Inspiration Board: A Sophisticated St. Patricks Party Table

St. Patrick's Day is still weeks away but it's never too soon to start planning!
Delicous Irish appetizer recipes, charming dessert ideas and small festive touches will make your St. Patrick's table a big hit.

Real Parties: Hip Hop Birthday

As promised here are the photos of the Hip Hop birthday party I recently helped design for. Enjoy!

Bright cupcake wrappers, and hot pink and black icing compliment the custom cupcake toppers I created.

The wall above the dance floor was decorated with CDs and Records with custom labels to match the invitations and cupcake toppers. 

Concert backdrops, custom Birthday Banner and colorful animal print balloons set the scene for this Pop Stars special show.

Kids were sent home with these "Stunner shades" favors and inflatable microphones from Oriental Trading modeled by the birthday girl.

Dressed in their best hip hop inspired outfits all the kids enjoyed dancing to their favorite pop star's music.

Shopping Sunday

 I took advantage of the long holiday weekend and President's Day sales and did a little shopping this weekend. With all the sales on Spring items going on, now is the time to shop for Easter, Garden Parties, Butterfly or Fairy themed birthdays, Lil Bird baby showers, and anything spring or summer! Check out these great finds, perfect for my daughter's Garden Fairy party I'm planning for July.

All kinds of glittery assorted butterflies 40% OFF at Michael's

Butterfly shaped dishes $2.99 at Michael's

Little Birds 40% OFF at Michael's

Pink Flower Pots $2.99 at IKEA

Can't make it out to shop this week? Don't worry...

soon enough Spring items will be marked down on Clearance!

~Happy Planning!

Christy

Inspiration Board: A Hip Hop Party!

My friend "S" is throwing a Hip Hop party for her daughter's 5th birthday and asked me to design a party package. She sent me a photo of 'Barbie Rocks' stickers as inspiration and I couldn't wait to help with this vibrant party! "S" wanted to include lots of brights mixed in with animal prints. We wanted the designs not to be too girly since boys would be attending the party as well.  I put together this vibrant inspiration board to go along with the designs I created.

Barbie Rocks stickers from Ebay, Zebra party pom by FiestaPomPom, Backdrop from Oriental Trading, Sunglass favors from Oriental Trading, Cupcake wraps by Party Treats, Microphone favors from Oriental Trading, Gloves from Oriental Trading, Animal Print balloons from Ebay, Record wall decals by PB Teen.

Here is a peek at the custom designs we created for the party! Dancers, Boom boxes and headphones adorn the cupcake toppers and the invitation screams "Meghan Rocks!"  Custom record labels and party circles will also be included. Stay tuned for a look at the real party... coming soon!

Happy Planning!

~Christy

Inspiration Board: Bold and Modern Noah's Ark Nursery

My friend "M" is pregnant with her first child and wants to do a Noah's Ark themed nursery. She doesn't know if they are having a boy or girl so she needs to keep it neutral. "M" is having trouble at where to begin with decorating so she asked me to create an inspiration board to help her get inspired!

1. Noah's Ark Artwork by Bold and Noble  2. Ben Collection Bedding by Serena and Lily  3. Growth Chart Wall Decal from Ferm Living 4. Pillows from Modern Dose 5. Fabric Storage Bin by Sew Gracious 6. Custom Baby Name Art Print by Miss Print Design   7. Leather Bookends from This Next. 8. Art prints by The English Pea.  9. Roman Shade by Dwell Studios.

It is overwhelming when first faced with designing an entire room, but it doesn't have to be!

Breaking it down into steps will help you get started. 

1.The first step is to choose something to base the room around. This can be a piece or art work, fabric, bedding or even a pillow or lampshade. The key is to find an item that will be the centerpiece of the room - so you should really love it! 

For inspiration I turned to Etsy and found this bold artwork from Bold and Noble. I also like the darling Alexander Henry Teeny Tiny Zoo fabric. Either would work for our inspiration piece.

2. From there you want to decide on your color palette, something to coordinate and compliment your inspiration piece. Choose one or two main colors and several supporting colors. Main colors will color the bigger impact items, such as the walls. The supporting colors will help you choose the accessories.

It seems whenever someone wants a neutral nursery it ends up yellow or green ( I am guilty of this myself). So to mix things up a bit I chose to base these ideas on a bold aqua and orange color palette. These are two colors I love and I think would work well for a baby boy or girl!

3. Accessorize! Find pieces to fit your theme, budget and color palette and have fun! A great place to look is Etsy - you can find unique handmade items that will make your room one of a kind! Pillows, lamps, and window treatments are great basics to start with and help pull the whole room together.

"M", I hope you enjoy this bold and modern design palette and if not, at least you have an idea of how to get started with your nursery!

Happy Planning!

~Christy

DIY: Lollipop Valentine's

My sons preschool party for Valentine's Day is today so I thought I would show you what we did for his Valentine's.  Just one way you can use the Free Valentine's Printables.  I added photos of my little man into the mix as well so all his little friends would know who they were from!

1. Take your printables printed on white cardstock and cut in half.  2. Using a 2" scallop (or circle) punch, center and punch each design. 3. Using a small hole punch, punch a hole centered above and below the design.  4. Slide your sucker or lollipop through holes. And Voila!  Cute unique Valentine's!

Inspiration Board: Tinkerbelle Party

My friend "J" is having a tinkerbelle theme party for her daughter's fourth birthday and asked me to design an invitation for her. I thought I would take the oppurtunity to create this inspiration board all for Tink as well.

First row: Tinkerbelle wings and tutu by ToggleGirl, Marshmallow Pops and Toadstool Centerpiece from Blog Niako, Cupcakes from Cupcakes By Design.

Second row: Pom Box Toppers by Pom Tree, Glitter Candied Apples by Mel's Munchies, Pink and Green Party Poms by Party Poms.

Third row:  Garden Fairy Banner by Itsy Belle, Vinyl Wall Decal by It's Written On The Wall, Candy Fairy Wands from Blog Niako, Garden Fairy Labels by Itsy Belle.

Sneak Peek: Garden Fairy Party Collection

I have been designing, printing, staging and photographing all week! I am so excited to finally be able to give you another little sneak peek.  Hoping to be ready for our big Grand Opening and giveaway by the end of this month!  So stay tuned for your chance to win one of our complete printable party packages!

Real Parties: Adalie in Wonderland!

I couldn't wait to share this very special birthday with you!  My best friend Angela created an Alice in Wonderland party for her daughter Adalie's first birthday and I was fortunate enough to be able to help!

I was inspired to create this whimsical invitation inspired by the Mad Hatter tea party, complete with Alice herself curtsying while balanced on a top hat, stacked on a tea pot.

Angela hosted both a tea room and a Queen of Hearts themed room.  I created these custom cupcake toppers complete with tea party and Queen of Hearts themed designs.

These small topiarys in colorful pots purchased on ebay were perfect! Small decorative rose embellishments from the local craft store were stuck on for the Queen of Hearts theme.

Painting the Roses Red... the Queen of heart room was adorned with beautiful red roses and punch. The walls were decorated with playing cards created using felt.

In the Tea Party room guests wore paper top hats created using card stock to enjoy their Mad Tea. Colorful flowers and mix and match tea cups added whimsy.

DIY tips:  To create these paper top hats two circles where cut, one 2 inches larger that the other, for the top and bottom of the hat. Next card stock was cut into a strip long enough to wrap around the small circle and at the desired height. The strip was then stapled into a cylinder. The circles where then glued on top and bottom of the paper cylinder. Holes were punched and elastic cord tied through to hold the hats on... and Voila! Party perfect Mad Hatter top hats!

Angela served colorful tea party perfect sandwiches, including delicious cucumber sandwiches! She was kind enough to share this simple recipe with us.

Adalie's highchair was decorated for the big cake smash! Angela purchased coordinating scrapbook papers, cutting pendants and attaching with ribbon to create this fun banner.

Last but not least... The beautiful birthday girl wore an embroidered party dress by Princess Linens purchased through Zulily.

Saving tip: Zulily's website offers daily deals on posh items for babies and kids up to 90% off  their retail prices.

Hope you enjoy this colorful celebration! Happy birthday Adalie!

~Happy planning!
  Christy

Free Valentine's Day Printables

Just our way to say thank you and Happy Valentine's Day!

Click the image to link to your free printable .pdf file and have fun creating!

~Happy Planning

Christy

Inspiration Board: A Mustache Bash!

The Mustache Bash! I absolutely love that this theme is becoming so popular. Weddings, First birthdays, Bachelor Parties, Bah Mitzvah... the mustache is taking over! Provide the cheesy fake 'staches and a camera and let the fun begin!

 I've been working on a line of Mustachioed party printables for my shop which got me thinking of what else would be needed to make one of these events complete. I turned to my Etsy hand made community for some unique finds for either a little man's birthday or a grown up soiree!

1. Mustache glasses by BreadandBadger  2. Plastic Mustache Photo Props by WhiskerWorks 3. Mustache Wine Charm by HattieRexy 4. Mustache Vinyl Wall Decal by WillowCreekSigns 5. Cupcake toppers by DeathByCupcake  6. Mustache Cookies by WhippedBakeShop  7. Mustache Crayons by JugieBeeCrayons
8. Mustache Napkins by ParrishHW  9. Mustache Lollipops by AmpersandIdeas

Stay tuned for more sneak peeks of our new collections leading up to our grand opening giveaways!