Posted on May 22, 2013 by Kara

Rainbow Themed Birthday Party | Kara’s Party Ideas Shop

Today I am featuring my RAINBOW THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTY! I actually styled this party last year…and have been dying to share it with you!

This party was super fun to plan and execute. I hope you enjoy all of the rainbow party ideas. I tried to pack as many rainbow themed party ideas as possible into one party. There are a lot of ideas that could be used for an ART PARTY, too!

Party Styling: Kara’s Party Ideas
Photography: Kara Allen / Kara’s Party Ideas
Cake- Chubby Hubby Cupcakes

All party products used in this party are from KARA’S PARTY SHOP:
Rainbow Printable Set
Lollipops
Bakers Twine
Balloons
Number 5 Piñata
Gumballs
Milk Bottles
Paper Straws
Polka Dot Baking Cups
Candy Sticks
Bubbles
Chevron Paper Bags
Chevron Wooden Forks / Spoons
Striped Wooden Forks / Spoons
Ribbon
Mini Pedestal Cups
Rock Candy
Paper Shred
6″ Linen Bags
3″ Linen Bags
Paper Fringe
Party Hats
Gumball Tubes
White Standing Party Frame
Swirl Lollipops
Mini Cordial Clear Bowls
Happy Birthday Wooden Spoons
Cello Bags
Crepe Paper
Gable Boxes
Mason Jars

A number 5 piñata from Kara’s Party Shop doubled as part of the decor.

I filled letter candy dishes spelling ‘happy’ (from Amazon.com) with various rainbow candy…

White Gable Box, Bakers Twine- Kara’s Party Shop

I love these old fashioned lollipops in the shop. I attached cute tags (part of the rainbow printable collection) to the lollipops with bakers twine (also from the shop). I cut out the tags with my scallop paper punch.

These napkin holders were one of my favorite elements of the party. I used mini chevron bags to hold napkins, a candy stick and a paper straw with a cute printable straw topper…all from the shop. I tied printed wooden spoons to the bags with bakers twine…available here.

The invitation is also part of the printable party pack…shown here with red ribbon weaved through one side.

I cut cloud shapes out of white card stock and used them as fun straw toppers. Glass milk bottles, paper straws and printable drink label from the shop.

The layered jello was super fun in the mini plastic parfait cups from the shop.

One of the cute images from the printable party pack was printed on iron on transfer paper. The “you are my sunshine” was then printed onto linen favor bags from the shop.

Milk bottles, rainbow drink labels & striped paper straws from Kara’s Party Shop.

The same “you are my sunshine” image was printed on a smaller scale and used as cupcake toppers (attached to striped paper straws). A yellow pom sun was also attached to each topper.

Bubble favors were adorned with rainbow heart patterned printable flags (also part of the rainbow party pack).

Oranges were cut in half and hollowed out then filled with jello. Cute happy birthday wooden spoons from the shop were inserted into each orange jello cup.

I filled individual popsicle molds with rainbow candies and attached a printable tag (also from the printable collection) with bakers twine.

I filled ice cube trays with various juice and fruit. The ice cubes were delicious in Sprite.

I made the above party hats with regular inexpensive hats from my shop. I simply glued paper fringe (available in all colors in the Kara’s Party Ideas Shop) around the bottom of the hats to dress them up a bit.

Rock candy sticks (from the shop) are one of my favorite party treats.

I added paper fringe to the tops of paper chevron print bags.

Doughnut holes served as “Doughnut Clouds”. Printable topper from the rainbow printable collection.

Mini plastic cordial cups from the shop were filled with rainbow candies. A printable tag from the party pack was then simply placed on top of the candy in the center of the bowl for extra cuteness.

Easily make these popsicle cupcake toppers with mike & ike candies & toothpicks! The cute polka dot cupcake cups / wrappers are from the shop.

TUTORIAL on how to make a fringe garland…

Supplies needed-

Square Plastic Tablecloths

Wire

Rope or Ribbon

Scissors

I filled cello bags with rainbow licorice and gold chocolate coins for one party favor. The other held rainbow paint. All printables from the shop.

Printable banner and cupcake toppers / tags from the printable collection. Gumball tubes also from the shop.

Rainbow swirl lollipops from the shop.

Printable over the rainbow sign and standing party frame from the shop.

The mini happy birthday pennant banner cake topper is a FREE download here!

Slushie Tube recipe found here.

Raspberry Lemonade pop recipe found here. Striped wooden spoons and snow cone wrappers available in the shop.

Beautiful cake made by Chubby Hubby Cupcakes.

Mini happy birthday cake topper banner available as a FREE download here.

Gifts were wrapped in craft paper and yarn.

Mini linen bags from the shop were stamped and used as crayon bags for guests to fill at the “crayon bar”.

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Kara

Gumball Tube Young Women Value Birthday Gift Idea!

In my church I am over the youth group (girls ages 12-18). This group is called the “Young Women” organization. I absolutely love it. It’s so rewarding and the girls are just the cutest!

A friend and I came up with this fun birthday gift idea to give to the girls in the YW on their birthday. As leaders we are always trying to find inexpensive yet cute gift ideas…I think we nailed it with this one!

The gumball tubes can be purchased from the Kara’s Party Shop for only $1.13 each HERE (they come in packs of 6). I also sell inexpensive gumballs/bubble gum in assorted colors HERE (including gold- the value color for Virtue)!

The CUTE CHALK BOARD YOUNG WOMEN VALUE BUBBLE GUM TAGS are available in the C & C Paperie Shop HERE for only $10! You get the printable file/download so you can print out as many as you need for as long as you would like!

Hope you enjoy!

xoxo,

Kara

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Kara

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Birthday Party

This awesome TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Stephanie Pasutto of Fourth and Hazel Photography.

These guys are definitely making a comeback! What a fun party! Some of my favorite party ideas from this celebration are:

The terra cotta pots painted to look like Ninja turtle characters
The mini Ninja turtle party banner
The brain cookies
The peg doll Ninja Turtles
And MORE!

Party Design & Photography- Fourth and Hazel Photography

Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:

Striped Paper Straws
Napkins
Plates
Tablecloths

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle themed birthday party planning ideas via Kara's Party Ideas | KarasPartyIdeas.com #teenage #ninja #turtle #party #ideas #supplies #decorations #idea (6)

This is what Stephanie said about planning the party- “BOOYAKASHA! is the new Cowabunga Dude! I have to admit I was a little nervous when my soon to be 3 year old son asked for a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle birthday party. The turtles made a huge comeback in 2012 with a new cartoon, but there is limited inspiration available for an updated take on a TMNT birthday party.

So I started from scratch.

As a parent I really enjoy the new TMNT cartoon. The characters are cute and even though the episodes are “dark” (NYC at night) the feel of the show is light. As my son is just turning 3 I wanted to take a lighter approach to the TMNT theme and stay away from the commercial part of the brand (which can be really hard to do)

For the invites, my local Famoso was generous in giving me some to go pizza boxes to use for the invitations. I hunted down enough TMNT t shirts for each of our little guests and tucked them inside. I absolutely fell in LOVE with the turtle illustrations by Jess Bradley and was over the moon excited when she was kind enough to allow me permission to use them for my son’s birthday.

I found a cartoon NYC skyline online that I liked and printed it as the backdrop for the dessert table. Desserts were hard for this theme as ninja turtles only dine on pizza (which we served for lunch). So we served Ninja Smoke Bomb (cake pops), Krang Cookies and Sewer Rat Gummies which were a big hit with kids of all ages.

To decorate the table I purchased some fabric in TMNT mask colors and used them as table runners. This was perfect for this party and would also work well with an art or rainbow party and so, so easy to do.

I also incorporated Jess Bradley’s turtle illustrations here for labelling the drinks at the table. This one is my favorite and was reserved for the over 18 guests ;)

After the kids had eaten, they had to go through the sewer cover (and tunnel) to get Turtle-fied.Each guest got to choose their favorite color of mask and put on their turtle shell. I picked up the “shell” (frisbees) at Dollarama (love that place) and used brown grosgrain ribbon and D Rings to keep the shells on while the kids enjoyed the rest of the party. I used fleece fabric blankets I found at Ikea and used a mask we already had as a guide to make the TMNT masks.

So many plans and ended up with so little time. I had planned a few games for the kids including Fruit Ninja, Kung Fu Hi Impact and a Ninja Throwing Star Game. I came across these super awesome pots from Ginger Pots and was inspired to create my own version for the party. I am no painter but I think they turned out great even if they didn’t get used.”

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Kara

Harry Potter Party for Parenting Magazine!

I was so excited for the April issue of Parenting Magazine! I had the honor of styling a Harry Potter themed birthday party for both the Early Year and School Year April issues!

Being a part of the editorial advisory board for Parenting has been fabulous! When Sabrina James (Style & Fashion Director) asked me if I would like to work on another fun project for them I just couldn’t resist! I will admit, when she asked if I would do a Harry Potter party my first thoughts weren’t all warm and fuzzy. It was a party theme outside of my comfort zone, and a theme I had never done. But now, it’s one of my most favorite parties to date!

If you haven’t yet, be sure and grab a copy of the April Parenting Magazine to see the full spread along with other fabulous parties styled by The Tomkat Studio & Oh Happy Day!

Photography by Valerie Hart.

Decor

The party was set out on Harry Potter inspired items like an old steamer trunk, some vintage suitcases, a british inspired telephone booth shelf and a book themed end table.

Candles were hung from the ceiling with fishing line to create a floating candle effect.

Old books are an easy way to stage a lot of the party food/decor. They go along perfectly with the Harry Potter theme, too.

The printable lightning banner, paper ties, argyle cupcake wrappers, invitation, Hogwarts Express sign and food labels/place cards are all part of the Harry Potter printable collection in the Kara’s Party Ideas Shop.

Invitation

This Harry Potter fill-in-the-blank invitation is a simple download from Kara’s Party Ideas shop. Roll it up and attach it to a white balloon, acting as the “delivery owl” from Harry Potter. Use a black permanent marker to draw an owl face onto the balloon. I weighed down the invitation with a vintage key.

Popcorn Bar

Since children will be watching Harry Potter at the party, provide a fun popcorn bar! This one included caramel corn, original corn & kettle corn. Parmesan seasoning and salt were set out for added flavor. Find the wooden scoops, signs & popcorn baskets in the Kara’s Party Ideas Shop- www.KarasPartyIdeas.com/shop

Butter Beer

Cream Soda acted as “Butter Beer” at the party. To create the foaming effect simply add vanilla ice cream to each drink.

Hogwarts Express Sign

Bring the feel of the Hogwarts Express Train Station into your party with this printable sign available in the KPI shop.

Butter Beer Candy Favors

Small glass salt and pepper shakers perfectly resemble mugs, so they were filled with butterscotch candies and labeled as “Butter Beer Candy Favors”. A vintage key was attached to the top of each jar with twine.

Owl Glasses

If a few simple steps, make these darling owl glasses for the kids to wear at the party.

- Pop out the center eye pieces of inexpensive glasses or sunglasses (available at the dollar store).

Attach white and brown feathers to each side of the pair of glasses with hot glue.
For the nose, cut a diamond shape piece out of orange card stock and make a crease down the middle. Glue the piece in-between the eyes of the glasses with hot glue.

Harry Potter themed birthday party idea via Kara's Party Ideas | KarasPartyIdeas.com #harry #potter #decorations #printables #invitation #party #supplies #idea #cake #cupcakes #activities (44)

Hanging Key Activity

These darling chocolate keys were made with a key candy mold from the KPI shop & melted chocolate. The keys were hung from a broom with twine. A child held up the broom as children tried to eat the keys with their hands behind their backs or at their side.

Party Activity- Magic Potion Station

Clear plastic gumball tubes from the KPI shop were filled with lemon lime soda. Three small honey jars, also from the shop, were filled with different flavored Koolaid drink mix. Koolaid is perfect because it’s a very light color, so the children can’t tell what flavor it actually is. The kids spooned the Koolaid into their tube of soda & watched in amazement as their color was revealed!

Paper Ties

These darling HP inspired printable ties are available in the KPI shop and are simple to print and cut out. Attach the ties to inexpensive elastic headbands and put the ties on guest as they arrive at the party.

Candy Stick Wands

Rock candy sticks from the KPI shop were placed in an owl vase as “Candy Wizard Wands”.

Honey Dukes Candy Shop

Small burlap bags from Kara’s Party Ideas shop were set out for the kids to fill with various types of candy from “Honey Dukes Candy Shop”, including actual Bertie Bott’s Every Falvour Beans, also available in the KPI shop here.

Owl Cake

Make this cake with fondant or gum paste pieces, cut to resemble leaves or feathers, and layer the pieces up the side of the cake. This cake was made by the talented Marcee, owner of Dippidee.

Owl Cupcakes

Easily make these cute owl cupcakes with vanilla icing, mini vanilla wafers, chocolate chips, almond slices and cashews. The argyle cupcake wrappers are from the Kara’s Party Ideas Shop here.

Golden Snitch Gumballs

Gold gumballs from the KPI shop were put in a jar and labeled as “Golden Snitch Gumballs”.

Golden Snitch Cookies

These were made with store bought banana cream cookies and yellow card stock. Simply cut the card stock into wing shaped pieces and insert the ends of the “wings” into each side of the cookies.

Chocolate Frogs

Simply make these with a frog candy mold from the KPI shop and melted chocolate. The frogs were set a top of an open book for added HP charm.

Party Favor- Truth Serum

Cute miniature glasses with cork lids from the KPI shop here were filled with water, mimicking “truth serum”. What mother wouldn’t love her child to come home from a party with this! The tags are part of the HP printable collection in the KPI shop.

Gowns

Inexpensive children’s graduation gowns look just like Hogwarts gowns! A gown was given to each child as they arrived at the party. The gowns are available in the Kara’s Party Ideas online shop here.

All party items from the Kara’s Party Ideas Shop- www.KarasPartyIdeas.com/shop
Harry Potter Invitation
Harry Potter Tags/Place Cards
Harry Potter Paper Ties
Harry Potter Banner
Harry Potter Train Sign
Harry Potter Paper Ties
Graduation Gowns
Harry Potter Napkins & Plates
Twine
Candy Sticks
Frog Mold
Key Mold
Plastic Gumball Tubes
Wooden Scoops
Jars with Wooden Spoons
Rock Candy Sticks
Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans
Burlap Bags
Wooden Baskets
Miniature Glass Bottles
Wooden Spoons
Gold Gumballs

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Kara

PartySuppliesNow.com Party Decorations, Supplies & MORE!

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