Posted on February 2, 2012 by Kara

Valentine’s Day Love Party

I am just loving all the pink, red & hearts all over the place as we get closer to Valentine’s day! This darling VALENTINE’S DAY LOVE PARTY was submitted by Amanda Parker of Shindig Parties To Go. Here is what Amanda said about the party- “Valentines Day is such a wonderful time to remember that LOVE is truly what matters most. What could be better than an entire day set aside to celebrate friends and loved ones and the spirit of goodness? This year I wanted to create a stylish dessert table for Valentines that could hopefully inspire many of you to create your own Valentines displays. Using printables is such an easy way to get a party started and for this Valentines Set I wanted to create something that could work for all types of Valentines celebrations. The patterns from this collection are vibrant and fun, and I wanted to display them prominently using the large heart cut outs from the collection as a heart garland on the front of the table. Using tulle and silk roses (I have tons from a deal I got a few years back on silk flower garlands on clearance at Walmart) made it so simple and quick to pull together. I used the smaller heart cut outs from the printables set to sew together a heart garland for the backdrop, too. Gumballs are a fabulous way to add color so after quick trip to the party store, I had a centerpiece. Of course, the gorgeous cookie fondant toppers from Edible Details made the centerpiece really stand out, too. Brittany is a dream to work with and always amazes me with her creativity and perfection in fondant designs! The white, scalloped cake stands were one of my favorite shopping moments. I had just been to a little boutique in town and almost paid $130 for a set a three. And then literally, the next day I made a quick run to TJ Maxx and they had two sets for $19.99 each! I must say, I did a little happy dance right there in the store. These stands were wonderful for displaying the stunningly perfect cookies A Dozen Eggs Bake Shop created to match the printables set. When I opened the box of cookies that Laura sent me for the table I couldn’t believe my eyes at the beauty of her work! Laura’s cookies were also used on the white platter in the center of the table. Other party treats included the sweet little mailboxes purchased in the dollar section at Target which made adorable displays for the cupcakes topped with cupcake toppers from the printables collection. Marshmallow lollipops from Walmart with a doily for embellishment were used in Target small bud vases (also found in the dollar section). Miniature candy bars covered in printable wraps were displayed on the cake stands and Valentines candy corn and other heart shaped candies were used here and there for sweet accents. One of my favorite tricks is to use the printable papers to wrap Dollar Tree favor boxes and use them for snack cups. Here I used the pink and white stripe paper from the collection and created a sweet heart with a cupid arrow from the heart cut outs included in the printables. Filling the boxes with a popcorn and Valentines candy snack mix was an simple and quick party food, too. The boxes used to elevate the apothecary jars filled with marshmallow hearts were covered in strips of folded over pink crepe paper streamers. This is such an easy and inexpensive way to cover any box to use for display. Just fold the crepe paper in half lengthwise, crease and hot glue around and around the box until the entire box in covered. Adding a red silk rose and red ribbon completed the look. For the drink station I used a fun find from a thrift store to display strawberry crush bottles embellished with heart cut outs and a wrap of tulle. Pink and white stripe straws tied on with pink and white twine made these super cute. Water bottles were wrapped in printable wraps and small garlands were made for the front of the stand using small doilies folded over a piece of twine. Individual lunch boxes were made using pink felt containers from Target and were embellished with a heart tied with twine. Each lunch included a heart shaped sandwich placed inside a sandwich pocket made from a folded doily tied with twine, a small cup of strawberries (the cup was also covered in a half of a doily), and a glassine bag filled with pretzels and tied with more twine and a sweet heart. The printables include all that you see here and so much more! You can find them for sale for only $9.00 in my shop.” VENDORS: Party printables- Shindig Parties To Go Table styling, crafts, and photography- Amanda Parker Fondant cupcake and cake toppers- Edible Details Decorated sugar cookies- A Dozen Eggs Bake Shop Baker’s twine- The Twinery Waterproof sticker paper- Onlinelabels.com Ribbon- Hobby Lobby Fabric for backdrop- Joann’s Marshmallow Lollipops- Walmart Scalloped cake stands- TJ Maxx

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Kara

Cupid’s Post Office- Valentine’s Day Party

And now, the cutest CUPID’S POST OFFICE VALENTINE’S DAY PARTY submitted by Debbie Messmer of Wants and Wishes. Debbie said- “I wanted to share with you my Valentines Day Collection! My theme was Cupid’s Post Office. There are 2 parts to this party. First was the dessert table that was filled with sweets and treats that were cupid worthy, and then, a Valentine station…. aka Cupid’s post office… where the kids made valentines and “delivered” them to everyones mailboxes. Since Cupid’s post office was our theme we incorporated a lot of postal items, including candy bar wrappers that look like envelopes, post cards, and stamps. My favorite is the ’5 things I heart about you’. The favor toppers were square like a postage stamp and had the seal of ‘delivered from Cupid’s Post Office’ on them. Also, we included hearts and arrows throughout the collection, seen on our shot through the heart brownies and arrow garlands. We created arrows out of paper straws and the arrow points and heart were “feathers”. They are included in our Valentine collection. Very easy and fun to make! This would be a great activity to do with all the kids. We had fun heart boxes that you could fill with treats, and a little note. My favorite part… well one of my favorites is our heart cupcake toppers. They are 3 dimensional heart pockets!!! Fill with candy and a little note to send some love this Valentine’s Day on top of your cupcakes! We have also attached the heart pockets to a boxes and twigs, then filled them with candy and love notes that the kids could take off the tree. We are having ’14 days of how to use our printable Valentine collection‘ for your Valentine’s starting at wantsandwishesdesign.blogspot.com. For Cupid’s post office we created a red and pink stripe awning to invite the kids in to sit and make their valentines. The back drop was a hand drawn chair rail and paneling on butcher paper and red and white stripe wrapping paper as the “wallpaper”. We strung garlands, rick rack and mailboxes from the awning. We wanted a spot where the kids could create their valentines. They had an array of containers (boxes, paper bags and clear bags), candy, and valentines to make, allowing them to create a special valentine for each one on their list.” Credits: Stylizing and photography: Wants and Wishes Printable collection: Wants and Wishes

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Kara

Be Mine Valentine’s Day Party – Garland Tutorial & Party Ideas

The next Valentine’s party feature goes to this sweet ‘BE MINE’ VALENTINE’S DAY PARTY submitted by Amber Lyden of Party On Designs. Check out the tulle pom garland tutorial below! Such a cute party. Amber said- “We wanted to create a buffet-style setting. It’s great because the shelves gave height that normally can be difficult to create using a standard table. DIY- How to make a Tulle- Pom-Pom Garland 1. Purchase tulle already in 6″ rolls. You will need about 25 yards to complete 8 poms as shown. 2. Wrap your hand with the tulle, gently, about 10 times. The looser you wrap, the easier it will be in the next step. 3. Remove the band of wrapped tulle from your hand. Holding it together so it will not unravel. 4. Tie with a thin ribbon, wire, or fishing line. Double knot in the center. 5. Cut the loops on both ends 6. Fluff the loose ends by basically twisting side to side. As you do this a few times, you will see they will turn into balls. The more you do this, the fluffier it will become. 7. Once you have your Tulle Poms – use a needle and thread to string it and VOILA!” Vendor Credits: Party Stylist- Amber Lyden of Party On! Designs Printables- Party On! Designs Photography- Christina Blood Photography Ribbon garland- A to Zebra Celebrations Cookies- Stephanie Js Creations Stitched V-day shirt- Gorno Couture Heart Straws- Domestic Charm

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Kara

Fly Away With Me Valentine’s Party

Today I am showcasing some adorable Valentines Day parties. This first FLY AWAY WITH ME VALENTINE’S PARTY was submitted by Gwynn Wasson of Gwynn Wasson Designs. SO cute & clever! I love the propeller pops, cotton candy air & airplane fork sleeves! This is what Gwynn wrote about the party- “I adore Valentine’s Day! Personally I could easily get swept up in a sea of pink ruffles, hearts and frills. But my boys… Well, I’m not so sure how they would feel about it! So this year, I created a super fun party that’s for girls AND boys full of pink hearts, fluffy clouds and vintage bi-planes. Dessert tables are always a magnet for kids at a party. And it is one of the highlights for me to see their eyes light up with excitement when they spy something that, not only looks tasty, but inspires their imagination as well. Hence the creation of the “Propeller Pop”! These propeller adorned marshmallow roller pops were the stars of the dessert table. “Hovering” just in front of our bi-plane backdrop and just behind of the “Fluffy (cotton candy) Clouds” which were displayed in treat cones, these toys/treats were a huge hit! I stood them up on their very own “cloud” of marshmallows and once the party started, they were gone in an instant. I had a blast decorating the kid’s tables. No airplane party would be complete without Complimentary In Flight Snacks and Beverages (“Love Potion”). Each child got their own set of Pilot’s Wings. And just to make eating a little more fun, I created cut-outs to turn the flatware into airplanes. What kid wouldn’t want to “fly” their food to their mouths?! But the good times didn’t end with the food. When lunch was over there were paper airplanes to fold and fly and activity placemats for “In Flight Entertainment”! All the Printables for the entire Fly Away With Me Valentine Collection, including the propellers for the roller pops, cupcake toppers, bottle labels, activity placemats, cut-outs for the flatware and so much more, are available in my Etsy shop.” Credits:

Party Stylings, Graphic Design and Party Printables – Gwynn Wasson Designs Sixlets, Taffy, Gumballs – Candy Warehouse Heart Boxes, Heart Plates – Target Striped Straws – Polka Dot Market Mini Meringues, Marshmallow Hearts, Marshmallow Roller Pops – Cost Plus World Market