This year I have started a monthly themed ladies craft night at my home, where each month we create a different “craft” or project, have yummy food and drinks, and fellowship together. For April, I shared how to make a simple little need felted mushroom. So since we were making mushrooms, I kind of went with a mushroom theme a bit. I wanted to go crazy with decor, but the idea of these gatherings is to scale it back, keep it simple and affordable, and to inspire others to have their own simple gatherings at home. I find that if I don’t get something on the calendar and send invites, life just keeps going and we all stay busy, and we never get together! I cherish hosting and making other women feel seen and loved and welcomed. I think we all learn so much from each other, are hungry for close female friendships, and truly need community, especially as homeschool/ stay-at-home mamas.
It was a dark and gloomy raining afternoon and evening, so we kept cozy inside. I am excited to take our gatherings outdoors hopefully next month! But it is currently snowing as I type this, so who knows. Montana weather is crazy!
The Craft
This month we made… Needle felted mushrooms! I love making these because they’re fairly simple, don’t take a lot of wool, and they are just tiny, sweet and whimsical. I actually shared a little tutorial a couple years ago over on Instagram.
I buy this wool off of Amazon, and I got a large set of needles for the party. I wanted everyone to take a needle and foam pad home, plus a little more wool, so they could make another mushroom if they wanted to. I got the foam pads for a couple bucks from Hobby Lobby. Unfortunately, my local Hobby Lobby and Michael’s had no needle felting supplies besides these foam pads! And then I actually cut them in half so I had enough for every guest, and they were a perfect size for a small project like this.
The Food
I provided dessert and drinks again, and asked everyone to bring a dish to share. I threw together a strawberry spinach salad and picked up cookies from a local bakery. I had big plans to make cute mushroom cupcakes, but we got a big addition to our growing homestead last weekend- a horse named Willy! So my week was crazy and I outsourced dessert. Our potluck came together perfectly. I didn’t get a photo of the gorgeous spread, unfortunately.
We had little pita sandwiches, little phyllo cups with fresh basil and a cherry tomato, strawberry spinach salad, a Mediterranean-inspired charcuterie board, fresh watermelon, sugar snap peas and a spicy hummus dip… it was all so delicious!
The Drinks
I picked up this delicious Vanilla T’ang mixer from a local Olive Oil shop- they sell it online and I promise it is worth paying for shipping! It’s soo good. It has orange, pear, apple, and vanilla, so I named the cocktail “Vanilla Orchard Fizz”. I made a little recipe card so guests could make their own cocktails or mocktails if they’d like, and also shared other drink options. The Vanilla T’ang with gin and ginger beer is my favorite and it’s light, crisp, and refreshing- honestly one of my favorite cocktails ever.
See? Not fancy, very simple, minimal prep, and I think everyone had a great time. I sure did! These monthly ladies nights fill my cup, and I hope my guests feel the same.
Remember, your house does not have to be huge or perfect. Usually folks are just glad to be invited! It can be kind of daunting and even scary to think about hosting and inviting people over, but I bet you have a blast and maybe you’ll inspire others to host, too.
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