Circle of Moms Top 25 Party Planning Moms of 2013

Hey guys and gals!  Just wanted to stop in and let you know that I entered the "Top 25 Party Planning Moms" contest over at Circle of Moms.  Of course, I don't expect to get 1st place since I'm just starting out, but it would be nice to get a couple of votes. :-)  Please take the time to click over and vote for me.  Right now, you can find me under the "pending approval" tab.  Just click on the link below to be taken to the website.  Thanks so much!

 

Circle of Moms- Top 25 Party Planning Moms of 2013 

 



   

   

Saydee's Spa Party

Warning!!!  Reading this post may result in picture overload!!!  You have been warned.

Ok, I promise, I did not realize how many pictures I had planned for this post until I had finished editing them, but I just couldn't bring myself to cut any of them out. :-)

 

Alright, I'll get on with it already.  I am sooooo excited!  My coworker and friend Lacresa asked me to plan an 11th birthday party for her daughter, the beautiful Miss Saydee.

  Actually, Saydee and I pretty much had it planned before she ever talked her mom into it. :-)  Saydee knew I planned parties and we have discussed it off and on for a year now.  I have to say a HUGE thank you to Lacresa for allowing me to do it though.  Love that lady!

 

So, Saydee decided that she wanted a "Spa" themed party.  This was really fun for me to plan and I think she and her friends enjoyed being at the party as much as I enjoyed planning and executing it.

I asked my daughter Wylee and her friends Lilly and Mallory to help out with the make overs.  I also asked my friend Alecia and her girl Haven.  Huge thank you to all of these girls!  Without you, I couldn't have pulled this off!

 

 

Saydee knew she wanted pink and zebra print, so that's where I started.  I layered zebra print table runners over pink tablecloths, mixed zebra print plates with smaller pink ones and added some fun pink plastic "wine glasses" for the girls to drink out of.  Don't worry, they were filled with pink lemonade. :)

 

This was Saydee when she walked in and saw it all.  Do you think she liked it?

 

I covered the backs of the maroon chairs with white pillow slips and my daughter alternated tying zebra print ribbon and green tulle around them for me.

 

For the cake table, I used my trusty backdrop that I always use and just changed out the cover and added the birthday girl's name.  I found these great wooden letters already painted in the perfect color at Hobby Lobby.  Saydee got to take them home with her to hang on her wall.  I also hung some tissue poms and balloons around it and some lanterns from the ceiling.  I love the zebra print lanterns and will definitely be reusing them for other parties.

On the gift table, I put a jar of bath loofahs and a sign in banner.  The girls each got to take a loofah home and Saydee has a way to remember who was at her party.

 

I had several activities for the girls to do and I think they really enjoyed all of them.  I set them up at different tables and the girls went to one "station" at a time.

 

The first station was "Makeovers".  First, my daughter and her friends did the girls nails and while they were drying, they did the girls make up and hair.  I wish I had gotten some pictures of the girls hair, there were some really cute styles!

 

Next, we decorated our own flip flops.  They got so creative with this!



 



Then, we made our own body glitter.  The girls took these home as part of their party favors.  Please excuse the way I look in these pictures!  I tried to stay out of the shots as much as possible, but somehow I managed to get in a couple and the angles are awful!!! I do NOT look like this in real life...at least I hope I don't!

 

We also played this awesome game that I found on Pinterest.  It's kind of a nail polish version of spin the bottle.  You spin the arrow and do whatever it lands on.  The options were- Lose a Turn, Paint 2 Toes, Paint 3 Toes and Pick Your Favorite Color (1 toe).  There were different colors at each option, so the girls ended up with multicolored toes.  The first one to paint all ten toes was the winner.

 

I also set up a "photo booth" of sorts.  The girls had so much fun posing for this. They had giant sunglasses, feather boas and these cute leopard and zebra print hats to try on.  Keep an eye out for the littlest one, the camera definitely loves her. :)

 

The girls also played freeze dance and had a blast, but I didn't get pictures.  Before they left, we had a little extra time, so I let them try applying their own makeup.  It was... interesting. :)

 

I snapped a quick pic of the birthday girl after she had done hers.  Still beautiful!



 

I really think they all enjoyed themselves.  I know I did!

 

I hope you all enjoyed reading this post, even if it was a little picture heavy.  Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!  By the way, I am sorry I haven't been posting more often.  I'm really hoping to do better now that summer is here and I'm not working.  I hope you'll keep reading!  Thanks guys!

DIY Chalkboard Bunting

Hey there! I wanted to pop in and show you guys this little project I did the other day. A teacher friend of mine asked me to set up her room for her "Muffins with Mom" Mother's Day get together. I didn't really get any pictures of the room, but I did get some pictures of something I made for the backdrop. A chalkboard bunting! I have been wanting to make one and I decided that this was the perfect excuse.

 

I'm just going to jump right into the tutorial.  I haven't done a whole lot of tutorials, so I'm definitely open to pointers if you have any!  Just leave me a comment! 

 

Ok, so I started with these chipboard bunting flags that I found at Hobby Lobby.  They came 9 to a package and I got them on sale for around $3.50 a package.

 

 

Next, I grabbed some chalkboard spray paint and followed the directions (shocking, I know) to cover each flag with the paint.  So here's where I tell you my little secret.  The can said to wait 24 hours for the paint to dry completely... Ummm, I am just not that patient.  I think I might have waited 12 hours...maybe.  Guess what?  I don't think it made a bit of difference.  I had no problems with the paint.  So, here are the flags after the 2 coats of paint.  Sorry they don't show up very well.  I was painting them on a trash bag. :-/

 

After waiting as long as I could for them to dry, I seasoned them with a piece of chalk.  To season them, you simply take a piece of chalk and rub the side of it all over the flags until each one is pretty much covered with chalk.

 

Next, I just took a dry washcloth and rubbed off most of the chalk.  I left a little on the flags because I liked the way it made them look.  They looked more "used", not brand new.

 

Luckily, these flags came with prepunched holes already in them, so all I had to do was string twine through them.  You could really use anything for this. Ribbon, fishing line or even tulle would work.  I used the twine because I plan on reusing this bunting over and over again and I felt like the twine would go with just about any theme.

 

After that, it was just a matter of writing my message on it and then hanging it on the backdrop I had created.

 

So there you have it.  A super simple diy chalkboard bunting.  I have a feeling I'll be using this for lots of different things.  When I went to erase the message, it came right off, no problem!  So, what do you think?  Will you be making one of your own soon?  What will you use it for?  Any tweaks you might make?  Leave me a comment and let me know!

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Jungle Theme Baby Shower

Hey there everybody! Sorry it has been so long since I last posted! Baseball season has started up for my son and it keeps us pretty busy. I do have a few pictures to show you of the jungle theme baby shower I did the other day. I'm sorry to say, I still haven't learned how to take decent pictures and my daughter was at school, so she was unable to take them for me. The fact that the party was held in the school library didn't really help matters either. :) Needless to say, these are not the best pictures, but hopefully, you'll get the general idea. I did get lots of compliments on the decor, I even had a couple of people tell me that I should start a business (I'm trying!). I always wonder if people are just being nice because they know how much I like doing it or if they're being sincere. Does anybody else have that little insecurity? ;) Anyways, enough about me, on to the party!

This is the main table. I went with a very natural color scheme, browns, greens and animal prints. I used plain kraft paper to cover the backdrop and draped some vines around the edges. You can't see it very well, but I made the giraffe print bunting that said "Welcome to the Jungle". I used moss balls and what I'm going to call ummm, wicker balls? My mind is totally fried! I can't think of the name for these little balls, but I love the texture they added! I used a burlap runner for more texture.

Here is another view. I made some green punch to add a little more color and to coordinate with the cake. I also hung leopard print lanterns above the table. I loved being able to mix animal prints!

Of course, I alternated green and brown plates and green napkins with brown zebra print napkins. I don't know if you can see it, but I bought this great wooden "thing" at a craft show and it is the perfect silverware caddy! Not sure if that's what it was made for, but it works. :-)

 

 

Here's a shot of the cake and a better look at the bunting. Wish I would've  taken that silver thing out from under the cake, but, oh well.

 

 

This is a table I set up for people to sit at. I started with strips of burlap that I used as a runner and added vines, wicker ball thingies :), and these cute little wooden animals that I got at Hobby Lobby for next to nothing.

 

This was a sign I sat on the gift table reminding people to fill out a Wishes for Baby card and take a favor. The favors were probably my favorite part. I wrapped little candles in tulle and added a poem I found on Pinterest. It said, "Here is a candle for you to light, once baby Braxton has arrived. With the flicker of the flame, say a prayer in baby's name." 

 

I didn't really get a picture of the gifts that we gave the mommy to be, but you can kind of see them in the bottom corner here. I put together a Hospital Survival Kit, Bath Time in a Jar and a Diaper Quick Change Kit, all found on Pinterest, of course. :-)

 

 

So, there you have it! Sorry for the crummy pictures! I promise, I am working on getting somebody else to take pictures of the parties I do! Anyways, hope you guys liked it! Remember, if you haven't followed me on Facebook yet, be sure to click on the link up at the top and follow, follow, follow!

Thanks for reading!