Let There Be Fruit, Veggies, and Peonies: A Fresh Summer Party with More DIY Ideas

Yesterday I shared a few DIY ideas that can go from party to home decor and today I’m sharing how those 3 projects worked their way into the party AND sharing all of the actually party photos…along with a couple more DIY ideas because, well, why not?! Can you tell I’m excited. I’m excited! Here we go…

The whole party was put together in partnership with V8 and their (seriously delicious) lines of V8 Veggie Blends and V8 +Energy. I wanted to create a fruit and veggies party that showcases some of the wholesome ingredients in V8 products – like farm grown carrots, beets, apples, mangos, grapes, etc, etc – so many healthy fruits and veggies.

So, once we got all of our DIY projects from yesterday finished up, I worked on creating a big statement piece on the table. And not just any centerpiece…an edible table runner centerpiece with a big floral bouquet in the center for good measure. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, so be sure to click through to see how the party came together, what we ate / sipped, and had everyone take home!

Let’s start with the edible table runner because the table really was the heart of this party.

Since V8 is all about all about bringing veggies to the masses and providing veggie goodness to all, our edible table runner was packed with fresh ingredients and ready to eat. I even cut some of the fruits open ahead of time, so guests could literally pluck items right from their seats and eat ’em. It was a really fun touch that set the tone.

But the best part was, when the party was over, I had everyone grab a leather + rose gold DIY basket and had them help disassemble the remainder of the table runner to take home some veggies and fruits, along with V8 +Energy drinks, for the car ride home, etc. It worked out really well because everyone got a cool basket and plenty of fresh veggies and fruits to take home and had a little help cleaning up before guests even left. Totally win-win!

Flower power! I’m not sure I can put together any kind of party, big or small, without a few flowers. So I whipped up an energetic centerpiece with olive branches, coral peonies (so gorgeous!!!), anemones, ranunculus, scabiosa, chamomile, and poppy pods.

Textiles! The table linens were dyed using turmeric, a natural root that can be found in the spice aisle. DIY for dyeing linens with turmeric here. 

Onto the food + drinks! I wanted to keep things simple and relatively healthy (but still fun and delicious), so I made some individual batches of overnight oats and breakfast tacos. And we had plenty of V8 Veggie Blends on hand as well. There are 7 flavors in all, each one packing a punch of veggies and fruit. The crowd favorites were… Carrot Mango, Healthy Greens, Purple Power, and Red Radiance.

Side note…to keep juices cool, we stored them in a modern planter that was filled with ice. Works great as a makeshift ice chest that adds to the overall decor. This is the one I used, in case you’re interested.

And because brunch wouldn’t be complete without a cocktail or two, we whipped up some V8 +Energy Vodka cocktails that were really easy to make. Drinking +Energy helps give you energy, from green tea and veggie goodness and is much, much lower in sugar than the other guys. Just mix one part vodka with 2 parts V8 +Energy (any flavor – but pomegranate-blueberry is a great one to use if you need a suggestion). Enjoy!

A photo booth backdrop! And finally, no party is complete without a photo booth backdrop, right? An this one in particular was made using more than a 100 year of cotton piping. Tutorial for this photo booth backdrop, that doubles as wall art after the party is over, can be found here. 

Photography by Amelia Tatnall
Modeling Katherine Dickerson, Courtney Dietz, Machaelie Hay
Styling + art direction Brittni Mehlhoff

And that about wraps it up. I had such a great time putting this party together and coming up with DIY ideas. Hope you’ll find some inspiration in here for your next party! Big thanks to V8 for partnering on this post and yesterday’s DIY party ideas. #VeggiesForAll

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This post is in partnership with V8. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help keep Paper & Stitch running.