I have quite a few customers that I’m always thrilled to hear from, and Maggie is always one of them! She wanted to do a vintage-inspired circus party for her son’s 2nd birthday, and we were able to provide her with a few printables to help the party along. The beautiful photos are by Anna Pociask Photography.
Maggie has such great style! And I love the way our banner looks on that big yellow backdrop with the pops of red and aqua. This set is available in the shop.
It was kind of fun to let the frog prince put down his crown and celebrate something near and dear to his heart–Leap Year! Brittany at Grey Grey Designs threw this cute froggy party to commemorate this once every four years event for Baby Lifestyles Magazine. There was all manner of frog-filled fun at her little party for her kids!
Be sure to hop over to Brittany’s blog to see the rest of this lovely styled shoot!
Last week, I posted over at Project Nursery about some healthier alternatives to the overwhelming number of sweets Valentines Day seems to bring on. And the kids won’t miss the sugar–my two were more excited about hitting this particular dessert table than any I can think of recently. And they see a LOT of dessert tables.
Maybe it was that I told them they could have as much as they want, and that they weren’t limited to one or two things? And their pure amazement at something as simple as a heart in the side of an apple made it really fun for me…and the fact that they were thrilled to bits to be eating apples and watermelon and greek yogurt has made me want to try more of these style tables!
Want to read the hearty-healthy article? Pop over to Project Nursery to check it out!
Recently I worked with Natalie at Southern Belle’s Charm to help create what turned out to be an incredibly unique and fun party. The little guest of honor’s favorite book was “I Stink” – a book by Kate McMullan all about GARBAGE.
And Natalie had a hay day coming up with all sorts of garbage-related party goodies, from book invitations to trashy wreaths, to fly shaped cake pops and trash can favors. Here are a few pictures from the party, but be sure to pop by her site to see the rest!
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It’s one of my very favorite things to get pictures from cool client parties, and it’s even more incredible when those clients are colleagues that I admire! Melissa at Buckets of Grace thought on the Gingerbread Christmas Cookie printables for an entire year before she hosted her family gingerbread house party. And I just love all the details she came up with!
My daughter begged for a Christmas party this year—lucky for her it doesn’t take much excuse for me to start designing an event! It was a fun experience planning this party; Maddie was there every step giving her input on what games to play, what food we should eat and what we should drink and give out as favors.
The front rooms of the house were decked out for the party in red and green with a “Chilly & Cheery” penguin theme. I handmade virtually everything in this party from the paper ornaments (tutorial here), ribbon rosettes on the aprons, paper trees on the tables, chair backs and wreaths (see the how to here). These were all great touches that anyone can pull off with a little effort.
We had a table full of fruits and vegetables for the kids, and a small sweets table. Edible Details sent the cutest little fondant penguin toppers for our cupcakes that the girls later put in front of their gingerbread houses. Renee of Bees Knees Creative sent some adorable (and delicious!) sugar cookies that perfectly matched our little penguin graphics. Both these penguin-shaped sweets were huge crowd pleasers!
And all those red stands? I’ve said it before–there isn’t anything a can of spray paint can’t fix. I picked up some footed bowls and a candle stick at Goodwill and painted the outside (not the inside where the food goes!) The striped plate came from Wal-Mart.
Other items on the table were peppermint fudge covered oreos, divinity (a favorite southern candy), white chocolate drizzled popcorn with m&ms (“snow crunch”), and chocolate cookie dough truffles. The favorite on the table were the “snow cones.” I dipped a large marshmallow in candy melt, rolled it in coconut and then placed it on a tiny ice cream cone and topped it off with a red m&m. Easy and fabulously fun! I’ll put up a pictorial tutorial soon to show you just how it was done.
On the main table, I created a little forest of trees. I made them using party hats and dowel rods! They were the perfect whimsical touch to our handmade party. Each table setting had a place card (kids love to see their names!), a plate full of candy decorations, a bag full of royal icing tied with a red bow, a glass of milk rimmed with chocolate and sprinkles, a snack box full of marshmallows and a cup full of m&ms. It was everything every girl needed to make a perfect gingerbread house.
Decorations are great to look at at a party, but the party guests have to have something to DO while they are there. As our little guests arrived, we had them sit and do a craft to give them something to do while we waited for everyone to show up. Using some fine glitter from Martha Stewart, glass bulbs and special glue, we made some tree-worthy glittery ornaments.
Maddie just couldn’t wait for the schedule of events to unfold, so as soon as her little ornament was done, she was off to play in the snow. This activity was such a crowd pleaser at Halloween, there was a request (demand) for a repeat! I filled a box full of Styrofoam peanuts and hid small toys and hair things in the bottom of the box. The kids had to dive mostly in the box to find them!
The next activity was meant to be sort of an ice breaker, but fortunately, the girls were all so excited by the snow bit I didn’t have to worry about that needing to happen. We played “wrap a gift”—two teams of three, all armed with a roll of toilet paper, raced to wrap up a precious gift, a mommy. I’m glad I was holding the camera, but our two mommies were really great sports about it.
Gingerbread house decorating. Each girl got their own apron embellished with a ribbon rosette before we started. We used the tutorial by Nicole at Tradewind Tiaras. This gingerbread recipe was really fantastic, and making the houses as a-frames made them go together in a snap. Each girl had her own frosting bag full of royal icing as she decorated her masterpiece.
We did a “yankee” gift exchange where you pick a present or steal a present as your number is called. Every single girl was thrilled with what she got in the end! I picked up some nice less than $3 piece gifts on Black Friday for this — so they weren’t that expensive in the end, but worth the glee this activity brought ten times over.
One last party trick I played…from another tutorial from Nicole at Tradewind Tiaras (she’s so full of good ideas!!) In some clear plastic cups I put a drop of food coloring and let it dry overnight. I brought the cups to the table filled with ice, then filled them with Sprite or water for the girls…and they were all thrilled to bits when their drinks changed color to red and green. Why? They asked. I just told them it was a bit of Christmas magic (wink!)
The party ran late because the girls were having so much fun. Which I took as a huge compliment!
The penguin printables we used in our party are now available in our Etsy shop. (http://frogprincepaperie.etsy.com)
Photography and Styling | Paula Biggs at Frog Prince Paperie
Paperie | Renee Adler for Frog Prince Paperie
Fondant Cupcake Toppers | Edible Details
Sugar Cookies | Bees Knees Creative
I’m thrilled to be able to announce that I’ve joined the Project Nursery team as a Design Expert. This means I will be blogging more–at least every two weeks, that is! It will be fun; they’ve set me up with a professional looking page of my own on their site with a little about me and some of the things I love (Buck is even in there!) I’ll be passing on party tips and anything else that may cross my mind over there.
And I’ve put up my first post at Project Nursery! It’s a little bit about the shortcuts you can take on your dessert table using store-bought sweets. I use these shortcuts when styling all the time–especially when I’m the only one baking! You can click here to see the article.
This party by Brittany at Grey Grey Designs is so perfect for fall–September through November. She took her design cues from the current ombre trend and wove it throughout the beautiful luncheon she held for her little boy’s baptism. If you’re looking for some unique inspiration for a Thanksgiving table, I think this party has it!
Brittany used the Little Pumpkin printables for the event, and tucked them among the pretty fall leaves.
The food table received a wonderful design treatment with ombre leaves cascading down the wall and artfully arranged offerings.
This is my favorie part of the party –desserts, go figure! 
I loooove the modern fabric on the table with a rustic looking hoop backdrop. It works so well together!
Here is a gratuitous baby picture. Her little man is so darn cute, I couldn’t resist.
She has many many more photos at her site here and all the wonderful details she worked into the party. Wonderful job, Brittany–I can’t wait to use a few of your ideas for Thanksgiving myself!
Having a fall birthday is a perfect reason to celebrate pumpkin style! The fall has it’s own spectrum of wonderful decorations that make a seasonal ‘Little Pumpkin’ party so much more fun. Ellen of Ellen Bessette Events styled this fabulous homage to the pumpkin patch for our little Maddy. There were lots of treats, cider, s’mores, apple bobbing, and of course pumpkins. Thank you to Jill Luecht Photography for photoediting.
I have to say, it’s a hard thing to turn a Florida back yard in August to a beautiful fall scene, but Ellen did it with flair. Straw bales, autumn leaves, mums and scarecrows dotted the yard with a punches of color. I especially love the wreath she hand crafted to hang over the dessert table. The pretty arbor the table was set in was swathed in leaf garlands and the table covered in another handmade creation, a pom-pom trimmed tablecloth.
Sweet treats from Lynlee’s Petite Cakes (fondant toppers) and The Cookie Jar (sugar cookies) starred on the table along with cinnamon flavored popcorn, lollipops and rock candy treats.
The kid-sized table used a pumpkin filled with flowers as the centerpiece. Ellen made the party hats from scrapbook paper, maribou and ribbon for the little ones to wear. To decorate the backs of the chairs, she used oversized felt pumpkins and tulle to create a chair swag that really popped!
A sweet little smash cakes with a pumpkin top from Something Sweet Cake Studio sat on top of the straw bales that lined the party area along with some cinnamon sticks and cider to wash it all down!
Our little Maddy made an appearance to eat some birthday cake in a little pumpkin tutu and matching hairband byTiti’s Tutus .
Ellen’s fun and colorful fall party stylings were truly enjoyed by the children as they ate, drank and played games!
This set is available in the shop here ~ and without the birthday theme for classrooms by request!
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VENDOR CREDITS:
– Styling: Ellen Bessette Events
– Paperie & Photography: Frog Prince Paperie
– Photo Editing: Jill Leucht Photography
– Fondant Toppers: Lynlee’s Petite Cakes
– Sugar Cookies: The Cookie Jar
– Smash Cake: Something Sweet Cake Studio
– Tutu and Headband: Titi’s Tutus
Setting up photoshoots is hard work, so I always have to have a few quick and easy desserts for the display that pack some design punch and save time! And I have to say, these perfectly poisonous parfaits from the Bewitching Halloween Party are so embarrassingly easy to make, I almost feel silly sharing how they were made. Almost! You can see how to make the little witch hat toppers here.
Here are the ever-so-complicated ingredients:
The vanilla pudding you can make (time consuming) or buy in the premade little snack pack cups (easy and no clean-up.)
The process requires finess, skill and patience. Well, not really. I think if you can operate a spoon, this is the crafty dessert for you.
Drop a few tiny spoonfuls of pudding into the glass. Drop in some of your orange non-pariels. More pudding, then some crushed up oreo–then repeat till your glass is full! For those of you keeping track, I used 2 pudding snack packs to make three parfaits in these shot glasses.
That fun veined look comes from the non-pariels soaking into the pudding, so make them a bit ahead of time…that is, at least an hour! Put in a demitasse spoon and you’ll be ready to serve these perfectly poisonous little parfaits to your unsuspecting guests.
