Celebrate America with these super cute *free* decor items you can download right on this blog! There’s a banner, cupcake toppers (or food decorations) and food tents available. If you print and use these for your celebration, be sure to share them on Instagram with #NotableAffairs, so I can see your fun day! Don’t forget, these are only for your personal use. Do not share, resell or distribute in any kind of way.
March 26, 2017 marks 5 years that Notable Affairs has been open for business! I had absolutely no idea what to expect when I opened my business on Etsy. Would it really work? Could I turn it into a full-time job and be my own boss? I had no clue! I knew I loved designing our wedding invitations, and I knew it would be something fun to do after working at a tv station for almost 9 years, but I really didn’t know if it would be successful. It was something completely different than my previous job, but it was the perfect business idea for someone that pays so much attention to detail.
Now, here I am 5 years later looking back on how successful this business has been. Have there been many hardships and times where I thought, “Is this end?” Definitely. Have there been many tears shed? Well, not too, too many, but there have been some over the years, especially in this last year. It was my most difficult one so far. But I haven’t given up, and I have such a greater appreciation for my business and my customers especially after the past year’s hurdles I had to face.
Notable Affairs has had such a huge impact on my life, and I am so thankful for everything… big and small. As just a small thank you, I thought it would be nice to give back. I often send out coupon codes to my Etsy customers who leave 5 star feedback. 5 stars is the best you can receive on Etsy, and I pride myself on earning all 5 stars on every order. It doesn’t always happen, but I work hard ~360 days a year. It’s a 24-7 job for me, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
To celebrate the grand opening of this website, I’m giving away $50 off the lucky winner’s next purchase from Notable Affairs. Anyone can enter! The winner will be randomly chosen on April 3rd.
Don’t worry if you don’t win this time. There will be many more giveaways on the website, so definitely don’t give up! Also, there’s another giveaway on Facebook that’s a little different, so check it out on the Notable Affairs page.
Don’t forget to join the newsletter, so you don’t miss any freebies, coupons or any other exciting news about Notable Affairs. You can find the newsletter signup in the middle of the home page of this website!
Thank you everyone that has helped make this business of mine a success. I am beyond thankful for my customers, many lessons learned day-to-day, and support from friends and family! I can’t wait to see what happens in these several next years. I have some really big things planned, so stay tuned!
Valentine’s Day will be here very soon! One of the things I hope to share on this blog is how to create cute displays for any of your events. Whether it’s just a birthday party celebration, baby shower or housewarming party, it’s so easy to create a little table to set the tone for your party.
Notable Affairs has a few cute Valentine’s Day themed party invitations to choose from:
After you have your perfect invitation, it’s time to plan for decorations! You can do something simple and sweet or go all out. It’s all up to you!
For Valentine’s Day, I set out to create an easy dessert table display that anyone can achieve with just a little bit of extra effort. You can make your food and dessert, as well as party decor if you wish, or you can even pick up just a few things at the store to help style your event.
My first thought about this Valentine’s Day table was that I wanted it to be somewhat simple, cute and require as little money for extras as possible. I made the heart on the wall out of a poster board and tissue paper, which was extremely inexpensive. It just took about an hour to glue all of the tissue onto the heart. I already had the gold frame in my home, so I just left it on the wall to add a little more design for the design.
The table cloth you see is actually just a white decorative curtain, but you wouldn’t know that if I hadn’t told you. The curtain used to be in my office, but I have since purchased something a little more colorful, but I decided to hold onto the curtain just in case I ever needed it. In this case, it was the perfect table cloth for this table.
The gold glitter stripe in the middle is simply some wrapping paper I picked up during Christmas. I ended up not using it for Christmas gifts, so I thought it would make the perfect runner for the middle of the table.
The main thing your table needs is a few different desserts or foods to choose from. Don’t want to do desserts? How about a Valentine’s Day themed breakfast table?
I ended up making all of these desserts myself, but if you’re in a time crunch, you can always just order them made for you. I chose these desserts because they were pretty simple to do.
Chocolate covered strawberries: Just purchase your strawberries at the store and melt some chocolate. Then dip and set them aside on wax or parchment paper to let the chocolate harden. Voila!
Marshmallows on a stick: I dipped the tips of the marshmallows into some melted white candy bark, and then I just rolled and dipped the bottom of the marshmallow into sprinkles. It’s super easy and really didn’t take much time at all. After that, I stuck some paper straws in them to add some dimension/height and to make it easier to grab off the table. Don’t have paper straws? You can also use toothpicks. Just pick some up that match your theme colors, and you’re all set! These don’t even have to be perfect. As you can see from the photo, the sprinkles aren’t even all the way around the marshmallows, and I promise you, they still taste just as yummy!
Heart-shaped Rice Krispy treats: I made the treats following the directions on the box. Then I just cut them out with a heart-shaped cookie cutter I had. I had a small and large cookie cutter, so once plate had just a few large ones, and then another plate had some smaller hearts. I added some sprinkles to a few of them just to add a little bit more color.
Heart-shaped cake: I baked a heart cake using a Wilton pan I picked up at Target. The pan was less than $10, and I knew I would be able to use it over and over again for Valentine’s Day, maybe a bridal shower and anniversary celebrations. I decorated the outside of the cake with a “rosette” design. It’s really not as hard as it looks, but you can always just decorate it any way you wish. For my cake topper, I just got out three glittery hearts and taped them onto toothpicks. So simple, but oh so cute, too!
Heart-shaped strawberries: These are so cute and so, so easy to make! Just cut the tops off the strawberries, and then cut the strawberry in half. Stick a toothpick to hold the two sides together, and you have a heart! They take no time at all to make.
I purchased these little red milk glasses from a local store. They’re perfect for your little ones to drink from, and I bet they’ll love the cute straw with the big heart on it.
My biggest advice when it comes to setting up a dessert or decor table is to always have different heights. Stack things on top of boxes to create different dimensions. It’ll draw your eyes up and things won’t get lost on the table. Also, stick with the same color scheme throughout. I would just choose a few colors and play off of those when it comes to decor. Too many colors can take away from the overall feel of the event, so you just want to make sure and keep everything cohesive.
What are you doing to celebrate Valentine’s Day? Any special plans with your loved ones? If not, set up a cute little dessert table. I’m sure they’ll all love the sweet treats! Happy Valentine’s Day!
The Super Bowl will be here before you know it, and I’ve created the cutest little freebies you can download for your party! You can download the free banner and food tents from this page.
All items can be used for your own event, but please do not resale, distribute or share in any way. Copyright remains with Notable Affairs. Please link back to this post if you use them on your blog, and feel free to tag #NotableAffairs in your photos, so I can see how you use these fun items for your party! Enjoy!
I officially have a blog for Notable Affairs! I’ve always wanted to share fun ideas, invitation designs and party themes.
Notable Affairs began in March 2012. Shortly after Jacob and I married, I discovered my love for designing invitations and promptly opened a store on Etsy. I didn’t really know what to expect and had no idea what I was doing, but I wanted to try. My first order was a custom design. Yikes. That was definitely a test right off that bat. Luckily, I didn’t let it scare me away, and now I’ve been in business for 5 years. I can’t believe how much it’s grown in just a short amount of time. I can’t wait to see where this business heads next. I love it, and I have so many ideas on how to make things even better, so be on the lookout for new and exciting things in the years ahead!
I do have a personal blog where I share other passions, such as photography, travel, decorating our home and other fun life adventures. You can visit my personal blog, Glittered with Design, here.