Garden Craft Party!

Garden Craft Party!!

      My daughter Bella LOVES Crafts...so what could be more fitting than a craft party!  And any chance I get to throw a party in the garden I jump on it!  So it was decided...a Garden Craft Party would be perfect!
     I had a blast designing and executing this most fabulous celebration.  Like always I started by designing the invitation and party printables.  I designed a lovely floral back round which I used throughout the printables.  I added flowers, buttons and ribbon elements to create a crafty whimsical feel.
     The decor was simple but fabulous!  I hung several paper lanterns and tissue poms from the pergola and strung brightly colored finger-knitted yarn (which my daughter made) to add a bit of whimsy.

     For the table I laid a simple burlap runner down the middle and used grass mats underneath  the super cute scalloped edged floral plates.  I served pink lemonade in sugar rimmed mason jars. and for the centerpiece... nothing less than the most gorgeously crafty cake!  The paper and burlap flowers that adorned the cake were an awesome find at Michaels.  I attached them using cute jewel topped floral pins to add a bit of sparkle.

     When all the girls arrived we served them a delicious lunch consisting of mini croissant sandwiches, cherry tomato and mini mozzarella balls, and mini fruit cups! 
Then it was time to let the crafting begin!

     We had so much fun with the crafts we chose.  First the girls decorated flip flops with jewels, ribbon and flowers.  Then they decorated the most amazing cardboard purses!  I found this idea on Pinterest.  I assembled the cardboard forms ahead of time so they would be ready for decorating.  The girls covered them with beautiful scrapbook papers, paper flowers, jewels, and buttons.  And each girl made a custom handle with beautiful beads of all shapes and sizes.
They all turned out AMAZING!!

     All the girls had a wonderful time and along with their awesome purses and flip flops they each took home a gorgeous (mom-made) flower hair accessory adorned with a sparkly gem for a party favor!

     I hope you found a little inspiration to use for your next party!

    You can purchase the Garden Craft Party printables from Etsy HERE:

Check back soon for some fun holiday ideas!
    
    

New ETSY Shop!

Check out my new ETSY Shop where I am now selling all my party printables and other
Lovely things!
 
https://www.etsy.com/shop/alovelydesignshop

Happy Shopping!!

 PICASSO ART PARTY!!

Max's Awesome PICASSO ART PARTY!

      Two birthdays in a month...oh my!!
My son Max and my daughter Mia have their birthdays just 2 days apart.  This makes for a very busy month with 2 birthday parties to pull together, but it's all worth it in the end when I see how exited they are after the decorations are complete and the party begins!
     Max LOVES everything and anything to do with ART, so I knew exactly what we would do for his birthday theme...Max's Awesome Picasso Art Party!  I decided to add the Picasso twist because what's more fun than abstract art!  The party was a blast to design and execute...and Max and his friends had so much fun creating fabulous art.
     I definitely wanted the theme to have a boyish feel so I incorporated a black chalkboard throughout the design with a rainbow of awesome colors.  I started off by designing the invitation and the party printables like cupcake toppers, favor tags and straw flags.  You can find these printables and many others for sale on my ETSY shop here.

      The dessert table was an explosion of color.  I hung about 15 colorful tissue balls and paper lanterns in all different sizes.  For the backdrop I used a simple black tablecloth and designed a super fun poster that I simply hung in the middle.  I kept the dessert table fairly simple with some fabulous cupcakes, chocolate dipped giant marshmallows, rice krispy treat pops and awesome party favors. The finishing touch for the table was the fun and colorful tissue tassel and pendant banner that hung across the front of the table.

Upon arriving, each child received a personalized apron.  I found these great aprons at Hobby Lobby and used iron on printer paper to print my design onto.  Then I simply cut out the oval shape and ironed it on!  I had a whole line-up of awesome activities for the kids to do....
First we created Picasso Pizza.  This was a super fun activity!

 Next, we used Sculpty clay to create Picasso faces.  When the kids were done with their faces, I put them on a glass baking dish and baked them in the oven at 225' for 20 minutes.  (It's a great clay to use to make ornaments during the holidays.)
Next, we made Picasso Pops!  These were so much fun to make.  I got Jolly Rancher candies and broke them up into little pieces. On top of wax paper, the kids created their masterpieces by making a design with the candy pieces.  I then placed them in the oven for 6 minutes at 350'.  Immediately after removal you need to add the lollypop stick and let them cool.  Finally, we ended with Picasso Portraits!  The kids all used chalk pastels and black construction paper and drew themselves in a fun and abstract way.
    

 All the kids had an absolute blast!
I hope you found a little inspiration for your next party!

Sophisticated "Frozen" themed 12th Birthday

     I'm so exited to be sharing my daughter Mia's 12th Birthday Party with you!  Where does the time go?   When it came time to pick out a theme, Mia,  like all other girls LOVES the movie Frozen! So it didn't surprise me when she decided she wanted a Frozen inspired Birthday Party.
     Since she was turning 12, I knew it had to be a fabulous party but with a sophisticated flair!
I started by designing the invitation and then designed all the other printables like favor tags, place cards, cake toppers, water bottle wrappers and straw flags.  I kept the colors and patterns very elegant and wintery with a fun pop of teal blue!
     We ultimately decided to start off with a fabulous dinner party for Mia and her friends, followed by an evening of ice skating...of course!
     Since we were going with a sit down dinner party, I wanted the focus to be on a lovely table scape.
We did of course have a lovely dessert table as well filled with some super fun Frozen inspired treats
like frozen hearts, blue jello "ice"cubes and a magical dip!
For the lovely table scape I started off  by using  textured, glittery teal 12x12 papers for place mats and layered them with a couple different shaped melamine plates topped with a white napkin and a lovely place card.  I used my crystal goblets and sugared the rims with light blue crystal sugar for some added elegance.
     I hung white tissue balls, and light blue and cream striped lanterns above the dinner table and the dessert table to give it a wintery, magical feel.
     There were a few fun DIY projects that we did which included the fabulous polar fleece scarves that were the favors for the girls  to wear ice skating and the number "12" that was on the cake. And yes, I did make the cake.  I wanted to do cupcakes because of course they are the easy way out but Mia realllly wanted a cake, and I couldn't say no!  All in all the cake turned out great! 
The scarves were super easy!  ( I will post a tutorial under my CREATE tab).  As for the number "12", I just got wooden numbers from Michaels and painted them in a white pearlized paint, then sprinkled fine blue glitter on the fronts and added a few crystal gems.
     Mia and I had so much fun making the cake and all the fabulous treats together and the girls had the most fun eating them!
    Lastly, I always insist that the kiddos wear a coordinating outfit to match their party.  So Mia wore a mint green sheer blouse and I made a beautiful flower hair accessory for her to tie it all together!
Now for all the pictures.........