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This party really captured my eye!  The colors are wonderful and all the details are just so perfect.  It’s simply lovely.

Enjoy…..

We had a magical evening of celebrating my mother’s birthday…full of laughter, fairies, butterflies, and a mischievous little puck. But…there was a great sigh of relief as we cut into the birthday cake, the work was over and we could all simply enjoy the moment.

Throwing this event was extra fun; we travelled to Virginia to where my family lives to put it on. As a result, the whole family got to be involved. My brother helped with the cooking, my father engineered signs and candleholders and anything else that needed built, my mother remained silent as I dismantled and redecorated her house, and she, my sister-in-law and a few old good friends helped craft many of the small details in the party. And probably most important, my dear husband wrangled the children while we put the finishing touches on everything. It was wonderful to have an event that brought us all together!

A few weeks before the party, invitations were sent out. They have a full craft paper brown enclosure tied with the ribbons that were used throughout the party, and were adorned with little fairies and some specially written prose. The fairies were a special touch just for my mother — they are silhouettes of her little pixie of a granddaughter and are seen throughout the party decor as well!

. As our guests arrived, we wanted to set the stage a bit…

White branches in teal-tinted metal buckets hung heavy with votives flanked the path to the door. Votives were placed up the walkway, with little fairies dancing up the steps.

Inside, fairies and butterflies fluttered amongst the sweets on the dessert table. Natural elements such as burlap, river rocks and long branches tied the beautiful gardens outside the windows into the room.

The items served on the dessert and appetizer table were specifically chosen because they were Mom’s favorites, although I admit I have a few new ones now myself, like the AMAZING strawberry meringues!

The artisan strawberry meringues were so pretty, we had to convince people they weren’t just decorations. And they tasted even better than they looked! Sweet Purrfection, a small artisanal confectionery out of Chicago, provided these light as air melt in your mouth treats. Perfect flavor, perfect texture, perfect custom color….they were just perfect! We’ve since tried their other flavors, and they are ALL fabulous. Erin’s Cake Creations provided the beautiful custom decoration for the carrot cake and fondant roses that reflected the paper flowers in the party decor. Girly Gatherings made the unique sugar cookies with graphics to match the invitation, a crested “G” and our little fuscia fairy. The live greenery was all contributed by my mother’s gardens…

Each letter of the birthday banner is unique typographic art taken from antique books and available in the public domain. Masterpiece Designs has a wealth of inexpensive imagery and is where I found the beautiful antique frames. They were perfect for holding Shakespearean quotes!

My brother and I had such a good time in the kitchen together preparing the appetizers…apricot brie puffs, spinach and feta purses, herb crusted pork loin rolls, black bean cakes with spicy sweet potato sauce and cilantro cream, honey minted fruit and marinated cheese. In the spirit of being  a good southern hostess, I’ll be sharing the recipes for everything in posts to follow.

We mixed up a signature drink for the night – Love Potion No. 9, otherwise known as a white russian (mom’s favorite). We’re happy to report Puck’s potion only turned one of our guests into a lovable donkey.

On the outside deck, fairy lights were strung on the arbors and trees for atmosphere, and there were many candles flickering out in the gardens to make for a little fairy magic. There was  liberal sprinkling of candles, votives and butterflies through the rooms inside where the party circulated. Fuscia paper lanterns and paper roses added pops of color.

A party can be thrown without a tissue pouf, but I don’t think I can ever give up the fun of the photo booth. The grandchildren, dressed as Puck and Titania, posed for the camera while the adults were able to play dress up for a moment.

As the guests left, we treated them to a few party favors. Again, one of mom’s favorites was selected to thank our guest for coming–chocolate covered oreos. What we wanted to bring to our guests at mom’s birthday was a little feeling of magic, a little whimsy, and something the children attending the party would find some wonder in as well as the adults. The Midsummer’s Night Dream underlying theme and deeper color hues made using fairies for an adult party work, and made the party planning a little more fun.

Thank you to SandS Photography out of Hampton, Virginia for the party pictures.

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This first Ice Cream Party was originally hosted by Ramblings from the Sunshine State.

I LOVE the ice cream cone t-shirt!  It is fantabulously cute!

Enjoy this yummy ice cream party….

After a week of completely stressing out about this party (that’s what I get for waiting till the last minute, right?), the big party day finally arrived! Here again are the invitations, courtesy of Dimpleprints.

I knew I wanted to make an ice cream shop sign. Pleas excuse my lettering, I’m no painter! I’m sure the fact that it was probably about 3:00 am when I did this, didn’t help.

I didnt want to spend a ton of money on party favors (I never do!) and I hate buying junky cheap stuff that will just get thrown away. So I decided on making ice cream cone crayons. It was my first time doing them this way, and they turned out great!

I also whipped up a bright, colorful bunting. I love the colors on this. These were the pre-packaged fat quarters from Joanns when they were on sale for $.99 each. I used these fabrics again both in the cake topper dress and a t-shirt I made for her to wear.

Since it’s pretty warm out and I didnt want the ice cream to turn into a soupy mess, I made up this little menu sign so the kids could choose their flavors. I’m sure I could have made this a lot cuter, but this wasnt done until the day of the party!

Finally, the main event! The sundae bar! TONS of toppings here… bananas, cake & sugar cones, sprinkles of all kinds, crushed Oreos, peanuts, strawberry sauce, marshmallows, chocolate, caramel & strawberry syrup, gummi bears, M&Ms and cherries. Even some of that stuff that hardens into a shell when you put it on the ice cream.

Check out this hungry herd!

And for some of the other details. I whipped up some more candy covered marshmallows.

And pretzels.

Cupcakes, too!

Check out the inside!

Make a wish, big girl!

Finally, a little after party fun in the bounce house.

Anyway, hopefully now I can get some household projects done. Have a good one!

More Ice Cream Party Ideas:

Frost Me Blog has put together some fun ideas from around the web for the perfect Ice Cream Party.  Check out what she shared on her blog..

I love the idea of an ice cream bar at any party – great for work parties, too! Or you could do a whole party theme around ice cream! Here are a few dabs of frosting for your next party!

How insanely fun does this ice cream themed tablescape look?!? One of the best ideas is the way they made the tablecloth look like ice cream drips! You could even do this with a cheap vinyl table cloth! And why not glue on some “jimmies” too! Source

You could do this popsicle display on a smaller scale at your next party – use tiered spice racks with ice underneath and create the same look! …. one of each please! Source found via imprintables blog

Every ice cream bar deserves a great assortment of toppings! These divided DIY paper containers will save you from finding a million dishes to serve it all up in! Source and tutorial

You could add these ice cream trucks as decorations or put an invite inside, or use as favor boxes… or all three! lol  DIY printables… Source

Use sprinkles in non-conventional ways to decorate! Use glue on card stock, kraft paper or empty toilet rolls, roll in sprinkles and let dry.  Add a ribbon and va-la! Use them around containers as a fun touch too! You could use sprinkles at the bottom of a vase or box (like you would rice or beans) to help cones stand up straight.  Source and tutorial found via gordongossip blog

You KNOW I love a fun cupcake! These would be a little sweat equity, but how dang cute!?!  Source

…. I am off to find the mint chocolate chip ice cream!!!

Enjoy the party….

I invited a few of my girl friends over for a little dinner party this evening. I hope to make this dinner an annual February event. I had a great time planning everything and look forward to the next Sweet Soiree!

Thanks to etsy shops: Tomkatstudio & Posh Pixels

Enjoy this yummy treat……..

*Most everything was DIY and very inexpensive! I got lots of stuff from the dollar bin at Michaels. I’ll post more detailed pictures and a tutorial on rose topiary soon!

Enjoy spying on this party…..

I mentioned last week that we did a Spy Party for my oldest son’s 9th birthday. Click here to see the invitations.We had a grand time with 20 kids in our home sweet home!I’m going to break it down into DECOR, FOOD, and ENTERTAINMENT.

I made a Secret Spy Candy Buffet as a special treat for all the hard-working agents.I scattered bullet shells, top secret labels, and handcuffs around the tables. I put up bullet hole stickers throughout the house. We pulled CRIME SCENE yellow tape across doors.I used a bright and fun color palette to make the crime scene theme more youthful!I enlarged some fingerprint and question mark clip art and edited the photos by tinting them different shades to color match them. I attached them to corresponding scrapbook paper and hung them from the ceiling.We made chalk footprints on our walkway to add to the suspense and fun. We also played Mission Impossible themed music in the background during the party.

I made custom water bottle labels for the kids.I took mini chocolate donuts and put cut licorice into each hole to make BABY BOMBS!Snickers? Twix? or Milky Way? How skilled are these agents at figuring out the MYSTERY BARS?I had such a difficult time trying to figure out WHAT food to use to create magnifying glasses!! I finally came up with cheese and pretzels. Question Bread, Clueless Chips, Detective Dogs, and Mysterious Munchies were among other snacks.THE CAKE was incredible! I told a local cake shop that I wanted a bomb with a sparkler for a candle and they FAR exceeded my expectations!

I set out a Clue Jr. Game to play at leisureUpon arrival, each guest was given their professional Secret Agent ID tagged and they were fingerprinted for security.Party Favors included: Dark Glasses, Agent Hats, Magnifying glasses, compasses and whistles, red lights, detective bands, and a trip through the candy buffet.The invitation called each agent to our house (headquarters) for a specific mission. This mission was the MAIN source of entertainment. A sealed envelope was opened and it stated that Skyler’s birthday gift was robbed along with all the treat bags. This was officially a CRIME SCENE and it was up to our team to discover the bad guys and find the missing items! There were clues scattered around our neighborhood.Each clue had to be retrieved by completing an obstacle. This first clue was hidden inside one of the balloons. These balloons blocking the door were representing bombs and had to be quickly popped to find the clue and prevent them from detonating.The next clue was hidden in a laser field. This was my brilliant husband’s idea and he did such a fabulous job setting this laser maze up!We have no photos, but another clue used their cipher cards from the invitation to decode, and another had to be read in the mirror.Another clue was in a bag full of fortune cookies! I took tweezers and removed the original fortune from one cookie and replaced it with a clue! So the kids had to break the cookies open and find the cookie with the clue. Here they are running back from the fortune cookie discovery.There was danger along the way, the bad guys sprang out and attacked.This next clue had to be scratched off like a lotto ticket to be revealed.

Finally! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

All the clues led to Skyler’s birthday gift: a NEW BIKE! The bad guys had hoisted it into a GINORMOUS tree. BUT when they were caught by our team they agreed to surrender. And they even helped us rescue the bike from the tree.

And just when you think you’ve seen FAR TOO MANY photos I decide to give you one more:

Enjoy the skate party…..

Enjoy Desi’s Train Party…..

Here is the Birthday Boy! So adorable!!! We bought this Thomas the Train on Craig’s List, it was a good find. The kids loved it! My idea before this was to make a train out of boxes. Then I could get a picture of the kids in it. But this was much easier & much more fun for the kids.
Some of the decorations:

A Birthday Banner, which I made on my Cricut machine… finally putting it to good use

I made rail road signs and put them around. This sign says, “Cool Off Smoothies” We had a smoothie station, which was perfect because it was hot.

Rail road sign in front of our walk way. I also had a check in table where the kids could pick up there bag to put their goodies in. I cut out a train from my cricut and glued it on a paper bag. They each got a goody from the games they played, and a thomas the train book when they left. I found these books at the $1 store. Another Great Find!!

One last decoration was our rail roads made from black tape going up or walkway. I don’t have a good picture of it because it didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. It’s such a cute idea, but unfortunately our sidewalk were wet from the sprinklers, so the tape didn’t stick in some spots.
Here is a train table that I covered with white paper & drew train tracks on it. This was where the kids painted a wood picture frame that was shaped like a train. I don’t have a pictures of them painting, but the kids really enjoyed it. I found the wood trains at the Dollar Tree. A Super good find! Love the $1 store!
We played Pin the Caboose on the train.

I started the party out by reading a Thomas the Train book called ‘Thomas goes fishing.’ Then we went fishing. I had my kids color fish to tape on a blue sheet before hand.
Simple yet YUMMY food! I made a simple pasta salad using the wagon wheel pasta & called it ‘train wheel pasta’

I ordered bread sticks and called them ‘train whistle treats’
I made train cookies from Chocolate cover graham crackers & animal crackers. I used decorative icing to put two cookies together, then to put an animal crackers on. I then iced around the cracker, put a couple of stripes down (for the cage) and then added lie savers for the wheels. Super cute & not too complicated.
Choo Choo Chewy Popcorn. Always a hit with the kids!
Dessert…YUM!
This was such a HIT!!! I found this ice cream dessert in a magazine. My kids enjoy ice cream much more then cake, so I had to try it. It’s ice cream sandwiches on the outside, ice cream in the middle with a cookie crust and cool whip on top. I’m going to have to make this a tradition. It was GOOD!Hope you enjoyed looking because I enjoyed planning!

Enjoy Susan’s Rubber Ducky Theme….

I enjoyed it soooo much! Everything was adorable!!

Have a Darling day!

Candidly I was really unsure what I was going to do until a few days before the party. I decided on a chocolate and vanilla cupcake tier with a 4×4″ cake (for my little guy) on top. Not only does the tier give the table height, but it also made a clear separation between his cake and the guest cakes… especially since I tried my hand at chocolate transfer. {loved it!}

So for his cake, I could use dairy-free chocolate transfer (trust me you can’t tell the difference in taste), but I’ve only been able to find it in regular chocolate, no white chocolate or other colors, and I didn’t think that was very interesting so I opted for a rice crispy (which he loves) sherrif badge. No worries, I made more as favors for his little buddies.

Click here to see some tips on how to make the cupcakes and use chocolate transfers.

My little one has food allergies. He’s a big fan of the rice crispy treat so I molded the sweet treat into star cookie cutters (available in our shoppe) and then iced them as favors for our guests. We placed them in pails that were embellished with bandana ribbon, the same used on our cake plate, and a fun wooden cowboy boot from the craft store. {50 cents already painted people!} As for the sign, I just picked up a sheet of scrapbooking paper that looked like old wooden boards and imprinted it with the Playbill font (commonly found in Microsoft products).

More details on the rice krispy badges can be seen here.

As for the treats, I slaved over placing the Twizzlers (aka cowboy ropes) in the tall vase {wink}. The chocolate dipped marshmallows took a little more time, but not much. Melt your chocolate in a double boiler, spear three marshmallows on a lollipop stick, coat the marshmallows using a silicon brush, add a few candy stars and lay them on wax paper to cool. For the final touch, package them in cello bags. I have to admit, I didn’t make enough. They were a hit.

So of course I couldn’t just have fun food for my little boy’s third birthday bash, I had to have some really fun decor too. We decorated the entire backyard, but these are a few of my favorite crafts.

Make sure to checkout the instructions for how to build the horses and make the other decor items you see above.

A fun craft for any child birthday is to create a character photo op. We made this one for our cowboy birthday party so that the children could stand behind it and wear the cowboy hat. All the detail on supplies and instructions are on The Celebration Shoppe Blog.

Kim’s got some great items in her shop to compliment her Wild West Cowboy Bash. Invitaions and Table Settings.

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This ladybug birthday party is filled with plenty of sweet treats, fun decor, and family.  You can see how much love Jennifer put into this party for her little girl.  Please be sure to head on over to her blog to view the original party post for all the ladybug party details and plenty more pictures.

Djnoy Jennifer’s Ladybug party…..

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I threw a ladybug birthday party for my daugther’s 2nd birthday.  The colors were red and black.  I made a Happy Birthday Little Lady banner and we made ladybug antenaes for the guests.  We had ladybug cupcakes that were a huge hit with the kids.

My wonderful friend, Joy, made these adorable ladybug cupcakes. They were pretty tasty also.

Cookies and thank you notes.

Party banner and table setting