Posted on February 1, 2013 by Kara

Vintage Shabby Chic Princess 4th Birthday Party

This stunning VINTAGE PRINCESS FOURTH BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Anfal Al-Kuhailan from Kuwait.

This party has so many beautiful princess ideas! Some of my favorites are:
The vintage birdcages hanging from the ceiling
The floral paper cones filled with candied nuts
The glass front armoire filled with princess party favors
The ruffle cake and the shabby chic princess cake
and MORE!

Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:
Honeycomb hanging lanterns (Tissue Balls)
Glass Milk Bottles
Pink, Green & Blue Striped Paper Straws
Mini Gumball Machines
Pennant Flag Banner
Princess Crowns
Berry Baskets
Favor Cones
Clear Plastic Boxes (holding mini cakes)
White Paper Doilies
Cupcake Wraps
Ribbon
Baker’s Twine
To-Go Boxes
Fry Boxes

Food and kids’ meals- catered by Chef Danah Al-Tourah of Crave Catering
Vintage roses tableware and decorations- Party Ark
Printables- Sunshine Parties
Cake and desserts- The November Company
Flower arrangements- Fleur and The November Company
Photography- Aziza Al-Ghunaim of Little Twinkles Photography

Here’s what Anfal had to say about planning the party- “The inspiration for my daughter Zaina’s 4th Birthday was my husband’s vintage car along with the fact that Zaina wanted to be a princess that day. I mixed those two elements and came up with a pretty vintage princess party theme!

We invited around 25 girls between the ages of 2-8. I wanted the party to be so girly so I used a lot of bird cages, flowers, lace and ruffles in pastel colors. Vintage lights and balloons were also used for decorating the party venue.

There were several activities during the party:

1. A dress up area and a photo booth that we called ‘The Royal Photo Booth’ where the little girls would dress up in feathers, princess tiaras, jewelry and wands in addition to other props and signs. The photo booth was set by a local company called Bonker Box.

2. Create your own princess frame workshop. Each girl was given a ceramic tile of a princess with a variety of paints and glitter glues. Each girl would decorate her own princess tile and frame and take it home as a gift.

3. Face painting; My daughter and her friends were enchanted when they got their faces painted with their favorite characters and beautiful fairytale designs and stick-on jewels.

4. “A princess tattoo parlor” where girls got their temporary glitter tattoos on their hands and bodies.

5. Princess and the pea puppet show; this was the main event and it was performed by Puppet Kingdom from Kuwait.

While the girls were enjoying the birthday activities, a DJ was playing kids music in the background and the moms were comfortably seated around the activity stations and were served throughout the party with vintage-inspired food on passing trays.

The menu included:
1. Tiny tomato soup shots topped with mini cheese sammies
2. Date salad and strawberry salad in mini cups
3. Portobello mushroom pizzas in mini plates
4. French fries dipped in home-made ketchup in shot glasses
5. Roasted cherry tomato and cheese skewers
6. Pumpkin seed tartlets in mini plates
7. Grilled polenta topped with muhammara
8. Macaroni and cheese in mini glass jars

As for the little girls, each was given a vintage looking meal box with chicken nuggets and french fries inside along with home-made ketchup and orange juice.

For the dessert table, we used vintage metal cake stands and plates to display the desserts and the dessert menu included:
1. Flower mini cupcakes
2. Lace butter biscuits
3. Bird cage sugar cookies
4. Ruffles and lace cake pops
5. Rice crispy pops
6. Strawberry trifle jars
7. Mommy’s ruffle cake (chocolate flavor)
8. Shabby chic princess birthday cake (red velvet, rose water and vanilla ombre cake from the inside)
9. Salted pecan turtles in cones
10. Meringues
11. Pistachio pie
12. Mini pecan bites
13. Jars filled with candies
14. Drinks (mint water, strawberry water, pomegranate and apple juice)

I have to mention that we also set a beautiful white tent in the garden and decorated it with lanterns, cushions and hanging tissue pompoms and we called it ‘the princess hangout area’ the girls enjoyed watching the puppet show while seated inside this beautiful tent.

We also placed a big cabinet right next to the dessert table and we called it ‘the magical cabinet’ it was filled with gifts for the girls and their moms. Each girl got a gift bag filled with makeup, glitter nail polish, hair accessories and bangles and were wrapped with a beautiful lace ribbon. They also got a vintage mini gum ball machine. The moms were not forgotten, each got a mini cake as well as a shabby chic gift box with chocolate bites inside.”

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Kara

Vintage Lemon & Lime Birthday Party

This darling VINTAGE LEMON & LIME BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Mariah Rainier Miller of Mariah Rainier Style. With Utah in the midst of a freezing, snowy winter, this party is especially intriguing! I can’t tell you how amazing relaxing in the sun with a delicious glass of lemonade sounds!

This summer citrus party has so many enticing elements & ideas. Here are a few of my favorites:

The vintage lemonade stand

The glass drink dispenser with a galvanized steel stand

The milk glass cake stand and juicer

The vintage crates and scales

The gorgeous yellow and green ombre cake

and MORE!

Cake pops and ombre cake- Jenny Cookies
Party rentals, props and decorations- Mariah Rainier Style
Photography- Heather Lynn Photographie

Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:
Daisy Cut Lids for Mason Jars
Striped Paper Straws
Ribbon
Cupcake Liners
Cake Decorating Tips

Here’s what Mariah had to say about planning this party- “I love the color yellow, it’s so light, bright and cheery that just the thought of it puts a smile on my face. The inspiration for this party came from all the freshness and vibrancy of the summer season. We wanted to create a beautifully refreshing landscape that can be translated from a children’s birthday party to a baby shower, wedding, bridal shower or engagement party.

We worked with a bright color palette of yellows, bright green and mint green. The vibrant hues really helped to set the tone of the party and capture the crisp & zestful nature of a perfect summer day. To complete the outdoor feel, unique mason jars were used as drinking glasses with each jar numbered for an easy find. We included fun backyard children’s games to create a vintage feel.”

Cake pops and ombre cake- Jenny Cookies
Party rentals, props and decorations- Mariah Rainier Style
Photography- Heather Lynn Photographie

Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:
Daisy Cut Lids for Mason Jars
Striped Paper Straws
Ribbon
Cupcake Liners
Cake Decorating Tips

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Kara

Shabby Chic 1st Birthday Party

This precious SHABBY CHIC FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Ashley of God Bless Our Nest! I just love all the vintage touches!

There are so many sweet party ideas here. Some of my favorite party elements-
The chalk board first birthday print
The invitation with a sewn on fabric bunting
The fabric fringe garland with burlap
The vintage mason jars
The vintage scales

Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:
Pom Poms
Rock Candy Swizzle Sticks
Kraft Paper Bags
Candy Sticks
Striped Paper Straws
Jute Twine
Burlap
Balloons
Clear Cellophane Bags

Ashley said this about planning the party- ”My daughter’s first birthday was my very first party to plan — and I have a new respect for party planners! Wow, they’re a lot of work! I have known since my daughter was born that I wanted her to have a vintage, ‘shabby chic’ themed first birthday party. I know this may be the only birthday where I have free reign (I’m sure it will be Minnie or Rapunzel in years to come) so I wanted something sweet, girly and simple.

I started out with a light pink, peach and mint green color scheme. I couldn’t get ANY of the green things to match that I ordered online, so I just did away with the green and replaced it with ivory. I made everything myself except for the cake and the catered BBQ. I made the fabric banner out of prints that I’ve been collecting here and there for the past few months. I made the ‘LILY KATE’ and ‘ONE’ banners from burlap, white craft paint and stencils made on my home printer. The antique scale, blue Mason jars, crocheted things and produce boxes were either borrowed from family or things I already owned.

My husband made the mason jar ‘sippy cups’. The guests loved these! I used ivory paper straws and attached pretty tags made from kraft cardstock and paper roses. Turns out, the guests wrote their names on the back of the tags, so I may just include a blank ‘name tag’ next time instead of something decorative. Also, many guests asked to take these home, so this would be a GREAT party favor!

We set tables up on our back porch with catered BBQ for lunch. (Sorry, I didn’t catch any decent pics.) We had the “dessert” table inside as well as the drink bar. The cake was made by a local bakery and my mom and I dipped strawberries, pretzel sticks, and marshmallows in pink and peach tinted chocolate. We used pretty pearl sprinkles as garnish. I also served fun pink candies and included a few things for the babies to snack on.

I loved making the favors for the guests. For the kids, I used small kraft paper bags and filled them with little goodies and candy. My husband has a friend in the carnival business and he provided us with 50 bags of pretty pink cotton candy. (How cool?!) We had enough for each guest and I attached a tag that said, “It was so SWEET of you to come!”

The custom invitations, wrap around mailing labels, birthday “chalkboard” poster, favor tags and framed birthday print were also designed and assembled myself. The digital files will be available soon for purchase in my Etsy shop.”

Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:
Pom Poms
Rock Candy Swizzle Sticks
Kraft Paper Bags
Candy Sticks
Striped Paper Straws
Jute Twine
Burlap
Balloons
Clear Cellophane Bags

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Kara

Vintage Race Car 3rd Birthday Party

This fabulous VINTAGE RACE CAR 3RD BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Keren Precel of Keren Precel Events! I love the muted colors and the large party table backdrop! Keren has so many cute ideas for us here!

Keren said this about planning the party- “We were in charge of planning, catering and designing this one of a kind vintage race car party for a cute little 3 year old boy: from designing the invitations right down to creating the giveaway favors for the guests. We only used eco friendly materials in the design.

The party venue was divided into 4 sections:
1. “The pit stop” – was the area where the kids got to decorate their own “Melissa and Doug” race cars.
2. “The race track” – we created a “wishing race track” for the little guests to write happy birthday wishes to the birthday boy. We laid down a wooden track, along with custom designed wish notes attached to small metal cars.
3. “The gas station” was the main table where the food was laid out. decor items on the table included a vintage like gas station, vintage plates and cars.
4. “The trophy section” – the favors. The adults got to take home a custom wrapped mason jar with home made delicious strawberry jam, and the kids got a 100% cotton bag, stamped with the party logo.
Custom design items included: invitations (shown in the vintage mailbox!), backdrop, vintage style signs and posters across the room.”

Design, styling, concept, backdrop design and printables: KEREN PRECEL for Keren Precel Events
Food: HADAS SMIRNOFF for Keren Precel Events
Cake: I Love Your Cake
Photography: Samantha Goh

Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:
Striped Paper Straws
Lollipop Sticks
Linen Bags
Forks, Plates, Cups
Ribbon
Jute Twine

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Kara

Vintage Football Tailgating Party

This fabulous VINTAGE FOOTBALL TAILGATING BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Jason Snyder of Hello My Sweet. So many awesome ideas here!

Photography, Food, Design, Printables: Hello My Sweet
Balloons & Tassels: The Flair Exchange
Vintage Football: Happy Blue Moon

Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:
Balloons
Cupcake Liners
Clear Cellophane Bags
White 2-Sided Frame

Jason said this about planning the party- “Our party is full of DIY projects, some fabulous recipes including one for Cheddar, Beer & Bacon Cupcakes (we call it The Cupcake for Men), and a great source for giant balloons and balloon tassels.

PRINTABLES:
This party is chock full of Vintage Football Party goodness, including the FOOTBALL PRINTABLE PARTY DECORATIONS. We were inspired by a vintage early 20th century era of football for this design, incorporating aged paper textures and simple stripes along with a collegiate font look and vintage football art. The scoreboard is also reminiscent of a by-gone era, where actual number cards were placed for each point in the game. Pennant banners were big back then and still are to an extent today, so we included a vintage felt texture on our large pennant banner and small pennant flags to give it a true to life feel.

FOOD:
Be sure to include the CUPCAKES FOR MEN on your party table, a moist delicious treat that will please everyone. Ingredients include: BEER, CHEESE & BACON. What more could you want in a cupcake really? If you feel bit nervous about a cupcake that includes beer and cheddar cheese (I was at first) let me put your mind at ease. These are still sweet just like any other cake, and the beer in the buttercream is the perfect touch. Use your favorite beer and get creative with specialty cheeses too, you could make these cupcakes something simple or super gourmet.

Recipes pictured include: Kickin’ Hot BUFFALO CHICKEN Cups and Off-Sides HAM & SWISS SLIDERS. These are both mouth-watering delicious recipes, and we were very pleased with the results! A big thank you to GIMME SOME OVEN and THE GIRL WHO ATE EVERYTHING for providing the perfect recipes. Store bought treats include: French Fries , Bottle Water (Our Referees), Pork Rinds (Pig Skins), Yogurt Covered Pretzels (Laces), Licorice (Black Eye Paint). You can of course add your favorite party treats to the mix, but these were the ones we felt best represented our creative football themed names!

PROPS:
We created a few props for this party that really pulled everything together including a football field table cover, goal posts and bleachers. This really made the look of a football field complete. Step-by-step DIY projects linked: FOOTBALL FIELD TABLE COVER & FOOTBALL PARTY BLEACHERS DISPLAY.

The balloons and tassels were the final addition to our look, representing the cheering crowd waving their poms in a abstract sort of way. The tassels were spot on perfect for this theme and the large balloons were so fun and really stood out nicely against the brick wall background.”