reader question of the week #1

reader question of the week #1:

"I'm currently organizing a birthday party for my son who is turning two years old in August. He really loves water and I was thinking about having a water themed birthday party for him. So everything about water-mini slash pool, photo booth with water accessories, etc. The only thing is that I want it to be more of a vintage type feel to it...rather than taking to kids to local water park. The party will con sit of kids who are no older than 5 years old...so I would like to be accessible to the different ages as well. I also am pretty limited on what other kinds of activities and games I could do for the kids-as well as a cake, party favors any suggestions? Thanks! -Rebeckah"

weekend randomness: felt

I try to stay on subject most of the time (parties, that is), but occasionally I get tempted to veer off in another direction. So I've decided to introduce occasional 'weekend randomness', when I can share non-party items that I just adore.

My mom spotted some gorgeous items from HUT UP, in a felt exhibition at Cooper Hewitt. When she traveled to Berlin, she sought out the HUT UP shop and took these snaps of some of their amazing wares. I couldn't resist sharing! The pigs might be my favorite.

spanish baptism celebration

Given that I live in the South, where baptisms often involve ornate celebrations, I'm surprised how few baptism parties I've come across. I was thrilled when this beauty from Cristina arrived in my inbox all the way from Spain! For more beautiful pictures of this special celebration, check it out here, here, here and here.

more details from sharnel

It seems I'm not the only one in love with Sharnel's birthday party, so I asked her to divulge a couple more details then she initially shared with us. 

From Sharnel: 

"The inspiration for Olivia’s party came from a dessert buffet Amy Atlas created and an image I saw on flickr of some Martha Stewart pom pom decorations.We love to throw parties that parents can relax at and enjoy themselves, too.  So we searched for an entertainer that would keep the littlies mesmerised for a good while.  Princess Sharara filled that brief perfectly.  She is aprofessional belly dancer that also transforms children's parties into a magical Arabian fun fantasy.

When designing the Olivia’s cake, I knew I had to have one of Lollipop Workshops creations. Jen will custom make a whimsical topper just for you.

Jars and vessels for the dessert buffet where either sourced locally or my own.

I designed the labels for the buffet and the font I used is JBCursive from Dafont.com (lots of requests for the name of that font!)

One of the first things I completed for the party were the party favours.  I collected lots of different fabrics that complemented the colour scheme and sewed the favour bags.  Each one was filled with a polka dot notebook, pencils, eraser and sharpener. The gift tags are from La Papier Studio.  I wanted the guests to take away something that would remind them of their fun-filled day."

Thanks for sharing all of your great sources, Sharnel!

bird themed shower

I'm particularly fond of these baby shower invites I did for my dear friend, Catherine. We've got no less then seven of our close friends from college having babies within months of each other! (With almost all of them expecting girls- so fun!).