Happy Halloween!

I hope you all got a chance to get out this weekend, especially since some of you were experiencing a freak October blizzard. Either way, I have a feeling that tonight will be not only a night for cute costumes and tons of candy, but also for saying a proper buh-bye to moderate temps.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

image from MS Living

Spider-y Whoopie Pies

These eight-legged treats are great for two reasons. First, they're incredibly cute, vegan, and gluten-free thanks to this recipe by Wing-It Vegan. Second, you can always swap out the homemade whoopie pies for bakery-bought ones and still add your own homespun touch by including the legs and eyes.

Swing by Wing-It Vegan for the recipe and how-to video to make the spider legs.

Dessert Meets Design: Southern Weddings Feature

I shared the Southern Weddings spread with you earlier today, and I'm back with some pretty close-ups. We had a subtle Kentucky Derby theme to our shoot, so it's only a given that we shoot on a farm with real horses, include some pony details, and have a fabulous large-brimmed hat for the bride.

As for desserts, I made a rick rack cake with a silver horse topper, sugared pecan-topped cupcakes, mini peach cobblers, and chocolate cake pops. We didn't want this "wedding" to seem too polished and slick. We were aiming more for Southern charm and to represent a slower pace of life. So, you'll notice that I didn't use linens and instead used a distressed, painted table. No macraons and fancy truffles here.

Here are some of the phenomenal details the rest of the team came up with to bring this Southern-inspired shoot to life. One of our big goals was to make sure the Kentucky Derby theme wasn't "in your face" and too literal, so the horse motif is subtle, don't you agree?

Photography: Paper Antler // Styling: Maddy Hague of The Inspired Bride // Floral Design: Studio Fleurette // Dessert Table: Shauna Younge Dessert Tables // Paper Goods: Amy Hardy // Model: Joy Phillips of Wehmann Models // Hair: Brittany Moreland // Makeup: Jody Olson for Makeup Savvy // Wardrobe: BHLDN // Swing Top Favor Bottles: Specialty Bottle // Paper Rosettes: Pom Flair // Program Fan Handles: Perfect Stix // Rentals: Lime Canary Vintage Rentals // Washi Tape: Cute Tape

Dessert Meets Design: Southern Weddings Sneak Peek

I teamed up with the creative team that I collaborated with for the Graphic + Glitz (Part I and Part II) shoot again, and we created an inspirational wedding for Southern Weddings Magazine. The issue landed in mailboxes last week, and is probably on newsstands across the country by now, so I figured I'd share a few pics of the spread.

I'll be back in a hot second to share some lovely, detailed close ups of our shoot. See you soon!

images: paper antler.

Guest Desserts: Little Witch Dessert Table

The ladies at Confetti Couture submitted this vibrant, girly Halloween dessert table for today's Guest Desserts feature. Confetti Couture makes lots of cupcake wrappers and cake pop kits to help you decorate your dessert displays.

Qeryldine, co-owner of the company, describes their design in her own words:

This whimsical table includes a bubbly citrus soda, Frankenstein cake pops, chocolate dipped hologram cookies, and caramel apples. Sweetly spooky!

The inspiration for this table comes from our Little Goblins collection of "Dessert Skirtz" cupcake wrappers. We hand paint/design these decorative wrappers and have found a bazillion different ways to use them. 

Thank you so much for sending in your submissions, ladies! You did a great job!

items on the table from Confetti Couture's shop:
Caramel apples with Sweet Stickz, displayed in Little Goblins Dessert Skirtz
Frankenstein cake pops using Little Black Dress Cake Pop Trinketz

images by Janet McBride of Confetti Couture

Orange Candy Cake

Ok, so this isn't a traditional Halloween-inspired sweet. But, Smarties are my favorite thing to find in my (er, my kid's) trick-or-treat stash so this orange cake from Raspberri Cupcakes screams Oct 31st to me. Since the baker is an Aussie, she tops her cake with a regional candy, but they look similar enough to giant Smarties that I'd happy make the trade.

images via Raspberri Cupcakes

Halloween Treats

It's that time of year, which means everywhere you turn there are ghosts, witches, and black cat decorations. In fact, yesterday at the mall, I saw a kid dressed in full Batman (The Dark Knight era) gear. Ah, to be a kid again. Anyway, here are a few Halloween-y treats that are simple, but would be totally appreciated by the kiddos.

ghost cupcakes, dessert table, cider and donut station, witch-y cupcakes 

Chocolate Letter Placecards

These chocolate monograms are big. No, they're huge. Any choc-aholic party guest would love to see one of these big beauties on their plate. Jordan of Oh Happy Day! created these sweeties as part of a DIY project. Want to make them for yourself? Simply grab a chocolate mold, melt your chocolate, and start creating!

I love the scale of these chocolates. They're definitely more than one serving, and the little bags mean they're already wrapped and ready for the inevitable leftovers that the guests will take home.

images by Jordan Ferney

Sweet Palette

As I wrote this post, my little exclaimed, "Those are macarons! Those are my favorite. I love the yellow ones!" So, I know I'm not alone in my adoration of these little beauties. I found this pic on The Sweetest Occasion, and I love the idea of using macarons to inspire your party's color palette. All of these various hues look beautiful together, and they'd make for a lively, vibrant feminine bash.

Inexpensive supermarket flowers would be available in these great colors, so decorating within the palette would be a cinch. A little too girly for you? What about a palette inspired by the cream and various chocolate layers of tiramisu?

image via The Sweetest Occasion

Dessert Meets Design: Sweetly Surprised

Yesterday, I gave you guys a sneak peek of a modern yellow, black, and white dessert table I designed. The bride and groom were totally surprised by the display, which you can see written all over their faces when they got their first glimpse.

The table was a surprise and a gift for them from their new sister-in-law Emily Steffen, who also took these gorgeous pics. Custom shortbread cookies, damask cupcake liners, and custom chocolate bars all mimicked the designs on the couple's invites. I incorporated graphic black and white striped ribbon to break up all the yellow found throughout the table.

I designed these candy bars and tucked one into each guest's napkin.

Thanks to all the wonderful vendors who helped bring this design together, like Knokes candy store, Sugar & Flour, Cocoa & Fig,

The Reveal: Modern Mayhem Dessert Table

A few weeks ago, I designed a modern yellow, black, and white dessert table that was a surprise for the couple. I shared this pic of the table while I was at the event.

The photog, uber-talented Emily Steffen, captured this pic of their first glimpse of the table. It's great!

I'll be back tomorrow with some pics of the table. See ya soon!

Dessert Table: 1920's Naunce

This feminine dessert table is full of beautiful florals, soft colors, and simple sweets. Adore by Chloe featured this beautiful spread, which featured a gradient pink cake, cake pops, cookies, and cupcakes. The gorgeous pics were shot by nbarrett photography.

Tutorial: Painted Ombre Cookies

I was creating the October gift guide for my husband's blog, Well-Groomed, and came across this yummy tutorial. Decorating cookies is a lot easier than you'd think. Remember these monogram chalkboard cookies I created? Well, this ombre cookie tutorial from The Sweet Adventures of Sugar Belle is just as simple with equally stunning results.

Use a paper guide to keep your lines straight and apply your gradients of color to each third of your cookie.

As with all stenciled designs, I love that this allows you to create a clean design without a super-steady hand or years of practice. Isn't this delicious?

Looking for more ombre sweets? Check out this and this classic Sweet Tooth post.