November is easily my favorite month of the year. It’s my birthday month, Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving month and officially THE start of pie season. With the help of Brit + Co and Mrs. Smith’s, I gathered some of my favorite crafty ladies to enjoy a mini Friendsgiving and a DIY pie dish party.

For the décor, I kept it simple with a fall theme of gold and burgundy. I re-used the votive holders from last year’s Friendsgiving and added flowers. Place cards with gold leaf stickers and gold lettering completed the look.

For our menu, we had a spread of favorite Thanksgiving dishes, including Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, and apple walnut salad. My friend Julie made a rich and appetizing pumpkin gooey cake dessert that was a hit! Also for dessert, Mrs. Smith’s provided tasty pumpkin and dutch apple pies that were easy as pie to prepare. They come frozen and they filled my house with the comforting smells of the holidays.

It looks like the apple pie craving was stronger than the pumpkin pie craving!

Perfectly timed for Thanksgiving, our pie dish DIY ensured we have something gorgeous and unique to display our pies in a few weeks. Similar to our other Brit + Co DIYs, this pie dish DIY was all about the pattern. We used porcelain pens to create our best designs.

Here are our beautiful final products!

Little nod to Adele

Thank you Mrs. Smith’s for sponsoring our party!

I hope you have a wonderful pie season and happy Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving!

What’s your favorite kind of pie?

Check out the other Brit + Co DIY parties I’ve hosted.

One of my goals this year is to throw 12 celebrations. This is #14. These are big and small parties for any occasion with the goal of planning and executing something fun. See all the celebrations here.

Disclosure: Brit + Co and Mrs. Smith’s provided me complimentary craft kits and complimentary pies. I was not required to review the kits or pies or write a blog post about the party, but I hope you find inspiration from it.

The post DIY Pie Dish with Brit + Co and Mrs. Smith’s appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

Super guests! Find us on Instagram: @ybbalc7, @wanderlustanita, @kathyphantastic, and @pspapershoppe

The post DIY Herb Garden Party with Brit + Co and Lay’s Wavy appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

I recently came back from a very fun and creative weekend in San Francisco. It was my first time in the city and I loved it (more travel posts later). My main reason for the trip was Brit + Co’s Re:Make conference. It was a day filled with creative inspiration, smart and entertaining speakers, new company discovery, and brilliant and colorful design. It was fun to talk and geek out about DIY and creativity with other attendees! In more detail, here are four things that made Brit + Co’s #ReMake2015 conference rock.

Creativity

The website and conference is focused on one thing: creativity. Brit + Co’s Founder and CEO Brit Morin started the morning discussing creativity. From studies and questionnaires, we know that most adults don’t think they are creative and exercising creativity has the positive outcomes of happier and healthier lives. According to research from San Francisco State University, those who participate in regular creative hobbies perform 15-30% better at work! So, what if we held creativity with as much importance as eating good foods or exercising? By consistently setting aside time to be creative, we have the opportunity to be more relaxed, more energized, and happier. That’s one of the reasons why at each seat were watercolor notebooks, brushes and watercolors to be used throughout the event.

Speakers

The conference featured smart and entertaining speakers who helped us think about creativity in new ways, encouraged us to act on our goals and shared their insights in moving forward and doing great things. Some quick highlights:

• How can you be more creative? Author and Professor Tina Seelig recommended paying more attention to things! Think about the processes in your daily life and how to make them better.
• Creativity X Organization = Impact. Scott Belsky emphasized the importance of focus and organization to actually make progress on your ideas. Coming up with ideas is great, but instead of focusing on the next idea, commit to one and organize your routine and plan to accomplish it.
• Less than 1% of girls study computer science. Made with Code is on a mission to change that. Kate Parker, Made with Code’s Head of Marketing, was on hand to share the cool things the organization is doing and why it’s so important. Their website is a great resource to learn more.
• Suzanne Howard, Partner at IDEO and founder of IDEO U encouraged: Creativity is a muscle you need to exercise to prevent atrophy.
• Lindsey Stirling ended the day with an incredible violin performance!

Want more creativity from speakers? Head over to anitakc.com for a full recap on the speakers!

Up-and-Coming Cool Companies & Brit + Co’s #IAMCREATIVE Foundation Winners

One of my favorite parts of the conference was hearing from up-and-coming companies. There were a few products that I thought were so cool and are on their way to big things when they launch. You can read all about the featured companies here but here are the three I was really amazed by.

1. June is an intelligent oven that recognizes the food you put into it and cooks it to perfection. Hundreds of recipes are programmed into the oven and you can add your own. The company includes an app for recipe suggestions.
2. Little Lotus has a created a swaddling blanket to keep your baby at the perfect temperature, providing peace of mind. They are also a one-for-one company and your purchase of a blanket gifts a life-saving Embrace infant warmer (a blanket that acts as an incubator) to babies in developing countries around the world.
3. Lily is the world’s first flying camera that is a combination of a drone and a GoPro. Throw it up in the air and it will follow you. Check out the cool video on their website to see it in action!

Also, earlier this year, Brit + Co unveiled #IAMCREATIVE Foundation to provide grants to creative individuals ready to take the next step in entrepreneurship. All five finalists were introduced and surprised with grant rewards at the conference. Learn more about the winners in this Brit + Co post.

Design

Last but definitely not least, the design was on point! As you could have guessed, around every corner was something Instagrammable, creative and asthetically-pleasing. From the GIANT coloring book wall to colorful signs and displays, the setting was a constant inspiration. Creative displays and friendly representatives were there to gently promote their products and it was obvious the sponsors had a fun time being as creative as possible about how to present themselves. It was the perfect place to do it!

This Crayola crayon wall with 8,000+ crayons was a feature at the Re:Make festival on Sunday

Displays by Hallmark (left) and Izze (right)

Other big hightlights…

I met Brit Morin and Jordan Ferney (of the blog Oh Happy Day)!

Thistle is a company that delivers cold-pressed juice and healthy plant-based meals, in SF, East Bay and the South Bay. They sponsored the lunch with delicious superfood salads and cold-pressed juices. Since their mission is to deliver nutrition that is delicious, healthy and affordable, they’ve kindly offered my readers a discount! Use the code “FEARLESS” for 20% off. Visit their website thistle.co.

Yummy cookies were from Doughbies, another California company.

What a fun conference! Here’s to living creatively!

The post 4 Things That Made Brit + Co’s #ReMake2015 Rock appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

To go along with the craft, Bribery Bakery was the perfect setting. Only a few months old, the bakery delights with all of its scrumptious treats and cute environment. We enjoyed their Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Ganache, Red Velvet Cupcakes, and my favorite – the Pineapple Brown Butter Blondies.

We wasted no time getting to crafting. For this craft, the kit includes a porcelain cupcake stand and several paint pens.

It’s a pretty easy craft and a little big of color goes a long way. Most of us went with simple patterns and I loved how our stands turned out! Of course, we had to test out our finished product.

Perfect for a single cupcake or pineapple blondie!

I made a special dessert topper for our treats. Top Chef and James Beard Award Winner Stephanie Izard created this Cheesy Chippy Crumble recipe using Lay’s Wavy Cheddar Chips that is a tasty topper for cupcakes, ice cream, muffins, parfaits and more. Slightly cheesy, it’s very easy to make and includes mostly Cheddar Chips, oats, brown sugar, butter, and flour. Check out Lay’s Wavy Cookbook, Pinterest’s first cookbook, for more chip-inspired recipes.

Thank you to Brit + Co and Lay’s Wavy for a fun crafting and snacking time!

Make your own cupcake stand with these instructions from Brit + Co. Find DIY inspiration by exploring the #iamcreative and #britstagram hashtags on Instagram.

Check out the other Brit + Co DIY parties I’ve hosted.

One of my goals this year is to throw 12 celebrations. This is #9 of 12. I’m way ahead of schedule! These are big and small parties for any occasion with the goal of planning and executing something fun. See all the celebrations here.

Disclosure: Brit + Co provided me complimentary craft kits and Lay’s Wavy provided me complimentary bags of Cheddar Chips. I was not required to review the kits or the Lay’s Wavy product or write a blog post about the party, but I hope you find inspiration from it!

The post DIY Cupcake Stand Party with Brit + Co and Lay’s Wavy appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

When was the last time you used sidewalk chalk? For me, it was years ago when I worked a children’s spring break day camp during college but that changed when some girlfriends and I got together at Auditorium Shores to make some #SidewalkSelfies for Brit + Co and Crayola. Look, they’ve got glitter chalk and a huge variety of colors now! 

We not only wanted to create art but spread a little inspiration along the way. Auditorium Shores and the hill with the spiral sidewalk where we chalked gets a lot of traffic with people working out and families, so it was a perfect place to spread inspiration! Not to mention the great view of the Austin skyline!

When we finished, we left some chalk in case people were feeling inspired and passed on our box of chalk to a group of kids and their moms.

Feeling inspired? You can do your own #SidewalkSelfies and enter to win a Crayola prize pack while you’re at it. Post your chalk art photos on Instagram, Twitter or on their online form. New winners chosen every week! See more information on the Crayola website.

One of my goals this year is to throw 12 celebrations. This is #8 of 12. These are big and small parties for any occasion with the goal of planning and executing something fun. See all the celebrations here.

Disclosure: Brit + Co provided me complimentary chalk to participate in their #SidewalkSelfies campaign. I was not required to review the chalk or write a blog post about the party.

The post #SidewalkSelfies with Brit+Co and Crayola appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

Some friends and I had a fun crafternoon making wood-burnt serving boards thanks to Brit + Co and Triscuit. We made super cute boards and enjoyed bite-sized Triscuit snacks.

Triscuit provided boxes of original Triscuits, and we had fun with the snacks! They paired perfectly with our boards. I made sweet and savory Triscuit combinations. There are lots of good recipes on the Triscuit Pinterest page.

Savory Triscuits: Mozzarella, Cherry Tomatoes, Chili Flakes; Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and Bell Pepper; Cantalope, Prosciutto, and Rosemary

Sweet Triscuits: Cream Cheese, Strawberries, Balsamic Vinegar and Mint; Peanut Butter, Toasted Marshmallow, Shaved Chocolate and Honey-Toasted Pecan

Amy also brought some delicious toppings: Pure Luck June’s Joy Cheese (chevre cheese with Good Flow Honey, smoked black pepper, and organic thyme) and blackberries and cute fish-shaped cheese with olive and cucumber.

Then we moved from the kitchen to our crafting area and got started. To make things festive, I made a geometric wall backdrop with a matching table runner.

The kit includes a wood serving board, a wood-burning kit with several tips, and a practice board.

We brought ideas but we also did some research on the Brit + Co website and Pinterest to look for inspiration. We were a little nervous to use the wood-burning tool but once we fired it up, it was pretty easy. We tried it out on the practice board, traced our designs on the real board and then went for it.

I think they turned out great!

I love how mine came out!

Thank you Brit + Co and Triscuit for the fun time!

Check out our party featured on the Brit + Co website here.

Want to see details of my previous Brit + Co DIY party? Check out our cool garlands here.

One of my goals this year is to throw 12 celebrations. This is #4 of 12. These are big and small parties for any occasion with the goal of planning and executing something fun. See all the celebrations here.

Disclosure: Brit + Co provided me complimentary craft kits and Triscuit provided me complimentary boxes of original Triscuits. I was not required to review the kits or the Triscuit product or write a blog post about the party, but how could I not with how fun this was!

The post DIY Party: Wood-Burnt Serving Boards appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

I love Brit + Co because their website has so many creative and fun DIY and party ideas. I was excited that Brit + Co and Scotch provided me these awesome kits filled with cool Scotch products to throw a DIY garland party. I decided to go with a confetti theme and we DIY-ed some really cute garlands. It was a fun and relaxing afternoon with lovely ladies. Take a look!

For confetti decor I made colorful vases by dotting a rainbow of colors, a wreath with crepe paper, and a garland with rainbow tissue paper.

For snacks I made lemon basil cookies topped with confetti sprinkles and cereal milk tres leches cake. Yes, that means the milks soaked Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal before being strained and poured onto the cake! It was as good as it sounds and looks. Of course, it was also topped with confetti sprinkles.

Now for the star of the party: the crafting!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Anita • Austin TX Foodie + Blogger (@wanderlustanita)

The end results were these pretty garlands. My friend Julie used hers later that night for her man’s birthday party and my friend Amy used hers the next day to celebrate her dog’s graduation. I can’t wait to put my HUSTLE garland up in my room. They were super easy to make and all perfect for brightening up a room for a celebration or for inspiration.

Here are some great Instagram photos from my party friends. You’ll see one super cute and fluffy puppy guest – Basil.

https://instagram.com/p/z8IaJaisY6

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Amy Drohen – Austin Food, Texas Travel & Wine Content Creator (@sushigirl_atx)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ashley Wilhite (@ashleydevinxo)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by KOKO | AUSTIN TEXAS BLOGGER (@atasteofkoko)

Want to throw your own DIY/crafting party? Here’s the tutorial we used for our garlands. Brit + Co has TONS of DIY tutorials. Go create something today! No matter what your skill level, you can find something on the website to exercise your creativity. You can also check out Brit’s new DIY book Homemakers and explore the #iamcreative and #homemakers hashtags on Instagram.

One of my goals this year is to throw 12 celebrations. This is #3 of 12. These are big and small parties for any occasion with the goal of planning and executing something fun. See all the celebrations here.

Have you ever thrown or gone to a craft party? What did you make?

Disclosure: Brit+Co provided me complimentary Scotch-sponsored Brit Kits. I was not required to review the kits or write a blog post about the party.

The post Confetti-Themed DIY Garland Party appeared first on Fearless Captivations.