Lemon and Lime theme

I don’t have any new parties to add at the moment, so here is an old one that I never posted.  We did a Lemon and Lime theme for an Appreciation party.  The platters were made from cups and plates from the Dollar Tree.  The cups were spray painted and apoxy’ed to the bottom.  The placemats are cut from my cricut with the lace cartridge.

WP_000168

WP_000167

WP_000244

IMG_0900

IMG_0901 IMG_0902 IMG_0904

IMG_0906

Ladies 40th Birthday Party

I got the privilege of throwing a 40th birthday party for one of my best friends a couple weeks ago.  It was fun to have a bunch of ladies over to celebrate with her.  Here are the pictures taken by my friend Amy (who does a WAY better job taking pictures than I do… thanks Amy).

IMG_0675

.

IMG_0700

Love these paper fans. Idea from Pinterest

IMG_0669

.

IMG_0664

.

IMG_0663

These are so good! I served them at a New Years Party last year. Here is the recipe!

IMG_0661

Also very yum! I love this site for cute little bite size recipe ideas. Click HERE for recipe

IMG_0659

Sweet and Sour Meatballs brought by my sweet friend Jessica.

IMG_0657

Angie loves this awesome FRUIT SALAD that I make for a lot of events and it is always a hit.

IMG_0762

Thanks to Lindor Chocolates for Red and Black wrapped yumminess to go with the color theme.

IMG_0696

How cute are these little cups and spoons from Amazon.com!! This recipe was specifically for guests with food allergies. I always like to try to have a little something for them. This Coconut Chocolate Mousse has only 3 ingredients! Recipe found HERE and you have to be careful on which brand of coconut milk you use. I used Chaokoh brand (and I did the suggestion of pouring it into a bowl and letting it get cold in the fridge overnight).

IMG_0693

.

IMG_0692

.

IMG_0689

oh man these were amazing. I probably ate a third of them. (of course I was starving because I don’t take time to eat on party days.) Too bad prosciutto is so expensive or I would make these all the time. Recipe HERE

IMG_0685

.

IMG_0684

I have made this for years from an old Pampered Chef cookbook. And now I see they have the recipe online HERE

IMG_0650

.

IMG_0641

.

IMG_0646

water plus frozen strawberries

IMG_0645

.

IMG_0697

These cranberry martinis were so yummy and aren’t they pretty! Recipe HERE. I did reduce the vodka for this party to 1 oz.

IMG_0673

I got to use my chalkboard painted coasters again from this party. I bought these plain coasters and sprayed them with black chalkboard spray paint (takes around 3 coats) and then people could write on them with chalk to keep track of which drink was theirs.

IMG_0672

These centerpieces contain Red LED submersible lights, clear water beads, and rose floating candles. I just put a ribbon around the vase and voila!

IMG_0733

.

IMG_0727

.

IMG_0821

Happy birthday Angie!

Frogs, Snails, and Puppydog Tails Baby Shower

A couple months ago, I hosted a small baby shower with a super fun and cute theme: Frogs, Snails, and Puppy dog tails.  Here are a couple pictures:

IMG_4298

Covered the table with burlap and covered the vases with darker brown burlap

IMG_4293

Froggy watermelon carving. I found the instructions HERE. So cute!  Napkins are from Amazon.

IMG_4294

I made “snails” from ham and a cream cheese pesto mixture rolled up in tortilla shells. My plan was to do THIS with pickles for the body, but my time ran out… still looked snail-like without that though!  Frog candies and frog bath toys are from Amazon.

IMG_4295

Puppy dog tails are crockpot little smokies. Here is the super easy recipe I used.

IMG_4296

The yummy desserts are from Whole Foods bakery… yummo!

IMG_4297

And the straws are also from Amazon.com

We just played one game and it was the baby shower Memory Game that I mentioned way back HERE.

For more ideas, check out my pinterest board and also check out these SUPER cute framed pictures from ETSY… LOVE this shop!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sofia the First Party

We had a Sofia the First Party for my 5 year old.  It was so cute and we just love Sofia around here.  I got carried away with all the little detailed crafts on this one … I had lots of fun with that part.  I should have planned a couple more games or activities, but it all worked out in the end.

IMG_4201

This was a fun (yet time consuming) little craft for the front door. below is a picture of how I did it.

IMG_4202

I got to reuse these flowers from a couple years ago… made from my cricut flower shoppe cartridge

IMG_4203

.

IMG_4205

IMG_4207IMG_4206When the girls arrived, I had them start by decorating crowns while we waited for all the guest to arrive.

 

IMG_4219

IMG_4218

IMG_4216

Below is a tip on decorating a cake stand in a temporary way that won’t damage your platter.

IMG_4215

found this super cute butterfly dish from HomeGoods

IMG_4212

Birdies and flower from Michaels Craft Store

IMG_4211

I hot glued giant jewels onto wooden skewers and then added the grapes

IMG_4210

IMG_4209

Lace glued onto mini water bottles

IMG_4208

guess I didn’t get a picture after I made the punch, but it had raspberry sherbet in it … yum…

IMG_4214

Saw this adorable sofia the first cupcake cake idea on Pinterest. The white pearls are sixlets candy and the amulet is a homemade purple hard candy (in a jewel mold)

We watched an episode of Sofia the First during snack.

IMG_4240

FYI… spray adhesive works better to hid the seams on a printed image, but I didn’t do that this time… whoops

IMG_4235

cake time

IMG_4237

IMG_4239

cake face

IMG_4251

parachute games to fill some time (see my lack of planning games this time above)…

IMG_4246

crawling under the parachute

IMG_4222

party favors … found these super cute crocheted flowers in the dollar bins at Michaels and I hot glued a barrette to the back. Inside the bags are stickers, cheap tiaras (that I added some jewels to, to make them sparkle) and these (earring/ring set)

IMG_4220

I made amulets from beads from Michaels onto a thing ribbon. made the mistake of not making the ribbon long enough for some kids to get over their heads… 😦

That’s the party!  Now here are those last 2 how to projects mentioned above:

IMG_4200

I just took 2-3 strands of heavy gauge wire and made it into a large “5” … then cut little squares of purple tulle (you can barely see them on the table) and bunched them in the middle and hot glued the center onto the wire. Lastly I added some butterfly clips as shown in the top picture.

IMG_4193

Under my cake stand I attached some scotch packing tape around my platter (and stuck another one under it with sticky sides together, so it was only stuck to the platter at the very top and wouldn’t stick to it below.) Then you can hot glue whatever tulle, ribbon, fabric or lace onto the tape. When the party is over, just cut it all off… so this is pretty much a one time decoration.

Frozen Party

Here are pictures from my 7-year-old’s Frozen Birthday Party with descriptions and links below!

IMG_4070

The wreath is Styrofoam wrapped with white tulle and I cut out some snowflakes on my Cricut with the Winter Lace cartridge. The printable Olaf is found here.

IMG_4072

I used the idea from Oh Happy Day to make these fun party hats.

IMG_4073

Frozen party supplies where hard to find back in March/April, but I managed to find a few things! I am sure supplies are more available by now.

IMG_4069

Blue LED Lights and some crochet and embroidered snowflakes and white tinsel as a table decoration.

IMG_4089

making beaded bracelets with pearl beads and clear tribeads

IMG_4088

Snowcap Punch recipe hereIMG_4087 And snowball sign holders found here.

IMG_4083

AKA Powdered sugar donut holesIMG_4079IMG_4081IMG_4082IMG_4085IMG_4086

IMG_4077

The Disney Frozen figurines are from the Disney Store… Sven fell into the cake and I loved how it looked with cake on his nose, so I just left it… He is a little mischievous sometimes, so it worked. I just bought the plainest white cake I could find and decorated it myself. The idea found here. I made the blue ice with a simple hard candy recipe like this. and the snowflake sprinkles are from Wilton.

IMG_4090

We played a Frozen scavenger hunt based on the lyrics of Let It Go… brilliant game and thanks so much to the Bombshell Bling for this free printable

IMG_4091

finding clues and at the end of the hunt, I had a bowl full of snowflake barrettes for each girl to pick one.

IMG_4099

We played a very fun game called Don’t Eat Olaf! It was a crowd favorite for sure (despite a couple tears when things got too loud). I saw it on Etsy.IMG_4096IMG_4097

IMG_4094

Another game we played was to divide into 2 teams and each team decorate one person into a snowman using toilet paper and hats, scarves and carrot nose. The birthday girl got to pick the winning team with the snowman she liked best.IMG_4093

IMG_4075

in addition to the bracelet and hair piece from the party, the kids also got a book and stickers for party favors

IMG_4071IMG_4105 IMG_4103 IMG_4102

Here is a link to my Pinterest board for more ideas!

40th birthday party for my husband

I threw a party for my husband’s 40th birthday and it was super fun to plan a party for adults (not that I don’t like doing the kid’s parties, but it was a nice change!)  You only turn 40 once, so I went all out and rented some bistro tables, plates, and glasses and rearranged the house and even hired a bartender (which, by the way, was a huge help and allowed me to enjoy the party also!)  The party was on Saturday, so the bistro tables were delivered on Friday and picked up on Monday (also night… allowing me plenty of time to set up and tear down).

Image

some assembly required. 🙂 We rented from Grand Event Rentals and they were great and responded quickly to my questions.

The color theme was black and blue, so I moved all our black furniture (couch and a couple benches) into the living room and used black linens on the tables.

Image

The curtains were made with black streamers. I cut a strip for the top and attached the long streamers to it and then it was a little easier to just tape it all to the ceiling at once. Masking tape worked well. Then I draped it by tacking a strip to the wall to hold them back. I loved how this turned out and made a fun entrance and WAYYY cheaper than fabric curtains!

Image

40 decorations from amazon

ImageImageImage

Image

for the Christmas lights around the ceiling I used 3M Command hooks and they worked great and came off the wall really well afterwards.

Image

IMG_4039 (1024x683)

I bought these really fun submersible blue LED lights and some blue water pearls to fill some random vases I had. Also with a glass tea light holder and black tea candle. They turned out so awesome! Set a fun mood.

Image

Another fun project: I bought these plain coasters and sprayed them with black chalkboard spray paint (takes around 3 coats) and then people could write on them with chalk to keep track of which drink was theirs.

Image

saw this idea on pinterest and loved it! Pictures from all the stages of life. 🙂

IMG_4052 (683x1024)

WP_20140308_19_32_46_Pro (1024x576)

The Food!: The desserts were from Whole Foods (petits), strawberries, potato boats, stuffed mushrooms, pita bread with jalopeno artichoke dip, shrimp taco bites and cream cheese cucumber bites. The silver platters I found on Amazon and they are very fun. Also the napkins.

ImageImageImageImage

I played some awesome hits from the hubby’s younger years;  some where awesome classics and some were glad to be in the past!  🙂

IMG_4068 (1024x683)

It was truly a fun party and I definitely need to do this again sometime!!

My Little Pony Party

It looks like we have turned a corner with my oldest and she has really wanted to help in the planning of her birthday parties.  I always let the kids pick the theme they want, but she wanted to be really hands-on with the decorations and what activities we would do and the order of the party.  Looks like I am training up another little planner!  🙂  She wanted a My Little Pony party this year.  I had seen that Hasbro has blank white My Little Pony that you can order, so I ordered some of those.  I had no idea how we would decorate those, but we decided on Permanent Markers… you can color the hair and everything.  I wanted the girls to be able to take them home and not get wet paint all over.  If you have more time, I would recommend the markers for the hair and then probably acrylic paint would be better for the body and produce a more even look and glitter glue for some sparkle.

Without further ado, here are the pics! 

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

 

Image

Image

Image

ImageImage

Image

Image

Image

ImageImage

Image

ImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImage

 

Lalaloopsy birthday party

Lalaloopsies are so adorable, I was excited when my daughter chose that theme for her birthday party.  (the party was last fall and I am again behind on my posts!)  First, I bought a book (for the kids) that had most of the lalaloopsies in it, so I could get an idea of decorations and activities for the party (and Pinterest of course).  And we watched a Lalaloopsy show on Netflix (the show isn’t good, IMO … the plot is horrible), but I did get some ideas.  Here are the pictures from her party with links and comments!

IMG_3681

The buttons were cut out on the Cricut using my Wild Card cartridge. And then I just used a yarn needle and threaded yarn through the buttons to make garland.

IMG_3673

Found these wall decals on clearance at Toys R Us… good deal, but they did NOT stick well at all… they were in the trash right after the party unfortunately. They also have them on Amazon and Birthday Express and hopefully better quality.

IMG_3675

More Garland made from dessert size paper plates and a black paper button cutout glued to the plate.

IMG_3672

More button garland! (I guess I got crazy with the paper button cutting, because I had a lot!)

IMG_3669

Used the book mentioned at the top of the page to help lookup a bunch of lalaloopsies on Bing image search (make sure you set the image size to wallpaper (or large) find the better quality images! Then I added the names and printed them out… (they moved to her bedroom wall after the party!)

IMG_3671 IMG_3679 IMG_3677 IMG_3676

IMG_3663

For one activity, we stuffed, sewed and decorated little lalaloopsy pets. I prepared them, but printing out the pets on paper and tracing them and their pieces onto felt. Then glued some of the pieces on using felt glue (so they would have time to dry) and sewing the button eyes on. With the front and back felt pieces together, I used a very small 1/16 hole punch to punch around the edges. (warning: hand fatigue is possible!!)

IMG_3666

We used embroidery floss to stitch them together and I had a bunch of plastic yarn needles for sewing them and stuffing.

 

IMG_3699

Also felt markers (found at a fabric/craft store) for decorating.

IMG_3697 IMG_3696

IMG_3667

For the second craft, I purchased a bunch of small prepared canvas boards from Michaels and precut with my cricut the first letter of the girls who were attending the party. I traced their letter onto the canvas with pencil and we used thick glue dots to glue on buttons to fill in their letter.

IMG_3682

IMG_3668

buttons from Oriental Trading

??????????????????????????????? IMG_3695 IMG_3687 IMG_3702

IMG_3701

The last activity was a Lalaloopsy board game and it was so cute. It comes with a little lalaloopsy doll and it involves someone hiding the doll and they others picking cards to figure out which room she is in and then they have a minute to try to find her. (I had all the kids go look instead of one at a time as the directions say). Also I took out the cards of the rooms that I didn’t want the kids looking in (bedrooms, etc)

 

IMG_3655

lalaloopsy party supplies found here. I also crocheted a few flowers to stick around.

IMG_3656

IMG_3659

Button candy molds found here. I just melted Wiltons candy melts and poured them into the melts. Make sure you wait until they are good and cooled before you pop them out of the molds (some of mine turned out better than the others)

IMG_3662

IMG_3661

super cute cupcake topper from Amazon.

IMG_3705

IMG_3674

I found these tin lalaloopsy boxes from Hobby Lobby and they worked great to put their little animals in and some stickers.

IMG_3680

 

 

 

Fall Baby Shower

Another baby shower that I helped with last fall was a fall themed shower.  I used my Cricut a lot this time with the Flower Shoppe cartridge (one of my favorites) and made little flowers to set around in our fall-ish color scheme:  plum, bronze, teal, brown, lite pink, and cream.  We just did a few simple printed games for this shower and again I didn’t have to do food (in case you didn’t notice, it is my least favorite part of party planning).
Sarah's shower3RThe invitation.

WP_20130927_002Paper flower wreath for the front door.

WP_20130928_002Banner made with light and dark brown burlap strips and a variety of different ribbons and lace throughout.

DSCN2518Centerpiece (mini hay bales, flowers, acorns and leaf cutouts)

DSCN2517  The food made by my friend was totally amazing and gourmet!  YUM!

DSCN2519 DSCN2520 DSCN2521 DSCN2524 I had 2 party favors for the guest (mostly because I wasn’t sure if my caramel apples would turn out ok, but they ended up pretty yummy afterall.)

DSCN2525    WP_20130928_004The little fall candles were from Bath and Body works and they even wrapped them all up for me and everything!

Outer Space Baby Shower

A few months ago, I hosted an Outer Space baby shower for a friend and her baby boy.  Thanks to my friend Liz, I didn’t have to do much with the food, so I got to focus on my favorite things:  the decorations, games and favors!  Here are the pictures with descriptions below them:

deirdre_invite_proofEThe invitation created in Adobe Illustrator

IMG_3639This is a foam wreath, covered with white tulle.  Then I cut out the rocket, star, and banner with my cricut and just pinned it onto the foam and added a ribbon to hang it.

IMG_3642Here is another banner made from my Cricut.

IMG_3648Here, I printed out different planets and cut them out.  You can use a glue stick on the picture side of the paper and paste them to the bottom of a clear plate to go with the theme of the party.

IMG_3647 The food and cut out stars scattered around.

IMG_3645I bought these whirly decorations of Amazon.

IMG_3644More cut out stars strung and displayed around.

IMG_3643  Fun baby shower Memory game.  Instructions HERE

IMG_3641

The favors were popcorn balls with a little blue food coloring!

 IMG_3640