Wags & Wiskers 7th Annual Benefit Gala

This years Wags & Wiskers Adopt-A-Pet Annual Benefit Gala is being held on February 25th at Camp Copeneconic in Fenton, Michigan. 

This is Ellie- A resident of Fenton Adopt-A-Pet

 This annual benefit raises funds to help support Fenton Adopt-A-Pet no-kill animal shelter. 

The main attraction of this event is its silent auction.  This years line up includes items such as vacation getaways, golf packages, jewelry, sports paraphanalia, murder mystery dinner, flight packages and so much more!

Each year our sister company Special Occasions East donates the linens to this amazing cause and this year Special Occasion Design is getting in on the action. 

If you are attending the gala you will find this lovely wedding basket available for auction.  The basket includes a black and white damask guest book, matching pen, matching ring pillow, toasting glasses, paw print garter and $25 gift certificate to our store.

All together this basket is worth $138.00!!

 

                        Madison Guest Book $40                                                                  Paw Print Garter $15

Pup Album $20-$45

However we do realize that many of our readers are not local and we wanted to also give each of you the opportunity to help save an animals life while getting amazing products in return.

  Special Occasion Design is offering the items shown in this basket (as well as several other items) to our online audience for purchase and will be making a donation to the organization for each benefit item purchased from now until the gala on February 25th!

Visit the Benefit section of our website to shop and make a difference today!

Kisses - A resident of Fenton Adopt-A-Pet

*Special Occasion Design will be donating 50% of all total profits from online purchases marked "benefit" during the benefit period (February 13th-February 24th 2012) to Adopt-A-Pet Fenton Chapter.



Dessert (A.K.A. The Best Part of a Party) & GIVEAWAY!

If your like me than the first thing you do at a party is scope out the dessert table.  I am a sucker for a good piece of cake! So when I host a party, I want to make sure my guests are wowed by my dessert table selections.

Photo by CatchMyParty.com

Finding a new dessert recipe is now easier than ever with the use of the web.  Bloggers from around the world post new ideas to help you create exciting and tasteful desserts.  

  

One of my favorite food blogger is Betty Bake.  Betty Bake goes beyond the traditional recipe website with adorably made video how to's and ideas for displaying your dessert once it is made.

Her eye for design is a breath of fresh air for bakers.  No longer do your desserts have to starve for attention!

For example, check out this cute rainbow cake made by Betty Bake. You can find this recipe and more like it on her blog.

Visit Betty Bake's Blog 

While your enjoying Betty Bakes' amazing recipes and photos, please be sure to vote for her for the "Eat-IN Food Network Awards". I know she would appreciate our support!

                                                                                                                

Pink and White Coconut Ice 

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Swiss Roll with white Cream and Strawberry

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 While I love to bake, I must say that I have found my nemesis. . . Cake Pops. I just cannot seem to get them right.  That is why I leave the Cake Pops to the professionals!

Kids and adults alike LOVE cake pops.  They are portable and easy to eat, making them a perfect selection for any event.  Not to mention how amazing they look on a dessert table display. 

If you are local to Linden, Michigan I suggest looking up Cooke Confections.  They have the best tasting cake pops around and their culinary designers have an eye for making them look great! 

Now who wants to win a Whoopie Pie cookbook?

The Winner will receive : Whoopie Pies, Dozens of Mix'em, Match 'em, Eat'em Up Recipes by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell

Retail Value: $16.95

Enter to win by using the rafflecopter box below

Ends 12:01am Feb. 18th

Each +1 is an entry to win. Enter as many as 8+ times with any combination of the following!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Need a Reason to Party? House Party!

Are you like me and love planning and hosting parties so much that you run out of reasons to host? If so then you will want to check out HouseParty.  I have been a member of this site for a few years now and have hosted several amazing HouseParty events.

HouseParty is an online service that connects people who love to party with companies who want to get their products in the hands of consumers.  Its a great concept and totally FREE to join and host!

House Party works with popular companies such as Pampers, Johnsonville, Dole, HGTV and more!

Here are a few parties that are accepting host applications right now:

House Party also has a 21+ site which allows you to sign up to host parties for companies such as Godiva Liquor! Yumm!!

In the next couple of weeks we will be hosting a Pampers Pull Up Party for our staff's little ones.  Stay tuned for pictures of our Potty Training Party! We will have cake pops, decorations and more to help motivate these cuties to use the potty!

House Party has in no way endorsed this post or compensated me in any way for my opinions.  This blog post is simply my impression of HouseParty.com. Thank you!

Rafflecopter Launch Party - Win a Kindle Fire!

If you enjoyed the ease of entering our last giveaway you can thank Rafflecopter - a new free online service for blogs to host giveaways. 

To celebrate the launch of this new program, Rafflecopter is giving away 2 free Kindle Fires!  One to the chosen winner, and the other to the person who referred them.  So sign up below and tell them Special Occasion Design sent you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Quick! 48 Hour Giveaway!

If you enjoyed reading our post a few weeks back on hosting a Valentines Day party, then you are going to LOVE this!

Special Occasion Design and Special Occasions East have decided to raffle off the pink and white damask runner and red rose pomander ball featured in the post!

Read the entire Valentines Day Party article and learn how to make your own rose pomander here.

One Lucky Winner will get:

1- 72x14" Pink and White Damask Runner

1- 6" Red Paper Rose Pomander

* Vase Not Included

Good Luck Everyone!

Pirate Party. . ARgghhh!

Special Occasion Design was recently featured on the Swanky Press blog.  The pirate party blog post was so cute I decided to do my own take on it! You can read the full article over at The Swanky Press.

This set up immediately caught my eye! What a wonderful idea to make each table its own pirate ship. 

If you are crafty at building things this would be an amazing thing to do!

Click on the photos to link to the pages in which they were found.

Every party needs party themed treats. You can get a FREE cupcake toppers printable at swanky press blog! ($0)

Such a fun cake! I think the treasure is within :)

Everytime I design a party I always make sure I have tons of keepsakes to remember it by.  These pirate photo props are perfect for catchings special memories on film. Your guests will have such a fun time playing with them and posing for a photo . These are available from LittleRetreats on etsy ($32)

When it is all finished you can store your photos and memories in this personalized pirate keepsake book from Special Occasion Design.  It comes in several colors to match any pirate theme. ($35)

Ahoy Matey!! Enjoy your pirate party!

Valentines Day with DIY Rose Pomander instructions

Special Occasion Design is gearing up for Valentines Day with a special pre-day party. We chose to decorate in red and pinks for this occasion.

The dining table and buffet were decorated in a ruby red tablecloth, pink napkins and silver chargers by Special Occasions East of Grand Blanc, MI.  The center of the table is decorated in a pink and white damask runner available at http://www.spoccdesign.com/ ($20) and a DIY rose centerpiece.

We decorated the buffet to match the table setting with a ruby red linen and damask runner.  We also added a DIY rose pomander to this table, which you can read how to make below.

 Arent these adorable!  These cute valentines day cake pops were the hit of the party. Available from Cooke Confections in Linden, MI.

The party was alot of fun and enjoyed by all of Special Occasions employees and families. Hopefully this inspires you to host your own Special Occasion. 

DIY ROSE POMANDER INSTRUCTIONS:

What you will need:

2 rolls of colored paper streamers ( I got mine at the dollar store)

hot glue gun

glue sticks

3" styrofoam ball (you can choose any size)

Start by cutting a strip of paper streamer about 24" long. You will want to vary the length each time to make different sized roses.

Fold the paper over about 1/3 of the width the entire length of the piece.

Next you will want to start at one end and roll the paper into a rose between your fingers.  Its best to twist the paper once in awile to get a more realistic look.

You will want to add a small dot of glue at the end when you finish to keep the rose from unraveling.

Next add glue to the bottom of the rose and affix to your styrofoam ball to cover.

  Once you cover the entire ball, find a nice vase to display it on and your done! I also added ribbon to the base of my vase for a finished look, however you can add rocks or anything that inspires you.

Have fun!