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 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
This fun and creative BUNCO THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Cris McGrath of Crissy’s Crafts.
Bunco is such a fun game…what a good idea to create a whole party around the game! I’m sure Cris’ daughter and her friends had a blast at this fabulous celebration!
Fabulous party ideas I liked:
The Game Dice Shaped Cake Pops
The black and pink honeycomb lanterns hanging above the table
Cris said this about planning the party- “We had a BUNCO party to celebrate my daughter’s 14th Birthday. The girls didn’t know much about the game upon arrival but I explained the rules while they had dinner. We served all my daughter’s favorite appetizers for dinner like zingers, cream cheese/herbs dip(in the shape of a dice – made by my daughter), pizza rolls, dumplings, spring rolls and mozzarella sticks. After dinner we started the game and took a break after a couple rounds for some dessert! As per my daughter request, we had a chocolate fountain! It was a huge hit! None of the girls had ever had the pleasure to enjoy such yummy treat! As for dipping, they enjoyed some fresh strawberries, marshmallows, pretzels and Oreos.
We got back to the game and at that point all the girls were into the game! The music was loud, they were screaming and giggling! We had a bright pink boa that was passed around every time someone else scored a BUNCO! We were able to finish all the 6 rounds of the game! The winner took home the boa as a prize! We also had favors for all the girls! They took home giant plush dice, candy, chocolate bar and beads. After the game we sang Happy Birthday and opened the gifts. We had Oreo ice cream cake(my daughter’s favorite cake), dice cake pops and chocolate cornered fortune cookies for our second round of desserts! The girls loved playing BUNCO and now they want to organize a Mother/Daughter BUNCO Mexican Night!”
This creative BREAKFAST WITH + AT TIFFANY’S THEMED BABY SHOWER was submitted by the incredible Jen Carver of Banner Events.
Such a cute shower theme! A few of my favorite ideas in this Breakfast At Tiffany’s themed party are:
The baby carriage party favor boxes
The fondant Tiffany box cupcake toppers
The doughnut hole tree, baby pancake stacks and french toast sticks offered for breakfast
Here’s what Jen said about the party- “When you have a gorgeous & glamorous friend named Tiffany who just so happens to be expecting a baby boy, hosting a “Breakfast with Tiffany” baby shower is a no-brainer. (This theme is so versatile! Think: bridal shower, baby shower, birthday and more! Substitute any special mom or bride-to-be’s name for equally as much fun!)
Inspired by the 1961 film by a similar name, starring the beautiful Audrey Hepburn, my friend Vivian and I wanted to create a pretty breakfast setting with pops of glitz and glamour. We recruited some of the best in the graphic design, event planning, baking, clothing & accessory businesses to help us with this special celebration. (Be sure to check out the amazing vendor list below to recreate our look!) A big “thank you” to our talented friend, Rochelle Pettingill for capturing the fun of the day with her photography.
Invitation Suite:
Guests received gorgeous invitations designed by Maureen of Anders Ruff Custom Designs inviting them to come join us for “Breakfast with Tiffany”. I love the vintage pram style baby buggy logo used throughout the designs. Because our guest of honor requested a diaper shower, Maureen created a darling enclosure card (in lieu of baby registry info) with a little poem inviting guests to help Tiffany stock her diaper & wipe supply. The invitation suite, including the custom address wrap were so classy with the Moroccan design, decorative frame, flourishes & formal script.
Decor:
Guests were greeted with this beautiful vinyl “Breakfast at Tiffany’s sign when they entered (Ten23 Designs). This was such a fun detail to set the stage for a themed event. Breakfast was served from a buffet counter, covered in coordinating tablecloths and accented with a lovely tissue fringe garland (One Stylish Party) & fresh flower ranunculas arrangements. We added some fun special touches, such as vinyl baby buggy accents on the vases and utensil holders (Ten23 Designs). Some of my favorite details were the napkins wrapped in gorgeous ribbon with little silver carriage charms. A yummy white chocolate baby pop accompanied each one! (Something Chicdid an amazing job on those details!)
A variety of beverage options were available from our beverage station. One of my favorite DIY ideas from this event was the circle garland we created by punching out several circle sizes from coordinating cardstock and stitching them together with a sewing machine. It added some bling and interest to the large sliding glass window overlooking a very cloudy day. Notice the cute printable bunting? It’s part of the coordinating printable package from Anders Ruff Custom Designs.
Apothecary jars were dressed up with rhinestone studded ribbon & party printables and filled with coordinating shimmer gumballs from SmashCake Studio. (Gumballs are a great way to tie in party colors & can also serve as a take home favor.) Along with another darling printable banner and perfect little blue satin bow wrapped boxes, the mantle was decorated with the most adorable baby buggy favors custom made byPiggy Bank Parties. (We filled these with coordinating wrapped mini chocolate bars for guests to take home.) The focal point of our mantle was a custom designed platter with vinyl lettering & coordinating baby buggy (Creative Designs by Toni).
Throughout the event space, we carried the diaper shower concept. A diaper shaped bunting hung from a sofa table. A beautiful 3-tiered custom diaper cake was the centerpiece at the welcome table. A custom crafted diaper bag, designed by SookEe Designswas filled with beautiful newborn essentials and accessories from talented vendors ( Mainely Applique, A Piece of Crochet, &Baybloom. From minkie blankets, to appliqued onesies and burp cloths to a tie/bow tie combo and a hand crocheted diaper cover & bow tie.
Our decor even carried over to the guest of honor’s children. Custom hair accessories were made for the beautiful daughters of the expectant mother by Giddy Up & Grow. It was fun to have a few photos taken of our sweet friend and her daughters. Doesn’t the confetti balloon and tassel garland add such an element of fun to their photo? (One Stylish Party)Food & Drink:
With a guest list of over 60, our greatest challenge with this event was coming up with a breakfast menu that was A.) palate pleasing B.) affordable and C.) manageable. After all, we wanted to be able to ‘enjoy’ breakfast with Tiffany too. I think you will find our menu fit these perameters nicely.
Menu:Petite pancake stacks with mint leaf & blueberry garnish & syrup drizzle accessorized with printable party flags from Anders Ruff’s collection & pearl accents
French toast sticks with syrup sauce served in petite glasses accented with printable 1″ monogram circle accents
Bacon skewers (kept warm in a chafing dish)
Sausage links (kept warm in a chafing dish)
Mini Quiche served in tasting spoons
Fresh fruit cups served in accessorized individual portion cups. Aren’t the scallop labels cute? You can find them in Anders Ruff’s printable package.
Mini Yogurt granola parfaits served in dessert parfait glasses & embellished with ribbon & 1″ circle monograms from AR’s printable package
Homemade muffins (banana, blueberry and cinnamon) served in polka dot muffin cups
Cinnamon Roll ‘Rattles’ (created with Glitterstix from Desserts & Designs).
Powdered sugar donut towers (an easy but impressive DIY project)
Beverages included: 1% milk, orange juice, apple juice, white grape juice and mango juice. Beverage glasses were dressed up with coordinating labels with fun striped straws accented by blinged out party flags.
Dessert Table:
If you want to excite guests, be sure to have a take away dessert table. Because our shower was an open house style brunch, we wanted a beautiful display of desserts that guests could nibble on during the shower, but could also take to go. We created the beautiful background using our DIY PVC pipe backdrop stand (see tutorial here) and some inexpensive curtain panels from IKEA. An old picture frame received a makeover with a coat of silver spray paint and was a perfect focal point for our 16 x20 welcome sign (printed for a few dollars at Office Depot). Most of the decor and serving trays were gathered from things I had on hand. The tiered stands were an inexpensive DIY project using 3 different sizes of centerpiece mirrors from Wholesale Event Solutions. I simply attached the mirrors to glass candlesticks from the Dollar Tree. They were so easy to put together and worked perfectly to hold beautiful custom desserts made byCakealicious by Reem, Evie and Mallow, Fondant Flinger&Edible Details. Another tiered stand held shiny silver chargers from Wholesale Event Solutions, filled with additional sweet treats from Flour Childand others previously mentioned. Notice the exquisite blossom & petite cups that the meringues, truffles and cake balls were displayed in (Via Blossom). Silver trays were home to beautiful baby onesie cookies baked and decorated by Flour Child. And of course, the beautiful cake by4 Kids Cakes was the main attraction. It was as equally delicious as it was beautiful with delicate sugar flowers and beautiful fondant detailing. The cake was almost entirely edible from top to bottom.
Shower Activity:
Most of our guests prefer socializing over organized shower games. Our open house style shower allowed plenty of time for eating & gabbing. However, we did want to leave our guest of honor with a fun remembrance of her special day. Guests were invited to leave a sweet message for the mom-to-be and baby on these adorable diaper notes made by Anders Ruff. At the end of the shower, we drew 2 diaper notes to receive a door prize– these darling little black purse manicure sets from Wholesale Event Solutions .Favors:
Guests certainly didn’t leave empty handed. Beautiful favor boxes contributed by Val at Greyson Designhoused scrumptious cupcakes baked by4Kids Cakes& embellished with satin ribbon and custom thank you tags. Guests also had the option to fill the adorable baby buggy favor boxes (Piggy Bank Parties)with treats from the dessert table.
Breakfast with Tiffany was enjoyed by all!
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Apothecary Jars Pearl Gumballs Ribbon Mini Wooden Spoons Striped Paper Straws Ice Cream {Oatmeal} Cups
This unique “SMASH” SCRAPBOOKING THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Heldy of To the Moon and Back.
I love the creativity of this scrapbooking “smash” party so much that I’m thinking of planning one with my friends! What a great idea for a group of any age and for any occasion from girl’s nights to birthdays to bridal and baby showers!
Some of my favorite things about this party are:
The mustache pick cupcake toppers
The whole concept of the scrapbooking “smash” book
Here’s what Heldy had to say about planning the party- “This year when planning my daughter’s 11th Birthday Party, she was very involved. Her two requisites, it had to be unique and it had to include her favorite color, PURPLE. I have been a scrapbooker since she was born, and one day rushing through a local craft store I spotted these lovely Smash Books. So I brought home one to show her, a pretty one with a purple spine and an embossed peace sign on the cover. She was sold! The idea of ‘Smashing’ was new to both of us, but it was basically like taking that shoebox full of memorabilia and ‘gluing it down, and smashing it into’ the pages of this pretty book.
I started working on the invitations with Amy from Sassaby. I gave her some ideas I had and some specific items and colors my daughter wanted and Amy did an amazing job creating the invites, cupcake toppers, door signs, and cards for the take home gifts.
We focused on the Smashing and the items the girls would be using. We put together a table for them to sit at and covered that with some Kraft paper. Each girl received a Smash book that had a little card with the definition of Smash that we had printed and tied with twine, as well as a paper bag that we ran through the printer, with their name printed on it. This bag held her “Smash items” and also served as a place marker. Each bag contained an array of little Smashing items like journaling cards, Smash band, paper clips, washi tape, colored cardstock, feathers, stickers, adhesive gems, etc. I set out colored markers and pencils. I also set up an additional table with scrapbooking tools. Since my daughter wanted this to be a surprise for her friends (they had no idea what a Smash Party was when they got here), I had contacted each mom and sworn them to secrecy. They each sent a sealed envelope with photos and memorabilia for each girl to work with on their Smash Books. They were so excited to open their envelopes and search through their ‘stuff’. I also printed a special ‘Conversation with’ sheet personalized for each girl with their name, month/year and their age (inspired by Ali Edwards) as a fun keepsake to look back on.
We took the girls outside for a fun photo shoot with some fun props from PhotoBoothgirls. My daughter thought it would be a fun idea to include some photos with the thank you cards so her friends can add them to their Smash Books.
As a take home gift we gave the girls these cute purple plastic totes to store their Smash items in. Lauri from Fresh Cuts by Lauri Beth created the vinyls we used on the front of the totes. She also made several die-cuts that we used in the décor and cupcake topper mustaches.
Since the party took place after lunch time, we basically had cupcakes and snacks. My daughter requested Red Velvet Cupcakes, so that’s what I made for her, as well as Rice Krispie treats dipped in chocolate, fruit kabobs, popcorn, pretzels and cheese. We had a “purple” punch for the girls to drink out of their daisy lidded mason jars with pretty striped paper straws.
I have to admit, they all had a great time, some didn’t want to leave until they finished their books! I’ve had lovely messages from mom’s thanking me for introducing their daughter’s to Smashing.
As for the Birthday Girl, she couldn’t be happier…..she’s on her second Smash Book and still going strong. There’s already talk about “Smashing” play dates;).”
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Lollipop / Treat Sticks Cupcake Liners Candles Baker’s Twine Striped Paper Straws Daisy Cut Mason Jar Lids Washi Tape Mustache Cupcake Toppers / Party Picks Brown Paper Bags Photobooth Props
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