Trouble is many of those ideas have to be assembled or carried out at the last minute while I'm running around making sure my hors 'd oeuvres don't burn, as guests arrive early and my hair is still in a towel, so lets just say it's not unusual for a great idea to be forgotten.
If I delegate some duties I have a better chance of everything I've planned coming to fruition.
But not always if I don't articulate the instructions accurately.
Hence 7 years ago when a 12 cup Mr. Coffee was used to serve 300 guests.
I didn't realize the young girl who was helping me didn't know what a party size coffee maker urn looked like, so when I said "grab the coffee maker on the counter", she grabbed exactly that - the morning brew machine from the counter. I didn't catch the mistake till it was too late....... the next day cleaning up.
Oh well, that day was hot and humid anyway, and the lack of coffee was probably a reason for the spike in lime margaritas and poor dancing.
Cute little mini banners stuck into desserts are all over Pinterest and I was pretty sure I could duplicate the idea without reading any tutorial.
I started with a piece of red craft foam, drew a fairly straight line and cut a strip out.
Then I penciled on triangle's - I didn't try to keep them perfectly uniform - and snipped those out to make a pile of tiny sized banner shapes.
I wanted to use what I had in the craft bin, which has more to do with using up what I already own than it does wanting to be frugal, and I had some two tone tan twine that would be just fine.
From the computer I printed out the letters of the desserts that family was making and cut those little letters apart.
A small spot of glue stick was placed on the red triangles and the letters were stuck on.
To attach the red triangles to the twine I used a dab of hot glue and pressed each lettered shape on, leaving a bit of extra twine on the ends for fastening.
It was that simple.
The banners spelled out the type of each dessert, so if you don't like salted caramel, coconut, peanut butter or cinnamon, you didn't have to take any. And I would wonder if you were alien.
But of course I ran out of time for picture taking - you know that running around at the last minute thing - and straws didn't get put over all the bamboo skewers either.
The theme was just a subtle circus, not over the top big top.
And no one noticed the missing straws or they were too kind to mention it.
I also discovered they didn't really read the banners anyway, since they asked me what kind of bars each dessert was.
Usually the missing details are only noticed by the hostess.
Except those 7 years ago serving 12 cups of coffee to 300 people. The hostess didn't notice THAT detail! I never even looked in the direction of the coffee maker.
One man however did notice and came to me with his coffee cup asking if I was going to make more coffee and disappointed he was only able to drink one. I expressed surprise that in the days heat and humidity that people had already emptied "that big thing" of coffee, and I asked my helper to make another pot.
Which she did.... 12 more cups in the unbeknownst to me Mr. Coffee, using the grounds I had set out pre-measured to brew water for 50.
Maybe by that time I wasn't paying attention because I was ready to shake a leg as one of those poor dancers with lime margarita in my veins.......
but man-oh-man that guy must like his coffee strong!
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Cute idea! And who would opt for coffee over margaritas anyway?
ReplyDeletexo Heidi
Great story as always. I go through effort for people that will take the time to notice the little things. I have done it for nothing too many times.
ReplyDeleteI guess that makes me b***hy.
Cindy
I love those types of banners! I've seen them on birthday cakes before. I never thought of using them for a party like that. Thanks for the tutorial.
ReplyDeleteI'm the dork that brings her own instant coffee in her purse and asks the hostess if she can microwave a mug of hot water in the hostess's kitchen (because everyone else prefers the margaritas.) These are really cute. Never thought to use foam, great idea!
ReplyDeleteI almost didn't read this because seriously, who wants mini desserts anyway? I want freaking huge, ginormous desserts. Then I was like, oh. The mini banners are cool as long as the desserts are huge.
ReplyDeleteAnd I tried serving my brood of children with my mini 5-cup Mr. Coffee one evening and that didn't work out so well. I finally bought a bigger one that I haven't used yet. Dang kids haven't been back.
-andi