Joining the "Camp" - Girl Baby Shower (Sip - N - See)

In between organizing and participating in the production of some of our maternity t-shirts for our Etsy shop, I recently had the fun opportunity of helping to plan a baby shower/sip-n-see for a baby girl in our church. And had less than a week to get it all together! Very short notice on this one, but I was up for the challenge and I think it turned out well considering how little time there was to prepare! The ladies of the church did an awesome job with providing food, cake, location, etc. and it grew from the idea stage into such a charming shower!

The family who had just welcomed this precious baby girl into their midst is very "into" the outdoors, camping, and different kinds of sports/activities. Thus I thought up the theme of "Joining the C------ Camp. Welcome Morgan!" and worked to incorporate a camping theme, lush with pink and feminine touches of course! :) I will post more details in the days to come but hope you enjoy the sneak preview above.... :)

Michelle :)

What will it BEE party "HEADS UP!"

For anyone wanting to throw their own "Bee" party - just wanted to give you a heads up! Lots and lots of bee items/decor now available at Hobby Lobby! :)

The Perfect Blend - a Tenth Anniversary Event

Parties are so much more exciting to plan when a theme is involved, but there seemed precious little out there in the party world when it came to finding a theme for a tenth anniversary celebration. So I put on my creative thinking cap and came up with my own idea! Celebrating ten years of marriage is an awesome achievement, and I wanted to focus on the idea of two unique personalities and tastes "blending" into one fun couple - thus - "The Perfect Blend" began to take shape.

The invitations announced that this was to be an evening of cocktails & appetizers, coffee & desserts. In addition to this concept of "blending", I also wanted to incorporate the traditional colors (silver and blue) and anniversary gift/themes (tin, aluminum, diamonds) involved in a tenth anniversary, so you will see many of these sprinkled throughout the decor, activities, favors, etc.


The Invitations:

The invitations were sent in round "tins" tied with blue gray ribbons. I wanted to include something special with the invitations to help build excitement before the event so I made simple stemware charms for each couple (the letters corresponded to the initial of each couple's last name). They were instructed to bring these to the party for the purpose of helping distinguish whose cocktail glass belonged to whom.




The invitation itself was in a circular booklet form, tied together with more blue gray ribbon. It announced the theme and the purpose of the evening - celebrating two unique personalities blending into one "zesty" couple! Details (date, time, etc.) were included as well of course.





(Tins were purchased at Walmart and most of the pieces/charms for the stemware were purchased at Hobby Lobby).


The Decorations:
As I mentioned before, the colors were a mixture of blues and silver in honor of the traditional tenth anniversary colors. Tin/Aluminum/"diamond" accents were used in many different aspects of the decorations as well.

Tin cans were one of the items that served a purpose not only as a decoration (because I just had to dress them up a bit for the occasion - after all, it is not often a tin can gets to be part of such an auspicious event) but for activities as well.



The menu cards were printed with the anniversary couple's official wedding date on the top and bottom of each (note this date differed from the actual party date as they were traveling during that time and decided to celebrate later in the year). Look closely and you will also see a very faint monogram of the couple's last name printed on the background of each card. The cards were then wrapped with ribbon in two different shades of blue and accented with tiny rhinestones (symbolizing diamonds).





Even the menu card holders played a part in the festivities - I found some of these made from aluminum that were a light blue in color. You'd better believe I snapped those babies right up!! :) And they were amazingly inexpensive - see for yourself (this link is for the medium ones - whereas I purchased the small ones): http://www.etsy.com/listing/61215462/10-pack-light-blue-mini-medium-wire.

In place of a regular tablecloth, I draped the table with a dark blue fabric and used chalk to write "his" and "hers" in free hand different style fonts on opposite sides of the table (thus creating a "his" and a "hers" side for food items). Items that marked "his" tastes were place on that side of the table and the same was done for the "hers" side.

Instead of a fabric runner down the middle of the table, I used aluminum foil (thus incorporating more of the traditional aluminum theme). I drew the couple's monogram lightly into the foil up and down the "runner" using a toothpick. I also wrapped small glass votives with aluminum foil and cut out hearts in each one and set these on the foil runner.

In the center of the runner, I placed the "blend" cards. These were suggestions for blending the food items on the "his" side with ones on the "hers" side of the table to come up with different culinary concoctions. For example: he likes rib eye and she likes blue cheese and port. His side held rib eye skewers (called slenders) and her side held a plate of blue cheese with port sauce in a separate vessel. One of the blend cards suggested pairing these two for a new taste: rib eye with blue cheese and port wine sauce.

Likewise, the cocktail area had a simple sign posted showing "his" and "hers" beverages of choice and then a blend of the two creating different types of cocktails.

The Activities:

This particular couple was not a "games" type so I kept it simple with two main activities:

A "tin" of reasons why we like this couple... was an activity offering guests the opportunity to list reasons why they enjoy the anniversary pair so much. They could then slip these into one of those double duty tin cans I mentioned above for the anniversary couple to read and enjoy later on. :)

How well do YOU know YOUR spouse... was an activity checking how well each member of a couple really knew his/her spouse. Each husband/wife would answer a set of questions related to their marriage or spouse and then at the bottom list their own responses to the same set of questions. Later in the evening, they switched with their spouse and checked to see if their responses matched those of their spouse.

The Food:

As I mentioned before, this was an evening of cocktails and appetizers/coffee and desserts. Individual tastes were respected as well as combined for a new twist. For instance - a running joke with the couple is that when she pulls out some chocolate for dessert and offers her husband some, he might refuse, point to his beer and say he is already having his dessert. Young's Double Chocolate Stout is apparently one type of beer he really enjoys so when I found a recipe for chocolate stout cake, I just knew what had to be done for "his" side of the dessert table. Yep, you guessed it - a yummy chocolate stout cake using Young's and which he now claims is his favorite cake.

And for the "hers" side, a mixture of dark chocolates. Combine the two desserts and you have "Chocolate Decadence"...Mmmmm!!!

The coffee served with dessert was also a combination of the pair. A French roast for him with hints of dark chocolate for her and named "Never Summer" blend (both enjoy the cooler autumn and winter months). Want to try some? Here's a link: http://www.etsy.com/listing/62287548/1-lb-never-summer-blend-whole-bean?ref=sr_list_1&ga_search_query=never%2Bsummer%2Bblend&ga_search_type=handmade Mandy of Homesteading Roasters was SOOO great - loved doing business with her!!! :)

The Favors:

Recipe Cards and Cookie Cutter: Near the cocktail service, I placed a cookie tin/sheet with small recipe cards for "Ten Fulfilling Years of Marriage" and attached heart cookie cutters to each card. Every guest couple took one of these home.

Monogram cookies: So much fun to decorate with swirls of blue/gray frosting surrounding a white "F" for the couple's last name!

"Tins": Each contained the same coffee that was paired with the evening's desserts (see "The Food" for a description). Circular emblems emblazoned with the evening's theme and peppered with rhinestones (diamonds) were attached to the tins which were tied with silver/gray ribbon. (Ribbon was purchased at Walmart. Tins were purchased at Michaels.)

Stemware charms: Each couple also took home the stemware charms they had received in their invitations and brought for use during the party.

So there you have it - in somewhat of a nutshell - the makings and trappings of a tenth anniversary party. I hope this leaves you with a smile and some inspiration of your own... :)

Michelle

The Perfect Blend - A Tenth Anniversary Party

The party is over! So now I just need to post the pictures and details. Stay tuned for more in the next couple of days...

Monogram cookies

Extra cookies from another party, whip up some icing, experiment with decorating tubes and tips and voila! Monogram cookies! Not professional by any means - but not bad. Think we'll use them for the upcoming tenth anniversary party we are designing - throw them in with the other party favor items as an extra...

A "Fairy" Happy Birthday!

Ah the magic of pixie dust! What is it about fairies that make little girls swoon? Perhaps the shimmering frocks, the fanciful wings, or the endless possibilities for imaginative play? Whatever the case - it seems that fairies get a lot of credit for being the theme of many a young lady's birthday party and this instance was no different. Here are just a few images and details of one I had the pleasure of planning. Enjoy! :)

By the way - if you have not caught on by now, most of my parties are budget parties. I am a firm believer that one does not have to be rolling in money to throw a beautiful, fun party (although it sure helps if you are crunched for time). In fact, finding ways to be creative with what can be found in a person's house is sometimes a really fun challenge. What IS usually required for a budget party though is often time and one's own hard work. So sometimes I or someone else might make some of these items by hand - and if WE can do it - so can YOU! :)

Invitations:

The invitations were printed on pearlescent paper with indented patterns of butterflies. They were then rolled up and slipped into handmade sleeves of real bark sprinkled with super fine green glitter. A shimmering moss colored ribbon and pale butterflies adorned each sleeve as well.

Main Agenda/Activities:

A treasure hunt for the girls' costume pieces! I wrote a story (and bound it up into a book complete with a cover made of real bark) based on the girls who were coming to the party (naming the fairies in the story after them, of course). Each section or chapter in the book was about the fairies searching for appropriate party attire or items needed so they could have a birthday picnic. Following the reading of each section, the girls would then have to "travel" to that decorated part of the home/yard and complete the required task in order to receive a piece of their costume to wear. Here's an example: Fairies A,B,C,D,E need wings and remember that the most beautiful ones are grown on the Butterfly Tree. But the Butterfly Tree requires a gift in exchange so the girls each take it a special drink of water from Bubbling Pond (where they had just earned their frocks by way of another task). Then they are allowed to pluck their wings from the tree (the wings were laid or hanging on branches). Decor for this section of the yard consisted of large paper butterflies placed on the selected tree. The story culminated when all the costume pieces had been earned and the decorative picnic basket found with many delicious treats inside including the chocolate nests with berries you see pictured above.

We rounded out the day by also including a fairy hunt for tiny fairies hidden around the yard and a station for creating homes for the fairies that had just been found. Items provided for making fairy furniture - rocks, bark, flowers, etc.

DETAILS:

**Each fairy costume was custom designed for each little attendee based on her favorite color, AND we attempted to make them all coordinate roughly with each other too. The end result - a beautiful mixture of soft colors and flowers complete with shimmery, translucent wings (try a good opalescent cellophane wrap to achieve the look of our wings) which were also custom made to match each frock/fairy skirt. These doubled as some party favors that the girls could take home. The "frocks" were no sew skirts made of tulle and flowers. Check out this person's site for an idea - she made hers into full dresses for her little girls! http://askthepartyfairy.wordpress.com/fairy-dress-make-your-own-no-sew-fairy-costume/

**Book - the story was bound into a book and tied with ribbon. The cover of the book was made from cardboard and covered with real bark to give it more of a woodsy, enchanted look.

**Outside entry - guests were greeted with a shimmery sign letting them know they were entering an enchanted forest. "Fairy dust" (super fine glitter) led the way into the home of the birthday fairy. A word to the wise - sprinkle this on the sides of the path leading in or else you might be finding "fairy dust" all over the floor in your home for weeks afterwards.

**Treasure hunt areas - these were marked by different decor depending on the section of the story. For example: Toadstool Glen was an area set up with various sizes of paper toadstools (make these from good cardstock and then attach to dowels or other sticks - not ones that would be dangerous should a fairy happen to fall and land on one. Poke in the ground everywhere and voila - instant Toadstool Glen!). The meadow where the fairies collected flowers to make their individual crowns was actually a section in the yard where I sprinkled a plethora of fake flowers everywhere (make sure there are holes in the middle of the flowers so they are easily strung on a garland) for the joyous gathering. Letting the children make their own crowns doubled as an activity and creative outlet for each little girl. If you have time, you might also make paper flowers/garlands to hang from branches or hang large pieces of tulle to make canopied areas and/or glue silk or realistic flowers on trees surrounding the "meadow" to give it an even more magical effect. So there are at least a couple of ideas to get you started if you decide to follow the treasure hunt/story route....

**Birthday Picnic Basket - originally I wanted to find some smaller picnic baskets and decorate one for each young lady present so each girl would get her own basket (another party favor to take home as well). However, as the party planning progressed, it became apparent that this idea would not materialize in time - thus, an ordinary picnic basket was transformed for the occasion by adding shimmery ribbon and flowers matching some of the fairy outfits.

** Picnic Area - if you are on a REALLY tight budget, consider a plain green or brown tablecloth or plastic tablecloth (like the kind you find at Walmart for $1-2) for the fairies to sit on and just sprinkle with flowers (I would stay away from glitter - unless it is the edible kind - around your picnic area to avoid the guests accidentally eating the stuff). If you have more of a budget, consider getting large pieces of felt and cutting into squares (or circles and paint on white dots if you want them to look like the tops of large toadstools) and then adding felt or fabric letters spelling out each guest's name to create a giant placesetting for each fairy to picnic upon (these can also be taken home as party favors later on and used as activity/play mats for the guests at home).

**Chocolate bird nests - google these and you should find some good recipes out there - very simple to make but a bit messy! I believe we used shredded wheat for ours. Other food items you could add - Fairy creme (yogurt cups or parfaits), pixie sticks or wands (giant pretzels dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles), or just sticks (regular pretzels), Fairy nectar (any juice will do and can be jazzed up depending on the container by adding ribbon or felt sleeves, etc.), miniature sandwiches, granola, cotton candy (I see this labeled as "fairy floss" on at least a couple of sites), fruit kabobs or fruit flowers, etc. You get the picture - the possibilities go on and on...

**Fairies for the Fairy Hunt: Ours were made of tissue paper and paper and glued to clothespins so lots of them could be clipped to branches, etc. all over the yard. If you have a really great budget - consider checking for miniature fairies in stores and buy a bunch. Also a possibility, miniature butterfly nets decorated with ribbon and flowers for "catching" the little pixies. These can be made using dowel rods, netting, and hot glue! Add "doors" to the bases of trees in your yard as we did and place some fairies behind each one. Doors can be made of anything from scraps of wood you might find or have lying around to pieces of cardboard, painted or decorated with real bark.

Oh so many possibilities with a "Fairy" theme! It is my hope that a few of these ideas will help get you started on your way to creating your very own magical day! :)

BTW - the cake pictured above was homemade! Cute, eh?

A huge THANK YOU to the incredibly creative Kate Landers for posting a woodland party on her blog that inspired the beginnings of this one! :)

Gender Reveal Party Idea: What's the Scoop?

I know, I know...It has been FOREVER since I said I would post other gender revealing party ideas! But fear not, I haven't forgotten - just been busy. Now that I have some breathing room this week, I thought I would go ahead and post one of those ideas. NOTE: that the photograph and craft above were done hastily in an effort to illustrate one of the ideas below (plus I did not have pink playdough like I originally thought - so I substituted pink marshmallows). I am sure there are piles of you crafty crafty's out there who could do a much better job if you were actually going to throw this party (which I did not, thus the scrounging around for materials that were on hand)...

So without further ado, gender revealing idea #2: What's the Scoop?

(Number 1 was the classic "What Will it Bee" theme)

Invitations:

Idea 1: Buy up those small individual containers of ice cream (the really small ones that come in a package of multiples) in advance and let your family chow down! Wash out and keep the containers and when you are ready, fill them with balls of purchased or homemade playdough in blue and pink (both together) so that it looks like a small ice cream container with scoops of pink and blue ice cream inside. Next, get a plastic spoon and stamp or draw with a marker a question mark on the scoop of the spoon and wrap a small slip of written invitation with details around the handle of the spoon and tie with a gender neutral ribbon. Wrap up each small container in cellophane and tie with ribbon, attaching the spoon to the ribbon on the outside and a little tag that reads "What's the Scoop?" You could even have your kids add real sprinkles to the "ice cream" or punch out some pink and blue confetti or confetti that matches the paper on which you wrote the party details. Then pass out to your friends and family! Also, if you want to add more pizzaz - you could always wrap a piece of fun craft paper in pink and blue or gender neutral colors around the outside of your small container and attach a little question mark charm that you purchase or make yourself (I am thinking of bending wire to fashion something like that).

If you can afford even more expense, you could buy those little clear plastic condiment containers (check the kitchen utensil aisle at places like Walmart - I think they are roughly a dollar each). Some of them look a LOT like a miniature bowl you would put an ice cream sunday in (at least they do to me). Or you could purchase an ice cream scoop for each family you plan to invite and wrap your written invitation around the handle, tied with a bow and a tag with the theme on it.

For a cheaper version of the ice cream container idea - whenever you go to Sam's or Walmart and they have a sample day, eat every sample you can that comes in one of those small clear containers and keep the containers. After a while, you will have a nice stash of containers for invites! Or you could just find out where they buy those cups and purchase some yourself.

Idea 2: Need an even cheaper idea? Print out ice cream coupons that you make yourself saying something about: a fun time and free ice cream sunday for each family member or friend. Mail or hand out personally!

Idea 3: Another variation of invitation would be to purchase ice cream cones and roll up your written detailed invite and place inside the cone. Top (or leave it just the way it is) with a roll of pink and blue swirled playdough. Glue a circle of fun print paper to the front of the cone with a question mark on it. Wrap the entire thing in cellophane and tie with gender neutral ribbon and tag with the theme on it.

Decor:

1. Hang colored pom poms from the ceiling. For a fun experiment - try mixing shades of blue and pink together when you are making each pom pom (see my idea on the pom pom bumble bee in an earlier post). Or just hang varying shades of pom poms in those colors around the rooms. You could also try stringing them on a ribbon and hanging them with a brown paper cone attached at the bottom so they look like ice cream cones hanging from the ceiling.

Or you could take extra plates you have and draw or stamp question marks on them and glue them back to back (so if they spin with a breeze - people are not staring at the back of a plate and wondering what it is) and glue those to a ribbon/string with a paper cone on the bottom to look like hanging ice cream cones. You could also do something similar with all the fun patterned craft papers out there. Just don't go too crazy with a huge variety of papers - I would pick maybe one or two patterned pieces (and stick to those for any other decor or background ideas as well) and maybe one or two main solid colors. This might be the least expensive option especially if you pick these papers up when they are on sale - I think the major craft places like Michaels or Hobby Lobby tend to have sales on their papers at least once a month perhaps?

2. Banner - make smaller pompoms and string them along a banner string - attach a brown paper cone (or REAL cone if you can manage it with your hot glue gun or super glue) to each and add a circle to each cone with a letter printed on it to make up whatever you want to say...

Or you can just make paper circles and attach paper cones with your banner's greeting.

3. SAVE, SAVE, SAVE those large ice cream containers and turn them into holders for napkins, utensils, and yes - even flowers!

You can also turn ice cream cones into small vases for flowers to sit in. Just make sure you line the inside first before adding water or floral green foam or else your cones might not remain nice and stiff the whole time.

4. Perhaps keep one container available for baby name (flavor) suggestions...

5. Ice cream scoop babies: wrap some scoops in cut up baby blanket pieces so they look swaddled - place in a bed of ice in the middle of the table and add a rounded scoop of vanilla or chocolate or whatever color for the face in the scooping part. Add features with candy or frosting or other decorations. You could also just use playdough if you don't want to mess with the possible melting situation.

6. Balloon ice cream cones: get some balloons in the colors of your party to be the "ice cream scoops" and then glue them very carefully to paper cones you make yourself from brown construction or butcher paper. Place these around the room!

Food:

If you are going to have an ice cream bar, load it up with different flavors and toppings which allow guests to make their own fun concoction (if expense is a problem, just stick with basic vanilla and purchase several basic toppings - your guests will enjoy the treat!).

Need labels for your party? This person has GENEROUSLY made ice cream labels and offered them for FREE on her blog!! How neat and sweet is that!! They are adorable and decorative...and did I mention FREE!!!

http://www.eatdrinkchic.com/post.cfm/diy-ice-cream-parlour-make-your-own-sundaes-buffet-concept-for-wedding-or-party

So now all you have to do is decide whether you want to keep your labels simple (just list the toppings) or add some amusement to them by coming up with little ideas that tie your theme together with ice cream. For example:

Nuts (how Mommy feels after those first few sleepless nights) or "Diaper Creme" (whipping cream), etc.

The Big Reveal:

Now this could be done before or after guests eat depending on when and how you want to let everyone know about your new baby's gender.

Idea 1: Bring out a container of ice cream that you or a friend has loaded up with the color that lets everyone know what your baby will be. Make sure that the guests cannot tell what the color is from the outside. I suggest a plain white container with a large question mark written or stamped on the outside and decorated according to your color scheme for the evening. Give everyone a blindfold and then scoop out a little taste for each guest. On the count of three, let them eat it and see if anyone can figure out what the color is before actually seeing it (for example: blueberry for a boy and strawberry for a girl. Or something boyish like rocky road with additional blue marshmallows you add yourself or peaches -n - creme - think complexion - for a girl with some pink swirled in).

Idea 2: Borrow a homemade ice cream maker if you do not have one yourself. Before the guests arrive, you or a friend (if you are keeping it a surprise for yourself as well) add the ingredients for vanilla ice cream plus some generous amount of appropriate blue or pink food color. Depending on the ice cream maker - you may need to figure out a way to seal it from sight while the ice cream is being churned to avoid spoiling the surprise. Then have guests spend the evening helping you make the ice cream. When it is time to eat - reveal the color and let guests add their toppings. If they have already eaten ice cream and this is the last event - spoon some ice cream into styrofoam containers and send home with guests for later enjoyment as a party favor.

For this idea, you can also probably find directions online as to how to make your own ice cream maker from scratch using just a tin or container that guests shake up or roll around all evening until the ice cream is ready.

Idea 3: Baked Alaska! Just use the appropriate color of ice cream and cover it with a generous layer of meringue (at least I think that is what it is) and bake according to instructions. When it is done, let the new parents or some honored person in your family (perhaps a great great grandfather or grandmother) cut it open to reveal the color.

Idea 4: I am not sure this would be possible - but perhaps you could order an ice cream cake from a local bakery just as you would with a normal cake and tell them to put the color ice cream or icing of the gender inside the cake. Make sure they know what it is for so they understand the color needs to be hidden so it will remain a surprise until the appropriate moment!

Okay - so there you go! Ideas for a What's the Scoop gender reveal party... And if anyone happens to use this idea - I would love to see pictures of it!

If you want more suggestions for this idea or need help with anything - I can offer free assistance from afar as needed or as possible since some weeks are rather busy for me. Just e-mail me and I will try to respond when I can.