DIY Lit Floral Centerpiece

Here is a really pretty and simple to make floral centerpiece idea. I put these together for an evening baby shower, however they would be great for any occasion! The led lights inside of the mercury glass create a beautiful glow. Follow the detailed steps below to create your own!

First mix together your flower food with 1 quart of water. You will want to use a container with a pouring spout.

Pour water about halfway up each water tube. Place lid back onto the water tube and stick 2-3 different florals in each tube.

Place your battery powered led light strands in each of your vases. 

I found mine at Target on clearance for under $5 each.

Begin placing your florals in the vase, arranging them to create a balanced centerpiece. You may need to go back and trim different stems shorter once your have all of the flowers in place. I also used fake succulents to help fill the vase. I found mine on Save-on-crafts.com. 

Piper's 1st Birthday

 Can't believe our sweet baby girl is already ONE! The year has flown by, and I think I say that every year when the kids have a birthday. We were planning to have a small dinner party for Piper's birthday with family and close friends. However, the plans changed when Hudson came down with the stomach flu that morning. It was a bummer we didn't get to celebrate with friends and family, and eat all of the food that had been bought and prepared. However, Piper didn't know the difference! I did still take some pictures that I wanted to share. It was fun to plan a party with pink this year! 

 I made mini carrot cake cupcakes and a pink ruffled cake. You can find a tutorial for the pink ruffled cake HERE. I used striped paper straws and yellow tissue paper to make little candles for each cupcake. Also perfect for the birthday girl's cake!

 Made a yummy apple cider sangria, recipe HERE.

Perfect adult drink for a Fall party!

We went with the "mini" theme for her 1st birthday.

These mini crab apples were perfect! Found them at Fry's.

We also made mini meatball sandwiches for dinner.

 Put together a large veggie bowl full of "mini" cucumbers, peppers, carrots, and tomatoes.

I filled the bottom of the bowl with grocery bags and paper towels to keep the veggies up higher in the bowl. I was inspired by the veggie bowl served at True Food!

For the centerpieces I decorated with gold mason jars, pink and peach florals, white and gold pumpkins, and succulents.

I bought the sweet handmade crown for Piper to wear on Etsy from Tilly Tilda.

 Made this tissue paper tassel garland. You can find a tutorial HERE.

I bought some pretty tissue poms from Petite Party Studio in down town Gilbert. I plan on reusing these by hanging them in Piper's room.

For party favors I made homemade play dough (recipe HERE) in three colors. I placed three rolled balls of each color in small mason jars and sprinkled with gold glitter. I used a free printable from Tomkat Studio, HERE.

Happy 1st Birthday sweet Piper!

Blueberry Plum Crumble

This is such an easy and yummy summer dessert. You also can use different fruit to change it up a bit each time. I altered a recipe from Barefoot Contessa that originally had peaches instead of plums. I've made it with peaches before too, and it is really good. This time I made it with plums because we had lots of plums to use up from our tree. 

Ingredients:
10-12 firm, ripe plums
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour

Ingredients for Crumble:
1 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Remove the skin from the plums, cut into thick wedges, and place them in a large bowl. Add the lemon juice, sugar, flour, and blueberries. Gently toss. Let the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. Next divide the mixture into ramekins or you could place into a baking dish. (I was able to fill 6 of the ramekins shown above)

For the crumble topping, combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Use a pastry knife or butter knife to blend the butter into the dry ingredients. You can also use your hands to mix the ingredients until they form into crumbs. Then sprinkle the crumb over the fruit. Place the ramekins or baking dish on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream on top!

*Recipe altered from Barefoot Contessa's Peach Blueberry Crumble