Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Every party needs cute decorations. This is a garland made out of cupcake liner in two sizes, coffee filters, and mini doilies. A garland like this is easy to make and helps to instantly set the theme for your party.
Here is a cute mini happy birthday banner (included in the printables of this party) and an example of one of the tutorials that we used in the Baking Party diy party plan. We’re so excited about our new line of downloadable parties. Go check them out.
Photos by Nicole Hill. Graphic design ©One Charming Party.
Monday, July 12, 2010
This week I’m going to post about some of the things I use and love for parties. And then you get to choose your own giveaway prize.
Day 1: twine. I won a twine sampler pack a few weeks ago from The Twinery. I’m always using different ribbons and things for parties and presents so I was ecstatic to win 15 yards of each twine in all 8 colors: Maraschino, Mandarin, Lemondrop, Peapod, Caribbean, Lilac, Pink Sorbet & Cappuccino. I love this twine. It’s so soft and cottony. I can’t wait to show you the fun party stuff I’ve already been using it for. And Nicole at The Twinery is so sweet. She’s offering a 25% discount code to all of my readers: CHARMPARTY. It expires at midnight on July 18th. Go check out their recent launch on The Twinery Blog. They’re having a photo contest, offering free downloads, posting discount codes, etc.
Okay, what does this have to do with a giveaway for you? I’ve been wanting to do another giveaway for a while but I’m having a hard time choosing what to give away. So I thought we’d do a little experiment. I’m going to post some of my favorite party things this week. They are all eligible items for the giveaway. If you win you can choose which item you’d like. You can enter on any of the posts this week. I’ll just collect all of the names and tally them at the end. But just one entry per person please. This giveaway will close at Midnight on Friday, July 16th and I’ll post the winner on Saturday or Monday. To enter, leave a comment on any post this week and a valid email address to contact you at when you win. And any kind comments about the giveaway items are always appreciated.
Day 1: you can choose a 240 yard roll or a sampler pack from The Twinery.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
To give this party a more authentic feel I bought some “official” lab equipment.
1. a brand new, never used 16 oz. plastic bottle
2. a small glass pitcher for holding water
3. Erlenmeyer flask
4. plastic test tubes
5. safety glasses
6. various containers for holding small experiment objects
7. the favor box that they took all of their finished experiments home in
I set up two kids per table. They shared some items and other items were their own. Of course I brought a bunch more stuff to use for the experiments, but these are the basic supplies that they started out with. Don’t worry, when I show you the experiments in detail you’ll get all the deets.
To see all of the Mad Scientist party posts, click on the tag link below.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
I love this “raggedy ann” sign. I made it using 12 x 12 scrapbooking paper. Red for the scalloped circles, four patterned papers for the inside circles and some solid and patterned paper for the letters. I have an Accucut die cut machine that I use to cut it all out. If you would like to make one, I have a paper banner tutorial that you can refer to for instructions, but I don’t string the ribbon through the whole sign anymore. I use a tiny hole punch and brads to connect the circles instead.
You won’t want to miss a single photo from this party, so click on the Raggedy Ann Party tag below to see all of the party posts.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Yesterday I showed you part 1 of the yummy treats from the Raggedy Ann party. Here are all the details on the rest of the goodies.
I bought some colored taffy from Taffy Town (raspberry and strawberry) and put it in cellophane bags. Check out that cute red ribbon (sold at most big box and craft stores). The taffy bags sit atop a vintage plate from a nearby thrift store.
No Raggedy Ann party is complete without the famous “I love you” heart, shown here as a sugar cookie. Find a local bakery or cookie specialist to make some for you. Eileen Romney hooked me up.
These are vegan coconut cupcakes from Cakewalk Baking Company, with heart shape toppers made by me from leftover paper banner scraps. You can see a simple cupcake topper tutorial here. The vibrant red cupcake liners are from Bake It Pretty and the red cake stand is a Martha Stewart from Macy’s.
You won’t want to miss a single photo from this party, so click on the Raggedy Ann Party tag below to see all of the party posts.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
It was almost too easy coming up with different treats for this party. This is definitely more than enough sweet stuff, but I knew it would photograph well. Here’s the scoop on how I made everything and where I bought it from.
These chocolates are from a local favorite, Hatch Family Chocolates. A red box from Xpedx and an aqua colored ribbon finish it off.
The directions to make this charming lollipop stand are found here. And I bought the red lollipops from Hammond’s Candies.
Check your local health food or grocery store for some yummy kettle corn. I put a generous scoop of it in cellophane bags and tied them up with some cute ribbon. They sit atop a vintage plate I found at a nearby thrift store.
These cute jars were an awesome find at Tai Pan Trading and I couldn’t resist filling them up with sour cherry balls. Tie a contrasting ribbon (also from Tai Pan Trading) for the perfect color combination.
Tomorrow I’ll show you part 2, the rest of the goodies from this party. And you won’t want to miss a single photo from this party, so click on the Raggedy Ann Party tag below to see all of the party posts.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
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.
Feeling the love? Click on the Valentine’s Party tag below to get all the deets.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
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.
Feeling the love? Click on the Valentine’s Party tag below to get all the deets.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
{I know that it’s Thursday and this says “Tuesday Tutorial.” It’s been a long week.} When I was a kid, I totally had Barbie paper dolls. I can clearly remember playing with them on the floor at my friend Amy’s house. That was back before Barbie dot com when we had to actually do all of the work ourselves, like punch out the clothes and stand the dolls up and make them say silly conversations with our friends’ paper dolls. For this party I thought it would be fun to photocopy a few of my client’s vintage Barbie paper dolls. The finished paper dolls were given to my client after the party so as to abide by copyright laws, and were not used for commercial gain. Or whatever that means.
directions:
1. I took the paper doll books to my local copy store and had them color copied. I used cardstock for the dolls and the fancy, shiny paper for the clothes. Here are two links that I found that have printable vintage paper dolls: Scrapscene & The Bleu Door.
2. I cut out the dolls and clothes.
3. I had the dolls laminated for stability. But I didn’t laminate the clothes so that they would retain a more authentic feel.
4. Enjoy, just like the good ‘ole days.
For even more glamor goodness, click on the Vintage Glam Barbie Party tag below.
