Posted on March 4, 2013 by Kara

Las Vegas Themed Birthday Party

This super creative LAS VEGAS THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Debbie of Wants and Wishes. This party looks like it was so much fun and has so many creative Vegas-centered ideas. Not only is it a great theme for a birthday party but it would also be fun for a girls’ night out, a bachelorette party, or an over-the-hill party!

There are so many fun ideas here! A few of my favorite elements of this Las Vegas themed party are:

The martini olive cake pops

The dice patterned favor boxes

The cookies shaped like different playing card suits

and MORE!

This is what Debbie said about planning the party- “Welcome to my fabulous midlife crisis birthday party…. Vegas Style. A few close friends and I joke that we are going through a pre midlife crisis, so when my birthday come around this year I thought it would be fun to have a midlife crisis party and also incorporate Vegas. I absolutely LOVE how it turned out and everyone had a great gambling and munching at the “Lost Ages” buffet. The party’s saying was “What happens at Debbie’s party- stays at Debbie’s birthday party”.

For the atmosphere I wanted it to fee like a hotel & casino…. the “Lost Ages” Hotel and Casino. I was playing off of Lost Wages, as that is what some people call Vegas, but wanted to stick with the Ages/ Midlife crisis theme still. I set up tables for game playing and I wanted them to look like real gambling tables so they had green felt on the top and red skirting. This also matched the dessert table.

The dessert bar had a large backdrop poster of the famous Vegas Sign…. Welcome to my fabulous midlife crisis. We has so many fun sweets and treats. I made Sprinkles Bakes Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Cake Cheesecake! It was so incredibly delicious! We decorated it with king and queen toppers and chocolate poker chips that I homemade. We also had sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies in the shapes of all four playing card suits. The chocolate chip cookies were packaged in favor bags and we made ice cream sandwiches out of them later on in the party. There were also Elvis cupcakes (which have banana and peanut butter frosting with bacon bits in banana cupcake batter), homemade marshmallow “dice”, red Liquor-ish, little shot glasses of Chicklets (they looked like bingo balls) and my favorite dessert… olive cake pops. I took an over-sized martini glass filled with red candy, then displayed the “olive” cake pops in there! It was the hit of the night for sure! We had dice patterned favor boxes for the guests to fill up with treats and take home.

For favors, I made little note pads like you would find in a hotel room that said ‘Lost Ages, Hotel and Casino’ at the top and ‘What happens at Debbie’s birthday- stays at Debbie’s birthday’ at the bottom. These were also placed at every game table and we used them to keep score for some of the games.

The buffet had a vegetable and fruit platter, chips and my favorite olive dip, rice, squash and zucchini, sweet pepper sliced chicken and sliced steak and rolls.”

Party planning and styling: Wants and Wishes

Party printables: Wants and Wishes

Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Cake Cheesecake recipe: Sprinkles Bakes

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

Striped Paper Favor Bags

Clear Cellophane Bags

Cupcake Liners

Lollipop / Treat Sticks

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

Striped Paper Favor Bags

Clear Cellophane Bags

Cupcake Liners

Lollipop / Treat Sticks

Posted on August 26, 2012 by Kara

Butterfly Themed Bridal Shower

This gorgeous & stunning BUTTERFLY THEMED SUMMER BRIDAL SHOWER was submitted by Sandra Thomasian. The details and decor at this soiree are just incredible! Everything is so pretty!

Sandra said- “I want to present to you the most colorful, summertime bridal shower you could imagine. I have always had a love for butterflies, so it was only fitting for my mother and sister to throw me a bridal shower themed around just that. No detail was left unturned here, from florals in the shape of butterflies to butterfly drink tags to butterflies peeking out of corner along the vibrantly adorned tables. Something I like in particular about the shower was the absence of hokey games replaced by more contemporary ideas like ‘Guess the Spice?’, Decorate the Wedding Cake, Advice for the bride, and the Make a Bouquet Contest.”

Vendors and Credits:
Event Planning and Design, Linen and Rentals: Sky Events and Production (Los Angeles, CA)
Cake: Rafi’s Cakes (Glendale, CA)
Catering: La Fogata Catering (Sherman Oaks, CA)
Entertainment: DJ Melcon
Hair: Phillip Arellano, Carlton Hair Salon
Makeup: Fiore Beauty
Bride’s Dress: Badgley Mischka
Maid of Honor Dress: Marchesa
Photography: Reel Light Pictures (Burbank, CA)

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Kara

Girly Camping / Glamping Birthday Party for the Bachelorette’s Daughter

What a CUTE party! I am in love with this GIRLY CAMPING / GLAMPING BIRTHDAY PARTY for the BACHELORETT’ES DAUGHTER submitted by Adria and Maureen of Anders Ruff! Maureen and Adria did an incredible job! There are sooo many darling, darling ideas here!

Maureen said this about planning the party- “Adria and I got to work on an inspiring and exciting project a couple weeks ago… We got to style Emily’s Maynard’s daughter’s Birthday Party! Ricki turned 7 and chose to have a Glam Camping themed party. We have been wanting to style a party using our glam camping printable line for a long time and this was the perfect reason!

We had literally 5 days to pull together props, designs, decor, fabric and round up vendors for the party. With many long hours, we are proud to share the results and beautiful photographs from Becca Bond Photography. Most of all, what made us happy was to see Ricki’s face when she walked into the room! That was the icing on the cake.”

Items available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:
Wooden Chevron Spoons
Bakers Twine
Clear S’more boxes
Gumball Tubes
Paper Straws
Trail Mix Jars
RicRac Ribbon
Baking Cups
Balloons

Inspiration: Adria and I knew that there were several elements we wanted to include in the party decor throughout. Yarn, twine, ric rac, chevron print and ruffles. Nothing cuter! We were so inspired by the adorable tents that photographer Wendy Updegraff made for her daughter’s party, and what little girl wouldn’t love a tent for their room? We had Morgan (Made by Morgan) sew up a custom tents and Adria’s husband built the frame. We shopped at our local adorable fabric store in Concord, We’re Sew Creative, for the fabulous and gorgeous fabrics used in the tent and pillows. Morgan also made adorable matching pillows that we gave to Ricki to keep for her bedroom. Nancy of A to Zebra Celebrations happened to have a lime green chevron runner that we also used on the buffet. Everything coordinated perfectly!

Dessert Table: Adria and I loved working with the glam camping color scheme – pinks, purples and limes. It was so fresh! I adore how the dessert table came together. We wanted to pull in camping and outdoor elements, while keeping it “glam” and girlie. We painted kerosene lanterns and used white washed logs and 4x4s to add height and dimension to the table. We mixed in our girlie pink milk glass cake stands and glass domes to soften it up. Yarn, twine, ripped fabric buntings and ruffles were used throughout. Printables (from our Glam Camping / Glamping Printable Collection) were shown throughout the entire party. Bright and gorgeous french macarons (from Cupcrazed) were placed on a whitewashed log slice that was lined with our patterned paper. Cupcrazed also made the yummy and irresistible s’mores cupcakes. (Remember how Cupcrazed won Cupcake Wars on Food Network? We know why!) We are talking chocolate cake, graham cracker crumbs, chocolate ganache and toasted marshmallow icing. Could you die? We topped them with ruffle backed printable cupcake toppers (Ruff Draft Tutorial here). We set up adorable terrariums with marshmallow flowers (tutorial here) and homemade purple meringue mushrooms (remember Kiss Me Kate did these for their Red Riding Hood party? We were so inspired so we made purple mushrooms!) We made trail mix and labeled cute jars with our printable “trail mix” label from the printable collection. Twine was used to wrap the cute label around the jar. We slipped in a wooden spoon (with chevron print embellishment). We worked closely with Mandie of Got What It Cakes, who created the most beautifully crafted cake for the table. (Did we mention it is delicious, too!? We had to leave early so we wouldn’t be tempted to eat more cake!). We loved doing a non-symmetrical table for this theme and the cake fit perfectly within the setting under the fun printable bunting banner and yarn pom garlands. We used Ricki’s initial as part of the focal point to the table. (Printable available in the shop). We used our matting/twine wrapping technique to make it pop. (See the Ruff Draft here). I also made swirl meringues and added them on top of purple and pink chocolate covered oreos. A cute little printable flag was added for an extra touch. Plus, we packaged up individual S’mores kits for the girls using containers from Nashville Wraps. The printable tag is available in the shop.

Activities: Emily had an ADORABLE setup out back. She had precious lanterns for the girls as well as butterfly catchers and some activities. She set up a tent for the girls to play in as well. They had so much fun (even though it was 100+ degrees out!). The girls all enjoyed the custom tent and were greeted with a gorgeous tote bag from Monica of SookEe Designs. Just wait until you see what was inside each of the totes! Monica was so amazing to work with and even added custom rosette pins on the bags so the girls can use it on their shirts or as an accessory elsewhere after the party. We tied a printable favor tag onto each of the bags. The “Camp Ricki” pillowcase was made by Polka Dot Market. Sally provided not only the party ware (straws, cupcake liners, balloons and more), she whipped up the gorgeous pillow case at a moment’s notice. Ricki was wearing custom precious lounge wear that was custom made by Lila & G. Her hair accessory was from Evelyn’s Whim and Two Lucky Cats sent precious felted flower cuffs for Ricki to wear on her wrist. Each girl received a unique headband from Evelyn’s Whim. We fell in love with her work! The girls also received their own set of lounge bottoms and ruffled tanks from Polka Dot Market and felted flower cuffs from Two Lucky Cats. I love the cute button closure and how each piece was so unique on the girls’ wrists. They also received a “Camp Ricki” custom bottle/canteen from Clarabelle and the Hen. We printed up some personalized thank you cards (in the printable package) for Ricki to send out to her friends later. The Glam Camping (Glamping) invitation design and all of the shown coordinating graphic printables are available in our shop!

Party Credits:

Glamping Party Production and Styling: Anders Ruff Printable Invitation and Graphic Printable Collection: Anders Ruff Shop Photography: Becca Bond Photography Vendor Sources: Cake: Got What It Cakes Cupcakes and Macarons: Cupcrazed Cakery Sugar Cookies: Firefly Confections Chocolate Covered Apples, Pretzels, Meringues, Marshmallows, Chocolate Oreos: Anders Ruff Canteen Water Bottles, Tees, Tote by Clarabelle and the Hen Terrycloth Party Bags: SookEe Designs Chevron Runner: A to Zebra Celebrations Custom Tent and Pillows: Made By Morgan Fabric for Sewn Tent and Pillows: We’re Sew Creative “Camp Ricki” Pillowcase: Polka Dot Market Label Paper: OnlineLabels.com Lounge Pants by Lila & G available at Polka Dot Market Tanks by Lila & G available at Polka Dot Market Handcrafted Headbands: Evelyn’s Whim Felted Flower Cuffs: Two Lucky Cats Items available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Wooden Chevron Spoons Bakers Twine Clear S’more boxes Gumball Tubes Paper Straws Trail Mix Jars RicRac Ribbon Baking Cups Balloons

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Kara

Tiffany Blue House Warming Party

I fell in love with this beautiful TIFFANY INSPIRED HOUSE WARMING PARTY sent in by Daisy Kelvin of Leo & Bella. I mean, how cute are those delicate tiffany blue cupcakes and skeleton key cookies?! Daisy said– “Here is my tiffany inspired housewarming party for a girl’s new bachelorette pad. She requested something feminine & elegant and the first thing that pop into my mind was blue, white and black an inspiration drawn from a stationery set by Polkadot Prints that I fell in love with. I decided to use all clear jars, cake stands and vessels to bring a little vintage into the table as most of the pieces on the table are antique which also complements the mirrored buffet that we sat the dessert table on. Guest were served champagne and desserts. We had cake pops, mini lemon meringue, banana cupcakes and the yummiest Panna Cotta by Helen of Kiss My Cakes. Also on the table we had the ‘Bastille’ Moët & Chandon + Black Current macaroons in white and a Violet and Blueberry baby blue macaroon from Melbourne’s cutest macaroon vendor La Belle Miette. We have 2 candy jars filled with orange blossom and vanilla Persian Fairy Floss and 2 jars of white chocolate macadamias. The gorgeous Noo from Dessert Menu, Please created the cutest Tiffany key cookies on the table and smaller ones filled in mini apothecary jars as a take home gift.” Vendor Credits: Stylist: Leo & Bella Printables: Polkadot Prints Cupcakes & Desserts: Kiss My Cakes Cookies: Dessert Menu, Please Macaroons: La Belle Miette Photography: Jess, White Sparks Photography

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Kara

1950s Happy Housewife Bridal Shower

Today’s winning party feature goes to this amazing 1950s HAPPY HOUSEWIFE BRIDAL SHOWER submitted by Kio Kreations! WOW, Now this is FUN. A bunch of talented vendors came together this past June to create this lovely shoot. Everything is just perfect! You must check out the DIY mini soap bottle aprons {tutorial, etc below}!

Kristen of Kio Kreations said…”Inspired by 1950s housewife meets Katy Perry and Dita Von Teese, we came up with a bright, cheeky bridal shower theme that every Peggy Sue would love to be a part of! And what’s more fun than getting dolled up like a happy 1950s housewife? Making all of your girlfriends join you in the fun!

Of course, no 1950s wife-to-be would be complete without a scarlet lip! To modernize the look, a cherry red lipstick with a little bit of clear lipgloss was applied to all the guests at this shower. Some flirty faux lashes and winged eyeliner completed their retro look. Soft waves, short rolled bangs and feminine curls that bounce inspired the hairstyles. All of the ladies also dressed in 50s styled dresses and wore adorable vintage floral aprons.

We put out the perfect spread of vintage cake stands, cupcake trays, and Coke bottles and made faux sundaes with the “IT” flower of the 50’s—carnations! We also included cheerful gerbera daisies in the mix. All of our “desserts” were topped with polka-dot button flowers, which also adorned some of the yummy vanilla and chocolate cupcakes. A few of the cupcakes were additionally decorated with felt polka dot cupcake toppers.

Button bobby pins with 3-D flowers, rhinestones, and fun stacked buttons served as the favors for the bridesmaids! They also had a blast making little mini aprons for their dish soap bottles to wear.

With all of this cheeky fun, this is one shower they’ll be talking about for decades to come!” Thanks for your submission, Kristen! Such a wonderful shoot! Congratulations on being today’s winning party feature!

And yes, the most adorable thing ever…DIY mini soap bottle aprons! See instructions below!

DIY Mini Apron for Soap Bottle {aka Bottle Beauty}

As demonstrated by Kristen {Kio Kreations} Janes on HGTV’s “That’s Clever!”

Supplies

Fabric

Apron template (pattern on separate PDF)

Rick Rack/Lace

Ribbon

Buttons/Bows/Accents

Hot Glue Gun

Sewing Machine

Thread

Scissors

Pins

Optional: Paper & Safety Pins

Directions

Print and cut out pattern for apron
Pin pattern to fabric and cut out 2 pieces
Pin pieces right-sides together and sew rounded skirt of apron, leaving top open
Pull fabric through the top turning it right-side out and iron it flat
Hot glue rick rack/lace around skirt part of apron
Glue ribbon around top of apron to make neck strap of apron and tuck unfinished part of fabric under and secure with glue.
Glue ribbon for waist of apron leaving 2 loose ends that can be tied around apron
Glue on final embellishments
(Optional if gifting your item) Make up a “clean name” paper tag for your apron and safety pin it to the apron. We’ve used names like “Soapy Sue”, “Clean Cathy”, “Donna Dishwasher”…
Put your apron on your dish soap bottle so she is a little lady that can be proudly displayed on your counter next to the sink.