Gender Neutral Bow ties or Bows Invitations

I love creating new invitations to go along with any theme that I am planning. I will be doing a Bow ties or Bows baby shower in July. I chose the colors Red, Light Blue and Grey. Here is the invitation.

 I got my inspiration from these items found at one of my favorite stores, Homegoods. These items set the tone for the party and I can't wait to incorporate them!

Orange and Grey

Since the women's group was such a success, we have decided to have it every other month at each ladies home. My friend has hired me to help her with the women's group for November. They all claim that I have set the standards too high.(go figure) Below I have put together an inspirations board. She wanted to use the color orange and I thought that grey with slight touches of red would pair up perfectly. I'm so excited to help her out.

Cupcake Flags:Michelle at Little Paper Dog ( You can download the cupcakes flags)

Dress: Ella Moss(no longer available)

Suit & Tie: Knot Wedding

Orange & Grey Room: Domino magazine(no longer in production)
Orange and grey pumps: Moschino

Orange Centerpiece: Brides.comWhite Chair With Orange and grey rug:Unknown

Flowers: Knot.com

All Women's Birthday Party

My 33rd Birthday/Women's Group Party turned out fantastic. I have shared all the festive pictures below. The ladies and I had a blast and it was a very relaxed and cheerful time, especially with all of the Wine and Sangria! I can't wait until the next group.

The table sign on a cute blue dress form that I found at Marshall's. I just added a big red bow to tie in the colors.

This is the dessert table. I had cones in the the color of the party, 3 cake stands in black(found at Homegoods), the marshmallow pops which turned out much better after a little ribbon was added. The table cloth was from efavormart.com. I love this place because there is no minimum and the shipping is 4.95. The colors always turn out great too. I also ordered a Turquoise table cloth as pictured later in this post.

All I can say here is Thank You Lisa from Personally You Parties. She posted a design idea from Martha Stewart for paper honeycombs. I would have never ever thought of using these because I thought they were so old school. Once I saw that post I knew I had to have it at my party. It turned out fantastic. Of course I looked everywhere on the Internet to find the combs in all the party colors with no success. Since this wasn't a huge party I didn't want to buy in bulk as Martha Stewart suggested. So I found a site that I was able to order without a minimum. Check here for Honeycombs. Pictured are the 12, 14 and 19 inch combs.

I was in love with my cake. I took inspiration from a cake found on the Real Simple Website. Of course I went to my favorite bakery, Cakes Plus in Laurel and they did a great job replicating the bottom layer of the cake. They added a "M" in fondant icing which gave it that personal touch.

Since it was three other Virgo's at the party. I got each of them a cupcake with a black and white candle and we sang happy birthday to them.

Well I wasn't going to put this picture up. But now the world can see how miserably I failed. Above are the infamous Red Velvet Cake balls. I just could not make it work. It was an all day adventure that turned out horrible. I'm not going into all the details, but it's much harder than I would have thought. If you want to see the correct way they should look and be made check out Bakerella site. Well enough on this back to happy times...

MMMM black and white cookies(of course store bought)...

...and mini brownies, always a crowd pleaser(store bought)

The completion of the paper cones turned out great. Once again I have to thank Chris from Celebration at Home for teaching my how to make them. I added ribbon and found these great embellishments from the dollar section of Micheal's. They just happen to have them in the colors of the party and great inspiration words for women. I love when I find items that are just so perfect!

I ordered the ceramic bottoms from Wholesale Flowers and Supplies as seen on Hostess with the Mostess. Check out her site on how to assemble using the ceramic vases. They worked great!

We did have other food at the party, but by the time that table was assembled, I had already had 2 glasses of wine, so I did not get the full pictures of that :-). Below is the beginning pictures of the 2nd food table to include my wrapped polka dot napkins that I just loved(Found at Target).

I made a big pitcher of Sangria that went along with all of the other bottles of wine that were brought by my guests. (Beverage Server purchased at Homegoods for 39.99!)Each lady had their own wine glass with an initial embellishment so they could keep track of them. Once again, I did not get pictures of those. (note to self, no wine before you take all of the pictures)

We had a great presentation from Heather (also a great friend) of Southern Living at Home and Tastefully Simple. I brought some great items that I can't wait to use at my next party.

To end the night I gave each women a Journal. Of course in the colors of the party(Found at Homegoods). I placed a big ribbon and each ladies initial to use as a bookmark(dollar section of Micheal's). They really appreciated this and was excited to start writing.

My 33rd All Women Birthday Party

So my birthday is coming up. Okay it's in a month, September 1st. But I am planning a birthday party because I haven't had one since I was 29. What better way to celebrate than with your closest friends. So I decided to do something a little different. I'm starting a women's group. There is nothing more uplifting and empowering than a group of women together. We can solve all world problems! (maybe not all)

Below I developed a color board for my 33rd Birthday Party. I love the colors of Red, Turquoise and Lime Green. I decided to take those colors one step further and add black and white. What fun! I can't wait to bring all of the colors together in the decor just as I brought them in my handmade invitations(as always giving just respect to Microsoft Word).

Red, Turquoise, and Lime Notepad Kit: Gartner Studios

Kids Guest Bedroom: Domino magazine, June/July 2008(no longer in production)

Tiered Cakes: Confetti Cakes

Green and Blue Dining Room: Things that Inspire Blogspot

Kitchen: Country Living

Turquoise and Red polka dot cake: Cakes by Victoria

"My Winter Love" First Birthday

First Birthday's are always exciting for new parents. Some parents keep it small and some go very big. I thought about my son's birthday party from the moment he was born. I knew I wanted it to be unique and memorable. So I came up with the theme, "My Winter Love". Since my son was born in February and close to Valentines day, I incorporated these elements into the party. The favors were heart shaped cookie cutters that stated, "Please remember the sweetness and love of Bailey's first Birthday". Also, the guest filled mesh bags with red and blue candy from Bulk Foods and Elegant Sweets(the perfect lollipops). For Entertainment, I got a great Caricature Artist and the parents got to take home great pictures of their children. I wanted it to also be comfortable and fun for my son. This is why I followed these tips;

1) Keep it simple

2) If there are lots of babies...limit the entertainment. Clowns can be scary and a 1 year old won't be interested. Bringing some toys that is familiar to your baby is all they need. You may want some balloons or something for the babies to hold/play with, but remember that you have to be careful with balloons.

3) Cake; you can get a beautiful cake for $500 made-to-order or you can bake your own for about $30. A 1 yr old won't care and older kids LOVE to help out, so if you have an older child they could help out getting the cake ready.

4) Go for things like:dancing (dance & freeze game)pinata pass the parcel musical chairs (if there are lots of adults, get them to play too!). Also craft activities can be fun for the group.

5) Time: Plan the party at your child's best time of day. It's important not to put the party before your child's nap time, during or immediately after. This will cause a cranky birthday baby.

6) Food: if you plan a mid-afternoon party then just snacks are needed. chips, veg & dip, fresh fruit, pretzels etc.

Weddings

Well since it's wedding season, why not look at some great inspiration for weddings. Personally, I think the best wedding season is in the fall when I was married. But to each its own. My roommate from college has found her perfect mate and is getting married in May. I am so excited for her! If your in the mood for a true love story, check out her wedding site.

Last year I completed a great wedding for Iazia and Chris. I made everything from the menus to the program to double as fans. The pictures are posted below.