Hosting a Pinterest Party

Have you always wanted to make some of those crafts you've had pinned for 3 years on Pinterest?  How about cook up some of those mouthwatering dishes from your favorite food bloggers?  I decided to host a Pinterest Party for some of my girlfriends, and boy, did we have a blast! Come along and see how I put it together...get ready for picture overload!

I invited my friends for a mid-afternoon party, knowing that it would take some time for paint/glue to dry.  I planned a menu that was cocktail-inspired, including lots of heavy apps. I created a Pinterest Party board on Pinterest- all the recipes and crafts we made are there.  Click any picture to go to the board.  

My menu included:

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Subs from a local place

Cranberry Brie Bites

Roasted Shrimp Cocktail

Caprese Salad Skewers

Prosciutto Pesto Pizza Twists

Chocolate Mint Bundt Cake

Grinch cookies

Cornmeal cutout cookies

Fudge

Holiday Sangria

I set up all the food in our dining room; our buffet server opens up to accommodate more serving dishes.  The globe is an antique bar cart that came from my parents' house.  I always loved decorating it when I lived there, and am so glad it was passed down to me.  I did some chalk art to dress up the space.  The small chalkboard easels came from Walmart, the others from Michael's. 

I am a sangria lover, and this was one of the best I've ever had.  I combined two different reds since I didn't have time to run to the liquor store, and it came out great. 

I made some caprese salad skewers and shrimp cocktail.  I tried to keep my menu based on finger foods that we could eat while crafting.  I promise I'll get to the crafting part in a little bit!

These prosciutto pesto pizza twists were a hit!  I was able to make them the morning of the party and pop them in the oven right before my friends arrived.  These are definitely going on my must-make list for future parties!

I made cranberry brie bites as a crossover between app and dessert- they had just the right amount of sweetness to balance the other savory apps.   Not pictured are the subs and buffalo chicken dip- they were quickly commandeered by the husbands and taken downstairs where the football game was on.

I made my favorite chocolate cake with a mint twist.  I also made grinch cookies and cornmeal cut-out cookies.  

Once we had eaten our fill, we settled in for some crafting.  I asked each attendee to bring enough supplies for everyone at the party to make one craft.  We started with the craft that needed painting...but that one was a craft-astrophe and we didn't finish.  It was fine, because we had 4 other crafts to work on.

We made mason jar candle wreaths.

We made Christmas clothespins.

We made wine-cork trivets.

And we made melted-crayon ornaments.  

We laughed, we ate, we crafted, and we ate some more.  It was a wonderful party and so easy to put together.  I am planning to host another one for the summer- there are so many great 4th of July and outdoor crafts we can work on.  This is a great and inexpensive way to get your friends together, and everyone leaves with a goody bag full of crafts.