Phoenix Area Photographer- Carrie Resier

A few weeks ago I met the most wonderful photographer Carrie Reiser. Those of you that are in the Phoenix area must take a look at her work. http://www.carriereiserphotography.com/ My "someday to be sister in law" LOL Kim has been using Carrie since her daughter Giavella was born. I was impressed with what Carrie had done with Giavella. Well we had a mini family reunion superbowl weekend so Kim enlisted Carrie to get some shots of the entire Dolan clan together (which does not happen often enough!) Carrie came in and was very proffesional and might I add patient! There are 18 of us so imagine getting everyone organized! I cannot say enough with how impressed I am with how our shoot turned out. I have done shoots like this before and have never been so happy with the results! I will show you the results and let you judge for yourselves.

You can follow Carries Blog and see more of her great work at http://www.carriereiserphotography.blogspot.com/

Bridal Shower Favors- Hooked on Love

The key to favors for your bridal shower is finding something your guests actually want, and soemthing that fits your theme. Lotions, candles, lip glosses are all my personal favorites. I now have a new favorite. Our swanky little bridal shower favor "Hooked on Love." This cute little favor is classy and so practicle. The love theme is appropriate for any wedding function. You are of course sharing your love with your guest. Your guests will love taking home these purse hooks and will be reminded of your special day everytime they use it. Believe me they will actually use it too! To make these favors extra special you can add personalized labels with your name and special day.

Another great idea for these adorable bridal favors is to include them in a grab bag for your bridesmaids.

Invitation Wording

Over the past few years I have been using an awesome website for all my invitation wording ideas and questions. Verseit.com has a collection of etiquette, and wording suggestions for any occasion. You can find wording for Baby shower invitations, Wedding Invitations, Bridal Shower Invitations, Birthday, Business, Anniversary, Holiday, Thank Yous, and Religious occasions. This site has yet to let me down. I am always able to find an appropriate solution for the occasion.

We are off to the mountain in the morning so I can yet again attempt to snowboard, Wish me Luck!

Baby Bling!!!!!

I have been getting a great response from the adorable collection of baby bling things. They are adorable, outrageous, paci's, paci clips, shoes, sunglasses, and soon to be added onsies. These are such great baby shower gifts, every shower I have been to when the mommy-to-be opens a totally blinged out paci there are oohhs and aahhs. And of course "where can I get one?" I am one of those people who loves to give gifts and I spend tons of time picking out the absolutely perfect gift. Let me tell you all the baby bling things fit into that category. They are not just for girls either, there are a few in very boy colors. Stop by the site and keep them in mind for your next baby shower gift.

Baby Shower Candy Bar Game

This is a fun shower game that is perfect for the traditional baby shower as well as a couples shower game where everyone can participate. The game is you give your guests a series of baby related clues. Those clues correspond to the name of a candy bar which is the answer. They are very cute and creative. We recently played this at a couples shower and everyone had a ton of fun. You can buy the candy bars on your list and hand them out to the person with the correct answer as a prize. There are several ways you can give out the clues, we gave everyone the list of answers and asked the clues, first person to raise their hand with the correct answer won! You can also print out answers on the front clues on the back and have everyone match them up. Then you would ask each one and give the prize to the first correct answer.

Clues & Answers

Pregnancy
Daddy at conception (answer: Big Hunk)
The conception (Skor)
Pregnant belly (Chunky)
Choosing baby's name (Whatchmacallit)
Girl's name (Baby Ruth)
Twin boys* (Mike and Ike)
Contractions* (Now and Later)

Labor and Delivery
Hospital address (5th Avenue)
Late to hospital (Rocky Road)
Anesthesiologist (Mr. Goodbar)
Epidurals* (Life Savers)
Delivery doctor (Butterfinger)
Labor and delivery nurses* (Sweet Tarts)
Daddy during delivery* (Bonkers)
Umbilical cord* (Twizzlers)
Hospital nursery*(Cry Babies )
Hospital bills (100 Grand)
Hospital accountants* (Nerds)

Your baby's first days
Seeing your baby* (Tear Jerkers)
Premie* (Runts)
11 pound babies* (Whoppers)
Swashbuckling triplets (3 Muskateers)
Chunky baby* (Rolo's)
Breast engorgement (Mounds)
Postpartum tummy* (Jelly Belly)
Breast feeding (Milky Way)
Grandparents* (Sugar Daddies)

Bringing your baby home
Time alone (Zero)
Mommy's lunch (Take 5)
Mommy's sleep time (Fast Break)
Baby giggles (Snickers)
Diapers, formula, medicine (Payday)
Dirty diaper* (Milk Duds)
Lullabyes (Symphony)
Love my baby* (Hugs and Kisses)
Teething (Crunch)
Daycare* (Sugar Babies)
Baby's intelligence* (Smarts)
Your new baby (Treasures)

Swanky Party Recipe- Fruit Dip

This fruit dip is a great little way to spice up your fruit tray. I suggest apples, melons, or strawberries specifically, but it is a great compliment to any fruit. Your guests will all be asking where you found the recipe, I did. I picked this up from a great friend at one of her parties!

Fruit Dip
1 large tub of Cream Cheese
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 package Heath toppings

This is super simple. Empty your cream cheese into a mixing bowl and add the sugar and brown sugar. Whip this mixture with a fork or mixer. Add the heath topping (this is at yor discretion as much or little as you please) and mix. Transfer your dip into a serving bowl or party tray. Serve with fruit.

I hope your guests love this as much as I did!

New Birth Announcements

Howdy!

I have been hard at work this week adding new product. Check out the site to see these adorable new Birth Announcements.




















They are so stylish and sweet. I will also be adding matching Labels and Thank You cards.
The Labels and Thank You cards are very stylish, I am ordering some for a Birthday gift with a friends name printed on them to add to her stationary collection. Sign up for my newsletter at http://www.swankychicks.com/ to recieve updates when new product is added. Have a Great Weekend!

Welcome to the Swanky Blog

Hi and thanks for checking in on our Blog. The Swanky blog will be sharing everything and anything pertaining to Weddings and Baby Showers. We will be posting weekly party recipes, decorating tips and ideas, favor ideas, invitation wording, game ideas and much, much, more! SwankyChicks.com is an online boutique for anything and everything to do with wedding and baby celebrations. We will be adding new products to the site weekly as well as sharing planning tips on our blog so check back often. Please feel free to share your tips and ideas as well as sending info on your favorite vendors.