How I decorated: Baby Shower 11/24/12

On November 24th, 2012 my family hosted a jungle themed baby shower in honor of my sister and her husband who are having their first child together!

I used a Baby Lion King baby shower set I found at a local store as a starting point for my ideas and I worked from there. The main colors were orange, lime green, white and yellow and I tried to incorporate them in different ways in different areas.

We all had a wonderful time and my sister received a lot of great things for the new baby! Click on 'read more' to see pictures of some of the things I did to put this party together.

Things we love: Treat bags with tags!

I love treat bags with tags!

Hope everyone had a great holiday season! I'm back in the new year with a simple tutorial for treat bags with tags. I've seen this trend a lot in the last month and I couldn't wait to try them myself.

These bags can be used for many kinds of small gifts and treats for the little guests at your party and can be customized in an endless amount of ways.

Here's what you'll need:

(Note: This tutorial requires basic knowledge of image editing software!)

Supplies

Scissors

Sandwich bags

Cardstock

Stapler

Treats and toys

Printer

Image Editing Software (like GIMP or Photoshop)

Clip art

Read on for instructions on how to make treat bags with personalized labels!

Party Color Palettes: Thanksgiving decor

It's the middle of November, fall is in full swing and the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.A approaches. While we're getting ready for the big feast with family and friends I put together three color palettes of the season.

Give Thanks 1: Arguably the 'traditional' Thanksgiving look. A very strong, dark brown and pumpkin orange dominate the scheme with a touch of mustard yellow and red and dab of a peapod green to finish off a palette that is heavily inspired by nature and the traditional Thanksgiving meal.

Give thanks 2: A palette with a mix of soft and strong that reminds me of Thanksgiving pageants and crafts. The orange is more of a soft sherbet peach color with a strong forest green to compliment it. Beige/khaki is a great neutral with burnt umber and burnt orange.

Give thanks 3: The simplest of the three palettes. I like white as the main color as in the white table linens. The brown is the old wooden dining table and the pops of yellow, red and orange are the changing leaves outside.

Share on Tumblr

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Halloween 2012!

Made with foam sheets (foamy) from tutorial by Stealth at the RPF Forums simplified for one night use.

What are you gonna be for halloween?! Share your links below!
Share on Tumblr

Keeping costs down: What to consider when hosting a special event at home.

 Choosing the location of your most meaningful events is a big decision. A location can add or take away from the look and atmosphere and take up a large part of your budget. Medium to large events (75 guests +) are best accommodated in venues specifically designed to handle the number of people and in the big picture cost less time and money. Smaller events however can fall into a strange middle ground where a venue may or may not be cost effective at all.

The truth is, for many medium to small events, your own home can really be the perfect venue. Beautiful and meaningful events like weddings can easily be organized to work within the home without skimping on style and while staying within budget.


Before you make this decision, here are some things you should think about when considering your own home as a party location:

• Look at your guest list: Once you have an idea of how many people you want to invite look at your available space. Will guests have enough room to move around and participate in group activities? Will the number of tables and chairs fit comfortably along with other things like a dance floor, treats tables, activity areas?
• Cleanliness: Clean is not negotiable! This includes any unnecessary clutter in the area. Anything that doesn't belong to the party atmosphere should be stored away and moved. 
• Indoor events:
• Is there good ventilation? How about heating/cooling elements?
• Outdoor events:
• Lighting: If your event starts in the day and continues on until evening, will you have enough lighting? If you need to bring in more, how does this fit in with your budget?
• Protection from the elements: The weather can be unpredictable. If it rains, are your guests protected? Will you need to rent a canopy?
• Facilities: One bathroom for too many guests does not a good situation make. 
• Parking and accessibility: You know your home and neighborhood best. Is it easy for your guests to find? Are there any homeowner's association rules you need to be aware of?
• Focal point: There needs to be an area where you can establish the "hub" of the party. If there isn't one particular area that draws your attention when you enter the space think about what might be missing. A good rule of thumb here is to ask yourself: "Where are the best areas to take pictures?"

So, how does your home stack up? Is it more viable than you thought or does it need too much work to be workable right now? What do you think a good space needs?  As always, we love hearing from you!

Share on Tumblr

Things we love: Mini Piñatas!

I love mini piñatas!

They can be used for party decorating and as an alternative to treat bags. Mini piñatas are cute and can match any theme and decor.

Since we're in October and Halloween is just around the corner, I wanted to show you how to make mini  piñatas with a Halloween twist. :D

Supplies

• Black Poster Board
• Orange Crepe Paper
• Glue Stick
• Stapler
• X-acto Knife
• Paper Clips
• Ribbon
• Embellishments (stickers etc.) In this case I used washi tape.

For instructions, click below!

How I decorated: Birthday Party 9/15/2012

Hi ya'll! I'm fresh from a birthday party with pics of some of the work I did. It was a girl's cowboy themed birthday party and I'm very happy with the results. I hope you guys like them and I'd love to hear what you think!

First off, we built a false wall with curtains and a curtain rod with alternating pink and brown curtains. The banner was made by designing each square in Photoshop with clip art sets I purchased (credit at end of post) and then printing them out onto cardstock and cutting them into 3"x3" squares. I used a whole punch at the top corners and threaded each card onto satin ribbon. We tied the banner to the curtains with small clothespins.

Each table (3 in total) had the centerpieces above that did double duty as candy holders! The round base and horse are both made of foam and were purchased at a local craft store pre-cut. For the house I used regular acrylic craft paint (about $1.00 a bottle) and a foam brush to paint both sides. For the base I hot glued green piñata fluff (which is actually called 'festooning', but I like 'fluff' better) in a circular pattern and then hot glued a brown ribbon around the edges to hide the white foam. I printed round stickers with a cowboy hat, a sheriff's badge, a cactus and a cowboy boot design and attached them to the smaller lollipops. The bigger lolly in the center has a larger sticker with a cowgirl on a horse design.

Next on the list was the candy table! I used different sized glass jars and small baskets to set up a candy station near the entrance of the party. In a frame I added a special message from the birthday girl and family thanking their guests for coming. I used left over stickers from the lollipops as confetti for the candy table.

I don't usually decorate soda or water bottles but this time I decided I wanted to give it a try. After measuring the size of the bottle label I sat at Photoshop for a few minutes and came up with a simple label that coordinated back to the rest of the theme. After gluing the corners of the label down with a bit of glue stick I covered it with a bit of contact paper to give it a shiny look.

I used a large planter set in the corner of the room near the cake table to hold the toy horses the host was planning to give out to the smaller children (2 to 5 years old). I printed out strips of paper with bandana designs in pink and blue and wrote the names of each child with a marker.

This last piece I had absolutely nothing to do with but I wanted to share it! Isn't it great?! This cake came from 'La Casita de los Bizcochos' @ #8 Plaza del Mercado in Salinas, Puerto Rico.

Note: I airbrushed out the birthday girl's name for privacy's sake.

Credits: Cowgirl clip art from Blackleaf Studios. Digital scrapbook paper from SourPunch Studio.

Share on Tum