Merry Christmas 2009

Tonight is Christmas Eve and a special evening for many people throughout the world. Christmas Eve is a time for gathering with family and friends to enjoy conversation, delicious food, and to give thanks for all we have. And, perhaps celebrating the true meaning of the holiday with a candlelight service or opening one special gift from under the tree!

However you celebrate this special time of year, I hope you celebrate with passion, love, and goodness in your heart.

Merry Christmas and enjoy the holiday season!

Happy Hanukkah!

Happy Hanukkah!

Tonight starts the eight-day Festival of Lights for our Jewish friends and family. In celebration of this ancient holiday my family will enjoy Veal Saltimbocca Alla Romana, Latkes (potatoe pancakes) and a lovely dry white wine. We just might spin the dreidels after dinner too . . . “Oh, dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made you out of clay. Oh, dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, oh dreidel I will play!”

Speaking of Hanakkah dreidels, this month in Martha Stewart Living magazine Martha shared a fun, kid-friendly Hanakkah treat . . . edible dreidels!

Large marshmallows make up the dreidel’s bodies, chocolate kisses serve as the tips, and small pretzel sticks act as the top’s knob. The entire treat is then dipped in melted chocolate, refrigerated, and finished off with white chocolate Hebrew letters.

Here are Martha’s directions:

• Dip bottom of one (1) chocolate kiss in 8 ounces of melted semisweet chocolate
• Press onto one (1) end of a large marshmallow
• Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet
• Repeat to make twelve (12) dreidels
• Refrigerate for ten (10) minutes, then remove from refrigerator
• Cut a small slit in the bottom of each marshmallow (non-kiss end)
• Insert one (1) thin pretzel stick
• Carefully dip dreidels in chocolate
• Return dreidels to parchment-lined baking sheet
• Refrigerate until set, about fifteen (15) minutes
• Fill a resealable plastic bag with two (2) ounces of melted white chocolate
• Cut a tiny opening in one corner of the bag
• Pipe Hebrew letters onto three (3) sides of each dreidel
• Refrigerate at least five (5) minutes or up to eight (8) hours before serving
• Makes 12 dreidels

Create and enjoy!

Book Binding with Jen O'Sullivan

I had a fun new experience yesterday when I attended Jen O’Sullivan’s one-day book binding workshop at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Jen O’Sullivan, founder and principal photographer of Jen O’Sullivan Photography in Beverly Hills, shared her knowledge and expertise of traditional and non-traditional methods of book binding with me and a class of about twenty-two other students. We learned and practiced various stitching methods and walked away with several mini-books for our use and inspiration.

Learning a few binding methods is beneficial for student projects, professionals creating presentations and everyone wanting to create fun in everyday life! If you are interested in finding out more about this and other workshops offered by Jen, go to http://www.jenosullivan.com, and click on the workshops tab.

Go create and by happy!

Finding Creative Inspiration

At times, creative inspiration comes quite easy. You begin thinking about a project and your mind begins racing with ideas. Sometimes it's hard to turn the ideas off. At other times, you need a little nudge to get the ball rolling.

In thinking about this past week I have had inspiration overload! It's not a bad thing, but it started me thinking about how a single object, a certain shade of color, an article of clothing, or an interesting shape or texture can be the starting point in creating an amazing invitation or the inspiration in designing an event's fabulous decor.

Inspiration is everywhere around us! We just need to take the time to see it, experience it, and appreciate it! Here are a few things that have given me creative inspiration this past week -

• The Brewery Artwalk . . . the brewery artwalk takes place twice a year on North Main Street in Los Angeles. Over one hundred resident artists showcase their amazing talents at this open studio event. From paintings, photography, sculpture, jewelry design and other mixed media, you can experience all types of art as well as talk directly with the artists. Art comes in many forms and can add a great element of interest to your special event.
  
  

• Music that moves me . . . many tunes from U2 and Michael Jackson move me. I've loved music all of my life. I've moved beyond the piano and flute lessons from my childhood, but that was the start of my love for music. Music inspires! Find lyrics and beats you can't stop dancing to and incorporate them into your affair!
  


• Halloween costume creativity . . . I was amazed at the creativity shown by the children who rang my doorbell last night for trick or treating! I was inspired that many of the children were wearing well designed, adorable handmade costumes. From ladybugs to robots, it's great to see the dreams and creativity of children! What are your dreams for your wedding or special event?

Go and find what inspires the creativity in you!

The Commuter Tie for Men

A great find for the men in your bridal party!

Check it out at http://www.thomaspink.com/

Host a Distilled Spirits Tasting

Wine tasting parties are popular and fun ways to bring old and new friends together. But, why not step it up a notch by hosting a distilled spirits tasting!

Check out a few tips at http://bit.ly/85LaA courtesy of Celebrations.com and Cheryl Jablow.

Happy tasting!

A Little Bit of Press from SheKnows.com

Baby showers can be festive and fun, but don’t need to break the bank. Social Frog Designs recently discussed this with SheKnows.com . . . If you’re creatively challenged, go online. Sites like FreePrintables.net enable you to download invitations at no cost. “DIY (Do-It-Yourself) event options are popular in this economy,” says Cheryl Jablow of Social Frog Designs, Wedding & Event Consulting. “There are hundreds, if not thousands, of great DIY options online.”

Check out the whole article at http://bit.ly/13z3vW

Happy planning!

Kimberly and Jason

At the beginning of the summer I had the pleasure of watching a dear friend of mine marry her prince charming! These two hearts compliment the other in such beautiful ways!

The wedding was a large, traditional Russian Orthodox wedding in which I had the honor of assisting in the planning process. There were many moving parts to this joyous event and I would like to thank Marcia Hemphill and her team at An Urban Affair for their outstanding day-of-event execution.

My very best wishes to Kimberly and Jason as they begin their new life together! Enjoy one another and have fun every day!

Photos by Tricia Koning Photography

Current Wedding Invitation Trends

Today there are no longer rules in defining your wedding style. The more creativity and color a couple uses in the details of their special day the more personal the entire day becomes. When planning for your celebration’s correspondence consider a few of the latest trends -

• Purple Passion – Brides are enjoying the use of the colors lavender, raspberry, plum and other hues of purple in many of their correspondence designs. A contemporary pairing is plum and pewter. Accents of yellow, orange, turquoise, or green are current favorites!
  
  
• Culturally Inspired – Brides are inspired by bold Moroccan, Mexican, and Indian colors and patterns. Such colors as gold, red, green, and magenta with intricate, cultural patterns as backgrounds and borders make for festive invitations.
  
  
• Make it a Hands on Experience – Forget flat cards! Correspondence pieces that have an extra dimension add interest and surprise for guests. Favorite styles among brides are pocket style invitations, invitation sleeves, boxes, folios, and ribbon closures.
  
  
• It’s in the Details – Classic correspondence pieces are being dressed up with unique materials and tiny and luxurious embellishments such as sparkly crystals for a touch of bling! Patterned envelope liners, satin ribbon, personal monograms and custom seals lend a special touch to correspondence pieces.
  
  

Happy 4th of July!

As we celebrate our nation's birthday take time to remember the brave men and women of our armed forces, past and present. As these men and women continue to fight for our freedom, celebrate today with close family and friends.
Take time to celebrate with the simple pleasures that make the
4th of July fun and relaxing -

• Family and friends
• A ice cold glass of homemade lemonade
• A full picnic basket
• A hometown parade
• Sparklers
• Lawn games you played as a kid

Have fun!

Fun Bridal Shower Favors

Party going guests enjoy receiving fun favors at an event. Here are a few favor ideas that we have found to be well received -

- How sweet it is! Have guests scoop up their favorite candy teats at a candy bar! Purchase favor bags and stickers so guests can carry away their treats.

- Shower guests with flowers . . . well after the shower ends! Incorporating favors into your tablescape is easy, fun, and functional with these adorned boxes topped off with beautiful hand crafted silk flowers. Inside are flower seeds distributed between biodegradable tissue paper for effortless planting and continues beauty. Seed favor box shown here from BloemBox.

- For the love of cupcakes! When it’s all about the cake, have guests decorate their own mini cupcake to go. Provide a variety of sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, and other tiny treats for guests to add to their frosted cupcake favor. Mini boxes and a napkin included!

- Charm your guests! So many guests, so many wine glasses! How do you keep track of your Chardonnay? Have guests make a set of four to eight wine charms for the bride-to-be and another set for themselves! Materials: hoop earring wire, a variety of beads and charms and jewelry pliers All materials can be found at your local craft store.

Sweet Puffy Omelet

In celebration of father’s day today I would like to pass on a unique and delicious brunch omelet receipt that my father enjoys. It was especially delicious this morning!
Try it out and let me know how you like it!

Ingredients:

3 large eggs, separated
1 to 2 teaspoons margarine
2 table spoons orange juice
2 table spoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon orange rind
1/8 teaspoon salt

- Set oven to 325 degrees and check rack placement (omelet pan should bake in the center of the oven).

- Separate each of the 3 eggs individually (be very careful not to get yolk in the whites).
Place egg yolks in a small mixing bowl and egg whites in a medium size mixing bowl.

- Using an electric mixer on the highest speed, beat the egg yolks until thick and light in color –
about 3-5 minutes. Set aside.

- Wash the mixer beaters carefully with hot, soapy water (the yolks contain fat and any fat left on the
beaters will prevent the whites from beating properly later in the recipe).

- Measure all other ingredients.

- Beat egg whites to the foamy stage – this will only take about 10 seconds on a high mixer speed.

- Once egg whites reach the foamy stage, add cream of tartar, dry orange rind and salt. Then add 1 T. of
sugar and continue mixing on high. Gradually add the rest of the sugar in small amounts.

- Beat to the soft rounded peak stage.

- Put margarine in a small (8”) skillet and heat over a low setting until it melts (watch carefully and don’t
let it get too hot or it will burn the bottom of the omelet later).

- While the margarine is melting, pour the orange juice and beaten egg yolks over the egg whites.
Fold together until well blended, being very gentle, but very fast.

- Immediately pour the omelet mixture into skillet and spread evenly. Cook for 1 minute over low heat
on range top.

- Move skillet to oven and bake until omelet is dry on top and firm when touched gently in the center,
about 20-25 minutes. Another test for doneness is to carefully insert a knife and see if it comes out
clean.

To serve, spread omelet with about 2 table spoons of jelly, fold onto a warm plate and sift powdered sugar lightly over the top. Recipe serves one. Enjoy!

Proper Wine Serving Temperatures

A Social Frog client asked me today, "what is the proper temperature to serve white and red wines?"

I recommend serving:

White wines between 48-53 degrees F
Red wines are best at 59-64 degrees F
Champagne is best at 43-50 degrees F

Pop the cork and enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers out there!

Mother’s Day is a special day for us to thank those caring, loving women who have brought meaning to our lives and taught us so much. Enjoy your day!

Postage Increase Takes Effect Monday, May 11th

Yes, up it goes again! It seems to be that time of year again . . . time for the United States Postal Service (USPS) to make another price increase for 1-ounce First Class mail as well as other mailing services.

Starting next Monday, May 11, it will cost $0.44 to mail a 1-once First Class letter in this country. Since 2006, the USPS has increased the postage rate on a First Class letter by $0.05, from $0.39 to $0.44. Not a distinct increase if compared to increases in such commodities as gasoline, electric, and such, but enough to make some wedding invitation clients to ask if they can invite wedding guests and have guests reply via an email address rather than through the mail. On this topic I strongly encourage all clients to use the USPS for extending their wedding invitations to guests and for the safe return of response cards. For other, less formal events, such as a Fourth of July back yard BBQ, children’s birthday parties, or a casual wine party on a Friday night, you can use an email address to send the invitation and as the method for response. More formal events, like weddings, make a trip down to your local post office or go on-line t0 http://www.usps.com/ and order your wedding postage today!

Remember, regardless of when purchased, customers can use their Forever Stamps in order to mail 1-ounce letters after May 11, without the need for additional postage.

Add style and a cohesive look to your invitation suite by designing your own postage stamps from one of these on-line photo stamp design options:
http://www.zazzle.com/ - http://www.snapfish.com/ - http://www.photo.stamps.com/

It's Derby Day!

Each year, on the first Saturday in May, horse race lovers and those who just enjoy a good time being where the action is converge into Louisville, Kentucky for the historical running of the Kentucky Derby. This year is the 135th running of the Run for the Roses and is expected to be as exciting as ever. I’m not sure if the main excitement surrounds the actual race, the elaborate and glamorous hats, or the notorious mint juleps! But, whatever the reason, you can bring the excitement of the derby home by throwing a derby party of your own!

Start your party off with serve a traditional mint julep –

Start with the following ingredients:

- 3 sprigs of fresh mint
- 2 teaspoons of cold water
- 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
- 1 cup of finely crushed ice
- 2 ½ ounces of bourbon
- Silver julep cup or favorite high ball glass

Tear off leaves of 2 sprigs of fresh mint and place in bottom of glass.
Add water and sugar and muddle with mint leaves.
Fill glass with crush ice and add bourbon.
Stir and garnish with remaining sprig of fresh mint.
Serve with a straw and enjoy!

Create a festive décor using bright colors – red, yellow, blue, green, purple, orange! Decorate your tables with colorful cloths, place mats, and napkins to resemble silks – the early 18th century method of keeping track of whose horse was whose by assigning each horse and jockey a specific color, called a silk. Hang colored flags outside or create a strand of silks by using fishing line, fabric swatches or construction paper, and tape. (They look similar to prayer flags)

Don’t forget the children! Create a “kids corner” and allow the kids to design and decorate stick horses to race! Add a few kid friendly snacks too!

Coverage of the derby begins at 1 pm PST, on NBC. Remember, it is the greatest two minutes in sports!

Have fun!

Happy May Day!

Many countries celebrate May Day on May 1. May Day is synonymous with International Workers' Day, or Labor Day, which celebrates the social and economic achievements of the labor movement. As a day of celebration the holiday has ancient origins. Traditions surrounding May Day vary from region to region and country to country, but one thing is common – the use of flowers! Flowers and ribbon are used to adorn May Day Poles in many countries and one popular tradition is to secretly hang a basket of flowers or other small gifts on the doorknob of neighbors. Happy Spring!

Have a Happy Easter Celebration!

Easter celebrates take place around the world. Make your celebration meaningful to you and your family by focusing on what’s important to you – time with family and friends, religious traditions, chicks, bunnies and eggs!

We were inspired by Martha Stewart’s silk tie Easter egg designs and the simple process to create these gorgeous holiday favorites.

Needed materials and tools:

Small- to medium-size raw eggs
Glass or enamel pot
Silk ties, blouses, or boxers, cut into pieces large enough to cover an egg
White sheets (or pillowcases or old tablecloths), cut into pieces to cover silk-wrapped eggs
Twisty ties
3 tablespoons of white vinegar
Warm water
Vegetable oil
Paper towels
Tongs or spoon

Silk Tie Easter Egg How-To:

1. Cut silk into a square (or a piece) large enough to wrap around a raw egg.

2. Wrap a raw egg with a piece of silk, making sure the printed side of the material is facing the egg. Silk can still be used if it doesn't fit perfectly around egg.

3. Place the silk-wrapped egg in a piece of white sheet, pillowcase, or old tablecloth and secure tightly with a twist-tie.

4. Place the egg(s) in an enamel or glass pot. Fill pot with water to cover eggs completely. Then, add three tablespoons of white vinegar.

5. Bring water to a boil, turn heat down, and simmer for 20 minutes (longer if you plan on eating the eggs).

6. Remove eggs from water with tongs or spoon and let cool.

7. Remove silk from cooled egg.

8. For shiny eggs, wipe with vegetable oil after completing step 7.

Resources: Silk goods such as ties, blouses, and boxers can be purchased at rummage sales or thrift stores. Silk can be reused on eggs.

Thank you Martha!

April Showers

Of course April showers bring May flowers, but some showers bring gifts, food, friends, and fun! Many couples register for gifts soon after they become engaged so that family and friends may purchase engagement gifts for the happy couple. If someone is throwing you an engagement party make sure you have registered at two or more stores for variety and register at least one month prior to the party. This is also a good rule of thumb for bridal showers also. After these pre-wedding celebrations make sure you return to your gift registries to make updates so each registry has enough available items on it for wedding guests.

When you are ready to begin your wedding gift registry consider these questions and hints:

- For what type of items do you and your finance want to register? Home goods, electronics, luggage sets, artwork, or perhaps you would like your guests to give to your favorite charity.

- What stores or websites offer your desired gifts?

- If registering at brick and mortar stores, are your selected stores located close to the majority of your guests? Will it be convenient for your guests to get to the stores to make a purchase? If not, consider on-line retail options.

- Watch for seasonal, sale, and discontinued items as these items may not be available when it’s time for guests to make their gift selections.

- To spread the word to your guests, post gift registry selections on your wedding website. If you are not using a wedding website have friends and family members share registry information with guests. Gift registry information should never be printed in your wedding invitation!

Happy Shopping!

Spring has arrived!

Spring as arrived! With spring comes a sense of renewal and fresh blooms! Here at Social Frog Designs we are experiencing renewal if the form of spring cleaning! We are cleaning out our office and work studio and making space for the beautiful new card stocks and embellishments coming in for our spring and summer invitation projects. Brides are seeing new shapes, colors, and textures from some of our favorite vendors - Envelopments, Waste Not Paper, Marsupial, Midori Ribbon, and Simply Unique Accessories. As for fresh blooms, it's a great time to fill our space (and yours) with the vivid colors and romantic scents from all of the fresh flowers spring has to offer! Enjoy the season!

Marisa & Anthony

This weekend Social Frog Designs enjoyed a fabulous and fun wedding celebration with a great couple - Marisa and Anthony! Even with gray clouds and rain the day was festive and fun! The glamorous Parker Palm Springs was the events backdrop which was enhanced by the beautiful floral and decor design of Palm Springs own Artisan. The bride and groom danced the night away with their guests into the early morning!
Congratulations Marisa and Anthony! Enjoy your honeymoon in Fiji!

It's a new day!

Hello!

Welcome to Tadpole Tales - the blogging tales of Social Frog Designs. Social Frog Designs, specializing in wedding and event consulting and custom correspondence design, will share their event tales, planning tips, and fun new resources to help you make the most out of your upcoming celebrations!

Check back with us soon!