2nd Annual Dine & Craft Event
This year, Mollie DZigns and The Bell House orchestrated our 2nd Dine & Craft Event for charity. All the proceeds went to buy toys for Toys for Tots. Last year we had a very intimate group and this year we had almost 3 times as many people join us. The attendees were able to choose between a glitter Santa or a glitter snowman for their craft. Mollie’s motto is, “Glitter makes everything better.”
The guests were greeted with a Pomegranate Fizz and Blistered Tomatoes. You will see the recipe for the POMEGRANATE FIZZ written on the tablecloth in the photograph below.
Our first guests to arrive were happy to pose for a picture holding their cocktails and sporting those fabulous red lips!
Recipe for BLISTERED TOMATOES: (I doubled this recipe for 12 people)
1 1/2 pounds of cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 garlic bulb with the bottom cut off
1 teaspoon of rosemary
1 teaspoon of French thyme
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon of Sherry Vinegar
1 bunch of fresh basil leaves
1 baguette, sliced and toasted
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix the cherry tomatoes, olive oil, garlic bulb, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper in a casserole dish. Bake the tomatoes for 50 minutes. Stir the mixture every 15 minutes or so.
When the tomatoes come out of the oven, stir in the Sherry vinegar. Serve with Fresh basil and crostini (toasted baguette). Take a crostini, top with basil and tomatoes.
PREPARATION TIP: Make the crostini a day ahead. Slice baguette, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake until golden brown and crispy, about 10-15 minutes, in a 350 degree oven.
Before the actual event, Mollie prepared the materials for the crafts. She painted the snowman glitter canvas with black paint and the Santa canvas with white paint. She also enlarged the images needed for the craft. You have a couple options:
Project the image onto the canvas using a projector and trace.
Take a photo to your local print shop and have them print a copy of the image to the size you would need for your canvas. This was our method.
Each crafter received a bag filled with paint brushes, white or red paint pens, red or white glitter, modge podge, a pencil, a paper bowl and an enlarged copy of their image choice. I suggest using silver glitter for the snowman. We found it made it POP, much more than white glitter.
After all the guests had arrived, chatted each other up, drank a cocktail and filled their bellies with blistered tomatoes, Mollie started the instructions on the craft.
Step 1: Turn the snowman or Santa Clause paper over and rub the back of the picture with a pencil.
STEP 2: Place the pencil rubbing side down onto the canvas. Then trace the image with the pencil. You will be left with a faint traced snowman or Santa on your canvas.
STEP 3: Pull out the paint pens and paint over your traced image. This is where you will adhere the glitter. The paint will give the glitter a richer finished look.
STEP 4: You will need the modge podge, glitter, paint brushes and paper bowl. Brush the modge podge over the painted area. Use a heavy hand, but work in small batches. Modge podge dries quickly.
STEP 5: Add glitter and tap the excess glitter into the paper bowl. Remember to work in small sections.
STEP 6: Enjoy your completed craft.
While the crafters crafted, I made them a small plate of pot stickers with a dim sum dipper sauce, fried rice with yum yum sauce and sweet and sour Brussel sprouts with pickled shallots. For these recipes, subscribe to The Bell House recipe blog. You never know what recipe will make a post.
Once the crafters were finished crafting, it was time for dessert. We enjoyed Banana Crepes with Salted Caramel Sauce and a Bourbon Spiked Whipped Cream.
After the food was eaten and the glitter cloud settled, we were left with over $200 to buy toys for our charity of choice this year. A few crafters brought extra toys for us to donate. A huge thank you to Mollie DZigns (and my father-in-law) for the hard work in preparing the crafts. Thank you to the crafters for choosing to help us with our charity this year. Mollie & I are already looking forward to the 2019 Dine & Craft Event.
Check out last year’s event: CLICK HERE
