BBQ

I saw this awesome BBQ set up on facebook and I can't pin from there so I had to add it here so I could save the look.

Berry Baskets/Boxes

I have seen and love the look of berry boxes used for lunch boxes.

Berry boxes are great for berries, of course.

This look comes from Easy

They look great with cookies too, from here.

They are great for salads - info can be found in a previous post here,

I have a few purple berry boxes from several years ago - purchased with fruit in them, but I don't remember anything more than that.

They have some berry stains  and are a bit faded around the rim, but I love the color of these purple berry boxes.  I could spray paint them to clean them up, or wrap a ribbon around the part that is stained.  

Check out the painted boxes and the ceramic and plastic boxes I shared about in a previous post here.

I have searched for these berry baskets/boxes (online) and have found a few sites that sell them.  I'm sharing what I  have learned; from where they can be purchased and what the prices are.

(shipping is not included in any of the prices listed here) 

(This info is as of August 2013 - of course all this may change)

I haven't seen purple in my search for berry boxes (except for some ceramic here and here), so these are all the green or turquoise color. 

Bake It Pretty - 6 pint size for $3.75.

The Party Studio - 5 pint size for $4.00.

Kara's Party Ideas - 10 for $4.40.

Shop Sweet Lulu - 10 pint size for $5.00.

Rose Paper Products - 600 1/2 pint size for $49.03, 420 pint size for $35.90.

Zurchers - 10 (looks like pint size) for $4.47.

Amazon - 420 pint size for $33.95, 250 quart size for $33.95.

I'm sure there are more sites out there, but this is what I found - send me a comment or email if you have found a great deal some where else.

 ---

update:
Look what I just found -
A Tutorial for Fabric Berry Boxes at Noodlehead

SaveSave

Picnic Time

It was picnic time again for the women in our church.  We planned to eat outside under a pavilion, but it was cold, breezy, and rainy, so we chose to move our picnic indoors.  It allowed us to enjoy our time together without getting too chilled.

Our picnic lunches -

When trying to decide what to do for this event I decided to use the white pencil boxes we used for one of our graduation luncheons - here. 

They act as the plate or lunch box for all the individually wrapped / packaged foods we served.

I had previously purchased some vintage hankies from ebay, (Long enough ago that I had them sitting around waiting for the right moment to use them, and have not saved the info), and thought they would be lovely in the boxes instead of napkins. They served as a favor for the guests.

I tried to keep things with the blues and white theme as much as possible, but enjoyed adding a few touches of the other colors found in the hankies (purple, pink, green).

The meal included:

- a pasta salad (we call noodle cashew salad)
packaged in Ziploc bowls with their traditional blue colored lids.

This salad includes cashews, but they get soggy if you put them in too early, so I bagged a few cashews in a glassine bag for the guests to pour on top of their salad.

It really is yummy!

Sandwiches were a Torta Roll (from Costco)with a spread of mayo and honey mustard, a couple slices of beef, muenster cheese, and a piece of lettuce - put into a glassine bag and wrapped with twine and washi tape.

You'll notice that glassine bags, bakers twine, and washi tape was my fun combo for this event.

We had a few snap peas ..., bagged in glassine bags and wrapped with bakers twine ...,

and a serving of original Sun Chips ..., also packaged in glassine bags and decorated with the bakers twine and washi tape.

We served pineapple lemonade and water for the drink, contained in cute bottles wrapped with twine to hold the straw.

Forks and napkins were wrapped together with twine for an easy pick up at the end of the table.

I didn't get a close up of the dessert, but it is on the table too - at the right of the cashews is a plate of shortbread cookies (from Costco - they are square shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate). They too are wrapped inside a glassine bag with some twine and tape.  To their right is a bowl or pan of ice cream cups - vanilla ice cream with strawberry swirl. (I was planning this when it was warm ..., even hot ..., and had no idea the weather was going to turn cold for us.  I guess I should have planned hot chocolate for this picnic..., maybe next time!)

The table was set up from left to right, and created a puzzle like creation as the guests filled their box with goodies.

I used some flowers I had from one of our son's wedding dinners for the table centerpieces. They were the perfect color for the event.

Here is the panoramic view of the area we set up inside, instead of outside in the cold.  Indoor picnics are not so bad! We didn't have the scenery we hoped to have, but we did have the warmth we needed.

Last year's boxed picnic lunch we did for the same event can be found here.

 ---

Here are some of the recent ideas I found as I was trying to come up with what I wanted to do for the picnic luncheon above.

Here is an awesome idea for keeping your lunches cold

from My Kitchen Escapades

---

How to Pack a Healthy Picnic Lunch from Health Castle

---

cute ideas at indulgy
(I love berry boxes)

---

This boxed lunch party comes from Lorajean's Magazine
This is held indoors, but could easily be taken outdoors.




---

There is a How To DIY this Box Lunch for a Picnic or Party at OSP.

SaveSave

Picnics and Parties

Here are a couple cute looks worth saving for later.

I love using boxes instead of plates for serving food ... this look is from JDC
I tried boxes once (here) and really had some fun with it, and helped with another (here).

-----

Here's a salad served in berry boxes.
From Thoughtfully Simple
(check it out to see where to purchase them)

-----

If you wanna see a little more about berry boxes check this out.
And learn how to make a similar look using a paper plate here.
A few ideas can be found at this post -  they used bowls to serve the picnic food in - so cute. I love the look, though it would be a bit more spendy to purchase enough cute bowls for a large crowd.

-----

Fun jean vase covers from Something Green
I love the colors used here!
I love the outdoor dining!

... this whole look is adorable ...

-----



SaveSaveSaveSave

Lighting

This is a fun way to light up a table and add character to a tablescape ... or even behind a seating arangement or ... what ever.  From Brabourne Farm

Box Lunches for a Picnic

We made some fun box lunches for a great group of women - I thought I'd share the look. 

Many ideas were found online, and we put them together to create our own look.

We found the boxes HERE.

The recipe for the wraps (wrapped in wax paper squares and tied with bakers twine) were from HERE.  We changed them up a bit by using some spinach wraps and tomato wraps as well as whole wheat wraps.  Mmmm good!

Fresh fruit was served in containers from HERE.

Celophane bags with homemade treats.
Izze drinks from Costco.

Brightly colored plastic ware from Wal-mart.

Paper straws purchased a while ago from Amazon.

Bakers twine from a previous Pick Your Plum sale.

We added our own homemade tags with special messages.

SaveSave

Looking for Box Lunch Boxes

I have seen many great picnic looks with fun lunch boxes.

I've done some searching to find those cute boxes. I'm sure I'll need to refer to it again some day so this post is to save what I have found. 

Imagine twine and/or tags on each of these items as you look.

Nashville Wraps has a great variety of packaging items.

Here are a couple I was most interested in.

This first look reminds me of the look I found and saved HERE.

The captions under each photo are links to the site - click to find the purchase info for each.

take-out-boxes

This second look is a great look too, and has a carrying handle on top.

gable-boxes

Gable boxes can be found on Amazon in bright color.

assorted-bright-color-gable-boxes

These from Food Biz Supply have just one top fold, but they you have to buy a large number of them, which is fine if you need a large number.

take-out-containers

One more place is Garnish, where I found these to purchase an exact number you might need, but a bit more expensive per item.  As with all of these places, Garnish has some other great items for picnics.

bio-pak-take-out

Outdoor dining

This color and look really does appeal to me.  I love the sea green, the distress, the luggage, even the dirt and the sagebrush make this setting look good.  From Green Wedding Shoes

Pretty Little Picnic Party

This country picnic is so cute and even dainty.  From Kara's Party Ideas.I love the bunting!  I love the little paper and lace flags on the cake!  The buckets and boxes wrapped in Kraft paper or burlap or linen adds just the right touch.

Sweet little sandwiches wrapped in paper.   And those little waffle cookies tied with twine ... So Cute!

Fun jars of pudding (I'm guessing it's pudding).  So soft!

SaveSave

Picnic Lunches

Is it lunch time yet?  How about picnic lunch time?  We've had some great picnic weather days already, and there are surely many more to come.

Kraft and Red look great together. Cute set up at P is for Party


Cute idea for the drink and cutlery from Under the Table and Dreaming


Prairie Lunch from Country Living


I love the wrapped sandwich look. This one is from Sweet Designs

Clever Plate Baskets

These plate baskets are great filled with fruit. From Sarah Hearts

Jars Full

Green Wedding Shoes


Rainbow Cake at Babble This site has 14 other recipes for desserts in a jar. FUN!

Rainbow Cake at Running With Glitter


Not baked in the jar, but very cute and easy to create a look for any holiday or occasion. For Halloween


One favorite idea I saw a while back was Pie in a Jar. These are so cute!
DIY instructions with photos at Green Wedding Shoes



Pumpkin Pie HERE


Very Clever Indeed! Though Savory, not sweet, Love this idea too! Chili and cornbread in a jar at giver'slog


Recipe for Best Shortbread and Eggnog Pudding Trifles Sprinkle Bakes


Cheesecake in a jar. Recipe (and other suggested toppings) at I Am Baker


How about veggies and dip?

I tried it! The problem was that after the first bite you need more dip. It's harder to dip into a narrow mouth rim and keep the veggie in your fingertips. Keep a fork or spoon nearby and you'll be just fine!

Just before I published this post I found one more spot that has several more ideas for food in jars. I should have found it first to save me some time and work because she has several of the same things I showed. MORE ideas at Under the Table and Dreaming
I remembered seeing this photo of ice cream in jars on a wedding site a while back and thought it was a great idea, especially since they could sit on ice until someone wanted one. She shares this and so many more things to fill your jars.