Time to catch up!

I have been so busy lately whether it be photographing for The Flip Flop Fancy or helping friends plan parties and crafting.  I will have some cute posts coming up including a pirate party, ladybug first birthday and Halloween party.  I have missed blogging!

Designer Highlight!

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Connie, who owns The Flip Flop Fancy boutique.  She specializes in making girls clothes for boutiques, I loved her designs but I have a boy so that wasn't going to work.  I had asked her if she would make some stuff for my son for an upcoming photoshoot and she was delighted!  Over the past few weeks we have had so much fun designing stuff for my son.  We have many shirts in the works but the first one she made is so adorable I wanted to post it right away!  I also bought hair clips as gifts which I think are adorable as well.  I am so excited to be highlighting her shop as well as having her make unique clothing for my little guy.  The best part of it, she is open to designing just about anything so even if it's not on her site, shoot her a message with your ideas!  Watch out for more of her designs to be gracing my blog!

The cute tie and vest shirt.

Hair clips I bought as a gift.

More clips, aren't they adorable!

Train Party

For my son's 3rd birthday I knew I wanted to have a train theme but didn't necessarily want to do Thomas.  I decided on an orange and teal color scheme and went from there.  We had planned to have it at a park but with the weather being unpredictable this year, we decided to have it somewhere else.  Instead, it was held at an indoor kids playhouse which made it a lot less stressful for me.

I decided on only a few decorations and having the cake be the main focus.  I used teal and orange plates, napkins and silverware.  For food we did pinwheel sandwiches, meat and cheeses, fruit and mini quiches.  Along with creme puffs and chocolate covered pretzels for something sweet.  My mom and I made the chocolate covered pretzels using white and milk chocolate and blue and orange sprinkles.  Check out this recipe on Food Network from Paula Deen on how to make these yummy treats.

I made a banner from scrapbook paper and twine rope. Since he was having two parties I got to use it both times, so that worked out nicely :)  The second banner picture shows paper balloon lanterns I used as decor for both parties as well.

I found train lollipops at Oriental Trading which I used as centerpieces for the little tables they had set up for the kids.  I filled tiny vases with sand and the lollipops, very easy!  I also included the lollipops in the kids favor bags along with a train whistle, tattoos and bubbles.

And finally, the cake!  Actually it was a cupcake cake that my friend Cecille, from Bella & Ava designed for me.  It was everything I wanted and my son loved it as well!  the train, stars and "3" were made of fondant and it really was amazing to look at and eat :)

All in all, it was a fun party with simple touches to make it more personal.

My Little Cupcake

Last year I had the honor of helping with a cupcake themed baby shower.  Since the mom to be owns a cupcake business and also was not finding out the sex of the baby, this theme was perfect.  We used earthy colors that fit the gender neutral theme and fit the mom's personality.  I was in charge of decorations, my favorite!  This was a small shower at someones house so we didn't need much.  Below, the banner my friends and I made.

The host of the shower wanted to use Popcakes as the favors for guests to take home.  Because these little treats were not only yummy but pretty to look at, I decided to use them as part of the decor.  We put them in a clear vase filled with M&M's and used cupcake stickers to decorate the outside of the vase.  I also made little "thank you" tags to go on the Popcakes.

Finally, the host made cupcake shaped cakes and we displayed them on a table with a diaper cake we made.  

It was a very cute, simple shower.  The cupcake theme is great for baby showers and easily adaptable to any party.

DIY cupcake toppers

Cupcake toppers seem to be the new trend for cupcakes these days.  I have seen some beautiful and very detailed ones for purchase on various sites.  The problem for me was that I couldn't justify spending so much on something that was going to get thrown away.  So, I decided to make my own.  I had placed an order for some scrumptious cupcakes from Bella & Ava for a small baby shower and thought this would be a perfect opportunity to try my hand at making them.  The shower was more of a luncheon welcoming the baby who had already been born and the cupcakes were to be the main focus.  I had Bella & Ava make red velvet and vanilla cupcakes with green, teal and blue frosting.  I also bought special cupcake wrappers at Micheal's to add a little flare.

Now it was time for the fun part!  I used two different sizes of craft hole punches and old scrapbook paper left over from a different project.  I punched out large circles from the pattern papers and small circles from the solid colored papers.  I glued the circles together and used a stamp of a little chick to complete them.  I glued the completed toppers on lollipop sticks using a hot glue gun and let them dry.

That's it, super easy!  The best part, you can use scraps you already have to create something unique.  I did have several different designs but this is the only one I managed to snag.  Everyone loved them so much they kept them and the cupcakes were gone in minutes!

All things girly!

When my friend found out she was having a girl we both couldn't wait to plan a girlie baby shower!  We both have boys so it was fun to go all out with the pink.  To give the party a modern feel we stuck with bright colors and fun patterns instead of the traditional pastels.  The shower was held in a recreational room so the decorations had to be easy to transport and put up right before the party.  We decided that the main focus would be the tables which had lime green tablecloths on them with these centerpieces.

We made the place mats using scrapbook paper and stickers.  We filled vases with decorative stones and added flare to them by gluing ribbon and decorative flowers on to them.  Because we needed several different centerpieces we used silk flowers to create our bouquets.

There were a few other key pieces of decor that we used to create a vibrant atmosphere.  I had a friend make this banner with the babies name on it to be displayed next to the gifts table.  She did an excellent job encompassing the modern style the mom-to-be was going for.  Everything was made with varying pieces of scrapbook paper and strung together using a thin twine rope.

Another decoration I made had dual purpose.  With the help of another close friend we made a diaper cake which we displayed on a table as guests entered.  I also bought pink flower frames in the Target dollar section and used them to put the ultrasound pictures of the baby on display.  As it turns out, diaper cakes are not hard to make, easy to customize and are great gifts!

We did simple finger foods since the guests were families with kids.  The best part of the food table though had to be the cupcakes!

Cecille from Bella & Ava makes the best cupcakes, hands down!  Seriously, once you taste one of these sweet treats you will never be able to eat a store bought cupcake again!  We had a few different flavors for guests to choose from as well as a small cake the parents to be got to take home.

All in all, the party was a success.  We set out to do something a little different from the typical baby shower and because we made most everything that kept the cost down.  It's funny, now that the baby is here, she has style and flare just like her party did!

Welcome!

Well, this is my first post on this new blog so bare with me as I tweak it to what I envision it to be.  I started this with the inspiration of Party Like A Kid to be able to have all my crafty ideas and projects in one spot.  Jill, the mastermind behind Party Like A Kid had the great idea to make a one-stop-shop for kid's party resources.  I encourage you to check out her site!  Even though she just started it, she already has some great party ideas up!

As for me, I am always looking for that unique element to incorporate into my son's birthday parties, baby showers for friends or a "just because" get together.  I love to craft, and while I am no Martha Stewart, I enjoy trying!  That is why I am always excited to find inspiration from others as well as share my vision.

Finally, I would like to thank my friend, Candice, from Event Helper for helping me name and design this site!  Let the adventure begin...