Announcing the Arrival of the Birthday Express!

Well, the arrival of party pictures that is!!

This past Wednesday, we celebrated my son's 5th birthday with a party at Burke Lake Park!

My little guy LOVES trains. So, I had a pretty good idea of just what his answer was going to be when I asked him what type of party he would like to have this year. I was right!

Because my son has a mid-summer birthday, I usually try to find a nearby venue to hold his party. Burke Lake Park was the PERFECT spot! If you live in the Northern Virginia area, and have never been to Burke Lake Park, I encourage you to go. The kiddies that attended the party took a ride around the park on the antique train as well as a spin on the carousel. Lunch and ice cream were served in their special birthday pavilion. (As the hostess of this party, I would love to take a moment to note how accommodating and helpful the staff at Burke Lake Park was, which resulted in a most enjoyable afternoon!)

Despite my son's particular fondness of a little, blue engine, I wanted to go a more traditional and "non-commercial" route for his party. So, I got busy with the invitation in hopes of persuading him. I knew I wanted this invitation to resemble an over sized transportation ticket. I added an antique, steam train graphic, drew from the traditional colors of conductor's fabric, blue and white, and added my son's favorite color, green! I absolutely loved the way it turned out, and the entire party unfolded from there!

Take a look at the beautiful photo collage created by my dear and OH SO talented friend, Kerri Gibbs, owner, photographer, and designer of With Love Studio!

AND, here is a picture of the stationery set created by Belle Paper & Parties for this Birthday Express Party!

Party Preview: Birthday Express

Here is just a small preview of an upcoming party!

As you can see, this party will have a train theme to it. It's less than two weeks away, and I am so excited to see how it all comes together.

Please check back in a couple of weeks to see more pictures of this party!

A Shower at Cotton Row Restaurant

Oh, I just started working on a new project that I am SO excited about!

The event is a bridal shower taking place this July in Huntsville, Alabama. The location the hostesses have chosen is The Cotton Row Restaurant. I have been poking around their website, and I am feeling so inspired by this location! It has so many beautiful, rustic elements, but is absolutely charming and has my mind spinning with all of the possibilities. I'm thinking "country-chic"!
Because this shower will be held in Alabama, and I am located just outside of Washington, DC, I will be designing a few different elements and sending them down for the occasion.
Check back for pictures of this event!

Hersey Kiss Gifts

I have seen these amazing looking Hersey Kisses a couple of times in different photos, and finally decided to give this idea a whirl!

I designed a set of these small (well, very small actually) circles, printed them, punched them out using a circle cutter, and attached to the bottoms of Hershey Kisses, with the sole purpose of dressing these kisses up! Since I was using these to accompany gift certificates to give to teachers for an end of year gift, I decided on a traditional apple graphic and "thank you" message. Because I was working with a very small surface area, I kept the design very simple. I piled mason jars high with the kisses, and tied them with a small tag and envelope that contained a gift card. Of course, I am missing a picture of the finished product, but they looked OH SO CUTE if I do say so myself!

I absolutely LOVED the outcome of my little project, and will definitely be doing this again...I'm thinking these would make a wonderful Valentine!!

Thank You, Teachers!

While poking around some of my favorite sites this weekend, I was reminded that it is Teacher Appreciation Week! For some reason, I never remember this, so I am so thankful to have come across this before I missed out.

Because we are nearing the end of the school year, and I will be purchasing other "thank you for a great year" gifts, I am looking for something on a bit of a smaller scale, that remains thoughtful, AND that my boys can help me with (tall order?!?!).....I'm thinking a cute baked treat! Two ideas immediately come to mind:

These are Apple Cake Pops from Bakerella! I have been making Bakerella's "standard" cake balls and pops with my boys for some time now, and they are always a huge hit. Not only are they delicious, but they are easy to make so that small children can help! Bakerella outlines all of her steps for making these cute Apple dessert pops. Wrapped in a cellophane wrapper and tied with a pretty ribbon, what teacher wouldn't LOVE receiving one or several of these from your little one!

My second idea comes from the book, What's New, Cupcake? I saw these in the book some time ago, and wondered when the perfect time to make these would present itself...NOW! The Family Fun website outlines all of the directions needed to transform your regular, old cupcakes into these cute apples, perfect for any teacher! These look so cute in this wooden crate, but I'm not sure I have time to make 6 apple cupcakes for 4 teachers. I'm thinking one cupcake wrapped in a small box or Chinese food container, secured with a pretty ribbon and a "Thank You" tag.

I'll let my boys decide and give you a peak when I'm done with my baking!

All About A Girl!

Over the past couple of months, I have been lucky to work with a local business, All About A Girl mobile spa parties. Have you heard of them??? Well, if you haven't, let me tell you a little bit about them...

The business was started by three friends in the Northern Virginia area, and they bring the spa to you! I am always looking for fun themes and activities for parties, especially children's parties. AND, I think this is an amazing idea!! The ladies at All About A Girl come into your home and transform it into a spa that will pamper your little princess and her friends. Some of their services include manicures, pedicures and facials. Now, as I am a mom to two little boys, I don't think I will be calling them to host a party in my home, but I would recommend them to any of you with little girls!

Please visit them at www.allaboutagirlspa.com

Here is a little peak at the invitations I designed for them!

A Baby Shower!

A few weeks ago, I was asked to design an invitation for a baby shower. The expecting mother and her husband were preparing to welcome their third little boy into their family, so I couldn't resist in making the invitation "All Boy"! Polka dots and jungle animals added classic yet whimsical details, which were easily incorporated to other party decorations as well.

Here are two pictures of the invitation (front & back)...

A small example of what the table set up looked like...I absolutely LOVE using polka dot balloons!

I saw the idea for these beautiful ribbon topiaries on another party blog site (link to come) and knew I just had to make them. They turned out beautifully and received so many comments.

Silverware is a "must have" on any table when a meal is being served, so I like to make it look pleasing to the eye. I wrapped the silverware used for this luncheon and made small decorative tags that coordinated with the invitations to tie the bundles. These tags could easily be adapted to use as cupcake toppers. We also needed forks to use with the cake that was served. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the cake, but it was frosted in simple, white butter cream and decorated with red, green and blue fondant polka dots - PERFECT! (It came from one of my favorite bakeries, so I KNOW it was delicious!) The dessert table also hosted beautiful elephant shaped cookies decorated in blue icing that came from a local source. Since the polka dots and elephants were already represented, I chose to fold napkins into the shape of a diaper, secure with a pin and tuck the dessert fork inside!