April 5, 201510 yr Camila Alves Blogs: My Favorite Easter Decorating Ideas, Recipes & Tips Our lifestyle blogger Camila Alves shares her fun, simple Easter decorating ideas and kid-friendly recipes to brighten up your home for the holiday. For more from Camila, follow her on Twitter at @iamcamilaalves, Facebook at iamcamilaalves and Instagram at iamcamilaalves! Easter is one of my favorite holidays with the kids. They get to run loose, and we always have our family and loved ones all around us! I love to decorate the house and make a beautiful table since at one point of the day we will all sit around and celebrate this special date. This is one of those holidays where we plan everything around the kids and I get to participate in the activities with them! I even get in on the action with the egg hunting chase … Here are a few ideas I have tried and know are easy to do for this time of the year. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below or on my Instagram page @iamcamilaalves. And please share your versions of these items — It makes me very happy to see them! Plus, I get more inspirations from you for next year! Kisses, Camila EELING THE BLUES FOR EASTER! Not sure why I am into the blues for this Easter. On this table, I used different colored beverage bottles that I found at a craft store and decorated them with flower stickers. In the above picture, I added ribbons. They make great candle holders and give your table height. A fun way to doozie-up your napkins is to fold them into bunny shapes. You can search online for tutorial videos. A great way to add dimension and height to your table is to use your cake stand as a setup for your flower arrangements. On this setup I used a larger cake stand on the bottom and a smaller one on top. I covered both levels with small mason jars filled with flowers. For this setup, I bought blue candles, napkins and place mats from Target. The nests are from a craft store. I used raffia to tie the napkins, then added baby blue flowers to the nests — your table is set. A great way to make your table setting more special is to add a little fresh flowers tucked under your napkin bow. AN EASTER CAKE Make a store-bought cake look fancy and homemade with no trouble. I got my inspiration from The Cake Blog (thank you). When you don’t have time to make a cake from scratch, you can run to the store and purchase a store-bought cake. You will need: White frosting Blue food coloring Vanilla extract Cocoa powder You have two options: you can purchase a plain cake without frosting, or, if your cake has frosting and designs, leave the frosting and remove any designs so you have a flat cake surface and place in the freezer until the frosting begin to harden. Then all you have to do is make the white frosting that you purchased into the desired blue tone by adding the blue food coloring SLOWLY. Cover the cake with the new frosting. If you have an offset spatula, it works great. To help smooth the frosting, run the spatula under warm water and then pat dry. Add decorations to the top of your frosted cake. In a small cup, mix 1 ½ tsp. of vanilla extract with 1 tbsp. cocoa powder. Using any little brush — like a kid’s painting brush or a makeup brush — dip the brush into the cocoa mixture and flick the brush bristles towards the cake until you achieve the marble effect. Now, I am warning you, this will get messy! But it is well worth it.
April 5, 201510 yr A FUN EASTER TABLE! When I’m entertaining outside and kids are involved, I like to use paper napkins. To make them a little more fancy and festive, in this case I use colored ribbons and different colored flowers that I tuck under the bows. To make sure they don’t fly away, put the fork on one corner of the napkin. TABLE-TOP DECOR Here, I used glass bowls filled with water and added rubber duckies inside and little flower arrangements with bunny Peeps. For the Peep flower arrangement, I used one larger glass vase with a smaller glass vase inside. I lined the Peeps between the two vases, and filled the inside vase with water and fresh cut flowers. I used artificial grass and white candy melts to make the road. For the race cars, I used Twinkies, with Oreos for the wheels, and added little flags on the back that had the names of the kids. On the next group, I will show you an even easier version for the Twinkie race cars. EDIBLE EASTER RACE CARS This is another version of the edible race car above. On the Twinkie, you cut a hole large enough for a bunny Peep. Place the bunny Peep inside, gently pressing. Cut regular size marshmallows in half, each half will be one wheel. Press the pretzel upside-down into the Twinkie and you’re ready to go. I also found this cute little flag post at a craft store and the greens are edible grass I found at Walgreens. A PEEP CENTERPIECE This can be a wreath, a centerpiece or a decoration for the outside of the house on Easter day! You will need:Styrofoam circlePink PeepsYellow PeepsBlue PeepsOne box of toothpicks All you need to do is break your toothpicks in half, place them in the Styrofoam circle and press the Peeps into the half toothpicks. When you get to the yellow and blue Peeps toward the center, you most likely will need to use the whole toothpick to create height. You can use this many different ways. Here I used a wooden spoon and gently pushed the handle of the spoon into the Styrofoam circle. I placed the wooden spoon into a basket I filled with sand. The handle of the basket helped to give support to the back of the “wreath.” On Easter…you can even decorate your yard for the egg hunting! Tip: If you’re going to plan on eating this decoration, make it the day of your party. WATERMELON BUNNY FRUIT BASKET This is a fun way to display your fruits at your Easter party! The easiest way to do this: with a smaller sharp knife, trace the design of the bunny on the top of your watermelon. Then cut it with a larger knife, starting at the back of the watermelon. Use toothpicks in the place of the eyes. Stick large blueberries on them. Using the watermelon that you removed, cut three long thin strips off the rind to create the “whiskers.” Place a toothpick vertically in the middle of the three whiskers and then insert a toothpick perpendicularly between the whiskers and into the watermelon, leaving a bit of the toothpick showing. Cut a round piece of the watermelon you removed and top the raw edge of the toothpick to create the “nose.” Make sure to remove enough watermelon from the inside so you will create a fruit basket. Fill with fruit of your choice; for this one I added berries. Tip: A great way to use the watermelon you removed is to make fresh watermelon mint juice. BUNNIES AND MILK It’s a fun little twist on cookies and milk, perfect on Easter morning with your kids or for a dessert after your brunch. You can use your favorite cookie recipe or purchase the sheets of cookie dough at the supermarket in the dairy case. Roll your dough and trace the ear outline with a sharp knife then cut a slit in the bottom where the ears will attach to the glass. Please make sure to leave enough width in the slit and that the slit is long enough to fit on the rim of the glass so the cookie won’t break. On an empty glass, try to make your best impression of a bunny with a Sharpie. Then fill glass with milk, attach your cookies to the rim and you’re good to go. Tip: If you have trouble with the cookies standing up, attach a regular size marshmallow behind the cookie and that will do the job. LOLLIPOP GARDEN Have your kids plant jelly beans and watch what happens the morning after! Fun thing to do with the kids, have them plant jelly beans the night before Easter before they go to bed and in the morning, they wake up to lollipops where the jelly beans were seeds. Grown ups: Your job here will be before the kids wake up, you will need to remove the jelly beans and replace lollipops where the jelly beans were planted. Stick the lollipops in the ground like flowers. It is such a simple thing to do, but the kids absolutely love it!
April 13, 201510 yr Spending my morning with team Target. This is their social media command center!!
April 14, 201510 yr Target has their little guy in versions I have never seen before...#AbrahamLincoln...! #Bullseye
April 14, 201510 yr Hoo...yes baby...heading to NYC in style! Hoo...yes baby...indo para NYC em Estilo!
April 15, 201510 yr Camila Alves' go-to breakfast? Eggs with all kinds of savory goodness What would happen if you didn't get your morning coffee? I can't drink coffee. It gives me the shakes, but I love ginger tea. It wakes me up just enough but it just kind of grounds me. Ginger Aid is the one that I drink. If I didn't have it, I just kind of get a little all over the place. How often do you hit the snooze button? I can't hit the snooze button. I'm not allowed to do that with kids. I did this morning though twice because I don't have the kids. What would you say if you had to give yourself a pep talk in the morning? I don't really do pep talks, but every time I get the kids to school on time, I'm like 'You did it!' I high five myself. 2 hours ago Randee Dawn Amy Eley TODAY When it comes to breakfast, Brazilian model (and wife of Matthew McConaughey) Camila Alves is not about side dishes — she's happy to mix her eggs with all kinds of ingredients! Before Alves demonstrated her favorite weeknight dinners Wednesday morning, TODAY made sure the mom of three had her go-to breakfast to nosh on as part of our new #BreakfastTODAY series. TODAY: How do you like your eggs? Camila Alves: Scrambled with green olives, spinach and bacon added in. I have the olives because I love salty stuff. I have the spinach in there because you need nutrients, and cooking the bacon and then adding it helps get rid of some of the grease, I think. Who's your ideal breakfast buddy? My family. If it's on the weekend, we do a big breakfast. But if it's during the week, we gotta eat and we gotta go. What's one of your go-to breakfasts for the kids (she and McConaughey have three under age 10) during the week? The kids love when I do flat eggs. Get an egg and cook it one side, flip it over, smash it down and there it is.
April 16, 201510 yr Ok guys decided to go dark with my hair! At the #LillyForTarget event. Such an amazing collection!! cc: Target Target Style Lilly Pulitzer
April 16, 201510 yr Leaving the rehearsal at the @TodayShow before my appearance tomorrow...who got who? I got you! Camila Alves takes photo of the paparazzi..Good on you Camila!
April 18, 201510 yr f you're in Austin, come on down to JKL Brand's pop up shop by the W Austin Hotel and Residences for our j.k. livin foundation. We're here!!#JKLAustin #LIVINandGIVIN
April 19, 201510 yr Thank you MILLY for the amazing Mack, Jack & McConaughey fashion show for our j.k. livin foundation! #MJM
April 19, 201510 yr Today ShowMake Camila Alves' tasty snacks, delicious cocktailshttp://www.today.com/food/kibbeh-cocktails-try-camila-alves-party-treats-t15326https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmAGUsu87iU
April 19, 201510 yr US MagazineCamila Alves Says Her Daughter Vida, 5, Is "Genius" at Dressing Herself — She Even Gives Her Fashion Tips! Step aside, Rachel Zoe! Camila Alves told Us Weekly that her 5-year-old daughter Vida is quite the “genius” when it comes to fashion.PHOTOS: Celeb moms' cute brags“Vida loves to mix and match everything!” Matthew McConaughey’s wife told Us of her mini-me at the Lily Pulitzer for Target launch party in New York City on Wednesday, April 15. “She will come up with styles that only she can do.”Case in point? “She mixes and matches so much, but she looks so good that at the end I'm like, ‘She's a genius! I could never put that together!’” the proud mom gushed.And Alves’ budding stylist doesn’t just dress herself, she gives mama Alves tips too! “She always wants me to have sparkles and bright colors [on],” the model told Us, laughing. “She's always telling me, ‘Wear sparkles and bright colors, Mama!’ That is her favorite.” PHOTOS: Camila's life as a momAlves’ sons, Livingston and Levi, don’t make mornings any easier on her either.“They are extremely opinionated,” the fashion designer told Us. “Those days of me choosing what they should wear? Those days are gone!”
April 19, 201510 yr http://www.redcarpet-fashionawards.com Camila Alves and husband Matthew McConaughey attended the third Mack, Jack & McConaughey charity gala at ACL Live on Thursday (April 16) in Austin, Texas. Following The Lilly Pulitzer for Target Collection Launch Party, the beauty kept the summery vibes going wearing a Milly Spring 2015 dress.
April 19, 201510 yr Target.com Brunch and Bubbly: Emily Henderson and Camila Alves Share Tips for Springtime Entertaining March 31, 2015 What happens when Target partners Emily Henderson and Camila Alves put their heads together to host a blogger event in L.A.? Only the prettiest afternoon imaginable, complete with a perfectly-styled tabletop, a bespoke bouquet bar brimming with tulips and garden roses and plenty of mimosas! See below for images from the brunch to get your creative entertaining juices flowing, and tips from Emily and Camila to bring it all together. “I love flowers. Place arrangements in unexpected places, like the front porch, bathroom and living room shelves to help tie the party together and make your guests feel welcome from the time they walk in until they go home. Also, remember that flowers do not have to be displayed in vases. Create a few extra special arrangements using unexpected containers you have on-hand, like assorted cups, bowls and trays.” “If I’ve created enough flower arrangements for everyone to take one, I offer them to my guests on their way out. When I host birthday parties for my children, I typically incorporate a craft that each child can take home with them.” “I love outdoor entertaining! I’m a big fan of candles because they help create the perfect ambiance. Set them up along your driveway in different holders and votives, leading guests to the front door. Also consider using battery operated candles in assorted lanterns and placing them in trees – this adds such depth and beauty.”
April 19, 201510 yr Camila Alves' 5-ingredient skillet ground beef makes weeknight dinners easy TODAY Model and mom Camila Alves, wife of Mathew McConaughey, shares a skillet ground beef that can be used in meat sauce, tacos and more. http://www.today.com/food/add-camila-alves-5-ingredient-skillet-ground-beef-dinner-t15181
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