Party Invitations, Party Planning & Event Ideas

Gumball Flower Bouquets

My son is celebrating his summer birthday at school this week and I had to make 24 of these...Uh-huh...cute right? I've been waiting for a reason to make these, I'm trying to keep my projects down to ones I'm going to actually use, I'm getting too sidetracked and poorly managing my party time, a.k.a. staying up way too late.

I can't take any credit for coming up with them, this fabulousness is all from Ruffled.

I didn't have the clear rubber bands, but scads of ribbon, so that's what I tied mine with, and matched everything. 'Cuz I'm insane like that. Not Just A Mommy!

What you’ll need (per flower):

1 plastic balloon stick (I ordered mine from Oriental Trading)
1 clear elastic band or ribbon to match 7 small gumballs
1 large gumball
1 cellophane cut into circle shape (check the gift wrap section of your dollar store for cellophane gift wrap)

For the life of me, I couldn't keep the smaller gumballs from rolling around when I tried to balance them around the larger gumball in the balloon stick's cup and wrap with cellophane, per the tutorial. I'm slow like that. So I assembled them upside down to their tutorial...

1. Place the cellophane circle in a small, shallow bowl. Nope, a plate won't work, gumballs like to roll.
2. Place the large gumball in the center of the cellophane circle, then surround the gumball with the smaller gumballs.
3. Set the balloon stick cup on top, then gather the cellophane around gumballs and secure at base of the balloon stick with your clear elastic band or ribbon.

Ta-da!

Hip Hostess Gifts in a Hurry

Need a gift in a hurry for the hippest of hostesses?  Last week, I blogged about the amazing poolside baby shower my friends threw for me.  For their hostess gifts, I wanted something that perfectly complemented my friends' gourmet cooking talents while tipping a hat to the theme of the shower. 

The end result?  Dainty (but oversized, mugs filled with a lemon thyme plant, and accessorized with a cute little cocktail umbrella.  The final product was delightful, and reminded me of a tiny little patio, perfect for fairies and teeny sun-seekers.

I failed to take a picture of the mugs in their final form, but the following is montage of the supplies I used.  This is a great summer hostess gift, and the lemon thyme is an unusual but very versatile herb that can happily grow in its mug, while sitting on the windowsill of the recipient's kitchen.  Practical and pretty!

Lovely mugs from www.anthropologie.com.

Cocktail umbrella + Mug + Herb = Easy and unusual hostess gift!

Parasols and party planners,

party planning 101

aloha everyone!
its kim-erin from living eventfully.

a few weeks ago i had the privilege of hosting and speaking at a monthly mom's get together at our church.
i spoke about hospitality and quick, inexpensive party ideas.
we had wonderful time together.
here are some pictures.

monsters vs. aliens boy's party theme.

 
i used glass bottles to help these monster hand puppets stand up.


ice cream theme for a little girl's party.

keeping with the edible party favor idea, cupcake sugar cookies.
i gave each mom a recipe card with the sugar cookie recipe printed on it.

our menu was place on this kids magnetic chalk board.
always a good idea to place a menu out for your guests.
its a great ice breaker....everyone gets excited about food!
 
here is the hors d'oeuvres table.
use what you have around the house.
i used a clear acrylic tray and glass vase to display the crudites.
i found the "eat" letters at michaels.

this water so refreshing and inexpensive.
mint, lemon and cucumber...i left lots of room to add ice!
 
i placed homemade hummus in these cute ceramic ice cream cones i already had.
.
baby bird/nest theme for a baby shower.

along with the cookie recipe cards, the mom's took home a chinese take out box home which had an assortment of different cookie cutters in them.
 
the mom's begin to arrive!

for short gatherings (this lunch lasted about 2 hours) instead of serving multiple beverages like 5 different kinds of sodas, i like to place one unique beverage at each place setting.
i always make sure to offer water and coffee as well.
for this event i did individual box lunches.
each box had the mom's first initial on the outside.
when they found their initial, they took a seat.
each lunch included a chicken curry croissant sandwich, greek vegetarian wrap, pita chips, orzo cranberry feta salad and grapes.
 

for dessert we had mini red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

we also had time to do a craft.
we made these super cute and easy small cupcake stands. 

i encouraged the mom's to remember that entertaining and hospitality are really attitudes of the heart.
no matter your financial status or creative abilities, letting people know you have been expecting them and you are happy to have them in your home should be your number one priority!
have a wonderful week!
until next wednesday...

 

Graduation Party Details

EventLucky here to share some fun from my long weekend. Hope your weekends are full of sun and well planned parties!

My Memorial Day weekend was crazy busy, as my husband graduated from graduate school. His mom came to visit, so we threw him a little party...and I am so excited to share the details!

We knew we had a long day on Monday for the actual graduation, so we didn't want a party that would go too late (does that make us old?). We decided on a "happy hour" party from 4-7 PM, with snacks and drinks appropriate for pre-dinner.

I asked a friend to design pennants for me in my husband's school colors. She did such a great job! I printed them out on cardstock and cut them out for decorations.

For the menu, I wanted to play with the idea of a rolled diploma, so we made asparagus rolled in procuitto, hand rolled sushi (ok, we ordered this), and pigs rolled in a blanket,  in addition to some veggies, nuts, and appropriate colored candies.

I also made the chocolate mortarboards, which were a big hit. Once you give up on finding the perfect colored "tassels"  they were pretty easy and make a big impact.

We had Pimm's Cup (not yet made in this picture) and a prosecco toast for drinks (nice and light for a hot day).

And here's the food table-- styled a la Amy Atlas! You can see the orange candies-- orange slices and reece's pieces!

I can't let guests leave empty handed-- and I hate to have tons of food leftover after a party...so I gave each guest a cupcake for an after dinner treat.

I got the cupcake boxes and black and white bakers twine from cdkane on etsy -- she was great to work with, and cheaper than any bake shop in NYC!

But...the boxes were a little big for my homemade cupcakes. I didn't want the cupcakes to rattle around while the guests traveled, so I used a small piece of stik-tak (available at any hardware store). A tiny bit of tack kept the cupcakes centered with all of their frosting intact! Guests said the cupcakes made it home in perfect form!

Does anyone else have graduations coming up this month? Any fun graduation party details to share?

Little Rascals Birthday Party

We are so excited to share a great little boy's birthday party with you today.  The party was based off of this movie and the kids loved it!

The Details

The party was held in a warehouse to give the feel of a clubhouse. After showing the "Secret Sign" (wiggle your hand under your chin), the boys came through the clubhouse door.

The girls had to sneak in a separate door to get to the party.


Inside, the clubhouse was set up with all the best Little Rascals moments.


Honoring the prizewinning go-cart, The Blur.

We served snacks from the famous lunch date Spanky and the gang tried to sabotage. 
Grape soda (we didn't pour ours through an old boot), crunchy peanut butter 'sand'wiches, Cracker Jacks and cupcakes. 

Even Petey made it to the party!  We had doggy treats for Petey and Petey's Puppy Chow in dog bowls for kids.

Favors were stacked in paint cans and filled with mischievous toys--whoopie cushions, scary bugs and silly disguises.


The Party!
When the kids got inside the clubhouse, they each picked out a Spanky inspired beanie cap.

They worked hard on building a clubhouse; a smaller version they could take home.

Snack time!

Uh oh!  Alfalfa accidentally burned down the clubhouse!


We drew the burning clubhouse with sidewalk chalk and used water balloons to put the fire out!

At the end of the party, each guest got a bag of bait for their next fishin' trip.


We loved planning and designing this party!  Thank you to Adam Trujillo from Adam Trujillo Photography for the excellent pictures!  Adam is Las Vegas' premier Destination Lifestyle Photographer.  Visit his website and his blog to view more pictures and learn about his work.

{ jacqueline, rissa, traci & tara }

 

Splashy Poolside Baby Shower

Hello and Happy FRIDAY!  AFS here.  Many of you know that my husband and I are expecting a baby girl in August.  To honor the coming of our little one, my friends offered to throw me a baby shower, and, of course, I eagerly accepted.  True to form, my friends threw an incredible party, right down to every last fantastic detail.  I just had to share with you their beautiful success!

Since the temps in Memphis are already SO HOT, they knew that a poolside baby shower would be the perfect theme.  The invites set the stage for the poolside par-tay.  Here are the perfect parasol/ beachy invites that they used to announce the event (from tinyprints.com):

My friends used our baby girl's nursery colors (aqua, orange, and pink, as found in the Target Liberty of London crib bedding) as the color scheme, and this awesome tutorial (found at hostessblog.comwas the starting point for their entire decor scheme:

 
Here is their final product: 
Pretty snazzy!

They used a Cricut machine to make monogram labels for everything...from the banner between the topiaries, to the drink tags featuring her monogram for the Izze drinks. 

The food was perfect for an outdoor event.  Melon was served in a watermelon baby crib (built by one of the hostesses' husbands!), and kabobs, pasta salad, spinach salad, and to die for guacamole rounded out the lunch.  Cupcakes with baby girl's monogram were a perfect sweet ending to a fresh and delicious meal.

Everyone was invited to bring their bathing suits, and almost everyone swam after we opened gifts.  It was the pefect "not-your-traditional-baby-shower" activity, plus the kiddos could play, too!

 We sat in the shade to open gifts, and orange and cherry push pops were handed out so guests could keep cool.  Even the incredible diaper cake tied in perfectly with the theme!

All talk of decor, drinks, and gifts aside, this was a wonderful way to welcome summer and hang with the girls on a Saturday afternoon!

 
If you have a summer baby shower, why not consider a poolside party?  The water does wonders for relieving the expectant mama's sore feet, back, joints, etc. (I can speak from firsthand experience on that one!), and there are plenty of party goods and ready-made decorations to take your shower from snoozy to splashy!  Hope you enjoyed this poolside parasol baby shower!

Diving boards and divas,

Dinner and a Movie

Hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend! Here's to relaxing evenings this summer!

After a day of playing in the sun, sometimes it's nice to spend an evening in air conditioning. Watching a movie with friends is a great way to relax and escape, while your skin cools down from the heat of the day (or is that just my British skin?).

But a casual night at home can still be themed! Take look at some of these movie and dinner combinations.

Haven't seen the award winning Hurt Locker yet? Why not invite friends over to watch and share Middle Eastern inspired Lemon Grilled Chicken with Dried Fruit CousCous, homemade Pita & Hummus.

This meal would be great for a hot evening-- and it looks so good! Find the full recipe here.

Or how about a french movie? Amelie paired with french mussels.

This is my new favorite meal. I love mussels! Find the full recipe here.

Or how about looking at a cute guy for 2 hours? The Assassination of Jesse James paired with Meatloaf Brasciole, Country Corn, Mashed Potatoes.

Corn on the cob is so  good and sweet in the summer! Yum! Find the full recipe here.

Do you have any favorite movie and meal combinations?

See you next week! xoxo EventLucky