Five Tips for Planning a Community Event + Portland Bloggers Picnic Review

August 25, 2013 4 Comments A Well Crafted Party

I’ve been behind on posting about some of the many events that I’ve been attending lately. I don’t like filling your feeds with pictures of people you don’t know or things you may not care about. I try my best not to post ALL of the events at once. I also really want to focus on the things that you can use to celebrate one of your own life events, make in your home, use as style or beauty tips, or at least find pretty to look at.

Near the end of July I posted a week of Picnic posts in honor of the Portland Bloggers’ Family picnic. I seriously have about 5 drafts of picnic posts I didn’t complete. I may have to save them for next Summer for another picnic week. And, while I shared some of the iPhone snaps of the event, I didn’t get the chance to post the gorgeous photos our amazing professional photographer shot of the event.

Five Tips for Planning a Community Event

So, to make this post about more than just sharing photos of a whole bunch of (awesome) strangers, I wanted to share a few tips for hosting a community style event. Community events could include a blogging community, church group, Instagram meet-ups, block parties… you get the idea. 😉 Photos feature members (and their families) of the Portland Bloggers group and are taken by the lovely Portland Lifestyle Photographer Macey of Motormouth Studios.

1. Make sure you have the right licensing for your event.

Licensing? But, I’m just throwing a picnic! Well, once you get out of the small group of people that can go anywhere together part of a gathering then you need to make sure that you have all your legal bases covered. Portland Parks have a great website that allowed me to find the park with the amenities I wanted and the prices of the rental fees. Even block parties now days usually need to have some sort of licensing to protect everyone invested in the event. Check for information online first and then give potential venues a call.

2. Make sure your venue has a restroom and parking.

Oiw… this one is a toughie for a lot of venues. Restrooms and adequate parking are MUSTS for events. Yes, sometimes you have to deal with things like metered parking… and, it sucks, but it is better than NO parking or unsafe parking areas. Make guests away of the parking situation before hand whether in the invite, online message, or by phone.

3. Try to get an easy-to-find location or give REALLY good directions in the invitations.

Boy did this not go right for our event. I reserved a fairly popular park, but google maps sent everyone to a different part of the park and the park did not have great signage. It was a MESS. Thankfully everyone eventually found us! A way to avoid what we did is visit the site before your event and inform guests of special directions. Also, check to make sure you have phone reception at the venue in case people try tweeting, calling, or texting you at the event.

4. Put out items that guests can recognize to know that they are going to the right place.

Balloons, signs, and bunting are great ways of letting your guests know where you are visually. Our picnic space at the Portland Bloggers’ picnic was fairly recognizable due to its balloons and signage. As a matter of fact, we had several people come to our site while looking for a different group because they were looking for ANYTHING that resembled an organized event.

5. Make it Potluck or BYO!

Unless you have a company or well-off organization backing your event then the question of who is going to pay for what is definitely going to come up. Making the event a potluck or a Bring-Your-Own event can help share the costs of the event. Be up front about any costs or expectations in your invitation of the event. We made our event a “bring-you-own and if you want to share extra, feel-welcome” event. Everyone brought picnic lunches for themselves and their family members and a few people brought treats to share!

About Portland Bloggers:

Portland Bloggers is a meet-up group and blogging resource for Portland, Oregon area bloggers and businesses. (Click the above “Portland Bloggers” tab for more information, a list of awesome Portland Bloggers, and to see more photos from our Portland Bloggers’ meet-up!

Recomonk was in house at the Portland Bloggers’ meet-up sharing their brand new blogging widget with our group. Recomonk is an easy way to share reviews and recommendation for music, movies, books and products you love with your blog readers. Click over to find out how you can earn rewards and easily share YOUR recommendations with your readers by clicking over to Recomonk.com.

Disclaimer: I did not receive any financial compensation to mention Recomonk, but they did give away a free gift card at the Portland Bloggers’ event. I know that some of my readers are bloggers and might like the opportunity to discover a new resource. All opinions are my own.

I’ve been so lucky to have been a part of the Portland Bloggers’ meet-up groups for some time now. We have such a great, supportive community and some of my dearest friends have been made through my participation of this group. Sometimes blogging can feel like a very lonely job. While it is great to be your own boss and have full control over content and the likes… it can also become daunting, boring, or just plain un-inspiring at times. Getting out into the real-world and meeting fellow bloggers— people who understand why you continually check twitter and bring a camera to dinner— can help inspire better content, relieve some work stresses, and help build your audience and connections. I’d highly recommend finding a meet-up group in your area.

If you are in the Portland, Oregon area then we’d love to see you get involved with the Portland Bloggers’ group or one of the other many meet-up groups out here. If you live in the Pacific Northwest then the PNW Blogger group is a great one to get involved with!

Portland Bloggers You Should Know:

Below is a list of many of the bloggers that showed up to the Portland Bloggers’ picnic. (My memory is a little fuzzy… so, please forgive me if you were there and are not on the list. Email, Tweet, or comment that you were there and I’ll make sure you get added!) If you are looking for some new blogs to peruse and follow then definitely check these out or pin the above photo to come check out later!

12oz Beehouse— A place for Coffee, Style, Crafting, and lots of pictures of beautiful Portland OR
A Tiny Rocket—About a girl chasing after art.
A Well Crafted Party— Oh wait… you are already here. Haha. 😉
Adventures in Dressmaking—Sewing, DIY, Décor
Capturing Grace — I photograph portraits (family, maternity, newborns and seniors) and I shoot editorial assignments and love photographing food. My simple, “Photo Blog”, is where I share my favorite images from my photo shoots. Enjoy!
Chic Steals— Staying on-trend with a hefty dose of creativity and a ton of DIY- find some fabulous fashion steals and Chic Steals.
Dress This Nest— Fashion buyer turned Portlander and stay-at-home mom renovates a Cape Cod home in Laurelhurst
Mind Fit Move— Home of Mindfulness based Fitness.
Motormouth Studios— Lifestyle, Family, Children, Senior and Event Photography and Graphic/Web Design
Pea Roo—A blog boutique and kids’ fashion, preloved
Pechluck’s Food Adventures—A blog that chronicles adventures in eating in Portland- dining out and cooking and imbibing with appreciation for local Portland deliciousness.
Pepper Scraps— Healthy Mom = Heathly Family
Rain OR Shine— A family blog with a Northwest perspective.
The Boho Mama— I’m a free-spirited mama of twin girls writing about motherhood and our daily adventures, coffee in hand.
The Spicy Bee— A food blog featuring recipes, restaurant reviews, and events. Introduce some spice to your cooking repertoire.
Thyme of Taste— We are foodies from the PNW, who love food to share our food recipes, reviews and everyday adventures!
Tossing the Script — Positive body/self image blog- writing a new story one day at a time.
Word Savant— Thoughts and Tips on Writing from a Fiction Writer, Blogger, and Writing Coach

The blogging resource that allows bloggers to easily share reviews and recommendation for music, movies, books and products you love
with blog readers and get rewards, Recomonk, was also in attendance at our meet-up!

The thing about picnics is that it is all about the food and all about portable food. You can’t have a great picnic without some delicious recipes! Well, actually, I guess you can… you can totally get some yummy sandwiches like my good friend Bee did. Or hit up your local deli and fill your basket with small tastes of delicious delicacies.

Great Picnic Recipes:

Many of the bloggers brought tasty treats that they made and then blogged about it after which made it super easy to create a list of some great picnic recipes that are portable and easy to make.

Caprese Skewers from Pechluck’s Food Adventures

Lemon Bars from Thyme of Taste

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Made by me from Alton Brown’s Recipe)

Cherry Tomatoes, Herbed Goat Cheese with Puff Pastry (Made by me and featured on Live The Fancy Life)

A Well Crafted Pantry

Picnic Week: A French Inspired Picnic Menu

July 27, 2013 1 Comment A Well Crafted Pantry

It’s Picnic Week here on A Well Crafted Party. I’m chatting about Picnics all week long… and, honestly, the picnic posts might swim out into the next month because I have so many fun ideas swarming around in my head as I get ready for the Portland Bloggers Family Picnic this weekend. Check out all my posts from this week, including an Italian Inspired Picnic Menu, for more picnic goodness.

french-inspired-menu — Click here for a free printable version of this menu!

A French Inspired Picnic Menu

I LOVE French food. It is rich and flavorful and uses fresh ingredients. So, when shopping for this menu, check out your local Farmer’s Market or stick to the most ripe and delicious looking vegetables. I’m actually making a spin-off recipe from one of the below links for the picnic I’m attending this weekend. But, that is a post for another day!

Beverages:

French Vanilla Soda— Okay, okay, this may be a stretch. I was trying to come up with a non-alcoholic French-inspired beverage and my mind was coming up blank. But, a good French Vanilla Soda will make you forget all about the fact that it may not truly be French. You can pick up a six-pack of the Barq’s French Vanilla Creme Soda and call it a day (YUM, btw) or you can whip up a batch of syrup, bring some soda water to the picnic, and make fresh sodas on site!

Wine— The French love their wine as much as the Italian do! A great bottle of french wine… maybe some Champagne (!) and you are set!

Snacks:

Plateau de Fromage— You gotta have a cheese platter if you are doing a French meal. Pair some popular French cheeses (or, really your favorite cheeses in general), some fruit, and a fresh baguette and you are golden. I love getting little Baby Belle cheeses for a picnic because they don’t really need much prep!

and/or

Fresh Tomato and Cheese Puff Pastry Tart— The French do pastries right… savory or sweet! This fresh tomato and cheese puff pastry tart will be making it into my picnic basket soon!

Meal:

French Green Bean Salad— There is something so refreshing about a vinegery, delish green bean salad. Use thin green beens or haricots verts and a garlic & shallot infused dressing to make a wonderful green bean salad for your Parisian-style picnic.

Roast Provencal Chicken— Just imagine what it would be like to sit down at your picnic spread eating cheeses and drinking French wine and then pulling out a steaming basket of this roast provencal chicken. Seriously, you’ll be the envy of the park. Keep the dish warm, but still beautiful, by placing in a pretty ceramic bowl and covering with kitchen towels. Of course, you can never go wrong with foil either!

Desserts:

Macarons— Like many others out there, I just discovered the amazingness of macarons a couple of years ago when they started getting as popular as cupcakes. The brightly colored, light, and rich desserts would be a beautiful (and delicious) way to end a Parisian themed meal. Make some chocolate macarons or pick some up from your local French-inspired bakery. If you live in Portland, may I suggest Nuvrei?

Does this sound like a tasty picnic menu to you?

A Well Crafted Pantry

Picnic Week: Italian Inspired Picnic Menu

July 25, 2013 1 Comment A Well Crafted Pantry

If you haven’t been reading this week then you may not know that it is Picnic Week on A Well Crafted Party! I’m sharing all kinds of fun picnic ideas in honor of the Portland Bloggers family picnic that is happening this weekend. I’ve already shared a quick pasta salad, my favorite picnic supplies, and a huge list of picnic inspiration from around the web. Today I thought I’d delve into the picnic food menu. YUM. I’ve crafted menus that will make for a fabulous picnic meal and will continue sharing them throughout the weekend!

Italian Inspired Picnic Menu

I love a well crafted menu. There is just something really special about a menu that has been thought about and crafted to taste great together. I’ve come up with picnic menus based off of some of my favorite styles of food to inspire your own picnic menus. I’ve linked to some of my favorite recipes as well. You’ll get everything from snacks to nibble on while playing bocce ball through to dessert and beverages. Starting things off today is one of my very favorite types of food— Italian!

Beverages—

Okay, maybe it is a traditionalist in me, but you can’t go wrong with some sparkling water and your favorite Italian red for a picnic. Try taking a chilled Lambrusco to relieve the heat! A great way to keep your chilled red or white wine cold (and not watered down) while drinking is to freeze grapes and plop them in your wine glass! Eat the wine soaked grapes as they thaw.

Snacks—

Antipasti platters are one of my favorite Italian appetizers. Make it picnic-ready by creating antipasti skewers. You can really make this one up with items you like and stack them on skewers. I like to add items like olives, basil, cherry tomatoes, marinated mozzarella, Italian meats, and cooked tortellinis. Try this antipasta skewer recipe out for more ideas.

Italian Pressed Sandwiches— Photo by Motormouth Studios

Meal—

Caprese Salad—I think salads are the perfect summer food. And, caprese salads are so easy, delicious, and refreshing. To make a caprese salad in a jar simply build the salad by putting in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, cherry tomatoes, balls of mozzarella (the fresher, the better), and basil leaves. I sometimes like to mix my basil with sweet baby green as well.

Italian pressed sandwiches— These sammies make for a filling and very portable lunch. I’d cut them into individual portions, wrap in wax paper, and tie up with twine to add an extra special touch. This would be a great way to identify speciality sandwiches for friends and family that need items left out of their sandwiches— just write a note on the paper or tie it on with the baker’s twine! There are a ton of recipes out there for Italian pressed sandwiches. My favorite? My own! Check out my Italian Pressed Sandwich Recipe here!

Dessert—

No Bake Tiramisu in Jars— When I think Italian dessert I instantly think of tiramisu. MMMMM. I’m not a fan of too much fuss for a picnic meal, so I tend to lean toward things with “no bake” or “one pan.” Building an easy and delicious tiramisu in a jar will make you look like you slaved for hours over a hot stove while you sit pretty and relax with your Lambrusco in hand.

Menu Ideas