Notes of Holiday Cheer

Sent out your Christmas cards yet? If you haven't, we are sure you are not alone. This holiday, consider pairing down your card list and select cards that are both stylish and sustainable.

Smock Paper has a very lovely selection of letterpress Christmas cards printed on sustainable bamboo. The Peace and Joy Folded Cards are an elegant and neutral look for sending out cards past the Christmas holiday...in the event you don't get them out before Christmas. ;)



Smock Paper also has a very unique selection of Christmas wrap. As designers, Lauren and Ruthie are always on the lookout for fun and beautiful paper. These sheets of paper are not only well designed, they are made of 100% post consumer recycled paper. Your gifts will look good and you won't be contributing to the very large amount of waste produced each year by wrapping paper.


We love the pink Christmas trees! Visit Smock to purchase this wrapping paper.

Christmas Cakes

Want to do something a little different this Christmas for dessert rather than a traditional pie? Well then check out Eutopia Events "how-to" cake creations on AOL's Kitchen Daily! There are several designs to choose from.


Christmas Tree Cake


Winter Wonderland Cake


Christmas Ornament Cake


Gingerbread Pull Apart Cupcakes


Santa Christmas Cake

All of these are easy and fun ideas for a holiday treat. Enjoy!

The Bolero

Take a look at these beautiful bolero jackets. A lovely alternative to a shawl or wrap. So romantic and a perfect wedding accessory for a cooler weather wedding.


This bolero (above) comes from TianaChe's Etsy Shop.



We also love this very classy silk bolero from Mary and Angelika Etsy shop.

Not only are these great for a wedding, they are perfect for an evening out or formal event. Also a very appropriate accessory for a Christmas party!

Visit Etsy to view more fun bolero jackets. There are so many styles and colors, you are sure to find one that will suit you and your taste.

Happy Halloween!

Get in the Halloween spirit with these frightening cupcakes by Lauren of Eutopia Events. They are so easy to make, it is scary!

www.kitchendaily.com/2010/06/24/vampire-and-werewolf-cupcakes

It's O"Fish"al

Eutopia Events has been very busy this summer, which is a good thing! Even with everything going on, we are still able to squeeze in time to plan our own personal events. Lauren's husband Mike turned 30 in July and, of course, there had to be a party! (It was a surprise). People would expect nothing less from an event planner.

This party was equipped with fishy cupcakes and fishy sugar cookies, tables covered in fish nets, buoy accents, a fishing derby and prizes... are you noticing a theme yet? Lauren's husband Mike loves to fish! It was a colorful and fun party.



The invitation and information card for the party. Be sure to read them. Very clever stuff! All designed and written by the talented Miss Lauren.



A few pics of the decorations, tables, and party goers! (and Mike's surprised face!)
It was pouring outside, so Mike arrived a little wet.

Everyone had a good time, despite the rain. It even cleared up later and a few of us got to go out on the boats and fish. Perfect way to end the day! Mike had a great 30th birthday.

A Perfect Country Wedding

We recently had the pleasure of coordinating a beautiful country wedding in Deerfield Massachusetts. The ceremony and reception were set within an apple orchard at Clarkdale Fruit Farms, on the property where the bride grew up. The weather was amazing, the setting was as though it was plucked from a storybook and the couple who were married, were two of the most beautiful people we've had the honor of working with! Congratulations to Abby and Tom on their marriage! Their wedding was classy, vibrant and fun! A true reflection of the couple and their personalities.

Here is a sneak peek at some of the photos from the wedding (with a few shots of the Eutopia Staff in action). Thanks to Rick and Paula at Cronin Hill Photography for sharing these with us! These photographers were a real treat to work with and we hope to have the pleasure of working with them again in the future!

All photos © Cronin Hill Photography

Unique Cake Toppers

Looking for a unique cake topper? Well here it is: Customized bobble heads!
Also a great groomsmen or bridesmaid gift!

http://www.headbobble.com/couples.html

Project Bread

A few weeks back, Eutopia Events participated in Project Bread's Walk for Hunger in Boston, Massachusetts. We are excited to tell you that we raised just over $1,300 for this fundraiser! We are so proud to have been able to contribute to this very important event. We walked the full 20 miles, blisters and all! It was amazing to be part of such a good cause.

According to the Press Release, 42,000 walkers showed up this year to help the fight against hunger. Over $3.8 million was raised! Unbelievable!

Thank you everyone for all your support and donations! Without your help, Project Bread wouldn't be able to help the thousands of people who need assistance in Massachusetts.

We are still able to take donations so, if you haven't donated but would like to, please click here to visit our team page.


The ladies of Eutopia Events at the start of the walk, ready and excited to do the 20 miles!

Spring is in the Air!

We've had some warmer weather here in Massachusetts this past week. It is difficult not to have thoughts of Spring and to be hopeful that even more warmer days are on their way! In the spirit of spring-like thoughts, we have some very sweet birthday cakes to share.

Butterflies are a sure sign of spring. This butterfly cake for a little girl named Isla was made for her first birthday! She even had her own mini cake she could get her hands into. What kid could resist that giant butterfly? Isla managed to eat almost the entire cake herself. Even the fondant flowers! Guess she liked it! :) The mini smash cake was made of yellow cake. The bottom layer of the larger cake was chocolate flavor with peanut butter filling, the top layer was yellow with strawberry filling, all covered in fondant.

The ladybug cake was made for Meghan for her second birthday. We were told the birthday girl couldn't keep her hands off the little ladybugs! We are happy she loved the cake so much. The ladybugs were made with yellow cake and the round cake with flowers was red velvet flavor, all with a vanilla buttercream frosting.

Two very special birthday cakes for two very special little girls!

Rainy Day Recipe

So the last few days have been full of snow and rain, and the next few days promise more of the same. What to do you might ask? Do what we do, bake something chocolate! These Chocolate Crinkles will be sure to brighten your day!

Chocolate Crinkles
Makes 5 to 6 dozen

1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup confectioners sugar

• Mix oil, melted chocolate, and sugar together.
• Blend in one egg at a time, then add vanilla.
• Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Chill for several hours or overnight.
• Heat oven to 350˚
• Drop teaspoons of dough into confectioners sugar and roll. Shape into balls.
• Place 2" apart on greased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

The Perfect Clutch

Looking for the perfect accessory for a wedding, party or a night out? For the ladies, a purse is essential! We are purse gals ourselves and are always on the look out for a cute clutch. Here are a few we wanted to share with you. Now the challenge is to pick one!

These clutches and change purses come from Oktak's Shop on Etsy. There are some colorful and fun clutches as well as some more sophisticated options. A purse to suite almost anyone's taste.



We also love these purses from Tulip Couture's Etsy shop!



As you'll notice, we love Etsy! It is a great resource for handmade and unique items, especially for a wedding or event. There are so many great products to be discovered! This most definitely will not be the last time you'll see a post from us with Etsy items:)

Glowing in the Rain?

What a cool concept by Bright Night! These umbrellas light up! We love the design and practicality of this umbrella. We especially love the idea of using them for a wedding! Not that any couple particularly wants a rainy wedding day, but these sure could brighten it a bit and make for some unique photographs.



If you are looking for an umbrella with a bit more style, the lighted umbrellas come in patterns as well. Here are a few to choose from.



Of course, we couldn't just stop at the lighted umbrellas. Oh no! I guess we're already thinking about Spring:) We started to search out other fun umbrella options.

We love the umbrellas at Bella Umbrella. There is an umbrella that could suite just about anyone's taste. They also offer rentals which is a bonus!

Here are some fun and lovely umbrellas at Bella Umbrella.









You can also visit Parasol Passion for more parasol options.

Daily Drop

utopia loves these drop caps! As designers, we are inspired by so many things. We think the drop caps created by typographer and illustrator Jessica Hische are so much fun. Jessica is designing a new letter each day. The really cool part is you can copy and paste the code and use it for your blog too! Visit Daily Drop Cap to find a letter that you love:)

January is National Blood Donor Month

Recently, a friend's son came down with a blood disease called Aplastic Anemia. He is 3 years old and has just undergone a bone marrow transplant. Before the transplant, he needed weekly blood and platelet transfusions. Please consider donating blood this month. It only takes an hour of your time and results in lifesaving platelets or blood for those in need!