Friday, April 15, 2011

I'm on Maternity Leave...



I am on Maternity Leave from GGBP and Blogging til July due to the birth of our BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS Finnleigh Rhian:) We are also a Military Family scheduled to move next month with my Husband leaving for a year in Afghanistan a few weeks later. So, when the dust settles and the boxes are unpacked (and tears dry) I will rededicate myself full time to growing and sharing Girly Girl Birthday Parties, recipes and tutorials (and GGBP products).
Enjoy your spring, Hug your loved ones and SEE YOU THIS SUMMER:)

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Alice in Wonderland Birthday Party

The Talented ladies at PIZZAZZERIE entertain in style designed this colorful, creative and whimsical Alice in Wonderland Party for a lucky, little 1 year old. The attention to detail is impeccable. I find something new each time I look at the pictures of the special event!

 I hope you will find lots of inspiration and ideas for your own birthday parties and Alice in Wonderland themed events.
Flowers were a must at this whimsical party so we mixed over-sized silk flowers with dozens of real flowers from Jagg Classic in Raleigh, NC. You would never have known it was the middle of winter with garden flowers everywhere you turned! We also used whimsical glittered decorations stuck down in the bouquets to add a bit of spice to the bouquets. Glittered butterflies from Michaels adorned the bouquets as well.
A lucky shopping trip at Home Goods discovered these whimsical tea pots that I knew were PERFECT for Vivi’s party! We had 7 in total that sat around on the party tables. Guests loved pointing out their favorite tea pot as there were several different styles. If you LOVE these tea pots, you’re in luck! Our Prop Shop (which is down for a bit of a face lift) will have a couple of these tea pots ready to be shipped out as soon as it’s back up and running so stay tuned if you are interested in 1!
Vivi’s mom had a darling Alice in Wonderland tea set (bowl, top left) that we put at Vivi’s place at the table. Various chalkboard signs were stuck down in bouquets with cute phrases like “drink me” and “vivi”.
Allyson Jane Bakery made the personalized cookies with graphics by The TomKat Studio. They were originally for the favor “hat boxes” but when we saw how darling they were, we knew they deserved a place at the sweets table!
The cake was absolutely amazing! (main cake picture by Abigail Blosser Photography). Delicious fruit flavors and whimsical decorations matched the party theme perfectly. The cake was made by James Perry of Chapel Hill, NC.
An extra room at the club was set up as a croquet room for the kids! Over-sized playing cards were folded over as goals and flamingos were attached to croquet mallets. The kids loved running into the croquet room!
While the kids enjoyed bouncy houses, face painting, and croquet, the adults enjoyed a champagne bar and Mad Hatter beer!
The dress up table was QUITE A HIT! It was easy to do with some Alice in Wonderland costumes, costume jewelry, and a raid of the fancy shoes closet that my mother and I have accumulated over the years.
Favors were made from paper “to-go” boxes crafted to look like hats and filled with sweet treats and mini alarm clocks. Each “hat” was adorned with a little Queen of Hearts favor tag.


(photo and content credit: PIZZAZZERIE entertain in style)


 

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Caillou Party

What a lovely party. Simply Captivating Events linked their "girly" CAILLOU PARTY and it's my pleasure to share it with you! Caillou may be a boy cartoon character but his sweet personality is attractive to boys and Girly Girls alike. In fact, I am posting this as my 4 year old daughter is watching an episode of Caillou!

We are big Caillou fans at our house, so when our little girly-girl wanted a Caillou celebration for her 3rd birthday party I was up for the challenge. Caillou is all primary colors, so to make her party fit for a princess, I did the primary colors with a twist - Caribbean blue, yellow, & light red, with a touch of lime green. We had a great time, and I love the way it all came out.
{The birthday girl & her little brother}


(photo and content credit: SIMPLY CAPTIVATING EVENTS)

Friday, February 4, 2011

A Midsummer's Night Fairy Party

The uber-talented author of Frog Prince Paperie linked her A Midsummer's Night Fairy Party for her mother on our LINK YOUR PARTY PAGE.  I love this party so much and it just goes to show that NOT every girly party has to be staged for a "little" girl.

We had a magical evening of celebrating my mother’s birthday…full of laughter, fairies, butterflies, and a mischievous little puck. But…there was a great sigh of relief as we cut into the birthday cake, the work was over and we could all simply enjoy the moment.
Throwing this event was extra fun; we travelled to Virginia to where my family lives to put it on. As a result, the whole family got to be involved. My brother helped with the cooking, my father engineered signs and candleholders and anything else that needed built, my mother remained silent as I dismantled and redecorated her house, and she, my sister-in-law and a few old good friends helped craft many of the small details in the party. And probably most important, my dear husband wrangled the children while we put the finishing touches on everything. It was wonderful to have an event that brought us all together!
A few weeks before the party, invitations were sent out. They have a full craft paper brown enclosure tied with the ribbons that were used throughout the party, and were adorned with little fairies and some specially written prose. The fairies were a special touch just for my mother — they are silhouettes of her little pixie of a granddaughter and are seen throughout the party decor as well!
midsummer's night night fairy party
. As our guests arrived, we wanted to set the stage a bit…
White branches in teal-tinted metal buckets hung heavy with votives flanked the path to the door. Votives were placed up the walkway, with little fairies dancing up the steps.
Inside, fairies and butterflies fluttered amongst the sweets on the dessert table. Natural elements such as burlap, river rocks and long branches tied the beautiful gardens outside the windows into the room.
The items served on the dessert and appetizer table were specifically chosen because they were Mom’s favorites, although I admit I have a few new ones now myself, like the AMAZING strawberry meringuesfrog prince paperie

midsummer night fairy party
The artisan strawberry meringues were so pretty, we had to convince people they weren’t just decorations. And they tasted even better than they looked! Sweet Purrfection, a small artisanal confectionery out of Chicago, provided these light as air melt in your mouth treats. Perfect flavor, perfect texture, perfect custom color….they were just perfect! We’ve since tried their other flavors, and they are ALL fabulous. Erin’s Cake Creations provided the beautiful custom decoration for the carrot cake and fondant roses that reflected the paper flowers in the party decor. Girly Gatherings made the unique sugar cookies with graphics to match the invitation, a crested “G” and our little fuscia fairy. The live greenery was all contributed by my mother’s gardens...
Each letter of the birthday banner is unique typographic art taken from antique books and available in the public domain. Masterpiece Designs has a wealth of inexpensive imagery and is where I found the beautiful antique frames. They were perfect for holding Shakespearean quotes!
My brother and I had such a good time in the kitchen together preparing the appetizers…apricot brie puffs, spinach and feta purses, herb crusted pork loin rolls, black bean cakes with spicy sweet potato sauce and cilantro cream, honey minted fruit and marinated cheese.
We mixed up a signature drink for the night – Love Potion No. 9, otherwise known as a white russian (mom’s favorite). We’re happy to report Puck’s potion only turned one of our guests into a lovable donkey.
On the outside deck, fairy lights were strung on the arbors and trees for atmosphere, and there were many candles flickering out in the gardens to make for a little fairy magic. There was  liberal sprinkling of candles, votives and butterflies through the rooms inside where the party circulated. Fuscia paper lanterns and paper roses added pops of color.
A party can be thrown without a tissue pouf, but I don’t think I can ever give up the fun of the photo booth. The grandchildren, dressed as Puck and Titania, posed for the camera while the adults were able to play dress up for a moment.
As the guests left, we treated them to a few party favors. Again, one of mom’s favorites was selected to thank our guest for coming–chocolate covered oreos. There is a tutorial on how to make these little paper rose boxes here.
What we wanted to bring to our guests at mom’s birthday was a little feeling of magic, a little whimsy, and something the children attending the party would find some wonder in as well as the adults. The Midsummer’s Night Dream underlying theme and deeper color hues made using fairies for an adult party work, and made the party planning a little more fun.
Thank you to SandS Photography out of Hampton, Virginia for the party pictures.

(photo and content credit: Frog Prince Paperie)

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