This vintage COOKIE RECIPE EXCHANGE PARTY was submitted by Gemma Touchstone of Party Style.
This whole adorable printable collection (banner, straw toppers, cupcake tags, thank you cards, recipe cards & more) is available as a FREE DOWNLOAD HERE! Thank you so much, Gemma!
Some of the highlights of this fabulous cookie recipe exchange party are:
The cookies packaged in cupcake liners
The cupcakes topped with mini cookies and paper straws holding printable tags
The assorted milk glass cake stands used to display the cookies and cupcakes
This cute ALPHABET ABC THEMED SECOND BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Tierney Williams of Tints and Prints by Tierney.
I love how the simplicity of this theme is taken up a level in this party by all of the unique items that were brought in from various Etsy shops. I think this Alphabet ABC theme would be so fun for a back to school party or a baby shower too! Some of the ideas and elements I like best in this party are:
The chalkboard printables
The small cake made to look like a toy block with fondant letters on the sides and striped paper straws along the edges
The mini composition book party favors
The alphabet cereal served in cupcake liners
The fork, knife and napkin packaged together in notebook paper favor bags
Tierney said this about the party- “Planning birthday parties is an art, an adventure and a memory in the making. As our youngest son turned 2, we decided to put a modern spin on an ABC Party. As the owner of Tints and Prints by Tierney, I challenge myself to create unique birthday parties for my boys. And when I need those unique, one-of-a-kind ideas, I shop on Etsy for just about everything. My parties start with the invitation design, of course, and everything falls into place from there. ABC decorations, books, crayon favors, notebook paper bags, chalkboard and chevron accents…need I say more? Adding these modern twists to a traditional ABC party sounded like fun and were a hit with the school of cousins we had over.
Aside from the birthday party invitation and coordinating party items, this Alphabet ABC Chalkboard Birthday Party features 5 other products from other Etsy shops. Personalized crayons, adorable fabric buntings, custom made fondant for the cake, party straws and paper bags, and the cutest Tooth Fairy pillow gift you’ve ever seen…all wonderful products. Each custom and personalized item made our party one for the books!”
Items used in this party available in the Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Striped Paper Straws Baker’s Twine Notebook Paper and Chevron Print Paper Favor Bags Balloons #2 Candle Clear Cellophane Bags Decorative Paper Shred “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” Square Paper Plates Burlap
This unique MOROCCAN MIDNIGHT MOTHER’S DAY AFFAIRE was submitted by Charlene of Chakoda Design. What an elegant way to celebrate mom or to make any woman feel special!
A few of the ideas and elements that I like best in this Moroccan Mother’s Day party are:
The brightly colored satin pillows, drapes and table cloths
The assorted colorful candle holders
The various brass elephants incorporated throughout the party displays
and MORE!
Here’s what Charlene said about planning the party- “This was a celebration for my mom. I wanted to make it a little different than expected. I was picturing something that was a little bit sophisticated and fun at the same time, so a Midnight Moroccan theme is what I came up with. All of the guests had a great time.”
Party Concept and Rentals- Chakoda Design
Food- Darna Cuisine in Fountain Valley
Photography- Charlene Freelance Photography
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Cake Icing Icing Decorating Bags Mini Cordial Cups
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.
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.
This darling LOOK WHOOO’S ONE OWL THEMED 1ST BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Lauren Haddox of Lauren Haddox Designs.
Such an adorable party full of fabulous ideas! A few of my favorites include:
Lauren said this about the party- “Sarah was a dream client to work with… we customized my Night Owl Sleepover collection for her daughter’s first birthday. She did a fantastic job putting everything together. Here are some of the details of the party from Sarah’s blog…
‘I have been pinning pictures and ideas on Pinterest for the last few months so I knew what “theme” I wanted for her first birthday….OWLS….in my signature colors of course! One of the best things I did was to hire an amazing photographer to take pictures of the day and all of the details. It was so nice to be able to visit with all of the guests and enjoy the party without a camera around my neck trying to get a bunch of pictures. Best money spent! It was amazing seeing my vision come together and having everything so pretty for my special birthday girl.
I found the little “S” and owl at Hobby Lobby. The bottles are glass Starbucks bottles. I got them from someone off Craigslist, took the labels off and washed them about 10 times with super hot water. I had all of the guests bring sealed letters to Sally and place them in the suitcase. I plan to present her with the letters when she turns 18. I collected brightly colored frames…mostly from Hobby Lobby…and filled them with Sally’s monthly pictures.’”
Items used in this party from Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Pop Pom Garland Balloons Tissue Fan Flowers Cupcake Liners Pink Striped popcorn boxes Polka Dot Ribbon Apothecary Jars Candy Striped Paper Straws Glass Milk Bottles Clear Plastic Cups (for veggies & dip) Chevron Striped Paper Bags Owl Themed Party Supplies
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