Thursday, November 14, 2013

Manly Man Birthday







What says "manly" more than pine trees, deer heads, and wood slices?!  We celebrated Bennett's 3rd birthday over the weekend, and I still don't know how to classify the party.  It was going to be a lumberjack theme, but I would say it ended up being kind of "woodsy", and maybe even "hunter-ish" with the deer heads...which is fitting, since our last name happens to be Hunter!  

Anyway, I chose to simplify the prep-work on this one.  The biggest project, if you can even call it that, was the faux cross stitch deer bags.  I bought little trees for cake toppers, and ordered the birch paper straws from Hey Yo Yo.  My mom offered to make the cookies, so I just had to clean my house, make dinner, and bake the cake!  Not too shabby, ehh?!  I felt super relaxed, and really enjoyed the party since I didn't stress too much about the details (for once).  I was pretty happy with the outcome, and more importantly, Bennett thought it was the "BEST.  PARTY.  EVER!!!" 

Sources:

Birch Paper Straws - Hey Yo Yo
Cake trees - Hobby Lobby
Cookie recipe - Pixel Whisk
Glassine Bags - Confetti Sunshine

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

DIY Faux Cross Stitch Deer Bags





Creativity takes time, my friends...and it has been a BUSY month!  It feels like we just hosted Kalia's kitty party, and this coming weekend, we are having family in town for Bennett's 3rd Birthday.  Whew!  I didn't leave myself very much time to plan for poor little Bennett, so I decided to re-invent some old ideas.  This was going to be a lumberjack party, but it kind of morphed into a woodsy, "hunter" type theme -- which is fitting, since our last name is Hunter!  Sooo...these little faux cross stitch deer bags came about.  If you would like to make your own, please visit my tutorial for some DIY foxy faux cross stitch bags over at Confetti Sunshine. 

I used this deer, and pasted him into Word to shrink him down to the size I needed for the bags.  I think these would be cute for a Thanksgiving or Christmas party too!  I'm planning to put a handful of trail mix in each little bag.  Wish me luck!

Monday, November 4, 2013

Kitty Party ~ Part 2






This is "part 2" of Kalia's kitty party!  I took some detail shots before the big day, and just wanted to share.  Be sure to check out "part 1" for some beautiful shots taken by Dawn of Details Portrait Art

The Purr~fect Party








Kalia asked for a kitten party for her 9th birthday, and I wanted to make it sweet, but not too sweet!  It is one of the last few parties we will be having before the pre-teen years, so we're getting close to the time when I won't have a valid opinion about the party decor!  I also feel like this is the year when the girls are starting to distinguish between "cool" and "lame", so I figured if I added a few of the trendy geometrics, it would be the perfect juxtaposition of sweet and edgy.  The decor itself isn't exactly "edgy", but it is for a kitten party, right?! 

Each girl got a cat-ear headband and collar, and of course we painted whiskers and a nose on their faces.  I was a little worried about doing anything too babyish, but they were all thrilled to dress the part, and my husband and I got to hear lots of meow-ing for the duration of the party!  We went on a scavenger hunt for (candy) mice, and played a lot of kitten-themed games.  They also painted some cat faces I found at Michael's, and we put magnets on the back to make them somewhat useful.  We sent them home with their headbands, collars, magnets, candy, journals, and a little mouse. 

I will be sharing party "details" in the near future, so if you're interested, be sure to check back for some DIYs, individual shots of the decor, and a more detailed source list!

Sources:

Honeycomb balls & paper straws:  Shop Sweet Lulu
Cupcake liners: Cath Kidston

Photography:  Dawn of Details Portrait Art

A very special thanks to the talented Dawn, for taking such beautiful photos of Kalia's special day!  Be sure to check out her facebook page for her current photography projects and info.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Kitty Party ~ Sneak Peek!


...just a little sneak peek from my daughter's kitty party we hosted in early October!  My friend Dawn took some adorable pics that I'll be sharing soon, but until then...happy halloween!!!

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

DIY Halloween Spider Straws




Fall is "birthday season" at our house!  With three birthdays in two months, I highly doubt we will be adding a Halloween party to the schedule...but if we did, these fellas would certainly be invited!  Not including drying time, these took less than ten minutes to whip up, and they would be such a fun surprise in your kiddo's Halloween lunch!

Supplies:

1.5 inch styrofoam balls
black glitter
black pipe cleaners
googly eyes
tacky & elmer's glue
sponge brush
paper plate

Squeeze a puddle of Elmer's glue onto your paper plate, and using a sponge brush, cover the entire styrofoam ball in glue.  Pour glitter over the ball until it is completely covered, using a bowl to catch any excess glitter.  Allow it to dry, then use my swan straw instructions to create the hole for your straw.  Cut six 2.5 inch pieces of pipe cleaner, and bend at about 3/4 inch to make a right angle.  Place three legs on each side of the styrofoam ball, slightly under the midpoint.  They are sharp enough to poke through the styrofoam without a tool.  Finally, use tacky glue to stick on your googly eyes!

Happy Halloween!

Thursday, September 12, 2013

You Are the Cat's Pajamas






It was kind of obvious that my daughter had an underlying motive in asking for a "cat party" this year when she said ..."and mom, wouldn't it be so funny if I got a REAL kitten for my present?!"  We actually made her dreams come true, and adopted our first family pet!  She named him "Tuna", and he is soooo sweet -- when he isn't chewing up the Wii sensor cord!

When I first hit Pinterest for inspiration, I found a lot of toddler cat parties.  I had to get creative, and find ways to make the theme a little less juvenille.  I can't wait to share my ideas as I work on more party DIYs!

If you follow me on Pinterest, I guess it's no secret that I LOVE free printables!  I have had my eye on the printable bunny paws from Love Mae for ages.  When the cat theme was official, I knew I had to incorporate the paws...so they became invitations!  Purrrrrrrrrfect, right?!

If  you would like to make your own cat party invites, this is what you'll need:

white cardstock
scissors
glue stick
washi tape

First, print and cut out your freebies!  Next, type up a small blurb for your invitation (as seen in the photo) to fit on the back side of the paw print.  Once you have printed your invitation blurbs, turn the paw upside down over the writing, and trace around it, attempting to have the words centered in the paw.  Cut, and glue to the back side of the paw.

Next, place one paw print invitation, one "cat's pajamas" business card, and one hexagon cutie of your choice in a glassine bag, and seal with washi tape!  Your guests will love receiving a little bag of paper goodness, and will be as curious as a kitten about your party!

Friday, August 23, 2013

DIY Swan Straws


Your party seriously needs some swan straws.  What's a party without 'em?!  Ever since these little gals were born, I have had millions of ideas "swimming" around my head (I know...bad, right?!) for other styrofoam ball straw DIYs.  You just might see another one in the next few months!  To get started on your own li'l swans, head to Shop Sweet Lulu for the tutorial.

Girly Dino Party


My daughter is a girly tomboy (if that makes any sense!), so I love to take typically masculine themes, and give them a feminine twist.  I have some dino DIYs over at Confetti Sunshine if you happen to need some inspiration for a female dino lover!

Thursday, August 22, 2013

DIY Foxy Faux Cross Stitch Bags



This was one of my very first party blog contributions!  Instructions for making my foxy faux cross stitch bags can be found on the Confetti Sunshine blog.  Think outside the bag!  You're not at all limited to a fox pattern.  If you need help coming up with something to go with your party theme, feel free to comment or send an e-mail.  I would be happy to brainstorm with you!

Girly Pow Wow





Hey there!  I'm Abby, and I LOVE to plan parties for my kids!  My background is in interior design, but I decided to be a stay-at-home-mom, and found myself pouring hours into planning my daughter's birthday parties.  It is the perfect creative outlet, and I love my "client"! 

Last year, we put together a girly pow wow for her 8th Birthday, and my PBFF (pinterest best friend forever) became the social media director for Shop Sweet Lulu.  She offered to post the party, which led to a blog contributing position over at Confetti Sunshine!  

A few months later, Shop Sweet Lulu began to pull together a design team, and I was thrilled when Stevie asked if I would be interested in contributing for their site as well.  I am finally at the point where I feel the need to begin a blog of my own, where I hope to share any contributing work I have on other sites, as well as current party DIYs and projects!  I hope you'll take a look around, and be sure to come back for even more party inspiration in the near future.  I'm working on a 9th Birthday for October, so stay tuned!     

You can see more photos from my daughter's girly pow wow over at the Shop Sweet Lulu blog.  Be sure to stay a while, and check out my friend Stevie's work.  Everything she does is Ahhhhmazing!

PS I know there are different pronunciations of "fete", but on this blog, you'll have to appease me and make it rhyme with gazette!