The Painted Apron

Creations, Party Wreath

Posted by the Painted Apron on July 14, 2013 · 4 Comments 

Do you ever watch the show “Chopped” on the Food Network?  The contestants are given a mystery basket of ingredients and they have to create a dish from them.  My darling daughter and I thought this could be great fun for a party.

We decided to call it “Cook Your App Off!” and ask guests to create an appetizer from a list of ingredients.   Different from the show, they have several weeks to think about it and they cook at home and bring the finished dish  to the party.  We tried this concept last summer with a small group and it was such a success we couldn’t wait to do it again! The photo above and the 3 below are  from last summer’s party…

DD decided she wanted to do it for her Supper Club this year and she & I have been busy getting ready.  Even though we aren’t doing any of the cooking, we made favors and decorations to show the guests how much we appreciate their efforts. We were blown away by some of last year’s fabulous presentations!

How about this Olympic themed appetizer, just in time for last summer’s Olympic games

And don’t these Asian Firecrackers look good?  Still trying to secure the recipe for this one…

DD is lucky enough to have a large group of friends that she has known since kindergarten, and now they have formed a Supper Club.   HH and I feel like we have helped raised all these girls, watching them play softball and going to  dance recitals…they have gone from pigtails and braces to beautiful talented women.  We went to their weddings,  gave them parties and baby showers.  We love them all and we are flattered to be included in this party.

Plus, DD needs my help! Ahem, so forget about all that sappy stuff, I am basically just her assistant, her gopher….

DD designed the invitation, one side features the written information

and we styled a photo for the other side,  featuring  the “mystery ingredients.”  You might recognize the photo from Summer Centerpiece Fun

We started the party plans in May while we were at the beach.  That’s probably why we decided to go with a beachy theme for this summer party.  Wait until you see what we do with these “sand dollar cookies!”

The guests were instructed to choose at least one ingredient from this selection, and use it to make an appetizer with any additional ingredients they wanted to use.  They were told there would be prizes for Tastiest, Most Creative, Best Presentation, Captain Obvious [which is basically for someone who grabs chips and a pre-made dip] and an overall winner,  Best Chef of 2013.

DD wanted a decoration for her front door to greet the guests

I used the invitation for a start point and began with a plain grapevine wreath and wrapped it with chevron burlap and jute.  The chevron burlap mimics the chevron border on the invitation.

I found the chef hat at Hobby Lobby and put it on the wreath with a little tilt like the chef’s hat on the invitation text.

Originally I was going to put faux food items from the ingredient list, but that was proving difficult because the ones I could find were either pricey or tacky looking.  I decided to use mini utensils instead and this way we can use the wreath every year.

I even found a little fork and spoon that are similar to the ones drawn on the invite

Mini scissors, whisks, measuring cup and a cheese grater…

measuring spoons, a cheese plane and a funnel…I found all these treasures at World Market for .99-$1.99.

I was going to paint a piece of wood for the sign but cruising around Hobby Lobby I found this one

It had a jute ribbon for hanging already attached and had been reduced to $3.40.  Done.

I decided to use chalk paint and just paint over the whole thing

One coat and it just about covered

I went back over with some streaks of white, and even though you can still see the letters, once I added new text you can’t see them.

I did seal the sign with clear soft wax

and a coat of dark soft wax to give it some character~

The wreath is ready for the party!  This type of wreath would be great for a kitchen shower too, you could put the bride & grooms names on a sign, or a baby shower, or a birthday.  A special themed wreath is such a fun way to welcome guests to your party!

Check back this week for pictures of this year’s party, recipes, more decor ideas and a “to die for” dessert!

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I’m joining these fun parties:

Alderberry Hill

Uncommon Designs

Between Naps on the Porch

The Dedicated House

The Gunny Sack

Clean and Sensible

Stone Gable

It’s Overflowing