS THE DAY! The day we were ALL going to die. The 'one' day we all dreaded coming, the one day that has always been threatened to us by our enemies . . .the day they would take us all out. 
I called as many family members as I could get a hold of . . . just in case it was the last time. When I called my dad in Florida . . . he was a mess as he tells me the details of being on the phone with one of his friends & the phone went dead . . . the friend he was talking to who was in one of the towers. He was just as scared as I was. (his friend DID make it out . . . he was one of the lucky ones)

My story is NOTHING compared to those who lost a loved one. But we all felt the day along with all of those who were directly affected. We all take this day & remember in our own little way. Some want to discuss it . . . some want to write about it . . . some want to try their best to go on with their day, with business as normal, while their heart aches all day . . . but I truly believe that every year on September 11th the same thing happens to EVERY person in America.
We all remember. We all UNITE in remembering . . .that is AMAZING!

Some may shed tears, some pray all day, some grieve but we will always remember.

That day on September 11th, 11 years ago will forever UNITE all of us forever. Let's keep that UNITY alive.
God bless the United States of America!

 

 FREE 9/11 Subway Art


Please feel free to share your thoughts or some feelings below . . . let this be a way for us to UNITE! :)

FREEBIE :: Remembering 9-11 Subway Art

Remembering 9/11.

This week, here in America, we celebrate & remember the anniversary of 9-11-01.

I designed this 9-11 Subway Art (a few years ago) as a small way, to honor all of those who lost their lives that day. I want to share it with you again this year as we, as Americans, need to NEVER forget that day & how we came together as a country following that horrific day. It is OUR duty to make sure to explain to future generations what that day means to us . . .the people who lived through it, and to honor those who lost their lives because of it.

I hope you all will enjoy this tribute piece of art . . . share it with a friend . . . or just take a moment & remember! 

We will NEVER FORGET!

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This print is sized for an 8 x 10 frame but could easily be enlarged to fit an 11 x 14 or whatever size you needed. Print it out at home or take it to a printer for a larger size.

Just download your FREE 9-11 Subway Art here & ENJOY! 
**by clicking & downloading this subway art you ARE agreeing to the RULES & copyright guidelines below! 

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RULES for FREE DOWNLOADS:

• Eye Candy Creative Studio printables are designed for my friends who FOLLOW me here at ECCS & for PERSONAL USE only. Please do not re-sell, re-distribute, or claim them as your own.
• I encourage you to share with your fans, friends, on your blog and all I ask is to PLEASE, {be kind} & post/ tag a link back to this website so I know who's enjoying them. Thanks - I appreciate it! =)
• And PLEASE do NOT remove the copyright mark - thanks!

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Have a great day & may we never forget!

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Are you loving the "eye candy" here? Then join me over on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter or check out more designs in my Etsy shop! 

 I would love for you to connect with me by email or become a blog follower too! {on the right sidebar}  Looking forward to seeing you again! :)

FREEBIE :: Grandparents Day Subway Art

Grandparents Day is coming . . . and SOON. 

Grandparents . . . they are such wonderful blessings! I unfortunately do not have any of mine around anymore however my daughter is lucky enough to have all of hers so this is perfect for her and anyone else who is fortunate enough to be able to spend time with and see theirs when they can.

Today I wanted to share with you a NEW Subway Art I designed for you in honor of GRANDPARENTS DAY. 

Print  it out, frame it and you have a touching, thoughtful gift.
Print it out & use for wrapping paper. I'd LOVE to hear your ideas.

Enjoy! :) And enjoy those grandparents out there! ;)

This print is sized for an 8 x 10 frame but could easily be enlarged to fit an 11 x 14 or whatever size you needed. Print it out at home or take it to a printer for a larger size.

Click for your Grandparents Day Subway Art download & ENJOY! 

**FREE printables are for personal use ONLY and may not be sold or claimed to be your design. By printing any freebies, you are agreeing to these terms.

Do you celebrate YOUR Grandparents in a special way? Please let me know below . . .
 

Are you loving the "eye candy" here?

Then join me over on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter & Instagram so you never miss out on an exclusive deal or any behind the scenes photos!

Check out my designs, artwork & decor in my Etsy shop! 

Looking forward to seeing you again! :)

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