*Circus*

I have to post about these invites!
They are the cutest, most original and creative thing I've seen in a long time!!
There are lots of pictures here
These are from the circus party I shared on Sunday from armelle blog.


AND
don't for get to enter my Favor Affair Giveaway!
Contest ends
Thursday April 30th....
that's just around the corner. :)

*Circus* Circus*

This must be the season for a circus because that's what I'm seeing all over our state.
A circus here and a circus there.
Even in our LITTLE town a few miles away there was a small circus.
I remember as a kid that for our school trip we got to ride the school bus about 100 miles just to go to the circus. Good stuff. :)

The circus theme seems to be pretty hot right now in the partyland too.
This baby shower from Sweet Bliss is so adorable.

And this kids party from armelle blog ~ Simply CUTE!
Hostess with the Mostess featured this Amazing party by Michelle Thornton ~



The hats and banner were made by Polkadotsandpirates on Esty ....she has some really neat party decorations!

A Favor Affair Giveaway!

One of my most favorite things at a party or event are the favors. I've always been interested in what the favor is. I guess I like the little things...the details. :)

Today I am hosting a giveaway from FAVOR AFFAIR! I am SO excited to do this. I'm just smiling as I type this all out!! :)
The lucky winner will receive a $25 in free merchandise from Favor Affair.

Graduation is upon us (Yay!!) and ONE of my favorite favors at Favor Affair
for Graduation is this:

One of the things I think we've all done is showcased pictures of our graduates and I think these frames would add class to the tables.

Ok...can't just share one...I love this one too!! :)

We all know that graduation leads to many changes which usually includes our kids moving off to college or jobs elsewhere. These little suitcases are such a reminder of just that.

To enter this contest, go to Favor Affair, check out their amazing favors, come back here and post a comment about your favorite favor from their site.
Contest ends on Thursday, April 30th. (That's usually a pay day so I thought I'd make the day even better for one lucky winner!) Good luck everyone.

Amazing Lollipops!

I found these lollipops on Ebay in the Whimsical Boutique Storefront.
Aren't they just the cutest? So creative and fun.
I'm really liking the ant's in this bouquet:

What about these adorable farm animals?

Having a space party?

And these monkeys!!!! Oh my.....my daughter used to collect monkeys and this would have been so fun to send her when she was away at school!

What cool favors these would make. Check out the ebay seller Whimsical Boutique HERE.
And stay tuned....I'm working on a favor giveaway for later today. :)

Happy Earth Day!

What You Need

1 1/2 C. white sugar
1 1/2 C. brown sugar
3/4 C. butter, softened but not melted
3/4 C. butter flavored shortening
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3 C. flour
4 1/2 C. regular (not quick cooking!) oatmeal
1 1/2 C. white chocolate chips (optional)
can add nuts if desired

Destiny's Graduation

Since Graduation is just around the corner I thought now would be a good time to post about the Graduation Open House I did last May. It was for my niece and her school colors where black and green which she did NOT want to use for her Open House. She decided on hot pink and orange and of course the usual black. I chose to use stars as decor also.

The building we used was just an ordinary city hall type building. Destiny ~ my niece, was not impressed at all with the looks of the place and was VERY concerned that it was not going to look nice. When I carried my boxes of decor into the building, she got even more nervous...because it didn't look like I even had much to decorate with!
I told her just to sit tight, hang in there...it will be nice.

We (myself, daughter and Destiny) arranged the tables in a very fun design with the punch bowl being featured in the center of the room. We hung black stars from the ceiling just over the punch bowl. The tables were covered in black plastic covering and I had stamped graduation wording and Destiny's name on 10" crepe paper strips and used them as runners. Photo confetti was then sprinkled on the tables.
The main centerpiece was a clear vase filled with black marbles and hot pink and orange daisies along with some black star picks. I filled small square votive cups with pink and orange starburst candy and added a graduation stamped saying onto cardstock that was then taped to cup. For the food table I first covered it with an iridescent table cover from Party America, then placed some hot pink wrapped boxes around for height and covered all that with pink tulle. Some of the food was served in large clear bowls from the Party store and on black charges from Hobby Lobby. We blew up lots of pink and orange balloons and I wasn't totally sure what I was going to do with them once I had the few bouqets done that I had planned on so we just attached the ribbon and let the balloons float up to the ceiling. I did really like that look after all. :)
I had 3 large black display boards filled with pictures and all of Destiny's scrapbooks layed out to view.
Because the walls of the building were fairly boring we decided to hang strips of black butcher paper vertically on different sections of the walls. On one section my daughter wrote a quote in chalk on the black paper. Another section was the guest book. We provided white markers for everyone to sign with. After the celebration my daughter took pictures of each written message and it will be put into Destiny's scrapbook.
This is the Graduate (in black) with my daughter.After doing this celebration it made me realize even more how much I LOVE planning events and parties. It was so fun for me!

Woodland Fairy Party

I found this party at The Princess and the Frog Blog (what a CUTE blog name!!).
This party was for a 7 year old girl.
I just love all the details put into this...and what a different take on the usual Fairy Party.
The invitation is wrapped around a twig!
The mushroom cake..mmmm, gorgeous.
Fairies hanging around.
Red's browns, blues.
Can you tell I just love this party? :)
For pictures go to her blog. There is much more to see there.

Appreciation

Do you want to show your children's teacher that you appreciate her/him?

I've found some fabulous ideas that will certainly let them know how much they mean to you.

First of all..........these Gumball Jars are just amazing!! I found them at Everything Is Pink blog. I'm sorry this link doesn't take you to the direct post...but you can look through her blog...lots of cool things!

Candy Grams & Other Sayings

“You rock!” (great for a music teacher) - Who doesn’t love pop rocks candy!

“You are ’sum-body’ special!” - An inexpensive calculator from the $$ store would be a useful gift!

Cupcake "When it comes to being a teacher, you're the icing on the cake!"

-3 or 4 inch flower pot-fill with a small baggie of potting soil and a packet of seeds-"Thanks for helping us grow."

You are O'FISH'ally Awesome!(Gold Fish ® crackers)

Attach the following poem to a 100 Grand candy bar:
"To our million dollar teachers, we appreciate you a lot. You're worth a million dollars, But our budget's almost shot. We scraped together 100 Grand Please accept it as your pay. Keep teaching with the love of Christ And have a Happy Day!"

Or this LATTE' from Skip to my lou.

Some door decor from Skip to my lou.

There are many more ideas that can be done. It's always nice to be appreciated so go ahead and thank your children's teacher. They have most likely put in alot of time and effort to teach your child throughout the year.

Really cute party

I found this party at Creative Parties and Showers and it was origianlly hosted by Missy at Sweet Funky Vintage . If you check them out you will see many other pictures of a very very cute party! I love the little favor bags, the pretzel sticks, and and and.........

Easter Basket

In case you haven't made your Easter basket yet...here are a few ideas.

From Moda Bakeshop

From???? I just hate when I forget where. But it's cute! :)

These two from Hostess with the Mostess:

I'm off to spend some time with my family. See ya next week. Have a blessed Easter everyone.

Or should I do this:

I found this party{Hollywood Glam} on Mix Mingle Glow and what a fabulous one it is!! I'm thinking my soon to be 13 year old niece might really like this look better than the Rock and Roll. Gotta chat with her cause I really love what I see here!! :) Decisions. decisions.


Look at this food!!
For more pictures and info about this cool party go to Mix Mingle Glow!

13th Birthday *Music Themed*

I'm starting to plan a 13th Birthday Party with the theme of Music, specifically Superchick. I'm excited and yet a bit concerned about keeping it at an age level of 13 and not to childish and not 50's Rock & Roll. So far this is what I've come up with as far as decor, favors, etc.

Music Party by Lisalyn on Polyvore.com
Guitar stir sticks ~ Plum Party, Rockstar Banner & Plates ~ Birthday in a Box, Rockstar Neclaces & Gold favor bags ~ partysuppliesshop.makesparties.com, Guitar sunglasses, musical napkin rings & Placecard holders ~ Drumbum. All can be linked to by clicking on main picture.
I've read about some ideas that would be fun to do for activities :
Creating a Stage area for karaoke
Making a music video
Playing Name that Tune

Any ideas...please feel free to share. Party is the middle of May.

Tagged!

Natalie from Little Shindigs has tagged me! Yay!!
So I need to share 7 things I love...here goes ~
1. My family....One husband, one daughter (26) and one son (22) , two cats (not real sure I love them though). 5 Nieces....20 yr old, 12 year old, 4 yr old, 2 yr old, and a 1 yr old!!
2. My friends...I am blessed by many of them. They are all different and they each bring something special to my life.
3. Attending Christian Concerts.
4. Chocolate.
5. Planning Parties...of course!
6. Watching American Idol and Dancing with the Stars.
7. Blogging.

And now I am suppose to tag a few other bloggers ~
Tonya from Munchkins and Mayhems
Sarah from Mrs. D Lightful
and
April from THIS is what it's all about

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This book: has just celebrated a 40th Birthday!!

Yay! It is certainly a favorite book at my house when my nieces are here. I think Hannah has it about memorized.

Why not plan a Very Hungry Caterpillar Party?? Your kids will love it!

I thought I'd share some ideas that I have found online for this wonderful kind of party.

The adventures of Tator Baby shared these photos:

Aren't they cool wall decor? :)

Lyndsay at Coco Cupcakes shared this cake: mmmmm!

These cookies (how fabulous) are from Annalise's 1st Birthday.

Check out these tablescapes:

This one from Donna at Growing Great Kids.

I really like the other ideas she shared for this party too.

And from Robyn on Flickr cute cute!

How about making this salad ~

Very Hungry Caterpillar Fruit Salad

1 Apple
2 Pears
3 Plums
4 Strawberries
5 Oranges
Bunch of Mint Leaves

Peel, pare, seed, hull and section each fruit. Cut into bite-sized pieces. Then put them all together in a big bowl and chill. Garnish each serving with a sprig of mint. Serve to a small group of friends, after reading a good book. You’ll enjoy every bit of it.

Some favor and game ideas from Pipi Langstrumpf

These awesome favors are from Jeniene on Flickr

Such wonderul, colorful and fun ideas. Now go plan your party!! :)