Inspired Goodness

Chocolate Candy Favors

I saw a tutorial a while back on how to make chocolate candies using plastic molds and thought, "how easy!"  and, it really was!  My bridal shower is this weekend so I began making the chocolate favors this evening.

All you need are chocolate pieces, candy molds (I found mine on eBay for $2.50 and a local bakery), plastic baggies, and maybe some embellishments.  Here are a few photos of the process...

some of the chocolate in our wedding colors


mmm chocolate :)


melting the chocolate in a double boiler worked wonderfully!


yes, those are squirrel molds :)
yes, I ate the reject one on the bottom- perk of the job!


some of the finished product!

I can't show you how they look packaged yet...but I will post pictures after my shower.

Have a lovely week :)

John's Birthday Dinner, The Recap

Last night's dinner celebration for John was so amazing - I have to share some of the photos with you all! Since all of our friends came out to help us celebrate, I made amazing Bacon + Sea Salt Chocolate Bark favors for everyone. We got there a little early to place one at each setting.

To package, I bought a set of cellophane candy bags, scored blue notecards in half and cut along the edge with scallop scissors. After stamping the design, I placed a few staples along the bottom to secure.

They chocolate was a HUGE HIT - and if you're curious to recreate, here's the recipe:

Inspired Goodness' Bacon & Sea Salt Bark

• 3 bags of Ghiradelli 60% chocolate chips 
• 1 lb. of Applewood Smoked bacon 
• 1 tbsp. Sea Salt

1. Fry bacon until extremely crispy  
2. Drain strips of bacon on paper towels  
3. Once dried, cut the bacon into tiny bits 
4. Prepare large sheet pan with layers of aluminum foil 
5. Set up a double boiler by adding 2" of water to small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and place a glass bowl atop of the saucepan. 
6. Add chocolate to glass bowl and stir thoroughly until melted
7. Add 2/3's of the bacon bits into melted chocolate
8. Pour mixture into sheet pan and smooth with a large spatula
9. Sprinkle remaining bacon bits and sea salt over top of wet chocolate
10. Refrigerate 30 minutes until hardened. 
11. Break apart, package and enjoy!

 {the bacon bits}
  

{presentation of the main attraction, they took the pig into the back to then prep it for us}

{placing the pig at the table}

{my plate with lots of goodies!}

{those are some good-looking pig lovers!}

{of course, I picked up some silly pig-inspired additions to make the night even more silly}

The pig itself was definitely the hit of the evening - along with beans, kale and a dessert of apple crumble with vanilla ice cream, we were all stuffed!

  

First Made Easy

We are loving this First Birthday in a Box set offered by City Bird Design.

The set includes this lovely banner strung with grey grosgrain ribbon, 12 invitations + thank you notes, goodie bags, confetti and place cards, all nicely delivered in a keepsake matching case.

Perfect for any soon-to-be mom or dad, this box set makes planning any first birthday an absolute breeze!

{via Design Mom}

A Vintage Cameo Inspires an Entire Wedding

Inspired Goodness was recently invited to join Wishpot as a Wedding Expert - and ever since, we've been having a ball adding items we love to a growing set of wishlists.

A really simple way to keep your wishlists always just a button-click away is the Wishpot add-in for Firefox (our web-browser of choice). Every time you see something cool online that you want to add to your list, just click the button on your browser menu and "poof", it gets added right away!

Part of the fun of being a Wedding Expert at Wishpot, our team was asked to do a guest post -we choose to share how our staff would design a wedding around one object of special importance to the bride. We hope you enjoy reading it!

At Inspired Goodness, our job is to work with the information couples provide to create a vision for their wedding day. The end result is an event that reflects the happy couple via small touches and creative details.

Sometimes, the couples we meet don’t have much in the way of ideas but we stress that something as simple as a family keepsake can really impart a stamp on the look and feel of their day.

In this case, we took inspiration from a cameo brooch passed down from a bride’s grandmother. Check out our suggestions for infusing details taken from this precious heirloom and create a signature look of your very own.

• Color Scheme: Lilac + Black keeps things both modern and elegant.
• Décor: Commission an artist to draw a side profile of you and you’re groom. During the reception, use the art to mark your seats. Afterwards, consider them as a beautiful piece of art for your home.
• Stationery: Scan the designs and have thank you notes printed with the design on front.
• The Cake: Looking to satisfy your guests’ sweet tooth? How about recreating a wedding cake similar to this one in your colors? Or maybe these cookies packaged inside a clear box with pretty labels are the perfect favor for your guests.
• Flowers: To incorporate your heirloom, try having your florist affix it to the front of your bouquet with matching ribbon.
• The Dress: Or simply wear it around your waist with some matching wide ribbon.
• Gifts: You’re bridesmaids will love these custom designed necklaces (personalized with their very own profile. Contact the designer to commission a set that makes a unique gift for your closest family and friends.

Now it’s your turn to try. If you had to plan the look of your entire wedding around one item, what would it be and how would you pull it off?

Additional images: Flower cameo, Invitation by Ivory White, black and white invite by Carciofi Design.

A Cereal Shower

Earlier this year, I was at a party that featured a cereal buffet and although the crowd wasn't nearly as excited as I was to see the mounds of sugary goodness, I thought it would be perfect to put a fun spin on the traditional sleepover.

How about a late night bridal shower to fete your favorite bride-to-be? All guests should come in fancy, adult pajamas (leave the flannel cartoon-y stuff at home) - sexy marabou slippers would make adorable party favors!

To give the party some grown up flare, opt for these silver spoons that look real but are made of plastic. These bowls are perfect to hold the bride's favorite cereals and look just like vintage trophy cups. Find some pretty napkins and pickup a set of large scoops to make everything self-serve. Provide the guests with colorful latte bowls to fill up on their favorite treats and watch old black &  white movies for a late night activity.

For an extra step, why not mimic the design of you're bride's favorite cereal box for the invitations.

Oh How Sweet: Hammond's Apple Lollipops

Oh!!! Just found these darling tiny pumpkin lollipops from Hammond's Candies. So cute you almost don't want to eat them.

I'm placing my order for our annual Pumpkin Carving Party!

While you're there, pickup some of these darling apple pops - in caramel and red apple flavors!!

Sweet Jars

How adorable are these tiny muffins and cakes?

They are baked directly inside cute mason jars. To recreate this simple yummy idea that perfectly accompanies any shower, bridesmaid luncheon, picnic party or Sunday Brunch, visit Cookbook Catchall for a jam + muffin recipe or try this Lime Almond Cake from RecipeZarr.

For the jars, try Amazon for great deals and attach one of these chic plastic spoons that look like metal - just attach with a thin piece of ribbon and viola, instant party favor!

Kid Frienly Wedding Ideas

A lot of couples go back and forth - open the wedding to all the children (including your friends' kids, nieces and nephews) or all together deciding to keep the reception kid-free.

If you choose to include a few little bundles of joy, make sure to shower those little ones with a few key details to keep them busy and (hopefully behaved) for your big day.

This wonderful welcome package is a great idea and allows for ultimate flexibility for creating a unique kit tailored to each age group.

Or how about setting up a table with coloring books, crayons and candy centerpieces — both the parents and your young guests will thank you.

For a boy-friendly setup, try replicating this robot-inspired table from Hostess with the Mostess.

Rebecca Thuss Interview

If you're anything like us here at Inspired Goodness, you tend to let your blog reader get a little too full and on the day you finally get about 4 hours free (does that even exist you ask?), you stumble upon a gem!

Today, I had the pleasure of reading this wonderful interview with Rebecca Thuss by Janie Medley over at The Bride's Cafe. If you've ever opened Martha Stewart Weddings in the past 10 or so years, you would have certainly stumbled upon her work. Hundreds of her ideas, images and concepts have been posted on wedding blogs from here to eternity -- here's some of her most popular work:

Make sure to check out Part I and Part II for the full recap into this wonderful stylist, photographer and creative mind. We were thrilled to read that ThussFarrell, the company Rebecca co-owns with her husband is working on the launch of their blog and will premier a letterpress wedding invitation line in the Spring of 2009!

Sycamore Street Press

What fun! These cards where created for a local bride who gave our pretzels as party favors. Design by Sycamore Street Press.

If you're in Philly, it would be great to recreate this with an evening treat of soft pretzels! I can just envision the smiles on all your guests' faces now.

Visit their Etsy shop for more letterpress goodies. found via Design Mom