One Charming Party | Birthday Party Ideas » Melissa Papaj

valentine party pics

Brittany — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 10:00:52 +0000

Here are a few more pictures from the Valentine’s Party. Enjoy.

All of the love-ly photos from this Valentine’s Party were taken by the beautiful & amazing Melissa Papaj.

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valentine party: activity stations

Brittany — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:00:53 +0000

If you haven’t already read my post where I declared my love for activity stations, you might want to read it now. Otherwise, I’ll show you the three stations and final group activity that I used for this party. There were 16 kids who came–each of my four kids got to invite three friends. So there was a huge mix of ages, both boys and girls.

#1: The Craft Table: The kids made a valentine heart out of paper plates. They could decorate it with doilies, stickers, glitter, etc. They punched a hole in the top and made a handle with a ribbon.

#2: The Cookie Table: Yummy vegan cookies and frosting (shh, don’t tell) made by one of my favorite bakers awaited the kids on a table full of organic and all natural candy. They frosted, decorated and talked to their hearts content.

#3: Making Gum from Scratch: I taught the kids at this station how to make gum from chicle. It was hard work, fun, and a new experience for me. The kids loved the concept and I didn’t have any complaints.

#4 And then we all played valentine bingo.
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valentine party: homemade gum favor

Brittany — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:04:25 +0000

I thought it would be SO fun to make homemade gum for this party from a “Make Your Own Chewing Gum” kit I found on Glee Gum. Wow, making your own gum is harder than it seems. And more complicated. But the kids enjoyed it and I always think it’s cool to teach kids where stuff comes from or how it’s really made. Gum doesn’t just grow on the grocery store shelves, you know.

After we finished making all of the gum, I cut the gum dough into little pieces and wrapped it in waxed paper and put it into these containers for the kids to take home and enjoy.
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valentine party: three heart shaped wreaths

Brittany — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:56:19 +0000

I made three wreaths for this party. Fun, but time consuming. Start early.

I used the instructions from here, but bent the hanger into a heart shape.

This is just a candy wreath and once again, I just bent the wire into a heart shape. Instructions here.

You guessed it. This is a Christmas wreath made from ornament balls (thanks Eddie Ross) and I just bent the hanger into a heart shape.

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valentine party: pink lemonade with hearts

Brittany — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:00:32 +0000

We served a sweet little drink at the valentine’s party: pink lemonade with heart ice cubes.

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valentine party: vases with button bouquets

Brittany — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:00:59 +0000

I found these cute white milkglass vases at the thriftstore. They are super cheap and perfect for these little button bouquets that I bought on Etsy from KadyHope. I knew that real flowers would cost way too much during the Valentine’s holiday, so button bouquets were the perfect solution.

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valentine party: lots of banners

Brittany — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:00:33 +0000

I used three different banners to decorate with at this Valentine’s Party. It’s such an easy way to dress up a plain wall, I couldn’t resist.

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valentine party: invite

Brittany — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:00:10 +0000

Last year I decided to have a Valentine’s Party for my kids and some of their friends. Here is the invitation that I made for them. I saw a similar one on Martha Stewart. It’s tricky folding it, but once you get it down then it’s easy to whip out 10 more. I was being sarcastic. The last one is just as difficult as the first. But the reward is worth it–everyone loved opening these invites.
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valentine party: all natural candy

Brittany — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:00:08 +0000

For parties, okay and at home too, I like to use organic and all natural candy–free of artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. I like to make sure that the candy I use doesn’t contain any high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils either. I know what you’re thinking, “Lighten up, it’s just a party. Why go to all of this trouble for healthy candy?” Honestly, I’m not always this extreme. But I make the effort because I think it’s healthier for the kiddos and I love to support like minded businesses. I think the companies who make these candies have great ideas, old fashioned wisdom, and a concern for the future. And all of our kids are the future.

* A few people wanted to know where I buy candy from. I buy gum from Glee Gum. I also often look on Natural Candy Store and at Hammond’s selection of all natural candy. And Amazon often has a good selection of organic candy. Just do a search to see what they currently have.

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elephant baby shower party pics

Brittany — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:00:17 +0000

These beautiful desserts were made by Tres Sucre.

These beautiful roses were arranged by Pink Petals.

Yummy food.

Another picture of the banner and the diaper cake.

All of these fun party pictures were taken by Melissa Papaj.