Everyday Celebrating

Everyday Events: Sip and See!

Sarah wrote in to share a recent Sip and See she threw for a good friend.  For those unfamiliar, a Sip and See is a gathering held after a baby is born.  It's a way to celebrate their birth and for family and friends to get their first glimpse at the new addition.  Also, it's a wonderful way to shower the Mom (or parents) with some love, get them out of the house a bit and of course, let them show off as proud parents.

Sarah took her theme inspiration from my friend Kim at TomKat Studios.  While Sarah made her own invitations using digital scrapbook kits, Kim was the originator of the design and actually sells the invitations as well as a whole party kit in her store.

Reminder: make sure you click on the pictures to see the detail.

Here are Sarah's invitations. 

When I saw Sarah's entry, I laughed. I can't tell you how many of those bubble wands I've purchased!
Inside the pots?  Those are bubble wands from the Dollar Store and my son loves them!  I love how they really add to a theme and come in bright colors.  Sarah inserted them into colorful pots found at the Dollar General.

Sarah found these great drink jars at Walmart for $5.96 each!  Added some great labels and colorful drinks!

Cupcakes!  The cupcake stand was found at Michaels (don't forget your 50% off coupon!)
And the cupcake toppers again were inspired by TomKat Studio. 

If you look closely, Sarah cut paper to fit each level of the cupcake stand.  Brought in a bit more color and whimsy to a plain, white stand.

For favors, Sarah created the traditional candy bar except ... guests were asked to fill up a sippy cup to take home!  Sippy cups were found at the Dollar Store at the fabulous price of 5 for $1! 

Candy was easy to find inexpensively at Walmart.

Thanks for sharing, Sarah!  And welcome to the world, Jasper!  With Sarah in your life, you're sure to be showered in fun times!

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Don't forget to enter the Carolina Pad giveaway!  A cute set of Kendall Collection paper products!
Enter now!  Here!

Kabob invites!

Adorable cookout!
My favorite part?  The kabob invites!  Aren't they cute?

Country Living magazine and Stampin Up are offering a Summer Kit which includes

• Summer Entertaining stamp set
• Table Tent die-cut sheets (1 each of 4 colors)
• Invitation die-cut sheets
• Coaster sheets (1 each of 4 colors)
• Tag die-cut sheet
• Printed food wrapper sheets (12 each of 2 colors)
• Printed recipe cards
• Large white open-end envelopes
• Night of Navy Classic Stampin’ Spot
• Ruby Red Classic Stampin’ Spot
• Linen thread
• Bamboo skewers

Cost is $24.95. 

I love those invitations!  Send them in tube mailers!  So cute!

Monkey birthday!

Shayna, from Dallas, wrote in asking for some inspiration in planning her baby girl's MONKEY themed first birthday.  Here are some fun ideas and if anyone out there has additional ideas for Shayna, leave a comment!  Let's help Shayna celebrate her "little monkey" in a fabulous way!

Monkey themes have gone more modern lately, which thrills me.   I love the bold, but modern lines of the sock monkey type image. 

In realizing that everyone is either not crafty or just doesn't have the time to be crafty, there are plenty of great "store bought" monkey supplies that you can pick and choose from these days. 

This set from Paper and Napkins:

This one from 1st Wishes:

My friend Jennifer of Nounces Design, makes a great invitation that fits with the above set or she can create something specific to your color scheme or any theme... not just monkey.

Parties by Hardie has full kits you can purchase that are handmade.  Still "store bought" but without the look of the store.  Love the napkin rings and treat bags!

The key to any theme like this is finding a main element and working around it.  Take those yellow plates above and those cupcakes, and add on something creative like these banana sugar cookies made from half of a circle cookie cutter.

Notice the plate that they sit on.  Details like these plates that tie in with the theme are what make a party come together.  It's one of those things that someone may not notice right off the bat, but makes a person oooh and ahhh. 

And what about these cute handmade monkey pinatas?  Even if your child and their guests aren't old enough for the game, they really make a decorative statement and are great space filler!  Look at how LARGE these are.  I could really see putting a piece of painted circular wood on top and making toddler tables out of them!

Love this banner by LePoppy Design:

Pull in some greenery for easy themed decor.  Order banana leaves. They make great filler and tie in perfectly.  Make a large arrangement and stick in a couple bananas.  To make the bananas stand up, spray paint dowel rods green and stick into the bananas. 

If you're using the sock monkey theme, buy a small monkey and include him in the centerpiece or leaning up against the vase. Burlap or netting would make a nice tablecloth  for the main table. 

Get a roll of thick twine and hang monkeys from it. 

Food can tie in with this party as well.  Of course, the cake!  Love the mini donut ears!

Want to do cupcakes?  Of course, cupcake toppers are everywhere, but I'm loving this different take on them.  Felt!  Better than your average flat printed ones. Get them here.

that you can now buy pre-made hand painted fondant cupcake toppers.  Beautiful!  These are from Clineffs Confections.

And look at these!  wow!  From Raspberry Pink

Most children like chocolate covered frozen bananas on a stick.
Or, if you're having a cookout, try the BBQ'd chocolate bananas!   Not the best LOOKING thing in the world, but they are heaven.  Slice a banana lengthwise, leave it in the peel and fill with pieces of chocolate and marshmellow.  Heat it up on the grill!

This party is a great excuse to incorporate healthy foods like fruit skewers, etc.

Of course, I've been known to tie in my son's attire to his party theme.  Some people think it's corny, but oh well.  I've only got a little bit longer to dress him before he says no.  hehe

Shirts by Jill Alvarez.

Just a few ideas to get the creativity flowing.  Like I said, if you've thrown a monkey themed party or have ideas, please feel free to leave a comment.

Hopefully Shayna will take lots of pictures to share with us!!!

Paint party!

This is my son, Keaton.   If you frequent this blog, you've seen a few pics of him. :)

Keaton LOVES to paint.  A frequent answer to the "what do you want to do?" is "Paint! Paint! Paint!"
And so we do.  And yes, I'm biased, but his work is quite good.  See?  He named this one "sea creature".  I love the mixture of colors and plan on framing it to go into a beach themed bathroom.

Anyway, I've put away in my mind that when Keaton's older, if he still enjoys painting, we'll have a painting party.  Maybe it'll be outside on a nice spring day with long tables and many different pieces to use at canvas and of course, loads of paint.

I ran across these invitations on Michelle's website, Sweet Mady's Paper, and I've saved the link for future purchase!  I love the splattered paint at the top!  Sidenote:  It's important to note on the invitation that children will be painting so they come in appropriate dress (i.e. not their best party clothes!)

What else would I use for the party?

 - Aprons - like the one Keaton has on above.  Every child would get one.  That one, I bought at the dollar store.

 - Disposable tablecloths - also from the dollar store. As much as I hate them, they are easy cleanup! Exactly what you need in this situation. 

 -  Every child would get their own paint can filled with paint supplies to take home.  You can get empty silver paint cans at Lowes or Home Depot.  I love the decorated paint cans with the ribbon on the handle.  Maybe do something less girly for a boy's party:

 -  Also, each child would get a painters cap.  You can find those at your home store as well or nicer paint stores.  Provide fabric paint for them to decorate their own.

 - Look at this cute artist palette cake!   Learn how to create at Family Fun!

 - Or, make each child a mini cake and let them "paint" it with frosting and brushes.

 - Ahead of time, save your coffee cans or other cans and create each child a brush/marker holder.  Decoupage on each can some fun paint splattered or other colorful fabric.  Children can take those home too or you can keep them all to reuse for your next party.  Decorating them to match the theme really adds a finished touch and pulls everything in.  Kinda like this but with a different fabric.

 - Oriental Trading is great to purchase craft items in bulk.  They have great foam stamps like these that are $5 per dozen in many themes.

These car stamps are cute!  Tracks!

 - What they can paint - tshirts, flower pots, foam visors, poster board, etc.  Lots of options especially at the dollar store!  Stock up in the summer when the fun foam items are out.

 -  They can also create a mural on a fence.  All of them can work on one large themed piece together. Be sure to use WASHABLE paint for this one or chalk. 

 - If the children are older, a tye dye party is fun!!!  Because it's a little more involved and usually uses dyes that stain, I'd wait until they are older.

Possibilities are endless!   I'd love to see photos of paint parites you've hosted!

Elmo birthday!

Elmo birthday parties are all the rage now!  I've seen several lately and have had a few people write in to ask about Elmo ideas so I thought I'd round some up.  :)

These came from Steph who owns the event planning company Couture Parties in Rhode Island.  She recently threw an Elmo Tutu party with some adorable details.  Here are few:

Invites:

Using paper lanterns to create decorative Elmos:

Arrangements made with Blumeboxes:

hats featuring 3 dimensional characters

cupcakes!

Oreos with Elmos!

Everyday Events: Mad Hatter Birthday!

Don't you love coming to a blog and seeing real photos of real events?  Me too.  Plus, it's Tuesday and I personally dislike Tuesdays.  Why?  Well, it's not the beginning of the week (Monday) and it's not the middle of the week (Wednesday) and we're not close to the weekend.... my friends laugh because, for some reason, I dislike Tuesdays.

Anyway... moving on.... since I don't like Tuesdays.... let's see fun pictures instead!

Remember that wonderful carnival birthday I showed you about a year ago? That birthday was created and thrown by my friend Kelly of Eventology Weddings (Houston, TX) for her very own daughter Kendall.  Well, another year has passed and it's time for another birthday and this year's theme was the Mad Hatter! 

Held outdoors at a local park, this whimsical birthday included these fun details:

Table centerpieces - floral arrangements in tea cups with one single feather

of course, the traditional topsy turvy cake

with adorable matching cookies

and Ben and Jerry's sundae station! yum!

Guests spent the afternoon painting their own take home teacups

took rides on the Mad Hatter Express

and participated in the "tea cup toss"

Guests took home personalized M&Ms

with Kendall's precious face!

as well as multicolor glazed popcorn balls

Another fabulous birthday!   If you're looking for some help in the Houston area, give Kelly a call!
She's the Knot's Best of Weddings for 2008 and 2009!

Photos courtesy of Sharon Nicole Photography

Also, a reminder that if you've recently thrown a party you're particularly proud of, send it my way!
I love seeing the creativity of others and showcasing here on Everyday Celebrating!

The National Stationary Show - My Mecca.

So I'm KICKING MYSELF that I'm not at the National Stationary Show that starts this weekend in NYC.

If you know me, you know I'm all things paper and ribbon.  Cards, stationary, wrapping paper, ribbon, embellishments, etc.  The list goes on.  To say that I have tons of stationary and note cards and the like would be, well, a severe understatement.  Matter of fact, I'm in the process of trying to figure out how to turn a closet into a haven for it all.

Anyway, my good friend Dianne of Colorblind Productions, invited me to go this year and I declined and opted to go to Blogher instead.   Maybe D invited me because she walked me into Kate's Paperie for the first time in NYC, where I literally teared up.  And while I'm excited for Blogher, I'm kicking myself that I'm not at the NSS.  I'm friends with several stationary designers who are abuzz on Twitter about packing up and heading to the show.  It's like being left behind while your friends are going to the carnival.  LOL

But next year is my year.  I'm saying it here and now. D and I are gonna take it by storm!
(I should probably purchase extra luggage between now and then to lug it all home in, right?)

I leave you with photos of a previous show.  As usual, click on the photos for their full fabulousness.

Swoon. Drool. Bliss.

Everyday Events: Another amazing airplane birthday!

As I said in a previous post, I love it when readers share with me how they took a theme I posted, made it their own and went above and beyond even! 

Remember my son's airplane party.  Here and here?

Jennifer of Nounces Design threw an airplane party for her son recently and the details just have to be shared!  Some great stuff here!

First off, her invitations.  She is a graphic designer and created some amazing invitations.  She went the same route I did with the boarding pass and also the map envelopes.  Click on the photo to see it larger.

These invitations are absolutely adorable!  MUCH better than mine!
And guess what?  She sells them!  So all of you folks that aren't crafty with a computer can still have amazing invites.  Buy them at her etsy store here.

Now on to the things we love... details!  Make sure to click on the image so you can get an up close view.

In Jennifer's words:
"For the goodies bags,  I painted a Cheerios box brown, I then cut two pieces of brown paper into the shape of a suitcase and attached one to either side.  To dress it up a bit, I used two stripes of yellow cardstock and travel stickers. I think they turned out pretty good.  The adults were also sent home with a goodie bag, chocolate chip cookies….YUM!"

Don't you love the goody bags????

Moving onto the food.  She served individual lunches in keeping with the airplane theme.  She continued the logo throughout, which really is the key to creating a cohesive event and bringing the theme to life.  Look at the lunch up close.  The banner that the airplane is pulling says what the lunch is "ham, turkey.. etc."  Very creative!

Now for the cake!
From Jennifer:
"I went back and forth about the cake. I didn’t know if I wanted to go with cake or cupcakes. I couldn’t decide…so I went with both! Dan and I made the cake topper airplane out of Crayola Model Magic. Derek loved seeing the airplane on everything. He would get so excited every time he saw it. For the cupcakes, I added flags. Some with the airplane graphic and the others with his age, 2."

How cute is the airplane on that cake?  and I love the clouds!

Another fabulous airplane party!
Thanks Jennifer, for sharing with us.  This will serve as inspiration for many visitors.
Don't forget!  Jennifer has done all the hard work of the invites!  She also creates custom invitations and announcements of any nature.  Over 105 items for sale in her store right now!  Visit her etsy store!

50 free prints!

Now's the time to stock up on prints!
Get 50 free 4 X 6 prints at Shutterfly by using the code:

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Don't forget!  Mother's Day is approaching on May 10!
Hurray!  Offer ends April 27.

The Divorce Party with ceremonial ring coffin!

We're surrounded by tons of blogs featuring wedded bliss and the promise of happily ever after.

But what if your happily ever after means being single ... again.

Nobody likes to talk divorce, but let's face it.  By the time people get the final papers, quite a few are thrilled with the freedom that follows. 

And here at Everyday Celebrating, we believe that every day deserves a celebration... even divorce day!

What better way to celebrate your new happiness by having a divorce party?

You might have a ceremonial cake....

which you serve on these fabulous plates

with a few of these napkins thrown in.. they make me smile

and at the end of the night, you could send your friends home with goodies inside a frog prince gift bag.

But let me show you the latest trend in divorce parties.  The wedding ring coffin!

Genius, right?  And totally perfect for a celebration of divorce proportions!
The coffin is mahogany and has a beautiful brass plate that you can have customized or they have several phrases to choose from and these are my two favorite:

"Six feet isn't deep enough!"

and

"I Do.... NOT!"

$39.95 for an engraved coffin.
How fun would it be to give as a divorce present to one of your friends who are thrilled to start a new life?

The same company offers these invitations.

Remember, every day deserves a celebration!  Even D day!