JuBella.com - Get Your Creative Dose

I love the Australia shop of MOZI! Their collections contain such pretty colors, patterns, and such lovely packaging! My favorite collection would have to be the Secret Garden Collection

Oh I am sure that if you had an Amy Atlas spread to adorn your next gathering, you would be quite the hostess about town! Don’t you just love these magnificent dessert tables! Filled with sweet colors, tasty sparkles, and decadent textures…oh my! So with the holidays coming up, you might want to go all out with your dessert tables. Whether you can hire Amy herself, or do a Sandra Lee or Hostess With the Mostess Tablescape, or just create your own style, creating a whimsical dessert table will make your family and friends feel super special and you get a chance to show off your crafty talents!

Oh me oh my! The photo styling of Rebecca Thuss is absolutely amazing! The colors, the compositions, and the concepts are just fabulous. Her talents as a wedding designer and crafter definitely shows within her work! As stated on her website: “She delights in throwing parties, has a passion for packaging, a weakness for fanciful candy and confections, and an infatuation with vintage paper items”. If you are an avid reader of Martha Stewart Weddings, then you are probably familiar with her work, as she was the Style Director for the magazine from 2003-2006. Click Here to read more about Rebecca. Her website is filled with colorful and charming eye candy and great packaging and entertaining ideas, so consider yourself warned!

Oh my I am so excited to see this new Gift Wrap Green line that just launched by the lovely and talented Amy Butler! The colors are darling, and the patterns are elegant and festive. So, click on over and check out the full collection. I think that my first purchase from the line will be this, & aren’t the product photos FABULOUS…it really makes me want to go wrap a gift and then throw a party for someone special! Great job Amy(as usual!).

“I love making gifts for my friends and family, but in buying giftwrap and paper party ware I always thought that there should be an eco-alternative. So I have been working with the Gift Wrap Company to come up with an ecological alternative to gift-giving & paper party ware. We’ve done it! The new lines of GIFTWRAP GREEN, 100% post-consumer recycled gift wraps, bags, and giftcard boxes are out now! You may recognize some of the print designs from past fabric collections (recolored, of course). Alongside the gift wrap & bags, we’ve developed an eco line of paper tableware (plates, napkins, towels) that coordinate so you’re entire party can be fresh and “green.” The plates and napkins are printed with 100% soy ink, plus the plates use a water-soluble coating so that they can be rinsed and recycled too! It’s exciting to be able to offer a green alternative that keeps the fresh look and design we all love.” -Amy Butler

We do not really do too much for the Fourth of July. We are just happy to have the hubby home for a long weekend and the little one gets so excited about going to see the fireworks over the Savannah River. Nevertheless, I thought I would share a couple of easy and laid back recipes that are a breeze to fix for your 4th of July gathering!

Frozen Sake Lemonade
I do not like drinks that are heavy on the alcohol and outside of ordering virgin cocktails I usually just enjoy a glass of wine or sake every now and then, So this cool concoction that I came up with of sake, lemons, and sweetness is perfect for a summer gathering with friends.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients
zest of one lemon
1 C. fresh lemon juice
1/2 C. sugar
1 1/2 C. ginger ale
1/2 C. sake
Ice (about 24 cubes)

1 C. frozen blueberries and strawberries for garnishing

Directions
Stir together your lemon juice and sugar until sugar dissolves. Blend all ingredients EXCEPT for your frozen blueberries and strawberries in your blender. Place your frozen blueberries and strawberries in your glasses or pitcher. Pour in your mixture. Serve with a slice of lemon on the side & Enjoy!

Alternative: Take your mixture and let it freeze. When you are ready to use it simply take it out of the freezer and blend in your blender to make a lovely sorbet. Garnish with lemons, berries, and mint!

Berry S’mores

I have to be perfectly honest…my four year old came up with this idea. He wanted me to make smores for a snack but we had no chocolate, so he says, “well, we can use strawberries”. I was in a desperate need of a sweet fix so I agreed to it. These were SO GOOD!!! I am sure they would be a hit for any kid that comes over as well as the adults (I must have eaten quite a few myself) You could also add some fresh blueberries to escalate the whole 4th of July red white and blue theme, but these are great for a snack at anytime!

Ingredients
graham crackers
marshmallows
sliced strawberries
fresh blueberries (optional)

Directions
Simply place your marshmallows on top of your graham crackers and warm it up in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Your marshmallows should be soft but NOT totally melted. Take your graham crackers out of the microwave and place your berries on top of the marshmallow. Sandwich your graham crackers together. Serve immediately & indulge in the sweet gooey goodness!

There’s a virtual party going on, and the host is none other than the lovely Ez of Creature Comforts. I just love creative ideas and I had SO much fun creating my virtual outfit, party food, and gifts, and since it is virtual money I splurged a bit on the Fendi dress, & Ez, since we are dealing with virtual money here, use your imagination to think of the amount that the Crate & Barrel Gift card is worth! :). Okay, so here is my little collage. I started out going after a black clutch to keep in line with the black and gold, but…well..I just couldn’t resist this purple clutch! Thank you Ez for the invite…such a glowing party it is..filled with some pretty creative people & I can’t wait to see who all arrives!

The Outfit: Fendi Silk Gold leaf Dress: mytheresa.com, Gold South Seashell pearl Earrings, Hayden Harnett Positano Guilded Clutch; piperlime.com, Carlos by Carlos Santana Gold Sandals: piperlime.com

The Gifts: Vintage Swallow Bobby Pins: Very Vintage, Little Wren Print: Bad Bird, Crate & Barrel Gift Card, Crate & Barrel.

There is just something about photos of food that just makes me happy & these photos from JuBella’s Entertain Me Group are just scrumptious! The reason why I think I like culinary photography so much is because it pauses a moment that you create something special, and many times it is something special for your family and friends. I guess to me it represents togetherness, because with great food comes great entertaining, and along with great entertaining comes wonderful people.

These photos were taken by Anastasia, Shevon Gant Ceramics, and Tara Anderson. I must say that Tara takes some amazing photos of food, but more impressive is that she cooks it all in her very own kitchen (and these cotton candy cupcakes are fantastic)! Do any of you take photos of your culinary creations? If so then join the Entertain Me Group and post away.

featured Products: 1.Oval Stoneware Basket: Williams-Sonoma,

2.Mario Batali Dutch Oven:Crate & Barrel,

3.Lisette Placemats & Napkins: Crate & Barrel,

4.Pasta Sauces: Dean & Duluca,

5.Wallpaper Plate by Pop Ink: French Paper,

6.Red Kitchen Aid: Williams-Sonoma,

7.Red Colander: Storehouse,

8.Tea Revives You: Keep Calm,

9.Typhoon Red Timer: Storehouse,

10.Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcake Mix: Williams-Sonoma,

11.Emile Henry Ruffled Cakestand: Williams-Sonoma,

12.Red Melamine Bowls: Williams-Sonoma.

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If you are ever in need of entertaining ideas, then the lady to go and see is Entertaining Extroidionaire Jenn Sbranti. She’s The Hostess With The Mostess and her website & blog serves up some of the yummiest entertaining ideas, products, and recipes! Jenn took a few minutes to “entertain” us with some of her favorite inspirations for hosting a great party, as well as some insight on how Hostess With the Mostess came about.

JuBella.com: What was the inspiration behind creating hostesswiththemostess.com, as well as your blog & what things would you like to achieve though them in the future?

Jenn Sbranti: The idea behind hostesswiththemostess.com started when I personally felt the need for a resource like this but wasn’t able to find it. I’ve always loved planning and throwing creative parties, so when my friends starting hitting the era of bridal showers and baby showers, I was excited to host a lot of them myself. I started to search extensively online for cool partyware and creative ideas – but rather than finding “idea” websites - all my searches kept landing me at online stores that sold the same frilly or cheesy-looking partyware designs – painted baby booties and cartoon teddy bears for baby showers, old-fashioned wedding bells or “fancy” floral patterns for bridal showers, etc.

My personal taste is much more on the modern/contemporary side – and I just wasn’t finding that type of inspiration despite hours of searching. I turned to books next, but there didn’t seem to be a lot of great books relating to baby/bridal showers either – and some of the cool ideas that I did find in books were hard to recreate because it wasn’t clear where to find the elements pictured or they were way too expensive.

So, being a graphic/web designer and a big believer in what an amazing, accessible information source the web can and should be, I started thinking that I should try create a resource like this myself. After talking to a lot of others about the idea, I genuinely felt the need for an online resource where people could go to get inspired about party planning and not only find actual ideas that are unique and stylish – but also be directed on where to find the things they need. Planning parties and get-togethers should be a creative and fun experience for the host or hostess, and not overly stressful as it seems to often become. “Hostess with the Mostess” sounded like a fun, memorable name for a company… so, fully expecting the domain name to already be taken, I still decided to check it out just in case. Lo and behold it was available! So my husband and I decided that it must be fate, reserved the domain name and trademarked the name on the spot – and decided to go for it!

Once we started actually getting into planning and developing the site, we realized what a huge undertaking it was going to be and that the timeline wasn’t going to exactly happen “overnight” like we wanted it to – especially since we had to keep our “day jobs” in order to pay the bills and get the startup capital we needed. So we thought that starting a blog might be a good way to reach out to people and start getting some buzz going while the main website was being developed. Never did we expect quite as warm of a welcome as the blog received – and of course we couldn’t be happier about it! Without the blog, we wouldn’t have had an audience to reach out to when the website launched – and it’s opened up a lot of other doors as well.

The first stage of the website finally launched in April 2007, and we have so much more we want to do with it and add to it – including things like message boards, interactive party planning tools, wish lists for our fabulous finds and fabulous gift sections, and even online invitation functionality. Our goal is to have a full-fledged interactive party planning resource that is extremely stylish, loaded with visual inspiration & imagery, and extremely helpful information.

JuBella: Favorite 5 on-line shops/boutiques for hosting gifts?

Jenn Sbranti: www.wrapables.com, www.wishingfish.com, www.redenvelope.com, www.patinastores.com, and www.perpetualkid.com

JuBella: In your opinion, what are 5 key elements one must haves to host a
memorable party?

1. A Theme – even if it’s as simple as a color theme or theme based on the type of cuisine you’ll be serving such as an Italian dinner or afternoon BBQ. Having a theme to guide you makes it easier to make decisions regarding partyware, decorative accents, and food & drink options – and it also creates a more festive atmosphere for guests – giving them the feeling that they’re at a “special” event.

2. A Signature Drink: whether alcoholic or non-alcoholic – a signature drink with a creative garnish adds a fun element to the party and is a great opportunity for a cool beverage display.

3. Good Lighting: I’m a sucker for white twinkle lights and break them out all year long for outdoor parties – not just around the holidays! Colorful paper lanterns, candles, disco balls (when relevant) and dimmed lights are great for controlling the party “mood” as well.

4. Food & Drink “Stations”: Rather than having all of your food and drinks in one place, create a few smaller stations around the room – to encourage mingling and movement – and stop potential traffic jams!

5. Great Music: that coordinates with your theme – keeps the festive energy up and the party going!

JuBella: Could you share with us one of your favorite recipes for casual
entertaining?

Jenn Sbranti: This appetizer is going to seem ridiculously simple but it always gets devoured first at get-togethers:

Sesame Cream Cheese & Crackers:

Ingredients: 1 cube cream cheese, soy sauce, sesame seeds, & water crackers.

Directions: Place cream cheese in the center of your serving plate. Pour soy sauce generously over the cube. Cover thoroughly with sesame seeds. Serve with water crackers. Done!

JuBella: Favorite books & magazines about entertaining?

Favorite books: Simple Stunning Weddings by Karen Bussen, InStyle Parties from InStyle Magazine, Easy Entertaining by Darina Allen, and Celebrations from Real Simple.

Favorite Magazines: Real Simple,Cooking Light, and pretty much everything from Martha Stewart Omnimedia – especially the Weddings, Living, Everyday Food, and Kids magazines

JuBella: What are some of your favorite flowers and/or arrangements for the
dinner table?

Jenn Sbranti: Tight bunches of flowers are always best for the dinner table – and make sure to keep them low if you plan to leave them on the table during dinner. I love china mums, button mums, and gerbera daisies – or gorgeous cymbidium orchids – either stemmed or floating in clear glass bowls.

JuBella: What has been one of the most unique gifts that you have given or
received thus far?

Jenn Sbranti: For father’s day I’m actually giving my dad a personalized steak branding iron. This is a fun, unique gift for someone that loves cooking and grilling. You can have one created with your loved one’s initials or a full monogram, using 2-3 letters.

JuBella: What do you love most about the art of entertaining?

Jenn Sbranti: The chance to be creative – especially when there’s an out-of-the-ordinary theme – and the reaction from guests when they come in and are excited about what they see.

JuBella: Thus far what has been your favorite table setting that you have
styled?

Jenn Sbranti: I love Hawaii and anything tropical – so the http://www.hostesswiththemostess.com/themes/bridal_showers/love_in_paradise/ “Love in Paradise” table setting is probably my favorite so far. It can be used for a bridal shower, engagement party, or an anytime celebration if you just take out the “LOVE” letters. I feel like there’s a good mix of both modern style and elegance here – and it’s the perfect setting for a good Mai Tai!

JuBella: Share with us your favorites of the following:

Dinner: Fancy: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/miso-salmon-with-cilantro-salsa Miso Salmon or http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001681seared_ahi_tuna.php Seared Ahi, Cranberry/Walnut Spinach Salad, warm French Bread with butter, & Grilled Asparagus. Casual: Chicken Enchiladas.

Dessert: Kimo Pie (a Hawaiian favorite!) or Strawberry Shortcake.

Beverage: Cocktail: Red Wine or Margarita on the Rocks Mocktail: Strawberry Lemonade.

Appetizer: Fancy: Bacon-wrapped Scallops, Casual: Pigs in a Blanket or the Sesame Cream Cheese mentioned above.