back by popular demand... (a 'wild things' birthday party!)

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Since the 'Cowboy Small' party I featured last month was such a hit, I've been begging "C"'s mom to share an earlier 'Where the Wild Things Are' party. 

In her words, "C's favorite book was Where the Wild Things Are and so we invited some of his 'wild' friends over to celebrate. We hung lots of green streamers and 'vines' to make a jungle. 

We played 'pin the tail on Max'. We also read the book to the kids and made a wild thing mask for each guest, so they had to hold up their masks and roar like the wild things do in the book..."They roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws..."

We went outside for the pinata and the kids got way too much candy and then we went back inside for cake. We made a little sign for the cake that was held up by two of the Wild Things (a color copy just taped to the skewers) and attached it to the cake. C loved it! 

I think we might make this a tradition...basing our party ideas off of the kids' favorite books. We'll see how long we last before they demand Spiderman parties!"

From Sara: For those of you moms stressing out after seeing these great parties by C's mom, you should know that she's in the creative community and these things come easier to her then the 'average' mom!  

I asked her to give more detail about how to create the amazing ideas within the party. This is what she said:

"For the masks, I scanned the monsters to my computer and then enlarged and printed them on cardstock...cutting just the faces out and making holes for for the eyes. You could do this on a color copier, too.

For the favors I scanned the pictures and printed them on Avery label sheets, then attached them to plain gift bags.

The tissue paper 'vines' are a bit tricker. You cut the leaves and vines out as one big piece...like a silhouette...then when you unfold it, you have one long piece. The tissue paper is only so big, however, so you tape a few pieces together, end to end, to make a big long strand."  See the 'how to make a vine' tutorial in the previous post.

Thank you again for sharing, C's mom! These book parties are great inspiration to me. I hope you Party readers enjoyed as much as I did.

tosca radigonda

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Tosca Radigonda does beautiful work. I love the way she captures color and reflects it in a really dreamy way. Her photographs make me feel nostalgic about my own childhood, and make me want to create some dreamy memories for my own family. You should visit her website to see more of 'Pixieland' (the fairy-type photographs...great inspiration for a pixie/fairy party). I absolutely adore her 'Special Olympics' series as well- her photographs bring a great deal of humanity to her subjects. 

I'm starting to plan my son's 1st birthday party (in late November), and these are giving me great inspiration. I hope you'll be able to take something away from them as well!

party in pink

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I was going to wait to post these beautiful baby shower pictures from Los Altos-based photographer Loren Weltsch until next week, but I just couldn't postpone- I think it's the perfect party to send you into the weekend. 

Let me count the ways I love this idea...
1) The look is very high-style, but I also think it is easily achievable. Pretty outdoor setting? Check. Lanterns in varying shades of the same color? Check. Simple flower groupings (with my absolute favorite flower- the peony) in varying shades of the same flower? Check. Things the 'average' person can do? Absolutely!

2) I'm often asked about 'themes' for parties, and I think there is no easier and prettier 'theme' then a color story. As long as you stay within a restricted color palette, you can easily mix a variety of shapes and patterns for a cohesive look. This party illustrates this concept so well! This same look could be achieved for the fall with varying oranges or yellows, with seasonal flower groupings on the table (mums, daisies, etcetera).

3) I love the way circles and dots are used both literally and in abstract ways. The invitation circles mimic the lanterns, the dot tags used on the food markers, even the cookies mimic the roundness of it all. 

4) I think rectangular tables are always prettier and easier to set-up - and I love the counter balance to all the roundness of the other elements.

Loren's photographs also make this party look even more special, so if you have it in the budget, a photographer (or even a friend who is good with the camera) will make your party memories last!

Thank you for sharing, Loren! Have a great weekend, everybody.